Woooowwweeee am I late on this! Like almost a month late?! Definitely the latest I’ve been on any of these updates, but it’s the last one soooo…. Oh well. Nora is officially ONE (and has been for almost a month hahah) and we’re headed straight for toddlerhood! I feel like we were just here with Jameson and now it’s Nora’s turn. It goes so so quickly!
Here’s what’s new for Nora in her twelfth month!
Weight & Length: She had her one-year-old well visit to the doctor just after she turned one and everything looks great! She’s in the 17th percentile for height (2 ft, 4.25 in) and the 32nd for weight, weighing in at 18 lbs 11 oz. Little peanut! This was actually about a pound less than last month which either means my home scale isn’t too accurate or she lost a little weight (could be possible with how active she is/how she’s scaling back on her nursing). Our pediatrician isn’t concerned at all, though, and Nora is meeting or exceeding all of her milestones.
Clothing: Still in 12 month or 12-18 month things, although some things from Old Navy have to be the 6-12 month size since she’s tiny. I finally got her some long-sleeved shirts and dresses since it’s cooling down over here, especially in the morning. But I cannot find shoes for her that I like! I feel like this shouldn’t be too hard but it is. Her feet are small and skinny that almost everything in her size I’ve found is like…a fake shoe. Like the ones you put on infants. No support or padding whatsoever, just these flimsy little pieces of cotton. And the few other options I’ve found in her size are covered in hot pink glitter or gaudy flowers and that ain’t gonna fly with me. So the hunt is still on for Nora’s first real pair of shoes and I’ll keep you all posted because I know this is absolutely riveting.
Eyes & Hair: The two things she gets complimented on the most. 🙂 I would say the hair even more so these days because of how insanely curly it is! I’ve been researching in my spare time on how to care for curly hair and it’s way more intense and technical than I ever would’ve thought. High porosity versus low porosity, protein needs, the science behind sulfates and silicones and parabens…not to mention all the categories of curly hair types. I think I’ve figured out that her hair is type 3a/3b and I know I’ll be avoiding anything with sulfates/silicones/parabens to try and keep her curls as healthy as possible. But that’s about it so far. Her hair is still very babyish and not grown in thickly enough for me to do much else yet. And besides, I realize that curly hair is an ever-changing beast anyway haha! I’ll probably be trying new products and techniques for as long as I’m in charge of her hair care. Hopefully I find something that works well so I can give her a good start on loving her curls.
Sleep: We had a rough patch of sleep this month where she was napping 40 minutes per day TOTAL for almost a week straight. It was absolutely exhausting for all of us. But she’s since gotten back into the swing of things, napping for maybe 3 hours total per day split into two naps, although not necessarily split evenly. She sleeps fairly well at night too but still wakes up eaaaarly, like 5:30-6am. Yay.
Eating: She is such a joy to feed! Complete opposite of her brother at this age. She will try anything and likes almost everything, even broccoli. I’m writing this a little after her first birthday/party so she had her first official dessert (a piece of cake) and she loved it of course! Her favorite food in the world is probably blueberries but she’ll seriously eat whatever and gets mad if you don’t share. She’s starting to notice if I give her something different than the rest of us have and boy does she get peeved. She usually nurses before naps but that’s about it. The rest is solid foods!
Milestones: She’s walking so much these days! In typical Nora fashion she just up and decided she could do it out of nowhere, with barely any warning. One day a couple weeks ago she decided she preferred walking to crawling and now exclusively walks around the house. She can stand by herself straight up from the ground and her balance is getting better too, although she’s still adorably clumsy. She points at everything as if asking the names for things, and likes to copy the words I say. She has six teeth total now (four on top, two on bottom) and can climb stairs (and into the ottoman) at lightning speed!
Communication: She knows the sound for lions (“What does the lion say, Nora?” “Rrrrrr!”) and said her first official word this month, “up!” No surprise there haha! Now she says a few things independently (“mama” and “dada” and “no no” and “ah dun” for all done) and will say “Jame” for Jameson if I model it for her. And like I said, she’ll copy many of the words we say. She is so careful to observe my mouth when I’m talking to see how I form the sounds and I can tell she’ll be quite the chatterbox when she’s older. She’s sooo loud and pretty much constantly chattering on about something or other in her own language (“weedoeweedoe!”). It’s adorable and her little voice is so cute and small. She understands so much of what we say and it’s been fun to interact and play more!
Loves: Climbing inside our big ottoman to play with the DVDs, crawling all over the bed or couch, climbing up into Jameson’s toddler bed and jumping, moseying around under the kitchen table and chairs, trying to get inside the dishwasher, taking all the wet clothes out of the dryer as I’m trying to load it up, reading books, playing outside, FOOD, shouting about things, dancing to music, Alex’s guitar playing, climbing inside the fridge and/or freezer, and bath time.
Hates: Crawling on grass (she bear crawls so her knees won’t touch, or just stands up instead). When I tell her no about something she was psyched about (she will just fold in half and lay her head on the floor and cry, it’s so sad and ridiculous). When you strap her into her carseat (after we get going she’s fine). And sitting still for more than a few seconds (church time is heading into the challenging stage since we have family-integrated services and keep the kids with us for the whole time). She also hates when I am not holding her almost 24/7.
Things I want to remember: How you copy everything that Jameson does and laugh every time Jameson laughs (even when you don’t know what was funny). How you crawl really fast with your mouth in a wide open smile, breathing really loudly, towards exciting things. How you point at everything and say “da” quite confidently, as if that is the name for everything. How proud you get when you walk around by yourself. The way you gently rest your little fuzzy head on Daddy’s shoulder when he comes home from work. How you jump away all wide-eyed from contraband items when you’re caught and I shout, “Hey Nora what are you doing!!!!” The way you dance along to goofy songs or beats I make up on the spot. And that hilarious/creepy face you keep doing with your tongue (you stick it out just a bit and wiggle it really fast back and forth hahaha).
Nora, this year with you has been so filled with love and fun and giggles and happiness. You bring SUCH joy to our lives and complete our family in ways we didn’t even know we needed. I’ve learned so much about who God is calling me to be through knowing you and for that I am forever thankful. I hope you had a wonderful first trip around the sun, my littlest love! Here’s to year two! ❤
Milk with a Meal 