Now That Nora Crawls

Nora is crawling and loves exploring our house. It certainly has kept me on my toes trying to stay ahead of our girl on the move! Although I've been told to expect some bumps (literally) as Nora learns to crawl and then walk, it's still hard then it happens. Recently Nora really knocked her head trying to pull herself up. She cried. I cried. I felt awful. I was right there but she fell over so fast I just couldn't catch her in time. Hopefully the falls will be few and the bumps far-in-between.

Crawling in the kitchen

Hey look! I'm behind the glider.

A nice place to hang out.

Climbing all over Daddy is fun, too!

Mother's Day

I woke up to some snuggles from Jeff and Nora along with some sweet cards and gift certificate for a mani/pedi. Jeff had coffee and fruit salad with breakfast and I had the chance to clean out my closet. While Jeff planted some flowers and visited with some neighbors, Nora and I had a little snuggles nap (my favorite!). In the evening, we dined al fresco and played in the backyard. It was a sweet day with my favorite sweeties!

I feel so, so grateful for the family that I have and for the opportunity to have a Mother's Day. Thank you to everyone who helped us to get here. xoxo

Playing in the back yard under pretty skies

Pretty blue-eyed baby girl

Giggles

The Ninth Month

Nora's ninth month started out with a lot of excitement! In the first week of her ninth month, Nora started crawling, cut her first tooth, and we stopped giving her a 10:30pm bottle. The second week brought us Nora's second tooth. Nora also loves standing up, feeding herself, standing up, playing, and standing up. We also like to read (and eat) books. One of our favorite ways to read books is by laying on our backs looking up at the books. Nora often tells us stories (they are about dadadadada and babababa and gagagaga) and giggles like crazy when we gobble on her neck and sides. She also gives raspberries and clap her hands.

* 20lbs 14oz * 26.25 inches * 

Woah, What a Week!

Monday: Nora begins crawling
Tuesday: Nora decides bed time is an hour later than usual
Thursday: Nora turns 9 months old
Friday: We stop giving Nora her 10:30pm bottle
Sunday: Nora's first tooth begins to appear


Nora's 9 month check-up is on Tuesday. We'll post a complete 9 month update along with adorable picture after we get her stats from that visit.

Is She On The Move?

That's pretty close to crawling, right??

Finger Foods

Nora has taken to eating very well, which really was to be expected given that she has us as her parents. :) The only thing she hasn't been too keen on is avocado. I ate A LOT of avocado when I was pregnant, so perhaps she has just had enough of it for now. The only thing I haven't been too keen on is asparagus. "Asparagus pee" and cloth diapers are not a pleasant combination. Peee-yoouuuu!! Stinky.

Lately we have been moving onto to finger foods. Miss Laura, Nora's day care provider has given her some mum-mums, which she has really enjoyed. They have also helped Nora learn how to get food from her hand to her mouth. Initially she was just mashing the food between her fingers and rubbing it around her highchair tray. We don't mind that though. We let Nora play a bit with her food.

Peaches and cereal, yum!

Anyways...back to finger foods! Nora gets mum-mums from us at times, too. We've also tried pancakes, toast, and banana with success. The banana is a little tricky because it is so darn slippery! I tried dusting the pieces with some rice cereal but it didn't really make much difference. She sure is cute trying to eat it though!

Enjoying come bananas

One other little food update: Nora has taken to wanting to feed herself. As we near the end of the meal, I do let her help and have, at times, given her her own spoon and we (sort of) take turns (sort of) feeding her. Unfortunately, Nora having a spoon (to throw) has lead us to losing a couple (three). Pearl scooped them up and started chewing before I could run interference. Ah, well. I'm sure it won't be the last thing that gets chewed by one of the dogs!

Here is our little sweetie enjoying breakfast earlier this week.

I do it myself!

Mommy Musings

Perhaps this goes without saying, but I am absolutely in love with our sweet daughter. Although Jeff and I had been hoping for and working towards adding to our family for quite a while and imagined the love we would feel for a child, the amount of love I have for Nora is even more than I could have ever expected.

I love having Nora in my lap as she takes her bottle. I love when she twirls my hair or strokes the burp cloth while she drinks. I love watching her explore the world around her. I love it when I get to witness our little girl learning something new. Just last night, after she tipped over while playing (uht oh!), she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. That was the first time I saw her do that. And this week she stood without my support while holding onto her stuffed animal basket.

I love meal time and the look on Nora's face when she tries something new. And the noises she makes when she is really enjoying her meal are so cute. I love seeing her get excited when we look into the mirror and when the dogs come around. She grins and squeals and bounces in her excitement. I love to watch her play with Jeff, giggling while he kisses and gobbles her up. She loves the horseplay that I think father's do best.

I love to see her explore the outdoors while we take walks and play on a blanket in the back yard. And I absolutely love, love, love hearing her babble away, especially when she wakes in the morning. She is so happy when she wakes up! I love laying in bed and listening to her jibber-jabber away in her crib. Lately it sounds like she is singing a bit, as well. Let me tell you, it is adorable.

But what I love the most is our time together when Nora takes her before-bed bottle. After her bottle we cuddle and Nora falls asleep. Most nights I sit and snuggle her sweet little body long after she has begun to doze, letting all of my other responsibilities go. I actually think it is soothing for both of us. I'm going to take advantage of this time before putting her to bed for as long as I possibly can because I know it is finite. I know one day Nora will be more independent and less willing to let Mommy hold onto her. I hope that time is far from now. Until then, my chores, the phone, and even dinner can wait. I'm snuggling with my baby girl.