Then and Now: May

Then and Now: The Food Edition! 

We are pretty lucky that Nora has (generally) been a pretty good eater. She certainly has her favorite foods, such as hummus, bananas, tofu, blueberries (boo-berry), and pasta (passsa). She has also been very, very good whenever we go out to eat, usually giving away lots of smiles and eliciting some "Aw, so cute, so sweet!" comments. I really enjoy the time that we have together over meals and am genuinely disappointed when we have to eat separately due to schedules. 

2012: In the high chair, eating spring time risotto

May 2012

2013: In her Minnie chair, enjoying mango al fresco

May 2013

Fwowers

Nora loves flowers. Whenever we see one, she shouts "Fwower!" or "Nora fwower!" (which means she wants to pick the flower). When we walk around the neighborhood, she often likes for us to pick the dandelions which she calls "yellow fwowers."

So we got an idea. Jeff was getting ready to plant some flowers at the house so we decided to help Nora plant a little "toddler" garden with things she can pick and smell without "hurting" anything (like the tomatoes Daddy is trying to grow). Of course we picked some yellow flowers to plant along with pink ones and some lavender for Nora to smell.

Daddy taught Nora how to pour in the soil, pat it down, and create a hole for the plant to go into. Daddy did the actual planting while Nora played with her trowel. It was a fun for Nora and continues to be so as we make sure to take care of our plants by watering them. Then there is the fun of picking them and putting them in water in a little cup and having them to look at when we sit at the kitchen table.

the supplies are ready

using the trowel on the soil

smoothing out the soil before putting in the plants 

making a hole for the plants 

planting the flowers

Watering Daddy's plants

Weekend with Gammy (last month)

Every April(-ish), I have a four day work retreat in the Chicago that coincides with one of Jeff's work trips. For the past couple of years, Gammy (or Gam) Wells has come for the weekend to be with Nora.

 

Kitty cat pictures on the iPad

It was a great weekend! Nora and Gam played, read books, and were out-and-about town going to the grocery store and running errands. They also took a trip to Toys R Us and Nora picked out her very first baby doll. Her favorite thing to do with her baby doll is to have "Mommy rock" her (I'm Mommy, ha ha). 

Minnie ears and books

Nora didn't get to have all the fun though. I was able to enjoy the family time when I got back from the retreat, which I really appreciated.

April 2013

1st Ice Cream

Ice cream has always been a Bendon family favorite. I remember enjoying a bowl of Philadelphia Vanilla topped with a little honey with my dad as a kid. 

So the time had come to introduce Nora to the chilly and sweet deliciousness that is ice cream. We all enjoyed an easy-to-make homemade banana ice cream (dairy free, even). It was a hit! Next up, chocolate (of course!).

So Much Talking!

Nora's language is really blossoming! So much so that we are getting to a point where it's really challenging to keep track of it all. Here are some words and phrases that we've been able to capture...

Nora do and Nora do it
Mommy get it
Baby Gam (Graham) spoon (Graham is a boy at Nora's daycare)
Oh no Stella bark
Right there (when asked where something is, where something goes, where it hurts)
Lay down
Nora bite spoon
Nora's jammies
Mommy here you go
Yummy tummy (this makes me giggle)
Soap
Nora soap hands
Rainbow
Pretty
Plane
More planes
Tweet tweet (birds)
More tweet tweets
Pop
Grass
Many many fwowers (flowers)
Fram
Close
Open
Top
House
Cock a doodle doo
Nora site down (also Mommy, Daddy, and Stella sit down)
Lily, Evan, Amelia, and Graham (kids at day care)
Outside (said over and over and over and over and.....)
Pink
TV

And poop. Yes, Nora has learned to say poop and seems to understand what it is. She likes to pat her bottom and say poop, regardless of if she has indeed pooped. I do look forward to the time when Nora only tells us she pooped when she  actually has (and when she tells us before it happens for potty training).

Little Einsteins

We don't watch tv very often but if we do Little Einsteins is a favorite. She especially likes the episodes where animals are involved such as "He Speaks With Music", ""Super Fast", and "The Blue Footed Booby Bird Ballet."

Nora now joins in on the cute interactive portions, including "Blast Off!" We love it when she says, "Pat pat pat" followed by "Blast off!" as she throws her arms up over her head. We don't have a video of this yet, but here is a clip of it from the show.

Even better is when the group has to go SUPER FAST! Nora repeats the "Shake your whole body!" part and then goes into the "Blast off!" with her hands over her head. We even act that when the show isn't on.