Talky talky talky

My favorite word that Nora is saying right now is "Almost!" As in, we are almost home or almost done with something. It's so stinkin' cute. I also love that when we pull into our driveway she says, "Hooome." It's what I would say when we got home and now she it's her job to alert us of our return to the house. She also likes calling out to you by saying, "Where are you?" which kind of sounds like "Whereareyouuuuu?" all smooshed together into one word. When she says, "Listen" she puts her hand up to cheek or ear and gets real still.

Nora is also working on more sentence type contruction. The other day she said "Closed eyes birdies" when referring to sleeping birds in a book.

More to add to the list:
Listen
Almost
Home
Mommy kiss
Daddy kiss
Nora kiss
This
Turn this way
Zebra
Piano
Train
Plane
Mommy open please
Pony
Socks and shoes
Thank you Stell (Stella, the dog)
Here you go Stell
Eat food
Eat water mouth (to drink)
Nora hot food (and then blows on it)
Nora sit down on mommy lap
Mommy's lap
Hiccups
Up top Daddy's head
Rhino
Bathroom
Music
Reach
Nora do it

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).

Talkin' About Talking

Nora's language continues to develop, which I am enjoying so much! She's moving from two-word combos to short sentences. Some of the little phrases we often hear include:

"Daddy (Mommy, Stella), where are you?"
"Thank you Mommy."
"Excuse me Mommy."
"More berries please."
"Daddy, spin Nora."
"Stella, outside."

1 + 1 = 2 Words

Nora's language continues to develop and I just love it! She is learning more words, puts two words together now, and has become quite the little mimic. We definitely have to be mindful of what we say these days. For example, sometimes we have to tell Stella "No." Nora will hear this and think that she should then say "No, no, no!" to Stella. It's kind of cute and funny, but we do want her to learn what is for Mommy and Daddy to say and what is for Nora to say. And to not walk around hollering "No, no, no" to random dogs. :)

Some of Nora's favorite two-word combinations:
Mommy In
Daddy In
Stella outside
Nora seat or Nora sit (and Mommy seat, Daddy seat)
Sit down
Up please
More please
Mommy up
Daddy up
More fruit
I know
Oh man

Huppo-G (her Hippopotamus and Giraffe lovies)

Some new words that are showing up in Nora's vocabulary:

Stella

Pearl

Draw

Handle

Alright

Boat

Toot toot

Choo-choo

Pink

Oink

Hop

Meow

Button

Flower

Out

18 months and 2 weeks

18 months!
That is half way to 2 years old.
I don't know what to say about that so for now I'll say nothing. :)

For us, 18 months has brought with is toddler behavior. Although Nora really is a very cheerful and fun child, she has definitely begun expressing frustration when she has to do something she doesn't want to do, like getting her diaper changed or putting on her coat. Although I don't like seeing Nora get so upset and although it takes a lot of patience and effort to get out of the house and settled in the car at times, we just keep changing diapers and putting on coats and getting buckled into car seats and dealing with tears.

It's not all a fight for toddler independence though!

Nora's sense of humor is blossoming and it is so fun to watch and hear her laugh at something that she finds funny. These days, Jeff and I will do anything, no matter how goofy, to get that giggle going.

Sweet smiles

Along with the giggling, we love hearing all the new words that she is learning. I'm doing my best to keep a list of each new one, but sometimes I can't keep up! This past week she has really enjoyed saying "handle" and "I know." We learned handle at the indoor playground and Nora learned "I know" from me. I have a little mimic and I'm reminded on a regularly basis that I need to watch what comes out of my mouth.

She is also starting being able to climb on chairs and stools more independently. This is both exciting and terrifying. For Christmas, we got Nora her very own arm chair. Not only does she like to climb all over it, she also turns it into a bit of a fort. When it's time to play this way, Nora tips her chair over and yells, "IN!" Below Daddy is "in" with Nora and they are spelling out her name, which is embroidered on her her chair.

IN!

Nora still loves getting outside whenever we can, but those days are few given the winter season. To get out and about we have been venturing to the indoor playground, Barnes and Nobles (they've added a toy section and Lego table), and we still have lunch with my co-workers on Tuesdays. Sometimes we head to the library for story time, too.

So the consensus on 18 months is that it is exciting, exhausting, and exhilarating.

More Words

We have a chatty Nora on our hands! I know that is very surprising given how talkative her parents are.  :) We really do love hearing her speak and are occasionally blown away when she says a new word. Last week's surprise-to-mommy-word was "purple."

Here are some more words that she is using:

Purple
Yellow
Hand
Ear
Hair
Belly button
Apple sauce (this is adorable - applebaba is how is sounds when she says it)
Bark bark
Hippo
Bath
Choo choo
Hot dog
Minnie (for Minnie Mouse)
Milk (sounds like "moe")
Bye
Duck
Fruit
Kick
Hop
Stomp

Enjoying some applebaba.

For the first list of words that we posted, click here.

Words

I love to hear Nora talking. Her little voice just makes my heart so dang happy!

It is so amazing to hear her learn and use new words. It is also fun to hear the tone that she uses when saying different words. In the morning, it is especially sweet to hear her babble away in her bed when she wakes up.

I've been trying to keep a log of all the words that she is using. Here is what we've got:

Dada
Daddy
Mom Mom
Ma (usually shouted)
Dog Dog
Oof Oof (what the dog-dog says)
Hat (said while she taps her head)
What's That
Up
Down
Uht oh
No
Nunt-uh (for no)
Dolly
Bunny
Knock Knock
Baaaaa (what the sheep says)
Thank you (well, sometimes)
Weee
Boom (while bumping fists or feet)
Apple
Boot
Bubble
Stop
Buckle
Owl
Stella
Bye
Mine
Cheeeese (into the camera)
Vroom
Hello
Book

As Nora's vocabulary grows, I'll add them to the list. Next up, saying 2 words together?? I can't wait!

Good Morning!
Snuggles with Daddy, Dolly, and Bunny.