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.

Then and Now: April

It's fun to see the difference in Nora as she grows and I especially love comparing pictures from one year to the next. Here is Nora last April (2012) when she was just beginning to stand while holding onto something. 

April 2012

And here she is this April (2013), on the move and running around in her pjs and birthday crown. I can't even imagine what next April will bring.

April 2013

Craftin'

The spring-time weather we have been hoping for hasn't been consistent enough to be able to spend very much time outside so we are trying to get creative indoors. In addition to playing with our toys, we've started to get crafty!

We started out with crayons and stickers, or as Nora calls them, "sticks." Her favorite way to play with the "sticks" is to peel them all off and put them all on Mommy and Daddy.

It's still a little early for Nora to play with the manufactured play doh, but I found a recipe for "chocolate" play doh that I can whip up on the stove in 5 minutes. It smells wonderful and tastes terrible, but at least if Nora tries to eat it it's just flour, salt, cocoa, etc. She likes it when we make "baby rocks" (tiny balls) and when we chop it with her little tools.

Playing with "chocolate" play-doh 

Each month we get a box from this company called "Citrus Lane"that contains a collection of products to try out. This month's box contained a paint with water book. I remember having one of those as a kid and just loved it. Although Nora's attention span with this particular craft was a little short, she still had fun and kept saying, "Paint, paint. Mommy, paint."

Painting with water

On the few days we have been able to spend a little time outside, Nora has had fun scribbling with her side walk chalk. She says, "Daw. Nora Daw. Mommy Daw." and it just makes my heart warm (as I stand freezing in the windy Spring air).

"Daw" with side walk chalk

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."

Sick Day

Nora caught a bug that Mommy picked up from a work trip. This is what the first sick day looked like for our poor little girl:

Even books made Nora sad when she didn't feel good.

Sick day snuggles watching Little Einsteins

Sleepy baby