What's New With Nora- 16 month edition

Nora's been 16 months for a few weeks now, but I thought I should record some of the new things she is doing before I forget and never remember the precious nuances of her at such a young age. She blows me away with how quickly she learns things. So many nights as Jonathan and I lay in bed about to fall asleep, our conversation turns to Nora--how much we love her, funny things she did that we recall and laugh about, how crazy it is that she is almost a year and a half old. I have been trying to appreciate her and cherish every little moment with her and hope that I keep that motivation over the next four months...the last four months that we will have JUST Nora. I know my attention will be divided once baby boy arrives, so I am trying to eat up all the time my little girl and I have together.

Here's what's new with my Nora Kathryn:

***Teeth- Last night I discovered that Nora has at least two of her molars that have broken through the gum line. There may be three, but I am only willing to keep my fingers in her mouth for a few daring seconds. That makes ten teeth! I think several more are in the works because I've noticed her gums appear swollen in some areas.

***Walking- No we're not on two feet yet, but she's getting closer every day. Cruising (walking by holding on to furniture or something else, for those who don't know that term) is a constant action and she has really improved in her balancing and confidence. A few times she's been daring enough to let go altogether and stand alone, but this is only for fractions of a second. She's also gotten better at walking behind a few of her toys that have wheels (her car or her new baby stroller). I'm convinced that when this girl DOES walk, she will go straight to running.

***Talking- As I have stated time and again, Nora is chatty! She will repeat almost anything you ask her to say to the best of her ability. My latest attempts have been to get her to say "brother." It sounds pretty close, but we have a few months to get it down. Right now it sounds like "bubby" or "bruba" or some other variation.

Here are some other words Nora has mastered: Layla ("ya-ya"), juice, milk, baby, bear, ball, bed, Elmo, Gumbo (my parent's dog), Grandpa ("Gampaw"), Nana, Granna, oh boy, oh my, come here ("'mere"), book ("boop").

One of my favorite things to hear Nora says usually happens after a tickle fest or when we are just being goofy and laughing. When I tickle her, she laughs really hard and lately she has started ending her laughs with "oooohhh Mommy." As if to say, "Mom, you are so funny." It melts my heart.

***Big Girl Room- We've been busy preparing for the baby's arrival in May. Over the Christmas holiday break, Jonathan painted our second guest bedroom a cheery yellow. This will be Nora's big girl room, and we are hoping to move her in in the next few weeks. We've got her "new" crib set up in there, and I've moved lots of toys in there. We're waiting for the rest of the furniture before we finish setting it up, but it's adorable. I'll have to post pictures soon. For the record, the new baby will move in to Nora's current room...so the nursery will remain the nursery.