15 Month Pediatrician Visit

I took Nora to the doctor on Friday for her 15 month check up.  Yes, it's almost 16 months.  I didn't realize that I needed a 15mo appt!

She weighed 17lb 14oz (<3 br="">
She was 50% for length and between 25-50% for head circumference.

The doctor we saw was a PITA, but that kind of stuff rolls off of my back now.  I wish people like her weren't spewing misinformation about breastfeeding though.

Nora got two shots, but she did great afterwards - no fever or obvious discomfort.

She is walking, "talking", and understands a lot more lately.  Her favorite things are animals, particularly dogs, but also horses (uh oh!).  She loves to sing and dance.  She is very feisty and does not particularly care for being treated as the 2nd child.  Hahaha!  She wants ALL of the attention. 

Nora loves to give hugs and kisses, too, and absolutely adores Joseph.  She loves to hug him, touch him, and aggravate him!  She races to his room in the morning - well, not anymore!  They are sharing a room!  Not sure if we'll keep it that way but we think it'll work well for now.

Breaking news!

Joseph and Nora are both asleep... In the same room! We moved the crib in there tonight to try it out. So far so good!

We night weaned Nora 2 weeks ago and I'm hopeful that she and Joseph can make each other feel less stressed about night time.

Cross your fingers!

Winter wonderland

Last week-ish we got a bucket load of snow. TJ was out of town, so Nora, Joseph, and I went out to tackle the shoveling. Our neighbors came to help us (I must look really pathetic, lol) and We got it all done before Nora had had enough! So we went and helped our neighbor for about 5 minutes until Nora turned into a little Popsicle. So fun!

Night weaning

To me, night weaning really signifies when my babies turn into toddlers. We started a long process with Joseph around this age (15 mos) and we felt it was the right time for Nora, too. We're handling things a little differently this time, though, and I have to say that the results so far have been amazing!

Phase 1: I moved in with Joseph at night this weekend. T.J. Still has Nora in our room. I nurse her before bed, give her to T.J. and don't look back! The first night she was up about 3 times (on the nice end of normal for her) and at 6am I went in because I was a leaky mess and needed relief! The second night she fussed while TJ was trying to brush his teeth and iron, but settled right down next to him and went to sleep! She woke up once, and I went in at 5:30. Tonight, no tears at all! Cannot even believe it. I'm so glad we waited until she was this age, she clearly understands and is able to cope just fine!

Phase 2: will be moving nap time to her crib in her room. Not gonna lie, I am dreading this.

Phase 3: daddy puts her to bed in her crib... Mom and Dad sleep all night. ;)

Nap time fun

Joseph's officially done napping. I thought that I'd be sad but it's actually really fun! Nora dropped down to one nap at the same time so Nora and I get some quality alone time in the morning and then Joseph and I have a fair amount of time together in the afternoon! I have to say that Joseph's mood has improved dramatically since this happened!

Signing, talking, and walking

Nora took her first steps about a month ago, but until the last couple of days she didn't really walk much. She is definitely getting the hang of it now and practicing on her own. She is so proud of herself! We are proud, too.

Besides walking, she has started signing a bit more... Mostly milk, more, all done, and bird. Haha it's very cute. She doesn't say too much for real but approximations of brother, teddy/bear, and thank you are in the regular rotation. she also has a complete sounding "daddy" now!

Such a big girl!

Nora meets her future roommate!

Probably wishful thinking, but we had a phenomenal time with all of my college bffs, even though all the babies and a couple of the adults fell sick! Tis the season I suppose.

Nora and Hadley are 6 days apart, and it was so fun to see them together! I think Joseph liked Hadley a lot, too. He was sad to find her gone on Tuesday morning!

Thank You!

Nora is starting to try and form words beyond Mama and Dada.  Most of it sounds the same, but she has started saying "thank you"! of all things (in generally appropriate ways)!  Such manners.  haha

She's also doing some animal sounds - or trying.  She can do the sheep, and is consistent with her dog sound, but it's not very dog like yet.  I'm pretty impressed!

She's walking a few more steps now.... and will try it of her own volition, but we still have a few weeks at least I think before she prefers it to crawling.

...

Joseph (or I?) have really turned a corner this last week.  We've dropped his nap completely.  If we're home, he has a little quiet time while I put Nora down and then we play together and read while she sleeps.  It's so so nice.  I really am enjoying our one-on-one time, and my goal this year is to do more of it with both of them.

He's really interested in the solar system right now, so we're finally venturing out of the truck/train book section of the library (HOORAY!).  Mama is geeked out to relearn some science facts!

Raising 'em Right

Last weekend I took Joseph to the municipal ice rink for an evaluation to start him on ice skating lessons. The teacher said he'd be ok in a weekday prep class but they ended up canceling the ones we could attend, so it looks like Mama is gonna get to relive her mini mite years!

We went out tonight and got Joseph his skates, so we're all set for open skate this weekend! Wish this mama luck, I'm gonna need it!

We're back

We're back, and bigger than ever! If you've been keeping up on Facebook you'll know that Nora had her first birthday, started walking, and grew hair! I just discovered the blogger app which I hope will allow me to post more often. I miss having this outlet to show the kids off!

Without further adieu, here they are today!