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| Here it is, at 11 months and 13 days old, her first tooth! |
It's that tiny little light spot on her gums on her left (your right). We found it a week ago Sunday but I haven't been able to get a good picture of it until now.
Monday, December 19, 2011
First Tooth!
It's that tiny little light spot on her gums on her left (your right). We found it a week ago Sunday but I haven't been able to get a good picture of it until now.
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Unbreakable Tree
Every special, important, or fragile ornament on our "real tree" will be at my waist-height or higher for at least the next few years. I say this even though last year the only person to shatter a cherished ornament was me and my clumsey, pregnant, sausage fingers. Norah is really careful around the tree and Penny, while interested, hasn't made any attempts to pull it over on herself just yet.
Still, I wanted Norah to have a tree all to herself. One that she could decorate and re-decorate as she saw fit. I decided to put it just outside her room. She's incredibly good about staying in her bed at night, but a Christmas tree ripe for the decorating might be too much temptation.
We had plenty of small stuffed animals to use as ornaments. Since the tree is still 6 feet tall, she had to direct me in placing the higher ones. Ultimately, it was Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl who got the roll of "Angel" at the top! A few of her stuffed animal ornament selections were just too big to go on the tree, so Chongo (the gorilla), Teddy, Ladybug and Pink Doggy were appointed to guard the tree instead.
Still, I wanted Norah to have a tree all to herself. One that she could decorate and re-decorate as she saw fit. I decided to put it just outside her room. She's incredibly good about staying in her bed at night, but a Christmas tree ripe for the decorating might be too much temptation.
We had plenty of small stuffed animals to use as ornaments. Since the tree is still 6 feet tall, she had to direct me in placing the higher ones. Ultimately, it was Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl who got the roll of "Angel" at the top! A few of her stuffed animal ornament selections were just too big to go on the tree, so Chongo (the gorilla), Teddy, Ladybug and Pink Doggy were appointed to guard the tree instead.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Best Christmas Picture Ever
Back when Norah went to daycare full-time the director, Michelle, had her brother-in-law come and play Santa during Christmas time (since Santa Himself was a little busy at that time of year).
When this picture was taken, Norah was 16 months old. We had talked that morning about Santa coming to her school and taking pictures with everyone. When I dropped her off she was super excited. Clearly, the excitement wore off a bit.
Incidentally, Michelle is AMAZING and if you live in my area and need childcare, call me. I'll hook you up.
When this picture was taken, Norah was 16 months old. We had talked that morning about Santa coming to her school and taking pictures with everyone. When I dropped her off she was super excited. Clearly, the excitement wore off a bit.
The moment I saw this picture it was my favorite. It still is.
Incidentally, Michelle is AMAZING and if you live in my area and need childcare, call me. I'll hook you up.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Awesome Party
We went to a party at Jan's.
We could pretty much do Whatever.
She had a photo booth set up.
We could wear hats, or not.
We could be serious, or not.
Clearly, it was an awesome party.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Eleven Months
She was eleven months old Monday the 28th and she started crawling on Friday the 25th. Her sister walked at a week before 10 months. They're so similar... but so very, very different.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Two. Different, But Not Too Different.
...Or, the title in which I demonstrate the importance of spelling and punctuation. :-)
My two girls - The Jones Clones, as I sometimes call them - are very similar. For better or for worse, I don't think they'll ever have to worry about people not realizing that they're sisters. Sometimes though, their similarity only serves to point out their differences to this Momma.
My oldest is the consummate first child. She takes it upon herself daily to make sure that others are following the rules and "doing it right". She already bosses around her little sister and then tattles on her when she doesn't follow directions. It's been months since we started having talks about the fact that she's not the mommy and her only job is to be a good example so that her sister knows how to follow the rules. It's not her job to force her sister to do things her way or to discipline her when she does them wrong.
She's also a spitfire, a spark plug, a live wire. When she grows up, she will be one of those people that other people call "indomitable". When she sets her mind to something.... It. Will. Get. Done.
We have known since she was very young that she will be an influencer. Whether for good or for mischief, she will lead others. It's our responsibility as her parents to teach her how to make wise decisions so that her influence will be positive. We have been working, little by little, in age appropriate ways, to teach her to be a discerning decision maker. Even now, we're so proud of how well she thinks through her choices before making them.
Teaching her to hone her critical thinking skills has created some pretty funny "toddler logic" situations. For instance, just after she turned 3, she started to practice "leading questions" to help her get the answers she wants. A typical scenario would go something like this:
"Daddy, are you making dinner in the kitchen?"
"I sure am."
"And you have to stay in the kitchen while you make dinner, huh?"
"Yup."
"But I don't have to stay in the kitchen, do I?"
"Nope"
"So... since you have to stay in the kitchen while you're making dinner and I don't, can we turn off your movie and I can watch my movie?"
Wow. That's my girl!
Well, that's my first girl. My second girl is a little bit different.
Girl #2 is a whole different kind of handful. Much more easy going than her big sister, she's used to not being the center of attention every single second. She also uses this fact to her advantage and quietly gets into mischief when we're not looking. This talent has resulted in few smashed fingers from playing in drawers and probably a handful of crumbs (or dog hair, ew!) eaten off the floor. Obviously a second child, she yells when she needs something, usually because it's the only way to be heard over her jabbering big sister.
She's already played the little sister victim card. At about 10 months of age, no less! The girls were in their car seats and her big sister playfully patted her hand. She started screaming bloody murder, looking at me as if to say, "Big Sister hit me!" I had been standing right there watching and said to her, "She didn't do anything to you. Cut out the screaming." Little Sister stopped screaming immediately, looked at me, and shrugged as if to say, "Hey, it was worth a shot." Seriously, already!?!
She's not as progress-focused as her big sister. She seems to just "enjoy the ride" a little better. By that I mean that when my first girl discovered sitting up, she never wanted to lay down again. When she discovered standing, sitting up was so five minutes ago. Once she could cruise the furniture, she wanted nothing to do with standing still. When her baby sister is sitting up and falls over, she says, "Uh oh" and rolls off to find another fun activity. For her, it's not a giant failure. It's just a new opportunity to see the world from a different angle.
Because of her easy going nature, she seems like she might be developing her physical skills a little more slowly. Her big sister had been walking for over a month by this age. Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, she started to crawl. I alternate between being slightly worried and being really excited that I don't have to deal with a walking infant - which is exactly what her big sister looked like. The truth is, she's still developing faster than the "normal" development curve.
We thought that since we had such a verbal first child, we would perhaps get a quieter one the second time around. Not a chance. She talkes up a storm. Actual, recognizable words include all of our names (Mama, Daddy, Sister, Bob), "Thank You", "uh oh" and most recently "cracker". She also makes the following animal sounds/faces, puppy, elephant, giraffe, fishy, monkey, cow, dog and dinosaur.
We can already see that our sweet girl #2 is a sparkler. She's going to be the girl who lights up a room. Even her presence is uplifting, I can't wait to see the way she encourages people when she can finally form a sentance or two. She is already so sympathetic and tuned in to the feelings of others. I know that as she grows she will be the kind of girl who has just the right words to speak life to troubled friends and family. Just like with her sister, our main job will be to make sure that she develops discernment so that she can encourage others to do the right things. Neither of our girls will be followers, so we need to teach them to be good leaders.
Did I ever think I'd be the mom of two exceptional, active, sparkly, tough girls? Honestly, no. But I've got two. Different, but not too different daughters. And that suits me just fine.
Stay tuned for a crawling video! I've been trying to upload it since she turned 11 months on Monday but Blogger hates me. It'll be up soon, I promise!
My two girls - The Jones Clones, as I sometimes call them - are very similar. For better or for worse, I don't think they'll ever have to worry about people not realizing that they're sisters. Sometimes though, their similarity only serves to point out their differences to this Momma.
My oldest is the consummate first child. She takes it upon herself daily to make sure that others are following the rules and "doing it right". She already bosses around her little sister and then tattles on her when she doesn't follow directions. It's been months since we started having talks about the fact that she's not the mommy and her only job is to be a good example so that her sister knows how to follow the rules. It's not her job to force her sister to do things her way or to discipline her when she does them wrong.
She's also a spitfire, a spark plug, a live wire. When she grows up, she will be one of those people that other people call "indomitable". When she sets her mind to something.... It. Will. Get. Done.
We have known since she was very young that she will be an influencer. Whether for good or for mischief, she will lead others. It's our responsibility as her parents to teach her how to make wise decisions so that her influence will be positive. We have been working, little by little, in age appropriate ways, to teach her to be a discerning decision maker. Even now, we're so proud of how well she thinks through her choices before making them.
Teaching her to hone her critical thinking skills has created some pretty funny "toddler logic" situations. For instance, just after she turned 3, she started to practice "leading questions" to help her get the answers she wants. A typical scenario would go something like this:
"Daddy, are you making dinner in the kitchen?"
"I sure am."
"And you have to stay in the kitchen while you make dinner, huh?"
"Yup."
"But I don't have to stay in the kitchen, do I?"
"Nope"
"So... since you have to stay in the kitchen while you're making dinner and I don't, can we turn off your movie and I can watch my movie?"
Wow. That's my girl!
Well, that's my first girl. My second girl is a little bit different.
Girl #2 is a whole different kind of handful. Much more easy going than her big sister, she's used to not being the center of attention every single second. She also uses this fact to her advantage and quietly gets into mischief when we're not looking. This talent has resulted in few smashed fingers from playing in drawers and probably a handful of crumbs (or dog hair, ew!) eaten off the floor. Obviously a second child, she yells when she needs something, usually because it's the only way to be heard over her jabbering big sister.
She's already played the little sister victim card. At about 10 months of age, no less! The girls were in their car seats and her big sister playfully patted her hand. She started screaming bloody murder, looking at me as if to say, "Big Sister hit me!" I had been standing right there watching and said to her, "She didn't do anything to you. Cut out the screaming." Little Sister stopped screaming immediately, looked at me, and shrugged as if to say, "Hey, it was worth a shot." Seriously, already!?!
She's not as progress-focused as her big sister. She seems to just "enjoy the ride" a little better. By that I mean that when my first girl discovered sitting up, she never wanted to lay down again. When she discovered standing, sitting up was so five minutes ago. Once she could cruise the furniture, she wanted nothing to do with standing still. When her baby sister is sitting up and falls over, she says, "Uh oh" and rolls off to find another fun activity. For her, it's not a giant failure. It's just a new opportunity to see the world from a different angle.
Because of her easy going nature, she seems like she might be developing her physical skills a little more slowly. Her big sister had been walking for over a month by this age. Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, she started to crawl. I alternate between being slightly worried and being really excited that I don't have to deal with a walking infant - which is exactly what her big sister looked like. The truth is, she's still developing faster than the "normal" development curve.
We thought that since we had such a verbal first child, we would perhaps get a quieter one the second time around. Not a chance. She talkes up a storm. Actual, recognizable words include all of our names (Mama, Daddy, Sister, Bob), "Thank You", "uh oh" and most recently "cracker". She also makes the following animal sounds/faces, puppy, elephant, giraffe, fishy, monkey, cow, dog and dinosaur.
We can already see that our sweet girl #2 is a sparkler. She's going to be the girl who lights up a room. Even her presence is uplifting, I can't wait to see the way she encourages people when she can finally form a sentance or two. She is already so sympathetic and tuned in to the feelings of others. I know that as she grows she will be the kind of girl who has just the right words to speak life to troubled friends and family. Just like with her sister, our main job will be to make sure that she develops discernment so that she can encourage others to do the right things. Neither of our girls will be followers, so we need to teach them to be good leaders.
Did I ever think I'd be the mom of two exceptional, active, sparkly, tough girls? Honestly, no. But I've got two. Different, but not too different daughters. And that suits me just fine.
Stay tuned for a crawling video! I've been trying to upload it since she turned 11 months on Monday but Blogger hates me. It'll be up soon, I promise!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Little Helper
Her absolute favorite thing to do at Great Grandpa's house is help feed Annie, his horse. Needless to say, at three *whole* years old, she's an expert helper.
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