16-Month Details

There are so many little things Norah does, and I absolutely adore them and never want to forget them. I am terrible at journaling them, so I'll blog them instead. I love these little details about my baby girl. Some have been going on for almost her whole life, and some are new things she's recently picked up.

She has always loved having her feet up. From the first time her feet could reach, she insisted on putting her feet up on the bar of her bouncy chair.

Her at 4 months

And since her first time in a high chair, she has always put her feet up to the edge of the tray. Her chair is usually pushed up to the table nowadays, and she likes to push her feet against the table (or Rich's leg if he is close). And then, Rich captured this gem last Saturday of her watching football, propping her feet up like it's no big deal.

It's amazing how much she reminds me of Rich in this picture. Watching sports with the legendary basketball pillow.

Norah loves to do laps. She walks in circles around the coffee table. There's a path she treads through our kitchen, dining room, and entryway. She walks around and around Grandma and Poppa Nelson's living room and kitchen. Even at church, she likes to make a loop in the gym. I guess she's ready for running on a track - I just hope she inherited her daddy's speed.

Norah loves all three of her blankies right now. She sleeps with them, and she carries them around much of the day. Today when she was pouting she found comfort by snuggling one of them. If she sees one of her blankies sitting on the floor, she'll stop whatever she's doing (usually her laps), and lay down to cuddle with it.

I've tried very inconsistently to teach her some sign language, and the one sign that has really stuck with her is "more" (even though it looks more like the sign for "again"). It usually means one of three things: at Grandma and Poppa's house it means cookies (Nilla Wafers), by our fridge it means cheese, and in her high chair it means pumpkin waffle. Which probably gives you a hint of what her favorite foods are right now.

 No matter how many times I sign it the right way, Norah has decided to sign "more" by taking her pointer finger on one hand and tapping it the palm of her other hand.

Most of Norah's babble makes no sense, but it sure is adorable when she gets going. Sometimes I think it would be nice to actually know what she's trying to say (if anything), but I know I'm going to miss her meaningless jabber when real words take its place.

She does know a couple words, if you can coax her into saying them: Momma (finally!), Dada, Poppa, cheese, shoe, ball, waffle. If she's in the right mood, she'll do some animal noises. Dog, cat, cow, pig, lion.

This girl loves puppies. If she so much as hears a dog barking, her eyes light up and she says, "Oof!" ("Woof!"). She doesn't really know what to do with them once they are close, and she's hesitant to actually touch them. But she watches them with great fascination. Someday you'll have one of your own, Norah. Someday.

Norah is an expert at giving kisses now. She used to go for it open-mouthed, but she has now conquered the pucker. She almost always gives kisses when you ask her to and sometimes even when you don't ask for them. She'll even give kisses to her stuffed animals and characters in books.

She started doing this on her own, and now she always kisses this page in this book.

She prefers soft-page books to board books, which means she likes to tear the books I don't want her getting in to off the shelf. I just need to accept the fact that kids books will get ruined, but it's so hard to do that while they're still gleaming in perfection.

She loves to say "shhhh" for quiet and sleeping. Any time we read "Go, Dog. Go!" at bedtime, she takes her binky out at the part where all the dogs are asleep to whisper "shhhh!" There's a part in her book "I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" where there's a shark and you're supposed to whisper, and she always puts her finger to her lips to say "sh!" I noticed yesterday that she even shushes in books that she's not familiar with. We were reading "I Am a Monster" at Grandma and Poppa's house, and she shushed at the end when the monster was going to bed. It's so fun to see how much she is learning everyday.

She folds her arms for prayers, but she sneaks food with one arm still folded.

Anytime Rich is sitting or laying on the floor, she insists on sitting on top of him. Sometimes Rich likes to nap on the floor, but that's pretty hard when Norah sits on his face or stomach. If I sit on the floor, she'll walk up to me, and then kick into reverse to sit on my lap. It's absolutely adorable.

Oh man, I love this girl.

I do declare that there are few things cuter than a baby in footie pajamas. 

We tried watching "Ratatouille" together one gloomy day. She loved it. For about 5 minutes.

  Norah has discovered the funnest new toys in the bathroom. The first time she got to them I almost stopped her, but, hey, what harm can she really do with them, right?

We suffered through the BYU-Utah game, yet again. Maybe by the time Norah will be able to remember the games, BYU will win them. But at least we had good company at the Wallaces' house! Norah was a hit with the boys, teaching them how to use a stroller.

Norah has Rich's old phone as a toy, and somehow she came up with this message.

 We've never done selfies together before. Norah loved the front facing camera! She loves to see pictures of herself. I think she knows just how cute she is.

I tried my hand at a maxi skirt, and I think it actually turned out pretty good. I'm not sure I'm in love with the fabric, but I think I like the tutorial I found if I ever make another one.

And finally, this smile. Oh my goodness, she could not get any cuter!