Norah Turns 2

Welp, we have officially have a 2-year-old on our hands, folks.

Here are some little details about Norah the 2-year-old that I don't want to forget:

• She calls herself "Nuh Nuh." I think that nickname's going to stick.
• She says "Jeezy" instead of Jesus. I love it.
• She is starting to sing along to music and especially loves music from "Frozen" (what child doesn't?).
• Yeah, she just loves anything "Frozen." That movie came out when she was just the right age to create a movie obsession. This is the first of many, I'm sure.
• She calls sandwiches "shuh-pas." No idea why. But I think we're going to keep that word around for a while, too.
• She has two dancing styles: moving her shoulders up and down and running around in circles.
• You know what? She just loves running around in circles, with or without music.
• Her favorite inside toys are puzzles, particularly her "Bear on the Go" set right now.
• She loves books. Her favorite stories are "The Monster at the End of This Book" and "Olivia Saves the Circus" (which I unfortunately need to return to the library soon).
• She loves to be outside, especially at Grandma and Poppa's house. She absolutely loves riding on her new tricycle, even though she's too short to reach the pedals.
• We can get her to try just about any food at least once, which means she has come a long way from her picky phase of a few months ago. I am so glad I don't have to make separate meals specifically for her. Her favorite foods are probably pizza, any type of noodle, and basically any fruit.
• Nap time is still a huge struggle for us. After hearing her doctor say that's fine if she starts phasing out naps now, I'm not so worried. And she's pretty good at entertaining herself so I can get things done if I need to. 

Also, this girl is apparently tiny. I've always known she's skinny, but I guess she's short now, too. At her two-year appointment, she was 24 pounds (10th percentile) and 31 inches (25th percentile). What the what?! I'm not really surprised by her weight, although that is down from 25th percentile at her 18-month checkup. But the height?! That's down from 75th! The doctor was a little shocked at first, but she didn't seem concerned, especially since Norah is a great eater. Must be all of that running in circles.

We had a  great birthday weekend, celebrating our little two year old. Since her birthday fell on a Monday, we had a party with some of her friends on the Saturday before and then a little family party (just us and Grandma and Poppa Nelson) on her actual birthday. So many chances to celebrate. Aren't birthdays the best?

These pictures are from the friend party. I did better than last year, where I only got pictures of Norah eating her cake. But I still didn't get a shot of Norah with all of her friends. That will be my goal for next year.

I'm actually pretty happy with how my Pinterest-inspired decorations turned out. I'm not much a party decorater (or party thrower, for that matter), and I have ZERO patience for decorating cupcakes, so this was pretty good for me.

Norah and her bestie, Alivia. I love how much these two love each other (although that love apparently doesn't automatically equal the ability to share). 

Norah and Evan, her betrothed. Seriously, I have it all planned out. Someday, these two are going to meet again at BYU and realize their parents were good friends back in the day and then they'll fall in love and get married. 

I love how present opening is pure chaos. Each kid is just as excited as the birthday girl to open the presents.

 Look at that. I finally remembered to get a shot of the three of us. It happened partly because I told Edie we weren't allowed to leave their house until we got a picture and she made sure it happened.

Norah's actual birthday was much more laid back but still filled with her favorite things: waffles for breakfast, playing at the mall play place, pizza for dinner, and presents. She even managed to get out of napping and still stay in a good mood (until just before bedtime).

 Norah got this awesome play hut, which she loved immediately. We call it Nuh Nuh's house.

Those would be ghetto candles, AKA matches. Turns out we have no candles in our house. Oops.

I was nervous about planning a birthday because that's not really my thing. But then I had to realize that she was turning 2. She couldn't care less about the party. Just give her some cake and a couple bags stuffed with tissue paper to call a present, and she's set.

So, I'd say she had a pretty great birthday.