June Happenings

Dear Norah Bird,
The last few weeks have been a busy time for you. You continue to grow and develop in ways that blow my mind. For starters, we packed up most of your 9 month clothes and you are now almost exclusively wearing 12 month clothes with a few 18 month onesies and outfits thrown in there. Luckily we have lots of hand-me-downs from your cousins Natalie and Alivia, as well as your friends Abby and Zoe to get us started. However, we're always on the hunt for more seasonally appropriate clothes and pajamas as it seems these gals (2 of whom are also fall/winter babies) may have been a little more petite than you at your age.

A sad parenting moment for me this past week was admitting that my 7-month old baby girl needed 12-month pajamas. You were busting out of your 9-month pjs and fit perfectly into the longer 12-month ones but at this size the pjs look less like infant-wear and more like little kid clothes. The padded/grippy feet were difficult for me to accept. I searched all over for 12-month pjs that didn't have these but they all do! Your dad pointed out that this is because kids that normally wear this size are usually walking. I did not want to hear this because you're still my baby! You're too young for padded footie pajamas!

Waking up from a nap in her big girl pajamas.

Perhaps what is not surprising is that you're also eating more big girl food. Your menu now consists of 4 veggies and 4 fruits as well as your rice cereal. We continue to add a new veggie or fruit every 4-6 days and so far you seem to enjoy most of them. At first you're a little messy with a new taste but then you seem to enjoy it. Although you're still holding out on the carrots which you don't like at all and we have to mix them with peas to get you to eat them. We've also added a breakfast meal so that now you are eating 3 times/day. Daddy and I are enjoying making all of your food ourselves - it's so easy!

Getting messy with the green beans!

In addition to your impressive girth, your personality continues to grow and change. We're starting to see some hints of stubbornness and independence that are likely to amplify as you grow older. Whereas you used to be easily distracted, you're now starting to fuss when we take things away from you. Fussiness is relative as you were never a very fussy baby. You don't make a huge stink but you do whine a little before settling into a laugh/smile/happy noise moments later.

You also don't like not being able to do what you want. Changing your diaper and/or clothes has become a sporting event not unlike a rodeo. For some reason you want to roll over onto your stomach as soon as you're laid down on the changing table. And for an infant you are incredibly strong. I keep wrestling you back over onto your back as you throw an all-out-bucking-bronco fit. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This sometimes continues until we eventually wrestle ourselves onto the floor where I change your diaper without danger of you falling off the changing table. I think it would be easier to put a diaper on a cat.

On a positive note, you've been sleeping through the night and giving me taking longer naps during the day. You're becoming more active and although you're not crawling yet, I fear feel we're getting close. You've also learned to propel yourself in your doorway bouncy swing so that you bounce off the walls and door frame in an entertaining game of bumper-swinging. This could potentially keep you entertained for hours but I am never far away for fear that the hanging mechanism might come loose and you'll fling yourself down the hallway.

Video Link: Norah the Swinging Monkey

Last week you visited your friend, Lucius, who is 9 months old. We haven't seen Lucius since Christmastime and it was great to catch up with his parents for dinner and see how much he's grown. Because Lucius was born almost exactly 2 months before you, I've always used him as a gauge as to where you might be in a couple months time. So it was a shock to see him crawling, semi-walking, and even practicing his first words! It was also nice to visit one on one with a baby close to your age. You love getting together with all of your baby friends here as well, but sometimes you enjoy just the one on one time. You and Lucius took right to each other. You both were curious babies - exploring each others faces and hair. And not always in a gentle way.

Lucius and Norah.

Amy with Norah and Lucius.

Why do babies always want what the other baby has?

We had a fabulous dinner with Lucius's parents but it ran a little late and into your bedtime. Having you in a routine has worked great for us and we try to be mindful of your needs. You're mostly flexible but when you're tired, you're TIRED (Dad says you get that from me) which is understandable. We were able to keep you distracted with some pea puree through dinner while Lucius passed out in his high chair. But then the 45-minute ride home was a nightmare. You were too tired to put yourself to sleep on your own and got all worked up. So at the next stop sign I hopped in the back seat in an attempt to comfort and distract you which only made matters worse. It was probably like having exactly what you need, just out of reach. So I think we know where this adventure is heading. And yes, I did. By utilizing my acrobatic skills and jabbing the side of your car seat up under my rib, I was able to safely (parenting is all about using terms relatively) comfort and nurse you to sleep. Mother. Of. The. Year.

When we got home later that night, we were met by Auntie Em and Uncle Ryan who drove down from NY to spend the weekend with us. They were so happy to see you (and brought you a cute new outfit!) and we had a fabulous weekend driving around in Auntie Em's new car doing all sorts of fun stuff.

Seriously? Where are we going now?

Norah with Uncle Ryan and Auntie Em.

Of course, we had our music class on Saturday morning. Uncle Ryan and I sat on the sidelines and watched while you had so much fun with your Auntie Em. I think she had fun too.

"We go go go and STOP!"

Video Link: Norah and Auntie Em Music Class

After music class it was a weekend full of wineries, antiquing, dinner out, ice cream, and trains. You handled this all very well and overall had a great time. We had a little breakdown at dinner for the first time. Dinner out has gotten a little more challenging in that you are now very grabby and your wingspan continues to increase. We now put you in the restaurant high chairs and you sit up and eat your baby food like a big girl eating out. For some reason this wasn't enough to keep you happy through dinner so we were a little rushed and I ended up eating most of my dinner at home later. Oh - and annoyingly, Auntie Em and I had to run out to the parking lot during dinner to change your diaper in the trunk of her car because there was no changing station in either of the restrooms! We are finding this to be a common problem and I'm shocked at the number of places we end up that don't have changing tables in their restrooms. Is this a Delaware thing? It's 2012 - shouldn't all public restrooms have changing stations by now? I mean, if the restaurant has high chairs, don't you think they could accommodate their baby guests' other needs?

Showing off her chompers and toes at the winery.

Getting back to your fussiness, I should mention that I find it hilarious that when you're through with something you feel the need to get it as far away from you as physically possible. It's not enough to just show disinterest in an object and move on. You have to first push and then kick it far out of your reach. This applies to food, your sippy cup, toys, books, stuffed animals, and even me. You now enjoy letting objects plummet to the floor. Despite its inconvenience, your father and I still find this behavior amusing. I'm sure it will get old quick.

Although I wish you were snugglier, you are just not to be cuddled. There are rare moments when you first wake up when you'll snuggle half-asleep for a minute or two. But otherwise you assert your independence and keep me in my place which, apparently, is close but not too close. And, as I mentioned before, you are not fond of cuddly lovey blankets or stuffed animals. Mostly you aren't exposed to them as they currently reside high on a shelf out of Oakley's reach because he does love him some stuffed animal insides. However, there was one day this week when I tossed you a Snuggle Puppy stuffed animal from your Great Aunt Roxy to play with as I folded laundry in your nursery.

Video Link: Norah and Snuggle Puppy 1

Video Link: Norah and Snuggle Puppy 2

(Both of these videos are so cute - I couldn't choose which one to include!)

I have never seen you so happy to be playing with a stuffed animal. For a brief moment you were captivated by a cute, cuddly toy and I thought, "This is it! She just had to find the right one!" In the days that followed I kept Snuggle Puppy around thinking you might grow attached to him. But he just makes his way onto the floor and pushed out of sight like anything else.

On Monday we attended your first nature program at Ashland Nature Center. The Delaware Nature Society had a program for kids to meet their month-old Mallard ducklings and I thought you would enjoy it. Unfortunately you missed your afternoon nap that day and so we were running on a short fuse. But we went anyways and you seemed to enjoy yourself and the acoustics of the large room we were in.

Watching the ducky slide show with the big kids.

You sat patiently through the 5 minute slide show while the older kids learned about the ducks and then we headed outside to meet a few of the new ducklings. Unfortunately, I had my hands full with you (have I mentioned the squirming?) and so I was unable to take pictures. But your meeting with the ducks wasn't exactly a proud kodak moment for either of us. 

The ducklings were first brought out and plopped on the grass in the middle of a circle of excited children. You enjoyed seeing them but not any more than anything else around you. You were taking it all in and so at this point it wasn't clear to you that these little fluff balls were the reason we were here. Each child then got a chance to touch or hold the ducklings for a photo. Because you were much younger than any of the other children and were ignorant to the fact that something really cool was about to happen, we waited for everyone else to go first. When it was finally your turn, the nice nature guy brought the duckling over to you. You paused in your squirming, reached out to the cute little duckling....and pulled it's tail. That poor duckling squawked and fretted until I was able to pry its tail from your determined grip. Not our best performance.

Undeterred by the duckling incident, you carried on with enjoying and entertaining yourself as you always do. Mom takes you to a nature program and all you want to do is explore the grassy lawn. If only I had known better, we could've saved a tail feather or two.

Love,
Mom

Grass is so fascinating!