Once upon a time, during the "Great Recession," a couple learned they were expecting their first child. The couple felt very blessed but because jobs were scarce, they had to move far away from family and friends to a land called Delaware. It was here that their beautiful daughter, Norah, arrived in the fall of 2011. Written as letters and stories told to Norah, her parents hope this blog will serve as a way to share Norah’s growth and small moments with those who love her.
It's been a while. Rather than play catch-up on major life events since I've last written (namely the arrival of your baby sister, Claire!) I'll just dive back into the everyday stuff this blog was intended to capture.
Norah Elizabeth and Claire Emily
I've really been enjoying my time with you and Claire at home. We have our little routines and rituals that get us through the day and bring us smiles. And being that you are now a toddler of three, we also have our little bargaining and negotiating tactics. Mostly these revolve around nap time. You have been revolting against your afternoon naps with a stubbornness that I attribute to being your father's daughter. I wouldn't mind so much if you didn't need your nap, but you DO still really need your nap. Our evenings are miserable when you don't get it. Such is the power of the toddler.
But today, you took a nap! And your reward was getting to stay up "late" and watch a "movie." Daddy made some popcorn for us. You and Claire each got your own little bowl - purple for you as it's now your favorite color. I found a 10 minute Olivia video on youtube that we played on the television. We all snuggled up, munched on our snack and watched the "movie." Little did you notice that you and your sister were still bathed, read to, sung to and snuggled into bed by 7:45.
Popcorn and jammies!
And so until you're old enough to know better, this is likely how the occasional family movie night will go. Because as a toddler, you have a lot of influence over a lot of things. But mommy and daddy still like to think we're in charge some of the time.
Once Upon a Timethere was a little girl named Norah who was becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl every day. So for Father's Day, her mother tried to get some new "DAD" pictures of Norah in front of the new pollinator garden that Norah's daddy had been working so hard on this year. Last year, Norah could barely sit up for her photos but she was full of smiles. This year, things were a little more challenging for Norah's mother who had a post-surgical (irritable) and independent (disagreeable) toddler on her hands.
This was the best that mom could do:
Luckily the letter D is the same when held backwards and upside down.
A is for airplane that I see in the sky!
D is for DONE.
Despite her lack of comprehension of and commitment to father's day photo traditions, Norah very much loves her daddy. It's Dada that made everything better as he slept by Norah's side at the hospital this week. He's the one that does the dirty work of giving Norah yucky medicine and cutting her fingernails. And he's the one that Norah asks for bedtime stories - even if it's Mama's turn. And Dada is comfier to snuggle into for stories, songs and Baby Einstein dvds as Mama's tummy gets bigger and bigger with Norah's soon-to-be sibling.
Norah's mom has really enjoyed watching Norah become such a little Daddy's girl lately, even if it means that it's not always mama that makes everything better anymore. Daddy makes everything better now and Norah is one lucky girl to have a father who loves her so much.
You were never a very cuddly baby. You would nestle into me as I nursed you and when you were really bitty you enjoyed sleeping on your Dad and I, curled up on our chests. But other than that you wanted your space. You weren't content being held close or snuggled. You had stuff to see. Stuff to do. Even before you could do much on your own. I sometimes wished I had a snugglier baby - one who was content just to be cuddled close to her mama all day long.
Days old, sleeping on mama.
But good things come to those who wait. I now have a very snuggly toddler! A few months ago you started with the kisses and the hugs. And you enjoy being held close while being read to - insisting on sitting on our laps. And you have this amazing way of greeting me after I've been out of the house for a while. You race over to me and I pick you up. You give me a couple of enthusiastic "Hi Mom!"s in your cute little voice. You then put both of your hands on the back of my neck and look my straight in the eye as if you're trying to make sure it's really me. Then you pull on my neck to give me the strongest hug you can give with your little arms and a few slobbery kisses right on the lips. You then pull back and cup my chin in your little hands and repeat the whole heart-melting ritual.
Somehow that came out sounding like an excerpt from a trashy romance novel. Other than the "Hi Mom!" part, I guess.
When you turned one year old you got a "lovey" as a gift from your Nana. You had all sorts of loveys and stuffed animals in your first year of life that I tried to imprint on you. I thought it would help to have a security "friend" to comfort you when I wasn't immediately available. But you were never interested. Until you met this one.
Norah meets "Lovey."
Love.
Apparently you hadn't met the right lovey before. This one is a shaggy sheep-dog looking thing with oatmeal colored fur and a pale pink bow. You love this thing. Lovey (as we named her) sleeps with you and goes with you to daycare for nap time. We watch you on the video monitor at night as you cry out in your sleep and roll around reaching until you find her again. It's pretty cute unless it's while we're sleeping.
Sleepy girl and her lovey.
And so, here begins our tale.
It was an all-around rough morning and it just happened to be your father's birthday. It was a mommy work/Norah day care day, which we have twice a week. Unfortunately for us, you were up at 4:00 a.m. that day and would not sleep unless one of us was holding you. This is very atypical for you unless you're teething. Normally you sleep like a champ. During the rare times that this happens, we try to comfort you and indulge you a bit. As a result, we didn't get much sleep. That is until I dozed on the couch while holding you and woke up 45 minutes late.
So we were running late. But, finally we were well on our way to dropping you off at daycare. Halfway there (and already late for work) we realized we forgot Lovey. Your Dad and I debated for all of 30 seconds as to whether you could go without her today, but being that you were having a rough time with teething we knew we had to go get it. So, back we went to retrieve a stuffed animal for our daughter. Something we never thought we'd do, but I now have afeeling that this is only the beginning.
Your Dad and I were a little late for work that day. But it was well worth it knowing that our little Norah Bird had her lovey with her to help her through the day. I hope we can always provide that level of comfort for you.
Dear Norah Bird,
Sometimes the easiest decisions to make end up being the best decisions. One of the best decisions your Dad and I have made in a long while was the decision to spend part of our Christmas vacation here at home. This year Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday and so your Dad planned on taking Monday and Wednesday off of work so that we could travel to New York to visit family. We were blessed at the last minute to learn that your Dad actually had more vacation time to use than he thought - something we thought was spent earlier this year when you were in and out of the hospital five times in four months. So he was able to take all of Christmas week off.
Where most of Dad's vacation time went in 2012.
Normally, our inclination when we have time off is to spend all of it in New York. In the first year of your life, we've made the 7-hour drive (for our 5 hour drive morphed into a 7+ hour drive once you arrived) from Delaware to new York eight times. Eight. That's a lot of travel for a little Norah Bird. And in almost every case, we leave for these trips as soon as Dad gets out of work and return as late as possible on the night before he has to return to work. Oh - and while you're too young to ever be able to remember this when you're older, I should mention that these trips are made in a itsy bitsy teeny weeny 2005 Subaru hatchback, of which your car seat takes up 2/3 of the passenger space. With your Dad's and my knees pinned into the dashboard, Oakley almost has more room in the back hatch sandwiched between our luggage.
We love seeing our family and living away from them is difficult at times. Especially because we want you to know them as you grow up. And I know that these trips are going to get more and more infrequent as you get older and our weekends start to fill up with your extracurricular and social activities.
But, frankly, your Dad and I were just burnt out and we felt that it was time to start spending our vacation time together as a family. At least some of it. So after traveling to New York for only five days (up and back in a snow storm - your first!) we spent five wonderful, cozy, snuggly, playful, relaxing days here at home. Doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a whole lotta nothing. Daddy didn't even hunt, and I didn't do any sewing or craftiness. We took care of some things like grocery shopping and other errands, but mostly we just enjoyed not having anywhere to be or anything to do.
Our first order of business was to open the presents left by Santa! He left you lots of presents to unwrap very slowly. Which was fine because we didn't have anything else to do.
Santa visited the Shampine house!
New toys are just as fun for the stay-at-home mom!
We enjoyed lots of time in our pajamas doing what we love to do - reading lots of stories. Over and over. And your Dad and I just can't resist because you're so cuddly when you're being read to and because you surprise us daily with the words that come out of your mouth.
We got creative with our new art supplies and with testing out some new hair dos. We played in the snow. We reached new heights and cheered for the Orange. We enjoyed lazy days in our pajamas in front of the fireplace. And I, for one, enjoyed every minute of it and I know your Dad enjoyed spending so much time with you too.
Morning stories with Dada.
Coloring with your new crayons!
Brushing your own hair.
Norah emulating Donald Trump.
Mom managed to get one rubber band in...part way...kind of.
Our first snow of the season in Delaware!
You can now reach the light and fan switches!
Go Cuse!
Yay!
We also used our time together to get out and do some things around the area that we don't usually get to do. We went to Longwood Gardens for the first time to see the holiday lights display. What a treat! Your Dad and I enjoyed a nice walk through the gardens and displays in the afternoon while you slept all snuggled up in your stroller. We then grabbed a bite to eat before heading back out to see the lights. You were in awe! You even enjoyed the bus ride to and from the parking lot - although you didn't enjoy being held still for it too much.
"You want me to wear mittens? Ha!"
Norah Bird and her Mama all bundled up.
All snuggled in.
We spent some time watching the fountain lights.
Norah Bird with her Daddy.
Bus ride back to the car.
We got to go to the Delaware Children's Museum one afternoon. You had a lot of fun but because you're still not walking yet, I'm not sure you got as much out of it as you might when you're a little older. And even propping you up on our knee, some of the displays were a little too high for you. But you had fun exploring and, as usual, what seemed ordinary to your Dad and I was extraordinary in your eyes and worthy of much more time than we would ever devote to such things. We try to be patient with you in your explorations because you're taking so much in. And so if we take you to a museum and you want to spend half an hour playing with some toy cars, then so be it.
Turning the gears.
We love our toy cars!
Pit stop!
We spent lots of time playing with the cars inside the train car!
Paper butterfly wind tunnel.
They go up! Up! Up! Up!
We love hats!
Safety first!
Something else just become more interesting...
"Ha! You can't contain me!"
You always find the ball in any room!
Jackpot!
An igloo made out of milk cartons.
Wow!!!
You even had your first solo trip down a slide.
We also found time to enjoy "ringing in the new year" (aka hanging out New Year's Eve afternoon before your bed time) with some friends. Considering we rang in 2012 while in the hospital with you for your first kidney infection when you were barely 8 weeks old, bringing in 2013 with a healthy and happy Norah Bird was all that your father and I needed. What a year it's been. We are so very blessed to have you and I hope that 2013 brings much more family time together.
Four couples, four babies, one camera - would you believe this was the first and only shot?!
Dear Norah Bird,
A common phrase around here lately is "What's that?!" And while this used to be the utterance of your dad and I while marveling at your output during diaper changes, the amazing thing is that now this phrase is coming from your little mouth. Is this normal for a one-year-old? I mean, your curiosity aside, I guess I wasn't quite expecting your vocabulary and comprehension to snowball as much as it has recently. You've quickly gone from showing interest in something and vocalizing that interest in baby jibberish (for you have always been vocal) to telling us what you see and asking us about the things you are curious about. Amazing.
I feel like maybe I should be better at marking these milestones for you. In keeping up with you over the last almost 14 months, one thing I haven't kept is a baby book. And while some things are easy to remember - like your first tooth at 4 months old - other milestones seem to just glide by unnoticed in the day to day scheme of things until they become so commonplace that I have to stop myself and wonder: when did you learn how to do that?
4 months old: 2 teeth.
It's been a while since you started out with "mama" and "dada" (both occurred around the same time in all fairness to your Dad and I). These were followed closely by "ball" and "baby" and you've even been able to somewhat say "balloon" for a while now. It's been so long that it seems like you were always saying these things but I know that can't be the case.
I'm not sure what to credit with your sudden burst of vocabulary - which I'll get to in a minute. I know that you've always been a mimic and so your Dad and I have had some influence on your repertoire. As have other family members. When you were only 3 months old, your Aunt Erin and Uncle J sent you a recordable storybook as a gift while you were in the hospital. You quickly came to love listening to that book and it remains a favorite of yours. On one page your cousin Natalie startles you by hooting like an owl. As a result, when prompted with "What does an owl say?" you'll answer with "Hoo hooo!" This has been a regular occurrence for a few months now to the point where you get lazy about hooting and don't quite give it your all, appeasing us with a "hmm hmmmm."
You have since learned a number of other animal sounds. You can easily tell us what a sheep, a cow, a cat, and a rooster say. You can also roar like a lion, caw like a crow, and you go "dub dub dub" for fish. The latter was learned from one of your favorite books The Pout Pout Fish where Mr Fish repeatedly goes "blub blub bluuuuub." You point to the page and pronounce "DUB DUB DUB!" Strangely, you still haven't mastered barking like a dog which is ironic since we've never encountered a lion yet you spend your days with a chocolate lab.
Best Buds
No rest for the protective pup.
Who? Us?
Talking it over with Oakley.
Chocolate Lab Kisses!
I suspect you are learning many of your words from your books and also from daycare (where you learned to "Ho Ho Ho" for Santa). You certainly love your books and it was about a month ago that you first pointed to an apple on the counter and declared "Apple!" That same night in the bath you got excited about the soapy bubbles, exclaiming "Bubble! Bubble!" The next morning, you produced your first two-word string, a pleasant greeting to the Baby In The Mirror: "Hi Baby!" You now greet babies everywhere - in the picture frames, in books, in stores. You also have tacked on "Hi" to "Mama" and "Dada" so you can greet us whenever the mood strikes.
It's not just the rote statements that amaze me but the comprehension. Who knew one-year-olds were so smart?! Not only can you identify an apple here and there, but you can identify one anywhere! You can spot them in person and in illustration. Same with bubbles, babies, etc. Oh - and Elmo, whom, you most certainly did learn at daycare where they read lots of Elmo books. What is it about that little bug-eyed red guy that kids love? Every chicken that you see is a rooster and elicits a "Cockooo!"
You generally use your new words in the proper context. I think that's what amazes me the most. Like "Uh-Oh!" You say this multiple times a day. You'll drop something and exclaim "uh-oh!" Or you'll give us fair warning before purposefully dropping something by proclaiming "uh-oh" first. Sometimes you don't have all the words for what you want to express but you have associated words. For instance, you have a book of opposites with dog illustrations. The first illustration is of a "happy" dog and so you'll bring us your book saying "happy, happy, happy." A later page contrasts few with many and has an illustration of many (17) puppies. You have always liked that page and would turn to it and stare at it. Now you can say "many." Amazing.
And you certainly know "no." This was cute at first when you learned it from your book, Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin. Each page asks a question to which the answer is no. So you would answer for us "NO!" Now, no has many meanings and is often accompanied by fussiness. You also quickly went from signing "more" to just saying it. Between "no" and "more" what else does a toddler really need to communicate?
Oh - some more tricks of yours that I want to remember. You can complete our sentences pertaining to your books. A is for "apple!" and B is for "bubble!" And even cuter, you can show us your nose and your belly - often you heartily lift your shirt to show us your belly. You also like to point out Mama's mouth, nose, and eye - and not always, if ever, gently. And, most adorably, you give us kisses. Enthusiastic, puckered up, aduible smackeroo kisses. Almost as cute is the "hat" gesture. Whenever you see someone wearing a hat, you like to tap the top of your head and say "hat!" If Daddy or I ask you where your hat is, you reliably pat the top of your head whether you are wearing a hat or not.
You still don't have much of an interest in walking but you certainly talk the talk. I love that you love reading and I imagine this has something to do with what I'm deeming your expansive vocabulary. You cycle through your favorites and we have books in every room that you spend time in - mostly the play room, your bedroom, and the living room. You start out each morning reading through your books on your own while I get our breakfast ready. And multiple times throughout the day we just sit and read wherever we are. Being primarily a stay-at-home mom allows me to read with you often and I cherish it. You've gone from just wanting to turn the pages to actually listening to the story and exploring the illustrations.
Just some light morning reading.
Until recently I couldn't leave you alone with your books which seemed so unfair considering how much you love to look through them. Your books with paper pages have been taped multiple times. And your board books all show extensive wear from you chewing on them. Yes, not only do you enjoy a good story but you also enjoy the books in a culinary sense.
A is for Appetizer
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is no match for the Very Hungry Toddler.
You seem to have gotten a little bit better about chewing on your books lately but this just could be an ebb in the teething process (oh -you're up to 12 teeth now!). And so I've been giving you a little more freedom to "read" on your own. But you also very much enjoy us reading to you and it makes Daddy and I swell with pride when you crawl over to us with a book. One of your favorite past times is reading with your Dada on the window seat in your play room. He lays you on his stomach and reads you a book. When he's finished you roll off him, grab another and then declare "Up!" before climbing back up on his belly and settling in for another story. I must get a video of this.
So much is happening in your world right now and you are at such a fun age where everything sparks your curiosity. I realized tonight that I had been routinely answering "What's that?!" questions with increasing frequency. Sometimes you know the answer to your own question but other times you are genuinely curious. But tonight I saw that your question is already becoming habit when you first asked me "What's that?!" and then realized you should point to something. And so you did. It was the ceiling.
I'll tell you all you want to know, my little bird. You can keep asking me "What's that?!" in your squawky little voice that I so enjoy. I anticipate that this phase will be much more enjoyable for me and certainly will not be as exhausting as the "Why?" stage that is yet to come.
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