13 Months Old!

I haven't been very good about posting lately...my apologies.

Nora is 13 months old! She's not really walking, but I'll qualify that by saying she is taking a few steps here and there but nothing very consistently. She tends to stand up and then launch herself forward which throws her off balance and she topples over after a few steps. I've tried to capture it on video, but it hasn't worked because every time she sees the camera she speed crawls over to it. However, while she might not be walking yet, she has figured out how to CLIMB up onto the couch and Henry's bed (it's low enough for her to be successful).

Her hair is getting long! It curls a bit in the back, about the same as Henry's did but she has so much more hair than Henry did at this age. I hope hers stays curly longer than Henry's did...although I wonder if his might still be curly were it longer. She loves girly things, which is hilarious to me because I can't figure out where it comes from (certainly not me!). She loves to have her hair brushed, she requests bows and headbands (although she doesn't actually keep them in for very long, she puts on some necklaces she has ALL the time, she loves shoes and she's very sweet with her dolls and stuffed animals.

But don't let those traits fool you into thinking she's mild mannered and cautious...quite the opposite. She is a very mischievous and daring little kid. Here she is getting into Wilbur's food and water. And any chance she gets she tries to get into anything she knows she's not supposed to. Oh, and the climbing! With Henry we thought "oh, we should probably anchor all the dressers and bookshelves just to be safe...", but with Nora it is an imperative! She opens cupboards, tries to climb onto things and just generally creates havoc.

And she seems to have little to no fear, which is also very different than Henry who was much more cautious. She's very content to be left alone to explore (ha! that's code for she knows no one is looking and she can cause trouble!). And she's feisty! Unfortunately she's started to bite a little bit...I like to think it's because she has a molar coming in (poor baby - her gum is SO swollen) but I fear it's because she's "defending" herself the only way she can. She loves to dance, applaud anytime she hears other people clapping and/or saying "yay!," give kisses, say "hi!" to just about everyone she sees, talk on the phone (real or pretend) and is starting to blow kisses as well.

Here is just about the cutest video ever of her giving herself a kiss (oh, did I mention how enamored she is with her reflection? She loves mirrors!)

Here she is in Henry's towel from when he was a toddler. They look so much alike, but are also so different. It kind of makes me want to have 100 children just to see all the different permutations of gene expression. Ha ha ha!  I promise a post all about Henry soon! He is doing magnificently in kindergarten. I just chaperoned his class's first field trip and it was so much fun. 

Halloween Roundup

Our Halloween celebrating lasted almost a full week starting the Friday prior to Halloween. Henry's class had their Harvest party during the school day and then the entire school's Harvest Festival that evening. I volunteered to help out with the party and had a blast crafting Q-tip skeletons with all of the kiddos. They also made thumb print pumpkins, bats, and spiders; played a pumpkin toss game and enjoyed some fun snacks including mandarin oranges decorated to look like Jack-o-lanterns. The Harvest Festival was also a blast - the school did a great job with all the games and Henry liked the not-too-scary haunted house...plus, there was cotton candy!

Then, on Saturday, we braved the colder temperatures and headed to the zoo for their Halloween scavenger hunt. I talked Henry into wearing his AMAZING koala costume and it was a big hit at the zoo. Nora's bumble bee costume would have been all covered up since it was so chilly, so instead she just wore this monkey hat.

Next up, on Sunday, was the annual Halloween party with Brett's parents at the LO Country Club. It was so much fun! There were stations for pumpkin decorating, mask making, and decorating a cup to look like a mummy. Henry found a ninja and a storm trooper to play with and we barely saw him after that!

Of course we carved some pumpkins! Henry spent time drawing out designs for each of ours on paper first and then we helped him

transfer his ideas onto the pumpkins. I didn't take a picture of all of them together after they were done (I'll try to remember to do so!), but I did get this funny picture of Henry imitating his pumpkin's face - and that's Nora's tiny pumpkin next to him.

Finally it was time for the big day! We had pumpkin shaped pizza at Gigi's house and then headed out for some trick-or-treating. First, though, Gigi scared poor Nora to tears with her clown wig. Of course I had to take a picture. Here are the blue Power Ranger and the bumble bee ready to collect their treats! Don't they look happy?

Ha ha ha! I love this picture.
 Two last pictures from the big night - Henry trick-or-treating...and Nora, discovering the loot. :)