45 Weeks Old

Both kiddos are better and, as a bonus, Brett figured out a way to fix my seemingly irreparable computer. Hooray!
In the two weeks since my last blog post Nora has started doing so many new things. For me, the most exciting changes are the ones that facilitate communication. On that front she has started saying the word "woof!" to mean dog. It's awesome! She just loves dogs (all animals actually) and to hear her be able to say the word in conjunction with seeing a dog is so cool. She also has started signing! Yippee! It's kind of amazing to me because I don't sign with her nearly as much as I signed with Henry and she's already signing. What's really interesting about it is that both her and Henry signed the same word first: "light." She's also done the signs for "fan" and "duck."  Knowing that she can sign has made me more determined to review all the signs I learned with Henry and be more deligent in signing with her. I remember a lot of signs, but I could be a lot better about doing them with her...plus there are lots I have forgotten and need to relearn. (Surprisingly she hasn't signed "more" or "eat" yet!)
Apart from the communication developments, she is continuing to get stronger (and braver) with trying to walk. She uses the couch, tables, walls, etc., to walk around and will even occasionally take a tiny step from one piece of furniture to another (e.g. couch to ottoman). She's lightening fast with the crawling as you will see in the video. It's short and the best part is at the beginning when you get to see her signature pivot move. she loves, loves, loves to be "chased" and especially when the person chasing her is Henry. She's also up to 8 teeth now, with a swollen spot on her gum that I am pretty sure is tooth number 9 getting ready to come through.
The picture above was taken today at the park.

We've been only moderately busy the last couple weeks. Henry finished up his woodshop class and I'm proud to say only made one gun this time...and it wasn't even for him but rather a collaborative project he and his friend made together that his friend kept. He also made a boat for himself and he and his friend also made an airplane together. We've been going swimming pretty regularly with a preschool friend and heading to the river whenever it gets really hot. We attended the Multnomah Days parade last weekend. Last year Henry was in the parade and so it was fun for him to have the experience of watching instead. Plus his preschool was in the parade again this year so he got to see his former teacher and some classmates he knew. We also attended one of the Little League World Series games at Alpenrose. (Picture of Nora below...she was so serious while watching intently.

And, of course, lots of trips to Gigi's house and the park!

And, finally, I just love this picture of Henry (taken today)...