A year with Norah Gray, already it can’t be so! We have a hard time remembering life without you my sweet Norah bear.  You have always been a surge of perseverance, determination and joy with a splash of stubbornness and skepticism (it’s the dramatic eyebrows I think). While I know it is cliche to say, but the year really flew by, and even more so than the first year with your first.  Here’s a letter to you my sweet girl:

Dear Norah,

One year with us and what a year it has been.  You were welcomed with open arms into this world at 9:32am on November 13th, by your mom, dad, sweet sister Avery and both of your grandmas. 

 

 

We spent a lot of time visiting, sleeping, eating and yes, sometimes crying.  You have always known exactly what you wanted, and even a year later it rings true…. You like to be warm, preferably held, with a full belly and near your family.  We spent the first few months of your life trying to figure out everything we could about you and how to make you happy.  Your sister was especially interested in how to keep you from crying as she would ask “my hold it” so she could hold you, kiss your head and say shhhhh to keep you calm.  The first several months were chilly, and we had a lot of visitors who couldn’t wait to meet you.  Pappi came for Christmas, and Gigi and Grandma Bear helped us plan a surprise party for Daddy’s birthday when you were only a few days old.  You didn’t want to miss a moment with all these visitors so you gave us a bit of a hard time going to sleep for a while, but, we understand, we are a fun family, you didn’t want to miss a beat. 

Right before Mom went back to work in February, we found out you had a tongue and a lip tie that was keeping you from taking a bottle.  So, we had them both revised and started the long six week recovery so that you could start to grow more even being away from Mom!  We had to do some stretches for several weeks that weren’t really you’re favorite, especially since we did them every 4 hours, but by the end of the 6 weeks you were finally able to drink all of your bottles, and all of your grandparents were so excited to finally give you a bottle without protest! (Sorry it took us so long to figure it out sweetie!)

By March, you were only 4 months old and we brought you to Arizona for Aunt Rangie’s wedding (it was Uncle Dillon’s too).  We flew in Grandma Bear to help us since mom, dad and sister had important jobs at the end of the aisle and we had to get pretty dressed up.  You weren’t a huge fan of the time change, but you were the star of cocktail hour and everyone wanted to meet you. By six months you were done being babied and really wanted to start growing up and in the time from 6-8 months you started eating solid foods, which you were dying to try after months of pulling at mommy and daddy’s plates trying to grab a bite.  At 7 months you started sitting yourself up and within days you were crawling and then pulling up to standing.  We thought for sure we were in for a 10 month old who was walking, but you decided crawling was the fastest way to the cat food, or the house plant and it was fun to have mommy and daddy chase you there and scoop you up.  By the end of July, we were back on a plane and going all the way to Seattle.  You slept great on both flights over there and you loved the nice cool weather and walks outside.  We didn’t drag you on the long day to go see whales, so you got a whole day with Gigi walking around the little town and showing off your napping skills.  We got to eat dinner outside in cool summer nights and you even got to sleep in Uncle Dillon’s office that looked like space control with all of his little blinking devices and electronics. It also took all 6 adults to continuously keep and eye on you as you darted for the dog food bowl, but mommy and daddy were well practiced with the cat food bowl at home.

Throughout the whole year we had visitor slumber parties with Uncle Eric, Alyssa, Cody & Elizabeth with baby Kelsey, Ashley & Brian with baby Coraline, Aunt Anne and your grandmas and Gilly.  In October, we took a visit to Massachusetts and again were able to escape the heat with a nice cool fall weekend with family.  We got to see all kinds of grandparents, aunts and even a cousin! You weren’t feeling great so Mommy and Grandma Bear did A LOT of laundry and Daddy had to carry you in the airport in just a diaper for a short while.  Even so, the family time was your favorite. When we got back, Mommy started to get ready for a business trip and it was looking like you were going to walk very soon.  Mommy got really nervous that she would miss the start of your walking!  The morning that she left to go to France, you took 5 whole steps to her with the biggest, proudest smile on your face!

Some our favorite things that you do (a short version of a very long list):

-You have the biggest cheese smile where you scrunch your whole face and make everyone laugh

-You love anything daddy does, sneezing, coughing, tickling, he was the first one to make you laugh and still does everyday

-You nod very enthusiastically whenever someone asks you a question, it’s hilarious and heart melting

-You know sign language for more and all-done, but normally you are asking for more food

-You love being near your sister and when she still tries to hold you even though you are big now

-You eat pretty much anything and everything in sight and skipped over most of the boring baby foods and went straight to table foods

-You are a climber, stairs were your first mission shortly after learning to crawl and you have crawled out of your chair and on to the table both at home and school 

-You love to play peekaboo, but you put your hands on your head when we say “Where’s Norah?” Just so you don’t miss anything with your eyes covered up

-You love sleep and your loveys, you sleep on top of them and hug them in close at bedtime

-You love books, and turn all of the pages and talk to them and then close them and try to crawl off the chair into the bookshelf for more

-You have always been inquisitive to any situation with a furrowed brow until you’ve established all is ok

 

 

Norah, you are the sweetest little cuddle bug. I hope you crawl over to sit in my lap and bury your head on my shoulder for a very long time. You have forced me to see you as your own and remind me comparing you to your sister is not how to celebrate your spirit. While your perseverance and stubbornness are challenging as a parent I can’t wait to see what your drive will bring you in life. Thank you so much for helping us grow as a family and show us what is most important in life. Happy first birthday my little Norah Bear. Here’s to another fleeting year with our girls. We can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.

Love, your Mom (and Dad) 

A YEAR IN NUMBERS