Big talker.

So many things to update you on, and to record for posterity. First of all, I've officially stopped trying to keep track of all the words Nora knows; She repeats so much of what we say that it's hard to know which words she truly understands and which ones she's just parroting, but I'm certain she's learning new words every day. What's more, she's starting to put words together into proto-sentences.

It's so interesting to see language evolve: first, she was saying words for objects; then she learned some stock phrases ("Bless you" after someone sneezes, "Excuse me" when she needs to get past, "Oh shoot" when she drops something, etc.); after that, she picked up some verbs-- "fly," "eat." Last night, we heard Baxter trip down a couple of stairs. Later, as I was putting Nora to bed, she said, "Baxter fall." Actually, she said it about two hundred times. Then "Baxter fall" morphed into "Daddy fall." Then this morning, my mom came over for a few minutes; after Nora and I talked about it, she said, "Bamama coming!"

So I'm calling it: Nora has spoken her first sentence.

A Day in the Park with Aunt Patsy

I've been terribly remiss about posting to the blog this month. I blame the fact that Nora's bedtime seems to be pushing back to 8:30 with the extended sunlight, plus the addictive ease of web browsing on the itouch Rich gave me after he upgraded to an iphone. I promise to get back to my laptop this week and post some of Nora's funny stories. In the meantime, enjoy some photos of Nora's trip to the park to hang out with Aunt Patsy.

Nora's Top Four List

Aside from yogurt ("Yogi!") and bananas (now pronounced with the full "ba"), a walkie and a ride on the swing ("Whee!") are Nora's most common requests. A day that contains all four of these items is a good day, indeed.



We're lucky that we have a "neighborhood swing" on our street; when a family moved out of a particular house and some young single guys moved in, a couple of the parents visited and informed them that the swing in their new front yard was communal and not to be taken down. Luckily, the guys don't seem too put out by all the shrieking and "Wheee!"-ing in their front yard.

Happy Spring!

If you're alllergic to cute, get your epi-pen ready. You're about to go into Noraphylactic shock.

New pictures: Watching Formula One with Daddy, wearing a headband, and being cool.

Lolly clearly loves getting her picture taken.

By the way: Rich bought her that "Dad's Racing Buddy" hat while she was still in the womb.

I just think being willing to keep a headband on is such a big-girl milestone! Plus, I mean, she's just so beautiful. And here I think she's consciously smiling "for the camera."

Profile shot.

Yep, I'm cool. Deal with it.

A Random Mystery of Toddlerhood

How is it that my brilliant child knows 50 words-- a mind-bending 47 more than the underachieving What to Expect: The Toddler Years advises me to expect-- and still has not mastered food-related words like "more" or "eat" or "food"?

It's not that she doesn't love to eat; my girl is off the charts in more ways than one. And if I run a little late for dinner, she'll retrieve a play spoon and bowl from her kitchen and position herself in front of me, pretending to eat and saying "Yummy!" How come all of a sudden she's so circumspect about demanding something?

Have I Mentioned?

Have I mentioned that Nora's favorite book in the whole world-- and this is an ongoing love affair dating from at least January-- is South Beach Diet Supercharged? I need to take a picture of the book so that you can see how extravagantly loved and dog-eared it has become.