Nora is 14 Months Old...Give or Take

Our little Norabelle seems to have turned into a toddler overnight! She seems determined to turn herself into quality big sister material before her little sister arrives in March. And while it kills me that this is late (really, really late, especially since I didn't update at thirteen months), I need to get this down before I forget what a precious little love she is at this age.

At 14 months, Nora...

• has six teeth...I think. I haven't dared to check the remaining two up top that want to come in, but last I checked, they weren't!
• has bid farewell to her bedtime bottle (and milk, too).
• is taking a shorter nap in the morning (about an hour) and a longer afternoon nap (usually about two hours). If her morning nap is too long, she'll struggle with the afternoon nap... but I'm definitely not ready to give up that morning nap for good!
• is finally walking! Nora's been taking steps for the past several weeks, but she preferred crawling as her primary mode of transportation. Seemingly overnight (about a week ago), she made the switch to walking and is now walking everywhere. She's very proficient, and is getting pretty fast, too!
• adores her Daddy. Really. She has Daddy Radar and locks on the second he gets home...and really, really doesn't want to let him out of her sight or grasp for the rest of the night.
  
• will repeat several words, and will occasionally use them independently. Some words include "Dada", "Mama", "duck", "Jake", "up", "uh-uh-uh-oh", "cracker" and "book".
  
• uses signs for please, thank you, more, all done, eat, and milk.
• has just started loving baby dolls, and can often be found feeding a baby her bottle and trying to push the stroller around.
  
• also loves to play with the MagnaDoodle, play kitchen, and anything that Phoebe happens to be playing with at that moment.
• loves to read, and will sit still for as many books as we will read to her. She's pretty specific about the books she wants (and will bring them to you in the order she wants them!), but is also open to new books. She will now sit for slightly longer picture books, and has particularly enjoyed Little Critter and a Jan Brett book from the library.
• wants very much to be a helper, and tries to help with laundry and dishes whenever she can. She also can't wait for Phoebe to pass her the Jake-feeding torch, but we're waiting until Nora no longer tries to eat the food with Jake.
• hates to be alone and is very sensitive to discipline.
  
• is hilarious, and really tries to make us laugh. Her tricks for yesterday included going to "sleep" on command (laying down) and playing along with the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Nora's always up to something!

We love, love, love our little Nora. She is so different from her sister, and she is so much fun! We're thrilled that God has blessed us with such a sweet Belle and are equally excited to see her grow in this new stage of toddlerhood!