Go Norah, Continued

Go Norah!

I’ve been really careful not to get into the competitive mom thing when comparing notes with other parents, especially since Norah really hasn’t given us a thing to worry about developmentally (Halooo… plus she is brilliant, see yesterday’s post!) It’s great to commiserate and share notes, but of course you want to brag about your own kid! The fact of the matter is that at this age, there is a really really wide range of what’s normal, kids have strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes etc., so despite what the parenting mags all lead us to believe, most kids are just fine.

So, this morning I was dropping Norah off and was I chatting with one of the other moms. There are a number of kids in Norah’s class who are pretty much the same age, so when one learns something, the others quickly follow in many cases. Other Mom’s munchkin recently started with what I call the “dive step” where they get brave as they attempt their first steps. She’s understandably proud of her little munchkin, and I must say she was incredibly cute this morning as she showed off her new skill!

The kids were hanging out together near a kid-sized table and we were chatting about how so many of the kids were getting close to walking and how it was going to be a handful for the teachers once one started, because the others would surely not be far behind. Other Mom commented that her munchkin and another in the class were likely to be the first to start, since they had older siblings at home to learn from and mimic. I’m thinking to myself, she’s probably right, but Norah’s been doing that dive thing for a month already!

Just then, Norah, as if she understood what we were saying, let go of the table and took 4 or 5 steps over to grab on to my legs.

Go Norah!

My kid is a GENIUS - no really

Norah took home her first piece of artwork the other day... I think it's brilliant! What do you think?

OK, so maybe we ought to be focusing more on her musical side :)

I swear I've never done this

... possibly only because we don't have video conference calls at my company. For those of you who know my work situation, I am not located in the same location as most everyone I work with, so I spend a lot of my day in "meetings" which are really conference calls.

So, no, I haven't gone quite this far, but I did join a staff meeting once, huddled in the corner of a hotel room while Norah snoozed in the corner, and I have 'attended' on a best-effort basis when she was at home sick... praying she wasn't going to wake up at an inopportune time, for instance...

Nice to know I am not the only one :)

In the interest of giving credit where credit is due, I found this on a website, http://www.mommytrackd.com/. I've just discovered this series of funnies by Betsey Streeter. They are hilarious, and frankly pretty accurately depict my life these days. You can check them out for yourself at: http://www.mommytrackd.com/funny-papers

Snowy Pictures

Here in New England we've had our share of snow this year. Norah is really not too sure what she thinks of it. Matt and I love being outside, so naturally Norah has been out in the snow a few times. Despite what these pictures show, she barely cracks a smile unless I jump up and down or do some other silly thing. Maybe she'll warm up to it in time... maybe not until she is big enough that she can move in her snow suit!

Shout out to the Posse from the Block

My Mom's gang of pals sent Norah all kinds of things when she was born. One of the really special things they sent was a Nova Scotian tartan jumper for her. Well, it fits her perfectly right now, and she wore it to church today - here she is saying hello to all of you!
And here she is, saying thanks for the cool jumper!

How to find time: Don't shower!

It's been a while since I posted about my ongoing quest for balance. This week, I had a breakthrough! If I skip showering, I get back anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes per day! Whoo hoo!

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "uhm, Shauna, you kinda need to shower, ideally pretty much every day" And while I appreciate your concern for my cleanliness, I have that figured out too! I just do it later in the day.

So, by now you are probably wondering what the heck I am talking about... well, I've started running again, on the treadmill in the gym at my office. So far so good, I've made it three times, and the run felt good. (albeit a bit short and a lot slow) So instead of showering before work, only to go to work and shower again a few hours later after I run, if I just skip it in the morning, I get that time back -- it's like something from nothing!

So, what do I do with this extra time? Well, on the day I first figured this out, I slept the extra 20 minutes :) Next step - using my 'free time' more productively!

PSA: Army of Women

I came across an interesting project today, purely by accident. I've chosen to get involved, and I hope you do too!

Breast Cancer is fast becoming a beatable disease, due to fund raising efforts like Run for the Cure, the Breast Cancer 3-day, and many others. But the research that is going fast and furious for this disease sometimes requires human subjects, for tests, for interviews, and sometimes for tissue samples. This group works to match up regular ol' women, like you and me, with the researchers that need our help - in whatever form we're willing (and able) to give it. They simply advise you of needs in your area, and it's up to you to pursue assisting in studies that fit with what you have to offer. The text of the invitation they provide for inviting friends is as follows:

The Love/Avon Army of Women offers women the opportunity to partner with the scientists who are conducting research that will end this disease--once and for all.

Breast cancer has been around for decades, but it does not have to be our future. We can be the generation that stops breast cancer once and for all by figuring out what causes this disease and how to prevent it!

Sign up for your sister, mother, daughter, granddaughter, best friend, and the woman you met last week. This is YOUR chance to be part of the research that will end breast cancer.

It takes a just a minute to join. But the impact we will have will
last a lifetime. Please Join Me in Being One in a Million!

Their web site is at: http://www.armyofwomen.org/

Norah News: Just some pics

Nothing too much to say today, but here are a couple of new pictures from the past few days....

getting cleaned up:

Waving Hello:

Showing off her new sippy cup skills:

Norah News: Learning Housework

Last weekend we did a major cleaning, kind of like Spring Cleaning, but in the winter. Norah, never one to miss a party, was anxious to help. I know I joked about putting her in a swiffer suit when she first learned to crawl, but as you can see here, she's mastered using the actual swiffer mop-thing! I didn't teach her this - honest!

Running the vacuum was also part of our work that day. Norah wasn't too sure what to make of it at first, and in fact seemed to be a little freaked out by the noise. As with most everyday things she is scared of, we try to help her overcome her fear. Fortunately, Norah is always more curious than she is scared. Here is one of a couple of sessions Norah had with "The Boss". (note that this video if a little long)

She's still not quite convinced she can trust the main part of it, but she is becoming fast friends with the nozzle and hose. Whenever one of us would start the vacuum in the other room, her eyes would grow wide, and surprisingly, she'd head towards the noise, stopping often to make sure one of us was with her. When she arrived on the scene, she'd circle her 'prey' never touching it, and always coming back to her safe place, with us.

Since she's not quite walking yet, she still has time to warm up to it!

Starting Over

We've been really fortunate this past month or so, so have Norah at home, with us, more often than not. Between the ice storm, her being sick, 2 feet of snow, and the Christmas and New Year's holidays, she has only been at daycare 2-3 days a week.

The down side is that this week feels like starting at daycare all over again! This time, I have more confidence, as does Norah. She seems to be changing so fast, and gaining so much independence these days, that I sometimes feel like I am missing out. I know it's all meant to be, and that her independence is a good thing, but it's yet another adjustment for me to make. (her too, I suppose)

Tonight, I had planned to write an amusing story about Norah's introduction to housework this past weekend (specifically the vacuum cleaner) but it will have to wait -- I'm just not in the mood

Looking in the Mirror

Yesterday afternoon, I gave Norah a bottle before putting her down for a nap. She wasn't exactly sleepy, and we spent a little quiet time, nose to nose, looking at each other while she played with my nose (we have been pointing to noses, mine, hers, teddy, etc) After a few minutes, I stood up and laid her down in her crib. She looked up at me and smiled, and man, I could have sworn I was looking at a baby picture of myself! There are days when she definitely looks more like Matt, but yesterday sure wasn't one of them!

For those of you who are not my facebook friends (Halloo to the posse from the 'Block!!) I put some pictures of Norah, both pre and post Christmas up. They can be found here and here. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Nature vs Nuture, revisited

I've written before about Nature vs Nurture, but it's been on my mind again this week. How does she decide to prefer one thing over another? How does she know what's funny? There are a couple of specific examples

• She LOVES grapes, like shoving them in her mouth with both hands loves them! She eats plenty of things, but definitely shows a preference for some things over others. She also loves the turkey I made for her from our leftovers, but doesn't really care for the bought variety. (Can't blame her on this particular one)
• She got a baby-doll for Christmas. After she unwrapped it, I took it out of the package and handed it to her. She immediately was very gentle with it, and even gave it a version of a kiss... ok she licked it's nose, but that is kind of like a kiss. Ever since, she has not chewed the doll, like she does all her other toys, and she has continued to be very gentle with it, offering it hugs and kisses
• She loves all things electronic -- phones, laptop, remote controls, cameras... this one I am not sure if all babies grab at this type of thing or not, or perhaps she's just been exposed to them so often since she was born. In any case, she will literally climb over things (even Mommy!) for a chance to pound at the laptop!
• She's got a great giggle! I can give her a specific funny look while she's eating, and she erupts into a fit of giggles. Likewise, Matt will pretend to chase her around the house, then tackle and tickle her, with the same result. How did she decide these things were funny?

In any case, she continues to amaze us each and every day, and we expect nothing less throughout 2009.

Happy New Year!