Nora’s hair growth and tolerance for rubber bands finally met this past weekend when she sported some awfully cute ponytails for the whole day! She wanted me to take them out for naptime, and they were the first things she asked for when she woke up.
Oh, and after we took down the Christmas tree, I moved my keyboard out to the living room where the kids have enjoyed playing it and singing songs.
And cute as they are, ponytails make Nora seem at least twice as mischievous than before. ;)
This week was Jonah’s last day of school.
(He’s grown a little since his first day back in September. And our house got painted.)
It was also the first week of his baseball practices! A parent from Jonah’s school has organized a group of boys – mostly from his class – who are interested in playing baseball twice a week. They practice hitting, running, and throwing. He feels very proud of going to his practices and loves wearing his Ryan Howard jersey.
Playing first base
While he practices (and Sean helps out), Nora and I play on the playground and explore the walking path.
Oooh! A pinecone!
On Saturday, Nora went from standing alone for a second or two to standing for a good 15-20 seconds. She always looks extremely pleased with herself when she’s standing without holding on, so I had been wanting to take a video of this cute new skill. However, as soon as she saw the video camera, she wanted to instantly crawl over and investigate and certainly didn’t want to stand still for me. Tonight I thought I’d try again and as I was taping, not only did she stand, but she just started walking right towards me. Very exciting! She had taken one or two very tentative steps a handful of times over the last day or so (with much encouragement), but this was pretty much her first real walking! :)
I’m really excited – it’s not like she’s not getting into EVERYthing already, and once she’s gotten the hang of walking, our little outdoors-loving girl can go outside during the next six (seven? eight?) rainy months without needing to drag her whole body through every muddy and wet part of this town. ;) She may still choose to do that on occasion, though…
Nora’s spent the past week (when not watching construction) practicing her new skill – pulling herself to standing on anything she can get her hands on.
The attic of Jonah’s playhouse used to be the safe haven for his little guys. No more.
Magnetic poems are fair game.
I turned to put plates in the cabinet and Jonah said, “Whoa! Nora’s standing up by herself!” She’s quick.
At the park, she happily climbed the wooden stairs over and over and over.
Jonah was crawling through the tunnels and said it was Nora’s turn. She happily crawled along.
And then Jonah changed his mind. :)
Today was Jonah’s first day of preschool, and we were all very excited. This morning was just a short time for the kids and their parents to visit the classroom, talk with the teachers and see all the fun things that will be waiting for them on their first full morning alone next week. He’ll be going there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with a bunch of other 3-year-olds.
The school is just four blocks from our house, so we’ll be able to walk there every day. Jonah was all set to head out with his firetruck backpack!
The whole family on the big day
Last night, Jonah was talking all about how he was going to play in the kitchen area and “cook some food and use pots and pans and wash dishes!!” It was his first stop when he went in the classroom.
Jonah also played with cars on a road mat, made coffee for us in the bean tub, and saw other toys and books that he’ll be playing with. He somehow got the idea that they have “dump trucks and loaders and pavers and rollers and lots of trucks in the shed” which is in the outdoor play area near the sandbox. I have no idea if these trucks actually exist, but he’s convinced they’re in there, waiting for him. Next week, we’ll find out… :)
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
