She's (finally) Two!

Aaron and I have been thinking Nora is two since spring. I'm not sure why.... But now she has had her birthday and she is really officially two years old. I just hope we don't start thinking she's three sooner than next summer!

She is a little ray of sunshine that lights up my life. I adore this sweet little princess. She is full of laughter and smiles, energy, drama, and emotion. She is so cuddly and gives the best hugs and kisses. She is miss independent and wants to do a lot of things herself, but lets us know how much she loves us and wants to be with us.

Nora is now routinely saying 3 or 4 word sentences, which are so cute. I just love to hear her say 'I want chocolate milk, please' or 'Okay, mom, I coming'. After hearing Zeke count everything all the time, she says numbers 1-10 too, although we're still working on actually counting objects with those numbers. Her favorite book is her alphabet book. Nora also loves music: singing songs, dancing to the music on commercials and movie credits, and starting the mp3 player on any mobile device. 

Nora loves shoes, accessories, the colors pink and purple, and has definite preferences when it comes to clothing. Earlier this summer I had her wearing denim shorts that Zeke wore a few years ago, and she has let me know that those long, heavy boy shorts are out and light, cotton, girly print ones are in. At one point this summer she had about 8 pairs of shoes sitting by the front door and she wore all of them in turn. She helps pick out elastics and barrettes for her hair and loves necklaces.

Outside is probably Nora's favorite place. She heads out the door and up and down the sidewalk with Zeke and the other kids in the neighborhood whenever she gets the chance. Bringing her back in is sometimes an ordeal complete with chasing her down and trying to ignore her kicking and screaming! 

It's hard sometimes to believe that this little sweetheart has only been in my life for two years.... I can't imagine life without her!