Two

Exactly two years ago today, it was Sunday, and Ryan and I were watching Finding Bigfoot in a hospital bed, snuggling our newborn Nora.  She was three days old: she slept, she ate, she pooped, she slept a whole bunch more.

Fast forward two years:
On Monday, her birthday, she counted from five to twelve all by herself. Up until about a week ago, the only number she cared about was "two."  Everything was two.  How many toes do you have? Two.  How old are you? Two.  How many books do you have? Two.   But then out of nowhere: fie, sis, sesen, eit!, nine, tahn, leven, telf.  We didn't help her. We just sat there, in shock, and then she giggled, because it's funny to scare the pants off your parents.

Blowing out her candles

And so she is a walking (running), talking lady.  For her "happy" (birthday), she requested cake, party hats, and balloons.  We had a small playdate party with some of her little buddies on her birthday (I haven't uploaded the pictures yet...I'll get there), and then opened presents as just the three of us that evening.  Birthdays aside, she loves gymnastics, and spends time every day perfecting her somersault.  She likes to "help help help" in the kitchen and with cleaning - if only I didn't have to watch to make sure she didn't eat the cleaning products, I could give her some chores and let her go to town all on her own.  She fights bedtime like a champion, and I've fallen asleep on the floor beside her bed at naptime the last two days because it's the only way she'll lay down and relax, which doesn't do much for my productivity. I hope some day she will put this determination toward something wonderful, like curing cancer or ending poverty or raising her own wild two year old (when I will tell her, I told you so).

Zadie the dog officially responds better now to "Zays Zay" than her real name.  Yesterday she even begrudgingly wore a birthday hat for a full minute, and she often wakes from a nap on the floor to find herself covered in a doll blanket.  When I am off cooking dinner, Nora will give up trying to get my attention and chase her.  "Zays Zay, hey! Zays Zay!"

All dogs go to heaven. Even the ones that steal food from time to time.

And so this is life at our house.  With way too much snow and cold causing school delays and cancellations, we've only barely gotten back into a schedule after the holidays, but we're getting there. Life is never boring with a Nora around - we wouldn't have it any other way.