I am incredibly behind on my blogging.  I can blame my broken laptop, but I’ve also struggled to find the time!  I’m hoping to also get caught up on Ethan’s birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Noelle’s birthday party.  Oops!

Noelle continues to be such a sweet little angel.  Though she’s starting to develop her own opinions about things, and is starting to let it show when she disapproves of something, in general she is still such a happy, sweet little girl.  She is also a tiny little girl!  At her 1 year appointment (about 2 weeks after her birthday due to the snow storm) she weighed in at 17lbs 11oz (15%), 28.75 inches long (25%) and her head circumference was 45.4 (59%).  We discussed her 3rd audiology appointment that showed fluid on her ears, and her doctor agreed that we will wait until the summer and try again.  We’re hopeful that once she has a big window of health, and as she gets bigger, she will be able to drain all the fluid off her ears.  We also discussed a few things that she is not doing yet (clapping, waving, talking) but her doctor is not concerned.  She seems to be developing just fine, it’s just in her own little way!

Noelle has been walking very steadily since around 11 months.  She will sometimes walk so fast it’s like her feet are going faster than the rest of her body.  She is also very interested in climbing.  She is still fairly cautious and I haven’t caught her in any dangerous situations, but if she finds something to climb on she will do it!  She is constantly babbling and singing, but hasn’t said any “real” words yet.  She is always happy to be in the middle of whatever everyone else is doing.  She loves sitting with her brother and playing with his toys (or destroying whatever he is building).  Ethan does not, however, love this as much as she does and it is a constant battle to encourage him to be nice to his sister.

Noelle continues to eat just about anything.  Her favorites are pizza, quesadillas, bananas, PB&J, and anything mommy is eating.  Even though she still doesn’t have any teeth, she’s started to eat an even bigger variety.  I’m hopeful that her teeth will start coming in soon, since Ethan got his first tooth at 13 months.  I can definitely see several bottom teeth ready to come in!  Though Noelle is a good eater, she continues to hate her high chair.  She strains against the straps when she is buckled in, and crawls unto the table when she is not.  Needless to say, she spends most of her time buckled in!

Noelle continues to be a good sleeper.  She will occasionally have a few bad nights of sleep, but goes back to sleep fairly easy.  She is still taking two naps a day, but will sometimes fight her afternoon nap.  I remember the transition with Ethan from 2 to 1 nap being quite difficult.  I’m trying to follow her lead and let her nap when she seems tired.  I am looking forward to one  nap a day as it will give us some more flexibility in what we can do.

Here are some pictures of our sweet one year old!  She is such a blessing, and we are soaking up her baby-ness as long as we can!