Just keep swimming

Norah loves the water, like totally loves. Bath time = best time of her day. So today when I took her swimming at my parent's house, I figured she'd be in heaven. Giant bathtub, right? It started out great, she was splashing and laughing and acting generally merry. Then Rylie dove off the diving board and went underwater. Norah freaked out. Then when I took a dunk to wet my hair, Norah was in hysterics. Apparently people disappearing underwater is traumatizing, who knew? So, to get her over this fear we're going to be spending a lot more time at the pool. Naturally.

Walk this way

Norah took her first steps on Sunday, but seems rather unmotivated to actually walk. When we do the classic "walk back-and-forth between your parents" exercise, she just sits down between us and looks up as if to say, "seriously? Why would I learn to walk when I'd much rather be carried?" Smart girl.

Communicating

Norah's constant "talking" is now starting to sound like actual words. Other than "dad," which she's been saying for a while, Norah can also say "duck" and "please." Although they sound more like "dut" and "ees," it sure is adorable. She also does the asl sign for "more" and "please" and folds her arms for prayers. Of course the arm folding lasts all of .25 seconds, but again, adorable.

Dadda?

I think it's safe to say Norah loves her dad. Today when I went to get her out of her crib after a nap, the first thing she did was look up at me, held her hands up and shrugged her shoulders in a questioning manner and asked, "dadda?"

And no, she doesn't say "mom" or any variation of mom. In fact, the only words she says are "dad" and "dadda."

Stand and deliver

Norah is now capable of standing, and her favorite thing to do is stand up in the middle of the room with a giant grin on her face waiting for applause. As soon as we give her what she wants, she sits back down and does it again.

Little singer

Today Norah and I were baking cookies, and every time I'd turn on the mixer she'd start singing along with the hum of the motor. She also does this every time I vacuum. Looks like she may have the Evans gift for music, because it certainly didn't come from my side of the family!

Dancing Queen

Last night we had a family outing at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. After walking around and enjoying the flowers, we bought dinner at the food trucks and sat and listened to a bluegrass band play. Norah loved the music and was rocking out the whole time.