Santa Claus!

Norah met Santa Claus for the first time last weekend.  We went to the mall at Lancaster and the line was short which was nice.  She didn't cry at all when we put her on his lap.  She looked at him curiously for a little bit, and that was it.  It was quick, but nice to have as part of her first Christmas experience.  The pictures from the Santa Shop make her skirt look bright pink, but oh well.  The entire dress is really red.

Norah's First Snow

We had our first real snow of the year today.  I'm not sure how many inches we are going to get, but it started this morning and it is expected to fall for most of the day.  Norah doesn't have a real snowsuit or boots, but we layered her up and took her out for just a few minutes to get some pictures and let her experience the snow.

 

Thanksgiving and Tree Trimming

We had Thanksgiving in York with Jillian this year.  Jillian and I managed to make the whole turkey dinner with the added challenge of entertaining Norah, but it all went pretty well actually.  The only thing I didn't make this year was the pie crust from scratch.  We used a store bought one instead.  Oh well.  Rick was working on Thanksgiving, but made it home by 4:30 so we could all have dinner together.  Norah got her first taste of roasted turkey, stuffing, and some mashed potatoes.  It was her second time having turkey.  I had made her a turkey meatloaf the week before, which she really liked.

 

Saturday we went to Family Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree.  Rick was still working so it was just Jillian, Norah, and I.  We bundled Norah up pretty well so she wouldn't be too cold.  Luckily, it wasn't that cold outside and I had her in the ergo so I think that helped keep her warm as well.  Jillian cut the tree down, I watched, and Norah slept.  We got help tying the trunk door down, but we got the tree home and into the stand on our own.  We decorated the tree once Rick got home.

One holiday down, a couple more to go...On to Christmas and New Year, and then Norah's birthday!

Standing and Pre-Walking

Norah continues to be fearless and more balanced as she lets go of whatever is supporting her more and more.  She now stands up on her own, even holding objects in her hand, and will just stand there up to 15 seconds or so.  She has a pair of purple sunglasses she likes to carry around and if we put them on our heads she'll stand up to grab them.  She also likes to push her Laugh and Learn table around our living room, and is definitely "walking" more along the side of the coffee table and couch.  Who knows when she'll actually start walking, but she is progressing!

Here are two quick videos.  The first one is when she first started to stand on her own.  The second is more recent, and she is pushing her Laugh N Learn table in our living room.

NOTE:  I am starting to watermark my images and videos so you will notice that below.