The stars of the blog

What's new with Nora:
-After a couple days of initial nervousness, Nora now loves getting around the pool with her ring and pretending she's a dolphin.
-She loves pretending most anything. Her imagination is vivid and very entertaining :)
-Her mind is a sponge these days. I'm thinking I should start being more intentional about teaching her soon.
-I find myself starting to depend on her for help and expect her to do many things for herself. For better or worse, natural disposition and circumstances are molding her into the typical firstborn.
-Nora and Joseph are playing together for longer periods of time every day. Before I put Joseph down for his morning nap, she was crawling after him and tackling him to the ground. And he was laughing!

Joseph news:
-The boy now has eight teeth and I suspect more might be coming in. I think he is preparing to have steak for his first birthday.
-Joseph is expanding his speech beyond shrieks and grunts. He can say "dada" intentionally. He also has started other babbling sounds like baba, gaga, etc., but nothing remotely close to "mama." The little bugger.
-He can wave now, though he rarely performs outside of his family.
-Joseph is a speed crawler these days. He loves to pull himself up and cruise along furniture, but overall is not getting too adventurous in the walking department. I'm okay with that. That said, his standing/ cruising action has resulted in a couple shiners on his forehead. It's that age.
-Above all, Joseph LOVES making noise. Banging objects (anything he can lift) on any surface (the floor, his crib, his highchair, tables) is a favorite as well as pulling the metal bowls and pans out of the play kitchen onto the hard floor.
-He's making progress learning to give kisses. So cute!