13 Photo Memories of Norah's First Year

Our sweet baby girl will be one tomorrow, so what better topic for this week's T-13 than a photo tribute to 13 memories we've made over the past year. We thank God every day for this rich blessing in our lives.

1. Love at first sight. Yes, I am massive in this picture...but it still makes me smile. The moment the doctor handed us the baby we had been waiting so anxiously to meet was one of the most incredible moments of my life. She was so much more beautiful than we expected her to be (I mean, you hear all these horror stories about what newborns look like---but she was so pretty!) I couldn't believe she was really ours!

2. Cuddling. All 9 months of my pregnancy I prayed for a cuddler, and God blessed us with one. From birth, Norah loved to snuggle. This is one of my favorite first memories of her. I wrapped my arms around her, and she "hugged" my arm. I was so thankful Jason got a picture of it!







3. Becoming parents. I know most people probably think that "becoming a parent" happens in the delivery room with the arrival of the baby, but for us, I think it really happened when we got home from the hospital (which we were still a little in shock that they were gonna let a couple of inexperienced know-nothing "kids" leave the hospital with a perfect baby, with no instruction manual or adult supervision) I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of "fearfulness of the unknown" I felt when we entered our house for the first time, alone, with Norah. It was an eerie calm that seemed to tell us that life would be different from this point on---and it has been, but in a good way. It has been amazing watching Jason become a dad. He is so naturally good at this, and inspires me to be better each day.



4. Gotta love the boppy! Norah was a great sleeper, from the very beginning. Granted, she slept a lot more then than she does now...I'm still thankful for the 1.5-2 naps a day she still takes, and the full night's sleep she usually affords us!










5. First Easter! Here she is in the sweet Easter dress that Grammy made for her (covered in slobber...go figure), and her sweet, little white shoes, that believe it or not, still fit!














6. The toe-sucking phase. Ahhhh...I miss those days. This photo was taken at Wings-N-More. And no, we didn't take her into the restaurant barefoot, she de-socked herself and went to sucking on her toes right in front of everyone!













7. First Father's Day! Jason looked so dashing in the special tie that Norah helped make. (We inked up her little feet and stamped "Norah loves Daddy" on it) He wore it with pride, and didn't even complain that it was pink. I told him I think he should wear it to her rehearsal dinner, someday. He replied, "I don't want to talk about it." Implying, he's not even close to ready to thinking of letting her go.











8. Norah's first taste of pears. She didn't make it through the whole jar before she fell into a deep slumber...this gave birth to one of my personal favorite blog entries, "The Princess and the Pear". She still falls asleep mid-meal from time to time.






9. This is one of my favorite pictures from our year. We have it blown up and framed in our bedroom. Norah was supposed to be taking a nap, but Jason and I could hear her singing and playing, so we crawled into her room on our hands and knees with the camera...apparently we weren't as stealthy as we gave ourselves credit for, because Norah intercepted our ambush tactics!








10. First ride in a shopping cart. We just happened to have the camera in the diaper bag, so we decided to photo document. I'm so glad we did because this is another of my favorite photos (also framed in my bedroom). Doesn't she look like she's about to ride a roller coaster?















11. All Hail the Jumperoo! First toy to ever make Norah fall asleep, standing up! She still loves the Jumperoo, to this day, and has fallen asleep in it several times since this picture was taken.











12. First Halloween! Gramps and I made Norah an original costume with no patterns, whatsoever. We had so much fun showing off our little mermaid! Norah loved her costume, too. She flapped her little tail for everyone we met. I can't wait til next Halloween!









13. First Christmas! After the numerous family Christmas gatherings we took Norah to, she should be a seasoned pro at opening presents. Good thing, since her birthday is tomorrow!