How Far We've Come...

Well we've had quite a year in the Land of Noa. The progress can feel slow sometimes, but looking back at my posts from early January 2011, the progress is enormous. Last year we spent much of the Christmas season trying to figure out what "sheee" and "shaaaaw" meant and Noa was very frustrated. We never did figure that out.

This year she's got a ton more words and can figure out how to ask for most anything she wants (though often will need us to list those things - but she knows the signs and we're working on getting her to intiate them rather than waiting for us). The frustration is much reduced.

She's also making huge strides in conceptual thinking - she loves to find and recognize shapes, sort her blocks and other toys into their proper bins, and she gets that the little bumps on the page tell us a story! In the photo above she is holding one of her new Brillo Blocks (Christmas present) while I read her favorite night time book "The Story of Ferndinand" - she LOVES that book! And in the photo below she is enjoying her first read of "Madeline" which was a gift from Grammy and Grampy.

She still loves throwing blocks which is getting to be a problem because she's so darn strong! She actually has good aim too. She listens for where people are and then tries to hit them. It's great that she is getting a sense of direction... still, it can hurt! And she laughs if you say "ouch." She also laughs are her own farts. She is very sophisticated like that.

Other big developments: Noa ends the year really self-feeding, though scooping can still be a challenge. She can't really see if she has anything on the spoon and can't tell is stuff is dripping or falling off the spoon... until it falls, but we're working on that. We're also moving toward more time in big-girl diapers (otherwise known as underwear). Noa is actually pretty solid on toilet training - except at night - but she actually doesn't care for the underwear yet, and I have to admit that sometimes we're just overly cautious. If she does have a mistake it's usually because she told us (by signing) and we missed it, so that isn't really her fault. It is a bit of a drag that at nearly 7 we're still dealing with diapers, but I think that if she could get up and go to the bathroom herself that we'd have been done with them long ago. She actually really loves being on the potty and frankly would probably spent half her day there if we let her (she really likes to flush and zip her pants up)

We do think she is getting more stable on her feet. She likes to walk holding just one hand, but tends to loose her balance. I can't say that we feel like we're anywhere closer to independent walking, but she has a much greater awareness of her body in space. She likes to climb up onto chairs and on to the couch. She has more control when trying things like sitting down on the floor. At my parents house for Christmas she did a fantastic job of coming down the stairs - which is very hard for her and takes a lot of focus.

SO all-in-all, it's been a great year for Noa! Perhaps one of the most exciting things is that she really keeps learning new skills and making steady progress and though there are likely many challenges ahead in the new year, we feel like Noa is up for new challenges and that makes all the difference in the world. We can only hope that our tired, older-parents bodies can keep up with the demands!