Family Update 3/07 - Nora

I figured that since I really do want to remember these days when I'm a big girl (read: 40 years old) and I have big, grown up children, I should probably write some stuff down so I have something to refer to:) So here is my attempt to record things about my children and our lives:

Nora -
*Nora turned 5 in January and LOVES being 5. She is such a big girl, although she has not quite grasped the fact that all of the things she said she would do "when she turned 5" (like try jello fluff) are now nearing deadline. She has most of the year before she turns 6, but 6 is looming large when you don't want to try jello fluff:)

*She is in her 3rd year of preschool and loves every minute of it. Every day she comes home and tells me that she played with Nicole. I have yet to meet Nicole, but apparently they do everything together at school. And she has not kissed any boys - I know, because I ask. She is saving herself for our little next door neighbor Nolan, who goes to kindergarten at a local Catholic parish. We are quite happy with her choice:)

Cornbread took the girls sledding along with Nolan, his dad and Nolan's brother on President's Day - they had a blast and Nora and Nolan rode on the same sled together and they did not kiss (I asked), but they have affirmed their love for eachother and their intentions to marry.

*Nora is still very interested in anything related to art. She colors everyday and is doing very well at staying in the lines. She also enjoys copying words out of books and doing "homework". She has a nagging desire to learn how to read, but I'm not quite sure how to teach her. I'm going to look into some homeschooling books so I can get her started on this. She is always very eager to learn and is very excited when she does "read" a word:)

*About a month ago she got the brilliant idea that she would like to earn some money so she can buy her own stuff (read: Polly Pockets). I'm not quite sure where that came from, but it has been a fun learning exercise for all of us (read: Ryann has to do it, too). We have set a couple of jobs and prices for her and we set up 3 cups for her to put her money into: 1 cup is for Jesus, 1 cup is for her piggy bank and 1 cup is for her. She knows that the first penny goes to Jesus, the second penny goes to her piggy bank and the rest are for her. This has been a really fun exercise in teaching her about tithing, saving and earning money. We have not quite ventured into 10 pennies equals one dime yet, but we'll get there someday. We also have noticed a sharp decline in the desire to earn money after the first week, hmmmm, apparently the novelty of making your bed for 10 cents has completely worn off;)

*She is such a sweet, kind and gentle soul (most of the time). She comes to me often and says, "Mommy? I love you" and gives me a hug. It truly is one of the best sounds of all time. I am so happy that she is a loving child and that she enjoys expressing this throughout the day and not just at bedtime or other pre-set "I love you" times. She sincerely loves - not because she has to, but because she does. It has been fun to watch this develop in her and has been delightful to watch her learn to express it when she feels it.

*She made up a game called Georgia the Cutie Bug, which came about after Georgia began to walk. It consists of screaming "Georgia's a cutie bug" at the top of her lungs, squealing and then running away from Georgia when she comes running (she always does). She really loves to play with her sisters - when she feels like it (fortunately that is most of the time). She likes to teach them how to dance or how to play with babies or other stuffed animals. And she especially likes to correct Ryann when she is wrong (we're convinced Ryann says things wrong as a way to bug Nora).

* Nora is our family drama queen. If something is not to her liking it is a sure bet that she will overreact - in a big way. Every fit she throws is a big, dramatic to-do. With lots of crying. Loud crying from her bedroom (the only place she's allowed to act that way) that is intended for everyone in the house to hear. If she can't find something, or if Georgia changes the channel on the tv, or something else relatively minor happens, she reacts in such a panick that you would think that someone cut off her finger. It is amazing how dramatic she can be and how overdone her reactions are. We have never given in to her when she acts like this, we rarely acknowledge it other than to say "Please do that in your room", so I'm having a hard time understanding why it continues (in other words, we're not rewarding her in ANY way - not attention is given to her to reinforce the fits). She will grow out of it, I hope:) As for now, it does provide a bit of comic relief throughout the week - we never let her see or hear us laughing, but it does make me giggle - sometimes (read: most times I want to pull my hair out).

* She has never really been big on playing with dolls or stuffed animals. She's gotten a few dolls as gifts, but they are played with for approximately 7 1/2 minutes and then forgotten about for the rest of their sorry little lives. She also has about 2.4 million stuffed animals that never get a second glance. Now, though, we have one stuffed dog that goes everywhere with her. She took it home from Nathan (15) and David's (14) house a couple of weeks ago and when we gave it back to Nathan, he (thankfully) said she could keep it. She had named it Mojo, but he said the only way she could keep it was if she called it by its given name - Dingo. So we now have Dingo the stuffed doberman that you see in the photo above. She sleeps with him, brings him in the car with her, carries him everywhere. She also leaves me lists of how to take care of him while she is away at school - Breakfast, Bath, Nap, Lunch. Very strict instructions on the care of Dingo:) She loooooves Dingo and I love that she loves Dingo.

*Overall, Nora loves life. She does everything with her whole self and is teaching me to look at things differently. Who would guess that a 5 year old would have as much to teach a 30 year old as a 30 year old has to teach a 5 year old? I cannot say enough about how wonderful she is. She's 5 - and even though she may whine or overreact to things, she is learning to get through those things rather than allow them to become the normal way of reacting. I witness her learning it. And I witness her making intentional decisions to change the way she is acting because she knows the results will be different if she does. She is smart, funny, loving and kind. She is beautiful inside and out and really has been instrumental in me learning more about God.

My little Peak is becoming a big girl right in front of me. I feel like I've simply blinked and she is now a little girl who is almost ready to get on the bus. My mother-in-law told her this weekend that she is looking forward to going to her wedding someday (to Nolan). It occurs to me that I may blink again and I'll be blogging about wedding plans and what a pain in the bum she is in making decisions and how epensive weddings are. I am looking foward to that day - to seeing my beautiful girl in her wedding dress, seeing the love and adoration in her eyes for her future husband, witnessing the hope and excitement of beginning life together. I'm looking forward to that with all of my girls, but I'm mostly looking forward to the days in between now and then. She has taught me so much - I can only imagine what I'm in store for in the next 20 years:)