Well, I have gone from being an avid blogger with frequent posts carefully crafted to relay the details of my life to an infrequent poster who just throw up some pictures every few months and doesn't even bother to turn the right side up for the viewers. This is due to a combination of facts including being too busy, not interested, and having nothing especially controversial or horrific going on in my life right now. Facebook probably also reduces my need to make announcements via blog and instead posting them there.
If you haven't heard, Nora is expecting a little brother due on May 18. So far the pregnancy is going well with no indications of any problems. We are cautiously optimistic that everything will go smoothly, however, at this same time in my preganancy with Nora I had no problems either. So, we have learned that whatever is going to happen will happen and just to not worry too much about it.
So, here is the scope on Nora. She just turned 2 in December! Hard to believe it. She is tall for her age (about 35 inches), but not off the charts or anything. She has really cute longer hair with little curls on the ends. She continues to develop at her own pace but is making advancements every day. 
On the PT front (physical therapy for those of you who aren't into all the acronyms involved with a delayed child) she is doing great! She started walking in October (at 22 months). She is really getting around well now. Once she started walking, we cut back her private PT sessions from once a week to once per month. The next milestones she is working on is walking up and down stairs independently (which she has done a couple of steps up on her own so far), running (which I really have no idea how to teach her - I am sure it will just come someday), and walking on uneven or new surfaces (which she is pretty good at - but is still a little freaked out by snow).
We have stepped up her speech therapy to 6 times per month. This is the area she is most delayed in now and seems to be trying hard to learn. She knows many signs and is understanding more and more words every day. She can say a few well, and quite a few not so well, and maybe even some more that we just can't decipher. She can manage between her signs and few words to tell us when she needs help, when she is hungry, when she is going to take a bath; and, most recently, to confirm that she has indeed made a "po-po" in her diaper. Her best words are "b-" words including "Ba-ba!" = Buster, "Bo" = Blanket, "Ba" = Ball, "Ba" accompanying by the sign for bath = Bath, "Boo" = Book. She is also good with some C or K words like "Ki-Ka" = Kitty Cat, "Ko-Ko" = Cookie, and "Ka-Ka-Ka" = Cracker. Her most clear words that strangers can even understand are "Bye - Bye" - which is used not only to say good bye, but to indicate a flushing toilet, a car driving by, a person running, a tractor, a bus, a toy going into a box, or any other activity where an object vanishes, and "Up, Up, Up!" - Almost always repeated several times for emphasis.
She is understanding a lot more of what we say to her. For example, we can ask her some questions and she will respond appropriately. She will give kisses upon request and come into the bathroom when I announce it is time for her to brush her teeth. However, to explain more complicated things gets tricky. She has several books about becoming a Big Sister and welcoming a New Baby. She can now identify a baby in pictures and seems interested. However, when I point to my belly and say "Baby" she is just confused and points to my belly button and says "Be-Boo" (Which is another B-word she knows = Belly Button). I have to admit, it is a confusing idea even to me and I am the one who is pregnant!
Nora & her new cousin Hannah!
