Dog person

It amazes me how quickly Nora had grown into a decisive dog person.

Nora loves to pet the dog, feed the dog, walk the dog, hold the dog, etc. I thought this picture was a good illustration.

Hendrik

April snow?

We’ve had quite an unusual Spring here in Portland. It snowed in April!

Nora was much less excited about snow than she was during the winter. Shortly after this she asked to go inside to play instead. She was however fascinated by heavy hail the next day.

Hendrik

Tidy toddler

Nora is a shockingly tidy child. She loves wiping things, lining things up, throwing away garbage, etc.

Here she is, putting her Duplo figures into a neat row. And Orion is getting a big stretch in.

Hendrik

Balance beam

Beginning with playground excursions, we learned that Nora loves balance beam-type fun. The other day, she leaned that she can do that almost anywhere.

Nora had Nancy take her round and round along the curb. She has also learned to shout “fun!” when she is having fun.

Hendrik

Family photo?

Nora has learned to be quite clear about what she wants. Yesterday morning she asked for her lunch, sat down on the stairs and started telling people where to sit to give her company.

Right after I took this picture, Nora ordered me to sit on a particular spot a well. Everyone else had to reshuffle.

Hendrik

Nora’s Tower

Nancy bought Nora this nice tower so that Nora can participate in dishwashing and other kitchen counter activities. She loves that she can climb up by herself, and dismount with only a little bit of help.

Nora’s notion of dishwashing sometimes involves pouring soapy water all over herself at the floor. But she sure has a good time.

Hendrik

Dog walker

Nora is always eager to take on additional responsibilities within the family. Last night she took it upon herself to walk both our real dog Orion and her wooden dog Waldemar.

Later Nora made Nancy walk Waldemar so that she could focus on zooming Orion around the ground floor. Thankfully Orion is a good, cooperative dog about all this.

Hendrik

Nora and Nora

Nora loves the zoo, and so do we. The zoo membership was a great investment. The four of us took her over the weekend and we had some really excellent views of the animals.

The much-beloved local polar bear name Nora even put on a good show for Nora. Another highlight was seeing the red panda actually awake and moving around for the first time ever.

Hendrik

Nora’s first bike ride

Nora rode on a bicycle for the first time recently!

At first she was sceptical of being on Mama’s bike like that but soon she fell in love with it. She held the handlebars and squealed with joy. Orion was reasonably content riding in my front luggage compartment.

Hendrik

Nora on a swing!

Nora absolutely loves the swings at our neighborhood park.

Nancy and I each took turns pushing her. She was cackling with glee absolutely the entire time. When we went to start heading home, she loudly voiced her disapproval, pulled me towards the swing, and said “more”. This is currently her favorite word.

Hendrik