Happy 7th Birthday!

(I actually wrote this on Norah's birthday - but needed to upload some pictures and then forgot to post it. Oops)

Today is Norah's 7th birthday!! Wow! 7 seems so much older than 6. We are hitting that phase of being somewhere between a little kid and a bigger kid. Norah is still very much into pretend play - I think she could pretend all day long. Maybe she will be a writer someday. She is always creating new and different scenarios to pretend.

The biggest changes for Norah since her last birthday are:

All the teeth she has lost. Since turning 6, Norah lost 5 teeth (plus the 2 she lost before that - wow - 7 teeth). Most of the permanent teeth are in or almost in - so she is well past the period of having multiple holes in her mouth. (update - she lost her 8th tooth is Florida this week)

She is a reading machine. I love it!! She had a hard time switching from reading to me to reading independently, but with some suggestions from Heather (for me) and some encouragement (or forcing), Norah has officially transitioned to reading chapter books completely on her own.

Norah is riding her bike without training wheels. We actually wondered if this would ever happen. She had zero interest for awhile and then all of the sudden this spring she wanted to try and is doing great!!

Norah decided about this time last year to grow her hair out to donate it. It was a LONG year for me letting it get so long (and tangly!), but she did it and the day after her birthday she had it cut off. She looks adorable, although she wasn't so sure if she liked it at first. I am loving that she doesn't have any tangles!!

Before (I know the quality isn't great but it was the best picture to show how long her hair was)

After

Norah is a great helper with Daphne and Daphne adores her! Norah often enjoys picking out Daphne's clothes and playing with her when I am busy doing something else. Norah and Lucy play great together as well. We certainly have our fair share of sibling squabbles, but those moments when the girls are playing so well are heavenly.

Norah has a very passionate personality which can certainly be a good thing and a bad thing. Her passion can get her into trouble but she often doesn't understand why. However, her passion also gives her a zest for doing things she loves.

It is so fun looking back at Norah as a baby and toddler and it is so fun to watch her grow up! We have been so blessed and look forward to seeing what God has planned for Norah as she gets older.