Fourteen Month Milestones :)

Once again I find myself slacking in the blog department but mostly because I have been keeping so busy with my little buddy that I rarely have time to sit down... I didn't think it was even possible but I find myself falling even more in love with Nora each and every day! The little things she does and says just melt my heart while making me giggle all at the same time. As we approach her precious 14th month of life, I thought I would update everyone on some of her fun new milestones :)

It is hard finding a place to start as I feel she has learned so much the last few weeks....but most noticeably, she is walking!!!!! Everyone kept telling me not to rush it because our life as we knew it would be over, but honestly..I love it! It is like she has gained a whole new set of independence and it has opened many more doors as to what we can do together. She is still a bit wobbly at times and we have already had our fair share of bonks and bruises but it all comes along with the territory. Mama tries not to overact so Nora can shake it off pretty quickly.

Baby sign language has also been a daily lesson in our house. She has now learned how to sign "more", "eat" and "milk", will shrug her shoulders and lift her arms when I say "what?" and will usually mimic any others I do but hasn't quite mastered the meanings of them yet. It is just amazing that she can pick these up in just a few short days. After demonstrating the milk sign a few times, she began doing it on command and then even while in the bath when she was ready for her nighttime bottle.

Speaking of mimicking what we do, we have also shown her how to blow kisses, clap, wave hi and bye and shake her fingers to certain parts of songs like "no more monkeys jumping on the bed", which all she can now do to perfection! Not surprisingly, she is very social like her mother and waves at nearly everyone we see while out and about and flashes that big ol' toothy grin. She has even made grumpy old men pay attention to her and smile and coo back to her! Of course mama eggs her on a lot because I want her to be friendly and polite as she becomes older. My poor dad used to try and say that little kids should be seen and not heard but believe me, that was not the case for me nor does it look to hold true for Ms. Nora!

Nora loves playing with her daddy when he gets home from work and now knows when she hears the house alarm beep in the evenings that it is time for daddy to come home. She will literally run to him but then quickly run by, making daddy chase her, and then it starts their one hour of extreme playtime before bedtime, lol. This time is usually mommy's little break time but I usually get sucked in because it is soooo cute to hear all the giggles and squeals coming from jumping on the bed, wearing daddy's tie around and torturing poor Tripp dog!

As I have said before, I try to do some kind of activity each day with Nora and lately we have been working on her fine motor skills....we have painted, used crayons and she is even using a spoon to eat with sometimes now with a little assistance :) She can also brush her hair and put on "lipstick" aka chap stick like such a big girl.

Lastly, yes I saved the best for last, NORA IS A DANCER!!! OMG, anytime she hears music and especially one with a beat, this little gal gets her whole body into it, starting with a head bob, arms a-swaying and booty a-shaking! It has got to be the cutest thing I have ever seen and I mean it! She will also start this performance when she is strapped in her car seat and mommy turns the beats up for her! I literally can not wait to get her started in dance class in less than a year now :) They can start here at the age of 2 and yes, I have already been doing my research!

Well, I am sure there are even more milestones I may have overlooked but for now, I hope I have kept you entertained! Be sure to stay tuned for all our Halloween fun and cuteness. It was our goal to have her walking by trick or treat time and I am proud to say we have reached that!

Fiesta de Balloons 2012 :)

Wow! I am not even sure if I will be able to describe to you the beauty of this event but I will sure try :) Prior to even moving to Albuquerque, everyone was telling us about the huge hot air balloon festival that was held there each year and how we MUST go! We definitely marked our calendars and watched all the hype building the month prior, leading up the big event! It lasts for 9 days and is always held the first week of October. 

Last weekend was the opening weekend and we made arrangements to go. As Saturday was the opening day, we chose to hold off and buy our tickets for Sunday. We are certainly glad we did as the event was canceled on Saturday due to the weather. Come to find out, in order for the balloons to launch, the conditions have to be very still and pretty much perfect. They also don't make this decision until the very last minute unfortunately. 

So...Sunday morning, the Steffen clan decided to take their chances and awoke around 4:30 a.m. (yes, even little Nora) to get bundled up and head to the Balloon Fiesta Park. We had to take our chances that the balloons would launch and I was soooo excited, I could hardly stand it, hehe. Nora on the other hand was wondering why in the world mommy and daddy would wake her up at this time of day. You want to arrive early due to traffic and also to make sure you get to see the first balloon fill up at 5:45 a.m. Immediately following that they began the Dawn Patrol. It was absolutely breath taking for someone who has never seen such a thing :) Nora immediately began to look alive as the lined up approx. 15 balloons and began shooting the fire into them so they were glowing! As they all were tied there glowing, the enormous crowd was chanting and cheering like you were at a championship sporting event!

Shortly after the Dawn Patrol ended and the sun came up, the entire field was full, and I mean FULL of balloons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. They took turns launching off from one side of the field to the other. Probably the neatest part was just getting to stand right next to them as they aired up and prepared for their ascension. There was no sitting involved, we walked around for hours (4 to be exact) watching hundreds of balloons lift off :)

Our sweet little Nora (ok, mom and dad too) were just memorized with the event. We took picture after picture of all our favorite balloons to help remember the event and of course to show all our friends and family how amazing the day was :) Nick and I are excited that we will also be going one more time before the event wraps up. This Saturday we have tickets to go to the "Glowdeo" which is the night launch of balloons which I believe will be a lot like the Dawn Patrol but even bigger! I am sure we will be posting even more pictures of that phenomenal event too!

In conclusion.... I HIGHLY recommend to all our friends and family to add this to your bucket list! You must come at some point and witness this awesome event, you will not be disappointed.

Below are a few of my favorite pics from a very memorable day with my little family......

Pumpkin Season 2012

Pumpkin bars, pumpkin latte's, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin candles....ok you get my point, it's that time of year :) Fall time is probably my most favorite time of year (well except for Christmas). I love everything that comes along with it; from the cooler weather, football on TV, various festivals and Halloween parties.... and it's even more fun now that there is a little one in the family to share it with!


Last October, Nora was barely a month old so although we did make a trip to the pumpkin patch and dress her up in full costume, it was a pretty low key month aside from that. Now that she is a bit older, we have a schedule packed full of activities to take part in this month. I should also note that the weather here is becoming absolutely beautiful. We still have the warm afternoons but the morning and evening temperatures feel delightful :) 


We started off October by going to The Galloping Grace Pumpkin Patch with our wonderful friends from the West side Moms Group. Luckily, it is not far from our casa and is free to get in (hence why we will most likely be going back again later this month) so it made for an enjoyable morning. Of course I had to get Nora a special Halloween outfit to wear for this outing as I knew it would be a prime opportunity for taking photos...


Nora had a great time even with being tired. (we are trying to transition her to one nap a day and do away with her morning nap). She was amazed with all the pumpkins and the first thing she got to do was sit in a huge pile of corn kernels. She really enjoyed feeling the corn with her hands and feet as she cruised about. I did have to pull a few kernels out of her mouth however as we are still in the "I need to eat everything" phase. She was also very excited to get to see some animals. Nora LOVES animals of all kinds. Of course she calls them all dogs but she had fun pointing at the goats, horse, chickens and even bunnies. Since Nora also loves water I let her get a bit wet as she played with all her little friends in the duck pond. The last activity before heading out however, had to have been her favorite (or at least got the most smiles), she got to ride around on a mini John Deere Tractor. She had gotten to do this at the state fair a couple weeks ago so she jumped on there like a pro and had a blast. All in all, I think the trip was a big success.


Nick and I plan on taking Nora to the larger pumpkin patch located about 45 minutes outside of Albuquerque later this month so be sure to stay tuned for even more adorable photos of the little lady! She has also got quite the darling Halloween costume picked out as well so we will be excited when the end of the month rolls around. Well, our Fall is definitely off to a fun start and we hope y'all's is too :))))

 Little Miss Nora Cate in the corn!

 Nora and Mommy (she has become even more attached to me lately if that is even possible :))

 Nora and her friend Jackson playing with the pumpkin

Nora pushing her friend Preston (ps this is the first little boy Nora kissed on the mouth, hehe)

 Miss Independent checking out the dogs, I mean goats!

 The gals doing a little playing in the duck pond!