Nora is one.

A few weeks ago, Nora celebrated her first birthday. And it's been quite a year.

Since her last seizure in late April (a little more than nine months ago now), Nora has been hard at work to start crawling, babbling, and cruising around the house. Sometimes it feels like she's days away from walking... And other times it seems weeks or months away. She sees either an occupational or physical therapist every week, and though she's made significant progress - really, truly great progress - we remain committed to making sure she gets every possible 'leg up' during her development.

It's hard not to be always worried, just a little bit, about whether or not that foot is doing what it's supposed to do, or if she's sitting in a way that says something is wrong, or if one hand doesn't get enough action. We didn't pay that much attention to this stuff with Zoe. With Nora, it's the main event.

Of course, we can't wait for her to talk. She definitely says "dada" (thanks, Jimmy Fallon) and "mama" very clearly, but "dog" and "zo-zo" sound very similar, much to her sister's delight / dismay depending on ... who knows, she's three.

After some trouble with reflux, Nora eats like a champ. It's likely that my own fear of her choking held her back, but now that I have stopped cutting bananas into the smallest possible size for her hands, Nora will gladly grab and devour a whole banana.

Nora remains on Topamax, an anti-epileptic, and a dwindling dose of Prevacid for her reflux. Topamax will be with us for quite some time, and now that she's good at eating, it's much easier for her to get down.

Zoe loves to give Nora bites of food and to help with her sippy cup. Nights and mornings are full of Nora and Zoe giggling and tickling. They also love to share toys with each other. (Just kidding on that part, just wanted to make sure you're paying attention. They are horrible at sharing.)

But boy does she smile. Smiles. All. The. Time.

Happy Birthday, Nora. We all love you so very much.