San Diego

We're headed out to San Diego for a week to spend time with Meg & Sam. Will try to update from there but computer time may be a little spotty.

Computer

In case you can't tell....we got the computer back and are up and running again.

School bus

The girls have been riding their school bus (courtesy of Ben, Susan & Emily) on a daily basis. Norah cracks me up. She loves to drive. And both girls love to pretend that they are going to kindergarten!

Ski day

Yesterday, Lolo and I hit the sledding hill with a group of our neighbors and their kids. Wish I had thought to pack my camera. I've been a little out of sorts since our computer (along with my calendar) went down. Norah stayed home and napped and napped and napped. She slept a good 4 hours+. That seemed to do the trick because she's back to her regular self today (still coughing and runny nose but that's just standard stuff)...the key is that her breathing is on track.
Today, Lolo and I had a ski day. We took a break from regular wednesday skiing session because I figured it would be too busy at the slopes. I figured thursday morning would be a little less crowded. Perhaps it was, I'm not sure. Much busier than our standard wednesday morning sessions. Lolo was not pleased about having to wait in line. We managed to talk our neighbors into meeting us on the hill. However, our ski demon didn't want to stay with her friends on the bunny slope for very long...she wanted to ride the chair lift and ski "through the forest". She just makes me smile.
However, I'm discovering that we may need to work on keeping her healthy ego in check.....as we're skiing along, she said to me "Mom, people just like to take pictures of me skiing."

Christmas Morning

Cowgirls

From the other night....

Backlog of posts

I've been rather delinquent in posting....here are a couple of pictures from PoPo's birthday weekend. PoPo came to spend her birthday with us. The girls helped make her birthday cake.

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to everyone. It was a gorgeous day....beautiful snow. It was our first true white christmas.
It was an adventure at our home today. The girls still aren't real clear on the concept of Christmas as it relates to presents....for that, I'm truly thankful. Lolo opened one present this morning and was tickled pink. She then asked a bit later, "Mama, can I open one more?" So sweet.
Norah is still having troubles. She has basically felt crummy for several days now. Still running a fever, cough, runny nose. Very mommy-ish. On the bright side, her asthma is controlled so far. Although, she is having a tough time sleeping tonight.
FYI - We're also having computer issues. Our primary computer has shut down....got a message about the CPU overheating and needing to service it right away. Doesn't sound good. Anyway...no pictures tonight.

Weekend update

We're definitely having a white christmas here. It's been snowing a good part of the day.
So far, Norah's asthma has been relatively under control. We've had to use albuterol a few times a day on top of the steroids, but thankfully, so far, so good. I'm hopeful that she's going to pull through this....but things can change very quickly with Norah, so we're keeping a watchful eye.
YaYa is here. And Lolo is tickled pink at being his helper. He took apart our sink drain this evening right before dinner and Lolo refused to come to dinner until YaYa was done.
Speaking of Lolo...this afternoon when YaYa and Norah were taking naps....Lolo and I worked on letters and drawing and then 4 games of Hi Ho Cherry O (I lost every single game). And then we laid down to take a brief quiet time. When Norah woke up, I got up to get her and left Lolo downstairs resting. When I came back downstairs with Norah, Lolo was tantruming because "You NEVER play with me!" WHAT?!?!?! Drawing and 4 games of Hi Ho Cherry O and I NEVER play with her? Sometimes her tantrums stun me. I just didn't see that one coming.

Here we go

Norah has Lolo's cough this morning. She's also started wheezing. Jim and I are planning on being aggressive in treatment and hopefully Norah will stay out of the hospital this round. On the bright side, YaYa is here for Christmas.

Skis for Norah

We got Norah's skis and new boots today. The boots are a little big, but she'll grow into them by next year. Norah skied on the carpet via the ski bar today and seemingly enjoyed it. Already, I can tell a huge difference with this new set up. We've set Norah's boots under the tree next to her dad's new boots and her skis next to her dad's new skis. I think she's going to have a much better time in the snow now that we've got the gear situation squared away.

Lolo is still coughing and running a low grade fever tonight. (You can probably tell that she's a little pink in the picture above). Hopefully, today was the worst of it and things will start improving. Please keep our girls in your prayers. We need Norah to stay out of the hospital.

Update

Lolo has caught some sort of virus from school. She's home today with a cough and running a low grade fever. She's still up for playing but obviously, things are not perfect....No appetite for strawberries and cream this morning.
I'm afraid Norah is next. Let's pray Norah stays out of the hospital this round.

Ride 'em Cowgirls!

Yep. Back in our jammies. A little late night ride before bedtime.

Ski update

Lolo's ski leash is officially retired. We're passing the leash on to Norah (once she gets big enough). Lolo is turning downhill, going around obstacle courses (beautiful, beautiful turns), and skied down from the top of the hill all by herself. I'm just flabbergasted that she has improved this fast. Now, there's no question in my mind that she'll be skiing moguls in 2008. I'm going to try to remember to bring the camera on our next wednesday outing.

Pants

How does this happen?!
As Lolo is getting dressed this morning, we realize that just about every pair of pants she owns has suddenly gotten too short. It's like she grew overnight.

Who do I have a soft spot for?

I took a quick break from work this afternoon because I heard Norah crying....went downstairs to see what was going on. Long story short...I end up staying downstairs carrying my baby girl for much more time than originally intended.
As I'm snuggling with Norah, I ask her "who can always get Mama to do what they want her to do?" Norah looks up at me with tears still on her chubby cheeks and replies "Daddy."

Santa

I took the girls see the holiday display that Macy's puts on in their auditorium every year (this year, it was the Nutcracker...neither girl knows the story but they enjoyed seeing all the characters). Then, we made a stop to visit with Santa. Norah was very serious during their encounter. I'm just thankful she didn't cry.

Lolo was very curious. She kept asking if he was the real Santa. And then she said we had to get busy and make chocolate chip cookies because Santa said that was his favorite cookie. I asked Lolo what she told Santa she wanted for Christmas. She said to me (very seriously), "Mom, it's a secret." Hmmm. Doesn't bode well for Lolo....I don't think she's going to get what she asked Santa for....

Working it

Norah's constantly working it. You can just see the wheels turning in her brain. This morning, we were eating waffles. Norah loves to just basically eat butter. She finished the butter off of her waffle. (We've had conversations about how you can't just eat butter. Butter has to be ON something like bread or waffles or pancakes, etc.)
Norah looked sweetly at her dad, whispered "I love you. I love you." And proceeds to pluck the butter off of his waffle, place what used to be Jim's butter on her waffle, and immediately proceeds to scarf up the butter.

Rope Tow

Here's Lolo riding the rope tow. Already the relaxed expert, she even has time to wave to her adoring fans.

Ski racer

Check out this amazing racer. She's off the leash (except for steeper inclines), is stem turning, and has figured out how to stop at the bottom of the hill (without resorting to a crash)....She heads to the top of the hill, picks the run she wants, and comes down the hill with the biggest grin on the planet.

Ski day

Video from this morning...Watch our girl go...I'm just barely checking her speed with the leash. Otherwise, it's all Lolo. We actually skied a bit today without the leash....but I can't video at that time....Lolo keeps me busy.
I'll try to take some more video when Jim skis with us and Norah is with Nancy. Our Norah has had a little trouble on skis. She's so little it has been difficult to get her outfitted properly. They just don't make skis and boots for kids who are Norah's size. We tried taking her today, but she just wasn't having any fun.

God's girl

I'm giving Norah a bath tonight and ask her "How'd you get so pretty? Are you mom's girl or dad's girl?" Norah replies "God's girl."
From the mouth of babes :-)

Tree Trimming

It's been a busy few days. Our tree is finally up and decorated. The girls each made a star for the tree (Lolo's star is on top and Norah's star is right underneath). Lolo made the garland and we all worked on the gingerbread ornaments.

Our tree was frozen solid when we got it home. The girls were extremely disappointed that we couldn't decorate right away. We had to wait overnight for the tree to thaw out completely. In any event, I told the girls we could trim the tree first thing in the morning as soon as Jim got up. (That's why we're still in our jammies, Vicki...yes, the girls and I do eventually get into regular clothes at some point every day). Lolo is now in charge of checking on the tree every morning to make sure it has water (so our tree doesn't die).

Any way, Jim and I took a quick evening getaway....Nancy came over and stayed with the girls for an evening so we could sneak away and stay at a bed and breakfast. It's hard to believe that it took over 2 years for us to get away for one evening. It was our first night away from Norah. When we checked in to the b&b, it felt really odd to me - WAY too quiet. I asked Jim "Does it feel a little strange to you that we don't hear anyone running around screaming right now?" I'm not sure that was a normal reaction. We should probably try to get out more without the kids.

Finally, below is a video of our tree trimming festivities....Norah is really getting into Christmas (and the ornaments). Our curly haired mousling has nibbled on almost every ornament she can reach.

Christmas trees

We're heading out today to pick out a tree. Lolo wanted a tree right after Thanksgiving because she saw people putting them up. I told her that we couldn't get one that early because it might die before Christmas (still about 5 weeks away at the time) so we would have to wait. This past week, Lolo comes back from preschool and said her friends Shannon & Caitlin already had Christmas trees. She proudly reported, "I told them their trees would die. Right mom?" Oops. My bad.

Christmas cookies

We worked hard on cookies yesterday...although I'm afraid the girls ate more decorations and

icing than went on the cookies.

Halloween in December

The girls can't seem to get enough of their costumes...I felt a little strange letting them wear their costumes all day yesterday; but, on the bright side, we are certainly getting a lot more wear out of those costumes than I ever thought we would.

Things you shouldn't have to say, but do...

During a playdate with Willem, I found myself saying "Lolo, please don't put your sister in a trash can."

Ski Day

Lolo and I are going to be spending special time together this winter skiing. It's my goal to get her out on the slopes at least once a week. We had an unbelieveably good time today. She was trying to talk me into letting her ski without the leash, but gee...That little girl is like a rocket down the slopes. Anyway, she wore the leash and we still had a great time. I wish you could have seen her out there. And then to add to the excitement of the day...there was a man dressed up like Santa running the lift. Whoa. You should have seen her face when Santa commented on her great skiing. So we skied for an hour at Buck Hill until Lolo's feet got cold. Then we climbed into the car and warmed up with a thermos of hot chocolate.
I'm going to try to bring the camera next time (weather dependent of course).

More Gingerbread Houses

Norah worked on her house yesterday and both girls helped me work on mine....it was a big sugar high day. As Jim commented when he got home....we don't even have this much candy in the house over Halloween. Next project for later this week....gingerbread ornaments for the christmas tree and construction paper garlands.

One more sledding picture

Big day for Lolo

Lolo had a BIG day today. She has officially moved on to the next level of her swim class. I was incredibly impressed that she passed the class. I kind of figured she'd have at least another session or two before she moved into the next class.

And then, she came home and worked on her gingerbread house all afternoon. It's her best one yet. Notice how she's got a front door and a back door. And how her marshmallow rope chimney has "smoke" (a.k.a. black gumdrop) coming out. Norah's house is next.

Just one more tonight

To Do List and Priorities

I was just re-reading yesterday's post. Yes I was whining about not having enough time to do things on my list. And yes, instead of working on my to do list....I went sledding with the girls. And then we had hot chocolate to warm up. It's all about priorities :-)

Sledding

A few more pictures from this afternoon....we obviously went sledding with Willem & Michael (and their parents). Lolo has always loved snow and had a great time. More amazingly, Norah really enjoyed it. "More! More!" She kept wanting to go down the hill...screaming with delight when we would go fast. Towards the end of the sledding expedition, she picked up "Yahoo!" and would say it as we rode down the hill.

A note about the Norah pics...she would lay back in the sled and I'd pull her back up the hill. Norah liked to pretend she was sleeping.

Snow Day!

Our first real snow day of the season...more photos to come later on tonight when the girls are down.

Holiday overload

Yes, it's only December 1 but I'm already feeling the pressures of the holidays. Nope, the gingerbread houses are not going to be done tomorrow. I didn't get around to making the royal icing and when I do, the houses have to set overnight. Plus, I've still got cookies to bake, decorations and projects for the girls, shopping, christmas cards, etc.
On a rather sad (for me) note....our Norah is growing up way too fast for my liking. In a few short weeks, she's started talking nonstop....given up the sippy cup (i.e., refuses to drink out of anything with a lid unless there is a straw in it)...refuses to sit on her special potty and insists upon sitting on the big potty....takes any chance she gets to sit in Lolo's booster instead of her own high chair....and has developed this amazing knack for playing dominos. Who is this amazing "big" kid?!

Bundled up for Snow

Yahoo! It looks like we're going to get a whopper of a storm this weekend.

This week, I've taken advantage of some down time from work to play with the girls. Ambitiously, I took both girls (with Nancy's help) to a local ski hill on wednesday afternoon. Bad idea. The hill didn't open up until 3pm and by the time we got there it was packed with older kids who got out of school. Who'da'thunk it? Anyway, we'll try again next wednesday....but this time it will be just me and Lolo. And we're going straight after preschool so we should avoid the crowds.

We spent today out and about running errands, went out for lunch with Willem & Michael, and then the kids played together all afternoon. (Well, Norah and Michael napped). We just got back from their house and the girls have gone down hard.

Tomorrow is dance class. We're picking up some ribs for a great sunday dinner....because there's nothing like a hot plate of bbq ribs when you're snowed in ;-) I'm also pondering baking gingerbread tonight (because I know now that graham cracker houses don't work well). We'll see. Gingerbread houses either tomorrow afternoon or sunday.

Four

This evening Norah and I were walking down the stairs together. Norah (who is now our motor-mouth) was chatting up a storm. Somehow we got on the subject of rocking a baby. I asked her if she needed me to rock her. She look up at me, clearly offended, and said "I, four!" and held up four fingers to show me.

Worried about Norah? Nope.

It's a little hard to believe that we were ever worried about Norah missing developmental milestones. Amazingly, she's gone from not meeting milestones to speaking 3-4 word sentences. Over the weekend we heard "I want play, Mommy." and "I love you Mommy." And then, the classic sibling phrase emerged "Lolo did it."

And just so you know...

the girls aren't ALWAYS in their jammies....despite what it looks like from the recent posts.

Happy Thanksgiving

The girls watched the Thanksgiving day parade this morning while I started cooking for the day (actually, I got a head start yesterday with Lolo's help). Willem and Michael's family was supposed to join us but they've come down with strep. Last year, we bailed on them because Norah and Jim were sick. Maybe we'll all be healthy next year. On the bright side, the student we hosted this summer and his roommate will be still joining us for dinner.
We've got a huge meal planned with the standards and a few new recipes as always. Cider brined turkey, cranberry relish, stuffing with cherries and goat cheese, sweet potato biscuits, spinach maria, a crab-artichoke-proscuitto gratin, twice baked mashed potatoes, pecan pie, pumpkin-caramel cheesecake. Wish you were here to celebrate with us because there's going to be a lot of food.
Here's Norah from this morning...she was enamoured with the Rockettes and started kicking along with them....she wouldn't stop or take a bow until they were done with the show. So there you have it. Lolo will run off and join Cirque du Soleil and Norah's going to be a Rockette.

Lolo's show

From the other day, post-Lion King, Lolo decides that to really do a show, the lights have to be off....

Lolo-incredible

Our Lolo is unbelieveably incredible....she's Lolo-incredible. This morning, I'm not wanting to get out of bed. I hear the girls thumping around in their bedroom....when I finally hear some unusual noises, I get my lazy self out of bed and find that Lolo has (1) gotten herself dressed (2) picked out an outfit for Norah and (3) is in the process of changing Norah's diaper. WOW! She was really close to getting the diaper on right....but had a little trouble getting the diaper under Norah and couldn't quite get the tabs on tight enough. But WOW! That's my girl!

How old are you?

I forgot to mention...when we were at the pediatrician's office yesterday, the doctor asked Norah "how old are you?" Norah's reply...."Four!"
We've got a bit of work to do.

Well Child Visit

Updates from today's well child visits...
Lolo : 42 inches tall (90th percentile); 41 lbs (80th percentile)
Norah : 31 1/2 inches tall (5th percentile); 25 lbs (25th percentile); 19 inch head (75th percentile)
Lolo's growing well and takes after Jim. Norah takes after me.

Lolo's big show

Lolo and I had a very special afternoon together yesterday. We went to see "The Lion King" musical that was playing in town. It was so special to see her enormous eyes as the actors came down the aisles in their eleborate costumes. I though the show was outstanding. I can only imagine what was going through Lolo's mind. It was such a joy to see the wonder in her eyes and the excitement on her face. I probably had a better time than she did.
Lolo did a great job of sitting through the show. However, it was a bit much for our girl. All the stimulation wore her out. I think we'll wait another year or so before scheduling more big production shows for us to see together.
On a related note...this morning, Lolo was putting on a show. Yesterday she learned that when a show starts, the lights go out. It's amazing to see what kids will pick up. Jim's waiting to see when Lolo figures out she needs a spotlight.
I've been trying to upload this video but it won't go. I'll try again later.

Norah's bow

We've been working on a curtain call for Norah (so she's properly prepared for dance class recitals). Here's our dancing princess working on her dance and then a big bow.

Baby doll

I was reading more about child development last night...making sure Norah and Lolo were on track (which they are)...one thing in particular that struck me was about "hero worship"....Norah is right on track for that. She just adores Lolo and thinks Lolo can do no wrong. The book I was reading talked about how the younger sibling will follow the older one around like a puppy dog. What the experts don't know is that our older child will actually put her sister on a "leash" and "walk" her around the house....while Norah crawls on all fours and barks or mews as appropriate. Here, we have Lolo and Norah playing "baby doll". Norah the "baby doll" sits in a doll stroller and gets pushed around by her "mom" who is wearing high heels.

Potato Head

Norah likes to pretend she's a potato head.

Kitchen Whiz Kid

We've been underestimating Norah all along. Yesterday morning, the girls were playing in the kitchen while Jim and I were debating what to have for breakfast. We decided on waffles. I'm getting out flour from the pantry. Suddenly, a big klunk bang is heard. We notice Norah had opened a cabinet and had dragged out the waffle iron. Whoa.
First, we didn't know she was listening. Second, that she understood we were having waffles. And third, most amazingly, how does a kid ,who just turned 2, know that you need a waffle iron to make waffles and where mom stores the iron?! Good heavens. Jim doesn't even know where I store the waffle iron!

Lame blog

Vicki commented the other day about how lame this blog has become and how bad I've been about posting lately. Yep. It's a fact. I'd like to say I'll get better at posting pictures, etc. but I don't know that's really reliable. As most of you know, I've taken on a part-time consulting assignment...clearly, it's affecting the blog. It's a short term contract and I'll take a look at the end of the year to see if I want to continue the assignment....in the meantime, I'll ask for your patience in suffering along with this blog until I get motivated to blog consistently.
The girls are fine. Norah's talking up a storm. Her latest catch phrase is "How 'bout that?!"
It has been a rough couple of months - Lolo's birthday, Halloween, Norah's birthday and now we're gearing up for Thanksgiving....and then it will be Christmas. Seems like it would have been better to spread all of this "joy" around throughout the year instead of cramming it into 3 short months. Frankly, I was exhausted after Halloween.

More on Nor

If you ask Norah how old she is, today, we're back to "three!" Apparently, "two" is just not very popular.
In other news, the girls have named their new baby dolls. Lolo wants to call them "Lovey" and "Dovey". Norah disagrees with the naming of her baby and insists her baby is named "Melmo". LOL!

Two

We worked on it just about all day and I think she's finally got it. Right after dinner we went through the "Norah, how old are you?" She finally replied "Two!"
In other news, Jim took a quick break from work and came home to say good night to the girls. He took Norah, and before I could stop him, flipped her upside down. Normally, this would be ok. But tonight, she still had a big mouthful of milk from dinner. Jim got a big faceful of warmed up milk when she giggled. I'd say that was a first.

Birthday picnic

It's a gorgeous fall day. We were outside for a quick bike ride before lunch and the girls didn't want to come back inside. So, we decided to have a picnic lunch outside. Yes, Norah is wearing a santa hat. Both girls had on their princess dresses this morning but by lunch time we had moved on to santa hats.

Singers

This was the clear hit of the evening. The old CD player (with microphone) that the girls had broke from too much love. GrammaPeg & PopPaul replaced it with this wonderous thing that has TWO microphones and no volume control. Whoa. I know Uncle Ben wishes he had thought of it. The girls have been singing their hearts out...first thing this morning, the girls get up, go downstairs, and start to sing. They were cracking us up last night. Lolo looked up from her singing, saw me with a big grin, and was completely perplexed "What?! What's so funny Mama?" What can I say....the girls just make me laugh. I can't help it.

Happy Birthday Norah

I can't believe Norah is really two. Norah doesn't think she's two. If you ask "Norah, how old are you?" She will reply "Three!" In any event, we had a small celebration last night. Jim got home at a reasonable hour (I won't say early) and we had dinner together and cream puffs. After our party, Lolo pouted a bit and said "This wasn't a party. Norah didn't have friends come over and we didn't have that thing where you pull and treats come out" (translation : where's the pinata?)

I think she got over it when the girls opened presents.

Baby Dolls

PoPo sent the girls baby dolls and accessories for Norah's birthday. Of course, when a box comes for Norah, Lolo immediately asks, "Is there something in there for me too?" And thankfully, the answer is usually "Yes"...if there isn't, mom starts digging like a maniac through her secret stash. The package came in two huge boxes; so, in a moment of weakness, I let the girls open them last night. The baby dolls are supposed to be lifesize "newborns" and weigh about as much. But Jim and I think they are about the size of Norah at maybe 4-6 months. Norah has a bit of trouble carrying her baby.

After the girls went to bed, I stayed up and put the doll stroller and crib together. First thing this morning, Norah discovers the doll crib sitting outside her bedroom door.

We're having a family party for the birthday girl this weekend if Jim is home...he's on call...I know you're surprised. I'm guessing we'll manage a little something this weekend and if energies allow, we'll try to do something a little more elaborate next weekend.

Guess what we did this week?

Can you guess what the girls made this week?

Jim's home!

Jim made it home safe and sound. We're thrilled to have him back. We missed him like crazy...especially, daddy's girl, Norah. Last night, Norah woke up around 11pm, calling for Jim. She wanted to make sure he was still here. I went in to comfort her, but it wasn't enough. Once Jim showed up, she went back to sleep peacefully. So sweet. She just wanted to make sure he didn't leave again. Welcome home dad.

Cream puffs

Willem's mom brough over cream puffs to share. Lolo and Norah had their first taste of one. And as Lolo so aptly said "Mama, this is so good. I'm about to freak out!"

Overscheduled?

I'm starting to re-evaluate all of our activities. Norah woke up at 4:30 this morning and elected to sleep in the guest bedroom again. Amazingly, she slept until 7:45am. I couldn't believe it. When I woke up and realized what time it was, I was worried something had happened to her. Lolo was tired as well. I think this whole thing with Norah's croup has really taken a toll on Lolo. Lolo slept in. Got up briefly around 8:00 to potty and get a quick snack, then went back to her room and "slept in" until a little after 9:30. I didn't have the heart to get her out of bed to go to music class this morning. I figured she needed the sleep....

Which is why I'm starting to re-evaluate our activities....is it too much for a preschool kid to have one scheduled class activity per day? Maybe I should give her days off just to mess around? I'm really struggling with how much is too much. I'm fearful that I've become one of those moms that overschedules her kids. Part of the problem is that Lolo loves to do everything. She loves to swim, loves the circus, loves ballet class, loves preschool. Another part of the problem is that Lolo's mama loves to do everything too, I want to encourage anything she loves, and I don't want her to miss out. But this morning was a reality check for me.

On a bright note...Jim's coming home tomorrow. Hooray!

Norah update

Norah is finally back on track. She's still hoarse and has a cough but it's nothing like it was....Unfortunately, she's been consistently waking up before 5am. This morning, she woke up at 4:30am - waking up Lolo and myself. I told her that (since this was the first time in many days she didn't need to sit in a warm, steamy bathroom at night) she could either be quiet and stay in her own nice warm crib with Lolo OR she could cry all she wanted in a playpen in GrammaPeg's room while Lolo and I continued to sleep in our warm cozy beds. I was shocked when she chose the guest bedroom (we usually close it off when we don't have visitors and it gets a little cold). Anyway, I set up the playpen. She got in. Cried for a bit. Went back to sleep until 7am. Amazing.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great night. Norah decided to be a ladybug (complete with matching boots...which she insisted upon)...and her very own double bucket system....a hilarious system when you consider the fact that she was done trick or treating after visiting Willem and Michael's house for a box of raisins. Norah came back home to eat her raisins and drink hot chocolate with Nancy.

In contrast, Princess Lolo decided to take her easter basket because it matched her outfit better (frankly, I agree). Lolo, Willem, Julia, Jacqueline & Natalie did the neighborhood circuit....poor Lolo, she got tired and wanted to be carried....but alas, I had warned her that I'm not her dad and would not be carrying her throughout the neighborhood...when she was done walking, we would be done trick or treating....she was surprisingly agreeable (of course, it helped that the girls walked her home and Willem had left early).

On a sad note, our Dora pumpkin got eaten up this afternoon presumably by a squirrel.