Splashing around

We've had some nice warm-enough-for-the-girls-to-play-in-water days. We pulled out the "pool" for the girls to play in on monday and have been splashing every afternoon since then. Of course, it's not crazy warm...so after about 20 minutes Norah's teeth start chattering and her chubby cheeks start quivering. It's so hard getting the girls back inside to warm them up. Even though their little lips are blue they want to stay in there and splash.

Today, Lolo spied some big juicy earthworms when we were outside. We started to play with them. Lolo decided her worm needed a bath in the pool. As I was trying to convince Lolo that the worm didn't really need a cold bath, Norah was quietly packing away a juicy earthworm of her own. I had to keep myself from gagging as I pulled earthworm out of her mouth. Did I really brag about our girls having sophisticated palates recently?

Trip next week

We're heading out on monday to Ely, MN...back to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area but from a different put in point. (If you'll recall, last year we tackled the BWCA from the Gunflint Trail). Will be staying in a "rustic" cabin (ie no electricity, no plumbing) that will require a 2 mile canoe trip to reach the cabin. Just got Lolo a fishing rod from Target and will be getting Norah her very own paddle later on this week. Very exciting. Grandparents don't worry. Norah is breathing great today. We're set up with a 25W solar charger and back up battery for Norah's nebulizer treatments and have back up evacuation plans.

The naughty gene

I don't know where Norah gets her naughty gene from. She seems to have more "ideas" than I can even begin to imagine. This afternoon, I took the girls with me to a watch shop to get a battery replaced. The shop had a mirror on the wall that reached almost to the floor. Norah first walks over to a cuckoo clock and tries to pull it off the wall. When she is "redirected", Norah proceeds to go right up to the mirror, smear her little face on it, blows loud pooty-noised-raspberries on the mirror, and turns around with a big wicked grin. Lovely. Luckily, the owner has a sense of humor.

Nebulizer treatments

I have a need to comment (brag) on how outstanding Norah is about taking her medicines and nebulizer treatments. All of the respiratory therapists we have encountered in the hospital the past 3 visits have been amazed that Norah will hold the nebulizer herself and is so easy to work with. They all say that they've never seen an 18 month old kid do that. Then all the nurses are amazed that Norah is so good about taking her medicines. Kudos to Norah-Kate!
Of course, I have to confess, these days both girls are excited about the breathing treatments. Each treatment takes about 15 minutes. About 3 weeks ago, I started letting the girls watch tv during the treatments. Now Lolo will say "Mama, I think Norah needs a breathing treatment." She's not as concerned about getting her nails clipped any more.

Home this weekend

We were going to go to our neighbor's cabin this weekend, but due to our recent hospital visit, we decided it might be better to stay home for a bit. Norah is breathing much better...yesterday and today, she basically gets wheezy when she's running around like a tornado and mixing it up with her sister.
We had dinner outside tonight and at the table both girls just started joyously screaming at the top of their lungs. Nothing was wrong. Just for fun. They just would look at each other, scream as loud as possible, and crack up laughing. I gave Lolo a look (Jim calls it my "goon eye"). Lolo, who has experienced my looks plenty of times, said "Mama, I using my outside voice."

Back home

Norah is back at home now....mixing it up with Lolo. Still has the cold but the wheezing is under control.

Back to the hospital

It was Jim's turn tonight. Norah's back in the hospital. Will keep everyone posted.

Another cold

The girls both have slight chest colds....runny noses and coughs. Ordinarily not a big deal and not blog-worthy, but Norah's recent wheezing episodes have us a little worried. She's not breathing great tonight. Please pray that we make it through this week without another trip to the ER/hospital stay. We're going to be nebulizing her throughout the night.

Bubble bath

Lastly, no trip to Vic's house would be complete for Lolo without a bubble bath. Lolo had been excitedly talking about taking a bubble bath before we left and Vic didn't disappoint her. (No, Norah didn't take a bubble bath. I was worried we might lose her.)

Norah's first ice cream cone

After kids day, we all went to get ice cream cones. A very special treat for Norah since this was her very first ice cream cone ever. And, boy, did she enjoy every single bite. Once she got her ice cream, she didn't come up for air until it was gone. Amazingly, a short while later, we all went out for dinner. Jim and I figured this would have spoiled their appetites. Not so. Norah impressed everyone by polishing off an entire crab cake, 2 very large shrimp, some green beans, and then a few bites of mom and dad's dinner too. Lolo managed to eat almost as much as Norah.

Norah's personal kids day ride

Our wild child just loves this and can't get enough!

Kids Day

We took the girls to a local "kids day". The girls got their faces painted, got to feed a few goats (one of whom tried to eat Lolo's hair clips), and a ride down a slide with Lolo. Poor Norah...she waited in line with us for the slide...then, we decided she was too young to go down...Norah didn't think that was right. She threw quite a fit. Daddy had to give her a personalized "kids day" fair ride. Video to follow once it's up on google.

Back from PA

We're back from a quick long weekend trip to see Vicki and Israel in PA. Here's Lolo at the Pittsburgh airport. Both girls were very apprehensive about Franco....they both thought he was real. Norah visibly jumped when she saw him and Lolo was not really excited about getting next to him to take a picture until after I touched him to show her that he was just pretend.

Potato head

This has got to be due to Jim's genes. Lolo (and now Norah) have decided that it's more fun to use the Potato Head parts on themselves instead of the Potato Head. Of course, everytime the girls make a "face" it cracks me up and further encourages them.

And, Carolyn....it's an honor to have a spider named after you in our home. Didn't you know that? The other day, "we" were sweeping out the garage and Lolo noticed spiderwebs in the corners. "Oh Mama! Look! Aren't they beautiful?!" Needless to say, "we" had to be careful not to disturb the webs and the spiders. There's been too much "Charlotte's Web" in our house lately.

Pittsburgh

Before I forget to mention this...we're heading to Pittsburgh this friday to visit the girls' Aunt Vicki, Uncle Israel, and animals. We'll be back on Monday.

Good News

The sweat test came back negative! Hooray! Now we just need to figure out what keeps our Norah-Katie wheezing....

Norah Update

We went to the pulmonologist yesterday. Norah's still wheezing and he increased her steroid dose. She went back in today for more testing...a sweat test and a check of her immune system. Results of the sweat test later today and the immune system check results will be later this week.

Happy Mother's Day!

A very happy mother's day to all moms! I sure had a great day. Jim let me sleep in this morning!! YAHOO! Then, he and the girls brought me breakfast in bed. WOW! And then, Jim took over morning diaper duty. OUTSTANDING!
When the girls and Jim brought breakfast to me, Lolo crawled into bed with me and looked at me with her big brown eyes and said "Daddy only feed me one thing." (Translation : Hint, hint, mom...I want some of your breakfast...even though Daddy fixed me a full breakfast already.) That girl can tell some whoppers. Lolo was especially proud of the breakfast because she and Jim made it. I asked if Norah helped. Lolo responded by shaking her head and saying, "not so much." But Norah sure helped me clean my plate.

Kenny and Carolyn

Lolo and Norah were playing with Kenny, their green plastic spider, before lunch. Of course, Kenny had to join us at the table (he lives in a pink nalgene bottle). Then Lolo informs us that Dadabooboo has a spider too, except his spider isn't named Kenny. His spider's name is Carolyn. LOL!

Angels in MN Part 2

From our walk tonight

Angels in MN

Yes, I know, it's not quite Halloween yet...but how could I say no to the wings?

Ride 'em cowgirl!

Norah just loves getting up on their horse (whose name changes depending on the day....sometimes she's named "Ginger" and sometimes she's named "I Love You"....actually, it seems most of the animals/dolls in our home have been named "I Love You" at one point or other in their lives....I told Lolo we had considered naming her "I Love You" and naming Norah "I Love You Two". They're still too young to truly give me eyerolls just yet....but I digress.) Norah has been doing much better lately....just the slightest bit of wheezing...mostly at night. We've got a visit with Norah's pulmonologist on monday to rule out some things.

We've had gorgeous weather here this week. The girls and I have been getting outside to play every day. I actually wore us all out this morning and by 2:30pm we were all taking quiet time. The girls were up and creating chaos by 4:30pm, wolfing down mountains of shrimp by 5:30pm; and, whew, they are finally both down!

Sign Language

As some of you might know, Lolo has been learning sign language at preschool this year. She came home the other day and asked "Do you know what the sign for "mama" is?" I replied "No, what is it?" Lolo gets her index finger and thumb up in the shape of an "L" and puts it up to her forehead. Jim about busted a gut....I'm feeling like we're not exactly getting our educational money-worth from the preschool.

Our Gardener

It's not often one gets the opportunity to have a princess as their personal gardener....She actually did a very good job planting our petunias. (As if I, with my black thumb of death, could actually critique anyone's planting skills. LOL!) Lolo really enjoyed digging holes, covering up the roots with dirt, and giving the flowers a drink. Willem and Michael came by to see if Lolo could play this afternoon. Lolo said "No, I busy working."

On a semi-related note, Lolo has been really into the whole princess thing....she's been wearing the crown a lot....I didn't have the energy to fight her over it this morning; so she wore it to school, to the flower nursery, and then out to dinner....basically, all day. It came off just before bathtime. I guess it's only a problem if she continues to insist upon a tiara when she's 16.

Banished

Norah was banished by Lolo from "their" room tonight. Norah had a really hard time settling down at bedtime and got Lolo ramped up with her. Jim and I went in there once apiece to tell the girls to "settle down". (As a side note, Jim was wondering how many times we'll have to go in to their room and tell the girls to "settle down" at bedtime in the next 15 years or so). Finally, Lolo had enough. She came out to complain about Norah. Norah's back in the guest bedroom until she can go to sleep quietly in "their" bedroom.

Springtime and worms

Norah is back to her old self and we've got the girls sharing a room. Hooray! The guest bedroom is now open and available to those who'd like to visit. The weather is gorgeous. We've been out enjoying the wonderful spring weather. We had lunch outside and the girls have been helping me clean up the yard. Norah discovered earthworms during our cleanup and she seemed to enjoy methodically pulling them apart....one worm becomes three and there is so much more to play with! Lovely. I guess I should be thankful she's not a boy. I can't even imagine what happens when you have boys.

Out and about

It seems perhaps the best medicine for Norah is just to get her out of the house...and completely distract her from her troubles. Norah's tummy is still giving her fits (rather, it's giving us fits with the clean up). But, we managed to take her out today for a visit with her godparents. Despite the dire predictions of thunderstorms, Greg grilled outside, we enjoyed a picnic, and let the kids roam free. Norah discovered potato chips tonight....and she loves them as much as her daddy does. Oh boy.

And as for our Princess Lolo...her newest often-used phrase is "that's unfairable!" (Accompanied with a big pout and sometimes a foot stomp for emphasis).

Norah Update

I'm hoping we're finally on the upswing (knock on wood). It's been a rough few weeks. Did I mention that Norah visited a hospital while we were in Chiang Mai too? Norah's still blowing out from one end...but it's manageable these days. At least she's able to eat some things and keep it down. She's feeling better. Still a touch irritable, but there are smiles when she dances with Dad (while wearing her wings, of course).

I don't think it's the medicine

Well, I don't think it's the medicine that's upsetting Norah's tummy. We didn't give her a dose this morning and on our way to preschool, Norah's breakfast came back up. Lovely. I cleaned her up at school and put her in Lolo's car seat for the ride home. That was dumb. Because Norah wasn't done. Ended up cleaning up two carseats instead of one. Brilliant.