An impromptu dance at home

The best curtain call ever!

I thought that I ought to comment on Lolo's dance class a bit. It's actually, a "creative movement" class offered by the local community center...certainly not the City ballet, but she's just 3 and loves it tremendously (plus Norah and I get to go to the library while Lolo is in class). Anyway, on the last day of class, they have this recital. Every kid gets to do a solo (which you saw below). Here is the grand finale...the class lines up for a final curtain call...watch what happens!

Lolo's first dance recital solo

More videos to come.

Stink beyond all stinks

My car started developing the worst smell ever - right around Norah - yesterday. I figured she must have had a dirty diaper....changed her; forgot about it. Until I got in the car this morning. Eeww. Even worse than yesterday....like something died. Finally got around to inspecting the car this evening once I got the girls down. Ugh. Norah's cup must have leaked and there was old milk in the floor of my car stewing around in 90 degree heat. Lovely. I feel like an idiot for letting her bring milk in the car. Tough lesson learned.
By the way, google video is still down.

Video

Unfortunately, google video is still not letting me upload anything. I'll keep checking periodically. Lolo is at summer camp and I'm thinking about taking the girls swimming this afternoon.

Littlest ballerina

Ballerina

We've had a very busy few days. Our ballerinas have been hard at work here....running through sprinklers, summer camp, playdates. Lolo's last dance class was today. Her very first recital. She's outstanding. Lolo was so proud to show off her dancing....she kept looking over at me to make sure I was watching and had the biggest most beautiful grin...from ear to ear. I wish you could have all been there.

Google video isn't letting me upload videos right now, so I'll have to try later....I promise it will be worth the wait.

My precious baby doll

And lastly....just because she's so sweet and naughty all at the same time.

Weekend pictures

A very laid back weekend at home with Sam, Jim & the girls. Went to a local festival where the girls rode carnival rides and then today...Jim, Sam & Lolo went to a waterpark (while Norah was supposed to be napping but she never did).

Uncle Sam

The girls' Uncle Sam is here visiting for a few days. No big plans for the weekend. We're just hanging out here. Sam, the girls, and I went to the pool today....Lolo's dance class yesterday. I'm not sure what's in store for this weekend, but we'll keep you posted and have some pictures up in the next day or two.

Work

I'm taking some tentative steps towards returning to the "work" world (as if I've been vacating the past 3+ years); and as a result, I'm starting to prep Lolo for her mama going to work and a new nanny coming into our cozy world.
Lolo was inquisitive and asks "what sort of work will you be doing?
I reply "mostly work on the computer, talking on the phone, and making trips to other people's offices."
Hmmm. Lolo thinks about it and responds that it "sounds like a boy's job."
I tell her "Vicki works."
She responds "Yeah, but Vicki is more like a boy."
And then there is a long conversation about how girls can do the same jobs boys do.
It's going to be a tough transition for our girl.

Owwies all around

It's been quite a day. Norah, who is always going full steam ahead, ran outside to see Lolo off to school and face-planted on the sidewalk. Two skinned knees and other minor scrapes. I'm a little concerned that her knees are going to have permanant scars since they're constantly getting "re-skinned" before they heal up completely.
After Lolo came back from summer camp, we had lunch and then headed off to the pool. Lolo started getting a little cocky on the water slide and started doing "twisties" on the way down. A warning from mom. Then after a few more trips down the slide doing twisties and Lolo smacked her face against the side of the slide. Yep. Bruise. (That's to go with the bruised lip she's currently sporting from climbing a step stool and trying to get something out of her closet by herself). If I didn't know better, I'd think someone was beating my child.

While we're scanning pictures

Here's a recent Lolo-creation...a picture of her great-grandmother in bed and an angel by her side.

Scanning monster

I've created a monster. Lolo is addicted to using the scanner. Here's a picture of the "pea family" that she drew and wanted to scan.

First visit to the dentist

The girls visited the dentist for the first time today. Great reports on both girls. Not a single cavity. Lolo did great (as expected)...very cooperative with her flouride treatment and polishing. Norah, well, as you can imagine....not as cooperative...bit down on the mirror, bit down on fingers, didn't want to open her mouth so much. But overall, she did better than I expected.

The next american idol?

Norah just loves to sing. Here she is taking over Lolo's CD player with microphone and singing her heart out.

Another busy day

It's another busy day. We're making progress at church....we only had to leave church twice this morning - when Norah fell and hit her head on the bench (twice). We've discovered, with Norah, that it helps to (a) sit next to other kids and (b) make sure we're on the back row next to the door. We've been visiting with neighbors and in a little bit, the girls are headed over to Jacqueline's house for a swim date. I was exhausted about this day before it began. I wish sundays could truly be a day of rest.

Ballerinas

We've been up to our eyeballs in busy this week. It's hard to believe it's already friday. Jim's been on call so we haven't seen much of him. Although, one night he did manage to make it home before the girls fell asleep. They were already in bed and they heard the garage door open. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" You could hear their excited voices. Of course, Jim had to run in to see his girls.
Lolo has started dance class. She's only got a few more scheduled (we missed a few due to our impromptu trip to San Diego) and then a performance follows. I'll try to remember to bring my camera.
Lolo loves her dance teacher, Miss Amy. But, she loves wearing leotards, skirts, and ballet shoes most. Here she is showing her off dance moves with Norah.
Norah, who has to do everything her sister does, loves wearing tutus or leotards as well. If Lolo is dressed up, Norah will come to me to help get her dressed. GrammaPeg had given Lolo a black leotard with skirt some time ago; which she outgrew before having the chance to wear much. The tag said for age 4-6 but it's now the perfect size for Norah. I was going to take a picture of Norah in her new outfit but I gave her a snack before the photo session....and, well,....you know how enthusiatic Norah is about snacks.
So the week has been full of playdates with Willem & Michael. Dance class. Summer camp. A playdate with Jacqueline. And oh! We've been making homemade ice cream. Vicki's strawberry lime ice cream. And today's flavor was cherry, lime with chocolate chips.
I certainly could have used a nap this afternoon. You'd think they would be exhausted by bedtime. Not so. I put them "down" around 7pm. Went in several times with my motherly "be quiet" voice. They finally collapsed about 9pm. Unbelieveable.

From a playdate

Photos courtesy of Willem's mom. Pictures from a recent playdate at Willem's house. Norah was napping. Norah's still on 2 naps a day. We just can't seem to get her transitioned to a single nap on a regular basis. Just when I think she's down to one nap, she starts requiring 2 again. Maybe she's using this time to grow. It's just as well that she naps. If she were down to one nap, I'm afraid she'd spend a lot more time on the naughty step. The other night, Norah ended up on the step for hitting her dad with a toy. When I let her up from the step, I told her she needed to go hug daddy and tell him she was sorry. She immediately went to hug Lolo....apparently, it's an automatic reaction to go hug Lolo after time on the naughty step (Norah usually ends up on the step due to hitting Lolo).

More Disney pics from Vicki. Did I mention that it was hot? Vicki bought these great spray bottle fans (which we're keeping in San Diego for our next theme park trip). Norah quickly figured out how to spray herself with water and cool down. And did I mention that Norah managed to eat a considerable amount of ice cream on this trip? We're shooting for 15th percentile on our next doctor's visit.

It's been very interesting to see how language develops. We're constantly surprised by comments the girls (Lolo in particular) make on a regular basis.
While in San Diego, we took the girls to the beach one day. Lolo and Jim were splashing in the waves, when she unexpectedly got knocked over by a wave. Jim said to Lolo "Wow. You got slammed!" Lolo replied "Yeah. Like a door!"
On another occasion, Lolo requested some "dip" on her plate. Israel opened up a mayo packet and said to Lolo "Say when." Lolo looked at him and said "NOW!"

I'm constantly amazed by how Norah has such a great memory. After lunch, I asked the girls if they would rather go swimming or ride bikes. They both chose a bike ride (which in reality means Lolo rides her bike and I run to catch up with Norah in the stroller). So, I told the girls that Norah first had to take a good nap and then we'd go outside. As soon as Norah woke up from her nap, I went in to get her, she sat straight up, looked me in the eye and said "BIKE!"

From Thailand

A couple of belated pictures from our trip to Thailand. Norah and her "giant" sippy cup crack me up....it reminds me of those people who carry around those big gulp drinks. Actually, it's only an 8oz cup but it looks huge when she holds it.

And a trip to the San Diego Zoo for Lolo and her great-aunt Marietta. Complete with face painting. Lolo LOVED the sparkles and the "jewel" bindi.

In Mickey and Minnie's playhouse.

And the highlight of the girls' trip. A visit with the princesses. Lolo loved Belle and Norah couldn't get enough of Cinderella. Norah crawled right into Cinderella's lap and just made herself comfortable.

Here's an interesting comparison (to me anyway)...Norah in her stroller at Disneyland this past week vs Norah at Disneyworld last year. It's hard to believe how much a kid can change in such a short period of time.

Woobie Ride! As only a man can invent.

We were staying in my mom's house (which is currently empty because she's planning renovations). Long story short, empty house....sleeping bags and the girls discovered woobie rides. First, Jim pulled the girls around the house on a sleeping bag, then the girls discovered they could crawl in and their uncle would swing them around the empty room. Norah would say "more! more!" Our crazy kid couldn't get enough.

I've found my card reader. Photos from Sea World. Should have skipped Sea World and gone straight to Disney (IMHO). Lolo "kissing" a manatee. And the girls feeding the seals.

A few pictures from a beach day in LaJolla.

I've set up an account for the Disney pictures. But I'm not sure how everyone is supposed to see the pictures. You may need to sign up and it could be a real pain in the a**. The alternative is to wait until I get my rear in gear and locate our card reader. However, if you're up for a challenge and want to see the Disney pics, email me and I'll forward the info....but be warned, the site is an expensive sales pitch.

Our two plus weeks in San Diego were quite nice. It's always good to reconnect with family and just hang out. We spent some time at the beach, took the girls to Sea World, and then a day at Disneyland. Disneyland was a HUGE hit this time. We enjoyed it far more than we thought we would. Last year was probably a little early for a trip to Disney (Lolo didn't know any of the characters, Norah was still a touch colicky, Jim & I were sleep deprived). This year, Lolo was in love with the Princesses. The girls got to meet the princesses. Lolo got to dance with Snow White and listen to Snow White tell a story at storytime. We probably could have spent the whole day there if Lolo was in charge. Surprisingly, Norah thought Disneyland was big fun too. She really loved the rides. We'd push her in the stroller and she'd point to a ride and say "Ride!" Jim had to pry her little fingers off the ride bar at the end of the Alice in Wonderland ride because she didn't want to get off.

While we're on the topic of "Norah says", our Norah has started backseat driving on this trip. If I'm not fast enough while driving or come to a stop at a red light or we're sitting in traffic, Norah will instruct "GO!"

I'll see if I can find any Disneyland pictures online.

Here's something odd. I can't post any title captions. Anyway, here's Darren taking Norah by the hand and leading her out of the restaurant and to the duck pond by himself. Yeah, no worries a 4 year old taking out a 1 year old. Luckily, Vicki was able to jump up relatively quickly and follow them out.

A few more pictures and a slight problem on my end....we've been cleaning over the weekend and have since lost my card reader (again). So, I don't know when the photos I took will be uploaded. So until I locate my misplaced reader....all photos are from Will....unless someone (hint hint Vic) happens to email me some more. Note that Norah enjoyed a lot of ice cream on this trip.

We're back in hot, humid, sweaty Minnesota. Why is it that the first two weeks of July are always so hot here?!?!

We lost internet access once PoPo left so I'm going to try to catch up on blogging in the next couple of days.

Jim, the girls, and I stayed an extra week after my grandmother's funeral. It was nice to have a chance to catch up with family. It's kind of sad that it takes a funeral to get everyone together. We're going to try to be a lot better about it and plan more family trips.

Here are the girls playing with their second cousins, Darren and Kayla. Kayla was just crazy about Norah. Whenever she saw us, she would ask "Where's the baby?" And she was very enthusiastic about trying to feed Norah (and of course, our Norah would enthusiastically open her mouth like a little bird and let Kayla pack food into her chipmunk cheeks). FYI....the photos are courtesy of my cousin, Will....who frankly has one of the coolest camera phones we have ever seen.