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.

Too ambitious

Well, it turns out I was WAY too ambitious. The gray pumpkin I got because it was so interesting looking turned out to be a real pain to carve. It was so thick and the outer gray "skin" was incredibly tough to cut through (and yet brittle at times). Needless to say, this is our last gray pumpkin for halloween. After breaking several carving tools and using a huge carving knife to hack my way through, I finally ended up with some semblance of a castle for Lolo. Unfortunately, my hands and wrists have had enough for tonight and poor Norah's Boots pumpkin will just have to wait for another time (preferably when Jim is around to help with the carving). Speaking of Jim and pumpkin carving, when we were out and about this afternoon, one of our neighbors asked whether or not we would be trying to carve pumpkins this year since he's out of town....luckily, neighborhood expectations for my carving abilities are rather low....seems Jim has set the bar pretty high for himself.

For Daddy

Lolo colored this for her Daddy and we're scanning it in so he can see it.

Jim - please note : the princess and her house are your favorite color, cinderella is walking on grass, and Lolo made sparkles coming up from the grass to make it extra pretty for you :-)

Pumpkins

Enjoying fall

We had a gorgeous fall day today....went outside for a bike ride/walk with the girls this afternoon. Lolo had a great time playing with the neighborhood kids (although she was rather distressed that the boys rode their bikes faster and she wasn't first). Norah seems to be doing better (but haven't I been saying that for days now?!) She's still not her usual self. Last night, I fixed shrimp and she only ate a few bites...you know, she's not well when that happens! And, when Lolo was out running around with the neighborhood kids, Norah didn't want out...she just wanted to sit in her stroller. She did manage to lick a lot of butter off of bread at dinner tonight though.

We also worked on pumpkins. The girls are in charge of digging out all the pumpkin seeds and goo. Princess Ariel the mermaid is Lolo's pumpkin. Norah got a Dora the Explorer. I've been charged with making a castle pumpkin to go with the princess pumpkin. And Norah was looking intently for Boots when she saw the Dora pumpkin. I'll be working on the castle first and then Boots, if time permits.

Norah update

Last night was a rough one for Norah. She couldn't sleep well due to coughing and congestion. We ended up sitting in a steamy bathroom around 1:30-2am; and she was up again before 6am. She was having a tough late afternoon/early evening; so, I'm projecting a difficult night ahead. On the bright side, I'd like to think we're getting to the end of this bout.

Birthday party

For those that don't know...Lolo's two best friends at preschool are Shannon and Caitlin. They were best friends last year and best friends again this year. Lolo was invited to Caitlin's birthday party today....at a place with giant inflatable toys. You should have seen her. She went nuts...bouncing up and down, climbing, going down the giant slide. It was just pure joy. Wish I could have bottled it up for you.

A few more pictures from this afternoon

Only with girls....

Pictures for Daddy

Since Jim is probably going through complete withdrawal of his beloved girls about now....we had a photo op afternoon - just so dad could check in with the blog and see how his girls are doing.

Norah's still quite hoarse but the wheezing is being controlled with the albuterol right now. I gave her a dose tonight before bed. Knock on wood. I think we're on the upswing. Thanks for the prayers.

More Lolo originals

A couple more Lolo originals....Lolo is a scanner addict. She drew these this morning and immediately said "Mama can we scan these?"

The first is a picture of kids going out to fly a kite but then it starts to rain. The second is a picture of a kid getting measured on a growth chart....yesterday, Lolo went to Willem's house to play and his dad was putting a chart on the wall to track their growth. Lolo didn't want to get measured at that time but it seems like she may be regretting that decision.

Norah woke up a little before 5 am this morning as a result of a croupy coughing fit. We sat in a steamy bathroom until my wool house shoes got soppy wet. Lolo was worried that I'd have to leave and take Norah to the hospital...so she didn't sleep well either...she got up shortly after 6am. On the bright side, even though Norah's pretty hoarse, she seems to be breathing fairly well. Lolo's going to a birthday party scheduled during the early evening hours....I'm still kind of shaking my head over the timing. We're going to try for a little quiet time.

Evening Norah Update

Both girls went down pretty easily tonight. Norah is sounding ok. Still mildly wheezy, hoarse, and congested. I talked to her pulmonologist today. She's back on the steroid we tried to drop three weeks ago and will stay on it until virus season is over. Overall, we're just glad she didn't have to stay overnight in the hospital again.

Lolo's art

Lolo's picture....she worked on it as I updated about Norah. Lolo requested that I upload it so everyone could see it. You'll notice we're working on the alphabet and, of course, no Lolo-original would be complete without a princess.

More on Norah

We were in the ER this morning with Norah. Nancy came over to watch Lolo. Norah's cold turned into croup...you wouldn't believe what she sounded like this morning. Long story short...big dose of steroids in the ER and we're back home. I'm monitoring her wheezing. And, it sounds like she's slowly, but surely, losing her voice too...hopefully, everything will work out fine.
We miss Jim like crazy (I realized this morning how much I depend on Jim for everything medical)...but on the bright side, thankfully, we didn't attempt a trip to Thailand with the girls this time.

More birthday pictures

A few more from the party courtesy of PopPaul.

Norah Update

Norah did great last night and seems to be fine today. I think playing outside in the leaves probably triggered the wheezing. I'm going to try to keep her out of the leaves as much as possible - in case that really was the trigger.

Update

Knock on wood...the nebulizing treatment seems to have worked. The girls are both finally down.

And, I found my camera downstairs...checked for pictures...based on all reports and picture evidence....the girls and dad had a great time. Eileen and Julia came over to play on monday afternoon (I'm presuming that's when SuperNor was revealed). And then on tuesday evening, Jim took the girls to Lolo's Halloween party at school (and Lolo got her face painted).

This afternoon as we were coming back from our walk/ride, I told Lolo that we needed to get home so I could make dinner. Lolo asked "Can we watch tv while you make dinner? Daddy let us watch tv when he makes lunch." Ahhh. Daddy is soooo busted!

Prayers please

Jim left for Thailand early this morning. I got back in early this afternoon. The girls and I went out for a gorgeous fall afternoon walk/bike ride. Unfortunately, Norah started wheezing a bit before bedtime. I've nebulized her. Hopefully, she'll clear right up and it will be nothing. Please pray that she stays out of the hospital.

Blogging break

FYI - I'm leaving for Portland this afternoon for a business trip. Jim's solo with the kids monday & tuesday. He's leaving for Thailand on wednesday. I'm coming back on wednesday. Blogging will resume later this week once I'm back.

And more birthday pics

A few more pictures from the party, including the chaos resulting from the pinata. And, perhaps the best picture of the day...Princess Lolo with Queen GrammaPeg.

More birthday pics

Gramma Peg & PopPaul didn't forget Norah...she got to open presents too.

Photos from the party - Part 1

As you know, we had a big princess blow-out party yesterday. A few miscellaneous pictures...from L to R. First the princess serving at the buffet line. Second, our "storyteller" at the party (aka Willem & Michael's dad). And third, Princess Lolo and Princess Paige with the castle cake.

Not tonight

Problems with Blogger. No pictures tonight. Will try again tomorrow.

The big birthday bash

Video of our girl blowing out the candles on her princess castle cake...Clearly, Lolo doesn't need any help....this was actually "take 2". On "take 1" , she blew out the candles as soon as I lit them and before I was ready with the camera.

Photos to follow. I can't seem to upload them at the same time tonight.

Photos from the birthday bash

Let's try this again...Photos from last night's birthday bash. And since we celebrate a "birthday week"...you'll note that we went with a birthday apple pie and Norah (who can't stand to be left out of anything) got a present of her own for Lolo's birthday.

From this evening's birthday bash

Lolo opened a couple of presents tonight. Norah opened a pre-birthday-because-my-sister-is-getting-presents gift tonight as well. And then, for the birthday girl...apple pie (with hearts) and ice cream.
Having trouble uploading pictures tonight. Will try again tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl

From Lolo's party at school today....we're having a special birthday dinner tonight and birthday party suitable for a princess on saturday.

August Wedding Photos

Ashley sent us a few photos from her wedding.... our perfect princess flower girl

A gorgeous fall day

Lolo and I took the opportunity of a gorgeous fall afternoon to do some yard work, put in some new fall flowers, and paint some pumpkins (all while Norah took an extra long afternoon nap....she's been taking some exceptional naps this week). We had an early dinner and then decided to take some photos for our christmas card.
Here are a few shots that didn't make it for the christmas card cut....you're now privy to the outfits they will probably have on for the card, but we'll keep you in suspense for what made the final cut :-)