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.