End of the Year

Jim made it home last night in time to join us for dessert. He left this morning around 5.
It's currently -10; -22 with windchill. Too cold for skiing. I'm not sure what Lolo and I are going to do for her special day today....but it will probably be inside.

Anniversary dinner

Today, Jim and I are celebrating our 13th anniversary. Of course, he's on call. So the girls and I are making a special anniversary dinner....complete with sparkling pear cider. Hopefully, Jim will be able to join us.

Snowman

Norah went in for hot chocolate after just a few runs down the sledding hill. Her cheeks were still red this afternoon when she went down for a quiet time.

Lolo, my hardy Minnesotan, and I stayed out to work on a snow man. It was tough going....the snow is too dry to pack well. So, we made a little snow "angel"...we found some ice chips for the angel wings.

Sledding instead

Well the ski hill was charging "holiday" rates (ie way too expensive to justify an hour on the hill). So, the girls and I went sledding instead. Poor Norah. She got too cold (double digit temps but I forgot to check windchill before we went out....very low single digits...but it was above zero, I think). Plus, she couldn't see really well.

Another day of skating

Lolo and I took advantage of another nice day and went skating this afternoon. Lolo told me this afternoon that she likes skating more than skiing because she feels more like a ballerina when she skates. Poor Lolo fell and busted her chin...she's got a nice sized pop-knot on her chin. You should have heard the crying and seen the tears. She had her face mask on and when I saw her go down and start to cry, I was really worried that she split it open....I was really dreading looking under the mask. Whew. Lucky break for me.
We're supposed to get 3-6" inches of snow tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be a ski day for Norah. We'll make the final determination tomorrow morning once we do a weather and road check.

Skating

It's absolutely gorgeous outside today. Took the girls skating after lunch. Norah got tired very quickly so I brought her back early...she's taking a quiet time right now. Lolo is an ice skating addict. She didn't want to quit skating. Jim and Lolo decided to walk back home later. I suspect they might be out skating until dark.

Ring Around the Rosey

Who'd have thought a coffee table could provide so much enjoyment?!

Cuckoo Clock

The girls loved Gramma Peg and Pop Paul's cuckoo clock....here's Pop Paul resetting the clock so the girls can see the cuckoo again.

An Afternoon at the Bounce House

Gingerbread Trees

Some Christmas in Tennessee Photos

From Christmas morning....

Back in MN

We made it back to Minnesota yesterday. Catching up on sleep and a lot of clean up. It's a gorgeous day today and we're gearing up to take the girls out ice skating this afternoon.

Dress up at Gramma Peg's

A few more lunch photos

A few pictures from lunch

We met up with Meg, Sam, Nick & Carolyn at lunch today. Lolo was busy as our photographer today.

Gramma Peg and her Girls

Lolo skates

Lolo is so much better at skating than I ever imagined! (brag, brag)...Just ignore the part at the end where the camera turns up towards the sky...I almost busted my booty.

Norah skates

Norah's first time on ice skates...skating at Market Square Mall!

Holiday music

A little holiday music from the girls...Lolo, Norah, and Emily.

Snow storm

We're in the midst of a big snow here in MN. Supposed to get about 8 inches here today. It's blowing and coming down hard right now. Of course, it happens on the day we're supposed to fly to Knoxville. We'll be in Knoxville for Christmas. Back on next saturday. Hopefully the snow will still be here so Jim can build his igloo when we get back.

No skiing today

I'm guessing most of you have already figured out we didn't manage to ski today. It was still in the single digits this morning. Although by the time we finished up with Santa, it was getting warm (ie double digits) and Lolo was complaining about not going skiing ever.

Our tree

Since I had the girls dressed in their christmas outfits...we had fun with the camera by the tree this afternoon.

Here's a shot taken by Lolo (watch out Annie Liebowitz)...

And, since we're on the subject of christmas trees....here's Norah's Christmas dinosaur (the giraffe fell off and broke).

From the Macy's christmas display

The girls were enthralled.

All the girls want for Christmas

We're in trouble. I already ordered this year's christmas gifts...they are on their way to Gramma Peg's as we speak.

So here's the problem...I took the girls to see Santa this afternoon. Lolo requested a pink princess snow globe. Doh. Didn't get that. Then Norah requested an owl like they have at her school (a live owl...or an Norah calls it a "howl"... just like at Dodge Nature Center). Doh. Won't be getting that.

What do I do now?

Busy (and much warmer) day

We've had a real cold snap lately. Negative temps plus windchills down to -30 and -40. Yikes. We pretty much stayed inside monday and tuesday.
However, today we got up to a balmy 10 degrees in the afternoon. Norah and I went to dance class in the morning. And then, Lolo and I went climbing in the afternoon. (It was still to cold to go skiing, when we were climbing, it was 6 degrees, and I have an arbitrary rule about double digits to ski with kids...silly, I know).
The warm up is supposed to continue. I'm planning on taking Norah skiing tomorrow morning. Tonight at dinner, I spelled "s.k.i" for Jim to let him know what I was planning. Lolo pipes up "I know what you're going to do...take Norah skiing....what about me?" I was amazed she knew. Funny kid. She knows how to spell "Lolo", "Norah", "Mom", "Dad", and "ski".

Fishing

Norah got back on the potty tonight because I let her go fishing.

Pediatrician visit

We had our well child visit today. Poor Lolo got 4 shots plus a finger poke. She's not happy but in my infinite parental wisdom....I'm bribing her for a good job done with lemon sorbet and a tv show of her choice.
Norah skated away with no shots this round. Lucky kid.

So here are the stats:
Lolo...45 1/2 inches (90th percentile); 48 lbs (80ths percentile)
Norah...35 inches (5th percentile); 27 lbs (15th percentile)

Not ready yet

Norah's back in diapers. Refuses to sit on the potty today. Ugh.

Big news!

Big news at our house. Norah only had one accident yesterday. And, so far so good today....she switched into big girl panties right before lunchtime today!!!

We're hoping things will stick this time around and that she's really ready.

When I grow up

The other night Lolo declares that she really wants to be a nanny and then a dentist (for kids) when she grows up...just like Ashley.
Norah pipes up that she wants to be a flower...and live in a flower pot.

Overheard at our house

"Norah, you know only use fresh floss. Don't use floss on the floor!"

Guess what we worked on today?

The girls were just buzzing this afternoon from a sugar high. Once the sugar wore off, the crash was awful. What was I thinking?!

Busted!

As I'm cleaning the kitchen this evening after dinner, I realize that it's unusually quiet in our home. Hmmm. So I go in search of the girls, I find them "hiding" - Norah in a laundry bin and Lolo in the lego box - stealthily munching on a candy cane that they plucked off our tree. I ask the girls"What are you doing?" Norah replies holding a sticky bit of peppermint in her hand "This just broke off." Lolo just cackles.

All Norah Wants for Christmas

Tonight, the girls got a wishbone, pulled it apart, and Lolo got the bigger piece. Norah starts to pout and I find out all she wants is an owl....but not just any owl....a real, live owl just like at Dodge Nature Center. Uh huh. Lucky for us Lolo got the bigger piece of the wishbone....although these days, I'm a little nervous about what the girls might wish for!

Woolly Bear

Norah's starting to take preschool class at Dodge Nature Center. She's a "woolly bear". Today, we learned all about bald eagles, watched a puppet show, made some crafts, and even got to go into an eagle cage to feed the eagle some fish and a rat. Yum yum.
Norah was quite apprehensive (ie pretty much wrapped up in my arms) during the feeding process, but the experience got more positive once we were out of the cage. She's really excited about getting to tell her dad all about it once he gets home tonight.

Round 2

In case you didn't get enough of the squealing in round one!

Norah had snow everywhere....down her snow pants, up her shirt....everywhere! Amazing how wet and cold she can get.

Jim's genes at work

Snowing!

We're having our first real snow of the season...predicted 3-6". Enough for the girls to sled or for a real snowman tomorrow. I'm concerned about getting out of our driveway since it's all torn up from construction.

Gingerbread ornaments

Our project this afternoon was to make gingerbread ornaments. Lolo was insistent upon having a heart top our tree this year and Norah was insistent upon having christmas giraffes and a christmas dinosaur.
I wish I could find my camera battery charger!

Helmet

Norah got a new ski helmet today. The other one was a little big. So she picked a purple Dora the Explorer helmet. Loved it so much she decided to wear it out of the store and to the christmas tree lot. LOL!

In more important news...

I cleaned my office and now can't find my camera's battery charger. The camera battery is dead. Major bummer.
Our weekend trip to Detroit has been rescheduled since the girls have colds that they caught from Jim. Another bummer.
In happier news....we went out and got a christmas tree today. I'm going to be baking gingerbread ornaments tonight for the girls to decorate tomorrow. Unfortunately, I can't take pictures.
Feel like I really shouldn't have bothered with cleaning my office.

Facebook

I just created a facebook page. LOL!

Fanny Pack

Norah keeps a ski leash in her fanny pack. We didn't use it yesterday because she didn't pick up enough speed for us to have to use the leash to check her. Next time we go, I'll probably pull the leash out. I'm guessing this girl will love speed as much as her parents do.

Black diamond skier

Lolo skied her first black diamond at Buck Hill today. Hooray for Lo! I was so excited I forgot all about the camera in my pocket. Lolo was very distressed that I didn't make a movie of her. I promised to make a movie next week. I know....I'm disappointed in me too.

Just because Norah is awesome

Another Norah ski video. I feel a need to brag :-)

Norah skis by herself!!

Norah skied by herself today. Absolutely incredible. Our ski day got off to a rough start (Norah didn't want to use her legs...she felt "wobbly"), but take a look and see how she was doing by the end of our session. She's moving downhill by herself. And, most importantly, she was really excited about skiing by the end. She kept wanting to ride the magic carpet again to ski "one more time!" We do have a bit of work to do on steering, but that will come later. Jim and I are SOOO excited. It looks like we're going to have two little skiers.

Naps going by the wayside...

Sniff sniff...Norah is in that in between phase....where she desperately tries to stay awake during her "quiet times" and doesn't want to nap...but goodness, she still really could use a nap. It was sad to me when Lolo outgrew her naps and I have the same feeling about Norah....seems they are growing up.
Now, if we could just get Norah interested in getting potty trained!

Don't tell...

Norah's newest catch phrase is "Don't Tell...." Of course, Norah hasn't learned volume control so her secrets are not so secret. And luckily for us, her "don't tell" requirement usually is "Don't tell P.J."

Snow day

We woke up to about half an inch of snow this morning. The girls couldn't wait to get outside and build a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow was very dry and there wasn't much of it. However, they did manage several nice angels in the snow.

In other news...Lolo saw Santa in a commercial this afternoon...she commented to me "He better quit messing around and get to work on those toys!"

Belated Thanksgiving Update

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all. We have so much to be thankful for! We were able to enjoy another Thanksgiving in Minnesota all together....we're always thankful when Jim isn't called into work on a holiday! A big meal with lots of help from my two helpers.
We've been relaxing at home the last couple of days. Lolo and I have been experimenting with mochi ice cream recipes. It still needs a lot of work. If anyone has a great recipe or helpful hints, please let us know.

Famous Cranberry Muffins

We've been reading thanksgiving books from the library. One of the books was about a little girl who lived on a cranberry farm and her grandmother made cranberry bread that was so good that it was famous. On the back of the book, grandma's famous cranberry bread recipe was printed. Lolo excitedly wanted to make the bread. I agreed. Anyway, Lolo and I went to the store. Got the ingredients. Worked on the bread.
However, I warned her that I didn't know if it would be any good (you know how some recipes can be duds...especially if they're printed on the back of an old, dirty, library book as part of the story).
Lolo replied with her all-knowing voice, "Mo-om, it's FAMOUS. It has to be good." Well, wouldn't you know it....that crazy recipe did turn out to be good. I've put a copy into my recipe box. Lolo was right. If it's famous, it has to be good.

Holiday Panic

Delinquent on posts again. Chalking it up to pre-holiday panic. The panic seems to hit me about this time every year. I get run down after a string of birthdays...Jim, then Lolo, then Norah...and quickly followed by Thanksgiving, then Christmas.
Haven't started cooking. I don't even have a turkey for this year yet. But enough about my issues....you're here to learn more about the girls....
The girls are finally over jet lag and we're back to our regular schedules. Both girls are sassy as ever. Lolo's new worry is whether Santa will be able to find her and Norah when we go to Tennessee for Christmas. The girls have started pouring over the toy catalogs that seem to inundate our mailbox every day now.
The goal is to truly start thanksgiving preparation this afternoon. Lolo has started making turkey placecards.

Lolo's school pictures

Apple what?

I was testing out a new apple fritter recipe for breakfast. As I'm getting them out of the pan, I tell the girls..."Run upstairs and get your dad. Tell him the apple fritters are ready."
Jim comes downstairs shaking his head...the girls told him excitedly that I made apple critters for breakfast.

Edamame

We had edamame at dinner tonight. I'm cleaning up. Norah is finishing up her dinner. I go to sit down beside her while she finishes up. She has a bean in her hand and pops it into my mouth. As I'm chewing she says "I save that in a special hiding place just for you Mom." Oooooh.

A couple more birthday pictures

From last night's party

We're all still incredibly jet lagged. Lolo is probably doing the best out of all of us. Jim is next. Norah and I are just having a terrible time. Both girls collapsed right after dinner and cake....or I should say...mostly just a few bites of cake. They were both too exhausted to eat a proper dinner. They fell into bed about 6pm. Norah woke up intermittently through the night starting about shortly midnight. Of course, I couldn't sleep once she woke me up. It's going to be a rough day. I'm starting it off tired.

Here's a birthday video from last night. I should mention. Norah took off her party dress for her afternoon nap and didn't want the dress (or pants) on for dinner.

Birthday girl

My oh my how time flies. How can my baby girl be three already?!

A couple more tiger shots

Here are a couple more tiger pictures. Jim and I went in to visit the big cats separately. No, we didn't let the kids go in.

These tigers are about a year and a half old. They're only about 1/3 of the size of a full grown tiger. But still quite powerful. Jim and I both got whacked by their tails...which were far stronger than either of us imagined.

An interesting factoid...Jim and I are both allergic to tigers. Guess they are just like giant house cats.