Big Sky

Before I forget....we're heading out tomorrow for Big Sky, Montana. I half-way expect it to be not as good as our budget (but epic) trip to Whitefish....we shall see. As an FYI, I'm currently thinking that I won't bring our computer this trip...so no blog updates next week.
Jim's still under-the-weather and on call this evening. The girls are down. I've got a load of laundry, dishes, and a LOT of packing to do.

School conference

We had a parent teacher conference this week to talk about Lolo. As you may suspect, she got a fairly good report. Works and plays well with others, independent learner, etc. Favorite activities at school are music, sign language, art, and science. She's pretty much got all of her uppercase letters nailed down, but the lower case letters are far trickier for Lolo. Good report, but there's always things to work on :-)

It has warmed up in Minnesota. Lolo and I went skiing again after preschool. This time, her friend Willem (and his mom) joined us for the hour. They seemed to really like skiing together. I'm hopeful that she'll have a ski buddy next season.

Big Girl Haircut for Norah

Norah got her first big girl haircut today. Our girl was unusually serious for the occasion. She put on her face that is usually reserved for doctor visits. No crying. She was just very still and serious. We stayed a little longer after the haircut so the girls could finish coloring their pictures :-)

Chatterbox

I can hardly believe we were ever concerned about Norah's delayed speech. She's stringing together complete sentences now....tonight's big sentence "I got apple in my mouth...." complete with an open mouth to show me that yes, she really did have lots of apple in her mouth.
And the Norah saying of the week is...."I know that!" Seems she likes to say that alot lately.

Train photos

We had such a nice time on the train that we're seriously pondering another trip via Amtrak's Empire Builder to Glacier National Park this summer.

And, you can see that the girls slept well in the sleeper car :-)

A couple more Whitefish photos

Booty shake

Here's the second Norah ski video....this little rascal would get so giddy about skiing that she'd go around shaking her little booty on the ski bar. But I must say, there's nothing like seeing this in real life. You're welcome to get a full dose of a Norah-booty-shake in person anytime. Just come on over.

Snowbugs

Our little snowbugs. It's official. Norah loves to ski....must be genetic. Norah would get so excited when she saw us gearing up. She would run to the closet to get her ski boots.

So, here's the first Norah ski video...we're right outside our condo...heading out to chair 3. Nancy would pull Norah around on her ski bar down at the bottom of the mountain while we took our other pink ski racer out on the mountain. Nancy reports that they couldn't go very far without people stopping them and wanting to take Norah's picture. You'll see Jim and Lolo geared up and standing in the background....while Norah is showing off her ski skills.

Whitefish photos

Goodness it has taken me a while to get these pictures up. Jim's been on the computer the past few nights so I couldn't upload. And, despite the fact that Nancy gave me her camera to download pictures a few days ago... I just got around to it today. And lastly, good news! I found my card reader.

So, to get us started....Norah in a snowbank....there was a TON of snow in Whitefish. We had heard it was the most snow they've had in 8 years. Yep. It was epic. Then, Lolo up on a bank. And to get a true sense of scale....see below.

Swim School

Norah's signed up for swim school lessons towards the end of March. I'm so excited about it. Can't wait to post her first swim school video.....now, if I can just locate that crazy disappearing card reader.

Office cleaning

One day (perhaps today, if I can get myself in gear) I'm going to have to break down and clean up my office. I still can't find the card reader to download photos.

In the meantime, here's a picture by Lolo....it's me, Jim & Lolo skiing in Whitefish (under a rainbow); and on the side, you'll see Nancy pulling Norah on her ski bar. LOL!

Mark your calendar

Lolo's circus school performance will be May 8-10 and May 14-18. We hope you'll be able to come see her show.

Organization

We're back. And yes, there are no pictures up. I know you're all totally surprised by this...but I can't find my card reader....first time for everything right?
I'll search tonight. I can't wait for you to see the video of Norah skiing and shaking her little booty.

Transition to a big girl bed

This evening while we're packing to come home, the girls are having trouble going to sleep. The next thing we know, Norah Kate has climbed out of her playpen, has opened the bedroom door, and is standing there looking at Jim with a big ol' grin on her sassy little rascal face. We're in BIG trouble.

Amazing ski week

Let's just say the skiing this week has been epic. Lots of powder, beautiful tree runs, no lift lines, and often times, it seemed as if we were the only ones on the mountain.
Here's a good one....guess what was Lolo's favorite part about skiing her first "big" mountain? I thought her favorite part would be skiing through the "forest" because that's our favorite part about Buck Hill. Nope. (Oh, don't worry....Lolo's "forest" runs equal a tree lined groomer not a steep gladed run).
Her favorite part of this whole ski experience was getting on a quad chair lift that had a bar we could bring down and the fact that the chair lift had a foot rest where she could rest her skis!! Go figure.

A moment to brag on Lolo

Skip this post if you don't want to hear me gush about Lolo.
She was the youngest kid in her ski class and did great. I think, however, that a 2 hour lesson is a little much for a 4 year old...we usually just ski for an hour....so, she was very tired after her class. She was very sad about not getting to ski with mom. Mostly because we're ski buddies and that's what we do together.
Any way, this morning, Jim and I took her up the mountain. Here's a link to a pdf of the ski trail map so you can get a gist of what we did. We first went up Chair 3. Took the trail called Home Again to Chair 6. Then went up Chair 2. And skied down Swift Creek and then Ranger. Notice, our girl is clearly doing BLUE runs....in tough conditions too. It's been snowing like stink here. Great skiing. Woo hoo! Lolo is absolutely amazing. There you have it. I'm done gushing in this post.

Rough night for Norah Kate

Poor Norah. She was so congested last night. Couldn't use her pacifier to sleep because she couldn't breathe out of her nose. Of course, she can't sleep without a pacifier. And then the coughing was awful. On the bright side...no wheezing really.
Lolo is headed off to ski school this morning. Norah is despondent because she can't go to school too.

Whitefish

We made it to Montana. The ski train was fantastic. I think we'll be doing this again. Imagine this...the people who work for Amtrak are actually NICE and pleasant. What a contrast to flying....say, any major American airline. It was so easy....almost too good to be true...you can check in your bags early and don't have to get there 2 hours before the train leaves.
We got on late friday night and all crashed into our beds. The next morning, Cubby & I got up early and had breakfast while Lolo & Jim slept in. When Lolo & Jim got up, Cubby & I joined them for a second breakfast. Then it was off to the sightseeing car, lunch, a nice long nap, lots of Elmo UNO games (don't let her fool you...Lolo is a shark when it comes to UNO), then dinner complete with chocolate ice cream for the girls, and back to bed for a bit of rest until it was time to get off the train in Whitefish. Super easy.
So we're here skiing Whitefish Mountain Resort. Goofy name, don't you think? Makes me think of some sort of bait fish. It used to be called Big Mountain but the powers-that-be thought it was too confusing with Big Sky. Whatever. It's not a name that's going to attract glitz & glamour that's for certain....which is good for us. Amazing skiing today. Soppy, wet, pea-soup kind of ski day, but what amazing lines and powder in the trees and most amazingly....no lift lines on a weekend!! Woo hoo! This is place is definitely in my top tier of ski "resorts".
Lolo and Norah played in the snow today...snowball fights with Nancy, and sledding. Lolo starts ski school tomorrow morning. Will keep you posted.
By the way, I'm having trouble with my photo card....it's not reading on this computer. Will be posting pictures after we get home.

About time for a big girl bed

It's getting to be about that time. Norah, for her own safety, will need to be transitioned to a big girl bed soon. This morning, I found her hanging on the top rail of her crib. When I ran to catch her from falling, she was insistent "Nooooo, I do self." Yeah right. You put yourself right into the ER, little monkey-toed child. Anyway, I'm really dreading the transition. I'm going to try to put it off until after our March trip.

Comments from Circus Class

We're coming back from circus class today when Lolo launches into the following conversation : "Mom, a girl in my class asked me if I had a brother. I told her no. I have a sister. She asked if I wanted a brother. And I told her no, my mom can't handle another baby even though PoPo would like us to have another one. Norah Kate is enough, right mom?" Big grin from Lolo at the end. Gee. What could I say?

Thought you might enjoy this

I just found this last night as we were packing for Montana...I had forgotten that we had this done on the cruise.

Train trip

Before I forget, we're heading out tomorrow night on our first ever family train trip. Going to Whitefish, Montana via amtrak. I'm mildly apprehensive over the unknowns regarding logistics. This will either turn out to be a great idea that we repeat year after year or a big old bad idea. In theory, it sounds quite nice....a family bedroom with "beds", dining cars, room for the girls to roam around a bit. I'll keep you posted. I should have some internet access next week.

Update

Lolo is still run down today. Jim came home for a bit earlier this evening and was able to eat dinner with us. Lolo put her head in his lap so he could just rub her head. When Jim got paged, she wandered over to me, crawled in my lap, and melted like a puddle. Goodness, I was worried about her. It's so unlike Lolo to be tired and run down like this for so long. While I'm sure it's just a cold, it's still just a bit disconcerting.
Norah's still running at full steam. Yesterday, she tried to carry the school bus up the stairs by herself. I told her the school bus stays downstairs. She said "no." I said "Norah, do you need to sit on the naughty step." She nodded, bumped her diaper bottom down the steps, and sat down. Unbelieveable.
On a sweeter note, we were saying grace at dinner and Norah looks over and says, "Mama, I love God." I do too, Zippy.

Happy Chinese New Year

Big day today. We had a dinner party at our house....7 kids, 3 moms, 2 dads....poor Jim had to work late and missed the festivities. The girls were completely wound up....Norah and Lolo get so excited when we have a bunch of kids over. They were completely giddy all evening. Had I thought about it, I would have taken pictures of the chaos. FYI - Lolo decided to wear her new red and black party dress. I was just happy Cubby kept her clothes on.

In other news

A couple more pictures....

And in other news, Lolo has been coughing and running a fever. Norah has been running full steam. It's hard to believe we were ever concerned about her speech being delayed. She has become such a motor mouth.

Fashion show

We got a package in the mail today from PoPo. The girls were very excited about new dresses. They had to try each one on and dance around the living room making the skirts spin.

Birthday party

We just got back from Willem's birthday party. What joyful chaos. For some reason, kids are always enamoured with our Norah-Kate. They were all clamouring around her, wanting to hold her hand, carry her around, have her sit in their laps....basically, treat her like a baby doll. Norah had the time of her life....absolutely adored all the attention. When we walked home, the girls and I were talking about the party and how much fun they had...Norah laughed and commented "Me, baby doll."

Why Minnesota?

Carolyn asks why we stay in Minnesota....because when it's 20 degrees outside , it starts to feel like spring :-)
Some snow is forecast for sunday/monday. We're hoping for a whopper. The girls haven't had much time to build snowmen and igloos this winter yet.

More crazy hair

Speaking of crazy hair....Nancy asked me yesterday if she could braid Lolo's hair....sure, why not? And then, Lolo comes up to my office with this 'do. You wouldn't believe how tickled she was with her new hairstyle. Jim and I are mildly concerned about our princess....if she's so into primping at 4, what are we going to do when she's 16?