American Girl

Last Saturday, Dave's mom and sister met up with the girls and me at the American Girl store at the Mall of America.  For Christmas/birthday last year, they bought Abby her "Julie" doll, and this year's Christmas/birthday gift from Tracy was to get her hair styled and ears pierced.  We dropped her off at the "salon" and by the time we came back after eating lunch, the "stylist" was just starting to do her hair.  Abby had so much fun watching.  Afterward, Norah got to pick out a Bitty Baby doll (Tracy's Christmas/birthday gift to her).  Norah was so proud to carry the big box to the checkout all by herself.

Unfortunately, we've had to learn how to get crayon off of Bitty Baby...twice!  Norah colored on her on the way back from the birthday party on Sunday and then again on the way home from daycare on Monday.  We tried a baby wipe, water, baking soda/water, until Dave got home and suggested a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...did the trick!

Come on, spring!

Even though it's been nice to have this week off for spring break, it really hasn't felt like spring.  Especially with all of the rain/sleet/snow yesterday into this morning.  We'll probably go out and play in the snow when Norah wakes up from her nap, because we just have to embrace it.  At least it's supposed to be in the 50s on Sunday and maybe 60s next week...  Here's to getting outside and enjoying some nice weather soon!

This was last Sunday...a tease before a chilly week!

We are ready to be playing "farmer's market" with our garden vegetables again!

Frozen party

Dave's parents hosted a birthday party for the girls last Sunday in Albert Lea.  His mom ordered a beautiful Frozen cake and make snowflake cookies, and his dad picked up a Frozen balloon.  Unfortunately, Dave had to work, but the rest of us had fun talking, eating, and watching the girls (and Dave's cousin's girls) open up birthday gifts.  The girls are blessed to have such a wonderful extended family on both sides!

Six!

Abby turned six on Wednesday...such a crazy thing to think that Dave and I first became parents six years ago.  The time has gone so fast!  Even though she wasn't feeling the greatest, Abby was still up and dressed before anyone else.  Dave went out and got donuts for breakfast, then Abby opened up one present.  He drove her to school, and I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer in her class in the afternoon.  They were just wrapping up their snack time when I got there, enjoying Abby's oreos for her birthday treat.  I had fun doing a word sort activity with some kids, taking projects off of the walls, and doing a watercolor paint activity with small groups of kids.  I only was able to volunteer one other time (over my winter break), and it makes me sad that this was the last time I'll be able to do it this year.  Abby and I left after school got out and headed home where she opened the rest of her presents.  For supper, we met up with my mom and sister at Chuck E. Cheese.  The girls had a blast playing games, going on rides, feeding the ticket muncher, meeting Chuck E. Cheese himself (well, maybe not Norah so much--she covered her eyes when he came out), and ate a little bit of pizza.  We've celebrated both of the girls' birthdays with our families already, but Abby's looking forward to seeing a movie with her friend Olivia tomorrow to officially wrap up her birthday celebrations.

Yesterday, we visited Dr. Mark, even though a 6-year check-up isn't required.  She didn't pass her hearing test last year, and after having an allergic reaction to a cough syrup in December, I wanted to get her checked out and see what his opinion was about the allergic reaction.  She passed her hearing test just fine this time, and apparently has better than normal vision (20/16).  She weighed in at 39.4 pounds (just under 25th percentile) and was almost 45 inches tall (close to 50th percentile).  Dr. Mark didn't recommend any allergy testing at this point; just told us to avoid medicines with a certain cough suppressant ingredient.  I had promised no shots this year, but we found out that Hepatitis A is now required for school.  Abby was not thrilled, but made it through the shot!

I interviewed Abby this morning for her 6-year interview...here is what she had to say:

Favorite food:  pizza
Favorite color:  pink
Least favorite color:  white
Favorite toy:  Anna
Favorite fruit:  grapes
Favorite TV show:  Sophia the First
Favorite movie:  Barbie
Favorite lunch:  chicken
Favorite thing to wear:  Minnie Mouse dress
Favorite game:  Fancy Nancy ice cream parlor game
Favorite snack:  Goldfish
Favorite zoo animal:  zebra
Favorite song:  Let it Go from Frozen
Favorite book:  princess one
Best friend(s):  Orelia, Avery, Olivia, Addison, Micah
Favorite cereal:  Honey Nut Cheerios
Favorite thing to do outside:  swing
Favorite drink:  strawberry milk
Favorite holiday:  Christmas
What I want to be when I grow up:  a princess
Favorite thing to do with Mommy:  make Legos
Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  sled outside
Favorite store:  toy store
What makes me happy:  playing outside
What makes me sad:  when you don't play with me outside
What I like about Daddy:  building a snowman (can you tell it snowed last night/today?)
What I like about Mommy:  playing in the snow
What I like about Norah:  that she plays with me
What I like about Sadie:  when she licks me
What I'm excited about now that I'm 6:  that I can go to 1st grade

Two!

Norah turned two a week ago!  Life is moving so fast...I can't believe that I no longer have a baby, but a toddler.  Norah has the biggest personality--so sweet, feisty, independent, smart, funny...the list could go on!  She is definitely an entertainer and loves to sing and dance.  Her favorites to sing are songs from Frozen, Sunshine (You are my Sunshine), and the ABCs.  She loves her babies, and was so thrilled to get many new doll items for her birthday this year.  She loves to be doing whatever Abby is doing (playing dollhouse, Barbies, etc.), so is bummed when Abby closes her door in need of some time away.  Norah is definitely our persistent child.  If she has an idea in mind of how something should be done, she will make sure it happens that way.  When Abby has homework, Norah insists that she needs to be doing homework as well.  Hopefully that trait continues as she gets older!  As Norah's stubborn and independent side continues to get stronger, we are trying to figure out ways to pick our battles, use choices, and remain patient during meltdowns!  She is not the greatest sleeper, and seems to wake up easily in the middle of the night.  She goes in streaks--a bad week, then a couple of good weeks, etc.  We thought that taking away her pacifier (her "nigh-night") might help her settle herself down easier in the middle of the night (because then she wouldn't need us to find it for her).  We took it away a couple of weeks ago, and it was a rough first two nights, but got much better!  She and Dave have a routine where she insists they need to "bock-a-bye" (lay on the couch or chair) before she can go to bed.  She also needs her blankie and two "bobots" (pink robot lovies).  She's getting much better about sitting and reading books for a longer time.  ECFE is going much better since our rocky start in the fall...for Norah, she needs to get into a routine and that is what has seemed to help her adjust.  We are thankful for her class's para, Lisa, who reached out to Norah early on and formed a bond with her.  Now Norah is so excited to see "Wisa" every Thursday night.  Norah's latest thing lately is to want to ride the rocking horse my parents gave us for Christmas and "show Grandpa".  Basically, she wants to Skype anyone who is around and show them how fast she can go on her horse.  Norah has become kind of a picky eater, but loves fruit and anything sweet she can convince someone to give her.  We'll go in next Friday for her 2-year checkup and I'll update her weight/height.  We love our sweet little Norah!

Snow fun

It has been a pretty terrible winter here, but we FINALLY got some warmer weather on Sunday--the snow is starting to melt (although we are supposed to get a little more tomorrow), and the temperature was perfect for some fun in the snow last night.  Abby could spend all day outside in the snow--she loves the snow hills at home, at daycare, and at school.  Norah is quickly learning to follow her lead--she loves sledding and insists on trying to hike up the hill herself each time.

Puppy party

Lots of catching up to do!  We'll start from this past weekend and try to work backwards if I can...

With Norah and Abby's birthdays just a month apart and family traveling from Iowa, etc., a joint birthday party seems to work out the best.  We always enjoy having people come up to our house to celebrate, and it's a fun excuse to plan a little theme and make some fun treats.  This year, Abby thought that Norah should have a puppy party, since she loves dogs.  We were going to possibly throw in some Hello Kitty for Abby, but decided it would be easier to just stick with puppies.  I found a cute cupcake idea in a cookbook and kept the rest of it pretty simple--found a tablecloth, plates, napkins, and bought some coordinating cups, straws, etc.  We borrowed a friend's plastic dog bowls that she had used for her daughter's puppy birthday party in the fall.  We had hot dogs, puppy chow, Scooby snacks, plus other picnicky foods.  My sister made puppy cookies to enjoy with our puppy cupcakes.  My grandmas and three of my aunts, in addition to my parents, Dave's parents, my brother, sister, and cousin came up for the party.  The girls were spoiled with many wonderful gifts and we were lucky to have my brother, cousin, and two of my aunts spend the night so we could enjoy some game-playing time.  We also lucked out with the weather--after months of terrible-weather weekends, the weather this weekend was perfect!