Playing catch up

Summer is finally in full swing here, so it's time to play catch up!  I hadn't realized that two months had gone by without a post, so I'm going to do my best to fill in the gaps with what's been happening around here.  We've been thoroughly enjoying our first week and a half of summer so far--we've had some appointments here and there, a playdate, t-ball started, a quick trip to Rochester, and otherwise just finding fun/getting things crossed off the to-do list around home.  Here is some of what we've been up to:

Going for wagon rides

I made a quick project that I've been wanting to make for Abby--a pillowcase mattress.  Happy to know that I still knew how to work the sewing machine--now need to start planning some more summer sewing projects!

Playing outside with Sadie--she's finally starting to get a little easier to wear out.  We've hardly had any "hot" weather yet, but she feels the need to cool down in the landscaping, a patch of shade, or our kiddie pool.

A couple of picture perfect days--we haven't had the best weather, but these days make up for the rest.

Lots of walks/Chariot rides

Popsicles!  Abby is not a fan of her bike, so I had to pull out a bribe.  Ride your bike to the stop sign and back, and we'll get popsicles.  I'll have to try to increase the distance each time :)

Norah's first popsicle!  She was a little surprised the first time she bit off a piece and got brain freeze, but otherwise loved it!

A trip to Barnes and Noble to get Abby's free book for the summer reading program--the girls loved playing with the train set!

I started up the Couch to 5K program again this summer--starting week 3 tonight.  Abby doesn't like that I go without her, so one night, she and I went on a special "run".

First bonfire of summer--a few raindrops, but it was still fun!

Graham cracker thief--someone can't sit still for a bonfire, though...

Abby won this sprinkler at our town's Easter egg hunt, and finally got a chance to use it--she loves it!

Norah doesn't like it...

T-ball is in June this year--a little chilly the first night, nice but buggy the second.  Abby is having fun with it, though!

We went to the eagle program at Daddy's park.  Not recommended for busy one-year-olds, but Abby said she loved it, and the weather was perfect for being outside.

Five-year interview with Abby

Last year, we started the tradition of interviewing Abby on her birthday...here are this year's responses:

Favorite food:  pizza

Favorite color:  pink and purple

Least favorite color:  yellow

Favorite toy:  dollhouse

Favorite fruit:  apples

Favorite TV show:  3rd and Bird

Favorite movie:  Tangled

Favorite lunch:  Lunchables

Favorite thing to wear:  princess dresses

Favorite game:  Memory

Favorite snack:  Cheetos

Favorite zoo animal:  giraffes

Favorite song:  that princess one in the car

Favorite book:  Pinocchio

Best friend:  Olivia

Favorite cereal:  Lucky Charms

Favorite thing to do outside:  play on my swingset (which she hasn't been able to do much this spring, so I guess this is one good thing about all of the snow in MN this month--our swingset blew over on an extremely crazy windy night a week and a half ago--I told Dave we needed to secure it into the ground, but it didn't happen last year...he'll be doing that as soon as he can level the ground a little more and get a couple of friends over to help him fix a couple of boards that need to be replaced now.  Luckily, it wasn't damaged too much!)

Favorite drink:  apple juice

Favorite holiday:  Easter

What I want to be when I grow up:  a princess

Favorite thing to do with Mommy:  lay in bed or play dollhouse

Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  lay in bed or play the teddy bear game (something new she and Dave made up where they act like teddy bears, I guess?)

Favorite store:  the grocery store

What makes me happy:  when Norah gives stuff to me

What makes me sad:  when I'm in my bedroom by myself

What I like about Daddy:  when he plays video games with me (?  Apparently, she was referring to playing the Disneyland game on Xbox kinect with Dave and my cousin Connor last summer...)

What I like about Mommy:  when she watches movies with me

What I like about Norah:  when she's playing in the bedroom with me

What I like about Sadie:  when she plays outside with me

What I'm excited about now that I'm 5:  going to kindergarten

Five

Abby turned 5 on April 2nd--I meant to write this post sooner, but it seems like it's been a crazy couple of weeks!  It seems like we've been celebrating for awhile, since we had our joint birthday party in March...  We decided to celebrate as a family over my spring break, since I'd have to work on Abby's actual birthday and she'd have preschool.  We went out to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch, where Abby (and Norah) had a blast playing games and going on the kiddie rides.  During Norah's afternoon nap, Abby and Dave went to see "The Croods".

On Friday of my spring break, we had a couple of Abby's friends over for a playdate.  Abby has been asking for lemonade cupcakes for the longest time for her birthday, so I was excited to find a pink lemonade cupcake mix with pink lemonade frosting.  We made them for her playdate, and they turned out pretty good--not too bad for lemonade cupcakes!

On Easter Sunday, my parents and Dave's parents came up to go to church and have Easter dinner with us while Dave worked.  We had an Easter egg hunt when Dave got home, and my parents spent the night so they could spend a special day with Abby to celebrate her birthday.

On Abby's actual birthday (April 2nd), Dave kept Abby home from daycare and they had a special "Abby" day--she planned out their day at home (lots of dollhouse, crafts, etc.).  It was parent night at preschool, so I got to go along with Abby to that.  She was excited to bring bags of goldfish to her friends with her buddies who share a birthday with her.

A couple of days later, Abby had her 5-year check-up with Dr. Mark.  We also set up a follow-up appointment for Norah at that time...she had developed RSV and a double ear infection over my spring break and was not bouncing back very well after 10 days of antibiotics...thankfully, a strong antibiotic shot seemed to do the trick, and we have an appointment set up with an ENT specialist to talk about ear tubes.

Anyway, while Norah was crying/being difficult at the doctor, the nurse took Abby away to do her hearing/vision testing, weigh her, take her temperature, etc.  She happened to be running a fever, and then also didn't pass a portion of her hearing test.  The nurse thought maybe it was an ear infection or something, but Dr. Mark said she didn't have one.  He wasn't too concerned about the hearing test, but it's something we'll keep an eye on.  Abby was very cooperative, but was REALLY anxious about her shots.  She had 4--2 in each arm.  So, after about 45 minutes of crying from Norah, Abby was crying about her shots, so Norah started sympathy crying.  Then the nurse gave Norah her big antibiotic shot, so she started crying harder, then Abby started sympathy crying...  I'm sure the other people at the clinic were so happy to see us leave!  Abby weighed in around 35 pounds (15th percentile) and was around 42 inches tall (25th percentile).  I wish I had written down the exact measurements, but it's as close as I can get with the growth charts I got.

After the doctor, we went to Chameleon Coffee for some ice cream--Abby's reward for her shots.  Abby chose "Superman" ice cream--red, yellow, and blue fruit punch flavored ice cream.  Cranky/sick Norah made for a short visit--she wanted ice cream, too, but I had no bib and she was not content with me feeding her spoonfuls--she wanted to do it herself!  Abby ended up taking her ice cream home in the car, but she was good about it.

So, five has come and gone--it's crazy to think that she's already that old!  Now that the shots are done, she is excited about being five and going to kindergarten next year.  Thankfully, we still have almost 5 months left until that!

Hungry Caterpillar

Last weekend, we celebrated both Norah and Abby's birthdays with my extended family.  I knew I wanted to use "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for Norah's theme, so I figured I could tie in butterflies for Abby and make it work.  I had seen an idea for making a caterpillar out of cupcakes on Pinterest, so went from there.  I found some hungry caterpillar party stuff (tablecloth, bowls, napkins) from the Eric Carle Museum online, then found some matching (Target clearance!) assorted colored cups, plates, napkins, dessert plates, and straws that all went well with the tablecloth and color scheme.  Norah got a wooden hungry caterpillar pull-toy that I set on the counter, along with the book, for a centerpiece.  My sister made butterfly sugar cookies for Abby's portion, and bought her a butterfly balloon.  I found butterfly wings at Target for Abby to wear.  We had "picnic-y" food for lunch.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated, so everyone was able to make it up for the party.  Both of my grandmas, three of my aunts, two of my uncles, one of my cousins and her son, my  mom, and sister joined us.  It was so fun to see everyone!

Also, forgot to update with Norah's 1-year check-up stats...her appointment with Dr. Mark went well.  No ear infections--yay!  We still have no idea why she is still stuffed up all the time, but at least her ears are clear from her long stretch of ear infections.  She weighed in at 16 pounds, 15 ounces (10th percentile) and was just over 28 inches long (15th percentile).  Still our little peanut!

One

On Sunday, we celebrated Norah's first birthday--so crazy that she's one already!  She and Abby will have birthday parties with our extended families this weekend, so we're hoping the weather cooperates!  My dad was able to fly in for a few days last week, so we had dinner with him, my mom, and my sister to celebrate Norah's birthday last Thursday night.  Norah got to enjoy her first cupcake that night--she LOVED it, and couldn't eat it fast enough!  Frosting first, of course!  On Saturday, we went to Rochester to spend the weekend with my family.  Although my dad wasn't there, my brother flew in for the weekend, so we got to see him.  We had a little birthday party for Norah on Saturday night, and she especially enjoyed her very first ice cream cone and opening a few presents.  She definitely loved the big Dumbo pillow pet that Greg got her.  Since Dave was working all weekend, we celebrated with him on Sunday night for supper.  Norah got a couple of favorites for part of our meal--mashed potatoes, blueberries--and enjoyed another cupcake for dessert.  This time, she took her time and licked off all of the frosting first, then dug in.  We had a few presents for her to open, which Abby was glad to help her with.

We can't imagine our life without our baby girl--she is growing and changing every day, and is always so happy.  She's now standing up from a sitting position anywhere, often with something in her hands and looking around to make sure someone is noticing what she's doing.  She loves to stand up, move her arms and dance.  Apparently, she took 4 or 5 steps at daycare last Thursday, but we have yet to see any walking at home.  She's close, though!  She LOVES her food--anything and everything.  Really, one of the only times she is unhappy is if we are not giving her food fast enough.  She's been doing a lot of talking lately, mostly babbling, but here and there we'll hear a few words we recognize.  She can say daddy and uh-oh the most clearly, and copies a lot of things we say (no no, "babby"--Abby, "momby"--mommy, "di di"--Sadie, puppy).  She is still a little peanut--we'll go to the doctor Friday, so I'll have to update with official stats.  Despite her size, she has a BIG personality!  Not shy at all, likes to show off, extremely busy--total opposite of Abby at this age.  One of her new things lately is that she can get really jealous of Abby if Abby is sitting in someone's lap (ours, Grandma's/Grandpa's, etc.).  She loves being outdoors, and is such a good sport with the snow--lets Abby pull her around in the sled, sleds down the hill with us, doesn't mind the cold.  Spending time outside with her this spring/summer will be a lot of fun!  We love our sweet girl, and can't believe she's 1 already!