Trick or treat

Well, last night was a busy, fun, and somewhat exhausting night. Earlier in the day, Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to play in the mall and eat lunch while Mommy got in some exercise at the Y. Then it was home for naps and the preparation for Halloween. Grandma, decked out in her "Wicked" shirt, decided to stay home and pass out candy while Grandpa and Mommy took the girls trick or treating. I had fun getting on my witch attire, and even more fun turning Caroline into a munchkin. We drew pink circles on her cheeks with lipstick and I tried to smooth down and curl her hair in the front like the members of the Lollipop Guild (too bad I didn't think to buy her an oversized lollipop to carry). She was not a fan of the Munchkin pompom hat we made for her (as you can see in the picture of me holding her), so we left that at home. While we were waiting for our friends Ted, Jamie, Teddy and Jenna Bohl to join us (the family photo), I drew a yellow brick road and wizard head out of chalk, and Nora practiced skipping down the road to ask the wizard to send her home. It was so cute watching her try to click her heels three times (considering she can't even walk in a straight line half the time!) and say "There's no place like home," with our home right in back of her. As we began trick or treating, we picked up our 5-year-old neighbors Luke and Will Faller, dressed as "clone commanders," whatever that is (see photo with their flamenco dancer mom, Meg). They were typical crazed 5 year old boys, and Nora did her darndest to keep up with them. She left her friend Teddy in the dust as she ran with the big boys and competed with them for being the first to ring the bell. She even went so far as to imitate Will, who spent the entire night informing everyone of his peanut allergy, by starting to tell people that she doesn't like peanuts in her candy (a total lie). By the time we finished walking up and down our block, Nora was glassy-eyed, and I was wiped out by trying to keep a leash on Luke and Will. So, we brought the boys home and headed back to our house, only to meet up with Taylor and her dad Shannon, who had just gotten started. So we did a little more trick or treating with Taylor, visiting Beth across the street and her next door neighbor Harry, and then Taylor came over to our house for a little bit so the girls could sample their candy together. After Taylor left, it was a peanut butter sandwich and Dora the Explorer for Nora while we sat down to a nice hot dinner prepared as a gift by my friend Alli and rewarded ourselves for getting through the night with glasses of Merlot!

Halloween fun begins

Nora debuted her Halloween costume at school yesterday. She is in love with her Dorothy dress, which is my old "German" dress (circa 1977?) worn backwards. She insisted on wearing the dress all day Wednesday after we took it down from the attic, and only let me take it off her before bed with the promise that she could put it on again first thing in the morning. She wore it all day yesterday too. We got Caroline into the act yesterday afternoon by dressing her in Nora's old pumpkin sweater and hat, as we got ready to go toy shopping with Grandma and Grandpa. Nora had fun making Halloween Krispy Treats for school with Grandma Wednesday night, and has been enjoying eating ice cream cones every night with Grandpa (she even gave Caroline a few licks last night). We're all enjoying the warm, comfy blankets that Great Grandma made for the girls...they really do the trick in the unheated backroom! It's been in the 40s and low 50s, but the forecast promises us milder weather this afternoon and tomorrow. We go trick or treating tonight with some neighborhood kids - should be fun, and I'll be sure to take lots of pics. Happy Birthday Uncle Gregory!

Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived this morning, on the coldest day we've had so far (it was 40 degrees as we left the house for school this morning). Quite a shock to their Florida systems! But we had lots of fun staying warm indoors - talking to Daddy on the phone when he called, watching movies, dancing in the living room (see picture of Grandpa dancing with Caroline), eating a delicious dinner (followed by ice cream cones, Grandpa and Nora's special "thing"), and playing games. Nora and Grandpa played Slap Jack after dinner, and Grandpa had to give her a talking to about how to be a good sport, after she burst into tears upon not being the first to slap the jack. They promised each other that they wouldn't cry when the other player slapped the jack first, and Nora was smiling by game's end. Nora also took a picture of Grandma and Grandpa on the couch hugging Elmo...they would have been hugging Caroline if she hadn't been on her way to bed.

3 going on 13

So Nora is acting like quite the little teenager these days. When I pick her up from school and ask her how her day was and what she did, she tells me "Mommy, don't ask me that...it's a secret." We've gone to battle a few times this week when I've asked her to stop doing something and she looks me straight in the eye and does it anyway. And then this morning, when I started harrassing her to take a picture with the beautiful necklace she strung together all by herself, I got quite "the look." Caroline, on the other hand, couldn't be any cuter. We opened up Uncle Matty's birthday present this morning (a mix of his favorite songs from his childhood) and she beamed when I showed her the cover (a picture of Uncle Matty giving her the thumbs up). She also "danced" to some of the songs, which I got on video (she's starting to bounce up and down, and also attempts a spin, but always lands on the ground halfway through it!).

Bernadette's baby shower

A success! Everyone had a great time at Bernadette's baby shower including, most importantly, Bernadette. Caroline, our little social butterfly, "worked" the room while Nora hid out in the back room watching tv, eating cupcakes (she kept asking "Is it cupcake time now?") and occasionally guarding her toys as Thomas Pokorsky tried to play with them. She eventually fell asleep on the couch watching tv...too cute! Here are some photos which I'm hoping Mike will be able to access and share with Josh (Bernadette's husband), who is also on the Iwo Jima.

More cat confusion

We had a fun afternoon at Reagan's house making caramel apples from apples she and her parents picked over the weekend. Caroline chased Mr. Kitty around the house, calling him a dog ("doh") the whole time, and Nora, Taylor and Reagan had fun playing together, especially on the front lawn as we were about to leave. It was a beautiful, but chilly, afternoon. Earlier this morning we went to both of our gyms - first, Tidewater Gymnastics for the girls' gym class, then the YMCA for Mommy. Tomorrow it's school in the morning for Nora while Mommy and Caroline go grocery shopping for Bernadette's baby shower, which we're hosting on Saturday.

Big girls DO cry

Sorry folks, but no photo today. It was a busy, eventful day, and I forgot to look for photo opportunities. Omi and her friend Charlotte stayed here overnight en route back up to NY from FL, and then I took Caroline to her 1 year check up after dropping Nora off at school. Caroline's a healthy 23 lbs. and 31 1/2 inches long...on the outer curve of the growth chart for height (big surprise there), and slightly under for weight. We sure do grow 'em big! She also got 5 shots (the flu, mumps/measles/rubells, the last hepatitis shot, chicken pox, and I forgot what else...can you believe they have a vaccine for chicken pox now?). She cried hard...her lower lip was trembling and she spent a good 5 minutes trying to catch her breath afterwards. It was a heartbreaker. But she was in good spirits this afternoon, especially since we spent it outside on our front lawn, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather with our neighbor Mark and his kids Reilly and Zoe.