McDonald's Play

This morning I took Cara and Nora to play at McDonald's. We met up with one of their buddies from playgroup, and I actually took my camera out briefly! We really like this McDonald's play area since it is so open, so both girls love climbing and still being able to see everything.











They are both very into climbing, so they love any chance to play on playscapes! And I love how well they nap afterward. ;)

Holiday, 2 year Update

Once again I've neglected this blog! I suppose that's a sign that we lead a busy, fulfilling life with two toddlers. Both girls are doing well and had a happy Thanksgiving. Ours was low-key, spent at home, but they enjoyed having Daddy around so much. They're such daddy's girls when given the chance. Their 2 year appointment was last week, and both girls are growing well. Cara was 27 lbs, 15 oz and Nora was 30 lbs, 11 oz. Cara was 33.75 inches tall and Nora was 34 inches tall. They're both staying on the growth curve pretty much where they've been for a long time now; Cara is around the 50th percentile, and Nora is around the 80th.

Baby in utero is doing well, too. Our next ultrasound is December 14th, and I have my 20 week midwife appointment on December 15th. I can't believe this pregnancy is almost half over! Actually, I'm 18 weeks today, so this would have been the halfway mark with Cara and Nora's pregnancy. Hopefully this baby plans to bake longer than they did, but it's still crazy to think about! At 18 weeks, baby C is now approximately 10 inches long. I can definitely feel baby's movements most days, usually in the evenings when I finally sit down and rest for a bit.

We took a few pictures this weekend of them in their Christmas outfits!











It's hard to believe they've grown up so fast and are already 2! They had a great birthday party with several of their toddler friends, and they both enjoyed their chocolate cake. Cara recognizes quite a few of her friends and calls them by name now without my prompting, which is just wild. She's like her own little person.

Growing Family

Cara and Nora are only one month away from turning 2! Growing fast and changing every day. And their lives will change even more next spring when baby #3 arrives!


























Nora has been sick this week, so we've been stuck at home for a while. Luckily her fever finally broke yesterday, so I'm hoping the rest of us don't get whatever she had. She's been miserable! Yesterday we went to the park with Uncle Kelly and future Aunt Alyssa and the girls had a blast wearing all of us adults out. They're very good at that. ;)

Cara is still chatting up a storm and starting to put together sentences. I drew her lovey, Babo, on a magna doodle yesterday, and she said, "Babo!!" She ran to grab Babo, then came back and shoved Babo's face on the magna doodle. She told me, "Babo sees him." Smart kid!

Hopefully I'll find the energy to update more once I'm feeling better.

Nearly Two

I can hardly believe it, but on the 24th of this month, Cara and Nora will be 22 months and only 2 months away from turning 2! How can that be? I keep telling them to stop growing, but they clearly don't listen to mommy.

Cara has become a little Dora fanatic. She calls her "Dona." She loves pointing out Swiper and Boots, too. On Tuesday we went to a play date at a house that had a huge Dora tent and oh my goodness, Cara was THRILLED by the giant Dora and Boots. All I need to get her is Dora stuff for her birthday, apparently. She made me sit with her and look through a Dora coloring book at that house, even, and she kept pointing out the Dora on the tent over and over again. Nora spent most of that morning playing at their play kitchen. I see a play kitchen of some sort in our future. They both love them!

Nora is really into Play Doh! I just got some out a few days ago for them to play with; I was concerned before that they would try to eat it or wouldn't get it. They have both enjoyed it, but Nora just loves it. I tell her to squish it and she gets this huge smile on her face and mashes it down. She's such an easygoing, lovable kid. Seriously! Cara can be very possessive and pushy, like a typical 2 year old, but Nora totally rolls with the punches and is so laid back. Things still set her off, of course, but overall, she's a really sweet little toddler.

Yesterday I got out some drawing paper and crayons and the girls colored at their little picnic table in our kitchen. I drew Cara's lovey, Babo, and she thought the drawing was totally awesome. She accidentally scribbled over him, and threw a fit. She kept trying to wipe away the crayon marks. Poor kid!

Cara has started saying "sign-a" for Signing Time. We have a bunch of Signing Time videos that both girls adore. So cute! She and Nora have both started signing rainbow this week. They pick up on the most random signs!

More to come

Nice and overcast this morning. The girls got to play in the rain; I got some good pictures...here's a preview.

Park

Park Pics. I'm only awake enough to upload right now.

Burger King

Some quick pics.

Poor Nora fell flat on her back; Mommy to the rescue!




Nora thanks Cara for the fry by eating it while walking away...










Fries and ketchup... ..the fries being used more like spoons than food...

Sidewalk Chalk

It's been too long since I've put some pictures up here. We played with sidewalk chalk yesterday. They're so fun to watch:

Photo Overload

Time for some new pictures of our growing girls! They've enjoyed summer so far, although Mommy is not such a big fan of playing outside in the heat. Last summer they were terrified of grass, so they've clearly changed their views.

Cara continues to add new words to her vocabulary, and she also has said her first sentence, which she uses often - "what is it?" She's very inquisitive and wants to know what everything is called! I'm sure this is her first sentence since we ask her this a lot, but still. It's really cool. Nora doesn't have any words still, so she's started speech therapy. Just something to help her along, and it's going well so far.

Kirby has been working on turning our 2nd story loft into a real bedroom, and it's almost done now. It's so exciting! Here he is with his dad working on it:


And now, some pics of C&N:














Jumping!

Father's Day, then and now

For Kirby's very first Father's Day in 2008, the girls looked like this:


In 2009, I took these photos of them spelling "daddy":









For 2010, I repeated the spelling again. Look at how much they've grown!