Who needs toys!

I was originally going to entitle this "rainy day fun," but I think the better name is who needs toys. Yesterday was a pretty rainy day, and I didn't want to run errands and put Beth in and out of the carseat, so we stayed home. We did go outside for a little while (thank goodness for rainpants!), but we spent most of the time indoors. We did a lot of the typical rainy day things - cut and paste (well, I cut, and Nora smears paste and then presses thing together), coloring, reading stories...but Nora also had a great time doing all sorts of other things as well.

She took one of my shopping bags and used it like a potato sack to walk around the house. She decorated a skein of yarn with crochet hooks (after disassembling another skein of yarn around the room), and she decided to go through our cupboard and see what she could find! Our house may have been quite a mess by the time bedtime rolled around, but Nora managed to wear herself out and slept great!

Poor Elizabeth!

Elizabeth has had a bit of a rough go these last few weeks! Nora is usually nice to her baby sister. She mostly wants to help, but if she's overtired and is trying to get my attention, she will hit orkick the baby - or pull the baby's ear or poke her eyes. Of course, mostly Nora loves to help mommy take care of the baby, and that often includes picking up the baby. She's successfully picked her up only once that I know of (and, unfortunately, dropped her from about an inch above the floor). She's tried a few times to pick her up, and one of those times she may have been a bit too rough. Poor Beth has a broken clavicle (collar bone). When we took her to the dr. yesterday, we also found out that she has an ear infection (also on the right side). Poor kid! Only two months old and dealing with two issues on her right side! She's already doing better. They can't do much for a collarbone, but we got a remedy to help, and we have some drops for her ears that seem to be helping. We'll see the dr again next week to check up on her.

Keeping busy with 2 girls!

Having 2 little girls has kept my busy! It's a good thing Nora likes routine, otherwise we would never survive! Beth sleeps until almost 9am after nursing and diaper change at 6, so I have a few hours every morning with just Nora. We usually spend half that time eating breakfast and picking up, and the other half reading stories or playing with blocks. Once Beth is awake, she eats and then we usually go outside for a few hours. Then, it's in for lunch, naps and (if I'm lucky and both kids nap), either some rest or chores for me. After nap, we have a few minutes of quiet time (Nora still has a hard time waking up), a snack, and then it's either back outside or off to run errands.

Grocery shopping is nearly impossible with both kids. The quickest way is for me to hold Beth in the Moby and Nora in the Ergo (on my back). It's about 40 pounds of kid, but there are no worries of Nora climbing out of the cart or strangers coming up to touch a 2 month old during flu season! Andy has started stopping at the grocery store once or twice a week to pick up any essentials (like break, milk, eggs...).

Andy injured his knee a few weeks ago, and it's been quite the challenge to keep afloat with the housework. We are still playing catch up now. Luckily, my wonderful friends set up some playdates for Nora and brought us some meals to make life easier for us after Andy's surgery. He is now mostly recovered from that, but needs to use the crutches for another week, when he has is follow up with the dr.

Nora has lots of fun at Parlee farms, which is in Tyngsboro, MA. They have a great hay play area in the fall - bales of hay set up to make a maze/climbing structure. She has fun being "up high" on the hay. They also have lots of pumpkins in their pumpkin patch, and Nora had fun putting her Halloween costume on and playing with the pumpkins.

Elizabeth is 2 months old!

Beth turned 2 months old the same day Nora turned 2 years old. Elizabeth is still a very easy baby. She's usually happy as long as she is fed and dry! She is quite content to be carried in the Moby wrap or Ergo baby carrier for a big part of the day - which is good because sometimes her sister gets a bit jealous and is not so nice. Mostly, Nora wants to take care of Beth and tries to pick her up - but she tries to pick her up by the neck. Needless to say, when both are awake, we have to keep a close watch on them!

Beth is getting big fast! She's was up over 11 pounds at 8 weeks and is quite long! It is incredibly easy to get her to smile. We are having a bit of trouble with belly time. She will lay on her belly for a few minutes before getting fussy, but we can't really do belly time while Nora is around because Nora rolls Beth onto her back. Beth's head control is still coming along though, thanks to babywearing (she lifts her head up to look around).

Here is Beth napping in Grandpa's arms.


Close up of Beth at 2 months.


Beth next to her teddy bear at 2 months. I also got a great "blackmail" photo of her when I took these - she decided to fill her pants while I was snapping a photo!


This is a common look from Beth. She smiles and laughs a lot, and has the Piper eyes that close into crescents with a big smile!


Nora and Beth on their 2year/2month birthday.

Nora turns 2!

I can't believe Nora is 2 years old! She's turning into quite the little girl, and it's been so much fun watching her learn about the world. Nora still love to play outside and explore. Swinging and climbing - with a slide ride at the end - are both big hits at the park. She also enjoys walking in the woods. It's fun to watch her exploring when we go on little hikes - she examines each rock, leaf, stick, acorn...it can take a LONG time to walk 1/4 mile, but it's nice to be outside. I'm really glad we got her some rainpants because she's worn them quite often this fall.

Inside, Nora still loves stories. Her current favorites include "If you Give a Pig a Pancake," "Snuggle Puppy," "Barn Cat," and "Nat Nat the Nantucket Cat." I can probably recite about 25 of the books we own, and she knows most of the Sandra Boynton ones we have by heart. Nora will even tell you if you skipped a page when reading some stories.

Nora enjoys craft time. She loves to color - but often misses the paper and colors on her table instead. She also enjoys finger painting and play-dough. Legos and blocks are also still big hits, so we often have a mess of a living space due to spread out blocks!

Nora has great communication skills. She mimics very well, and we have really needed to watch what we say in front of her. Once in the car, she said "Oh, come on dude" when someone didn't move quick enough when a red light turned green. Another time when Beth was crying in the car (surprisingly, at the same stop light), she looked at Beth and said "Um...STOP," which was quite funny - we reserve stop for when she's about to get injured (think putting finger in outlet).

Nora's birthday party was lots of fun. Because we went to the Pumpkin festival on her birthday, we opted to have her birthday the next morning. The morning party worked out well. Andy and I made a baked egg dish (I think it's called a strata). It came out really good. We picked up some pastries and a cake from a local bakery and had good time with family. Of course, Nora made out like a bandit! Andy and I got her a tricycle and she LOVES it. Luckily, she's big into rules, so when we told her she had to wear her helmet to ride her bike, she listened. It does mean one of the first things she asks for after breakfast is her helmet! We are still trying to find homes for all of her new toys. She doesn't have too many toys in her room right now, so we need to decide which "quiet" toys can go in her room, and which toys we will leave out in the family room.

Nora, examining one of the early fall leaves.


Homemade Play-dough (scented with lavender and vanilla - perfect for a rainy day cranky child!).


Nora, the birthday girl, holding onto Beth's bear and giving a cheesy grin for pictures.


Blowing out the candles after everyone was "all done sing happy birfday"

Opening birthday gifts with help from her "cousins"


Testing out the new wheels! You can also see the art work on the table (literally).


Playing with her new tea set. Would you like a cup of tea?

Milford Pumpkin Festival

We went to the Milford Pumpkin festival with both girls this year. It was on Nora's birthday, which made it a busy, but fun day! Nora was a bit overwhelmed with the crowds, but enjoyed looking at pumpkins, painting a pumpkin, checking out the fire engines and eating some tasty treats! It was a bit chilly out for the pumpkin festival, but Beth did just fine in the Ergo. We love the Storybook Walk, which is a nice magical walk put on by the local Waldorf school. We know a lot of the volunteer actors, so it's always fun to see!

Painting a pumpkin with Grandma. I think this may become a yearly tradition!


Enjoying some butternut squash and cranberry soup in a breadbowl! Yum!


Sitting in the pumpkin patch. Nora was a bit overtired so she refused to smile.


Getting some fairy dust on the Storybook walk.


Helping the fisherman catch a fish on the Storybook Walk.