Christmas pictures!

Yes, I should have put these up a few days ago. Laziness, thy name is GREG!

We always take a picture of the Christmas tree before the carnage. Doesn't it look peaceful?

The big present was this kitchen. It's technically for Norah, but both of them play with it. Krys put it together the night before, so when Norah woke up she could get into it before we opened presents. Krys was able to sleep in because neither kid was bugging me to open presents. Mia, I think, doesn't realize what the deal is, and Norah is still too young. In a year or two we expect her to be a lot more annoying about the gifts. Norah LOVES the kitchen!

Mia, as you can see, also likes the kitchen. Norah does not like that Mia plays with it as well.

Norah also got a rocking horse. If you push its ears it neighs and makes clip-clop sounds. She has already worn out the batteries because she likes hearing it make noise. She doesn't, interestingly enough, love riding it. She'll ride it, but she much prefers to push the ears and listen to it.

Here are my girls!

Norah digs new clothes!


Yes, it's an ugly man with cute daughters. Thank goodness they take after Krys!

Norah figures out what to do with presents!

Mia gets a new book!

It's tough for Mia to open gifts, because she only uses one hand, but she gives it a good try.

Mia hangs out with Mommy. We had to pass her back and forth because she gets heavy when she's on your lap for so long.

My parents bought Norah a play sushi set. Who knew play sushi sets even existed? Krys was happy, because she wants to train Norah to like sushi so she'll have a "sushi buddy" when she gets older. I'm not a big fan of raw fish, and we aren't even going to try with Mia, so we'll see if Norah gets into sushi thanks to her new toy.

Mia's big gift was a keyboard. The kids, of course, are fascinated by everything, including putting the batteries in.

Mia was very excited about her keyboard. She wanted one, and before Christmas, Krys was asking her if she wanted a "piano," and she kept saying "yes" very excitedly. We think it will help her with her fine motor skills, so we'll see if her OT uses it. Norah, of course, tried to butt in on her playing.

There's Norah butting in!

Mia made this for us at school. Krys took it to work, and all her co-workers thought it was very cute, because it is.

Mia jams on her keyboard!


Norah finished the day where she started - playing with her kitchen. They have been digging it ever since!

We had a nice day. The kids, as I mentioned, weren't dying to open presents, so we were able to eat breakfast and get them dressed before we opened stuff. My sister was amazed that they weren't more annoying, but she also said that her kids weren't so bothersome when they were 2-3 either. It was only this year, she said, when her son is almost 6, that he was really bugging her. So we'll look forward to that. Krys went a little nuts with gifts this year, but I think we're going to ease off next year and in the following years. They have no need, really, for all the stuff, and we'd like to make sure Norah doesn't get spoiled before she starts to realize that she gets presents on Christmas. If we can give her less and make her think that's normal, she won't be as annoying when she gets older. At least, that's the theory!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday. We're looking forward to the new year - Mia is still loving school, and Norah's getting much better at talking and doing other stuff. The kids are just super-groovy!

Random pictures of the children

Because you just don't see enough pictures of them!

Here Mia and Norah play nicely together, which they do quite often. Norah, of course, is hamming it up for the camera. It's very difficult to get a nice, normal picture of her, because she likes vamping so much.

Except for the pacifier, this is a cute picture of Norah trying on Mommy's glasses. We're trying to wean her from the suckies, but she's stubborn about them. Oh well - we'll deal with it eventually.

Mia looks like this the morning after a bath. Her hair is thick and she doesn't like to Krys to dry with a hair dryer, so she goes to bed with it wet. She sleeps pretty much on her left side, so it gets plastered everywhere on the left and gets stuck up over her forehead. It's no fun brushing it every morning, I'll tell you that much. So I just took her picture to embarrass her when she's a teenager.

On Saturday Norah was 2½, and every six months I like to take their pictures in a certain chair. The chair I used to use is now in the garage, so we've moved on. The first photo is what happens when we tell Norah to smile. The second is better, but she looks very stiff. Oh well - not every picture is perfect!



I hope everyone has (or had) a nice Christmas, and I'll be posting photos of that fun day pretty soon. I'm sure the children will be good and excited about their presents. I know I'm excited about mine, whatever they are!

Norah's mad skillz!

Norah put on her sock the other day. She could only manage the one sock, and she hasn't done it since, but it was still an impressive feat. I know motor skills take quite a while to develop, so it's nice to see her getting started. She has also managed to put on her shoes correctly, even though she can't get the velcro to close. Actually, she always pulls the velcro straps out of their eye holes on the side of the shoes and can't thread them back through. But she can get them on, and almost always on the correct feet! So that's something.

I have a bunch of pictures to post, so that should be up today or tomorrow. Isn't it always fun to check out how cute the children are?

Why no crust?

Norah's big meal these days is peanut butter and jelly, or, as she calls it, "ButterJelly!" (All one word, of course). Mia actually likes it, too, so it's a favorite around the house, to the slight detriment of other food. I can still give Norah other food, but I have to explain why she can't have ButterJelly every single meal of the day. Or can she????

It's nice to see Mia eating it too, because the struggle with her preferences continues. She's doing fine with her weight and probably her nutrition as well (at least she looks healthy!), but it's still tough getting her to eat a wide variety of things. She's a typical five-year-old, I guess, but it's still frustrating.

My question is, Why do people assume kids don't like the crust of bread? We get Mia the pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and the label actually proclaims that it comes without crust, just like kids like it. I happen to LOVE crust. In fact, the heels of loaves are my favorite parts of the bread. Mia and Norah have never shown any inclination to not eat crust. They simply chow down on the bread and don't even notice the crust. Adults eat crusts. So why do we think children don't want them? Do the kids whine about it, or do adults simply assume that they won't want them and cut them off before the kids even think to ask? Kids will mimic what you do and say, and if you give them bread with crusts, they'll eat it.

This is what I think about when Norah is asleep and I have time to think.

Random pictures of Norah with things on her head

Because she likes putting things on her head, don't you know.


Plus, she has discovered pockets:


I have nothing else to say. It's been a slow week, so I haven't been posting anything. But it's never a bad time to show photographs of Norah!