Chef Nora

The other day Brenna took a late nap so Nora had the chance to practice her culinary skills in the kitchen without distractions! Ted got them the salad bowl and they both love to toss the lettuce and put condiments on it.

Welcome Cousin Hazel

Ted drove down to snuggle his new niece Hazel a few weeks ago and I did this week.  She's a sweetheart with big blue eyes and already a month old.  Dakota watched our girls so I could give new Momma Holly some helping hands and a much needed nap.  

Climbing & Hand Holding

A few days ago I was shocked to see Nora sitting in the living room chair.  Our girls are officially climbers!  They love climbing on the couch and grabbing our books from the previously off limits bookcase.  

The girls and I have been practicing holding hands when walking near the parking lots in our neighborhood.  Nora loves to hold Brenna's hand and reluctantly one of them holds my hand.  We were going stir crazy last week so we packed on some layers of clothes and went out in the cold for a very brief stroll.

Dakota is home!

The best babysitter in the whole world is home for her holiday break.  Hooray!  We also had a quick, lovely visit last week with the Kwartler grandparents-photos to come soon!

Tough New Englanders

Despite the cold temperatures last weekend we had fun outside.  

Talking

Ted recalls reading that at some stage toddlers start saying a new word every day.  It seems like we are in that phase now and It's fascinating.  

Ted was holding a mug of tea and let the girls feel the outside and explained that it was 'hot'.  Then they both said 'hot'.  I almost fell over.  Nora says 'hi' and 'bye' when she pretends to talk on the phone.  Brenna says 'good' and 'aaaaaaaallllllll done'.  She also loves to answer yes/no questions from her parents with 'yea'.  She even knows the difference between the questions that aren't answered with yes and no because she doesn't respond to them.  Ted loves to ask about her day each evening when he gets home.  She has been taken with language from the beginning.  Nora makes the corresponding animal noises when she sees their photo.  Oink is her latest.  Her pure love for animals is infectious. 

Thanksgiving

Thankfully Brenna recovered from her cold just in time for us to attend the McColl family Thanksgiving.  We had great fun with family and delicious food.  Nora was in heaven playing with buttons on the remote and entertainment center-things that are usually off limits at home.  Brenna was taken by a deck of cards-new playtime idea!  The girls were also showing off their dance moves.

Nanna's visit

When I returned from Toronto a few weeks ago Nanna was here having a blast with the girls and Ted.  She showed Brenna how to find her belly button and pucker up those cute lips for a smooth.  They made lots of games with blankets as well.  Nora and Brenna showed her how to go upside down.  We went to Jam Time and enjoyed their playhouse, story time at the book store and the girls had their first visit to Dunkin Donuts!

Belated Grandpa Kelly Post

Several weeks ago Grandpa Kelly stopped in to visit us twice in between his work at the New Hampshire cottage.  He read lots of books and magically got both girls to sleep together in the same room.  Their mother can barely accomplish this.  

Nora's New Teeth!!!!

The exclamation points are definitely warranted.  I was beginning to worry that my almost 15 month old daughter only had two teeth although it doesn't hinder her eating in the slightest.  It appears that four teeth have broken through on the top.  How her smile will change as Brenna's did months ago.  I will miss her toothless grin.

A few months ago (I think) I became amazed at the girls's receptive speech.  They began to understand all of the directions I was giving them and most of the time they were happy to follow them. They love to put shoes away in the closet  including guest's shoes.

Yesterday I randomly started singing 'Little Bo Peep' while folding laundry.  Brenna immediately went to the book shelf and picked the Nursery Rhyme book which contains that rhyme.  I was flabbergasted as her ability to categorize so well.  

Ted is the best dad/husband we could ever hope for.  He is sending me away for the weekend for a little Momma break.  Nana arrives for a visit Saturday and I can't wait to see her when I return.  She's looking forward to reading all the books the girls want which is a lot!

Happy Halloween!

Our little ladybug and bumblebee were quite the party girls with two social events for Halloween.  One with our mom's group friends and one at our apartment complex clubhouse.  Practical mom ordered pajamas as the main costume (to reuse :) and made the tutus and wings.  Victoria knitted the hats in record time and shipped them all the way from Washington to bail Mom out of her procrastination.  It was a fun filled day.