Catch-up, again

Nora turned 3 at the end of August. I can hardly believe my first baby has blossomed into a charming and sometimes challenging preschool aged child. We had a family party for her, a cookout with some foods of her choice that we made slightly more sophisticated (ok, we grilled them). Her food choices were grilled cheese and pasta, so we had a grilled sandwich bar with several meats, cheeses, and vegetables. We also had a really lovely tortellini salad. I made a lemon bread for her cake. She really wanted lemon pudding a la Tyler Florence (she does love the Food Network) but I thought a cake/bread with fresh fruit and whipped cream would do as well and we could stick a candle or three in it. Of course, we took no pictures. We have been really bad about that lately.



Here she is in her fairy dress, a birthday gift as well as her Halloween costume.

and Brennan looking like an innocent angel (HA!)

Nora and Brennan engaged in a favorite past time (reading and posing for pictures)

The kids have been spending a fair amount of time with the cousins two of whom are obsessed with Star Wars right now. So, Brennan and Nora play "Lightsavers" when they get the chance.

I have no idea where this was taken, but apparently it was the same day as the "lightsavers" picture. IKEA maybe?

Ah, sibling love.

We went over to the cousins' house to help them pack for their recent move. Nora found the guitar and wouldn't let it go for a while. Her outfit was quite fitting I thought, with the 80's mesh top and the "scary" side ponytail. I don't know what a "scary" ponytail is, but it was what she requested and I did my best with it.

Brennan is now 20 months old and may be finally back on the growth charts for good. He weighs in at 20 lb 2 oz (5th percentile, huzzah! hey, it's better than 3rd) and 31 in tall. His three favorite activities are jumping, climbing, and swinging (as in hanging from something and swinging rather than using a playground device of the same name) and he will typically engage in 2 of the 3 in the same activity. He is talking a fair amount now, too. He is at the stage where he learns a new word or two just about every day. Today the words were "walk" and "yellow".

Here he is on a racing snail (oh, I cannot wait to show them Neverending Story) at Aunt Jenn and Uncle Mike's house back in July.