Tess is four today!

It hardly seems possible that it was four years ago today that we were blessed with this precious joy in our lives!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl.   

Eleven days old

One year old

Two years old

Three years old

Almost four years old

(Four year old birthday pics yet to come!)

Happy Birthday to Will!

Today, we had the honor of attending Mr. Will's first birthday party!  It is amazing that he is already one!  Tess and Nora had a great time celebrating with the big guy on his big day.  Each were instrumental in screwing up almost every picture of Will opening his presents as they were standing in the way, er, trying to help. 

Here is Miss. I-think-I-am-a-member-of-Will's-immediate-family-since-

I-have-wiggled-by-way-into-almost-all-of-his-birthday-pictures. 

Present opening assistant No. 2 

Swimming Bee

Last night, we had our usual night of swimming.  Tess had her class, and Damon and Nora had theirs.  Tess is really getting good; she can swim almost the whole length of the pool by herself and she's a pro at jumping off the block - without a bubble!  She's also practicing swimming with her face in the water and on her back.

Nora, on the other hand, is splashing her brains out.  She's nearly doing the choo-choo around the pool by herself and she loves when it's time to play with the toys.  Sometimes she has a hard time waiting until toy time, so she screams her head off until she gets her way.  That's my girl.

Someone got a new suit!

Guess who thinks she owns the place?

Getting ready...

Bombs away!

Nora's turn 

Time-out for a quick snack 

Giving Dad a run for his money 

Guess who thinks she owns the toys? 

More St. Paddy's Day love...

Here are a few more pictures from this morning...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

15 months old!

Nora is 15 months old!  She is growing faster than we are able to keep up with!

Here is what she's up to lately:

• Running everywhere and trying to jump!
• Saying "Dada, Mama, Ta (for Tess), baby, hi and buh-bye"  (see below)
• Reading books and turning the pages
• Getting in and out (and in and out...) of her Barbie car from Grandma and Papa Art, usually always closing the door behind her
• Climbing the stairs when no one is looking
• Kicking and splashing all over the place at swimming class
• Dancing
• Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Getting lots of teeth all at once, including two molars
• Being tortured by her big sister who usually means well
• Eating a TON!  (Babysitter B says that she may be one of the biggest eaters that B has ever had at the daycare!)

Her unofficial stats are:

• Weight: 25 lbs
• Height: 29.5"

Poor baby girl

We thought we were in the clear... Tess had a nasty bug about two weeks ago.  Luckily, no one else got it... until Sunday morning.  Poor little Nora went down like a ton of bricks and still isn't herself.  She's just now starting to come around, but since Sunday, she's been a sad little cuddle-bug that has spent a better part of the last two days sleeping on either Dad or me.  It seems like every time I turn around, she's dozing off again.  She was finally able to eat a little something this afternoon... until it completely wore her out. 

Separated at birth!

Cindy Lou Who and Nora Lou Who!

And here's what happens when wet pigtails (from swim class) turn into
dry pigtails... and then we take them out!

"I'm a mog: half man, half dog. I'm my own best friend!"