Trick-or-Treat

It was a banner day. There were treats at playgroup (and pizza). After resting we went trick-or-treating downtown. There are about 3 blocks where merchants stand outside and give out candy for two hours in the afternoon. It is just perfect for little ones; it is still daylight and there are other kids to look at. Nora's technique improved with practice. She started out barely opening her sack, but was a pro by the time we finished. Henry was less impressed with the outing, although he did like the firetruck in the plaza.After dinner Mark carved a jack-o-lantern for Nora. She helped by stirring the seeds and making design decisions.Then they had popcorn while supervising the rest of the operation.
Here they model the face Nora requested the pumpkin have. It turned out to be a pretty good likeness.

Dancing Chicken

The girls were allowed to wear costumes to ballet today. Nora went as a chicken. We left the fleece legs off of her outfit so she wouldn't get too hot. There were several fairies and princesses, a butterfly, a cat and a dog. The class does their spinning with wands in two groups (safer that way). Here Nora waits with a fairy and butterfly.

Can this be comfortable?

Always in motion

I have been waiting for this Marimekko shirt to fit Nora for a long time. She wore it once or twice last winter with the sleeves rolled up, but now it is just the right size. We are having some warmer days this week and enjoying the sun.

Stats

Henry had his 18M doctor appointment today. He is about 30 in (75 cm) tall and weighs almost 23 lbs (10.29 K). He is close to the 10th percentile for weight and height. This means he is climbing the curve a little, since at a year he was at the 5th percentile in all categories. Healthy boy.

Liisa-Täti came to visit

Liisa was here this last weekend (and she brought chocolate). She also brought cupcakes from "hello, cupcake" in Tacoma. The kids had fun showing off for her. They love a fresh audience. And I had someone to prod me in to finishing a few small projects. Sisters are good for that sort of thing. This is a game of "Ring around the bridge." Nora creates hybrid versions of games that only she understands the rules to. So this is a ring-around-the-rosy/London Bridge combination.Liisa and Anja found this riding coat and matching hat for Nora. It is a little big, but at the rate she is growing should fit in no time. Nora observed that she "looked like an old lady."

Eighteen Months

He didn't feel much like smiling today because of his cold.
I wanted to write a little about what Henry is like while I remember. At eighteen months old he is getting pretty good at using the spoon at mealtimes. He is an enthusiastic eater overall, trying most things that he is offered. On Saturday he added the word "mah-may" to his vocabulary. And no, that isn't mommy, it is short for edamame (young soy beans). He likes most vegetables but his favorites are those that are red, orange or yellow.

He has been using words for a while but is adding them quickly now. He tends to repeat the last word said to him. About a week ago he started nodding while saying "yeah, yeah" and shaking his head with "ei" (no) so now he can answer questions. His first handful of words were: up, kukka (flower), auto (car), hi.
He started walking just before he turned 16 months. Up until that time the scooting served him well. He spent about 2 weeks doing both and then he decided he would walk full-time.

Henry and Nora get along well. There is occasional teasing, but life is much more fun with a sibling for company. Henry loved to watch Nora when he was a baby and some of his first smiles were for her.

He loves cars, trucks, vehicles of any kind. He excitedly points them out with an "Auto, auto." Big vehicles get a deep, baby growl of "ko, ko."

First day of sitting up at a little over 6 months old.
Scooting around at 1 year.

Funny

Yesterday at dinner Nora had something to tell Mark. After relating the brief incident, she mentioned that she "heard it on NPR."

Pumpkin Harvest

It was a pleasant morning. On the cool side, but warm enough to play outside before lunch. There are a few volunteer pumpkin plants in our yard. Most of the crop shows up too early for Halloween, but there are usually a few to provide some fall color. Here are the kids with the 5 we picked today and with last year's much more impressive yield.
The striped hat Henry has on was Kirsti's.

Before Bed

The game is called "Aaaaaaaah." It involves running down the hall while making the noise. Nora used to run down this hallway toward Mark before having her pajamas put on. For some reason Henry latched on to this as a crucial part of the pre-bed ritual. Earlier this week he thought he would try it. Now each evening involves a few rounds. It was hard to pick a video clip since they are all so funny.

Child Labor

Nora started helping me with the laundry at about 18 months. I would sort, then she would hand me clothes to put in the washer. At first this did not speed up the process any. When she grew a little taller she started putting the sorted loads in using her step-stool. This meant that I could do something else while still keeping an eye on her. One day she did not want to help, so I had Henry hand me the clothes. Of course this brought Nora running to participate as well. Lately they have been tackling the project together. This was taken at the end of August. Henry gives an impatient grunt at the end since Nora is not doing her job quickly enough.

Shoes

Henry is very fond of his shoes. He has wanted some for so long. He would sit in the hall and try to put Nora's shoes on. Before he started walking I wasn't interested in adding shoes to the list of things to keep track of, so all he could do was dream. But now that he walks, he has shoes of his very own. He will come, right after breakfast, carrying his shoes to have them put on. "Ten-tä?" he asks. This is his approximation of kenkä, the Finnish word for shoe. He will let them be taken off for meals, but it can be hard to convince him to remove them at other times.

"Ballerina School"

At the end of August Nora started ballet lessons. She loves it. Much of the time is spent just beaming and sometimes she is so excited she can only stand there and smile. They spend the first 15 min of the lesson doing tap and the rest of the time on pre-ballet. This was taken before her first class.