Nog+Chog

Norah’s pre-k class sang a song in Spanish at their 1st assembly last week. I of course, was there to capture some smiles from Norah and her classmates. It was the cutest thing ever!

We went to Didier again this year with our good friends Sean and Michelle and their daughters Madeline and Charlie! Yep, that’s right, you read it correctly. Her name is Charlotte, but they will call her Charlie. She’s only 4 weeks old and let me tell you, she is the cutest most adorable little girl! I can’t wait to hug her as I love new babies. Especially ones named Charlie!! 😉 We missed you Deli, Jeanne and Sean.

You can just imagine what Charlie’s face looks like (since you can’t see it) as he’s looking up at Norah, filled with curiosity. Charlie adores and loves Norah. He can even say her name!

From our bedroom window, we have access to a lightwell that we share with 11 other units in our building. For 4 of those units, this light well or courtyard is their ONLY access to any source of natural light. It’s really a shame as they had no view whatsoever. The owners on the 3rd and 4th level opted to have a contractor come in and knock out these windows from the existing brick about the size of 16’x18′ feet, which would give them an open view to the outside world other than that brick wall and the lightwell. The construction has been very loud and Charlie’s nap time has been a struggle, but the outcome is absolutely fabulous. Here are some pix of before, in the process and the finished product. It’s quite amazing how much more natural light we get in the afternoon as well as how bright it is in the room. BLINDING, actually…

These were from last week, but we’re trying to catch up with dad being at home and getting back into a normal routine and all. First the kids needed a bath and as you can tell, they both love bath time. (I know that I’ve pointed that out many times before.)

Dad picked up Norah from school as a surprise and if we only had a picture of her face when she saw that Daddy was home! I think that these picures show how happy she is as she pretty much was attached to him from the moment he got home!

We are all glad that Dad is now at home, but needless to say, what happens in our loft, stays in our loft!

Norah loves her lil’ bro sooo much. Just look at these precious faces!

One of my old roomies from Iowa State and a best friend, (Auntie Deb) came over with her son Nicholas. Charlie is 5 wks older than Nicholas, and also his best friend. Here are some pix from our fun day together. Thanks again, Auntie Deb for all your help, and trecking into the city. We can’t wait ’til the next time that we can get the boys together!

Here are some pix from right after dad assembled our new bike trailer. This was also before we tried on Charlie’s new helmet. Trust me, he looks so darn cute in it, but the tears were rolling. Hmmm…I don’t think that he likes it!

This is one of our favorite parks here in Chicago. Norah calls it the roller park, because of this slide. (We’ll post some video as soon as we can.) Here are some pics from right before Charlie found the dead mouse. (Please check post: The Mouse Whisperer.)