The Peipert Family

Monday, March 7, 2016

Early Spring

The groundhog predicted an early spring and the weather has been warm & wonderful lately! There are days mixed in where it is cold and/or wet, but some days have been awesome. We've been able to get out and do some things outdoors with the girls.

I took them to my school's playground to run around one sunny afternoon...

The bridge was a big hit!

We went on a walk in Mimi & Pops' neighborhood to the park close by & found some fun dandelion flowers!

We got some frozen treats to celebrate the weekend!

We met up with cousin Hunter at the park one day!

We are looking forward to spring break and more spring weather to come!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Three + Half

Nora is now three and a half years old! She is such a big girl. I am continuously amazed by the things she says and does. It's crazy to think about how fast they change and grow in the first few years of their lives. Having both of the girls so close in age I often forget what Nora was like when she was Janie's age, whatever that may have been at the time, and have had to look back at videos and blog posts to see. It was not that long ago that Nora was not speaking in sentences. It was not that long ago that she was sleeping in a toddler bed & crib. It was not that long ago that she was tottering around instead of running everywhere. Now, she climbs ladders & draws little people shapes & talks in sentences upon sentences & it's amazing and eye opening. It is just a reminder to make sure to soak in all the little moments before they pass you by!

Nora Lane

Three + Half

Nora is still attending her preschool classes five days a week. She is there for long days as I have to drop her off early and not pick up until five or so, but she loves it. There were a couple days she had to miss because of pink eye and she was asking to go to school. This is great to hear because she struggled with the drop off for so long and although things have been fine lately and I know that she is happy once I leave, it's always good to get that validation from her. She loves playing with her school friends and has always had a love to learn and so I do not worry about her in school at all.

Making patterns at school

She has been learning letters and although I will say we do not work with her very much on them at home anymore, when we do talk about letters she seems to be picking up a lot. She knows letter names and sounds (not consistently of course) up to Qq now! She doesn't know them all and it can change every day what she says she knows, but she is definitely remembering some letters. Side note: Janie is currently singing her ABC's in her crib in the room next door and it is making me smile! We also see Nora do well with her counting. She can count to 20 consistently and even beyond that, but less consistently. She tends to think we have a base 6 system after that. She is writing her own name {it's precious} and she draws little stick people. She seems to use a writing utensil using an appropriate grip. I'm just so proud of that sweet little girl!

Learning the letter Ll!

Stick figure + her name

We haven't charted her growth much but we did go to the doctor and she was a little bit bigger than when she went at three, maybe a few pounds heavier is all. She is still wearing mostly 3T but I have noticed that some things she is growing out of. I bought her 4T pajamas for Valentine's Day and they fit her surprisingly well, so we may need to start sizing up. I've also started getting her size 8 shoes. We bought our first little girls shirt and although it was long in the sleeves and not super fitted, it worked! I was surprised!

Nora continues to go to dance class once a week and we are anticipating her first recital this spring. She enjoys going each week and although I think she is one of the youngest in her class she does okay... I think! We did not add swim lessons to our agenda for the spring but will probably take them again this summer. Some things need to pan out before we know what we will do.

Happy girl at dance class!

For the most part, we have good days. Nora still proves to be very emotional when she is hungry or tired. She is usually a good helper and though she tests the limits as any toddler does, she is generally pretty good about doing what she is asked to do. There seem to be fluctuations in when she throws fits, though. For a few weeks she will throw lots of fits and then it will stop for a period of time. I am assuming she is growing in some form or fashion. It gets very frustrating at the time, especially since they usually happen when Justin is out of town, but they usually subside after some time passes.

Generally speaking, Nora is a very sweet and helpful little girl. She is a quick learner and loves to be an observer in new situations. When she is comfortable, she is talkative and cooperative. She is very good at communicating what she wants when she is not angry or upset. She is still not the most coordinated of young people but she makes improvements over time.

Nora does not like waking up in the morning.

I fear what will happen when she is a teenager!

Visiting the dentist this winter. Her teeth look good!

She loves "playing" the piano with her sister,

especially since she has discovered it plays a song from Aladdin!

We started introducing her to Dragon culture!

We went to a basketball game and an Emerald Belle rehearsal.

Things Nora loves at 3 1/2:

all things dress up

Peppa Pig

her "blankley"

baby Jo

wearing her hair down

dresses but only comfortable ones
pajamas {all the time}

Chic-Fil-A

all things princess
listening to Disney songs
playing outside

setting up "picnics"

dancing & hopping

singing

her grandparents
clean puddles
playing the piano

Things Nora does not love at 3 1/2:

going to sleep
waking up in the morning

wearing her hair up all day

Janie taking her toys

Janie chasing her

when mommy has to take baby Jo
muddy puddles
spilling her food & drink

She looks angry but really isn't... but is a dress up queen!

Playing on the playground.

I think we've gotten better about this, but she loooooves her things.

She likes to carry bags of things around: in the house, out of the house, to bed...

Sweet, sweet girl. We love you!!

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our family & friends!

This week we have been busy not only getting ready for valentine celebrations but dealing with all things pink including... pink eye.

I had planned out a week's worth of pink, red, & heart themed outfits for both girls and we started working on family, teacher, & friend valentines. I thought we were in good shape! It was supposed to be a busy week in the evenings with a science night at school, dance class, and valentine party wind-down on Friday afternoon, so I was feeling great about getting a head start.

The girls' valentine cards

Their teacher cards

Tuesday morning, Nora woke up and said something about her eye not opening so I looked at it, and sure enough it was pretty pink. Naturally, I consulted with my veteran mother teacher friends and the consensus was that it looked like pink eye. As a teacher, at 6:30 in the morning you have to make a decision pretty quick about whether or not you're going to be able to go in to work so that you can plan for a substitute accordingly. I decided we needed to go to the doctor and it did turn out to be pink eye. We got everything taken care of and she was able to go back to school after a couple days home.

Cute Monday outfits...

...and pink eye on Tuesday.

I did a little concerned that Janie may be developing pink eye, too, but so far so good. It does not appear to be a problem for her at this point in time. Yay! We were able to carry on with the week's festivities and the girls were able to deliver and bring home valentines from their classes.

Comparing valentine boxes.

P.S. Nora likes to change into her pajamas the second we get home.

Besides having to take eye drops {which Nora absolutely HATES} our Valentine weekend has been nice. The weather is fair and Janie is getting to wear her pink heart dress as much as her little heart desires. Except for when I made her wear the matching jumpsuits...