Randoms

Nora loves these little people.  I love the intent concentration required to put them in their chairs.

Nora has always been a climber, but now she's gotten really good at moving stools and chairs around to get what she wants.  She hauled this chair from the next room in order to reach the apples on the counter.

Reaching...

Got it!

Climbing down...

Yes!

Here she's trying to get the cookies.

At these ages (3 and 1), Karl and Nora love to help.  Unfortunately, their help is not always helpful. Karl wanted to help me with something (can't remember exactly what, but I knew it would be a bit of a disaster if I let him) so I had to quickly think of something else.

Since our walls have their share of fingerprints and food residue, I gave them damp rags and told them to scrub away.

Nora felt like SUCH a BIG girl to be allowed to do this.  It's too bad those feelings will wear off in a year or two.  Then it will be, "Do I HAVE to?!"  

Karl likes using his rice container (and it keeps him occupied and happy for a long time) but it always makes a huge mess, especially when Nora wakes up from her nap and throws handfuls of rice on the floor.

So... he happily cleaned up all that spilled rice when I gave him the vacuum with this attachment and told him he could be a vacuum truck.  (He's been watching "Truck Tunes" on youtube and knows all about vacuum trucks.  And... so do I.)

He complained a bit that his arm hurt afterward but to his credit he stuck with it.  Nora has her "vacuum" too.

Got Clare out on skis today but didn't get any photos.  Sadly, it was our first time out this winter.  But she loved it and although she fell down often she kept laughing and smiling.