Updates on the girls - Part 1: Nora

Since I haven't done so in a really long time, I thought I would put out some updates on the girls and what they're like right now. First of all - could Nora and Georgia look any more alike in the above picture?

Nora - 5 1/2 years old

As we all know, Nora broke her arm this summer. It was an incredibly long three weeks for mom and dad between surgery and getting her cast off. Remember - no water at all. No baths, no pools, no showers. That was tough, but we survived - and we're very fortunate to have friends who have been sympathetic and helpful with the whole situation... For example, every Wednesday evening we have a pool party at Doug and Jenny's. Nora LOVES Wednesday nights and this was what most upset her after having surgery - no pool. Fortunately, they also have video games and a lovely son who was willing to play video games for the entire Wednesday evening while all the rest of the kids went swimming. In addition, our next door neighbors have curtailed several summer water activities simply because Nora was unable to participate - they didn't set up their pool because of her, they put off doing water balloons because of her, they didn't set up the sprinkler because of her. How nice was that?

But as of this past Wednesday we don't have to worry about that anymore!!!! She got her cast off Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 and was in the pool for the rest of the night! We were all so happy!

Getting the cast off was kind of an ordeal. They use an electric saw to cut it off... and she was terrified. I think she was more frightened that her arm would hurt once the cast was off and she could move her arm moreso than of the saw - regardless, there was a lot of crying.

Her xrays looked really good and we could see that the bone had migrated back to the proper place. The pins are in place and all looks good. Then the doctor ripped the stitch out of her incision and she almost hit the roof - nice.

She has been reluctant to use her arm and favors it quite a bit. I notice that she still does a lot of things one handed that she could do more efficiently with two hands. She also has a hard time gripping things with her right hand - its hard to open door knobs, and carry things that require a firm grip. She colored with her right hand the other day and I made a huge deal about how awesome that was! However, she is still doing most things left-handed. It will all come with time, I suppose. As for right now, she tells people that her arm is "still a little stuff".

Other than the arm ordeal, she has had the best summer of her life. She plays with Nolan every day for the entire afternoon. They are going to get married and even wrote a "Wetting List" (read: wedding list) at the beginning of the summer. Nolan did the writing since he will be in 1st grade next year and already knows how to read. The list contained the following: "flowers, clothes, church, singing, kissing". Michelle and I had a mixture of "awww that is the cutest thing ever" and "oh my gosh, they are hysterical" reactions. Needless to say, the "Wetting List" is being saved for display on the big day.

Nora and Nolan are best of friends and do anything and everything together. They bug their moms all morning about playing with each other and they both get quite upset (read: cry) when they don't get to play in the afternoon. All things are judged on if Nolan will like it or not. All things are shown to Nolan with great amounts of excitement. And just so you don't think she is already on the path to becoming one of those girls that goes to great lengths to impress a boy - even to the extent of changing her opinion and doing whatever he wants... Nolan is equally in love with Nora and reacts the same with all of the above. He also stalks our house every afternoon looking in the windows but running away after the dog comes by. Their adoration is mutual, their excitement for each other is mutual and it lasts even when other friends are around - these are signs of true love in my opinion:) It will be lodes of fun watching these two grow up and change and drift apart, but remain close. I have high hopes for prom & graduation and college and the ultimate wedding and our grand children:)

Speaking of which, Nora told me that some day she would get pregnant and she and Nolan would have a baby. I asked her how old she would be and she replied, "I don't know, maybe when I'm 14." Um, we're going to keep a close eye on them starting when they're 10!

Even though she spent most of her tball season on the DL, she still received a trophy for her participation. She is very proud of her trophy and proudly displays it in her closet:) She also shows it to anyone and everyone that comes to our house. Next year we hope she makes it through the whole season injury-free... but you know how some of these ball players are - they just seem to injury prone and can't make it through a whole season. We're hoping the arm doesn't negatively affect her career or her trade options;)

Beyond all of that, Nora is looking forward to beginning kindergarten in the fall and riding a bus to school. She is going to afternoon kindergarten and I'm excited for her as she meets lots of new kids and makes new friends. She had her first taste of that with VBS at Parkview and she really enjoyed it. She finally gets to do that kind of stuff!

Nora, when she's not whining or complaining that Ryann is bugging her, is such a sweet little girl. She really has a heart of gold and is very caring and loving. She loves to play with Georgia and tolerates playing with Ryann most of the time. It is a continual battle sometimes between the two of them, but I know she loves her little sis. They are best friends - until one of them says, "I'm not going to be your best friend anymore! Hmph!" But eventually they're playing with each other again like nothing happened. We look forward to watching her grow up and being a part of her life as she does. We're thankful for the opportunity to teach her and love her through it all.