Lots of good news....

Oh wow, I shouldn't have waited so long to write, so expect a bunch of blog posts over the next few weeks :-)

Matt and Nora on the left, Mom and Nora on the right

Where do I start....Ok, I will start with last weekend....Labor Day weekend we headed to San Francisco to see Matt's Uncle Ron.  Packed up the girls first thing Saturday morning and started our 4 hour drive.  This seems to be our max distance, as Nora gets carsick after a couple of hours.  I always forget about this until we start driving, so am never prepared.  Poor kid, she just wanted to get there and "rest on Uncle Ron's shoulder" :-)

The girls making the sea lion noises!

We had a fun weekend, but the girls weren't able to get out much.  Matt and I helped Uncle Ron hang all of Barbara's 'old world maps' in his new apartment, which was fun for me and frustrating for Matt (typical when we do house projects together...hahaha.  He usually tells me to just draw it up for him, and he will build it without further discussion. :-)  Anyway, this project took some prep time on Saturday, hanging half of them before dinner, and then laying out, measuring and hanging the rest before we headed out on Sunday afternoon.  Nevertheless, Sunday morning the girls were able to get to the merry-go-round, see the sea lions, and watch a magic show at Fisherman's Wharf.  Lucky for us, Uncle Ron lives 2 blocks from the Wharf, so it is a ton of fun for the girls to go to the city with us.

It was a bit chilly, as summers are in San Francisco, so Nora wore pants for the first time since May (she is a bit obsessed with dresses right now).  Lila is not picky, but is definitely expressing her opinion more often when it comes to what she wears.  Very cool, as we like it when she expresses her opinion about MOST things :-)

Nora on the merry-go-round

Uncle Ron recognized a big difference in Lila since we last saw him...6 - 8 weeks ago!  We have seen a change in her speech clarity, her thoroughness in getting her entire thought out (be it a bit slow), and expressing herself in her stories she tells...all of these skills have really been coming along since we started school in July.  She was sooooo tired, and he still saw a big change!  I love to hear these observations from others, because it is hard to see on a day to day basis.  Lila just keeps making huge strides each week, and we are so proud of her!

Enamored by the sea lions

Lastly, as we expected the girls didn't sleep well at all, which is why we usually only spend 1 1/2 days visiting Uncle Ron.  We have most recently stayed in Barbara's apartment which is soooo quiet, and they both have separate sleeping areas.  Unfortunately, the girls are just not comfortable sleeping elsewhere, and don't sleep in the car on the way home either!  After waking up at 5 a.m. on Sunday, Nora napped for an hour after lunch, and Lila not at all.  We left for SF around 4:30 in the afternoon and arrived home at 8:15....no sleep at all!  WHat!  Is this normal?  I never will understand it!  They were both absolutely exhausted, and still managed to sing every song under the sun on the way home, and entertain each other.  Thankfully, once they hit their pillows, they were out!

View of Coit Tower from Uncle Ron's apartment!

Fun weekend, and so great to see the girls bonding more and more with Uncle Ron!  They love him (oh, Nora asks for him weekly and always wonders what he is doing:-), and we are so thankful to have him in our lives!!!!