Nora Evelyn

the good part of this starts at about the 50 second mark. If you see only one half of this youtube video this year, make it the second half:

Nora’s preschool held its Christmas pageant this morning and Nora got to be an angel singing a slightly expurgated version of Silent Night (no talk of virgins in this version). Nora, it would seem, thinks that angels flap their wings:

More later!

We’ve been reading “Little House in the Big Woods” lately and Nora was absolutely fascinated by the idea that someone might somehow make butter. So today we decided to do it. We had some whipping cream left over from her birthday cake (bought a quart, needed 2 T) and a mixer so it was far, far easier for us than the manual procedure described in the book: (1) milk the cow (2) churn the butter (3) add orange from a carrot for color (4) churn the butter some more until your arms fall off (5) apply butter to chapped, raw hands.

1. Put on your princess dress and pour the cream into the mixer

I forgot to take a picture of this part. Imagine, if you will, a little girl pouring cream into a stand mixer.

2. Run the mixer for a long time

Making butter is exactly like failing to make whipped cream. You whip the cream until it turns into beautiful, perfect whipped cream and then you keep mixing until it’s utterly and completely ruined and then you keep whipping.

3. Drain and rinse your butter

This step is important because otherwise you don’t get to drain and rinse your butter.

4. Show off your jeweled bracelet

5. Enjoy your new butter

Nora talks with her hands.

Nora’s friends sang to her at school today (if someone brings you a cupcake, you sing for them. it’s one of the central rules of any civilized society right after not killing each other and using turn signals). It’s not quite her actual birthday yet, but it’s always nice to get in a little candle practice in a safe, nurturing environment.

To be honest, I don’t think a girl should have to do any cleaning on her birthday, but Miss Renee runs a pretty tight ship and even the birthday girl has to pull a little Cinderella duty.

At Nora’s new school kids bring in cupcakes for their birthday, parents get to come in and celebrate with them, everyone sings, it’s awesome. Here are some pictures of Nora (in her super fancy baking outfit) helping us make the cupcakes for Nora’s fourth birthday. 125,795,704 seconds on Earth surely deserves chocolate cake and fluffy pink frosting. Don’t you agree?

Here’s a drawing Nora and I recently did of, she explains, a mermaid. I added the eyeballs and drew the hands, but it was all under her strict artistic control.

The last couple of years we went to this really terrific (free) kids event at the University of Michigan’s Pierpont Commons. It’s happening again this year and we appear to have been used as part of the advertising materials!

I love that Nora and I have the same concentration face.

http://gonorth.umich.edu/article/221