A Little Rain Shower

Last night we had one of those typical summer storms. It blew in pretty fast, and boy did it blow out!!

Just for your information, we are the idiots who are standing beside our windows peering out as the tv blares warnings that everyone should take cover. For the record, we got no such warning last night, but probably should have. Someone down at the weather station is slacking off in their job!

See what I mean?!

We were actually quite lucky. Our neighbor's large healthy pear tree was blown over at the base. Not uprooted, mind you; ripped mercilessly down at the base.

We are not exactly sure what happened. All the damage appears to be localized to our house and the few surrounding us. Very weird! So, we are definitely grateful that God had his hand over our house. . .and our cars parked in the driveway! Penny, however, is not so happy since she will be confined to the house until the fence is fixed. Poor Penny!

Wordless Wednesday

An Update. . .

. . . And, the mommy breathes an audible sigh of relief.

Yesterday I took a little nap. While I napped, I dreamt that I was trying to get out of bed. In my dream, I was halfway to the bathroom before I realized that I had dreamt that I was walking to the bathroom and I was actually still in bed. So, I would tell myself to "really get up this time!" And, the process would repeat. But, in actuality, I was dreaming the whole entire bizarre episode. Anyone ever been stuck in that restless cycle?

That was not actually the point of the post, but the ADD kicked in for a minute and I ran with it! The point is, I am told that while I was stuck in that strange dream cycle, that Cora stood outside our bedroom door loudly exclaiming "MAMA!" (Not upset, mind you, just apparently aware that I was asleep and missing all the fun! You know, the fun consisting of climbing up and down off of the hearth and all the graham crackers one can eat. Ah, the life of a toddler!)

Victory!

And, because I am completely biased and unable to see other than what I want to see (and what makes little missy look fabulously brilliant), I will relay another little tidbit from the mouth of my little Einstein. This afternoon, after rooting around in her diaper bag, she brought me the dish that had the graham crackers I packed for church, and said "cacka?"

Awesome!

Not to mention the fact that she says "goo guh!" when we praise Penny as a "good girl."

Where do I get the Mensa application?!

Like I said, totally biased!

Promotion Sunday

Today was Promotion Sunday at church. Cora moved up to the toddler class with the toddler toys and toddler snacks. I always have a tiny nagging fear in the back of my mind that Cora's going to be the kid who screams and cries the entire time she is in the church nursery. Why do I fear this? Because I was the child who screamed the entire time I was in church. Thankfully, God doesn't give us what we deserve! Can I get an amen?!

Anyway, I dressed Cora extra cute so her new teachers would like her. ; ) And, I mentally prepared to have her wrenched from my arms as she wailed and clung to me. When I dropped her off, Cora was so enthralled by the wide open spaces and bright, fun toys that she didn't even say goodbye to me. I called to her a bunch of times to say bye, but she was already too busy. I had to chase her down to get a kiss. She did beautifully all morning in her new room - especially with Nana there during the second hour! I guess she keeps growing up. . .whether I want her to or not!

New Skills

Cora turns 14 months old on Monday, and she seems to grow and change every day. She now purposefully says the following words:

Mo-mo - more
uh-oh! (Does it count when you throw the object and then say it?!)
Dada - usually screamed with glee when she hears John's key unlocking the door
hi - only when talking on her Hannah Montana cell phone

Notice "mama" is conspicuously missing from the list, but I'm not bitter. I mean it's not like I take care of her every need or anything!! ha ha!

She uses some sign language. She says "more" and "all done." She also shakes her head "no," claps, and waves. We're working on "please" and "thank you."

She's been walking for a couple of months now and is on the verge of being able to run. It's amazing to me how fast she can get from one end of the house to the other (with contraband in hand)! Since she has mastered walking, her new obsession is stairs. She loves to climb up and down stairs. Naturally, she's better at climbing up than down, but girlfriend is tough like a mack truck. She doesn't really get bothered about doing a face plant off of the stairs.

The other obsession is opening and closing things, e.g. doors, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, curtains, really anything that can move at her will. This has been especially torturous for Penny as Cora really loves to swing open the honeycomb blind on our back door to look outside. Poor Penny usually takes that as an invitation to come inside and presses her nose expectantly up to the window. But, alas, Cora is too short to open up the door for her (thank goodness!)

Much to my delight and relief, Cora has discovered the joy of books. She is obsessed with hearing stories, and she rotates between about 4 of her favorites. Today I have read her three books. That doesn't seem like many, but I have read each of them to her about 62 times today! It's a little tedious, but I must admit, the whole exercise makes this reading teacher's heart happy.

And because it's been a few days since I've posted a picture of little missy, here she is enjoying a book and the sunlight from the back door.

Wordless Wednesday

Sassy Runs in Our Family

My cousin recently posted this on her blog. Her post made me laugh because this is the reality at our house.Such a hard life!

The Road Home

We decided to take a different route on the way home. I had never been to Georgia (unless you count the Atlanta airport) or the Carolinas. And, Yia Yia wanted to stop in Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Mansion. May I just say that North Carolina is absolutely breathtaking. We drove through the Blue Ridge Mountains to get to Asheville, and I feel certain that had I not been extremely nauseous and on the verge of panic due to the windy road with steep drop offs, I would have totally been in awe of its beauty! Take a peek for yourself.

Believe me, the photo does the scenery no justice!

We spent the night in Asheville at a hotel that has a black bear as one of its frequent guests.

We were advised not to leave the hotel after dark! No lie!

That next morning, we soldiered on all the way to New Orleans. Y'all, you could still see the destruction from Katrina. It was really haunting to see whole movie theaters, car dealerships, and even amusement parks just abandoned. It made me so thankful for my home!

We spent the night in the French Quarter at Le Richelieu Hotel. I really got a kick out of it because it was a very old building with architecture typical of what you think of as New Orleans style. I'm trying to become a better photographer for the sake of this blog. Here are my best attempts at capturing some of the architecture of New Orleans along with my favorite subject! (This is the balcony off our hotel room, btw.)

I wanted to have her peeking out of the door, but she's not one to stand still. I'm lucky I was able to snap the sitting picture before she took off!

A Question of Motive

We were busy packing up for the trip home.

Cora and Dawson were unpacking to make us stay longer.

Or maybe they just wanted some tasty treats!

Family Pics

This is our very handsome and talented nephew, Dawson. He was in love with the drum set from Rock Band. Dawson is stinkin' cute when he lip-syncs some of his favorite songs. I would post video if I had it because I know you would all find it A-dorable!

Here is Cora with her cousin Audrey. I made Cora and Audrey the butterfly onesies, so we had to get pictures with them together.

This was much more amicable than the first attempt to take pictures. Apparently, Cora is unused to having to share the camera lens!

Thank you Uncle Josh and Aunt Amy for being our fabulous hosts!

Sightseeing and Tourist Stuff

Because we were so close to DC, John and I knew that we had to take the opportunity to sightsee a little bit in Washington. We packed up our little family, drove to the nearest metro station and set off to try our hands at navigating the big city with a toddler. We had quite a way to go on the metro to get to our first destination. I was amazed at how quiet it was inside the train. No one talked! I was worried that Cora would get fussy and interrupt the eerie silence, but fortunately, she was easily placated by the random contents of her diaper bag.


Our first stop was the National Cathedral. If you get the chance, please take the opportunity to go see it. The cathedral is a bit of a walk from the metro station, but it is worth the walk just to see the magnificent building suddenly appear looming on the horizon - Amazing!

You have probably noticed that our National Cathedral is in the same architectural style as Notre Dame replete with rose windows and all. The glass in the rose windows is faceted as gem stones are. It is a beautiful effect as the light sparkles and dances when it comes through the stained glass. Because Cora was restless and itching to be out of the stroller and walking around, we did not take the guided tour, but I'm putting that on my list of things to do at our next visit!

After lunch at the Cafe Deluxe, we made our way into the heart of our government, the National Mall. I had been there as a child, but had forgotten that you could pretty much see everything from this central location. You have the White House to the north.

The Jefferson Memorial is to the south though we could only see the dome from the Mall. The Capitol is to the east.

The Lincoln Memorial is to the west.

And, the Washington Monument is in the middle. Our plan had originally included going to the Spy Museum, but from the website's description it is not very kid friendly. So, we threw out those plans in favor of going home and taking a nap. Here is little missy getting a headstart on those plans on the train!

Wordless Wednesday

Virginia, Where Everything is Historical

On the Saturday that we were in Virginia, we took a little day trip to Middleburg. It promised a farmer's market, shopping, and of course, a healthy dose of history. The Red Fox Inn and Tavern located in Middleburg is one of the oldest original inns (it's nearing 300 years old) in the U.S. George Washington visited it in his younger years. While the farmer's market was a bit disappointing - do 1/2 a dozen vendors on a small gravel patch really count as a farmer's market, anyway?! We spent a few hours browsing the quaint shops before noshing on some really great pizza at Teddy's (not historical, but yummy nonetheless!).
When we were ready to leave, I realized we had not taken any pictures of our day. So, here we are on the grounds of the (historical, of course!) Emmanuel Episcopal Church. It was established in the early 19th century and served as a hospital during the Civil War. I am looking forward to taking Cora back again one day when she can enjoy the history of it, too.

These Are a Few of Her Favorite Things

While at Uncle Josh's and Aunt Amy's house, Cora got to play with all of Dawson's fun toys. There were two things in particular that she could typically be found playing with. One was this adorable kid sized arm chair from Pottery Barn. Being an avid climber, she really loved being able to climb up in it and sit or stand on the soft cushions.The other thing she really latched on to was this fun shopping cart. Who cares if it is as tall as she is!! She would walk around the house with it while "shopping" and "talking" to all the people in the imaginary store. Too funny! I have a feeling that a kid size shopping cart may soon make an appearance at our house. . .

A Summary

Here is a brief summary of our trip:

While I wouldn't declare a 3200 mile road trip with a 13 month old easy, Cora was quite the trooper. We didn't stop at all the state signs due to Cora napping, but you get the idea. More on our trip to come!