Cora's Kidisms: Brutal Honesty Edition

Cora just naturally possesses a very tender heart.  She very rarely says anything ugly or mean-spirited.  And, to my best recollection, anything untoward she has said has never been directed at any person or thing.  She has an innate ability to be genuinely happy for another person's good fortune and achievements.  And, she is very quick with offering praise.  Believe me when I say I am not mentioning this to brag about my superior parenting.  Far from it actually.  She most certainly did not get this tenderness from her mommy.  I pray often that I don't do anything that would ruin this trait in her.  All that being said, witness a conversation that took place as we were looking at pictures of our family the other day.

Me: (to John)  You look really good in this picture!
Cora: (turns to John)  Dada, you look good! (turns to me) Mommy, you're wearing a blue shirt.

le sigh

At least she is honest.

Carys' Kidisms: Language Explosion Edition

So, Carys is talking up a storm.  It was like the switch flipped over night.  I was a little worried about her because it seemed to take her so long to start talking.  She's kind of stubborn like that, though.  Not sure where she gets it from...

Anywho...when Carys did begin talking, her articulation was (and still is) very muddled.  I brought it up with Dr. Mitchell because I was concerned that she couldn't hear us well.  We were referred to the audiologist just to make sure everything is hunky dory.  Knowing how well Cora handles such things, I was a little wary of how this was going to pan out.  Fortunately, Carys did swimmingly with the hearing test.  Her hearing seems a-ok.  But, because nothing can be simple when it comes to my little drama mamas, the visit with the ENT was awful.  All he wanted to do was check her mouth for any physiological issues that may be inhibiting her articulation.  All she had to do was open her mouth.  Yeah, no.  Not gonna happen.  Little missy clamped her mouth shut so tight that I don't think even dynamite would open it.  le sigh  Naturally, we did not get the all clear from the ENT, but I guess we can revisit that if her articulation doesn't improve with age.

All that to say, we are still working on clear pronunciation and speech.  Fortunately for us, this does not keep our little chatterbox from expressing herself.  Her vocabulary is actually quite large for a not yet 2 1/2 year old.  It's just that for the most part, I am the only one who understands her.  Still, she makes me smile when we have a conversation.  For example, when you ask her who she is, she wrinkles up her nose like a little bunny and exclaims "Shishy!" (That's Sissy in Carys-ese.)  Once I asked her, "Are you crazy?"  She creased her sweet little angry brow and exclaimed, "No! I Shishy!" I couldn't help but giggle.

From what I've noticed, Carys has the most difficulty with hard c's, hard g's and r's.  So, for example, if you ask her what is her name, she will say "Tawys."  Or, she will say "tootie" instead of "cookie" unless it is an oreo.  Apparently, oreo and cookie are mutually exclusive terms.  Yesterday, I told her that if she's through with the cookie, then throw it away.  She responded in her sassy, little two year old voice, "It not a tootie. It a ayo (oreo)!"  Mmmmkay!

One of Carys' favorite things to talk about are her bodily functions, specifically passing gas.  (Yes, we are that family.  Fortunately, Jackson will fit right in!)  She will grin and tell you, "I doot (toot)!"  She will also point out if anyone else does.  Apparently, some of the grandparents learned this fact the hard way.  There are no secrets in toddler world!

Needless to say, we're enjoying her charismatic, comedic personality now that she's more verbal.  I'm sure she's going to provide much blog fodder in the future!

One

Little man is one month old...already.

I just have to let that sink in for a moment.

Wow!

Anywho...what's going on, little buddy?

First and foremost, you are in a decent night time routine.  (insert Hallelujah Chorus here).  You usually go to bed around 10:30.  You wake up once around 2, and again around 5:30.  This is a pleasant change from your youngest sister who felt like she needed to wake up about every half hour to hour.  Mommy appreciates this!

You weigh a little over 8 lbs according to our most recent weight check.  Like your sisters, you seem to have a very efficient metabolism.  At four weeks, you were only 4 oz over your birth weight.  While I appreciate the fact that you are light as a feather when I carry you in your carseat, I really want you to be our big strapping boy.

I will say, though, that you seem to be on the upswing as far as weight gain.  As I have recently begun an intense course of study at the prestigious Google School of Medicine, I was able to recognize your tongue tie and get it taken care of.  That was not a particularly pleasant experience for either of us.  You will not remember it, but I certainly will.  shudder After your frenotomy, you seem to become a lot less frustrated while eating.  I'll take that as a good sign.

Now that your tongue has a full range of motion, you smile all.the.time.  You've always been a pretty social baby, but now you are so much more expressive.  You love to show off a big toothless grin when  someone holds you and talks to you.  You have occasionally even cooed and gurgled in response.  You even giggled a little bit today.  It makes this mama pretty happy.

Just like everyone predicted, you are my little cuddle bug.  You love to nestle your head right against my shoulder.  Usually, your little face is pointing at my face.  You will snuggle and stare at me.  I hope you don't grow out of this too quickly!

You are still in that newborn stage where you need to be held most of the time.  You will tolerate short stretches of time in the bouncy chair or on your play gym.  But, for the most part, you prefer to be in someone's arms.  Thankfully, you love to be in the sling.  You try and try to stay awake, but you always fall asleep since you are snuggled up next to my heart.

You are adored by your biggest sister especially.  She always wants to kiss you and talk to you.  She even sings you sweet lullabies when you cry.

This picture makes me giggle.  You look a little frightened at Sister's attention. If she doesn't smother you with sisterly care, you will definitely grow up and appreciate her affection.  

We are so thankful that you are our little man!