She IS a genius!

Cora likes to watch Jeopardy.

And, yes she did get the answer of "What is linoleum?"

Crawling

Well, Cora started crawling at my parent's house. She has decided that it is better to use one foot and one knee to crawl. I think it may have to do with all the hard surfaces in our house. But, I love to see her do that wonky hybrid that she came up with.

This week I will be on hands and knees in my house looking for potential hazards. I have a feeling Cora will be hearing the word "no!" a lot in the coming days and weeks as she enjoys her new mobility!

Fun with the Great-Grandparents

While we were at my parents house, Cora got to have another visit with my grandparents, her great-grandparents. Pa and Gamma live about an hour away from my parents, and they were sweet enough to drive up on Sunday to see us. Cora was in a very good mood and posed for some more pictures. Here she is with her Pa. (She's smiling behind the paci!)
Here is a picture with her Gamma.

We are looking forward to when we can take Cora to visit Pa and Gamma's farm and ride Pa's tractor!

Visiting the Grandparents

Last week was Spring Break for Cora and I. We decided that this would be the perfect time for John to paint the house. We also decided that this would be a great time to take a little trip to my parents' house. This was my first long trip by myself with Cora. This is where I learned that you do not get a bathroom break when you travel by yourself with a 9 month old! Thanks Mema for the tips!! Lots of people asked me what Cora and I were going to do while visiting the grandparents. I had to respond that I thought Cora will probably be whisked away from me immediately to be spoiled. And, I would end up doing not much of anything. I think it's safe to say that my idea was pretty accurate. It's too bad nobody around Cora loves her!!
I had to include this sweet picture of Cora with her P-pa. He usually ends up holding the camera, so it was fun to have some candids with him and baby girl.

The Dress. . .Redux

I can be a bit frugal. What you may call cheap, I prefer to think of as "budget-minded." However, I have learned to draw the line at free clothing patterns printed off the internet. (Although, I think I may have figured out how to change the lovely fabric from a large sack to a wearable garment. . .stay tuned. . .but don't hold your breath!) So, this time, I purchased a pattern from the fabric and crafting mecca known as The WalMart. (Hey, one step at a time with the spending!!) Here's the new dress.

I think that it turned out absolutely fabulously, if I do say so myself. . .and, I do! Admittedly, I had some help finishing the dress. It was not due to lack of skill, per se. You see, the dress broke two machines. (Broke may be stretching it a little. People say I've been known to exaggerate. Shocking!) But for some reason, my machine was rendered unable to create buttonholes. This was especially disappointing considering the handy-dandy automatic button hole foot that comes with the machine. I talked to many more knowledgable seamstresses who were unable to figure out the issue. So, my mom helped me make the buttonholes when I went to visit this weekend. That is when the dress rendered her machine unable to do a straight-stitch. Are you kidding me?! Thankfully, mom swooped in to the rescue and did a lovely hidden hem BY HAND! It looks beautiful now, and I think it will be especially lovely when we take her picture in the bluebonnets this weekend. I'm working on the rest of the photos from Cora's and my visit to the grandparents. More coming soon!

Next, We'll Teach Her "Stay"

Cora was sitting on the floor playing, and I ran in to my closet to grab my shoes. When I came out, Penny was sitting next to Cora, and little missy had her hand so sweetly on puppy-girl's back. Talk about Kodak moment! Stinkin' ADORABLE! Sadly, I have no Kodak evidence. I scrambled to get the camera, squatted down, and Penny, seeing my face within licking range, ran up to me to cover me with kisses. Don't think I didn't try to stage the picture. I surely spent the better part of 10 minutes trying to recapture the moment. Regrettably, the magic was gone. sigh. This was the best I could do.
Penny looks weird. sigh. Maybe next time.

Especially for Yia Yia

Cora loves her warm winter coat! She was cozy during that last cold snap!

Speaking of Sack of Potatoes. . .

So, I may have passed the spatial arrangement portion of the sewing midterm, but I most definitely failed the measuring part!

The dress is a little large. (I use the term "little" loosely. As in "I have a little problem with measuring.") We'll just hang it up and wear it this summer. Or perhaps we'll save it, and she'll finally fit in it when she's two?! (I'm thinking I should get a real pattern. . . not one downloaded free from the internet!)

Can I PLEASE Kiss My Brain?!

I'm not trying to toot my own horn. This accomplishment is really no big thing for most people. But, I wanted you to know that I just finished making my first baby dress. I know it is only a shift dress, but here is the tricky part. . .it's reversible!! Okay, maybe that is not really a big deal, but I can't tell my right from my left. When it comes to spatial awareness activities, I would rather pinch my finger in the strap of Cora's stroller than to try to figure them out. (See my pinched finger tip to find out if strap pinching in said stroller is fun.) I will admit that there was a moment in the process of making this dress where my brain actually melted a little bit, but I am proud to report that I finished the dress without having to break out the seam ripper. It even has finished seams on the bottom. (Cue the smooching sound effect; cut to a picture of Melissa kissing her brain.) Thankfully, I have made it through the process with minimal brain shrinkage. I may even be able to do it again. Oh, would that I could. . . I have some lovely pink fabric to work with! Here are some pictures of the dress:

So those are the two fabrics. The straps are made out of ribbons, and I put buttons on top to cover up where I sewed the ribbons on. I had to sew the buttons on both sides so that it would cover up the thread. I did okay on one set of straps. On the other side the buttons are not even. That's why we'll call that side "the back!"

I'm planning on modifying the pattern so that it has fabric straps. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

More Nap Time Craziness

Cora is a great sleeper. I have discovered her tired signals, so when I start to see them, we troop off to her crib so she can sleep. Usually, she plays a little in her crib before she finally nods off, but she is always perfectly content to do so. It is a rare event now that we have crying at bedtime. The other day I put her down for her nap as usual. Apparently she woke up a little early and had some fun with her clothing. When she started jibber-jabbering, I went in to get her, and this is what I found. (Side note: She is crying in the picture because she saw me run away to get the camera.) Not quite sure how she managed to get in this position. I suppose she is a bit of a Houdini!

Then, yesterday I laid her down for her nap. But, when I looked on the baby monitor, I saw two big bright eyes staring at me just inches from the camera - not because she had rolled over from tummy to back, but because she had figured out how to get from lying down to sitting up ALL BY HERSELF!! I watched the monitor for a little while and saw her try to pull up to a stand on the side of the crib. This was when we decided it was time to lower the crib! It almost feels perplexing because my little one who barely fits in to 6 month clothing and still can wear her newborn size shoes is doing all these big girl things. It's just amazing to see how fast she grows and learns.

It's Not Like She Knows When Her Birthday Is

Look what arrived in the mail on Wednesday. . . (Was that the "Hallelujah Chorus" playing softly in the background?!)Notice the very large box that it arrived in. I feel I got my money's worth as far as the shipping charges. There were at least $20 worth of packing peanuts in it! (Most of which, incidentally, ended up all over my living room floor during the box opening frenzy!)My plan was to save it until her birthday. That plan lasted about 17 seconds. As soon as Cora woke up from her nap, we put her on her new toy. She loves it. She especially loves the ears (?) on its little head. They make great chew toys (after being thoroughly cleaned, of course!)She's not quite tall enough to propel herself on it. Her little feet dangle about an inch above the floor. However, she did quickly figure out that there are handle bars and foot rests. I'll try to post some video of her on it later.

Does Scooching Count?

**** Updated. . . John fixed the audio. . . enjoy!****


Cora is getting very close to crawling. This is how she currently gets around.

8 Months and Standing

So, Cora turned 8 months old this week . . . sigh . . . in the infinitely wise words of Dolly Parton "Time marches on, and sooner or later you realize it is marching across your face!" Or maybe that was just Penny at 4 a.m. when she realized that she did not have her evening constitutional. Nothing like waking up to a wet dog nose just scant millimeters from your lips, but I digress. . .

Anyway, Cora and I are in a pretty good routine now. After she has her morning nap and midday snack, we usually like to get out of the house for a little while. This usually involves a trip to one of the nearby big-box retailers. This does not usually end up being a free outing. All I can say is I heart Target and all the inexpensive wonders it holds behind its bright red doors. Today I was determined to do something that I knew would be free. After much discussion, Cora and I settled on the public library. The library near me has just been remodeled and has a quite extensive children's area. In my own humble (but accurate) opinion, it surpasses the grown-up section. In the children's area there was a little toddler play place with some fun (and highly hygienic, I'm sure) toys. Of course, Cora begged me to play with them, and how could I resist her sweet little face! I stood her up in front of one of the toy tables, and lo and behold little missy held herself up. She looked so excited, as if a whole new world had opened up to her. I was so excited for her. . . well, 95% excited. . .the other 5% felt like "dead-legging" her and scolding her for growing up too fast. Here she is getting her play on.

Squash. . .Yuck!

This post is also known as "Especially For P-Pa, Part 2"

As you know by now, Cora is decidedly NOT a picky eater. She definitely gets that from John. She eats anything and everything that we put in front of her. So, in my zeal to make my own baby food, I decided to make her some squash. I don't know what I was thinking at the store. Gerber baby food squash is butternut squash, yet I purchased yellow summer squash. Nevertheless, I cooked it, mashed it up, and put it in neat little containers in the freezer. It's too bad that I did not have the camera ready when I tried to feed it to her. She made the most adorable disgusted face I had ever seen. She even shook her little head like she was trying to get the memory of it out of her assaulted taste buds! After seeing that pitiful display, I gave up force-feeding her.

The other day, I had the brilliant idea to just mix it in with her "main course" of the day. (I mean, I worked hard to get it in baby food form. . .Somebody is going to eat it!!) She had been enjoying some hearty vegetable stew for the past couple of days. She seemed to really enjoy the mixture of flavors. So, I defrosted some squash and figured I'd just mix it all up together. I was so sure Cora would not be able to tell. Squash is, after all, a vegetable. It should add a lovely dimension to vegetable stew, no?! Let me just say that Cora must have a very sophisticated palate! My child does not refuse food, but she did refuse the squash and vegetable stew. She clammed that little mouth up so tight and turned her head away at even the smell of it. I was amazed! We ended up having to throw out the whole bowl of stew and giving her a brand new untainted batch. She's a little too smart for her own good! Still, in the scheme of all the things she eats, not wanting one vegetable is not so bad!

A Small Regret

When I was a little girl, my parents got my brother and me ride-on toys. His was a little red white and blue four wheel scooter. My toy was a ride-on giraffe. I loved that toy. I remember riding around the house sometimes in just a diaper - I was pretty classy! - over carpet, under tables all over. A few years later, my family had a garage sale. I decided that I didn't need the scooter anymore. I was much too mature for it, anyway. So along comes a family with a little boy who fell in love with my scooter. I remember asking my dad when they walked away with it if I could buy it back. Okay, okay, I'll admit it. . .I probably said "Can I please rip it mercilessly out of his poor little hands and run and hide it in my room forever?" Let's just say it is one decision that I immediately regretted and have thought about for the past 25 or so years. For about 5 years now, I have searched for that toy. One day this week, the thought struck me to try Ebay once again. And, as I typed in my very weird search criteria (wooden vintage playskool ride-on toy giraffe), a beam of light shone down from above, and I'm pretty sure I heard the hallelujah chorus. There it was! The best part of all was that no one had bid on it yet. I placed my bid and spent more time watching ebay than I ever have before in my life. So, now for a mere $9.99 (plus $25.15 shipping, handling, and insurance). . . So, now for a mere $35.14, I am again the proud owner of that beloved giraffe scooter. I'm so excited for Cora to scoot around on it, but I am most certainly not going to let her sell it!!

Mondays with Daddy

I had to visit a bunch of my interns this past Monday, so Cora got to have a daddy-daughter day. They had a lot of fun eating, napping, going for a walk, and playing Rock Band. (I think Cora played the drums!) Here they are on the trail by Brushy Creek.

Because she's so small for her age, the tray comes up to right below her eyes. But, it sure does make a tasty snack!

A Fairy Tale. . .In Pictures

Once upon a time, there was a handsome plaid prince of the Kingdom of Amazing Hair (also known as Austin) and a lovely pink princess from the Rock of Roundness.
One day, as both were on an outing to the enchanted land of the yellow and green carpet known as OLC, the plaid prince caught sight of the lovely pink princess. "I must make her mine!" thought the handsome prince. "Sweet princess will you please walk with me down the years of our lives. . . or at least to our mommies' cars in the parking lot?"
"No!" screamed the princess who had recently added shrieking for no reason to her repertoire of fine princess attributes. "I would rather lay here enveloped in my layers of tulle!" The prince was crestfallen.While the princess shrieked happily for a short time, she soon realized that her beautiful pink tutu was not as tasty as she had first thought.

She turned to the prince who wore the signs of his heartache on his face. "Sweet prince with the amazing hair, please forgive me for my crazy outburst!"
"I know now that I need your companionship! How else can I figure out how to get some of those gorgeous locks of my own?!" said the princess.
The plaid prince, being the kind-hearted and forgiving soul that he is, immediately forgave the princess. "My dear, please allow me to kiss your hand!" he replied. The princess giggled girlishly.And, of course, they lived happily ever after. . . or at least until the princess's mommy tried to buckle her in her car seat!

Not Her Mother's Daughter

Cora likes to eat seafood. . .

Is It Wrong to Live Through Your Child?!

My dreams partially came true today. . . See my little ballerina. . .Cora's best friend's mom made this for her, but yet we did not seem to get a picture of Cora and Anna together. Hmm. . . We did get lots of pictures of the guys and girls together, though. Here are Cora, Tyler, Cooper, and Anna in outfits courtesy of Johnna.
Thanks, Johnna! You really are a fashion godmother!!

Especially for P-pa

Peas. . .yummy!