Duckies!

My pantry has a way of hiding things from me.  The other day, I found three bags of bread that just had the heels and maybe one other piece.  Believe me, I'm not one to discriminate against bread and bread products!  The pieces seemed a little crispy to make poor John a sandwich out of, so I decided it would be fun to take the bread to the little park near our house and feed the ducks.  Cora and I chose a day that John could come with us because somewhere locked in the deep recesses of my brain, I have a slight recollection of being chased by a goose when I was in kindergarten.  I also have a memory of being made to eat cat food a la the Fancy Feast commercials during that same kindergarten year. {insert nervous laughter}  I'm thinking some of my memories may have been slightly embellished by an overactive imagination!  (My kindergarten teacher was AMAZING by the way!  She's one of the reasons I became a teacher.)  Wow, chasing rabbits a bit, am I??!!

So, we headed to the park to feed the ducks.

"Ducks, come 'ere!"

Apparently, we have very well-fed ducks in our neighborhood.  They were not at all interested in my slightly crispy bread.  I guess they get enough bread thrown at them that they have developed discriminating palates!

We did finally get a couple of them to take a few bites.

But, we mostly ended up feeding the turtles (Hi! Junior Junior!)

and the fish.

So, we decided to head for the park. It's fun to see how adept Cora is at the playground equipment now.  

She climbed through the tunnel by herself several times, and loved going down the slide 'all by yourself' as she calls it.

WHEEEEEEE!

My big girl!

Aggie Game Day

John's alma mater welcomes you!

You see, Texas A&M is notoriously the friendliest campus in the world - it says so right there on the website.  When you are walking around on campus, 9 times out of 10 the people you pass by will say "Howdy."  It's pretty cool.  Totally makes me feel like a poser, though.  Most of the time, I responded with a "Hi!" and then silently kicked myself in the arse for getting the greeting wrong! sigh

Anyway, John was desperate for some Aggie football.  It had been 4 years (or more) since he had been to a game at Kyle Field, so we decided to make a weekend out of it.  We got there on Friday so John and his friend from work could go to Midnight Yell. 

Then, Saturday, we toured campus.  We somehow ended up on a tour for prospective students.  (I guess that was John's way of starting Cora off right!)  So, we didn't get as much of the history as John would have liked, but it was still a nice tour.  We saw Sul Ross.

We took pictures under and explored the Century Oak.

How cute is this!

Then, we hung out in the Academic Building for a few minutes - sweet, sweet air conditioning!

Cora liked the stairs best of all, I think.

Jump! Jump!

Oh, and did I mention we shopped for new Aggie gear.

I think she may be the cutest Aggie Chick I've ever seen!

Cora and I left shortly after the tour.  But, John and his friend stayed on to cheer the Aggies to victory.  I guess it wouldn't be so bad if Cora chooses Texas A&M!  

Sewing Fun

I think I'm becoming addicted to sewing crafts.  The blogging world just adds fuel to the fire. . .not to mention peer pressure - I'm talking about you, Susy! lol!  Truth be told, I think we are bad influences on each other!

So, as I was poking around in the bloggy world recently, I came across Crap I've Made which led me to Oops! I Craft My Pants (I giggle at the names every time!) which led me to this site where I found a fab tutorial on a totebag out of a place mat!  Did you follow that?!  Don't worry, I didn't either.

Anywho, if you are looking for a super quick and easy craft project, do this! Oh, and did I mention it's cheap?! Quick, easy, cheap, my three favorite craft words.  I spent $2 on the place mat, $1.97 on the grosgrain ribbon, and $.97 on the thread to match the ribbon.  The flower adornment came from scraps from my scrap box. So, $5 and 2 hours later - don't ask why it took so long - we have tote!  (In the wise words of Barbie "Math is hard! Let's go shopping!")

I took the pictures with my phone, so they are not the best quality, but you get the idea.  The tote turned out a little smaller than I thought it would be.  Spatial Awareness - clearly not my strong suit!  However, it is large enough for its intended purpose - Bible study bag.

Just enough room for mi Biblia, mi lápiz, y nada más.   Perfecto!

Promotion Sunday

Last Sunday was Promotion Sunday at church.  I was pretty sure I was mentally prepared for it.  All the moms and dads got sweet little postcards in the mail reminding us about the big day.  But, I wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be.  She's in a new room on a new hall with new teachers, big kid toys and a potty!  When did she grow up?

Cora is quite used to the Sunday routine.  She even selected a pager and scanned it for me without me even asking her to.  (Since she's 2 now, we're no longer required to have a pager.  But, if little missy wants me to have one, who am I to argue?! ; )  So, she was a little confused when we went to a different room.  She actually cried for a minute or so, and buried her head into my neck.  Secretly, I was kind of glad to see a little bit of clinginess. Usually, I have to chase her down to get a goodbye kiss.  She did fine, though.  When I went to get her after church, she was happily playing with the plastic animals.

The really fun thing about this new class was. . .they have curriculum!!  I know that just shows the big old nerdy teacher coming out in me.  But, I was really happy to see that they had a Bible story and activities to go with it.

How fun is that?  On top of it all, she has been singing a Hallelujah song all week.  I can't figure out exactly what song it is as it is not one (that I can tell) from our regular repertoire.  Nevertheless, it's so exciting to see her starting to process these things.  I'm so proud of her!

That Nurturing Instinct?!

With little Carys coming soon, I am always on the lookout for glimpses of Cora's mothering instincts.  Here she is hugging water baby at the splash park.  Yay!

And now, here she is raising water baby precariously over her head.

This was precious seconds before she tossed water baby over the bench into the fountains.  sigh  I guess we'll keep practicing! ; )

A New Place!

Considering our Target/Chick-Fil-A rut that we have been in, it was so exciting when Susy suggested we take our girls to the Splash Park.  We lucked out and planned our play date for a day that actually was not 1000 degrees outside.  Since the big kids are back in school, the park was not too crowded or too hectic for our little girls. Still, this is how Cora spent the first hour of our excursion.

"Mommy, hold you!"

Eliana, on the other hand, is Miss Independent.  She was ready to splash and play!

I was able to eventually convince Cora to stand on her own two feet.  Susy got a few cute shots of the girls together before they both went off in two separate directions at 90 miles an hour.

She also captured this quick hug.  I love it!

Little missy did eventually strike out on her own in the water.  Perhaps the next time we go, she will be a little more adventurous!

Time to go home.

Thanks for another fun adventure Eliana and Miss Susy!

How To Tell...

. . .when it's time to go to new places.

Last week, I took Cora to Target - one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.  (Yes, it's sad; but, I love you Target!!)  Apparently, we go there too often.  Then, as Cora ate dinner, she looked down at her bib and commented excitedly, "Target!"  When I looked down at her bib there are all these little bulls-eyes of different colors.  She was pointing to the red one.  {insert nervous laughter here}

So, then when we were leaving Target, we passed by our favorite lunch joint, Chick-Fil-A.  Cora screamed, "Wait, wait, hold on!  Play!"  Oy!  She recognizes the playground by the building that it's in.  It makes it really hard on mommy when little miss starts to whimper and cry because we didn't stop to play.  I think it might be time to explore some new places. . .

Roll Call

Remember this post?  I'm sad to report that the issue has gotten worse, not better.  The contents of the crib now include the following:

2 magnetic letter l's
2 magnetic letter o's
2 toys off of the infant floor gym
2 blankets
2 baby dolls
2 stuffed moose
2 stuffed monkeys
2 stuffed polar bears
2 pacifiers (bad mommy, I know!)
1 stuffed Tigger
1 stuffed mouse
1 stuffed panda
1 stuffed sea lion
1 stuffed dolphin
1 baby angel
1 Pennydog
1 Bidey
1 hat
1 water bottle
And, whatever book(s) she has selected off the bookshelf and thrown into the crib.

I had to draw the line at the balloon on a string.  That lives in the play kitchen sink until she wakes up.  Every night, I line the animals along the sides of the crib - you know, so she has a place to sleep!  But, every evening, she rearranges them all over the place before she goes to bed.  (Let it go, mommy!!)  I suppose if she can sleep in it, then more power to her!  Funny, funny girl!

My Former Life

I've alluded to my past life before in ye olde blog.  Before little missy stormed onto the scene, I was a teacher.  I taught for eight years in the public schools, and the majority of those years, I spent in kindergarten.  I ♥ kindergarten.  I ♥ the students I had.  I ♥ creating curriculum.  I did not ♥ the other nonsense that went with it.  But, nevertheless, I do get a little nostalgic about my teaching days.  During my last year at my school, the district website started launching virtual tours of all the campuses.  Lo and behold, they chose my room as one of the classrooms to film.  So every once in a while for memory's sake, I like to go and revisit my former classroom.  Click on the link below and select classroom 3 to glimpse my former world.

http://www.austinisd.org/schools/docs/tours/227901161/index.html

That being said, I always enjoy the opportunity to go visit my former teammates at my former school.  Today, Cora and I trekked down to visit.  "My" room looks so different now.  It's super cute with a puppy theme.  Cora adores it!  It was fun to catch up with everyone and see the changes in curriculum and in the rooms.  I can admit that I coveted that nervous tension leading up to the teacher meet and greet this afternoon.  But, once I recall the crazy stress of the first month of school, I'm snapped back to reality!!  Good luck ladies!  You're going to have a great school year!

Cora's Kidisms

Cora has always been a little jabbermouth.  It's so much fun for us to have little conversations with her lately.   She picks up words so quickly.  So, I've been thoroughly enjoying her 2 year old eloquence.  Here are some of the things that she's been saying lately - especially with her adorable inability to say any l's or r's.

'Daddy, you play Star Horses?'  (for when she's sees her daddy playing his Star Wars game)
'I got your nose, bubble!' (as she was trying to pop a bubble with her nose)
'You hear lawnmower*' (she loves to ask this any time we are outside.  *sounds more like longhorn. . .don't tell John!)
'You hear airplane?  Airplane go to Waska (Alaska).' (Every airplane in the sky is going to Alaska in her mind!)
'Ready go shopping?' (As she pushes around one of her toy shopping carts)
'Hi, gorgeous!' (LOVE that one!)
'That's Daddy!' (anytime any phone rings. . .even if daddy is standing right there!)
'Mmmm! (Grapes, milk, crackers, pizza, sandwich, cookies, pears, etc, etc.) are yummy!'
'Wait, wait, hold on!' (a favorite phrase she brings out for when we are not doing exactly what she wants us to do)
'Ooh, tunnels!' (for when she crawls under Miles)
'See pictures (of) baby Ehwie?' (we may have a minor obsession with Ellie going on!)

The conversation never goes dry at our house!

A Little Duet

We all know that John is the singer of the family.  So, why am I posting a video of me singing??!!  If Cora weren't so darn cute, this video would die with me.  But, I just love it!  This is Cora and me singing the end song to Blue's Clues.

Ohhh, so cute!!!

P.S. (re: the previous post) It's Carys, rhymes with Paris.

Hats

Suddenly, we are in love with hats.

Aunt Celeste got this hat for Cora when we were in Alaska.  She spends countless hours daily putting it on and off of herself and anything else that sits still. . .poor Miles!

This is the other current favorite. . .yes, it's a basket.  That's all I can say about that!

Other things that have been hats:  bibs, stuffed animals, blankets, random items from the dirty clothes hamper (!), books, and the list goes on.  She's just really weird creative is all, bless her heart!

We'll Call This 'The Trial Run'

On Wednesday and Thursday, little miss Ellie came over so her sweet mama could attend some inservice training.  (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, school is just around the corner!  I'm in denial myself!)  Ellie is 8 months old and is one of the happiest, smiliest babies I have ever met.  See?

Isn't she gorgeous?!

So, I dusted off some of Cora's baby things and prepared myself to care for 2 babies.  (I know Cora is not a baby. . .according to babycenter, she's a preschooler - what the wha??!! - but, apparently there are a lot of things in my life right now that I am in denial over!)  Can I admit that I was a little nervous?  I had no idea how Cora was going to be with her momma having to pay attention to another sweet baby girl.

When Cora got up, the first thing she wanted to do was "Go see baby Ehwie (Ellie)?"

Of course, she needed to give Ellie a kiss.  "Muh!"

We did have a slight issue with Cora wanting to play with Ellie's toys.  It didn't matter what Ellie was playing with; suddenly, that toy was the most desirable toy in the world.  Thankfully, after a moment of exploration, Cora could generally be reminded to give the toy back to Ellie.  She even managed to share one of her favorite toys.

"Gwasses, Ehwie!"

She must really love Ellie to share her precious sunglasses!

And, of course, the toy that she never really was interested in when she was that age was the toy that she couldn't get enough of. . .especially, if Ellie happened to be playing in it.  Cora, meet play gym.

Actually, this interest worked out well.  Cora figured out how to turn the musical sun on, and whenever it would turn off, she would yell "Bonk de sun!" and turn it back on for her baby friend.  I've decided to leave the play gym out for Cora to play with a little more.  It's just so funny to watch a 2 year old play in it!

And, I couldn't resist this picture.  "Hugs, aww!"

So, it looks like we may have a good big sister on our hands.  We'll see how she does when the baby stays ALL the time rather than just from 8 to 3:30!  But, for now, it looks really promising!

Just Because

I realized I have posted several posts with no pictures.  So, this is for the grandparents.

XOXO,

It's A. . .

10 fingers
10 toes
Lovely nose and mouth
Beautifully pumping heart
Lovely kidneys
Cute little acorn of a stomach
Strong spine and ribs

And. . .it's. . . a. . .nother GIRL!

You guys were correct.  Cora's getting a baby sister for Christmas.  We're so excited!  But, most of all we are humbled and blessed by God's graciousness.  We are so thankful for all the good news we got today about her body systems and her development.  Now we can get started on getting the rooms ready, and, oh you know, coming up with a name!