Cora's Kidisms - Hints of Sarcasm Edition

Supposedly, three year olds don't have the capacity for sarcasm.  I think I have to disagree.  Witness some conversations we have had recently:

Cora:  Look!  Do you see that bus? (gesturing at some random point off in the distance)
Me:  Oh, is that a bus over there? (looking off at the same random point)
Cora:  No!  That's not a bus.


Mmmmkay.

And, then of course there was this conversation that took place this afternoon.

Me:  Hey Cora, do you see that airplane?
Cora:  Yeah!  I see it up in the sky!
Me:  Hmm, where do you think that airplane is going?
Cora:  To the airport!


Mmmhmm, well 'scuse me!

Stats

You know, I figured that parenting would teach me a lot about a lot of different things in life - faith, psychology, nutrition, human growth and development, economics.  But, I had no idea that parenting would teach me lessons in physics.   During this season in my life, I am learning about density.  You see, nothing to me seems heavier than sweet bebecita in her carseat.  I guarantee that she AND the carseat weigh a good 5 to 10 pounds less than (not so) little missy.  Nevertheless, if you give me a choice, I would carry Sister for miles and miles before having to heft around that carseat.  Density, folks!  Bebecita is built more like a cannonball (a sweet little cannonball, natch, but a connonball nonetheless).  I'm teetering on the edge of wishing Carys would grow up a little to graduate from that carseat and wishing she would stay at this age for a lot longer.  Such a funny little paradox!

Anywho...last week, Carys had her nine month appointment with our pediatrician.  Her new stats are:

Weight: 16 lbs, 12 oz (11th percentile)
Height: 26 inches (5th percentile)

So, since her last appointment, she has only gained 1 lb and 3/4 of an inch.  Looks like our little chubilla is starting to plateau a little bit.  She can still fit into much of her 6 month wardrobe.  (Awesome, considering it is still in the 90s and 100s here!)  But, we're working our way into the 9 month wardrobe, too.

The big news around this doctor visit has to do with Carys' sleeping patterns.  We went over all the developmental stuff, and when it came to the question of whether Carys was sleeping through the night, I sighed and said a resigned no.  Then, Dr. Mitchell spoke the words that changed my life:  "She does not need to get up in the night anymore."  Hallelujah!  My exact words were, "That's all I needed to hear!!"  That night, I put her down at 8:30 (she had been staying up until 9:30 or 10).  And, I did not get up when she fussed at 3 and 5.  That was torturous, folks!  But, the next night it was better.  And, the next night, she slept until 7!  We're not out of the woods as far as her sleeping patterns are concerned, but I feel loads and loads better since I'm getting at least 6 hours of sleep per night.  Now, if we can just get through all this teething...

Wordless Wednesday

Nine

Carys, you're nine months old!  What's shakin'?

You are a mover and a shaker.  You are everywhere and in everything.  Naturally, your favorite things to play with are forbidden - remote controls, telephones, Sister's jewelry, shoes, Penny's toys, knick-knacks, Sister's potty.  You're working hard on learning boundaries, but you're a quick study.  You are very familiar with, but also very responsive to the word 'no.'

You love to pull up on the coffee table.  Usually, you only pull up to your knees, but every once in a while you stand.  I love to see your sweet little face peaking up from the other side of the coffee table.  You always have a twinkle in your eye when you are successful.

You have two bottom teeth.  And, they are sharp little buggars!  One of them is almost all the way in.  The other one is still working its way out.  Your favorite teething toy is our coffee table.

You love to feed yourself.  You eat a lot of different things as long as you are in control of the food.  So far, your favorite things are pancakes, watermelon, and pumpkin bread.

You love to be outside.  Sometimes when you are a little cranky, we hit the big outdoors.  You love when the wind blows through our trees.  You also love all the tiny acorns that you can try to put in your mouth - see paragraph re: moving and shaking!

You are finally starting to sleep longer at night.  It is taking tough love which is very hard at night.  But, you are so very much happier in the morning when you get a good night sleep that I know it is worth it.

You love Perdita.  That is the best $8 I have ever spent.  Your face glows when you see her.  Poor Perdy has taken a bit of abuse at your hands.  You love to chew on her tail, paws, ears, nose, anything you can get in your mouth.  It's so stinkin' cute, though, to see you curled up with her in your crib.  Sweetness personified.

Your eyes are still bright blue and show no signs of changing.  Will you be our little blue-eyed cutie?  Your hair is coming in and getting longer.  After your bath, we can see little curls right behind your ears just like when Sister was your age.

You love Sister, and Sister loves you.  We couldn't have asked for a more tender sister relationship.  What a blessing to watch you to grow up together.  Our prayer is that you girls will continue to be best friends forever.

Sweet baby, you make my heart swell!

More 'Mastics

Actually, now she refers to at as GYMastics.

And, oh, how we love gymnastics!  Our lesson is bright and early (at least for us), and (not so) little missy insists on wearing her leotard all the live long day.  Although, according to her, it's a 'leotard shirt.'  And, these are the kinds of questions I'm peppered with on Tuesdays:


Should I wear my leotard shirt for nap time?
Should I wear my leotard shirt in the backyard?
Should I wear my leotard shirt at the supermarket?


I'm really happy with the gym that we chose.  Cora is in a 'mommy and me' class, and I'm a huge fan of their methods.  This gym in particular gets the kids on the apparatuses right away...as in on the first lesson.  Cora has already done some drills on the balance beam and the bars as well as on the trampoline and some other neat teaching apparatuses.  I love seeing how the skills that Cora is working on will translate into the more difficult and complex ones as she gets older.  (Olympics 2024!!)

Her favorite thing, by a longshot, is jumping on the trampoline.  She especially loves the long trampoline that has a mirror beside it.  A certain someone enjoys watching herself as she jumps/runs down the line.

Action shot!

She does also enjoy the balance beam.  The one for the preschoolers is a couple inches wider than a standard one.  Mommy likes that!

The bars are probably her least favorite.  She is the most resistant on them, but at this age, she's mainly just working on becoming familiar with everything.

I was even able to coax a smile out of her.

And, I'll leave you with this as a final thought.  Cora's prayer Monday night:

Dear God,

Thank you for our food.

Thank you for our family.

Thank you for our Jesus.

Please help me tell Coach Misty how to do my exercises.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

Oh, heaven help us!

Swings

The other night we took the girls over to one of the parks in our neighborhood.  As I put Carys in the swing, I realized that this was the first time in her 8 months that she had been in a playground swing.  I felt a little twinge of guilt about her lack of experience until I remembered that it had been exactly 9 million degrees outside for the past 4 months.  Mamacita doesn't do extreme heat.  So, up until this point, Carys must have thought that all playgrounds are attached to restaurants that sell chicken nuggets!  

We also convinced Cora to finally try the big girl swings.  The combination of the significant distance from swing to ground along with Cora's penchant for letting go of protective measures definitely kept me on my toes.  (It is not helping that in gymnastics, she spends a significant amount of time getting encouraged to jump off of high places, lol!)    She has become aware of the magic that is the iPhone, hence the whining at the beginning of the footage.  Don't tell anyone, but there may or may not be a princess dress up game on a certain football loving, home-improving, car enthusiast's phone.  The things you are willing to do for your kids!!

Cora's Kidisms - Self-Medicating Edition

We have a little tradition over in our neck of the woods.  I'm not sure exactly how it started, but it may be one of my favorite family customs.  Every Sunday before church, we get donuts.  Usually, we favor Shipley Donuts, but since pumpkin spice donuts are back at Dunkin Donuts, we've been regulars over there.  Now that Cora is old enough, she gets her own sack of donut holes.  In fact, on Saturday night when we tell her that we are going to church in the morning, she always adds, "And get donuts?"  Clearly, she is my child - in that aspect at least!

Yesterday morning, she woke up and told me that her tummy hurt.  She proclaims that several times a week, and I have a sneaking suspicion that she is mistaking hunger pangs for pain.  (These tummy aches never seem to impede her ability to go to gymnastics, or to the library, or to the park, or to playdates, or any other place, you see.)  So, since she didn't appear to be in actual pain, we had the following conversation:

Me:  Do you know what will help your tummy feel better?
Cora: What?
Me:  Donuts!


Sure enough the stomach pains magically disappeared after breakfast.  That afternoon, little miss took a nice long nap.  When I went in to get her, we had the following conversation:

Me:  Hi Coco!  Did you have a good nap?
Cora:  Mommy, my stomach hurts.  Do you know what will make me feel better?  Donuts!


She is a mess, I tell you!

I'm Learning!

You would think that parenting the second time around would be a piece of cake.  But, it appears that Carys may in fact be totally different than her big sister.  I know you all are totally shocked by that.  Children, different?  No way!  We're shifting paradigms all over the place over here.

Most of you know that it has been a bit of a struggle with Carys not sleeping through the night.  While I know we are not the only parents in the world who have ever had to deal with this, our situation is complicated by the fact that Cora spoiled us by sleeping through the night at 11 weeks.  Paradigm shifting.  It is getting better slowly and surely, but it takes tough love.  While my resolve is strong in the middle of the day, I can freely admit that I am weak in the middle of the night - especially when she is always so happy to see me.  It's kind of hard to say no to that precious smile.

The other tug-of-war has been in relation to solid food.  For the longest time, her sensitive little tummy couldn't handle it. She would be miserable when we made her eat solids.  Now, she is ready developmentally, but has absolutely no interest in baby food.   With her being eight months old, though, I felt a lot of pressure to have her quite accustomed to solid foods by her next well check.  But, I was having to shove the food into her mouth in order to get her to take some bites. It wasn't until she lunged at my muffin the other morning that I realized she might rather feed herself than eat that mushy, watery stuff.  Sure enough, she loves it. She was so happy to participate in our letter p breakfast the other morning.

Not that I blame her for her preference.  I would rather eat fresh peaches and pancakes, too!  So, I'm learning.  I think if you give me another 15 or so years, I will finally have it all together!

This Breakfast Brought to You By...

...the letter P!

noshing on pancakes and peaches

Cora and I started school the other week.  It went okay.  Actually, I was pleasantly surprised at how much she retained from the one day that we had 'formal' schooling.  But, something was nagging at me about the whole situation.  I just felt like the formal process that I was trying to routinize was not terribly developmentally appropriate for a three year old.  I mean, that was one of the reasons that I really became disillusioned and disappointed with the public school system.  For fear of the big, bad TAKS, most of the developmentally appropriate practices (free choice centers, recess - yes, recess is necessary! - hands-on exploration, unit study, etc.) had to be pushed to the side in order to drill and kill the objectives on the test.  As I mentioned in my previous homeschooling post, a big part of this process is going to include the retraining of me.  Needless to say, at this point, we are taking a more laid-back, organic approach to learning.  What does that mean, you ask?  Well, basically, I'm just capitalizing on those little teachable moments as they occur throughout the day.

Folks, brace yourself for another embarrassing parenting confession.  Some days, Cora gets to watch more than her fair share of television. (gasp!)  Quite honestly, if Carys has had a rough night, television is a bit of a survival strategy for this mamacita.  (God bless PBS Kids!)  After an episode of Word World, Cora has suddenly become very interested in letter sounds.  And, as the teachable moments come up, we explore them.  So, today when the auspicious circumstances came up, we learned all about the letter P.  It turns out that Cora requested fresh peaches with her pancake breakfast.  We discovered the same sound at the beginning of both words.  We also discovered that Penny begins with that same sound, but that water does not.  Thus far, we have learned the letter sounds for b, c, h, m, p, and s.  


Not surprisingly, we are also studying dinosaurs.  At the library this morning, we found several age appropriate nonfiction books about them. But, I think, at least when it comes to giant reptiles, Cora may be teaching me!  Cora was deeply engrossed in a dino ABC book when she came to the letter J (for Jurassic).  Witness the conversation that took place:

Cora: What's this page?
Me:  That's J for Jurassic.  Oh look!  It's T Rex. (I pointed to one of the three unnamed dinosaurs on the page)
Cora: That's not T Rex.  That's Allosaurus.

Folks, I know better than to argue.  Sure enough, when I researched it later (Yes, I had to research it.  Yes, Cora generally knows more about this stuff than me.), Allosaurus is from the Jurassic. T Rex is from the Cretaceous.  sigh  As if the thought of homeschooling wasn't daunting enough!  Looks like I'm going to be learning right along side the little paleontologist!

Family Fun Weekend

This past weekend, we got to host my entire immediate family for a little mini reunion.  And, being the terrible documentarian that I am, I took a grand total of 0 pictures.  (hangs head in shame)  But, we did have tons of fun.  Scott, Celeste, Hannah, and Miriam came up Friday night, and Cora could not have been more excited. I took the girls out to the front yard as we waited for them to arrive.  After each car would drive by, Cora would say, "No, that's not my cousins."  Cora was over the moon when they arrived!

Both Celeste and I were a teeny bit apprehensive about how well the girls would all play together.  Hannah is 3 years older than Cora, and Miriam is a year and a half younger.  Fortunately, though, Hannah and Cora both love dinosaurs.  I think they bonded pretty well.  At one point, Hannah decided that they should play school.  So, by the end of the weekend, Cora was coming up to her saying, "Hannah!  Hannah!  It's time to play school!"  Such cuties!   We let Hannah have a 'sleepover' in Cora's room.  She camped out on the floor in a sleeping bag.  There were a fair few giggles after bedtime, but isn't that to be expected?!  On Saturday night, she told Cora, " I can't wait for you to come to my house so you can sleep on MY floor!"  These girls are a hoot!

Miriam and Carys were both kind of in their own little worlds.  They are still a bit young to play cooperatively.  Miriam may be the cutest 19 month old ever!  She walks like she has places to go and people to see.  I don't think I've ever seen a toddler who moves with such purpose!

Mema and P-pa came down on Saturday morning to spoil their grandgirls.  This was the first time the three families had been together since Carys was born.  And, somehow, the big girls ended up with some new books and dinosaurs while the little girls ended up with some new squirt toys and books.  (It's too bad no one loves these girls!)  P-pa even managed to get a few pictures of the four girls all together.  (Miraculous!)  It was definitely a great weekend!

Look Out World!

It seems a certain 8 month old has decided that sitting still is for the birds.  She recently added crawling (wonkily as it may be!) to her skill set.  I must also report that she pulled up to a stand on the monkey chair last night.  At that point I had to remind her that she is not allowed to walk until she sleeps through the night!

What Happens...

When post-it notes are left unattended.....

It seems a certain 3 year old got hold of my sticky note cube.

I consider myself lucky!  When I did this as a kid, I used a roll of stamps!

Easiest Crockpot Chicken Ever

Kelly's Korner is doing a fab link-up today all about crock pot meals.  I have to share this recipe because it will change your life!

No, I'm not being dramatic!

No, really!  It will change your life!

It got the 'two thumbs up' from my mom who happens to be an amazing cook.  That's practically a 5 Star rating from Michelin or a James Beard Award, you know!

So here it is.  Don't be frightened by how complicated it is:

Mexican Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken - however much you want of whatever boneless pieces you like.
Salsa - enough to cover the chicken.
Directions:
Put chicken in your crockpot.
Cover with salsa.
Cook for 8 hours.

I know the recipe is pretty intimidating!  But, I promise you it's worth it.

P.S.  I've put frozen chicken in before, and it comes out just as tender and yummy as the thawed chicken.

Now, the important part is what you do with the chicken.  First, shred it up.  Then, you can do pretty much anything you want.

We like to make chicken tacos.  I saute some onions in a little bit of butter.  We put the onions, jack cheese and avocado on the tacos.  Delish!

We also make chicken enchiladas with the chicken, green chiles, and jack cheese.  Top the enchiladas with green enchilada sauce.  Double delish!

Really, you could do anything with it...salads, sandwiches, casseroles, and on and on.

So, there you have it.  The easiest crock pot chicken that will change your life!! If you have any questions about this complicated recipe, feel free to ask in the comments.  (Wink!)  Thanks for stopping by!

A Small Glimpse Into Carys' Brain

May I present 30 seconds inside Carys' brain:

Where's Mommy?
There's Mommy.
I like Mommy.
I need Mommy.
I need Mommy NOW!
Hold me, Mommy.
HOLD ME, MOMMY!
Don't sit down.
DON'T SIT DOWN!
GET BACK UP!
Hey, there's a toy.
I don't like that toy.
Yes I do.
No I don't.
I hate that toy!
I wonder what that toy tastes like?
I can't reach that toy.
Where's Mommy?
There's Mommy!
Look at me, Mommy.
LOOK AT ME, MOMMY!
Hey, I got the toy!
I'm gonna drop the toy.
Yay!  I dropped the toy.
Wait!  I want the toy!
I WANT THE TOY!
Hey, there's Sister.
Sister is funny.
Sister is silly.
I want Sister right next to me.
I wonder what Sister's hair tastes like.
Sister is too close to me.
SISTER IS TOO CLOSE TO ME!
I need to sing.
I need to sing louder.
I need to sing as loud as I can.
I'M SINGING!
I don't want to sing.
What is this brown furry thing?  (Penny)
This brown furry thing moves all by itself.
I'm going to grab this brown furry thing's face.
Hey! Where's the brown furry thing going?
I'm going to follow the brown furry thing.
Why am I going backwards?
WHY AM I GOING BACKWARDS?
HOW DID I GET UNDER THE COFFEE TABLE?!
HOW DO I GET OUT FROM UNDER THE COFFEE TABLE?!
HELP!
HELP!
Where's Mommy?


(and repeat)

Fri-Deja Vu

Cora - 2009

Carys - 2011

BFFs

Y'all, I don't know when I've ever felt so blessed.  There are so many reasons why I was excited to find out that Carys was in fact Carys and not little Jackson.  Mostly these reasons had to do with fear of the unknown...I am realizing just how much boys differ from girls, and it's not just anatomy, folks!!  But, I was also excited to see another baby in some of the cute outfits that Cora wore.  And, I was excited that the girls could share a room.  Don't get me wrong; I would be over the moon if Carys had turned out to be Jackson.  It's just that I know Carys is here because of a divine plan.  If having Cora has taught me anything, it is that the children God blesses you with are not chance mixtures of DNA.  These girls are definitely mine for a purpose.  I mean, I never knew parenting could be so exhilarating, exciting, heart-wrenching, frustrating, and maddening all at the same time.

I remember watching Cora play outside one day and dreaming about the day that she would have a 'built in' little playmate of her own.  However, being that I am from a long (LONG) line of worriers, when we did find out that Cora would have a little playmate, I worried that the girls would be too far apart in age to really become friends.  Thank goodness God is sovereign and not me!  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my girls are already best friends!

It seems that the platitude about love not dividing between two kids, but multiplying is true for children as well as parents.  I think Cora's heart grew exponentially the day she met Carys, too.  This picture surely confirms that statement!

When Cora came to the hospital to visit me after I had Carys, I heard her yelling "Mommy?!" as she came down the hall to my room.  After that, though, her eyes were all on Carys.  It's like she knew she was going to have a special relationship with that tightly swaddled bundle of arms and legs.  Nowadays, it's the same song, different verse.  When I get Cora up in the morning, I always get a "Hi, Mommy!"  But what really makes her day is seeing her Sissy.  (And, believe me, Sissy is just as excited to see Sister!)

 I get a huge charge out of watching them play together.  At this point, it is mostly Cora acting goofy and Carys responding, but there is nothing more exciting than seeing the girls enjoying each other's company.  Cora even invented a game for her.  She starts with her back turned at the front door, and she yells "Hooray for....."  She turns around and runs to Carys (sitting in the exersaucer) as she yells "CARYS!!!"  The wee babe finds this game to be endlessly entertaining.  And, the (not so) little missy gets a thrill out of making Sissy laugh and smile.  

Carys, for her part, seems to think that Cora hung the moon.  I somewhat fear the implications of this.  I'm sure that much mischief is in their future.  Cora is a masterful negotiator, and Carys is a happy-go-lucky observer.  I feel certain that Cora will be the mastermind, but Carys will be the muscle.  Parenting most surely keeps me on my toes!

But, nobody ever said that parenting is easy.  And, if a little mischief is the price of a lifelong and deep friendship, then bring it on!  I'm up for the challenge!

Eight

Time sure does fly, doesn't it?!  Carys, you're eight months old now.  What's new?

You still fit in your 6 month size clothes.  It has been so stinkin' hot here that we haven't really had to put you in shoes.  But, your feet are teeny-weeny!

You're a scoocher.  The other day, I left you with Sister and some toys on the floor of the living room as I went to fix my hair.  A few minutes later I heard some grunting near the door of my bedroom.  Much to my shock, it was YOU!  You had managed to scooch a good ten feet from where I left you.  You will likely be crawling any day now. I guess it's time to be hyper vigilant about Sister's little toys!

You have one tooth poking through your gums, and you're working on another.  You chew on everything!  You're favorite chew toy right now is a plastic measuring spoon.  You like to get that little spoon in just the right spot before you chomp down on it.

You're stomach seems to have settled a little bit.  We're easing you back into solids.  So far, you've done great with prunes and carrots.  Today, I'm steaming you a yummy sweet potato.

You love to drink out of a straw.  I got you your very own sippy cup, and you amazed many people at the supermarket yesterday as you slurped away. You mostly slurp the water and then let it dribble out of your mouth, but sometimes you take a sip or two.

You love it when I wear a baseball cap.  You love to pull down the brim until you can't see my eyes.  Then, you push it back up and grin at me.  It's our own special kind of peek-a-boo!

You love your daddy, but when you want mama, there's just no substitute.  I have to be very careful if I need to get things done because if you see me, often you cannot be dissuaded from needing me!  Developmentally, you are at the right age to have a little separation anxiety, but hopefully, this will only be a phase.

Alas, you are still not sleeping through the night.  Every once in a while you give us a glimmer of hope by sleeping for 6 or 7 hours, but mostly you are perfectly happy with our every 3 hour arrangement.  sigh  I keep reminding myself how much I will miss you when you go to college, but truthfully, it is hard to get up every three hours.  I still wouldn't trade anything, though!

Bebecita, you make my heart swell!

Mastics

Last week, I registered Cora for gymnastics.  I decided to bring (not so) Little Miss with me to register because I wasn't sure how she would respond to the people and equipment.  Boy was I worried for nothing.  She adored the gym.  She didn't understand why she couldn't go past the observation area and play with all the other boys and girls.  When it was time for us to leave, she actually cried because she wanted so badly to stay.  The only way I could ease her sadness was to remind her that we were going home to see Daddy and that he would probably let her play Angry Birds on his phone.  Bless her gym-loving little heart; it was a loooong wait for Tuesday to roll around.  Each morning she would wake up and tell me "On Tuesday, I can go to 'mastics!"

Thank goodness today finally rolled around.  Our lesson wasn't until 11, so keeping her contained for the better part of the morning was a bit of a challenge.  We ended up leaving the house a little early just so she could feel like the time for gymnastics was getting closer.

waiting...waiting...

I was a little apprehensive when we got there.  All the children for her class were a bit older, and some had been in gymnastics before.  Y'all, I was dead on with my apprehension!  Little Miss was in excitement overload.  She had a lot of trouble focusing on the tasks, and she was a bit wary of the equipment.  Even though she couldn't actually keep up, she had a blast being there.  I talked with the coach after class ended, and we agreed that she should probably move to the younger class.  It also meets on Tuesdays and is at an earlier hour, so I will not have to keep her entertained for so long before it's time to go.  Looking forward to round two...

Everything Looks Brighter...

...on this side of a good night's sleep!

All that boasting early on about what an easy baby little Carys is totally caught up with me.  I remember telling people how much easier motherhood is the second time around.  And, in many ways, Carys is much easier than Cora was.  Carys does not have reflux, and she was always much more content during the day.  She is on the growth charts and has not had any difficulty gaining weight.  BUT, man have we had a rough time at night!

Folks, I gotta be honest here.  Mamacita is not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, nor is she even cheerful when facing the day after being awakened every 2 to 3 hours at night for 7 and a half months.  I would characterize my attitude more as reticent and depressed.  (Poor John.  Clearly, it has not been a picnic putting up with me for the past several months.)  Last night, however, Carys slept for 7 hours straight.  Hallelujah!! It was amazing.  Then, she woke up just before 9 a.m. which happens to be right about the same time Sister woke up.  Hallelujah, hallelujah!!  We may be on to something here!  I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a trend and not just a one-time event.  I would love to regain some of the sanity I have lost.  (I'm sure John would love that, too!)  Fingers and toes crossed for tonight...

In other news, I have seen Carys go from lying down to sitting up twice now.  She is also frequently found in that pre-crawling stance where she gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth.  I'm fairly certain that in the next few weeks, we're going to have a crawler.

I know, Carys!  I'm just as shocked as you are!

We're still pretty wary about giving her solids.  Many days, she doesn't get any baby food, and when she does, it is only prunes.  We'll try once more when she turns eight months.  But, since she's not struggling in the weight department (hello, luscious thighs!), I'm not to worried about her needing solid food.

So, there you have it.  A nice, coherent post from the most fabulous side of a good night's sleep!

Pongo and Perdita

Before I had kids of my own, I would constantly wonder how in the world children would end up with so many toys.  I surmised a lot of things before I had my own kids!  For those of you who are wondering that very thing, let me give you an example of how it goes down.

The other day I packed up the girls and headed to IKEA.  I felt the need to get out of the house, but being that the temperature was somewhere between the inside of my oven and the surface of the sun, I wanted to go somewhere with AC.  Oh, yeah, and free was a requirement, too - although, this outing ended up not exactly being free!  For those of you who may not know, IKEA is almost as good as the play court at Chick-Fila.  There are beds to climb on, mirrors to stare into, and little rooms to explore without the temptation of the yummy chicken nuggets and fries!  Cora was having a blast, and we soon found ourselves in the little kids section.  There you will find display items of most of their really cool toys and activities, including a slide and some play huts with tunnels.   Cora was pretty disappointed when I informed her that it was time to keep it moving.  But, when we wandered over to where the stuffed toys and imaginative play items were, she changed her tune.

That is when we found Pongo.

Folks, I really do believe that she saw the heavens open up and the light shining down on this floppy little dalmatian.  I have never seen little miss get so excited about a stuffed animal.  She turned to me with all sincerity in her eyes and voice and said "Mommy, I love him!"

Now I ask you parents, how do you combat that?!?

I think my exact response was, "You love him, eh?"

To which she replied, "I think I can take him to the car."

Oh, really??

Turns out she was right about that.  Truly, Cora has located and effectively severed my Achilles heel.  Since it appeared that Pongo would only put me out $2.99, I picked up one for Carys, too.  We will soon be in the stage of "that's not fair!" anyway, so I thought I'd go ahead and get used to the double whammy.  Well, it turns out that Pongo and his companion Perdita were actually $7.99 apiece.  (Great price for a stuffed animal of its size, but the one alone was more than I intended to spend on the 2.)  If Carys hadn't already slobbered all over hers, we would have just gently put it back.  Fortunately for me, the dogs were money well spent.

See?

Carys and Perdita

Cora and Pongo.

I should mention here that Pongo ($7.99) gets much more play mileage than Patasha ($21.99).  Had I known this, I would have taken Cora to IKEA back in June rather than attempting the Build-a-Bear Workshop with a highly uninterested, newly minted three year old! sigh

I think it's safe to say this is her first case of puppy love!