Road Trip!

This year was our year to spend Christmas with John's family.  We decided to take the big journey up to Virginia to see John's brother and his family.  As we refuse to do plane trips due to a certain fateful red-eye from Alaska to Texas, this meant ROAD TRIP!

Folks, I have never been more thankful for John's technological (dare I say it) genius!  Witness a sample of the arrangements from within the car.

That is just a small sample of the wiring John finagled.  Here is what he wrote about it, "For the trip, I installed a new head unit, mainly to connect all of our smart devices (was really tired of the fm modulated junk), hard wired an inverter to the battery, decorated the luggage rack with led Christmas lights, installed radios to communicate with my small caravan, bought BT headphones for the kids to listen and play with their iPad/DVD player, installed sat radio, while using my phone as a wifi and using navigon on my iPad for navigation.  But, probably the highlight of the tech trip was pushing Carys' movies from my iPod located up front to the DVD player in the back so we don't have to get out of the car or stretch over the backseat to change movies." So, umm, ya, he did....that.  Between that and the large box full of a variety of snacks, the actual driving was pretty easy - especially considering that this 3000+ mile round trip involved a 2 year old and a 4 year old. The main limitation was that we had to stop for lunch pretty much exclusively at restaurants that had attached playgrounds.  I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to eat McDonald's ever.again.

Once we arrived in Virginia, Josh and Amy had a house full.  6 adults and 5 kids, 5 and under.  It was like contained chaos, but the kids had a blast.  The neat thing is that for a short time every year, all of the cousins thus far will stair-step as far as age.  Dawson is 5; Cora is 4; Audrey is 3; Carys is 2; and Ryan is 1.  

This is the best picture we could get of the 5 of them.  Like herding cats, folks!

It was so much fun listening to the kids playing together.  Surprisingly, we had very few problems, especially considering that the kids only get to see each other once or twice a year.  The main difficulty was getting the kids to go.to.sleep!  The three bigs had a slumber party every night, and it was pretty hard to rein in the giggles coming from their room.  Though, if that is the worst we have to deal with, we are pretty lucky!

Our drive home was quite an adventure.  We were blasted with the very southern tip of the huge winter storm that graced the Northeast.  It took us 12 and a half hours to get from northern Virginia to our hotel in Knoxville, TN.  I am pretty sure that a very valid way to increase this completely Southern girl's total trust in God is to spend 12 and a half hours in the car driving through 500 miles icy snow and sleet.  Thankfully, we arrived safely. The next two days were much less eventful weather-wise, thankfully!   Nevertheless, we were so happy to have arrived back at our house on Friday night.  I'm fairly certain my bed has never felt so comfortable!

All in all, it was a lovely trip.  We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend it with family.

Two!

Honestly, I can't believe that I am typing this post.  Has it really been two years since you made your surprise appearance in San Antonio?  It has been an amazing couple of years, baby ninja.

So, Carysita, what's new?

You consistently live up to your 'baby ninja' moniker.  You are quick, and you are quiet.  You refuse to let your diminutive size affect your abilities.  So far, we have found you in the bathroom sink (you stacked up two stools to get there), on top of your dresser (you used the drawers as a ladder), on the picture window sill, and on the kitchen counter.  You have now learned to climb up on to mommy and daddy's big bed, so we pretty much have to keep most of the house closed off.  Baby ninja strikes again!
 
You are a little chatterbox.  Your language has exploded over the past month or two.  You have a very large vocabulary, though often Sister and I are the ones who understand you best.  My favorite words that you say are:
peezpah (pizza)
ahrigh (alright)
deemas twee (Christmas tree)
tickiepoo (ticklepoo - a bedtime ritual)

Speaking of speaking, you are a little jokester.  You love to tell knock-knock jokes - well, more accurately, you love to tell one specific knock-knock joke.  And, you can tell that interrupting cow joke with the best of them. You are definitely an enthusiastic comedian.

You also love to sing.  You  can sing the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Old MacDonald, and Jingle Bells, though they are mostly only recognizable by the tune.  You love to sing along with the radio, too.  Your favorite song right now is 'I'm Alive' by Peter Furler.  It's a fun little duet when you and Sister sing it together.

You recently graduated to a toddler bed when we removed the front rail of your crib.  More on that to come.

You are obsessed with shoes.  You love to walk around in anyone's shoes.  In fact, you recently got your feelings hurt when you found out that it is not okay to walk around in other kids' shoes at the playground at Chick-Fila.

You love to watch lah-eee (Wall-e).  On our recent road trip (more on that to come), you watched Wall-e probably three times a day while we were in the car.

You call most animals by their sound.  Our preferred supermarket has large pictures of farms and cows up on the wall.  Virtually every time we pass by the pictures, you yell out "The moo! The moo!"  Your other favorites are "the neigh" and "the woof."

You are a very enthusiastic eater.  You like to try new things.  Surprisingly, you don't mind spicy.  Recently, you convinced daddy to share his sandwich with spicy mustard and pepper jack cheese.  It must be because of the Mexican food I ate right before I went into labor!  Some of your other favorites include cheese, yogurt, steak, fruit, cucumbers, and rice, not to mention kid staples such as chicken nuggets, goldfish, macaroni, and cheese pizzas.

You are our sweet and sassy little girl.  Your eyes shine with a little bit of mischief which makes it hard on mommy and daddy when you are being a bit naughty.  But, you always brighten our lives with your fun personality.  We love you so very much sweet bebecita!

Parenting Fail #24785

If you have been reading this blog for really any length of time, you probably know about Carys' constant companion, Perdita.  

 Perdita made the Christmas photos....

 Perdita made the bluebonnet photos...

And, of course, Perdita goes to the emergency room with us.  

Folks, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that 'Dita' as Carys calls her, gets pretty nasty.  In the past, I refused to be responsible for washing the poor thing.  I did not want to have to deal with the drama.  But, yesterday, I decided to bite the bullet and wash her.  (She's been washed before, by the way, just not by me!)  Now that we have a front-loader washer, Carys loves to put things in there.  (She may or may not have attempted to climb in herself...)  So, I gathered all of the girls' laundry, put it in the washer, and then asked Carys to put Dita in.  She was having no part of that.  But, being the stellar parent that I am and having decided that today was the day to give the poor pup a bath, I grabbed her (Dita, not Carys), threw her in, and shut the door.  

 You can imagine how well that went over.  

I blame pregnancy hormones.

Carys spent the next long minutes sobbing while hugging the washer window.  And, this heartless mama did nothing while Dita spun round and round.  

Actually, I did do something.  I attempted to bribe distract her with her other favorite things.  apples, protein bars, cheese, sister's toys, the phone...

I finally got her interested in The Lion King.  

She seemed to handle the time okay with the movie on to distract her.  But, rest assured, she was not about to forgive me so easily.  After I pulled Dita out of the dryer all fluffy and warm and after Carys gave her the once over, chewed on her ears a little and gave her kisses, she punished me by promptly sticking Dita's face in Penny's water bowl.  Touche, mon petite pickle.  I shall now fully relinquish the dog washing responsibilities to John.

Of the Many Phrases That Involve the Number 3

Three Musketeers?

Third time's the charm?

Three day weekend?

Three Stooges?

None of those seemed to fit...

But, in case you haven't heard, we have a little announcement.  Looks like we'll be keeping up with three little ones come Spring.  This picture is a couple of weeks old.  I am a little over 12 weeks along, allegedly due in April.  I say allegedly because all of my little ones decide to come before their  doctor estimated due dates.   We'll see if this little one decides to continue the trend.  But, I'm definitely thinking to not travel anywhere starting in March.  No more surprise out of town births for this mamacita!

Wordless Wednesday

The Stats

Cora's four year well check was a couple of months ago.  I had heard tales of the horrors of this particular visit from friends with older children.  Folks, I can promise you it lived up to my expectations and then some!  Oy, what a nightmare!

The physical exam was the easy part.  She was excited about wearing the 'dress' (hospital gown), and she actually commented to Dr. Mitchell about how much she loved her dress.  She easily met almost all of her physical and developmental milestones.  She now weighs in at 32 pounds (24th percentile) and 40 inches (55th percentile).  I didn't believe people when they would tell me how tall she is.  But, it looks like she finally is catching up in the height department, at least.

This visit turned out to be incredibly informative as well.  I have had some suspicions for a while that there may be more going on inside Cora's head than in most normal/average kids.  I had noticed some gaps in her development, but I worried that since my background is early childhood education perhaps I was over thinking everything. I know development is continuum not a series of points in time, but I couldn't shake the nagging thought that there was something different going on with her. I noticed from very early on that Cora was extremely sensitive to excessive attention (even positive) and sounds.  The behavior manifests itself in extreme fear or in strange meltdowns.  For example, going into a public restroom has always been upsetting for her.  For a while, I had chalked it up to stubborn-ness in relation to potty training.  But, upon further thought and investigation, I realized that she was extremely fearful of the loud flush toilets and hand-dryers.  I also noticed a strange gap in her fine motor skills.  Most kids at her age are drawing simple pictures.  Cora has yet to draw a picture.  I thought this was due to the fact that she was more of an active girl who really wasn't as interested in slowing down enough to draw or color.  However, I soon noticed that even though she had no problem writing her name with my hand over her hand, she seemed to go limp and get confused if I asked her to write her name on her own.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she has had a difficult time with most fine motor tasks.  She took longer than most to become proficient at eating with utensils; she never showed interest in dressing and undressing herself and took a long time to become independent at it; opening and closing some doors is still a bit of a challenge for her.  When she was a baby, she was an awesome eater.  She ate every baby food with only one exception.  Yet, suddenly, she became a picky eater.  She would no longer eat the very same foods she would eat in puree form.  There are a few other things that I noticed as well.  When I discussed this with her pediatrician, she confirmed what I had been thinking.  Cora has a mild form of sensory processing disorder.  At some point she may require a bit of occupational therapy to help with her motor skill issues, but at this point, I am doing as much research as I can in order to try to help at home.

It has been an interesting adjustment for us having this diagnosis.  Sensory processing disorder is a relatively new disorder although John and I both exhibit a few of the markers as well.  To be honest, I struggle with it sometimes because I don't know where to draw the line between knowing that I need to push her beyond her stubborn-ness or knowing that this is part of the spd and to take a different approach, proceeding with caution.  The bottom line is that Cora needs to learn to cope in the real world especially with her noise sensitivities, but I also don't want teachers and other adults she comes into contact with left bewildered when she has a meltdown and no one knows why.  But, like I mentioned before, sometimes it is hard to know whether this is Cora being stubborn or Cora having spd. Parenting is hard, no?!

The bright light in all of this is the notion that God has clearly directed me to homeschool.  I have been pretty wishy-washy on the thought of it.  I'm pretty sure that every parent who decides to embark on the adventure of homeschooling faces doubts.  Everyone has reassured me that I will be fine especially considering my background.  But, let me emphasize this, the thought of whipping a class of 22 kindergarteners/English language learners into shape is easy compared to the thought of being solely responsible for the entire educational outcome of my children.  Nevertheless, I am slowly warming up to the possibilities that home-schooling has to offer to my family.

To make this long story even longer, the rest of the appointment was very memorable.  One of the manifestations of Cora's spd is an extreme dislike of things being put on her.  She gets upset if you try to put a mask or a necklace or headphones, etc. on her without her initiation.  So, as you can imagine, the vision and hearing tests were a bit challenging.  She passed both tests, thankfully, but I'm pretty sure the entire medical office building could hear her distress.  We capped it off by getting the remainder of her vaccinations.  You can guess how well that went over.  It's a small price to pay for good health!  Believe me, you won't catch me complaining that she has no more immunizations for a while.  Whew!

All that to say, we are so thankful for our healthy (not so) little girl.  God created her exactly this way, and even though I do not always understand her thoughts and quirks, so to speak, I know that  she has a great purpose in the Kingdom.  Our prayer is that God will give us the wisdom we need to train her up to be the woman He purposed her to be.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Let's Take a Little Journey Back in Time

So, Cora turned 4 this summer.  Yes, folks, Cora is now the same age as the preschoolers I taught when she was just an tiny newborn. I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I just didn't think she would ever get 'this old.'  And, while we have yet to begin having friend parties for our girls, Cora managed to squeeze 4 (yes, 4) celebrations out of friends and family.  Because her birthday happened to fall on a Sunday, Cora's precious Bible group teacher brought birthday cupcakes for snack.  Then, that afternoon, we had a small celebration with Auntie Linda and Mr. Rick.  We decided that as far as presents for our girls we would stick to the little adage
Something you want;
Something you need;
Something to wear;
Something to read.
I love that this helps us focus our shopping.  It is so easy for me to go overboard, and this helps to keep from overwhelming the girls, too.  It's the grandparents' job to spoil them, anyway!  So, Cora got to open her 3 (two of the presents were combined) and eat some more cupcakes.

Can you guess which flavor the birthday girl chose?!

It was funny because even though she had several presents, we had to coax her to open the rest of them.  She really just wanted to play with her two new lovies.  Funny girl!

The next week, the girls went off to Yiayia and Dado's house where the celebrated some more.  I know there were cupcakes and presents involved.  I'm pretty sure the celebratory week also involved the zoo, train, parks, and splash pads.  Not too shabby for the birthday girl!

We capped off our celebratory weeks at Mema and P-pa's house.  We got to celebrate Hannah and Cora's birthdays with more cupcakes and presents. One of the other highlights was the water gun battle.  Clearly, P-pa quickly became the main target.  Once Cora figured out how to operate hers, she was pretty brave on the attack.  Carys couldn't quite figure hers out, but she sure had fun running around with one.  Cousin Miriam was the best, though, because she would run right up to you with absolutely no fear.  P-pa took on a lot of water at point blank range!

I think we can call this birthday season a success!

Cora's Kidisms - Mom's No Ariel Edition

It's the end of an era folks.

John has figured out that Cora does, in fact, have learned pitch.  We knew Cora loved to sing, and she seemed pretty good at it.  For those of you who don't know, John is also an awesome singer.  To put it plainly, the man has a fantastic set of pipes.  Me, I love to sing...if desire were ability, I would ah-mazing.  Sadly, it does not translate!  As John puts it, I sound 'pleasant.' I'm okay with that assessment.  Pleasant is a positive word, no?   The other night, Cora and I were singing a song we heard on Dinosaur Train that morning.  In my defense, I only heard part of it one time that morning.  Nevertheless, I slogged through trying to sing it.  Imagine my surprise when my little maestro stopped me with a "No, no, Mama.  Like this!" as she proceeded to sing the song correctly for me.  Well, bless my heart, I tried my best, but I finally had to tell her that I was a lost cause!  Children's choir starts in 2 weeks.  I'm thinking it couldn't come soon enough!

Carys' Kidisms - Edition the First

I've mentioned before that Carys is not much of a talker - at least not in English.  Mind you, she gets her point across for sure.  Being that she is also an observer, a lot of the things she says in Carys-ese sound much like things that Cora says.  The other night after their bath, I got ready to comb their hair.  Bless Cora's heart!  She got her mama's fine, curly and tangle prone hair.  We do not get through a hair fixing session without at least one "OW!"  So this night, as I combed through Carysita's easy, untangled little mop, she turned her self and looked up at me with a big smile and exclaimed, "OW!"  She's a little mess, I tell you!

Wordless Wednesday

(photo by Daddy)

Little Peanut

We were on pins and needles a bit about Carys' 18 month appointment.  Despite all the results from the bloodwork and testing being normal, I still can't shake a tiny bit of anxiety about Carys' inability to gain weight.  She looks proportional and is meeting her developmental milestones (excepting the growth ones, natch), but I can't help but be a bit anxious over her only gaining a couple of pounds this past year.  Sure enough, she hadn't gained, but about 3 ounces since our weight check in May.  This gain puts her at a whopping 18.75 pounds.  She's still on the charts for her age, but just barely.  She's just about 2 and a half feet tall - again just clinging to the bottom percentiles for height.  Strangely enough, though, I think the combo of her itty-bitty size, plus the fact that she just insists on keeping up with her uber-active sister makes her a double threat.  We call her baby ninja because she is quick and quiet.  One minute you think she's playing in her room, the next minute she's staring at you from places such as the top of the coffee table.

Caught!

Don't worry!  I removed her after I took the picture.  (Hey, I'm a bloggin' mama!)  Don't worry about the coffee table either.  It took it's revenge on Carys a few days ago when she thought she was an Olympic gymnast, but flubbed her dismount from the couch.   We thought Cora was going to be our drama mama, but now I'm pretty sure it's going to be Sissy.

Here we are waiting to get glued.  That giant cotton ball is full of numbing gel.  This was in the calm before the storm of trying to glue her head!  God bless those nurses and the doctor! Only 24 hours after getting her injury glued (thank goodness for that stuff!!), she had ripped the glue suture off.  Oy vey! Now, we're just trying to keep her from bumping into things to make sure she doesn't open up her old injury.  I think she might need a padded house!

So besides incredible feats of daring, Carys' other favorite activities are running and enjoying/terrorizing Penny.  Don't worry about Penny, she definitely benefits from the relationship.

Carys' affections are not limited to Penny.  Any dog Carys sees is subject to a raucus chorus of "Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"  This is not limited to real dogs.  We hear this song often!  One of her favorite things to do is to give Penny treats.  Though she's not as verbal (at least in proper English) as some kids her age, she definitely thinks she's saying the right things.  She will put her little hand out (our sign for Penny to sit) and say something that inflected sounds like a command.  Then, she gives Penny her treat and says something that sounds a lot like "good girl!"  as she pats her on the back.  Fortunately, Penny is an infinitely patient doxie.  It took Carys a while to understand the word 'gentle.'  Now, if we could just keep her out of Penny's food and water...

So, in summary, she's still a little peanut, but she sure is a fun one!

What Has Been Up

Well, there went July, huh?!  You would think that my lack of posting would be due to lack of activity.  But strangely enough, we've actually had many fun adventures over the past couple of months.  I'm going to do my best to get this online scrap book up to date.

~~~~~~Wavy Going Back in Time Lines~~~~~~

So, back in May, we celebrated John's birthday.  We are kind of big kids at heart around here.  We love zoos and theme parks.  So, for John's birthday weekend, we decided to take Cora to Sea World for the first time.  For some reason, we thought it would not be crowded because school was still in session.  Yeah, that was definitely a bad assumption!  Thankfully, we left the bebecita with Yiayia and Dado.  I doubt that she would have handled the heat and the stroller all day.  Here are Cora and I at the entrance to the park.

We got there shortly before the Shamu show was to start.  So, we headed into the arena to see it.  Cora wasn't too sure about the whole situation, but by the time the show started, she was enjoying the spectacle.  It was funny to listen to her practically cackle when the orcas would do the tricks.  

 After the show she wanted to take a picture with the Shamu statue.  She insisted to stand right in front of Shamu, so this was the best picture we could get.  (Note the map rolled up in her hands.  She insisted on 'reading' and carrying that map all day.  Actually, we still have the map.  And, she will get it out to play with often.)

After the show, we walked by the roller coasters.  Cora really wanted to see them, but she also wanted to make sure that we knew that she was 'too big' (her words) to ride them, lol!  We even took her to the Sesame Street Bay of Play where they have kid sized rides.  Not interested in that either.  Believe me, you cannot convince her otherwise.  (I think she gets that stubborn streak from her father. ;-)

Instead of the rides, we took in the next show, Azul.  This is the show that combines the marine animals with Cirque du Soleil type acrobatics.  It was really enjoyable.  Cora liked seeing the beluga whales and selected a plush one as her souvenir.  

After lunch, we saw the penguins and some other animals.  Then we played on the playground before going to the sea lion show.  Here we are sweaty and tired waiting for the show to start.

 It was a really cute show, but I don't think any of us enjoyed it as much as the others.  By that time we were hot tired and ready to go. I am glad we did the season pass option.  Cora definitely wants to go back again. (Some others in the family want to, too!)

Cora's Kidisms - Danielle Steel Edition

A few weeks ago, Yiayia bought Cora a Ken doll.  She felt bad that all the princesses had no boys to dance with.  This particular Ken doll has blonde thick hair and is in total Australian beach attire.  Cora christened said doll 'Patrick' after I listed every (EVERY) single (SINGLE) male name I could think of.  So, I was pretty disappointed when Patrick turned up missing shortly after that.  Well, much to Cora's delight, Patrick returned this past weekend.  He must have been on walk-about.  Apparently, Cora's Belle doll was pretty excited to have Patrick back.  Witness the conversation that Cora orchestrated between Patrick and Belle:

Belle:  Oh, Patrick, I've missed you!
Patrick:  You missed me?
Belle:  Yes!  I missed you so much!
Patrick:  Awww!  Come 'ere!  *SMOOCH*

Later, I found Belle and Patrick spooning on the guest bed.

sigh

Birthday Girl!

Cora, how is it possible that you are 4?!

Without knowing it, we passed over a milestone last year.  You see, last year, was the last time that you really had no clue about when your birthday was and what to expect on it.  This year, you know that your birthday is June 24th.  You did not hesitate to tell anybody and everybody that fact and that you will be 4 months (lol!) old.  You also informed Auntie Linda that you will be having balloons and chocolate cake for your birthday.  I'm thankful Auntie Linda also informed me of these expectations!

So, Sister, what's new?

You are about to begin reading.  You have been showing signs of readiness for some time now, and we are going to start schooling in the fall.  One of your favorite things to do is to read things for me.  You love to read the box of goldfish, the store signs around town, the stop sign, and your favorite board books.

You love physical activity.  You are learning a lot of new things in gymnastics.  And, now that you are in the next level, you seem to be learning at a more rapid pace.  I guess it's a bit easier to concentrate without mama and bebecita on the floor distracting you.  You also love to run.  You're more of a long distance runner than a sprinter.  And, you can definitely run for quite some time.

This past year, you've gotten in touch with the princess within.  You love princess stories and movies.  You have your own collection of princess dolls that you like to play with. Often, you will dress up in your crowns and princess dresses to play. Not to worry, though, this princess side is just one more facet of your personality.  You still adore dinosaurs.  The other day as you played in your room, you informed me, "This is my best dilophosaurus."  Mmmmkay!

Girlfriend, you love to sing!  I'm excited that you are now old enough to join the children's choir at church.  Starting this fall, you and daddy both will get to go to choir on Wednesday nights.  Your VBS teachers commented to me repeatedly about how much you loved singing and dancing to the music at the worship rally.  I can't wait to see you performing!

You love to talk on the phone.  It doesn't matter who I'm talking to; you always want to get a few words in - even if you don't know the person.  It's funny though because you have come up with your own 'out' on the phone.  You will suddenly say "Gung gong gung gong!  That sounds like the clock. It's getting close to 4.  I gotta go!"  Crazy girl!  I wonder how this skill will translate if you are ever on a bad date!

You crack me up with the way your mind works sometimes.  You are very much a black and white kind of girl.  If I mess up and tell you we are going in Daddy's car, you will insist, "No, it's Daddy's truck!"  You also very much see things in your own special way.  You have many (MANY) toys, but often I will find you playing with a strip of paper or one of your lacing strings.  You will tell me "This is Aladdin and Abu!"  I love your fantastic imagination!

Like Sissy, you're a bit of a petite thing.  You are SKINNY minnie.  I am wondering where your got this metabolism because you can eat 5 donuts in one sitting and still maintain your girlish figure.  We'll find out your exact stats at your well check coming soon, but you are around 30 pounds and around 40 inches.  You are still wearing all of your 3T clothes though the long pants are almost too short.

We are so thankful that God gave us you!  We love you so very much!

18

Sweet bebecita is 18 months today!  People always told me with Cora that the time will go by super fast.  What they don't tell you is that with your second, it's more like warp speed!

So, sweet Miss Carys what is new with you?

You are a little mamacita.  You love your babies.  One of your  favorite things to do is to give your dollies a bottle.  This cracks me up to no end because you were a little turkey as an infant and would never take a bottle yourself.

Like Sister, you love animals and dinosaurs.  You know that dogs say "Woof!"  So, you will hold up Perdita and shout, "Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!"  You also know that dinosaurs 'say' "Rawr!"  What you don't know is that not every other animal says "Rawr!"  I love to watch you hold up one of Sister's giraffes and happily shout "RAWR!!"

You say several words, but only on your terms.  I have a theory about you, little one.  You prefer to wait until you are completely comfortable and confident in your ability.  You took some steps at around 12 months, but you didn't decide to walk until several months later.  It was almost as if you decided to give up crawling cold-turkey.  I have a feeling that one of these days, you are going to shock us with how many words you know.  Until then, these are the words that you use most frequently:


mama
dada
pup-pup
hi
uh-oh
all done (ah duh)
thank you (tachoo)
ball
bath
baby
Perdita (dita)
bye-bye
night night (nigh-nigh)
banana (nana)

You also shake your head no, wave and use the please, milk, and up signs.

Your receptive vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger each day.  You understand almost everything.  It's so fun to be able to give you directions and to watch you follow them.  

You have a very healthy appetite, despite your size.  You and Sister both must have such amazing metabolisms.  You love to eat.  You enjoy trying new things, and you will eat pretty much any kind of fruit.  You also love cheese, eggs, and pasta, not to mention the usual kid favorites like pizza, goldfish, and donuts.  

Strangely enough, you remain quite the little peanut.  At your weight check a few weeks ago, you had finally crossed over the elusive 18 pound mark.  Your weight puts you in the 3rd percentile, and accordingly, you are wearing 9 month size clothing.  The unexpected benefit of this, mon petite pickle, is that you can wear all of the same clothes that Sister wore.  It's fun to see some of those cute outfits again.  

I suppose your diminutive stature has to do with your activity level.  You love to run and climb.  I love to see your little face peek over the pass through when I'm cooking in the kitchen.  You know that standing on the back of the couch is strictly verboten, but you also know that Mama can't resist your triumphant smiling face!

My very favorite thing that you've learned thus far is your prayer hands.  Every night when I put you in your crib, I pray over you.  You've been watching me with your big blue eyes.  Now, when I pray, you fold your hands, too.  It blesses my heart to see you already learning and growing in faith.  

We are thankful for you, sweet bebecita!  You bless us more and more everyday!

Cora's Kidisms - Gun Control Edition

This week, Cora has started inventing toy guns.  I'm not sure where this is coming from considering we are a princess/dinosaur family all the way.  To my understanding, princesses/dinosaurs and guns are kind of mutually exclusive.  Anywho... last night, Cora was chasing John around the back yard with a large stick.  She stopped, pulled the trigger, and made a nice, albeit girly, 'piew, piew' sound.  She then proceeded to yell, "I got you!"  To which John perplexedly replied, "You just shot me at point-blank range!"  Cora's classic response, "Ya!  I just shot you at boink-boink range!"  Permit me a tiny lol.  This kid cracks me up!

Pushin' Cookies

One afternoon when my brother was maybe two or three years old, he was helping my mom make some sugar cookies.  You know the kind that have Crisco and sugar and vanilla and lemon and all kinds of good stuff; the kind that you press with the bottom of a cup dipped in sugar.  My grandparents called around that time, and when they asked Scott what he was doing, he responded, "Pushin' cookies!"  And now, it's hard for me to think of them any other way.

The other day, Cora and I decided to make some pushin' cookies.  She hasn't ever really shown much of an interest in cooking, but this kind of recipe was a good place to start.  She was my expert 'pusher.'

I should add that she chose her outfit.  Yes, my friends, we are in that phase of childhood.  Her go-to clothes are brown boot-cut stretch knit pants. We somehow ended up with three or four pairs of them among the hand-me-downs that were generously shared with us.  She likes to pair said pants with a brown ladybug shirt.  Due to the ladybug shirt being in the clothes hamper, she chose her Christmas tree shirt on this particular occasion.  Mmmmkay.  I guess this is just a case of it all coming full circle.  I had the worst fashion sense as a kid.  I'd like to think I've improved a bit...at least I hope I have.  So, there is probably hope for my little cookie pusher.  At least we know that her cookie sense is well developed.

Wordless Wednesday