"NO"... it isn't all bad

Tonight I was at a Schottland Scholar event and Bill Finn mentioned to one of the mentors that I am growing my own personal batch of Schottland Scholars. I joked, "Yeah, I'm making the class of 2031!" As soon as I said it my heart dropped. In 2031 Cora will be 21 years old, and our new baby will be a college sophomore. If life goes as it should, Landon and I will be 50-year-old empty nesters! We'll be the people in that car commercial that the college kid is worried about. Yikes!

There are so many cute Cora moments that I do not want to forget. If I write them down here so our friends and family can see it, then it will be written down so I can see it when I am old and gray and she is at College (hopefully) bringing friends to our house for long weekends.

The bad news is, Cora had a stomach bug yesterday and had to stay home from school today. The good news is, Cora had to stay home from school today and it was my turn to spend the day at home with her! Cora and I were playing with a toy on the couch when Pearl walked into the living room and began sniffing at some of her puzzle pieces (in the middle of the living room). Cora quickly scooted off of my lap and (arms flailing) ran towards the dog yelling a sharp, "NO!". The kid knows how to use the word, and I am proud to say, Pearl cowered in response. You go girl! Tell that doggie who is boss!

For a while, I thought that she was saying "NO" inappropriately to us. I worried it was something that I would soon have to address. Over the last couple of days we've realized that when Cora gives the sharp "NO" in response to our sharp "NOs", it isn't directed at us as much as it is her own verbal warning to herself. For example, today she approached the TV console and began looking at the buttons. She turned, looked at me, and said, "No?". When I replied, "Uhuh, do not touch the buttons" she turned around, looked at the TV console, gave a sharp "NO!" then spun and walked back towards me, arms spread and face grinning, ready to be greeted for a hug.

In the bathtub, we like to play a game where we line up the squirty toys, then ask her to find the duck. Admittedly, we started this game with 4 ducks and only 1 other squirty toy, but we've worked up to only 1 duck and several squirty toys. She gets it, and "duck" is now one of her words. Other words: Pearl, ball, Mama, Dada, and (our favorite) good gurl. A good game of chase can entertain her for hours (or 15 minutes, which in Cora terms, is practically hours), and she loves to play the game where we all pass the big bouncy ball back and forth. She laughs especially hard when all 3 of us (Cora, Mommy, & Daddy) come in for a big group hug, and she is starting to give "kisses" by opening her mouth and pressing her lips against our faces (although she consistently avoids daddy's face when he hasn't shaved).

I am not sure what we did with our time before Cora...