Mixing Bowls & Wedding Showers

I'm tossing a little of this and a little of that into this post... much like Cora with her mixing bowls!

I have no clue what we were doing here. It looks like I had just gotten home from work - maybe this was the day that Landon kept Cora home sick? The pic below: typical for our house. I'm getting mauled by Cora, Pearl is trying to get in on the fun.

Another typical pic - Cora and her sidekick Pearl.

At our house, and especially at our Mimaw Eb's house, we played a game called "Old Maid". It looks like Cora might have been practicing her facial expressions for the game here.

I am not sure why Landon was getting Cora's dirty look here...

Pearl is NOT allowed in our kitchen, so she stands at the door and cranes her neck in, seeing if she can find anything interesting. The thought of Cora cooking on the floor was too much for good ole' Pearl. (Mom - I promise that these mixing bowls went through the dishwasher before I put them back in the cabinet!).

We LOVE the apron! Thanks, Tim & Amy, for the birthday present.

Cora and I headed to Kentucky for Aunt Bum & Matt Rat's wedding shower.

When we were kids, our last stop on Christmas Eve was always Mimaw & Papaw Hill's to open presents. Summer and her parents ALWAYS got there before us. When we pulled into the driveway, Summer would be standing at the basement sliding glass door jumping up and down excited for our arrival. By the time we came in, she would be nearly gushing with excitement over opening presents. I see a little of that little Bummer here in this picture :)

Cora (with Mia), wearing the dress from Julie & Ellie specifically for The Apple Festival. Thanks Julie!

This little boy is Matt Brown & Amy Collier's first cousin's kid. Landon commented that it looked like they were about to arm wrestle in this picture...

But he was hoping that Cora knocked his socks off when he saw this picture!!!

A quick interlude for presents: Matt was telling Summer what all of these cooking utensils were. Don't worry, Bum, I didn't know how to use many of them when I got married, either. Now, I am an old pro at fixing fried apples. You'll get there...

Uhoh. They are back.
Cora: I'd better not sit next to you - my Daddy will get mad!

Little boy: She smells good!

Cora: I'd better get out of here!

Uhoh.

Cora gave him the shoulder block (good girl!).

Cora: Daddy, I told him to get outta here!!!
They were so cute playing together.

Cora was busy looking out the window at Dad and Mom's. I didn't capture it, but Dad snuck out the door, crawled onto the roof, and came across so that he was right outside the window. She loved it!

We went to church with Mimaw Iris.

Tate O'Brian (with Robbie, Autumn, & Lily) came for a visit.

Oh I love Mia's cooking!!!

From this pic, I don't think she is ready to feed herself yogurt yet!

We were REALLY late for church (but did our weekly walk in with the Groeber's), so this was the best pic I could get. Marion & Jerry got Cora this outfit when she was a newborn baby.

Cora found the newspaper recycling bag.

"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...

If Cora doesn't want to share her daddy...

If you watched Modern Family this week, then you'll know that Cam & Mitch are trying to adopt a second baby, and that their older child Lilly is not excited about "Sharing her Daddy". I captured a few Cam & Lilly moments around our house this weekend...

Cora has a love/hate relationship with the vacuum cleaner. She is super curious - but she isn't a super big fan. Landon was using the shop vac on the back porch - Cora wanted to be nearby the whole time, but insisted on a good cuddle, too!

 This one takes the cake. That is right - that is my baby sitting on my husband's shoulders while he is working on the computer in the office.

This one is from a few weeks ago when Aunt Heather was here. Did I mention that she LOVES Aunt Heather's homemade blueberry pancakes?

 She makes this face a lot, especially when she really likes something she is eating. It is a pirate face, like she is saying, "Aye Aye this is good!".

 Landon and I getting ready to go on a rare date for my birthday. Huge surprise for me! We ended up on a patio on Shem Creek where Landon had gathered a bunch of our friends!!! What a great night!

Last weekend we spent the weekend at Landon's Dad's and Stepmom's house. It is our annual "holiday" get together with the Gainesville family for the Florida/Tennessee game. Cora's t-shirt says "Daddy loves me more than football" (a bday present from Cousin Mark in Ohio). It was the perfect shirt for the day... we ended up pulling Landon away from the festivities for our first family trip to the ER. Cora must have had a little infection (she had a low-grade fever), and like she has done before, she crouped in reaction. We spent a lot of Friday night in a steamy shower, but her croupiness was MUCH worse on Saturday night. More in a second on that...

Dressed so cute for the UT game!
That is a set of beads around her neck with a huge Power T charm.

 Have I mentioned that I think her bum is adorable in these skinny jeans?

 With Jen & Baby Coop at the tailgate.

At the tailgate with Uncle Mike & Aunt Anna.

Playing with Uncle Mike. Not long after this, we put Cora to bed and her croup flared up again. It was to the ER for us!  The next day she was all better, and quickly on her way to recovery.

 Every kid needs a good nap in the armchair with their Bopper.

 Yes, Great Grandma Lois! I would love to play with your baby dolls!

This weekend we spent some time trying to choose a new up-do for Aunt Bum's wedding. Aunt Bum, what do you think about these styles?

 Jill-Bob and Eyla sent the CUTEST new toy for Cora. She looked so big playing with it today.

We say it all the time - she is growing up too fast! For a while, she has been crawling herself up the stairs. We always hold on to her, and she seems fine with that. But today, for the first time, she tried to break-free to do it herself. Little Miss Independent has stolen our hearts!

Binky Hoarder

We've let Cora develop some bad habits, and we vowed to start working on these after she turned one.

This week, we are switching from formula to milk, and reducing her consumption of dairy to 20 oz a day.
After her bottle sleeves run out, I do not plan to purchase more. Goodbye bottles. Hello sippy cups.
Next, we'll take away the binky.

Although she still gets the binky at naptime and bedtime (and at the dr's office this past Wednesday), we've really been working on not letting her run around with the binky in her mouth. I think that she recognizes what is happening, because she seems to value her binky even more than she did before. This morning, when I went to get her out of her crib, she was sitting up grinning when I walked into her room. I leaned over and we coo'd to each other for a couple of minutes, then I reached down and plucked the binky out of her mouth, saying "We don't need this ole' thing all day!". Cora's response? She had another binky ready in her hand, and she immediately plugged it into her mouth.

My little binky hoarder.

Aunt Heather is still in town, so we were treated to made-from-scratch fruit-filled pancakes this morning.
I ate one.
Cora ate two.

We barely dodged the "N-O" bullett

In several recent posts, I've talked about Cora's first consistent word, "Good Girl".
Boy were we lucky! One more week and her first consistent word would have been the big "N-O"!
For about 2 weeks, we heard her little voice almost constantly sing-songing "Good Girl" as she went about her business.
Towards the end of last week, there was a transition. When she approached an object that she knew she wasn't supposed to approach, she would get close then declare "NO", then walk away sing-songing "Good Girl".
This week, she just goes straight to "NO" and sticks with "NO".

Take the binky out of her mouth: "NO"
Put her in or take her out of her high chair: "NO"
Move her away from an open cabinet or fridge: "NO"
Pass her off to another person: "NO"
Say that something isn't a mouth toy: "NO"
Take her out of the bath tub: "NO"

Sometimes it's appropriate, other times it isn't. This past weekend Grandma M let me know that she had been greeted with a strong "NO". What can I say? This month we are teaching her the word "NO". Maybe next month we'll work on when it is appropriate to use it...

Today, we started something new. When she says an adamant "NO" we all respond in an adamant "YES!!" So far, she just looks confused...