A horse and carriage ride

Our beloved Dr. Candy happens to date one of the best-known Charleston Carriage Drivers (there is a whole career around Charleston Tour Guiding - I'm adamant that when my kids are grown, if we still live in Charleston, I am going to take the tour guide test and do walking tours). He stopped by one morning to take the Seashells for a spin around campus. Cora was ecstatic!

That's Dr. Candy in the front. She's always smiling and is wonderful with the kids, so this picture is kind of funny. 

Eliza, Maive, & Luca. 

Mommy & Cora. October 2013.

Cora didn't like to get too close to the pony, but she and Sona stopped just before we went back in the gate to let me get this pic. Do you see Cora's cheek? This must have been the day after the dorn party. If I remember correctly somebody put a stamp on her face and it took a few days to get it off. She looks so rosy!

I'll get to go on the Seashell pony ride again next year with Quinn.

Halloweening it, college style

One of the dorms at the College hosts a trick-or-treat party for the kids of faculty and staff. Landon was in class; I loaded up the girls and went. We met some friends there, but it was so chaotic we could hardly see each other. Thank goodness one of the assistants from Cora's preschool was there, and quickly took-over Cora and escorted her around to see her friends' activity stations. There was so much fun to be had - I don't know if I could have kept both of them moving in the same direction.

It took Cora an entire dorm floor to figure out that if she said "Trick-or-Treat", she would get candy. Once she caught on, she was hooked!

We snapped this pic before we left - clearly they thought this party was fun!

Down on the Boone Hall Farm

I just did a glance through the October blog posts to see if I ever posted these pics. I didn't find these pics... but I found pics from June. Hopefully by the time the kids sit down to look through these blog albums, they'll have little babies of their own and understand my shortcomings. Ha!

We went to the Boone Hall Farm with some friends from Miss Aimee's in October. 

It was Quinny's first play-date. The big siblings were the tag-alongs. The date at Boone Hall was planned standing in Quinny's classroom with the moms of Quinny's friends. Some of Cora's friends tagged along, because they are older siblings of the kids in this room. 

Quinny's First Quinn-centric Playdate! October, 2013.

Here, with Lily Grace

I love Quinn's face here.


Addison, Tanner, Cora, Quinn. An attempt for a group picture. There were 4 other kids who did not make it in this pic.


With Olivia.


Pardon my full series of pics --- I was trying to get a pic of each of the kids sitting on a pumpkin.


It wasn't going so well.




Then Dave Elliott got Cora riled-up. I love the pics that resulted! This is my little buggy!

Quinn wasn't as entertained by Dave.


Tanner.


I was trying to get Cora's shoes off to go in the jump castle. Quinn ripped hers off, climbed right past us, and wiggled in before I could catch her. I had to crawl in after her when more big kids came in. She was perfectly happy sitting in the middle getting flung all over the place and cackling.


Waiting for our turn to ride the ponies. I didn't get a pic of us actually on the ponies... I had two toddlers to bounce back-and-forth between.
Addison, Jamison, & Cora.


This slide seemed HUGE. Cora ran straight for it, no hesitation, and down she went. I managed to keep her from going to the even higher slide (you can see that one up to the left).


Doesn't she look really high up.



Then, Quinn insisted on following. I didn't get a pic of her coming down - a friend caught her at the bottom and I sent her from the top. Quinn did NOT think this was too big for her. She would have done it again.


But we had animals to pet.


Quinn and her friend Zoey.



Cora, Lilly Grace, and Quinn.



Jamison & Olivia with Mommy Melissa


The Boone Hall hayride is really cool! It's a lot of farm with a tad bit scary.


Addison and Jamison and Lilly Grace.


Cora, Quinn, & Mommy. October 2013.


And, there were more animals to pet.


Quinn really liked the pigs.


Quinn & Lily Grace.


Quinn was finished with the goats.


Jamison. Such a sweet friend!


Cora did not want to hold this bunny, but was happy to pet it while Jamison held it.


My little Quinn could barely hold her eyes open by the time we left. She was asleep before we even got out of our parking spot.



"I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor..."

I'm a lollipop

Landon is WAY better at getting our kids to do what he wants them to do when he wants them to do it. He argues superior parenting skills; I argue it's because he's in class 4 nights a week so he's a novelty when home. Here is a typical Cora / Landon convo.

Landon: Listen Buster!

Cora: I'm not a buster, you're a buster.

Landon: ok. I'm the buster you're a sucker!

Tonight Landon got Cora out of the shower and was wrestling her into pjs before dinner (she was suspicious). 

Landon: listen buster we're putting on these pull-ups.

Cora: I'm not the buster you're the buster. I'm the lollipop.

Is there a difference between a sucker and a lollipop? It may be time to start talking about words that sometimes mean the same thing but not always.

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Quinn has gotten really cute about coming up, getting right in your face, and saying a long drawn out "Hiiiii". She'll bend sideways if she can't get right in front of your face. It's really stinking cute.

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Speaking of lollipops, we did their valentines tonight. Cora insisted on writing her name on the backs of the cards; Quinny insisted on eating the lollipops. Three times I caught her climbing on the table to steal one. I finally put a valentine in her class box:

To: Quinn

From: Quinn 

Two next month. Unbelievable.

Sineone asked me today the age of my children.

Cora's solid 3 is easy to admit, but Quinn isn't really 1 anymore. In just 1 month she'll be 2. It's cliche, but where did time and my sweet baby go?

She's acting less like a baby everyday. She belly laughs, and if something is funny she does it over and over and over and over. Big belly laughs.

She knows where to find snacks, and helps herself to the fridge and pantry doors to point out what she wants.

She wants to do everything her big sister does. Everything. When Cora gets asked on play dates now, Quinn is visibly annoyed to not be invited along. (She cries... A lot... When we drop Cora off).

She is talking more. There aren't a ton of consistently discernible words, but there is a constant stream of babble and she repeats almost everything.

This week she saw the blow-up pool alligator hanging in the garage. She started laughing and said "snap that monkey outta that tree". If I didn't already know the favorite song from Cora would I have recognized what she said? No. But since I know the song, that's definitely what she said.

We're constantly hearing "what's that?" And "where's sis?"

The other sign that she's edging closer to two is a major one. When Quinny doesn't get what she wants she flings herself on the ground and kicks and screams. She bites. She pinches. 

And, here comes TWO!

Did baby Jesus get his very own Pope-mobile?

My neighbor Mandy was telling us a Cora story last night, over the Super Bowl.

Back before Christmas, she was walking to her house with Cora and Presley. One of our neighbors had a simple wooden manger scene.

Mary. Joseph. Baby Ina manger in the middle with a arch over his head.

Cora: It's the baby Jesus.

Mandy: yes, it's the baby Jesus.

Cora (matter-of-fact): he's in his car seat. 

Cutting her off at the pass

Nearly every morning, Cora crawls in our bed. She usually sneaks in around 5AM (not long until "wake-up" time), comes to my side of the bed (I'm more sympathetic to her need to cuddle, and I like to cuddle her, too), and gets a lift to the middle, where she falls asleep until we start to get ready, at which time she starts yelling, "It's too bright in there! Turn off the light!" (She isn't the morning-person that I've always been). This happens nearly everyday. We're usually asleep when her head pops up eye level with mine, so I've never noticed what all she brings with her on the journey. I have noticed it's pretty crowded once she joins us.

I say we'll have to get a king bed once Quinn is in a toddler bed and follows suit; Landon says we'll have to reclaim our territory ( he's forever outnumbered by the ladies, so we'll see). 

Last night, she set out on her journey to our room around midnight (aka, she opened her bedroom door). Landon was still awake; he cut her off at the pass (aka, the landing at the top of the stairs) , and redirected her to her bed.

He said the best part was noticing all she'd packed to bring to our bed. A blanket. Her water-filled sippie cup. Her lovie. He thinks there was a beanie boo buried in there, too. 

She was planning for the long haul, I tell you.

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Overheard downstairs.

Cora(demanding): I want a movie!

Landon: listen, buster!

(Cora usually responds I'm not a buster I'm Cora. But this morning)...

Cora (grouchy): I'm an alligator.