Have I mentioned that Cora keeps getting cuter?

We've come to the point that I've been looking forward to: the point when Cora's personality is really emerging and she is giving us "Cora-isms" to share with friends and family. Admittedly, it isn't like she is stringing words together (or really saying many words at all). But if you've been around the kid lately, you'll likely agree that she is getting pretty sassy.

A few...

She wants to eat everything that we are eating, and if you try to sneak some food that she can't have by her, she'll shoot a glare in your direction. When she is in a position to (like if she is playing on the floor and I am sitting on the couch eating), she'll crawl over, pull up on your legs, and say "Bite!".

We were eating at Taco Mamacita on Sullivan's with Jose and Jessica yesterday. We had just come from the beach, and I had overshot Cora's lunch by a bit. I ordered a piece of cheese and some beans for her immediately, but the waitress (not familiar with babies?) brought out our salsa, guacamole, and chips first. I started scooping guac onto chips and letting her have it, but was worried that the salsa verde was too spicy. I had Cora sitting on the table right in front of me (maybe I'm not familiar with kids either?), and before I could stop her, she lunged forward and put both hands in the bowl and had one in her mouth. I don't think that she loved it, but she didn't seem too upset either.

She likes to feed us. When eating, she often holds out her food to offer us a bite. Sometimes she'll actually let us eat it. Other times, she jerks her hand back quickly and smiles. This morning, I gave her for breakfast a plum and a peach (which both ended up being a bit sour), a banana, and the soft parts of an everything bagel with some cream cheese (she eats everything, I tell you). When offering me a bite, she consistently let me have the plum and the peach (both items she had deemed to sour), but consistently gave herself the bagel and banana. She gets that behavior from her daddy!

She is a complete and total beach bum. If you've seen her lately, you'll know that her skin has easily become sunkissed. I promise she is wearing SPF 50 for every significant sun outing (for example, I do not put sunscreen on her to go to the mailbox, but I always put it on her if we are hanging in the baby pool or going for a run after 8AM) but she is naturally a little brown berry. She is totally in her element in the ocean's edge, and loves to sit where the water hits her waist, letting the waves wash up against her. She often crawls towards them, sitting down when a bigger one is coming and throwing her hands up in the air. If she deems herself to deep (e.g., if a wave splashes her face a little) she instead squats and holds onto one of us and stands to greet the waves with the same sort of raised hand enthusiasm. She is definitely entertaining the beachcombers.

The same is true at Splash Island. (I am not sure why I never have my camera at the water park, but I usually have too many things to juggle to try to juggle pictures.) We've been to Splash Island several times this summer, and Cora gets more comfortable each time. She puts her face in the water on her own, and is starting to kick her legs behind her when we hold her under her arms. She likes to be set at the top of the baby slide, and then pulled down the slide on her bottom (in fact, when she reaches the bottom and we pick her up to let the bigger kids have their turn, she squirms and lunges for the slide until it is her turn again). She seems to like to sit off to the edge of the medium size racer slides and watch bigger kids come down (for example, when Landon and I took Amy with us last week, she loved watching Landon and Amy organize races between them and two other kids). She also likes to sit on top of two kick boards and be guided around the lazy river (which is really little more than a lazy whirlpool, as it isn't very big). She can only do the lazy river when Landon goes with us - she is too squirmy with me. I think that she is just more comfortable with Landon when in anxiety provoking situations, which is very primal.

She has a new nemesis: the duck that we use to cover the spicket in her bathtub. When allowed to roam free (aka, when not forced to sit in her suction cup seat) she stands, extends both arms, and lets out a tribal yell as she leans in to attack the duck. She lifts it's hat (where bubble bath can be poured in) to see if it has a brain; she turns and twists it to see where the water is coming from, and then she goes in for her kill, tugging it off of its spicket and swinging it in the air.

She has learned to get only 1 puff out of her snack pod at a time (which is a significant advancement in our ability to entertain her - before she would shove her whole hand in, causing them to fall out by the tens). She is standing on her own for 15 to 20 seconds at a time, and when she doesn't think about it, she is able to multitask while standing on her own (drinking from her sippy cup, for example). She has several words that she repeats after us (duck, dog, mmmm), a few that she says on her own (mama and dada, especially when she doesn't like what we are doing), and some that sound eerily like us ("no!" in a very sharp tone. ouch.). If she is fussing in the car, Landon and I both start humming or holding "Ahhhh" for several second. We usually get anyone else who happens to be in the car with us to join us. When we become quiet, Cora, with a very confused expression on her face, is often making the same noise in a very soft voice.

Can you tell how much we enjoy her?


I keep a small clear box of finger nail polish in the floor of my closet. Remind me to move this to the "safety locked" cabinet under the sink...

She loves black beans...

 And sweet potatoes!

 Landon is able to do this, but I never am. Often, I get up with her in the morning, nurse her, then leave her to cuddle with Landon while I put in my contacts. It isn't unusual for me to find her sleeping on his chest. Why does she never do that for me?

If I have high heels in front of my closet, Cora finds them.

She was so sleepy here!

You can't tell it, but she got so dirty while eating that I actually went and changed into a robe to pick her up. My little cuddle bug!

Hello, Cleveland!

We took our first trip to see the Cleveland family 4th of July weekend. I was in Kentucky for a week in June, and Cora and I were scheduled to drive up to Cleveland and meet Landon there (he bought a one way ticket from Charleston). Mia & Poops couldn't stand the thought of Cora in the backseat by herself for 7 hours, so they actually made a Cedar Point vacation out of it, with Dad following behind in his car and picking up mom at the interstate outside of Parma. It made the trip much less stressful. Thanks Mia & Poops!

Cora had been away from Landon for a week - they were very excited to see each other!

And, Cora was a huge fan of Grandpa. They were big buddies all weekend.

I have no clue what they were looking at here...

One of Grandma's neighbors lent us a stroller that she had bought for her grandchildren. Landon tried to argue that the stroller was only a few years old. Moms, stay tuned. I suspect in a couple of pics, you'll agree with my assessment that it was a bit older... (but it did serve the exact purpose we needed, nevertheless!).

I borrowed Grandma's hat all weekend. It was way sunnier in Cleveland than I expected.

We took Cora for her first trip to the zoo. It was a great day all around! Great weather, and a great time with Cora's Great Grandma and Great Grandpa.

And this was how Cora preferred to ride...
The stroller didn't have a 5 point harness, which made me suspect it had to have been at least a decade old (any guesses?). Notice that I captured this picture with Landon holding the stroller and me right next to it, ready to catch our little escape artist if she fell. But typically, Grandpa pushed the stroller (it helped his back a bit to hold onto it), and I would catch a glimpse of a laughing Cora standing and poking her head around the edge of the stroller. There wasn't time to grab my camera as I sprinted through crowds, leaping over small children and knocking over their older siblings to get to my baby!

 Safe in Grandpa's arms!
She's holding "silly bird" - a Christmas present from my cousin Brian. This is one of a few toys that she loves so much that we periodically hide it, only to pull it out right before a big occasion (a trip to the doctor; a long car ride).

 We actually took about 15 shots trying to get a family photo - this was the best we could get. Cora was on the move!

Our little zoo animal spending some time with Mama & Dada on Great Gma & Great Gpa's front lawn.

 Enjoying a steak dinner with Great Gma & Great Gpa (yes, these do look like peas, but I promise there was steak there, too).

 Doesn't this look like a peaceful scene? What a great memory!

It needs to be recorded that Cora didn't sleep more than 3 hours straight the whole time that we were in Cleveland. Most nights, it was more like 45 minute stretches of sleep. I finally made a deal with Landon - I would stay up with her, mostly cuddling her in Grandpa's armchair, if he agreed that I did not have to drive even 1 hour of the 11 hour trip back to Charleston. The deal was made. She clearly thought that her pack n play was meant for play...

Grandma and Grandpa have a little poodle, Charlie. Cora doesn't tend to chase Pearl (although she loves to watch her, and entice her from afar). However, Charlie's size, and Charlie's poor hearing, made Charlie the perfect target for Cora's antics. Cora was like a tiger in the jungle as she stalked Charlie around the house - we really had to keep our eye on her to make sure that she didn't get too close.

Overlooking Lake Erie.

 And downtown Cleveland.

 One of my favorite places in Cleveland was the Westside Market. Fresh fruit, fresh meat, fresh cheeses...

We loved it so much that Landon and I grabbed cousin Marc and returned the next day for a Steve's Gyro. Steve's  has been featured on several Food Network shows, including Man vs. Food.

It is hard to see here, but the amount of meat on the gyro was completely overwhelming. This is the pile of lamb that I took off my gyro before even attempting to eat it... and I was only able to eat about a quarter of mine!

Landon and Marc look a little defeated here. If you know Landon, you know that he is able to eat. A lot. If you know Marc, then you know that he plays football at Kent State (there is even a profile mimicking him on Madden Football!). Needless to say, he isn't a small guy, and he is also known as someone whom people need to cook extra food for when he comes to dinner. But Steve's Gyro beat Landon & Marc!

 This was where they quit...

Cora was unimpressed.

Later, we had dinner at Aunt Paula's and Uncle Thane's house. I should have taken a picture - we ate on the back porch and had THE BEST CORN I've ever head. It was cob grilled, and they swore there was no secret ingredient. It was just really really really good corn.

Cora ran a bit of a fever and ended up falling asleep right after dinner (don't worry - she didn't stay asleep all night, or even for a few hours - that would be absurd).

We hope to return to Parma again soon!!!

In ideal conditions, we were expecting an 11 hour drive back to Charleston on July 3rd. I was prepared for Armageddon with Cora, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. We stopped and had a "rest stop picnic" as we entered West Virginia (left over Steve's Gyros and the strawberry-cherry flavored coke's Grandma packed for us), then stopped again in Charlotte, had a nice sit-down dinner, and took Cora to play on a playground for a bit. She fussed some, but it honestly wasn't that bad. Maybe that's just my perspective... I wasn't driving!

Mia & Poopah Jim's Place

Of course she spent the week all dolled up. Mattie picked this outfit for Cora --- I love that she is covered in ribbons & feathers, but has her football binky stuck in her mouth. That's our girl...

 Dad made a "fort" for Cora out of a tunnel and a big old cardboard box. I don't know who loved it more - Cora or Mattie.

 A neighbor came by with their daughter, exactly Cora's age. Cora thought that she was very cute - and was especially into her bow...

But the moment that my mom picked the other child up, Cora no longer thought she was cool. Cora was across the room playing with another toy, but when she turned her head and saw that Mia had found another cuddle bug, she came "slap slap slappin" as fast as she could go across the room. She didn't cry, but she made it clear that this situation was unaccepatble. She stood pulling on Mia's shorts until the situation was rectified.

Cora found Uncle Hadee. I think that we have another generation with Uncle Hadee as a playmate. Uncle Hadee was my absolutely favorite childhood doll. Little weird, I know.

The Gullett's brought this toy over for Cora and I thought that she was going to be way too young for it. I think that I was wrong... She pretty much took off like this as soon as she got her hands on it.