October was FUN!

October was fun! That's all I have time to write. Enjoy the pics!

October 2009

You're so pretty mommy.

Tonight I was tucking Cora into bed and while I sang her a song she was caressing my hair and tucking it behind my ear, just the way Chad and I do to her. She’s never done that before, so I was very touched by the sweetness. And mid-song she looked at me sweetly and said, “You are so pretty, Mommy.” And smiled. I don’t know how much of it was her own thought and how much of it was just mimicking something I often tell her, but it made me blush anyway.

Thank you for asking so nicely!

Well, Cora may not be potty trained, but she is quite a young lady sometimes. Tonight I gave her some homemade grape juice our friend Aimee had made from her own vine. Cora was drinking the juice from her purple sippie cup, but you'd think she had just sipped from a crystal goblet by the way she paused and said, "Mmmm. This is really tasty, Mom."

After the juice she asked if she could have a banana. I gladly peeled one for her and gave it to her, but she turned it down. I tried a few different techniques to get her to eat it so she wouldn’t waste it, but she continued to decline—even after a time out. So finally I said, “Cora, will you please take a bite of your banana?”

She looked up at me and said, “Mom, thank you for asking so nicely.” And she took a bite.

If only it were that easy every time!!!

Another funny one she's done a couple times recently is wait for help. If she asks me for something and I tell her, "Just a minute, Cora" then she respectfully responds with, “O.K. You just let me know when you’re ready, Mom.” And she'll walk off and do her own thing. This coming from a 2 year old who ordinarily throws a tantrum under such a circumstance--it's quite a hoot. I'm not sure if it's genuine or if she's just experimenting with being a "big girl" like mommy, but it's really something else. If I didn't know that she was two, I'd almost be convinced that she respects the fact that I'm busy and will get to her at my earliest convenience. But I think she's just trying on mom's shoes a lot lately. And it gets us rolling.

If that's not enough, this afternoon she put herself to bed on her own. I was finishing up Mary's diaper when Cora walked in asking for a new blankie, which I gave her. She then disappeared into her room and shut the door, so I set Mary down to go spy on Cora and she was taking her shoes off and saying, "Good night everybody. It's time for me to go to bed!" She tucked herself in bed and that was that! She's going off to college next week, so it's a good thing she got that skill down.

Cora-isms

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Summer End 2009

1. At random times during the day Cora holds up three fingers (counting them very deliberately) and says, "When my free, I can get a birfday time!" (she says "my" instead of "I'm"). Cora is pretty excited to turn three next year. When people ask her how old she is, she says she's three.

2. (The missionaries for dinner):
CORA: "Where did daddy go?"
MOM: "He went to the store."
CORA: "No, he went to feed the missioMaries (with an "m")."
MOM: "That's right. He went to meet the missionaries at the store so he could give them money for dinner."
CORA: "But we're gunna eat teeter totters for dinner."
MOM: "Yes, we're having tater tots for dinner. But you've been sick so we don't want the missionaries to come here and get sick too."

3. Cora is trying to make her sentences longer these days. She thinks it makes her sound like a big girl. The other morning I told her we were going to do a fun activity together pretty soon and she said, "Oh my goodness! That's just so beautiful and strong!"

I had to try really hard not to laugh at her efforts to sound grown up.

4. Whenever we have pickles with anything, Cora says, "I love pickles. I love to eat pickles, mom!" But when it comes time to actually try one, she turns her nose up.

5. After watching the garbage truck drive away the other day, Cora said, "When my a big girl, I can drive a garbage truck!"

That's right, Cora. Dream big.

6. The best one of all: Yesterday we were watching General Conference and she noticed the Salt Lake Temple on the screen and said, "When my a big girl, I can go to the temple!"

That's right, Cora. Dream big.

The main focus around here is Cora being a big girl, if you hadn't gathered.

She is almost there. As of now, she officially:
1. Sleeps in a big girl bed
2. Buckles her big girl shoes all by herself
3. Sits in a big girl booster seat in the car
4. Entertains Mary
5. Can drink out of a cup without the sippie top

The only things left on the list to be an official big girl are

1. Not sucking on her blankie anymore. She's slowly but surely getting there.
2. Potty training, which is around the corner...once that's complete, I think we're going to reward her with new butterfly wings, since that is her favorite game (being a butterfly).


On Mary:

Mary loves to giggle (at Cora mostly). She thinks everything Cora does is either fascinating or hilarious. Which warms my heart, to be certain.

She may only be 4 months old, but she already has a sense of pride and shows it unmistakably. Yesterday she was having trouble getting a burp out, but when she finally got it out she looked up at me and smiled and wiggled as if to say, "I did it!" so I said, "Good job, Mary! You did it all by yourself!" which only made her smile bigger and wiggle faster and giggle more.

She's already getting curious about food at the dinner table, so I am sure to let her inspect lots of different things with her tongue. It's funny to watch the reactions on her face.

She's had a yucky diaper rash this week that has broken the skin, and I hate to wipe it clean but I have to do it. She doesn't cry, but just gasps over and over until it's done. Then just smiles at me like she appreciates me torturing her. Crazy kid. I think I'll go get some thicker ointment, despite her smiles.

I've gotten on a homemaking kick, and I'm pretty sure it's here to stay. Recently I learned how to make yogurt, granola bars and homemade bread. My mom did the honors of giving me my first bread-making lesson. It was fun, especially since we grew up on homemade bread, so it brought back lots of memories of freshly sliced bread, warm from the oven, with butter and honey on top. There is NOTHING like that memory. So I thought I'd make some wonderful memories for my children as well--all the while eating a little healthier and saving a little money to boot.

I love play group. Lots of great friends, good advice, fun laughs, and other kids for Cora to play with. We're a pretty tight little group. Only a few of us, but we're stalwart. We've got the autumn all planned out with weekly activities for the kids to do. Cora just loves it. She knows all the kids' names and talks about them during the week. They even share water bottles at the park, much to our chagrin. This week half of our kids got colds and none of us know who was the originator. I think it was Cora, but I'll never tell.

Chad starts bowling league today. This summer it's been softball, which would have been fun except for the fact that he pulled a hamstring in the beginning of the season and a groin after that. But he stuck with it and healed up nicely on both accounts. He made some nice hits and did some fancy fielding regardless. There's no stopping the Chadster.

But at the end of the day, the most important thing we need to remember as a loving and devoted couple is that I usually beat him at Yatzee.

Polka dots

Cora put polka dot stickers on my legs yesterday, and I guess not all of them came off in the shower. How do I know? Because I got a massage today and the lady was pulling one off of me. I told her the story behind it and she got a good chuckle.

Mary is not an infant anymore!!! She's turning into a regular baby in no time flat. It's soooo sad, and soooo cute and fun all at the same time. I just wish I could freeze frame her forever. But I'm excited to see what kind of kid she'll be.

You just have to believe me when I say, she smiles and giggles all the time. We all feel so flattered when we walk by her or pay attention to her because she gives us such a grand smile and wiggles her legs and flaps her arms in glee. To think that will end someday breaks my heart!

The New Science of Thank You

I remember my aunt asking me about six months ago why I thank God for my blessings. I can't remember what I said, but as far as just being thankful in general, I now have an official response, though it's kind of selfish: I want to be more optimistic, more energetic, more enthusiastic, more determined, more interested, more joyful, have fewer illnesses, get more sleep, and be more helpful. Among other things.

Tonight Chad's dad gave a lesson on being thankful, and his material came from a publication that is unfortunately declaring bankruptcy: Reader's Digest. We've heard it all before--being thankful makes you happier about your life--but in October of 2007 Reader's Digest published the results of a fascinating scientific study done on thankfulness, and the story is amazing. If you'd like to read the article, click here.

To bring God into the picture simply adds another dimension of meaningfulness, trust and peace in life, but at the very least, thankfulness breeds a happy heart. It's just as President Hinckley advises in his "Be Attitudes:" Be Thankful!

Divide into 3

Sometimes I wish I could divide myself into 3. Just for the month. Or maybe for the year.

Or, actually, maybe just for life.