Summer fun

Another week in. It was a nice week. The temperatures cooled down to a more reasonable warmth - we could do things outside during the day! On Wednesday, the highlight for Cora was a trip to the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center with some friends, including Kelsie and Lylia. Kelsie, you might remember, is the daughter of my college friends Mark and Lylia. She is three weeks older than Cora, and about two inches and at least 5 pounds bigger. They had a great time splashing together. Cora kept going underwater, a result of her daddy's influence. When they're in the pool together, he encourages her to put her head under, while he holds her.
On Thursday, the highlight of Cora's day was a trip to Valencia Glen Park. Stace rode his bike from work to the park, which is one we'd love to live very close to. Cora wandered all over, slid and swung, and had a ton of fun on a bridge that connected two sides of a jungle gym. A little boy about three years old kept running across the bridge, making Cora bounce up and and down. She laughed so loud and long, each and every time he made the bridge bounce.
On Friday evening, after dinner we went to the mall area, because across the street at the Hyatt there was free music. It's a very popular event in Santa Clarita on summer Friday nights.
The third photo here is when Cora found Stace's bike helmet and decided it was her new favorite toy. She wore it around for quite a few minutes. And lastly, we have photos from Cora's first trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, the kiddie pizza place. Though Cora was wide-eyed and enjoying all the different arcade games, she seemed equally happy walking back and forth up and down a slope between the play area and the restaurant section. That slope was fantastic.

Bob & Stace- Live at The Greek

For my birthday present Lisa got me two tickets
to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at The Greek theatre in Hollywood.

I asked around at work to see if someone would like to come with me but everyone was busy, so I took Lisa along.

It was a fantastic gig. Plant, again, was on top form and Alison Krauss was amazing. She has an incredible voice. The band they played with were all excellent musicians.

The highlight of the night for me was the three Led Zep songs they did, all with a Bluegrass sound.

We took along sandwiches and a bottle Blackthorn Cider which we had before we went in.

While we were eating we saw Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers) turn up and queue to get in. He's a big bloke. I also saw Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) going to the toilet (I was waiting for Lis to come out, not just hanging around outside). A good night for star spotting!

It was a lovely warm night under the stars and a fantastic evening of music. Check out the album Raising Sand to hear something different from the rock legend, Robert Plant.

Happy Birthday, Stace!

My wonderful husband had his 35th birthday on Saturday! We spent a very relaxing day as a family, and he said he really enjoyed it. Stace and Cora headed to the pool in the morning while I made a cake. Stace watched Euro Cup football while Cora had her nap, and afterwards we went to Black Angus where Stace had a free steak dinner (and dessert, see photo!). Also at dinner, Stace and Cora did "cheers" with their drinks, and Cora really liked the bread (two-fisted!). We then drove down to Northridge to check out the cycling gear at REI. Stace is trying to decide how to spend his birthday money.
On Monday, Stace and I will go see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss play at the Greek
Theatre - that's my present to him, and he was properly shocked and thrilled.
The last two photos are of Cora playing at the mall Thursday and Friday. We're having another heat wave (110 degrees, uggh) so we've been playing there, and in the pool and at Hurricane Harbor.
Also this week, we visited with my friend JT. She's in town from England to visit with her newborn nephew and celebrate a family reunion. We had a really nice afternoon together, and Cora was amazingly well-behaved considering she was missing her nap.
Lastly, we have a short video of Cora speaking (listen for the "more" at the end). She has been jabbering a lot lately, saying things like "dibbydibbydoo wittiwittiwoo." She also is starting to imitate us a lot more: she will try to say "flower," "chicken," "cheese," "Somer," "please," and "walk," along with the words she's already been saying: "more," "mama," "Daddy," and "ta ta" (for thank you).

The Wedding

Congrats to Elizabeth and Jerry, my cousin and her new husband!
It's incredible to think she is a married woman; I remember playing with her when she was a tiny girl (we're nearly a decade apart). She's a fantastic young woman and was a gorgeous bride; Jerry is a lucky man. From what we can tell, he seems like a great guy and we look forward to getting to know him better.
Cora was their flower girl, and she did an awesome job, as good a job as we could have hoped for.
When it was her turn to go down the aisle, I led her forward and put her basket in her hands. At first she tripped on the grass, and her foot came out of her shoe, and then she dropped her basket, and the flowers fell out. We got the shoe back on and the flowers back in the basket, and I led her by the hand the first few steps. Then I pointed up the aisle to Stace, who was near the front in the third row, and she took off for him. She is a slow walker, and seemed happy to look around at everyone, who all were smiling at her. When she reached the front, she froze in place. We joked later that I had told her to go up to the front, but I didn't say what to do next. Stace ended up picking her up and sitting her down next to him.
The ceremony was simple and sweet, and the reception was lovely. Great food, a good DJ, and a near food fight after the cake cutting. Typical Elizabeth! She and her new husband had fun pushing the cake into each other's faces (and hair!).
Here are a few photos from the day; the last one was a young guest who was Cora's favorite dance partner.

Spokane trip

Stacey, Cora and I spent the weekend in Spokane, Washington, for my cousin Elizabeth's wedding. It was a short turnaround (we left Saturday morning and returned Monday night), with the wedding rehearsal and dinner on Saturday evening, the wedding on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning left for exploring the woods near the lodge where the wedding took place. These photos are from the area right outside Bear Creek Lodge, the rustic and homey place we wedding guests took over for Sunday and Monday. It's the sort of place that is very busy in the winter with snow sports, and you can easily imagine deer hunters propping up the bar, which had a great selection of beers.
We took a hike Monday morning with Grandma, Grandpa, Melanie and cousin William, and then played in the (cold!) creek before packing up and heading back to the airport.
The scenery was gorgeous, and it would have been great to spend more time in the area.
Cora did pretty well with her two plane trips, but traveling with her is still a lot of work. We had two flights each time, a one-hour trip between Burbank and Oakland, and a two-hour flight between Oakland and Spokane. Cora did much better Saturday, since our flights were in the morning and she was well rested. She enjoyed feeding Stace pretzels. On Saturday night, Cora went to sleep easily since she only had a very short nap on the plane, but she woke up at 11 and slept poorly the rest of the night. She likes her own bed, her own room. She slept better Sunday night, probably because she was so exhausted, but didn't get much of a nap before we were back on the plane Monday late afternoon. She did her share of screaming. She slept well back home Monday, thankfully, and had a long nap Tuesday and went to bed early.
Oh well, we do realize that some day she'll have outgrown all this, and will be a great little traveler who sleeps fine on the road (or at least doesn't cry when she wakes up), and we'll miss our fun-loving toddler.

Friday Night Out

No, we didn't go to dinner and a movie, or to a hot club.
We are parents, after all!
We helped Hot Dog on a Stick celebrate its 60th anniversary. The chain was giving out free hot dogs (on sticks of course) on Friday night at the mall, so we went and got our three freebies (along with lots of other people - see the line). Cora liked hers OK, and ate maybe half of it.
We then played at the mall playground. It was the first time we'd been back since she started walking well (though she did take her first steps in this very playground). She loved it! She was having fun on the little slide, see video.
In the final photo, see Cora enjoying her lunch. She and I were sharing leftover macaroni-with-hamburger, and at the end she wanted to eat out of my dish, with my spoon. I thought she looked really cute.
In other Cora news, she is starting to say more words. She says "more," and today I heard her saying "water." She also is meowing at Somer.

Cora's First Haircut

Adorable, yes. But ready for her turn to walk down the aisle at cousin Elizabeth's wedding Sunday? Not so much, especially since we can't count on Cora to keep a clip in her hair.
So, we decided it was time for Cora's first haircut today. We went to Gumball Alley, a local place that specializes in kids' hair cuts. Lots of toys and entertainment. She was a very good girl and enjoyed sitting in the car-chair, holding the steering wheel and watching the cartoon on the TV in front of her.

All done!

And a shot of the back. The lady trimmed Cora's bangs and evened out the back a bit, to take away her little mullet. She then gave Cora a little pony tail on top and put in some flowers. So, when we take out the pony tail, her bangs will look a bit thicker. Doesn't she look more like a little girl and less like a baby?
The salon took a photo, printed it and put it in a little "My First Haircut" card with a taped-in bit of her clipped hair.

16 months

Cora is 16 months old. Where has the time gone? Here she is at her checkup last week (for her 15-month, officially - I was a little late scheduling it). She was 20 pounds 6 ounces, which drops her down to the 14th percentile (meaning she's smaller than 86% of baby girls her age). Her length/height was 30 3/4 inches, still in the 60th percentile, and her head circumference remains in the 80th percentile. Dr. Brockett said her walking looks just fine, so her ankle problem in April has apparently had no lasting effect.

Hurricane Harbor, here we come

We've decided to take full advantage of Hurricane Harbor this season, and bought season passes this weekend. On Sunday, after church and nap, we headed over for a few hours and had a great time.
Here's Cora in her swim diaper, sun-shielding rash guard shirt, water hat (which didn't last long) and sandals (which didn't work well - we'll have to get some true water shoes for her).
Cora was excited to be at the park, pointing to everything and smiling from the moment we walked in. She wanted to be close to Daddy, especially in the beginning, but grew more and more comfortable with the water.
After a bit of playing, time for a drink. Cora also was very happy to practice her walking around the perimeter of the wet playground.
Time to go home - Cora didn't want to leave, so we had to take her out like this. Well, not exactly. But putting her in the bag did get her to stop screaming after Stace picked her up when it was time to go. She didn't want to be picked up, as she was very happy to walk at her own pace, and she was more than happy to let us know her feelings.

Fearless

Cora now spends her time around the house playing with Somer or wandering. She is really enjoying her new walking ability, and I find her just walking around. She also will carry things around, something she struggled to do while on all fours.
Here you see her in the chair Nan and Pop got her; she can now get in and out by herself and we've found her a few times recently sitting down reading to herself. Today, I had a pile of clean diapers on her floor and was preparing to put them away when I noticed she was busy with them. She was taking them, one by one pretty much, over to her chair and making a new, neat pile. When she had finished, I couldn't bear to undo her work, so on the chair they have stayed. It helped out, as I was about to vacuum her room. One thing about Cora, she is not frightened of anything. The vacuum, my hair dryer, the blender - I sometimes expect her to be scared, but she never is.
Cora also likes to get out her books and read them. As soon as you put them all away, she has them out again. If I'm sitting by the computer, or on the floor with the laundry, she'll often bring me a book to read her and then settle into my lap.
A new problem with her better standing ability - she is now able to get into the trash can. We keep two trash cans in our pantry, one for trash and one for recycling. The other day I found her taking trash out of the trash can and putting it in the recycling bin. She really enjoys sorting things!
Cora likes to give kisses these days. Her version of a kiss is to say "muuuh" and put her mouth up close to the object of affection. Somer is still her main object of affection,but she also has been kissing her toys a lot. Sometimes she even kisses us, or the phone if she hears a voice she recognizes and loves. She also likes to lie next to (or on) Somer on the floor and pet her while she gives her kisses.
It's been a pretty normal week so far. Stroller Strides, playing at the park, etc. On Friday Cora has her 15-month well check appointment with the doctor, a bit late as she's almost 16 months.

Cancer Walk - and we ALL walked

On Saturday we participated in the Santa Clarita Valley Relay for Life, which raised about $500,000 for the American Cancer Society. Many organizations and companies set up booths, including Stacey's work, and there was food and live music. Above are our "luminaria" for our beloved grandparents who passed away from the disease. (They had tiny candles and sand in them, and in the evening the candles all were lit. You can see a photo here.)
Cora took the opportunity to practice her walking, and she improved by leaps and bounds in a single afternoon. In the videos that follow, you can see her practicing by pushing her stroller; practicing and getting back up on her own; and finally, cooling off after a warm afternoon and sharing with her Daddy.





In the past two days, she's improved in her walking even more. She now toddles around the house, taking 7 or 8 steps, falling, standing up on her own without any help, and toddling off again. It's a great milestone, and it certainly is time for her to be walking, but we can't help but be a bit ... hmmm ... wistful, I guess, that she is truly not an infant anymore. She's been a toddler for the past few months in many other ways, but now it's official.