Five years later

Cora has a new friend. Introducing Monkey, who likes to give her a big hug, as you can see. Walmart had a choice of Monkey or Dog, and she picked Monkey. When we attach Monkey's tail, Cora and Mummy or
Daddy can hold on to the end. It's been very handy already, as Cora loves walking and staying out of strollers and shopping carts.
The second photo shows Cora after Stroller Strides, borrowing her little friend's sunglasses. I thought the way she stuck them on her head looked really cute.
The next photo is from the date Stace and I had to celebrate our 5th anniversary. A year ago, I had high hopes of going away for the night on our own for the occasion, but moving and hoping to buy a house put a wrench in that plan. Plus, Cora hasn't been sleeping well so it wouldn't work for her to keep anyone else up all night! We had a very nice afternoon, going to a new shopping center in Glendale called The Americana at Brand. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and meandered through the stores, something we don't get to do when we have Cora.

Speaking of Cora not sleeping, we might have cracked the problem. The last photo shows Cora helping Stace - she's getting really good at climbing. He is taping up cardboard to divert the air conditioning vent, so it no longer blasts her during the night. She slept through the night the following two nights, and we're crossing our fingers that it continues on. We were getting to that short-tempered point of fatigue, and that's a very bad combination when you're with a tantrum-prone, strong-willed little girl all day.
On the housing front, we have put in an offer on the house we looked at Friday. I think we're both at the point where we'll get excited about a particular house when we actually have a sale agreed. This will be the fourth house we've bid on, counting a couple from when we were in escrow in April. The video (and top photo) is from a walk we took around the neighborhood on the paseos.