Dodgers Win! Dodgers Win!

Obviously, my writing earlier this week about how good Cora was at a restaurant jinxed us for the next time. Here is Cora during a happier moment this week at a breakfast out:
Yes, she is knocking back flavored creamers. When your kid is whining and crying as much as Cora was Wednesday morning, you'll do what it takes to buy a few moments of peace. It was one of those occasions where we really should have just put a couple of dollars down on the table to cover my coffee and left before ordering our food. Oh well!
Stace was off several mornings this week, as he worked a later shift to train one of the night guys. It was a nice change of pace for both of us, and we enjoyed going to the park on two mornings. Cora and I had dinner one night with Elissa and Harvey, and the other two nights at my parents' house, where I kept my dad company while my mom was out of town. Oh, yeah, and watched the Dodgers win TWO playoff games against the Cubbies. (It figures, doesn't it, that for the first Dodger playoff wins in years, we don't have television service???) The games were awesome, and I think I scared Cora with my shouting when Loney and Martin cleared the bases with their big hits. (James Loney hit a grand slam Wednesday night to put the Dodgers ahead, 4-2, and Russell Martin unloaded the bases with a double Thursday night, dealing a knockout blow to the game and, maybe, the best-of-five series.)

In the video below, we have Cora playing. The other afternoon, we found her in her room, singing to herself as she read her books. It was absolutely precious, so I grabbed the camera. Unfortunately, by the time I was back, she had moved on to playing with a different toy. And then she heard the camera turn on, and needed to investigate.


Cora is better at playing by herself lately. She will empty her magnetic fridge letters out of the jar, put them back in, and empty it out again. She occupied herself in the sand at the park for what must have been 15 minutes, scooping and pouring sand into a bucket and dumping it onto herself. (She then would scrunch up her face and say, "Uh oh! Dirty!")
Also at the park, this week Cora managed to climb onto the play equipment and go down the slide, all by herself, without my help getting up the big bottom step, or holding her hand down the slide. She's getting big!

A great meal

Stace, Cora and I took advantage of a free meal coupon offered by a new Japanese restaurant in town on Sunday. It was a nice place, and it would have made a great date night.
Amazingly, I'm pleased to report, Cora was practically an angel during our meal. The last few months, meals out have been few and far between because Cora has been too unpredictable - or too predictably toddlerific. We've spent several meals with one eating and the other pacing out front while Cora ran, and even grabbed our food and made a hasty exit.
So, here we were Sunday, with this great coupon for a free meal soon to expire. I loaded up the diaper bag with snacks and entertainment and took a seat on the patio. I could have left the bag in the car! The waitress brought out a children's water cup with wide plastic bendy straw, and that kept Cora busy for half the meal. She drank, played with the straw, put a chopstick in the straw hole (see photo), and also used a yellow highlighter on the children's menu. Our food was delicious - a shrimp curry for Stace and a chicken and beef teriyaki for me (and Cora).
After dinner we rewarded Cora with a runaround the fake lake, on the bridge she loves to run across back and forth.
Also this weekend, we enjoyed some nice SClarita events - the Street Art Festival in old Newhall, and an Indian Powwow at Hart Park. On Saturday, Stace had Cora just about all day, while I had a girls' day out. Our friend Kelly organized a trip for a few of us to see "9 to 5," the new musical based on the 1980 Dolly Parton movie. It was a great show and a lot of fun. I can't say the last time I spent that many hours out with the girls, away from Stace (not to mention Cora). It's been years! And Stace and Cora had a great day together.

potties and concerts

I love this smile!
Santa Clarita has hosted a couple of big kids consignment sales this month, like giant garage sales.
I found this potty for just $3.50, along with a few other great bargains. Cora likes sitting on her potty. No action yet, but we're just getting her used to having it around and sitting on it.
We're entering a new era with Cora - the era of very little being safe in the path of an upwardly mobile toddler. She has advanced from climbing up onto the kitchen chairs to reach whatever is on the table, to standing on the chair nearest the kitchen counter to get to what we've stashed up there. This morning, she woke up pretty early so I was lying in our bed with her. She climbed down and in a flash was pulling down the fruit from the fruit bowl, which as of a few days ago would have been out of her reach.
In other news, Stace and I had a night out Tuesday when we went to see the Raconteurs play at the Greek Theatre. No photos to show, but it was a great show. Stace is a bigger fan of them than I am, but I enjoyed it too. Stace was disappointed they didn't play his favorite song, Carolina Drama.
We are officially without television again. We were without TV for a few days after moving into the apartment, and had planned to do without because we can't get basic cable in this complex. (The management has a deal worked out with two digital companies, which cost a lot more than what we were used to paying.) But we were offered a great deal for one month with AT&T UVerse, which basically got us super high speed internet and all the channels you could hope to watch, for $30 for one month. Stace loved having Fox Soccer Channel, and I loved having Fox Business Channel so I could watch my favorite financial guru Dave Ramsey. Alas, our month is up and the TV is off now. Time to hook up the DVD player!

Our oldest "couple" friends...

J.T. and Jim were in town from England and we had a great evening together last week. For those of you who might not know the story, JT and I went to Pepperdine together, and Jim and Stace are from the same village. She and Jim met not long after we graduated in 2000, and he came back a few months later to visit, bringing along his mate Stacey. The rest is history. The Neals celebrated their 5th anniversary last weekend.
We got together at the Americana at Brand, where Stace and I went for our anniversary. We knew the shopping center had a fun kids area for Cora...
... who was quite surprised when someone answered her phone call speaking Chinese. (Just kidding - but the number of times she's dialed a random number before I rescue the phone, it's strange that she hasn't reached someone yet.)
Cora also liked watching the fountain water show. (Thanks to Grandpa for taking these photos!)
Cora loves to walk with determination, wherever she goes.

We had a great weekend. Stace got his work's awesome seats to the Dodger game on Sunday, and on Saturday we had a relaxing walk around the neighborhood of a house we're hoping to buy. Our fingers are crossed! If it's God's will, it will all work out.

"Hello?"

Turn up the volume and enjoy. She started saying "Hi" a couple of weeks ago, but Stace really wanted her to say "Hello."

Moorpark Farm Day, Part Deux

We spent Saturday afternoon at Underwood farm in Moorpark, where Cora and I last visited in May.
(If you click this photo and make it bigger, you will see that Cora is pushing the wagon.)
This time, instead of berries, we picked lots of tomatoes, a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper, and one zucchini (courgette). Cora hasn't been much of a tomato fan, but she loved pulling them off the vine (and off the ground, when she was just out of our arms' reach) and stuffing them in.
We enjoyed the free farm animal show, and Cora loved petting all the animals the girls brought out.
Cora also really loved running around, visiting the animals and playing with all the children's toys/activities.

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.

Getting bigger

Here is our little graffiti artist. She found a crayon in my purse while we were playing in the park after Stroller Strides, and went to town on the bench. Obviously she got the idea from using chalk on the bench last week. (If you click the photo, you can get a closer look at her artwork.)
We had Cora's 18-month check-up yesterday, and she is developmentally right on track. The doctor gave me some advice on how to handle her tantrums, her hitting, and her night-waking. She had two shots. Size-wise, she is 21 1/2 pounds, which puts our slender toddler down to the 11th percentile. She is 31 1/2 inches tall, in the 40th percentile, and her head circumference was in the 87th percentile. After the appointment, we went up to Palmdale to visit some of our Valley Press friends, and I was thrilled with how well Cora behaved.
On the house front, we did not get the four-bedroom house we had the offer in on. Another foreclosure has come on the market today, which we'll take a look at. I'll blog about it, if it's worth mentioning again.
The final photo shows a recent naptime - too cute to not post! Cora is taking one long afternoon nap these days, usually lasting 90 minutes to over two hours. In other Cora news, she is getting so good at feeding herself. The other day I shared with her some rice I was eating, and fed her - it struck me that it's been months since I've actually spoonfed her dinner. She uses a little fork, too.

Non-Laboring Day

We had a relaxing weekend for Labor Day, and enjoyed the rest - until early this morning. More on that in a minute.
On Saturday, my friend Elisabeth (a former AV Presser) was in town from Texas, and we spent a great morning together. In the afternoon, Stace, Cora and I went to a Sheriff's Department Chili Cookoff where Cora petted a horse, admired other petting zoo animals and a department helicopter. Then the day went downhill, with Cora breaking into tantrum mode when we got back to the car. The screaming lasted a good 15 minutes. It seems that the move has caught up with her. We resolved to spend a lot more quality time with her, giving her lots of hugs and attention. It's funny to think that a kid who has mom around all the time could suffer a lack of attention, but I admit that has happened here with the busyness of the last few months with the house and moving goings-on.
On Sunday, after church and nap we went to the Aquatic Center, and Cora loved it. On Monday we looked at the house in the post below, finalized our offer, and then enjoyed the afternoon at Hurricane Harbor. After the Harbor, we stopped for frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon, our favorite. Stace ordered the cappucino flavor, and shared it with Cora. Big mistake. Who knew there was actual caffeine in the yogurt? Cora had trouble going to sleep Monday, and then woke up at 2:30 Tuesday morning and never went back to sleep. Neither did we. I finally got Cora out of bed at 5, and Stace got up for work. She went back to sleep around 7:30, and I just put her down for her afternoon nap here at 1:30. I'm hoping to rest up while she's asleep.
The last photo here shows how curly Cora's hair gets when she's hot. Cute, huh?

Househunt

Here are some photos of a house we looked at today that we really like, a four-bedroom near a great park and the paseos. We're going to put in an offer. However, we wouldn't be surprised if it goes for a lot more than we can afford. So we'll see.Kitchen, from rear corner. Big living room is just visible from the doorway.
Kitchen, from front corner
Side patio, with child safety gate blocking off pool in the back yard
Master bedroom
Master bedroom, with walk in closet and bath

master bath

secondary bedrooms


secondary bath

*Note* I'm receiving reports that my Friday evening entry looks like gibberish. I'm reposting the text here.

We're getting used to being in our apartment, and it's just fine and dandy. Hopefully we won't be here too long, but in the meantime we are comfortable here and enjoying a few little things - no more three stair flights, and a direct-access garage! Also, we have a walk-in closet and a walk-in pantry, so there is a decent amount of storage for a small space. Plus, the unit has a washer and dryer, something I definitely appreciate. And we have a good-sized patio and a lot of greenery out front, so Cora has space to run around.
Besides getting unpacked, this week Cora and I went to our first MOPS get-together of the new year. The top photo shows Cora playing with her friend Jordyn, who is a year older than her and helped her with the chalk.
The next photos show Cora rearranging her clothing drawers. She decided her socks should go into my tennis shoes.
Cora seems to be happy in our apartment, though she's been waking up at 5 the past few mornings and she's had trouble going back to sleep. She's also been screaming a lot lately when she wants something. Today at Stroller Strides she decided she wanted to walk while we were exercising, and proceeded to have a big shrieking fit.
In other news, a big congratulations to my sister Melanie are in order. She auditioned for her college's fall production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and won the leading role of Nellie Forbush! I'm so proud of her, and can't wait to see her shine onstage.

Settling in...

...to our new life post-condo-ownership.
We're getting used to being in our apartment, and it's just fine and dandy. Hopefully we won't be here too long, but in the meantime we are comfortable here and enjoying a few little things - no more three stair flights, and a direct-access garage! Also, we have a walk-in closet and a walk-in pantry, so there is a decent amount of storage for a small space. Plus, the unit has a washer and dryer, something I definitely appreciate. And we have a good-sized patio and a lot of greenery out front, so Cora has space to run around.
Besides getting unpacked, this week Cora and I went to our first MOPS get-together of the new year. The top photo shows Cora playing with her friend Jordyn, who is a year older than her and helped her with the chalk.
The next photos show Cora rearranging her clothing drawers. She decided her socks should go into my tennis shoes.
Cora seems to be happy in our apartment, though she's been waking up at 5 the past few mornings and she's had trouble going back to sleep. She's also been screaming a lot lately when she wants something. Today at Stroller Strides she decided she wanted to walk while we were exercising, and proceeded to have a big shrieking fit.
In other news, a big congratulations to my sister Melanie are in order. She auditioned for her college's fall production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and won the leading role of Nellie Forbush! I'm so proud of her, and can't wait to see her shine onstage.

Moved In

Well, we packed up, moved out and moved in.

Moving all the little things and cleaning the condo took twice as long as moving all the big heavy items. I was very suprised.

It was a sad day for me. On top of moving out of our first home, I threw away my surfboard. For some strange reason I had kept the two halves after they were smashed to pieces during our last move.

We are now living in an appartment in Newhall, just down the road from the condo.

Cora and Somer have both settled in well. Cora has slept through both nights we have been there. We had a nice lazy day yesterday, did some shopping and generally took it easy.

The complex we are staying at is on top of a hill and has great views of the Santa Clarita Valley.

There are three swimming pools and a play area that we went to yesterday.

In the evening Cora and I installed a toilet lock on the lid to stop her from chucking stuff in the water.

Packing up...

Stace and I are excited to say, we are selling our condo! May the house-hunt begin! You might remember, we were in escrow initially in April, but that fell through. Our new buyers came to look in July, and we are set to close tomorrow (Friday). We have been busy all week, packing and moving loads of boxes to my parents' "storage facility," the lean-to on the side of their garage. Thanks, Mom and Dad! We will be moving into a small apartment Friday and Saturday, which hopefully will be a brief stay until we find the right house. We are really looking forward to having a third bedroom, a back yard (garden) and a garage where Stace can set up a workbench.
As you can see from the photos, Cora and Somer are helping a lot with the packing. In the second photo, Cora took it upon herself to move all the toiletries we've set aside in boxes into a suitcase. She's also (tried to) pack the cornstarch and baking powder into a box Stace was putting the VCR and DVD player into, and she's removed all my shoes from my shoe storage unit. We noticed Wednesday she was much more affectionate and huggy than she has been recently - a welcome change, but most likely evidence that she's a bit unsure of what's going on. I have told her that we'll be saying "bye bye" to the house, and she will look around and wave.
The last photo shows our treat the other night after an evening of moving activity - ice cream at McDonalds. It was Cora's first time, and she of course enjoyed it greatly.