A Bouncing Birthday Girl

Though Monday was a cold and rainy work day for most in town, it was a very special day at our house. Cora turned two!
We celebrated by taking her to Sky City Bounce House, a fantastic indoor playground with lots for an active toddler (and her parents) to do. It honestly was one of the most fun times we've had with Cora! She absolutely loved it, and laughed and giggled and bounced her heart out. She even got over her concerns about sliding, and went down the big slides with Daddy and the smaller slides by herself.
The price was right, too - just $10 per child, and Stace and I were free!

So... Cora is two. I find it easy to believe that she is two, since she is speaking and understanding so much. But, it's hard for me to believe that Stace and I have a two-year-old, that we have been parents for two years. What a blessing and a joy she is to us!
Anyway, a few tidbits from her life these days: She likes to be a part of things. A favorite phrase right now is "Dora show?" She means, show Cora what you're doing. She often uses it while I'm cooking, so tonight I made dinner with her in her high chair, watching intently. She also says it when we take a photo, so that we show her the camera (ahhhh, these kids growing up in the digital age!), or when I'm looking at something on the computer.
She can count to ten, and sometimes even to 20 with help. She can say most of her ABC's when we sing the alphabet song. She likes to pretend to count things, and she pretends to write letters when she's having fun with a pen and paper.

Her bedtime routine has changed a bit over the last month. Since we got home from England, she no longer wants music on as she falls asleep. So much so, in fact, that we've taken the CD player out of her room. She has a particular book she requires me to read last, before I leave her room ("Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack", AKA "the duck book"), and while I read it, she tends to (inexplicably) stand in her crib and bounce up and down, saying "bounce, bounce, bounce" and giggling.
She has fallen in love with her yellow blanket. She likes to take it out of her crib and carry it around the house, and even into the car (I won't let it go further than the car), and we'll catch her kissing it.
She also really likes the television. Since we haven't had cable service in months, she doesn't watch it very much, so it is a special thing to her. When we went into Sears the other night, she got very excited, pointing and shouting "TV!" at the rows of televisions for sale. She also was excited to see the TV in her pediatrician's office this morning for her two-year appointment. (Which went well. She is down to the 10th percentile in weight, at 23 pounds 6 ounces, and her 33 inches puts her in the 28th percentile.)
Also, medically speaking, Cora now has lots of "boo boos" on her fingers that require concern and attention. Sometimes I can see them - hangnails, usually - and often I can't see them.

Some of our fun time at Sky City...

Partying

Stace and I hosted our first big party on Saturday, to celebrate lots of things - a new house, Cora's second birthday, and my 30th birthday.
Thanks to all who came, in person and in spirit! We had a great turnout, and it was wonderful to see so many of our friends together in one place. Thankfully, the weather held out - though it was beautiful the last two weeks, it poured on Thursday and Friday, and was supposed to pour on Saturday. It was dry at our house all day, so the kids could play on the patio and the adults were able to check out the yard.
At top, we have the birthday cake Stace "commissioned" for me, which his coworker Wendy did a fantastic job making.
Next is Stace with Keith and Tracey, his coworkers and our friends. And then, we have Cora and Kelsie, who turned 2 a few weeks ago. (Click here to see how much they've grown in the last year!)
Then me and Mel, with the sweet Willow Tree gift she brought me.

Splashing Elmo, and some DIY

So this was the state of our front door when we moved in. What quality workmanship! Notice the huge patch missing, the white showing through on the door panels, the super-visible brushstrokes, and the drips.

Below, we have the door now. Great work, Stace!A closeup of the "before." Stace and I ask ourselves, what person in their right mind would finish something that looks like that and think, "Yeah. Perfect."
We ask ourselves that question about many, many things in this house.
Stace stripped it, sanded it, put on two coats of primer and three coats of red. Our house is a very neutral beige color, so we actually liked the red paint color, and took in a bit of the peeling paint to have it matched when we bought new paint.

Here are the "before" pictures of the strip of our property near our mailbox, next to our driveway. It had some small dying palms, some large agapanthus (which shoots out stalks with lots of little lavender flowers) and lots of crabgrass and other weeds in between.

And after! The gardener dug it all up very deep to get the weed roots, and then redid the sprinkler system. We kept one agapanthus out front, and had the gardener replant the others in the back yard. Then, he put in five bareroot roses, all red, though they look like sticks at this point. The flowers are pansies, to provide a little color for now, while we wait for the roses to flower. The tree by the garage door is an apricot, and we're told by the neighbor that we will be getting fruit from it! I'm excited about that! Also, in the back, we planted a grape plant that should produce red seedless table grapes in a couple of summers. At some point, I'm looking forward to putting in more fruits and vegetables in the back.



And, for your Cora fix, this is how she entertained herself the other morning in the puddle left on the patio by the sprinklers. (Thankfully, Elmo washed up well in our new washing machine.)

Cora modeling her personalized bathrobe, a Christmas present from Uncle Pete and Auntie Doreen... She was laughing and smiling, except for when I was taking her photo.
We were busy this weekend doing things around the house. I suppose I just shouldn't bother writing that - I probably will be able to write that about every weekend from now on! (Just kidding, we are determined to enjoy life and not just work on the house - but we're having people over this upcoming Saturday, so there are some things we want completed by then.)
Stace has been working on stripping and repainting our front door, and he also put up a screen door so that we get fresh air and don't lose cats and kids while the front door is in the garage for its makeover.
He also has been rebuilding the trim around the doorway between the dining area and the play room. Like most things in this house, it was trimmed out very poorly and Stace couldn't stand looking at it.

The last photo here shows my dad in his uniform, holding Cora, in the plant nursery at his work. We are putting in some new plants and I wanted to see the selection at the nursery there, so Grandpa came out and looked with us.




And here is our singing, dancing girl. This time, I can't quite translate the words to her song.

Eat food, Somer

Somer again proving herself "best cat on earth."
These two are so sweet together. Cora is always loving on her, body hugging her, talking to her, showing her toys. Somer loves the attention, and always seems to be where Cora is.
Last night, they were playing in Cora's room (as opposed to the playroom, where they normally play) and Cora was diapering her dolly and putting her to sleep, and also putting the cat to sleep (draping the blanket over her). We'd periodically check in on them, and they were happy together for at least a half hour.
Though we miss our sweet little infant, I'm definitely appreciating Cora's growing ability to entertain herself!
She also is speaking so much more. She is regularly putting four words together, and is happy to be speaking and understood. She also likes to sing, and it is surprising to find her suddenly singing the words to a song we've sung often to her. Last night she was very excited, running around the kitchen singing and dancing, and I could make out that she was singing about kicking a ball. She's a songwriter already!

(I think this is pretty intelligible, but I am her mom so it's hard for me to say if you, dear reader, can understand her! So - what she says includes the following - "Here you go. Eat food. (kiss) That food? Don't eat it. Uh oh, it fall down. Here you go.")

First project finished

We proudly present, drumroll please, Stacey's Garage!
Stace built all the cabinets (out of boxes) and installed the countertop. All of his tools are now neatly stowed, ready for our DIY projects.
We also put up a shelf in the kitchen, on a large bare wall. It actually frees up quite a bit of space in the cabinets and on the counter.
Another little project (which didn't photograph as clearly) I completed this week was scrubbing down the interior doors with those Magic Eraser cleaning pads. They really made a difference, though I seemed to use up one per door. The doors had all been really embarassingly dirty with crayon and pencil marks and other assorted smudges. Now they look clean, at least at first glance.
And, since we're getting more settled and I can now think about cooking, I made blueberry crumb muffins the other day, which Cora loves.
I also made a salmon stir fry, following a recipe from this great cookbook Stace's parents gave me for Christmas. It's by Brit wiz chef Jamie Oliver, and it's called Ministry of Food. It's full of simple (but brilliant) recipes to get people back to making food, mostly from scratch, in their own kitchens, instead of resorting to takeout and fast food. I highly recommend it!

Celebrating the (wet) trails

On Saturday SClarita hosted a fun family bike ride called "Hit the Trails" to highlight the city's trail and paseo system, and to build up support for the Amgen Tour of California cycling event coming into town next month. There were three starting points, with each route totaling about five miles. We took the trail along the river, and it was fun seeing some cycling friends who still live in our old condo complex.
We were looking forward to this all week, and were blessed to get Cora a new (free) Disney princess bike helmet through our local Freecycle network.
Wouldn't you know it, after several weeks of warmth and sun, it rained throughout our ride. (Cora stayed nice and dry in the bike trailer, and unlike the last time we took her out, she didn't get motion sickness.) Despite the wet, we had a great time and enjoyed the free hot dogs, water and other snacks at the festival at Bridgeport Park after the ride. A pro cyclist who was on Lance Armstrong's team a few years ago was there to answer questions, as he'll be participating in the Amgen tour, along with Lance.
After our ride, we bought some more DIY stuff and Stace worked on setting up his garage with a workbench and cabinets. Photos coming soon, it's really taking shape now!




This is from Thursday night - that Cora is a funny one! She was cracking herself up, too.

Outdoor Fun

On Sunday afternoon, we took a nice walk from our house and stopped at the big park that's just a five-minute stroll from the front door. Cora had a great time - she still loves swinging the best, and she still doesn't really like sliding down the slide. After the park, we took a longer walk, like we used to do frequently before we sold our first home.

As a little baby, Cora loved our walks, and that was the main way we got her to calm down on fussy evenings. In August, when we moved into the apartment, we stopped walking, because our apartment wasn't in a great place for walks. On Sunday evening, one of our first long walks in all these months, Cora got bored toward the end and kept whining about getting out and walking herself, or wanting more food, or more "owie dee." I think we need to get back in the walking habit, so she gets used to it again!

Cora really loves to be outside in our back yard, pushing her push toys, playing on her slide, or kicking a ball around. She also will play with rocks, bricks, dirt, etc. I found her doll in the old plant holder after she was done outside the other day, with a floral canopy.

I love our back yard setup. I can see just about all of it from inside the house, so she can be out while I wash dishes or get other things done inside.
We got sidewalk chalk, and Cora enjoyed playing with that, too. Simple pleasures!

Not my idea of lunch

Cora has been very good at feeding herself for a number of months now. I give her the food and the fork or spoon, and she takes care of business. Often these days, I don't even need to wipe down her face and hands when she is finished.
I say all this to preface today's story and photo.
For dinner on Sunday, we had pasta with broccoli and salmon, with alfredo sauce. Cora enjoyed hers (though she didn't eat much of the fish), and there was just enough left for a lunch portion. I heated it for her on Monday, and gave her a smoothie to drink, with the lid off the cup because the seeds kept getting stuck in the spout.
I sat down near her to eat my sandwich, expecting to finish Cora's leftovers when she was full.
A short while later, I glanced up to see that Cora decided to test out a new recipe she created. She had dumped the berry smoothie into the lunch. Yum!
Needless to say, the leftovers went down the garbage disposal. What a waste of good salmon!
(If the photo at right is making you queasy, scroll down for adorable pics of Cora in the snow.)

Trip to the mountains

Stace, Cora and I spent the weekend in the mountains, enjoying the winter scenery in Crestline and Big Bear Lake (above). My parents rented a cabin, and we all had a really nice time together.
It was Cora's first time in the snow, and she liked it just fine. She and Stace threw some snow at each other, and she struggled to walk in it. After a few minutes, she said, "All done snow." Just like a few months ago, when we had our first rain in many, many months, and after a couple of hours she stated, "All done wain." I think I've got a California girl on my hands!

Going smoothly

We are in a good groove this week, and yesterday, Cora was so well-behaved and such a joy to be around. She is happy to play with her toys in the play room ("pay woom") by herself, along with her new "dress up" puzzle.
On Thursday we visited Auntie Melanie at her work, where she blessed me with a drink and a pound of coffee. (Thanks!!!) Cora was so sweet, playing peekaboo around the chair and smiling sweetly. To compare, the last time we visited Mel at work, about six weeks ago, Cora was such a screaming pill that we had to quickly leave.
I have read that very young children are easier around their birthdays, and more difficult around their half-birthdays. So far, I can say that has borne out with Cora. She wasn't an easy toddler for several months, and the fact that we sold our home and moved during that time surely didn't help. Now that we're settled in our own house, and she has been recovered from her sickness for about a week, she has become a very pleasant child. I'll take it for as long as it lasts!
We know she's strong-willed, and I'm sure that will begin rearing its head again before too long.

The next photo shows Cora with her new favorite toy - the doll stroller we got for a dollar from my friend's garage sale. She calls it her ride, as are all push toys, and loves bringing it with her everywhere when we are at home. It goes around the house, in the back yard, and in the garage, wherever she is playing. And she likes to talk about it. "Ride outside? Ride outside?" Sure, take it outside! Then, after going out with it, "Ride inside? Ride inside?"
Cora loves speaking - she is putting four words together pretty often and repeating lots of things. ("Sit down Mummy, read book," and "Read book here, play room") She is sleeping really well these days, going to sleep by 9 and waking up after 8, and napping between 1 and 3:30ish. That gives me a nice block of time to get things done, and I've been happily checking things off my to-do list as we continue to get settled in the house. Cora also could live on Cheerios or Weetabix and soy milk - she asks for cereal and milk at least twice a day, after eating it for breakfast most days.
The last photo shows Cora last weekend, while still recovering from the flu, asleep in the high chair.

Cora and Harvey

Cora is doing a lot better, better enough that we had Elissa and Harvey over today to play for a couple of hours. They are now at the age where it's a lot easier having them together, because they love playing together and will keep each other entertained.
They loved pushing around the push toys in the back yard, playing with puzzles and reading books.
These photos are from a month ago, when we went to the park, since Stace has the camera with him at work.
We had a busy weekend taking care of things around the house. No big projects yet, but lots of little things - building storage units for the garage, organizing things, putting up pictures - making the place feel more like home. Also, my parents gave us their Sunday and attacked our back yard, digging up dead plants and trimming things that probably haven't been trimmed in years. What a difference!
Stace and I are going to order up new windows later today. That will make such a nice difference, as the windows and sliding doors we have now are hard to use and super drafty.

Poor Cora!

Well, unfortunately Cora took home from England more than great memories and awesome presents - she has a double ear infection and the flu.
Our plane ride home on Monday was our easiest one yet with Cora, because she slept almost the entire trip. We were blessed that the British Airways staff moved people around so that we had a row to ourselves, and Cora either lay on the seat between Stace and me, or sat on my lap and leaned into me, for the entire 11 hours. She then slept all night through once we got back home - amazing since jet lag usually means she wakes up at 3 on our first night back.
The doctor on Tuesday gave her a shot of antibiotics for the ear infection, and instructed us to give her medicine to keep her fever down and relieve the aches and pains she probably is feeling.
It's a difficult thing for Stace and I to see her like this. We've been so blessed with such a healthy little girl - up to now, she's had just one bad cold, thank the Lord.
At the moment, she is sitting in her high chair and eating a snack, so that is a big relief. She hasn't eaten much since Saturday.

A birthday

A few photos from our lunchtime celebration of my big 3-0 birthday today. Yep, I'm really an adult now.
We had a great time together with people we hold dear, which is what makes life special. In the first photo, I'm opening a gift from Sue, Gord and Mary with a gift card to the Glen Ivy Day Spa - after my spa trip with Kelly and this upcoming trip, this could become a regular addiction for me! Uh oh!
On the left are Andy and Jen, our friends who came out to visit us in October 2007, and on the right are JT and Jim.
Across the table are Jenny, Dean, Gord, Mary and Sue, and you see Gord taking advantage of one of two portable heaters the restaurant staff brought in to warm the freezing room they tucked our rather large party into. (And, it was freezing today - the low was supposed to be 25 last night, and the high was just above the freezing point.)
Then you see Andy and Stace, and then Cora, who is suffering from a cold and spent much of the three-hour lunch on my lap, asleep.

On Sunday we will drive to London, where Stace, Cora and I will stay in a hotel near Heathrow before our flight home on Monday.