Growing up

On Sunday our family took a couple of steps forward.

First, in the morning, Cora moved up into the pre-kindergarten class at church. She said goodbye to Taylor and Josh, her teachers for the past year, who do such a great job each week.

(I would have liked a nice photo of Cora giving them a hug and the cards she wrote out, but Cora isn't into such cheesiness.)

Cora was so happy to move into the next class, with the "big kids." It's a mix of 4s and 5-year-olds who will enter kindergarten in the fall.

As we walked away, I got teary. I'm not that mushy of a mom, so it hit me by surprise.

Then, after naptime, we went to Lowe's for drywall and other odds and ends for the kitchen.

We were there for two hours, and it was another time of realizing that our little family is growing up. Cora was an angel on our long trip. She played with Violet, helped feed her to keep her busy, and made up games to entertain herself.

She also - for the first time - used the toilet by herself. As we went in, she told me she would do it all by herself, because she is now four. Right then. We didn't lock the stall, and I was right outside it. But she managed to handle it all, by herself. She also washed her hands alone.

(Since then, she still asks for help at home. The days of "I need some wipe!" aren't over yet.)

Back to Lowe's. Besides Cora acting so grownup, Violet also is growing up. She is so very different from the tiny baby entertained with a rattle. This time around, she was happy as long as she had snacks. She ate through the Cheerios, several toast sticks, and part of a banana.

Happy Valentine's Day

My Valentines!

I love each of you so much!

Balance Bike

Bike success!

On Sunday, her third time riding her new balance bike, Cora really seemed to "get" it.

We rode up and down the paseo, and then up and down our neighbor's long driveway, and then around the block, and zoom!

Cora could go! She even was able to navigate curves, curbs and grass.

She was so proud of herself, which is a great thing to watch when you're a parent!

She now loves her bike and asks to ride it every day. Stace could not be more proud.

So, thanks Mike and Trahnel! I think that by summer she could be ready for a regular big girl's bike, NO TRAINING WHEELS.

Cora's birthday party

Cora is officially four now - she had her birthday party!

Since I had so many photos to share, I've made them small. Click them to see them larger.

At top, we have the bouncer - it was our first time to rent one, and what fun it was! If you're local, we certainly recommend SCV Jump N Slide!

Also, in the photo you can see that the tree outside Cora's window is in full pink bloom. It's so nice that it blooms for her birthday each year!

As soon as the bouncer was up, Ave and Johnny were over to play. It was great for Princess Cora to play with her friends as we got the food ready for the party.
As for the food, thanks Melanie and Juliana, for all your help! We made two types of pasta with four sauces, plus Juliana brought her homemade macaroni and cheese.

It was our first "big" party for Cora's birthday. We had about 40 people here!

Thanks to my mom for organizing the crafts and goody bags, and for the salad.
Cora chose a Tinkerbell cake this year.

It was a lot of fun to have so many friends over, all to celebrate our little girl. Unbelievable that she is now 4!

We only wish our faraway family and friends could have joined in, too. We know you were here in spirit.

The weather blessed us this year, as you can see by our clothing choices!

And Cora was blessed with many fun, exciting, gorgeous presents. Oh, to be four again, with a big birthday party!

When the guests left, we had fun in the bouncer, too.

Birthday girl!

And then she was four.

FOUR! That's only months away from FIVE, and that means school! And away from me for hours, every day! Say it ain't so.

Cora was giggly happy when I greeted her with "Happy Birthday." The happiness changed to tearful confusion, though, as she struggled to understand how she can have a birthday, and be FOUR, and not have her friends celebrate with her on the same day. It took a great deal of explaining, with the help of the calendar, to help her understand that her party is coming soon, but not today.

Cora chose an egg and soldiers for breakfast, a treat since I don't normally go fancier than oatmeal, yogurt or cereal during the week.

Then, after Violet's nap, we surprised Cora with a trip to Scooter's Jungle. Daddy even joined us, since it's so close to his work and open play falls close enough to his lunch break.

Cora had a great time, of course! Lots of sliding, zip lining, jumping, even some air hockey. Violet had a great time too.

After Scooter's, we headed over to Chick-Fil-A for lunch - Cora's pick, again. Two playgrounds in one day!

Then it was home for lunch and nap.

When she woke up, another surprise - a new bike!

Not a regular bike with training wheels, but a balance bike, also called a running bike.

We hadn't heard of these until my friend Trahnel suggested it, after I mentioned here that we were thinking of getting Cora a bike for her birthday. Trahnel's husband is something of an expert on the subject, and their son was riding a regular bike without training wheels by age 3 after starting on a balance bike.

We looked at a lot online, and decided on the Kazam, because it looks sturdy, stylish, and, well, cool!

Cora was thrilled at first, and then she noticed the lack of training wheels (before she noticed the lack of pedals!) and wasn't so sure. But after a few times up and down the paseo, she was really excited about her new bike. We'll report back on her progress!

Then it was time for Skipper Club, where Cora was called up on stage where all the children and parents sang happy birthday to her.
Going to bed tonight, Cora said she didn't think she was big enough to be four. Stace assured her that she was, that she really is four years old.

We are so proud of the little lady you are becoming, with your leadership skills and imagination. Your teachers and even random parents at the park comment on them.

Happy Birthday, our darling Cora Rose. We love you!

Let the Birthday begin

For Cora, it's not a birthDAY celebration, but a birthWEEK!

On Sunday Cora had an early birthday celebration with Nan, Pop, Dean and Jenny via Web cam. Thank the Lord we live in this modern age with such amazing technology!

Cora opened their gifts and cards, and was able to enjoy the goodies right within their view.

Since Kelsie's fairy party, Cora has been more interested in dressing up, so she really loves her new Sleeping Beauty dress and tiara! It's a great fit, and she looks absolutely princessly in it. She was thrilled when we allowed her to wear it to bed that night.

She also really likes her new learning DVD, and Violet found it interesting too.

Dean and Jenny sent over a space hopper ball, and Cora loves this, too! We cleared space in the playroom, and Cora went to town. (Forgive the blurry photos, but she was moving so fast!)

I had one of these, too. Awww, great memories.

Cora bounced and bounced and bounced some more, and said she was playing a game called "Bounce Process."

"I need to do my bounce process!" she told me. "Bounce process is when my legs go really high."

Oh. OK.

Cora's birthday celebrations started last Friday, when Grandma and Grandpa took her to Disneyland. She was tall enough to go on some new rides, and the park wasn't as crowded as it normally is when they go, so they got to do more. As part of her birthday present, they bought her a Tinkerbell mini doll, with all the tiny clothes and accessories to play with. A definite "big girl" toy.
And the birthday party is yet to come! Geesh.

Busy Bee

A tribute to my hard-working husband is in order.

May I present, our new coat rack...

We searched for an entryway unit for stashing purses/wallets/keys for many months, before Stace determined that he would be better off making one himself.

So he designed it, constructed a mock-up, and over the last two weeks, built, stained and installed the real deal.

Stace brought in the Mission-style elements of our other living room furniture, and the stain goes with it beautifully.

It is sturdy, and has room for what we need. What can I say? I married not only a handsome, dashing aerospace engineer, but a skilled carpenter!

We also, two years later, put up the rest of our living room pictures and the ceramic clock handmade by our friend Cindy.

Also over the last week, Stace started the kitchen project.

It's official, we're under construction!

He has framed out the smaller opening of the window between the kitchen and hallway, and that is now ready for drywall.

He also rerouted the ducting in the attic for the A/C and heater, since the old vent will soon be blocked by the new pantry cabinet. It works!

Next up on his master schedule (and, yes, he does have a detailed master schedule) is redoing the lighting. Bye bye, florescent tubes, hello recessed lighting.

And about the last photo...
I thought that despite all the above work, Stace still has too much free time on his hands, and some car repair was in order.

Or, um...
That darn trashcan. It jumped out in front of my car! It was amazing! You shoulda seen it.

Yes, that is tape holding pieces of the light together until the new fixture arrives in the mail. Sigh. Sorry, babe.

Disneyland!

Cora is so blessed to have grandparents who pay for her annual Disneyland pass.

Stace and I don't have passes, so we don't take her very often to the Happiest Place on Earth. But every few months, Grandma and Grandpa take her for the day. They have a great time, and we get a little break with just Violet.

This last trip, a prequel to Cora's 4th birthday celebration, Cora went on the Nemo ride for the first time.

She was tall enough to go on some other rides for the first time, too.

She really wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain and Soarin' Over California, but she wasn't quite big enough for those ones. Maybe next time!

Cora is always a very good girl for them - something to do with not being with Mummy, I'm sure!

And Daddy and I love hearing her stories the next day.

9-Month Well Check

Last night, Stace and I took Violet to Five Guys for dinner before we did some DIY shopping.

Violet had yogurt, and in the second photo, she's working on her first try of a little piece of pickle. She didn't flinch at the taste, but couldn't quite get it down her throat, so we fished it back out.

For Violet, it was a celebration of a successful 9-month-checkup!

(So, yeah, take these top photos as a poor substitution for doctor's office photos. Forgot the camera AND my camera phone.)

Dr. Brockett said her lungs sound fine despite all of her coughing. She is very healthy, other than the remnants of her cold.

Her weight has really fallen down the growth charts - she was just 16 pounds, 13 ounces, down to the 14th percentile! I know that her active nature, crawling around everywhere, plays a role, and she hasn't eaten nearly as much as normal for the past 10 days while she's been sick. Still! I was surprised at how tiny she is.

Her length was 27 1/4 inches, or 35th percentile, and her head was 44 cm, or 48th percentile.

She has been fussier the past few days, between the cold and her top two teeth coming in. They haven't broken through yet, but she is drooling a lot. and it looks white in the middle of her upper gums.

This final photo makes me laugh. Another example of the second child getting things easier, perhaps? Cora never would have had Mummy give her Fruity Cheerios at this tender age! But she was so fussy, and they made her so happy. Until I took the cup back, after she spilled them out, and she got quite upset. Uh oh!

Cora, at almost 4

This is how Cora was sleeping the other morning, rear end up in the air... Unfortunately she woke up when I took this photo, so I couldn't lean in to try to get a better angle. It was like she was a baby trapped in a kid's body.
Later that day, during her naptime, I could hear her playing for a while after I tucked her in. Then, not long before it would be time to get her up, the room went quiet. When I went in to wake her, the door got stuck on her leg - she had finally fallen asleep on the floor by her doorway.
It must have been a bit cold in her room - she needed her scarf, hat, gloves and cozy slipper boots.

Coraism from dinner the other night: We were talking about what had happened during the day, and part of that included a problem I had with Cora. I don't even remember what, but a tantrum over something. Stace told Cora he didn't like to hear about Cora giving me trouble, and that she needed to help me, and to do what she's told.
"Let's not talk about it anymore," Cora suggested, in a very grownup manner.