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.

Happy New Year!

Please forgive the lack of cropping - I can't figure out how to do so on my in-laws' computer. Anyhow, here we are seeing in 2009 at a party thrown by Stace's brother Dean and his wife Jenny. She also hosted her parents and sister, and sister's husband and children. Cora had fun playing with them, and dancing to the adults playing the Guitar Hero video game on the television.
A rather superfluous photo of Cora, but with her little pony tail, we thought she looked so grown-up. We just had to show it off. She really is growing up fast now, and understands so much of what we're telling her.
The lovely spread Jenny and Dean put on for us. Yum!
Also on Wednesday, we saw Dunc and Lindsey and their girls. The littlest one, Charlie, was a week-old when we last saw her eight months ago.
We took a very cold walk up Ham Hill with the girls. Cora loves being outside, despite the weather. We were all very bundled up, as you can see, though my feet hurt at the end from the cold. The frost was thick and there were ice patches in the mud.
Chelsea is just about exactly one year older than Cora, and they had a great time playing together.
Also Wednesday, we visited with some of Stace's other family, including 4-year-old Ben, who Cora also enjoyed playing with. Sadly I realized as I downloade our photos that I didn't take nearly enough of them playing together!

On Thursday, Sue and Gord cooked a big roast turkey meal for New Year's Day, and Nan and Dean and Jenny came over to help eat it. And on Friday, Cora spent the day with Sue and Gord, while Stace, Dean and Jen and I went into Bristol to shop and have a leisurely wander around IKEA. That's such an engrossing place, and especially fun without a little one tagging along. Stace and I are full of plans for our house for the new year. If 2007 was the year of Cora, and 2008 was the year of buying and selling real estate, it appears that 2009 will be the year of DIY.

More from England

We're enjoying our trip to cold - but not rainy - England. I don't think it's hit 40 for days, and the frost has been thick. Tuesday and Wednesday have been dull and dreary, but still no rain - and according to the forecast, we might make it through our whole trip without getting wet. That would have to be the first time I've been to England and not felt the rain.
At top, we have Stace spending quality time with Zig the cat. Zig, in his old age, has mellowed out to the point of even climbing Stace for some affection. And, he let Cora touch him. Amazing. There was a day when he would race out of the room whenever Stace came near.
Next, Cora enjoying her Elmo Christmas DVD. We've all enjoyed it, many times, as you can imagine.
The following photo shows our Cora the Super Eater! We went to a pub for lunch Tuesday and Cora ate nearly all of her child's portion - she ate all those peas and almost all the chicken. I didn't let her eat all the fries, but she did knock back quite a few. I am so blessed to have a good eater! There are things she won't try, and sometimes she needs coaxing, but normally she sits down and hungrily polishes off everything I put in front of her. She loves peas and carrots, and meat, and bread. The next photo shows us ladies outside the pub. Then we have us playing our new game - the Somerset version of Monopoly! We used Christmas money to purchase it, and I think it will really end up being money well spent. We didn't play through to everyone being bankrupt, but when we counted up our money after a couple of hours, Stace was far and away the winner. His strategy of buying up a set of properties and putting three houses on each made him a (Monopoly) rich man.
The next photos are from Cora stomping around in front of a little village green not far from the Pinnacle, a historic point of interest in Martock. She loves being outside, cold or not, and she also loved eating her sausage roll (next photo), a traditional English treat.
Cora is still progressing by leaps and bounds with her speech. She is putting three words together sometimes, and likes to say "upstairs" and "downstairs" when appropriate, being that we're in a two-level house. ("Up Steeahs" and "dow steeahs")
And in the video, Stace's Nan reads to her great-granddaughter.

Christmas in England

What a difference a year makes...

While our trip across the pond last Christmas was difficult, to say the least, this year Cora was a very good girl on the long plane trip (save for about 10 minutes of screaming on our descent and landing). She played, read, bounced between my seat and Stace's, and ate. On Friday night, our second night in Martock, she only woke up briefly a few times. I'm predicting a full night's sleep tonight!

Cora is enjoying all her new Christmas presents, especially the set of Duplo-like blocks from Nan and Pop. Above, she gets a gift from Father Christmas, AKA Pop. I think she knew it was him inside the costume, as she didn't cry "all done" like she normally does when she sees Santa. She does say "all done" to the Santa statue on the landing in between the flights of stairs, each and every time we go up or down the stairs.
Here I am with Mary, Stace's Nan, before we had our Christmas dinner on the 26th, or Boxing Day. Because we arrived on Christmas afternoon, we had our family celebration a day late.
Here, Cora watches Nan play on Auntie Jenny's DS Lite. Cora was amazingly well-behaved when the family was over Friday. Truly, I was amazed. After a not-so-easy few months this fall, I think we're entering a better stage. She is really enjoying speaking, and picking up new words all the time. She can understand concepts better, and it seems that my attempts at discipline are working (sometimes). For example - I'm using her bed as the "corner," and putting her there when she disobeys - like when she continues screaming to try to get her way. I can say to her, "Stop screaming or you will go to your bed," and sometimes she'll immediately stop and regain her composure.
The brothers, in their Christmas cracker crowns. Cora seems to be in love with her Uncle Dean. She giggles when he comes in the room, and likes to hide from him and then pop out, giggling. It is very cute.
Today, Saturday, we spent the morning at home and then went into town to shop. It was very cold, but nice and sunny. I used Christmas money to purchase some Clarks boots, my first pair of black boots, believe it or not! I'm hoping to use Christmas money Cora received to get her some new shoes too.

Great Gifts

A last post before we leave for the airport - send up prayers and good thoughts, we're boarding a long flight with a 22-month-old!

I've enjoyed some special time this week with my Kelly, my oldest friend (we met when we were 10). She is a big fan of Wicked, the Broadway musical that has had a very long, successful run here in L.A. at the Pantages Theatre. It's ending in early January, and we really wanted to see it together. Though the line was incredibly long, we managed to win the lottery last Tuesday, for $25 front-row seats! What a blessing, for me to see such a great show for the first time, from the front row! (Our buttons say "I won the Wicked lottery"!) We had a great Japanese meal at a cool restaurant across the street, and Stace watched Cora.
Then, on Monday, she gave me an early surprise for my upcoming 30th birthday, taking me to the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa for an afternoon of relaxation - and a massage! Oh, what pampering! We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and it was just a fantastic day.
The other photos are from celebrating an early Christmas at home. On Sunday we went to the Adams' house for dinner and a gift exchange game, where Cora won a little fiberoptic Christmas tree. And on Tuesday night we had my family over to exchange presents. The top photo shows Cora and Grandpa shortly after he and Mel read out of her new Nativity book. A quick story - Cora and I were flipping through it Monday, and she correctly pointed out the angel, Mary and the animals. Then we turned the page, to where baby Jesus is in the manger. "Elmo!" she proclaimed, pointing to the Holy Christ. Fabulous.
Maybe she was just being psychic, because Grandma and Grandpa later gave Cora an "Elmo and Friends" book for Christmas, to hopefully occupy her for a bit on the plane.

Merry Christmas, everyone!