The new von Trapp singers

When one of the girls is in a foul mood, it's a sure-fire cure when Daddy gets out his guitar.

Violet really loves it, and always has. "Old MacDonald" is her favorite, and she's pretty good at singing along. She always asks for "aggums" to be the first animal, and then does the meowing.

Stace let Cora play the ukelele the other night, with Violet on xylophone.

They all made a joyful noise, wouldn't you agree??

While the cats are away...

Cora and Violet had a great weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while Stace and I were in Long Beach.

They went to Chuck E. Cheese, McDonalds, the Festival of Trees Christmas event, the mall play area, and Bridgeport to feed the ducks. My mom also did some crafts with the girls, and they visited a Christmas boutique.

On Friday night they all spent the night at our house, and on Saturday night they all slept at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Violet and Cora slept well at our house, and at Grandpa's house, Violet did great. She slept all through the night, even with her sister next to her, crying on two occasions because of more leg cramps.

Thankfully, there were no tears about me and Stace being gone.

On Friday morning, I told Cora I'd miss her when we were gone, and she declared, "I won't miss you! I never miss my mom and dad!"

Later, when we were about to get in the car, Cora said quietly, "I will miss you. I was just kidding."

A few more Coraisms, while we're on the subject: "I wish I was a raccoon. Then I could hang out in a den and be dirty. I really do wish that! And eat worms and bugs."

"Mom, are you 52? ... No? Well, when you're 52, you'll be taller."

And later, trying to carry a load of toys, "This is too hard with two hands. I wish I had eight hands like an octopus."

Stace reports the following line, said matter-of-factly: "Dad, I'm not saying I don't like you. But I really like Mummy."

And a Violet story. When we got home Sunday and were looking at our weekend photos on the television, I overheard a suspicious noise coming from the kitchen.

I found Violet helping herself to soup from the pot. I guess the macaroni and cheese wasn't enough dinner for her! Cora had used her chair to serve herself macaroni, so Violet just hopped up and started eating.

Thank the Lord the burners were off and the food was cooling. We were trying hard not to laugh but it was pretty funny to see Violet standing at the stove, eating away.

Queen Mary getaway

This weekend, Stace and I stepped back in time to celebrate eight years of marriage and 10 years of couplehood.

Ten years! How can that be? Aren't we still 25?

We're a bit older than that now. But we're still not as old as the Queen Mary, the luxurious 1936 ocean liner that must have ferried transatlantic couples like ourselves when making its frequent England-to-New York trips.

Back in July, I snagged a Groupon deal for two nights and a few extras aboard the Queen Mary, which has been docked in Long Beach as a hotel/historical monument since 1967.

Stace and I have been looking forward to this getaway since then. It was our first full weekend away since before Cora was born, and the first time we've been away for a night since Violet came along.

It went brilliantly! The girls had a good time with Grandpa and Grandma - more on that later - and Stace and I just had a ball.

Our first visit to the ship was for the Fourth of July, 2003, not long after Stace made his big move over here. We hadn't been back since, so we spent a lot of time exploring.

In the 1930s and 40s, the Mary represented the height of luxury travel for its well-heeled and often famous passengers.

A first-class passage across the Atlantic cost the equivalent of $75,000 in today's dollars. The wooden inlay with the painting of the ship shows some of the 50-some different types of old-growth wood used in the ship.

When World War II came around, the Queen Mary was painted battleship grey and turned into a troop carrier, nicknamed the Grey Ghost. Over the course of the war, she transported a staggering 750,000 service members, mainly from North America to the European theater. Sir Winston Churchill frequently traveled on the ship, and finalized the plans for D-Day in his suite.

Stace took a moment to man one of the antiaircraft guns left over from wartime duty.

Then, when the war ended, tens of thousands of British war brides (and their babies) took the Mary to their new homes Stateside.

Stace and I thoroughly enjoyed the WWII-themed tour we took, though it made us both miss the veteran grandfathers we loved so much.

The tour, breakfast, parking and a bottle of champagne were included in our package deal.

Our room had a porthole with a view of the Long Beach skyline, and we enjoyed drinks both nights in two of the ship's bars.

We also toured a 1970s Russian submarine docked next to the Queen Mary, which was an interesting experience.

On our drive home, we stopped at the Point Vicente Lighthouse in Palos Verdes, where we ate our Subway with a million-dollar view.

Stace and I had so much fun together on our weekend away.

Ten years after we jumped into our relationship, we are so blessed to have each other.

Photogenic pomegranates

Oh, the joys of trying to get a decent, blog-worthy photo of two children at once.

At least, I find it difficult. Some of my friends seem to have no trouble at all.

Anyhow, Cora was wondering about pomegranates, so we bought one the other day.

She and Violet both enjoyed picking at it, and since it was a new experience for them, I got out the camera.

This short series just makes me laugh.

Believe me, I've taken worse photos of my kids; they're not the funniest photos ever.
But they do amuse me.

Doctors, turtles and pigtails

A few random tidbits...

Monday was a tough morning for me and the girls. With the time change, Cora woke up very early, and was whining and prone to tears. I was feeling tired and grumpy. And Violet was quick to scream, as she has been since she turned 18 months.

Not a fun combination, especially combined with the hurry-hurry of trying to get out the door to preschool.

I wanted to make it up to Cora when I picked her up from school, so we stopped at Bridgeport for a walk by the lake to visit the ducks and turtles. Cora was thrilled to see the lighthouse up close, and Violet was happy to see the ducks and "too-toos." The weather was great for fall, sunny and cool. It was a very nice hour, and I'm so thankful for good times together with my girls.

Next, a couple of photos from Violet's 18-month well check last week.
She is well, as you'd guess. A blessing there, too!

Her talking ability is pretty remarkable. Dr. Brockett said that about 15 words is standard for her age, and Violet has dozens, maybe 50 if I counted.
Size-wise, Violet's weight of 22.7 pounds puts her in the 47th percentile, right smack in the middle. She is 30 1/2 inches tall, and that is only the 12th percentile, meaning 88% of girls her age are taller than her.

Interestingly, at Cora's 18 month well check, Cora was 21 1/2 pounds, or the 11th percentile, and 31 1/2 inches tall, in the 40th percentile.

Lastly, a couple of photos of Violet sporting pigtails!

Cora's room

Cora's room has gone through a few improvements over the past two weeks.

First, we got a more fitting bedding set for her big-girl twin-sized bed.

It's a fairy duvet set, and I love how the colors tie in to all the girly pastels in her dresser, and the green and yellow checks of her curtains.

More importantly, Cora loves it too, and has been sleeping well.

Next, Stace installed a curtain rod for hanging up her artwork. He stole this idea from Colleen and Rigo's similar setup in Lucas's room, and has been wanting to do it for a few months.

We also put up a little shelf from Genia, and taking pride of place is Cora's first-ever piece of painted pottery.

Thanks to the generosity of our friend Michelle, Stace and Cora used a Groupon-type coupon for Color Me Mine last week.

This was Cora's first time, but I'm sure it won't be her last. She loved it, and Stace had fun taking her. He used to enjoy pottery when he was younger.

Cora chose to paint Ariel, and Stace helped her with the eyelashes. The rest, Cora did herself! Pretty darn good for a 4-year-old, if you ask me. I am ever the impartial critic.

Pre-Halloween Post III

On Halloween morning, Cora's preschool hosted a carnival for the children, their parents and younger siblings. Here is Cora playing the fishing game...
...and here, she successfully tosses a ring 'round the pumpkin stem, to the cheers of Miss Lorrie the Ladybug.
Here, Cora is shooting a ping pong off a bottle, with a water gun. The games were all so cute! Cora had a lot of fun, as did all the kids. They won candy and tickets, which they could exchange for prizes. Cora was thrilled to pick out two rings and a little plastic pumpkin to hold them in.

Watching two kids, even in a small area, can be a challenge as they each head different directions. Before I could grab her, Violet decided the residual water in bottle was "alguie" for her to drink.
Violet then made her way to the craft table, where the helper-lady assisted Violet in decorating her own pumpkin. I must admit it was a bit strange to watch my little one making her own craft! How is she big enough already?
Then it was food time - a potluck of fruit, vegetables, crackers, cheese and meat - and the sisters sat beside each other, eating contentedly.

Pre-Halloween Post II

I'm telling you, Cora and Violet got to dress up practically every day the week before Halloween!
First, at our Mom2Mom meeting, the children paraded through our breakfast wearing their costumes...

On Wednesday, Pioneer Clubs hosted a huge Trunk or Treat event. Here are Cora and Lucas on Rigo's cool old truck.
Liana showing Violet the love...
...and Rigo entertaining Cora and our friend Jen and her boys, Jack and Charlie. Or, looking closer, maybe that's Cora entertaining everyone?

On Thursday, our Mom2Mom table's mentor mom, Beverly, hosted a lovely luncheon playdate for our table. She loves Halloween and was happy to have all the kids racing around her house and yard, in their amazing outfits. (Violet transformed into her doggy self after I took the photo.)

Here was the snack table at Bev's - so so cute!

Pre-Halloween Post I

Halloween isn't just one night of fun when you have small kids who are involved in school and activities.

Here are some photos of our church's "Halloween Hoedown," an awesome event with Trunk or Treating, food, games like bean-bag-tossing, and more.

The first two photos show them pumpkins we decorated to help make the parking lot more festive. I did the ghost, and Cora designed the princess.

Then, one of our favorite trunks was the Disney themed one. (Though Stace preferred the Indiana Jones and Star Wars trunks, and Violet liked the Disney Princess trunk best.)

And finally, the amphitheater was turned into a dance party, with alternating live music and a DJ. We spent as much time watching Cora dance (and doing a bit of dancing ourselves) as all the rest of the activities. Cora found an adorable Tinkerbell to dance with.