InstaFriday 10.5.12

InstaFriday time!

Sometimes when I think about sitting down to write this post I can't really remember if I even took pictures worth sharing or if there were stories to remember. And then I look at the pictures that tell the story of the little things of our life and I can remember. I can't tell you how important that is for me. To not forget the little things of Cora's life, but to also put stories to the pictures in my phone. Amazing.

Cora's obsession with our cat, Olive, continues to grow. Seriously, if either Stu or I are in the room and Olive comes in, we're suddenly chopped liver. It's pretty cute to watch her double-speed scoot to get to Olive, and the cat is really quite patient with her.

We're working on playtime in the crib lately. She's been doing well, and consequently waking up happy and playing until it's time for us to come get her up for the day or from naps. Such an awesome skill to have, and I love a baby who wakes up babbling!

Daddy was working late one day and needed some motivation from his girls. I look strange, but the moment is sweet and I'm trying to get in more pictures. So, there's that.

Last Friday we went to Pixar for an improv show that my friend directed. Cora's been to Pixar many a time in utero, but this was her first time on the outside.

Let's just say that she didn't find a friend in Buzz and Woody.

And I thought she might like them more if I were with her. But no. (Terrible mom, look at her! She's terrified of the lego Buzz and Woody and there I am laughing!)

Don't even ask how introducing her to the Monsters Inc. characters went. Disaster.

Finally, something that she really couldn't be scared of. A ball. A big ball. Except that big lamp that's about to get her. Seriously, she's scared of Buzz and Woody but totally cool with the giant lamp? Whatever, crazy lady.

My dad grew this pumpkin for Cora in his garden. She loves drumming on it.

Cora got baptized this last weekend. Both of our families came into town for the occasion, and my grandma even made it! Not that I have any pictures on my phone documenting there being here. Mental note: take more pictures of family with Cora. Luckily other people had that taken care of, but here are the few from my phone.

Stu's great grandma made this for his mom when she was a baby and both Stu and Keith were baptized in this beautiful gown.

For me, this gown is a symbol of God's sovereignty and faithfulness over their lives. Beautiful.

And Cora pulled it off well.

Saying hi to her buddy Ellena before getting baptized!

This week Cora had her first (and hopefully last) physical therapy appointment. More on that later.

And the summer weather that I've been waiting for all year finally showed up. We took full advantage and went to the splash pad. Twice. We would have gone more, but the fog rolled in after two days. Goodbye summer, it was nice to see you for a little bit. 

We also took advantage of the hot weather and our new deck!

I think a clothesline may be in order.

And warm "summer" night equals a night out on the deck surrounded by candles, complete with a bottle of wine and some ice cream. It was awesome.

Also? I'm fairly certain my child is part monkey. This is how she rolls in her stroller most of the time.

And I (finally) got this in the mail this week! Whee! My old MacBook has been kicking for 6+ years now, was totally out of memory, and couldn't be unplugged from the power source for over 2 minutes. It was time. I'm so excited to be able to upload pictures, try my hand at editing, and have a 2011 version of Microsoft word! (We'd been using a 2001 version. Yikes!)

And that's our week (or two) in pictures! 

Happy Friday!

InstaFriday 9.21.12

Our week (or two) in pictures, it's InstaFriday time!

A little comfort food goes a long way when working on sleep. Iced Grande Soy Chai in my home? Yes, please, thank you.

And for the especially bad days? A gluten free cupcake.

All for the sake of this.

Sweet, sleeping baby. She finally got it. I'm so thankful, but oh man it was hard. Thank you, thank you, inventor of video baby monitors, I love you and I owe you my sanity.

One nice thing to come from our new daytime and sleep schedule is a lot more playtime at home. I've been enjoying this kind of forced slower pace of life, but it's been hard to adjust my expectations for what I can get done during the day. But this face is worth it. So, so worth it.

Cora is turning into such a little mischief-maker! All of those shelves are hers, and it's so fun watching her peek into each bin to choose what she really wants to play with.

 
She loves blocks of any variety, and the aquarium Nana bought her.

And her drumsticks. She especially loves drumming the cat. Which is kind of unfortunate for Olive. You'd be shocked how many times the words "Cora, the cat is not for drumming!" come out of my mouth.

Cora is a natural at playing peek-a-boo. We play all. the. time.

And we spend a lot of time eating. Cora is a big baby and she was pretty slow to catch onto the whole solid food bit, but she's really making up for lost time lately. 

Most meals start out like this...

And end up looking like this...

 

I'm pretty certain that Cora would be thrilled to live her life eating black beans, rice, and avocado, which isn't such a bad deal. She may look like her daddy, but she takes after her mama in the food department.

 

Speaking of daddy, we visited him at work this week for lunch. I love it when that works out, so fun!

I'm slowly learning about all that our new neighborhood has to offer, and one of my favorite things is the Tuesday afternoon Farmers Market that's 4 blocks away. I'm loving getting to know all the new different vendors. We found the best avocado man and we'll continue buying his delicious avocados even if they are slightly overpriced and not exactly local. They're from Camarillo though, which is where I grew up, so that's fun. And they're the most delicious avocados I've ever tasted, so that has to count for something. 

I've been slightly unimpressed with the color of the egg yolks that I've found so far, but the rest of the produce has been awesome. I made this dinner with the bounty. I even impressed myself.

Wilted chard, polenta, roasted tomatoes with a balsamic reduction and a farm fresh poached egg.Yum.

Overall, it's been a great week. Sleep is under control, Cora is happy, I'm in the kitchen more, we're getting ready to paint Cora's room, and I'm getting my school assignments done. It's full, but so fun.

Happy Friday!

InstaFriday 9.7.12

InstaFriday time! Getting back into the rhythm of life after moving and traveling, which means posting instagram pictures more often. Fun!

I had a few pictures left over from our trip to Portland a few weeks ago for my brother's wedding. My grandma came along on the trip and it was so fun to just have an extended amount of time to spend with her outside of the holidays. I loved listening to her sing to Cora in the mornings. I wish I got more pictures of the two of them together. Next time!

Uncle Scott, Cora, and Great Grandma!

Scott and Coco's wedding was delightful. It was a beautiful warm Portland night, and the reception was in their backyard. Wonderful and mellow.

We went to Multnomah Falls on Sunday, Cora was thrilled on Grandpa's shoulders. (Check out her face, crazy lady!)

I'm not quite sure what we were thinking booking a 6am flight out Monday morning, but Cora was a champ. She slept in the Ergo right until her normal waking time, hung out on the plane, and then fell asleep in the ergo on the Bart ride home. Champion!

Old rainbows. New rainbows. I think it was time, no?

We finally cleaned out the remaining stuff from our apartment and said our official goodbye. Stu was showing Cora the spot where she slept on her first night home. She was excited.

New digs mean frequent trips to IKEA. IKEA, however, is my nemesis. Frienemies at best.

Don't let this picture fool you. Cora hasn't spent a single night in her new full-sized crib. Or sleeping at all, really. But when she does sleep for approximately 2 hours at a time, it's in our bed. For now. Stinker.

And so, Dream Baby Guide it is. Unfortunately it's 700 pages long. 700 pages and no sleep? Can someone give me the cliff notes, please? Anyone?!? No, but really. We're starting on Saturday after approximately one month of reading and preparation. Wish us luck! Sleep baby, sleep!

And I seriously need sleep because classes started up for me again this semester and I need to keep my eyes open for this. Inthralling, no? Believe it or not, I'm super excited for this semester. Lots of practical experience, working with students, learning from a brilliant professor. Love.

But not as much as I love this face. It's weird that I miss her for the few hours that I am in class? Who can resist?

Speaking of this little one, it seems like we've turned a corner in eating recently. She's all about anything that I'm eating, and she gets really excited for meal times. Better "late" than never! I'm thankful for a good eater, even if it got off to a slow start.

Stu took off his Labor Day for moving, so he had to work on Monday. Cora and I went to join him in the city for lunch. It was a perfectly beautiful day in the city. So glorious.

 And then, just like that, I have a 9 month old. I seriously don't know how that happened.

 So stinking cute. Love her!

Happy Friday!