Mya dancing for Cora

This is just too cute for me to not share. We asked Mya to take her Dora Sing-along book over by Cora and show her how to dance. Enjoy!



More updates to follow! So much to write again!!

10 Things

Today, Cora is a whopping 4 MONTHS OLD. I was thinking about this the last few days and thought it would be fun to write down 10 things that I will never forget about Cora in her first 4 months of life.

1. The way she scrunches up the bridge of her nose when she smiles.
2. How she sticks her butt a mile high into the air when she first falls asleep. Also how she is as flat as a pancake in the morning when she wakes up.
3. The growls, grunts and moans when she is breastfeeding.
4. Her first coos around a month old. They were so light and sweet and she looked at me and studied me while she cooed. She really has so much to say to me.
5. How she grasped at air when she was only minutes old. It seemed like she was so confused in this new world that wasn't confining like my uterus.
6. Her first high pitched scream. She was been screaming at octaves high enough to shatter glass since.
7. The way each section of her hair curls and flips out. It is so "her", and I never try to comb it anymore because it doesn't matter, It still flips out in the same way.
8. I'll never ever forget how tiny her body was without clothes the first time I gave her a sponge bath.
9. Her "nay nay" cry when she is hungry.
10. Her big blues staring intently at me while her eyebrows are furrowed making her look astonishingly inquisitive for such a young age. Although, she is and always has been very observant!

We are having a wonderful time in Arizona. Mya and Cora love each other. Yesterday they were lying on their bellies while Mya showed Cora how to play with the toys. Cora just stared at her the whole time listening to her wise, older cousin. Mya rubs Cora's back when she is sad, clicks her tongue to make Cora smile, and loves to feel how soft Cora's hair is. Of course, it hasn't been all puppies and rainbows. Mya was less than impressed when Cora wouldn't share the snack with her. Oh well.

Pictures to come later. We're going back to bed.

Today is Tax Day and....

Our three year anniversary!! and... exactly one year ago today, we found out we were having a baby! Well, we are happy to announce, we are not pregnant again. Hahaha. That would have been a shocker. Lee and I celebrated by walking to one of our favorite restaurants near the University call the Sugarbowl. We then walked around Whyte Ave (busy street near the University with lots of kitschy little shops and boutiques). Cora was great! It got up to 45 degrees today so we had lunch on the patio. The sun was so warm and felt soooooo good. We had a really great day.

This afternoon, I tested out some cloth diapers on Cora. I've been waiting to put her in some All-in-ones. Her body type is just too long and skinny to currently fit the ones I have. I decided to try some prefolds with a diaper cover to see how it went. Uhhh, can I say AWESOME! Just look at the picture. They fit great and the cover is so stinking cute. I just want to kiss her up looking at these photos. I am also going to try some G-diapers. My cousin, Paula, is a huge fan and I saw another girl in yoga using them. I think I'll ask the yoga girl if I can take a look at them all put together. They are pretty awesome hybrids--partially disposable, partially cloth. For the meantime, I am loving the prefolds. Lee, however, is officially freaking out. Diapers scare him, and cloth diapers terrify him. I told him he can keep using the disposables. Really though, they aren't much different.


I really need to sign off. I am procrastinating doing an end of the year report for my funding agency. Ugh. My brain is not in school mode. It is due Friday and I have to get the signatures tomorrow. I have already received a terse reminder from my supervisor. Oh well. I'll take Cora with me to get signatures. She brings out the best in everyone. Hahaha. Besides, he knows I am the world's worst procrastinator.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail.

Easter this year was great fun. We meandered down to Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and stayed in a ranch style bungalow for the weekend. Lee brought his Coleman stove and set up a kitchenette for us. We spent Saturday hanging out in a picnic area in the foothills of the mountains. Cora loved crunching through the snow in the shadows of the trees. She is so funny. When she gets excited, she breaths really hard and her eyes about pop out of her head. She kicks her legs and flails her arms. It is so funny, but it can be hard to hold her. :) On Sunday, we stuck around Rocky Mountain House taking in the sights. Monday, we drove home taking a scenic route and stopped for a nice lunch. It was a really nice weekend. Cora did pretty good. We were probably more tired because she doesn't sleep great in new places. She has definitely become accustomed to her crib. Hopefully she takes to Michelle's pack-n-play while we are in Arizona. If not, she'll be sleeping with me!

Believe it or not, this is how Cora likes to "hike" around. She is a dork! I love her socks in this picture. Lee and I were layering to keep her little toots warm.

Meeting the three horses on the land adjacent to the place we stayed. This horse really was interested in Cora. Lee took the horses leftover apples we had. They were grateful.

Cora was more interested in the camera. She'll figure out animals sooner than later. Especially since Lee has already promised her a horse when she is 5.

The three horses. Again, Cora finds the grass more interesting. :)

Family photo! I bought Lee and myself a mini tripod so we could take pictures of the three of us. It is really great to have this picture. I truly love it.

Me and my girl.

Lee and his mini-me. My current favorite picture of my loves.

Cora trying on her sunglasses before we left. Too cool for school. We need to practice wearing these because she is not a huge fan.

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away

Dear Blog,
I am so sorry for neglecting you. Please forgive me. :( My apologies also to my devout blog readers...you know who you are. My apologies to myself because now I have a ridiculous amount of catching up to do. OK, enough.

It is almost 4:30am here. I've been awake since 3 with Cora. Don't feel bad...she is an insanely slow eater and this is our usual schedule. Anyways, the house is dark and quiet. I can hear Lee sleeping. The other noise I hear is rain. Yes, you read that right. It is 4am and it is raining in Edmonton, AB! There is some very heavy wet snow/slush mixed in. Spring has sprung when there is rain in the early hours of the morning. OH JOY!

Lee, Cora, and I have been trying to get out and about more now that Cora is older and more interested in her surroundings. To our surprise, Cora isn't necessarily a fan of new things. What?? Babies don't love every new adventure in their life? Oy. We had brunch at our friends house last weekend. They have a 13 month old daughter and have pretty much loaned us all of her big play items. We decided to try Cora in Claire's old exersaucer (activity center with a rotating chair thing in the middle). Cora cried her eyes out. In fact, she cried at nearly everything that morning. She had her head nestled under my chin with a death grip on my shirt. She eventually got use to being over there and by the time we left she was all smiles.

Next up, Mommy and Me yoga. Cora did excellent! For a total of 20 minutes. She made it through introductions. Then she wanted held and nursed through all of the Mommy yoga. By the way, MJ, my yoga top was perfect for nursing. Thank you! Cora wanted nothing to do with going to the mirror with the other babies. She calmed down for a few minutes of baby yoga and made it through the baby massage (with smiles). Then back to nursing during relaxation. We've been practicing at home to hopefully have a better transition next week. She'll eventually enjoy it.

On to the swimming pool. We met Jen and Claire at the sports centre by our house last Wednesday to test the waters. Well, guess what. She LOVED it! No reservations what so ever. She splashed her hands and kicked her feet for a solid 30 minutes. Lee and I were stunned. We had so much fun we're going back this week. Her swim suit and swim diaper were hilarious. I could only find size small swim diapers. The waist went up to her chest. Her swim suit was Claire's and it was a 6 month bikini. The bottoms were falling down and the top was around her neck, She didn't care at all. It was too funny.I wish I had pictures, but the people wouldn't let us take photos. I am going to bring the camera this time anyway.Lee took this picture with his camera phone. We really need to get a snapshot of her determination face.

Cora is making an unexpected visit with me to Tucson, Arizona. I got a call right before we left for the weekend that my sister was in the hospital trying to stop preterm labor. They did stop it, but she spent 2 days at the hospital and is now on bedrest. She asked if I could come down to be with her. So, I'll be in Tucson for the last 10 days or so of my maternity leave. Not a bad way to end a maternity leave in my opinion. It will be fun to be there with Michelle and chase Mya around. As much as I can't wait to meet my nephew, I hope he doesn't make his arrival while I am there. He needs to bake for another 4-5 weeks. :)

That brings me to my last thought for this post. The end of my maternity leave is quickly approaching and I have no daycare. We've been on the waitlist for almost a year and we're still nowhere close to the top. But do not despair. I have found the Ergo baby carrier. I will be taking Cora to school with me. I have a confession. I am actually quite happy she won't be going to daycare. I am so not ready to be separated from my little fish. I think Lee was a bit relieved too. We love our sidekick. And she is just that...our sidekick. She will join us on every adventure we ever embark on, including the dreaded PhD. :)

I'll write about Easter weekend in a separate post. Here are a few random photos I'll close with. Happy rainy days (even though it is slightly more snowy now).

Surprise!

Disclaimer: I really don't like these sorts of photos. I find them kind of stupid. Lee's buddy had the costume and they really wanted to stick Cora in it. So, here you go, Lee. Notice her tiny body doesn't even reach the arms and legs. Cuteness.

Lee is already grooming her to be a tennis player.

She knows it is bath time.

Grease monkey. That chunky monkey.

This was an outfit I wore at the same age. How cute does she look in it?

Pretty in Pink

Loving her new Bumbo chair.