Grandma Came to Town

I think this post is most definitely overdue. I have a lot to talk about and have about an hour to get it done. :)

Grandma Jo came to Edmonton about a week ago to visit the Canadian Cutie and her parents. We had such a fun time! Grandma Jo has the best taste in toys and she did not disappoint.




She brought Lee's beautiful handmade rocking horse from when he was a baby. Oh my goodness! Cora loves this horse. Can you see the pure delight in her face?











Stuffed all around the rocking horse were loads of other toys and clothes. It was like Christmas time for the Belle. Thank you again, MJ. Here are a few more photos of her new duds and toys.




Mary Jo also cooked some most delicious meals. I have the recipes, so I'll be practicing. One can learn to cook, can't they? We were also lucky enough to be treated to MJ's famous chocolate cake. I have dubbed it "Mmmmm, Chocolate Cake" on my recipe card. We celebrated three birthdays (Cora's, Lee's, and mine) which was fun. She had the neatest candles. The flames were colored!! It was a great party and Cora loves Grandma's chocolate cake.









Of course the weather was less than perfect while MJ was here. We still took full advantage of it though. We took Cora to fly a kite one day, but the camera had dead batteries. It was great fun. We also took the new stroller for a long hike/walk. Yep, I said new stroller. More on that baby later! We had an absolutely excellent time with Grandma Jo. Memories were made on this trip that will last a lifetime. :)

Cora turned 9 months old a couple weeks ago. Here are her "official 9 month" photos on the couch. She does this new thing where she squints at the camera. She also won't sit still. Pictures are a bit more difficult than they used to be. I love her huge personality though. She makes Lee and me laugh all day long.






Now, what is a 9 monther up to?

• She claps!
• She pulls up on everything. She is still pretty clumsy. We've had to deal with quite a few bonks. :)
  
• She is trying to crawl on all fours as compared to army crawling. However, she is more efficient at army crawling, so I think she'll stick with that for a while.
• She "talks" to us all the time. Especially in the morning. She is really concentrating when she says a few consonants, so I think she is really trying to say something. Hmmmm. Practice and time will tell.
• She loves animals
• She spends most of her days playing, talking, eating, pooping, and being CUTE!
• Speaking of eating. She eats everything! She wasn't too excited about the bell peppers and steak last night. We had shish-kabobs with some friends. I think she was more interested in making everyone laugh. She succeeded. When I say she wasn't too excited, that doesn't mean dislike. When she is excited, she is double fisting her food into her mouth and grunting like a pig. I am not exaggerating in the least. It is ridiculous. She ate enough last night to fill up her tummy though.
• She is starting to have only one nap a day.
• Her current favorite games are Peek-A-Boo, Hide and Seek (I hide, she seeks), and Patty Cake.
• She is starting to cruise holding onto the couch and window sill.
• I blow dried her hair today. Not really a traditional baby milestone, but a funny one nonetheless. Her hair doesn't dry as quick as it used to and it was cold outside. She thought it was pretty cool.
  

Oh yes. Now....the Stroller!! I would like to introduce everyone to my new Chariot Cheetah 2. Well, it is new to me. I bought it used. Although it was used 2 times. Does that really make it "used"? Let me begin by showing you all a picture from the web.

This picture makes the stroller look a little, weird. Wouldn't you say?

How about this?


Yep, you just snap in two wheels onto the front. Abra Cadabra, I have a stroller! But, what if I want to go jogging? Then what?

Gee, wasn't that easy? Yep, you just snap in the jogging wheel. Check out how the strolling wheels just flip up so you can keep them with you. Hmm, isn't that just fine and dandy. But really, Sascha, is this stroller really that great? Let me direct you to the next photo exhibit.


Oh My! There is a bike trailer attachment. This is quite the versatile "stroller" wouldn't you say? Wait, there's more!! This next picture is probably the number 1 reason we bought this stroller.


Yes!! You can take the wheels off, add skis, and take the kiddo cross country skiing or snowshoeing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! This stroller has definitely gotten us out and about with Cora more. There is a bug screen that comes down as well as a rain cover for moderate rain showers. Oh, and a sun canopy. We could buy a more heavy duty rain cover, but I am not that devoted to the outdoors. I like my hot cocoa and slippers on rainy days. :) The handle bars detach for easy storage. It fits TWO children... I won't take that any further. Hahaha. No, I am not pregnant. But, most of all, the sucker is so light. It is really big, but so so so light. I just love it. Bring on the snow! Of course, you can also hike with it. You can tow it behind you (with the two back wheels on it) while hiking through rugged terrain. This is probably the only thing I will not do with it. I don't see myself as a pack horse. Hahaha. Really though, I have my most awesome Ergo baby carrier for hiking.

I'll leave you all with a few more pictures of Cora and us.