Double Deuce

Cora turned 22 months old on October 23. She is nearly 2 years old! Woah. I must say, a lot seems to have happened in the last month. How about we just dive straight in?

• She seems to have grown about 18 feet in the last month. She is now only a hair shorter than her friend, Claire, who has almost a year on her. Her shoe size jumped up from a 5 to a 7!
• No new teeth. We're still waiting on the last set of molars. I have to admit, I had forgotten about teething hell before posting this. Ugh. Four more to go. To the molars: Come quick, come painlessly. Please!
• She is now trying to color within the lines. She is nowhere close to actually staying in the lines, but she's trying! I'll draw a shape and she'll color it. These sorts of things are amazing to me. She has also stopped eating her crayons. You're probably thinking, "Uhhh. OK. So, what's the big deal about that?" Now, I can leave her crayons out so she can color whenever her heart desires. She seems to really appreciate this.
• Her conversation skills are starting to catch me off guard. She has been sleeping in our bed the 2nd half the night pretty consistently for the last month or so. One night, she came in and was snuggling down. She couldn't get the covers on just right. In a very annoyed and stern voice, she said, "COME ON!" Lee and I about died. When I get upset with her or Reggie, I almost always say, "Come on. Would you just work with me here?" I have to admit it, she used the phrase perfectly.
• Another example happened only this last Sunday. I went to a friends house for a couple hours to sew. Cora came with me since Lee wasn't home from work yet. She watched and tried to help as much as she could. When we got home, I continued sewing since Lee was home to entertain. However, Cora had a different plan. She was constantly right in my way. She finally got frustrated. I had been frustrated for some time by this point. She was on the chair next to me whining/crying, "Want toe!! Waaaaant toe. Want tooooooooe." Lee and I were both standing over her telling her that her toes were fine. She still had all 10 of them. There were no scratches. Etc, etc, etc. Then it dawned on me. She was saying she wanted to sew. I asked her if she wanted to sew and she said in a huff, "Yes!!" Oh. Oops. I then felt like the biggest, stinkiest, largest pile of poo you could ever imagine. The whole time she had just wanted to sew. She wanted to help. So I handed her some fabric. She wasn't satisfied. She wanted the pins. I tried explaining to her that the pins were not safe for little girls. It was like trying to negotiate with a brick wall. What was I to do? I thought about it, and decided she could try to use the pins. I explained to her there was a pokey side that would hurt her. She should only touch the colored side. I constantly reminded her to pay attention to what she was doing and most of all to be careful. Guess what? She pinned fabric and organized the pins on the pin cushion without ever pricking her self. I was shocked. And quite excited to have a sewing partner.
• She is also starting to understand the difference of plural and singular. When referring to one foot, she says feet. When she is talking about both feet, she says feets. She's learning to add the "s" to words. 
• She is on a first name basis the Lee and I. She calls Lee "Wee" nearly 100% of the time. As for me, she uses Sascha about 75% of the time. She uses Mommy (pronounced Mom-eye) when she is sad, just got hurt, or is in trouble.
• She LOVES the color pink. At this point, everything in her life needs to be pink. We were at the store picking out a snowsuit. When buying things like a snowsuit, I prefer to buy unisex in case our next kid is a boy. Cuts down on clutter, yadda yadda yadda. I pull out a bright red snowsuit. I show it to her, and she says, "NO MOMEYE, PIIIIINK!" There are tears and belly aching, the whole works. I try to tell her that red is really just a dark pink. She doesn't like my explanation. We buy the pink snow suit. And pink snow boots. I was had by a 1.75 year old. Less than a week later the whole family was back at the store to buy a life jacket. Again, I like unisex colors. I pulled down the yellow one with blue trim. Again, she screamed bloody murder. Tears and hyperventilating shortly followed. Lee stood there in horror. He then pulled down the pink one. She grabbed it for dear life and wouldn't let go. So, our daughter was going on Lee's annual fishing trip in a pink snow suit, pink snow boots, and a pink life jacket. I'll have pictures when I make a post for that whole trip.
• She is starting to read books to herself. She memorizes sections and will open the book and recite the sentence or two that she remember. Most recently, she opened The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She started yelling, "NOISE NOISE NOISE" and "FEAST FEAST FEAST!" She loves her books.
• She can jump! She is able to get both feet completely off the ground at the same time. She is quite happy with her new skill. At the airport, she walks through the metal detector on her own. On our flight to New York, she refused to walk through it. She had to jump! Lee and I couldn't stop laughing. Of course the security area was packed. I think most people thought she was pretty cute.

I am sure I am missing something huge that I swore to myself I wouldn't forget.

• I knew I'd forget one! And, how could I have forgotten this. Cora's has a mantra that she lives by. If she is happy, she isn't just happy. She says, "HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!!" While drinking a glass of juice she'll say HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!! A walk to the park will have her saying HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!! There isn't anything better in this world when you are spending time with her and she looks up and says in a calm voice, "happy happy happy happy happy." Awwwww. 

I took the couch pictures this morning. Today was picture day at school. I made her the dress she is wearing on Sunday. It was actually a pattern and material I bought about a year ago. I finally got around to making it. I don't know what I was waiting for because it was so easy! It is a reversible dress, but I like the brown side more. I feel like the lighter colored side needs a little embellishment. Maybe a pocket or something. It turns out she also had the flu today. She threw up at daycare right before she was supposed to get her photo taken. Poor girl. Last year she stuck out her tongue. This year she is going to have the sick look. Ha! I still got some cute photos on the couch despite her cranky mood. She did not want to get ready for daycare. Now we know why.

She kept taking her shoes off. This was the closest picture I have of her entire outfit.

I love that smile.

Sitting on her perch.

I think her hair turned out super cute.

Beautiful!

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

I have a whole bunch of pictures that don't really have a blog story to go with them. I might as well just throw the whole hodgepodge into one post.

 It must have been a long day. She barely made it through the door before she crashed.

 Two peas in a pod.

She was really liking her outfit that day.

 Candyland Cora! Our little gumdrop.

 This is why it is hard to sew when Cora and Reg are awake. They both are always in the middle of everything. 

 She has a new potty. She loves to sit on it but won't potty in it. I think it might be getting close to the time where we need to seriously think about potty training.

 A bonafide Cora tantrum. She isn't always smiley and happy. Are you surprised? Don't be. She has ATTITUDE.

 Almost finished with the tantrum.

 :)

 Everyone loves some Reg.

She loves this crown. She loves Disney Princess movies. She loves dressing up. I love her.

 One without the Belle. A picnic day with some of my girlfriends.

Cora finger painting at daycare this summer. I love her enthusiasm.

A Bit O' Crazy!

Crazy hair that is. Last Friday was Crazy Hair Day at daycare. I had to keep reminding myself that is was crazy hair day, not bad hair day. The lazy side of me just wanted to skip brushing out the mat of bed head that she wakes up with and send her on her merry way. It is a good thing the lazy side didn't win. Armed with a brush, leave-in conditioner, hair ties, and a biscotti, I conquered Cora and her hair. I think she was pretty stoked about her cool hair do. She stared in the mirror for quite a long time admiring the braids poking out from the top of her head. She also thinks it is great to look at chewed up food in her mouth.....

Lookin' good, Toots!

 

Let's go, Mom!

Notice it is still "warm" in this picture. We had our first blanket of snow on Monday...just 3 days later. Today we had a high of 28 degrees. Brrrrr. Winter is coming!

Camping in the North

We took Cora on her very first camping trip this summer which was quickly followed by camping trips #2 and #3. Our destination was Rock Lake near Grande Cache, Alberta. We were about 4 hours northwest of Edmonton. We went at the beginning of August, and the weather was lovely. Quite cold at night, but great nonetheless. This marks the first camping trip Lee and I have been on where it didn't rain. The spell had finally been broken!! The mosquitoes were nasty. Thank goodness for a slight breeze and campfire smoke to keep those pesky, worthless bugs away from us. Lee and I were looking to get as remote as we could without backpacking into the back country. We felt as though we weren't physically ready to carry packs and a baby. Good call, because we weren't. We had a great time hiking around the lake and along the river. We took the kayaks and spent some time on the lake with Cora. She loves tooling around in the kayak. We had such a great time camping. Cora loved it! Although, I never doubted that she wouldn't love camping.

 Reggie was pretty excited to hit the road. I swear that is a smile. :)

 Cora is pumped, too.

 She ran and squealed the whole time we unpacked the car.

 Her very first moment in the tent. I was worried she would never come out.

 The smoke from the campfire was a new experience too! She wasn't as fond of the smoke as she was the tent.

 But this little gadget that lights up was the best thing of the whole trip. Well, maybe the second best. You'll see soon enough what she loves the most about camping.

 Letting Reg see her cool headlamp.

 Nothing is better than campfire spaghetti. Mmmmm.

 The first thing I quickly learned about babies and forests. Don't buy green and brown clothes. Children quickly disappear. She was dressed in the perfect camoflauge. Good thing she talks...a lot.

 The Hammock! This is Cora's favorite part of camping. She loves loves loves the hammock. I was so excited to get to use it. Lee and I got this for our wedding. We have taken it every where and have never been able to use it because of the rain. This thing even went to New Zealand! I was so happy to finally put it up.

 Yes, I enjoyed it too.

 Reggie spent the whole weekend stalking squirrels. Sort of. Notice the squirrel on the tree stump right in front of Reg. He never saw the thing. We baited the squirrels into camp trying to help the old man out. Poor dog is getting very old. :( This picture says it all.

 She reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the East when Dorothy's house fell on her and all you saw were the striped stockings. 

 Rock Lake. The background is Willmore Wilderness Area. It is a huge Wilderness area that doesn't allow any motorized craft of any sort.

 Fishing while Cora naps on my back.

 A boy and his dog.

 I look tired because I was exhausted. I didn't sleep well the first night at all because I was so worried Cora was too cold. 

 Checking out the river. She wanted to get in.

 I finally let her get her feet wet. Brrrr. The lake and rivers were glacier fed and incredibly cold. Do you think that would stop Cora from wanting to swim? NOPE! She sure is a Canadian baby. We stripped her down to nothing but her sandals and let her get in the river. She was allowed to play until she got too cold and then had to sit in the sun, wrapped in a towel until she warmed up. This cycle went on all afternoon.

 Lee enjoys the hammock! 

 Asleep in the tent. Her first night tent camping..ever.

 Cora looks like she is made for this life. 

 In the river...again.

Last stop for fishing. Lee got skunked this trip. The scenery was beautiful which made up for the lack of fish.

I'll end this one with a two videos from the camping trip. We had a great time!