Go Away, Snow.

Here we are on April 12th, and we still have quite a bit of snow. Our back yard has at least 2 feet of packed snow. Ugh. The front might be worse though. The snow is gone however there is a nice layer of snow mold. I have a feeling this mold is the cause of my sudden allergy flair up. I think poor Cora is suffering from it a bit too. The temperature have been hitting the 40's most days, so we've been trying to take advantage of the sunshine as much as we can. Regardless, most days are still not very nice relatively speaking. I thought I would post some pictures of what we have been up to lately.

Reggie got a good spring brushing. It was unbelievable how much hair came off of him. It was also unbelievable how much easier it is to keep the house clean. With the consistent temperatures hanging out in the 30's, he'll be getting groomed here real soon.

Cora is really into these rain boots, if you can't tell.

We have also been having some fun with the tube.

Somehow, we both fit in there.

Cora is also helping me with my quilting. She is very good at pinning fabrics together whether they actually need pinned or not.

Reggie also likes to help sew. He is the designated comfort tester. He loves to lay on any and all fabric. This quilt is going to be 7ft by 7ft. We needed one the whole family could fit under.

Lee scooped the rest of the snow off the porch. We are trying to pretend it is nicer out there than it actually is.

Cora saw a bunny and decided she needed to catch it. Off she went. Her little body was able to stay on top of the deep snow.

Well, almost. She made it quite far trying to capture the snowshoe hare. She eventually fell through the top crust of the snow and couldn't get out. You'd think she would have been upset about being stuck. Nope. She was crying because the bunny left. She kept saying, "Bunny. Come here. Come back. Bunny." We had to spend the next five minutes explaining the bunny went home for dinner and she also had to go home to eat. She eventually understood. I think.

Can you see her in this picture?

How about now?

Surely you can now. That is her stuck. Lee had to go get her. Every step he took was knee deep in snow. I was laughing too hard to take pictures of that.

It turns out that afternoons of running in the sunshine make for a very tired toddler. Luck for me, I got to join in on this nap a few moments later.

I had high hopes for a really nice week of weather. The forecasted temperatures are quickly dipping. Boo. We still have Friday to look forward to regardless of the weather. Lee and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. A dear friend is watching Cora for us. We have dinner reservations at La Ronde. Lee took me there for my 26th birthday only a few weeks before Cora was born. I am quite excited to be going back. We'll be sure to take a couple pictures.

2 And A Quarter

Remember when I wrote that I wasn't going to be doing the monthly couch updates with Cora and instead do one every three months? Those three months sure whizzed by! On March 23, 2011, Cora turned 2.25 years old. :) That sounds so funny. A "quarter" birthday. And, I thought half-birthdays were ridiculous.

It is going to be a lot of fun to write Cora's milestones list this time. She's grown and developed so much since her 2nd birthday! Here it goes:

• Her favorite color is RED. Lee and I were surprised for two reasons by this. 1) We would have bet our life savings that her favorite color was pink. 2) Where did she learn her colors? She definitely knows red. I was on the bed indulging Lee in some of my favorite quilts that I would love to make someday. This, by the way, is Lee's most favorite morning conversation. ;) I was showing him this quilt
  
  when Cora jumped up on my lap and says, "I like RED!" while pointing to the red portion of this quilt. Lee and I instantly asked her what else was red on the computer screen and she pointed out every red button and picture on the computer. We were impressed.
• She is starting to enjoy different books and movies. This might seem kind of strange as a milestone, but it is HUGE for Lee and me. I had Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop memorized from reading it over and over and over again. Now, she'll pick a book out of her book case that she's never read! Huge, I tell you!!
• Her speech is really coming along. A lot of her words still sound like gibberish, but every day she is making more and more sense. Some of her favorite phrases are:
• I'm a MONKEY!
• I love you. (the best)
• Ewwww. Yucky!!!
• Mmmmm. Yucky!!! (She obviously doesn't understand the meaning of yucky)
• She is also singing and it is sooo cute! She is camera shy now-a-days so we don't have good video. The only video we have is Lee hiding trying to video tape her voice in the dark. Her favorite songs are:
• You Are My Sunshine
• Rock-A-Bye Baby
• Skitter Ma Rink
• Row Row Row Your Boat

• She is nearly potty trained! She is still wary of going #2 on the toilet. She instead asks for a diaper which is totally fine with Lee and me. She also still wears a diaper while she is sleeping because she doesn't have the ability to hold her bladder while sleeping. We started potty training over Christmas and it has gone really well.
• She is just shy of 36" tall and weighs about 30.5 lbs. She looks incredibly tall to me.
• Dancing is an every day activity in this house hold. Cora is learning how to move different body parts separately. She can wiggle her hips while moving her arms.
• She can distinguish between a moose and elk. You all have no idea how proud this makes her biologist mamma and hunting daddy.
• She throws the worst temper tantrums. She is incredibly "independent" right now. If she doesn't want to do something, she is not going to do it. Some examples are not taking her coat off at restaurants, not wanting to sit in the shopping cart, not wanting to wear clothes, etc. We have decided to choose our battles accordingly. For example, she always has to have her hair combed. Every morning she fights it, but I will not let her leave the house with her hair messy. Of course, it kills me that she doesn't want it pulled back all the time. I hate messy hair. However, I let her wear her rain boots to bed. She loves shoes and I really can't find a reason why it is awful for her to have her shoes on in bed. By choosing our battles to what is most important to Lee and I, I feel as though we don't sit and tell her no all day long. This strategy has certainly lessened all of our stress levels.
• She has two favorite outfits.
• Her hokey pokey skirt
• Her Cindy Lou Who halloween costume
• She is starting to "read" to herself. She will sit in her bed and read her stories to herself. It is the sweetest thing to listen to. 

Now, the part that most of you are waiting for. Cora's 2.25 year old couch photo session. She hasn't been loving the camera lately, so this photo session doesn't have a whole lot of smiles. It was also taken after her hair cutting incident. And, of course, she has on her favorite rain boots.

Cora Scissor Hands

I have a ton to blog about, but I couldn't wait on this one topic! As most of you know, I cut Cora's hair. It is easy because she has layered curls so poor cut jobs are easily camouflaged. Tonight, however, Cora thought she would take it upon herself to help Mommy out. Silly me forgot how tall Cora is now and that she can reach many places. Here's how it went down.

Cora has been watching Cinderella morning, noon, and night. Great Aunt Elsie gave her the movie and it is her current favorite. I was shocked any movie could reach the same status of Beauty and the Beast, but it has happened. I am pretty sure that Cora thinks she is actually the princesses in the various Disney movies that she watches.

Examples:
Beauty and the Beast

• Carries around a chapter book just like Belle. In Cora's case, she is partial to "The Hobbit".
• Accidentally drops her book in the mud and is constantly cleaning it off.
• Holds on to Reggie while yelling, "Woah Boy! Easy!"
• Ballroom dances with her dolls.
• Wears a blanket over her head resembling a cloak. I actually made her a cloak out of pretty purple velvet and she hates it. She prefers her towels and one pink knitted blanket. :)

Cinderella

• This movie is new, so I haven't made a lot of connections yet. Only one to be sure.
• She sits in the mirror and brushes her hair while singing.

This brings me to today. Cora was brushing her hair and singing in the bathroom. Lee and I sat contently on the couch talking like any other afternoon. The bathroom gets quiet. I hear a weird noise. We both stop talking and listen. This is where we made our first mistake.

Parenting Lesson #1: Quiet=Naughty. Don't wait to figure out the noise. Quickly intervene. Children are NEVER quiet.

Cora was in the bathroom right off of the living room, so I could hear a lot. Within 30 seconds, I connected the noise with something I am quite familiar with. It was the unmistakable sound of scissors snipping hair. Oh good grief! Sure enough, Cora had snipped off massive chunks of hair. Because her hair is thick, curly, and layered, it is kind of hard to tell just how bad it is. She is missing half of her bangs. It's a good thing hair grows. She thought she did a wonderful job. I have to admit, it is a lot of fun cutting hair. How could I be mad? I am just happy she cut her hair and not her ear or eye. Phew!

Parenting Lesson #2: To keep something "out of reach" from a toddler, you have to keep object out of reach from an adult. It is amazing what these little tykes can get their hands on. Note to self about medicine...the counter is NOT good enough.

Cora, you're missing massive amounts of hair!

Really? I think it looks good!

Looking good with my NEW HAIR DO!!!!

That's a LOT of forehead!

At least she can still show off her totally cool, hand drawn tats!

Ice Capades Princess in ACTION!

As promised, here are a couple short videos of Cora skating. She did pretty well. You can see in the second video how she would stand still and "glide" with one foot. It was pretty cute.





Cora and Lee left on the plane for Denver today. They are going for a long weekend to see some family. It also happens to be Aunt Elsie's birthday (Great Great Aunt Elsie to Cora). They should have lots of fun! Here is a picture Lee took with his iTouch at the airport. This will mark Cora's first plane ride where she has her own seat. This also means that this is the first plane ride where she HAS to wear a seatbelt. I am really hoping she cooperated with Lee. Although, if there is anybody who can lay down the law with Cora, it is Lee. I am pretty sure he also has a pocket full of M&M's for bribery if need be. :)

Ice Capades Princess

Cora finally got to try out her new ice skates from Christmas today! It has either been too cold or the snow hadn't been removed from the neighborhood outdoor ice pond. Today, we took her to Hawrelak Park to skate because they also rent out ice skates. This way, Lee and I could join her! It was gorgeous outside today. The temp was in the high 30's which felt amazing compared to the sub-zero arctic winter we've been having. In fact, Cora refused to wear her winter hat and instead opted for last summer's sun hat. Spring fever is flowing through her blood for sure!

The skates Cora is wearing are called bob skates. They have 2 blades on each foot and strap directly to her regular shoes. They remind me a lot of the old Fisher Price roller skates that strapped right on to your shoe. She got use to them quite quickly. Lee and I on the other hand...well, let's just say the first 15 minutes were terrifying. We have not skated in a long, long time. We also have not been responsible for holding a two year old up.

 She wasn't scared of skating. The problem here was she wanted to skate alone. It took Lee and I awhile to "let go" and risk her falling. She also refused to wear a helmet which terrified me. I rationalized with myself and realized, she does many more dangerous things day in and day out. Finally, we let her go. She did really well. No major crashes. She was taking baby steps and being really cautious most of the time. We took some video, but I'll upload that on Monday or Tuesday.

 Letting go...

 She was really enjoying herself. Taking pictures while standing in ice skates is a lot harder than it seems. Lee did a great job taking these photos.

 Because it was so warm out, there was a nice layer of slush on the ice to play in.

 Cora says "mah ands" which translates to "my hands" when they got cold from playing in the slush.

 She looks like she is having a blast here. 

 Lee and I were teaching her how to blow warm air on her hands to keep them warm.

 Cora cheering herself on while skating. I love this little girl.

 Last photo before we turned in. It was a fun day.

Wait, one more. We couldn't miss an action shot of falling down. Notice the dad in the background wearing his shoes. Lee and I are definitely taking his lead next time. ;)

Fish in Water

The picture below is one of Cora's latest creations. Nearly two weeks ago, Cora and I were stranded at school because the train electronics had malfunctions causing the bus system to get backed up. It was frigid cold...-15 without windchill. Lee was three hours away in Calgary but scheduled to come home that evening. I made the decision that Cora and I would wait in my office until Lee was able to pick us up. It was warm, and there was food. The first thing I did was give her a notepad and pen to draw. One of my labmates was asking Cora about her drawing. The conversation went something like this:

Rene: What are you drawing?
Cora (concentrating very hard on her masterpiece): It's a fish.
Rene: What? Really? Are you sure. I am not seeing a fish.
Cora (sternly looks at him): It's a fish!

A few minutes pass by. Cora is still intently working on her drawing.

Rene: Now what are you drawing?
Cora: It's water.

So, this marks the first time that Cora has told anybody what she is actually drawing. I was astounded to find out that it wasn't just a bunch of squiggles. I think it is a beautiful creation. And, it appears she might loves fish just as much as her father.

For good measure, I had to put a shot of Cora in the blog.

Brrr Brrr Baby

We had a ton of snow fall this last weekend. We had over a foot of snow fall in a matter of 2.5 days! It is definitely a winter wonderland. The cold didn't come until Monday, so we took Cora out for some snow fun on Sunday. I can't believe I just wrote this last sentence. When I say the cold hadn't hit yet, that means it was 3F outside! I have been in Edmonton much too long. I think it is only -4 or -5 out right now, and Cora and I have been out and about all morning long. I have definitely digressed.

So, we took Cora out in the snow to play. The snow was so deep it was past her waist. Good thing she didn't sink all the way down to the bottom because it very well might have been over her head. I had to keep picking Reggie up so he didn't get completely buried in the snow. We taught Cora how to make snow angels. We buried her legs and arms. It was so much fun. It certainly took me back to the days when I could play outside for hours and never get bored.

Lee shovelling the back deck off. The snow is so high that he standing even with the seat of the bench.

There isn't much need for stairs when the snow is almost as high as the deck. Reggie is actually having fun at this point. He gets cold quick these days.

Snow angels!

I love this photo!

This is the front yard. The shrub that is barely poking out of the snow is nearly a two foot tall plant.