Cora's New Bed

Cora is pretty excited about her new bed! We got it set up, and then realized it'll probably be best to wait until after our two trips and weekend with lots of houseguests to start the new routine. My cousin Shayne got us a great deal on the bed--THANKYOU!

Also, Cora used "I" for the first time today that I have picked up on. We were by a little bench and she said "I sit!" when she sat down, and then patted next to her and said "Momma sit!". It's fun to hear her say more and more and pick up on grammar.

We found out Violet is still sensitive to milk. Kevin and I went to the temple while our kind neighbor watched Cora and Violet, and we left some formula for Violet. I thought it would be fine, because it was formula for sensitive babies, but it was still milk-based. Poor Violet had a very hard afternoon and evening today with an upset stomach, lots of spitting up, and lots of crying. I guess we'll keep trying every few weeks to see if she grows out of it! I've steered completely clear of milk and yogurt... cheese once a day or so doesn't seem to bother her, and luckily, chocolate seems to be safe too!

Yard work, House work

We are trying to get our house and yard projects all finished before we have guests next week! We have been working hard on organizing the basement-- office, guest room, storage room, man room, getting Cora's room upstairs set up (unfortunately, there's not time until later in the summer to paint and cutesie it up), and finish some miscellaneous yard projects.

Friday and Saturday I shoveled a ton of bark, taking it from our driveway to our backyard. And that's literal! It was 1.19 tons of bark, or 5 cubic yards. HOT! But it looks so nice back there now.... we just need to get our growboxes and garden area done.
Sunday I started putting stuff in Cora's new room. I pulled out a bookcase for her and decided she was old enough to have the non-board books out... before they've been in a closet so I could keep an eye out while she read them, hoping she wouldn't be into page tearing. She was so excited to see all these new books, she had to pull them all off the bookcase! Oh well. At least she loves to read!Kevin got lots of work done this weekend too, of course! He did some wiring in the basement and helped with all the organizing. He also weeded and started clearing out our last section of messy parkstrip that we've ignored the last three years. Since we don't have a truck anymore, we weren't quite sure what to do with all that dirt that was coming out. He started putting it in our garbage can, but since it had grass in the bottom, it was top-heavy, and fell down and pinned him to the sidewalk! I was in town running errands, and no one was out of the street to help him... it was too heavy for him to push off himself. Luckily, a neighbor came by fairly soon after and rescued him. It's funny now, but I think it must have been very uncomfortable. We'll have to figure out another way to get rid of that dirt.

Cora is growing up!

We have a ward playgroup that meets every week, alternating between parks, people's homes, or fun places out. Yesterday we met up with the group at the Gateway to play in the fountains! Cora had fun for a while, and then wasn't interested in getting wet anymore after she had her snack. Kevin met us down there for lunch, and it was a nice day. Needless to say, I had two very tired girls on the drive home.


I have been doing a 'block of the month' quilting group the last year. I finished up my next-to-last block today! It's been a fun, cheap way to practice my sewing and learn a little bit about quilting. Every month we do a different pattern in coordinating fabrics. It's almost time to put them together! I'm going to piece them together and put a back on it as a duvet cover instead of quilting it, for Cora's new big girl bed... that we'll be buying next week!

I read on my friend's blog that she taught her toddler colors with M&Ms. Cora can sing her ABC's and count to 20, but she sure hasn't been interested in learning her colors, so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately, Cora was much too preoccupied with eating the M&Ms to learn her colors. I guess she really doesn't get candy very often, what a distraction! We'll try again tomorrow.
Cora has also been more and more distinct when talking. It's pretty cute to hear her say "I love you", even thought we still are prompting her to say it. Tonight I told her good-night and that I loved her. Then I said, "Say, I love you Momma", and she said "I love you Violet" several times just being goofy.

She also loves to fold Violet's arms for prayer, and has been staying kneeling for family prayer more regularly. Cora loves watering the flowers with me, and likes especially to fill her cups with the hose water while I'm watering, and then water the flowers herself. When we go on walks, Cora hops out of her stroller and says "My turn, my turn" and wants to push it. She also plays the 'my turn' card when she wants to watch her show on tv or wants a bite of something yummy Kevin or I are eating. She's getting so big!

Almost Finished!

I haven't posted for a while! We've been pretty busy here working on our basement. We have made so much progress in the last few weeks! Kevin did all the baseboards and casings, then we were lucky to have Brad come down to help for a few days. Brad and Kevin did all the caulking, puttying, and paint prep, and put two coats of primer on.
Then we were lucky again to have my dad come for a few days and he and Kevin put two coats of paint on, and wired all the outlets and lights. We had a couple of pricey trips to Home Depot and Lowes to get all those switches and fixtures! They also got the whole basement cleaned up and took a full load of boxes and scraps to the dump with dad's truck. The basement is now swept and cleaned up.... ready to be carpeted tomorrow!

We also used the truck to take an early morning trip to the nursery. Now we have trees and shrubs along our back fence, and we are much closer to having a finished backyard.

Cora loved playing in this box that the vanity top came in.


What's left to do? Wiring low voltage stuff like cable, internet, and phone; hooking up the toilet and vanity, tiling the bathroom, ordering a mirror for the bathroom, putting up the doors, installing faceplates on the switches, getting blinds, moving stuff out of the storage room, installing doorstops, washing the windows, doing some small paint touch-ups, fixing one buggy outlet. A lot of little things. But still, we are getting so close! I'm excited that with the carpet we can start moving things downstairs and using the space. It will be great for Violet to have her own room!

Kissie and Pata recently got back from a three week trip to China. The girls got to wear their dresses from China to church today. Kevin also wore his dragon tie and 'Rolex'. It sounds like they had a fun trip! The guys were so beat at the end of the day from working on the basement when Dad came, we didn't get to see the pictures. Next time for sure! I think Mom said they have 1200 of them.... better get some popcorn!


Violet is growing and learning new things all the time! She loves to watch Cora run around, and seems to like Cora's almost constant kisses and hugs too. She's always loved her bouncer, and this week she really picked up on kicking her feet to the music to touch the hanging toys. She kicks more at some songs than with others, she must like them better!

Girl's Lunch at the Capitol

Look at all these cuties! Along with Cora and Violet are Masami, Addison, and Julianna. I got to have lunch today with a few of the ladies I used to work with and everyone brought their babies! All girls! There is a boy of the bunch, Anton, who is Cora's age, but he was out sick today. We had a lot of fun. Cora, Violet and I stuck around afterwards to see other people I used to work with and check out the Capitol. It was the first time I had been there since the grand reopening in January. It is so beautiful!

Violet at Two Months

Violet had her doctor's appointment this morning. she is doing well. The doctor said she has especially great muscle control-- on her tummy Violet was pushing up and even showing off by tucking her knees under her! She is going to be the tall one in our family I think. She is measuring 24 inches long (97%!!) and 11 pounds 10 ounces (60%). She-- and Cora-- had a hard time with her shots, 5 of them in one appointment, plus an oral vaccination. They both took naps afterwards, all worn out from the trauma. I was trying to catch a smile in this picture-- Violet gives great smiles and coos to us... but not today!

The cook is in the kitchen!
Cora and I played outside for a while today to let Violet take a longer nap. I got most of my pots planted with flowers and veggies on Saturday, so now Cora loves to go outside and water them with me. I need to find her swimming pool, I think it's almost warm enough!

A Few More Oregon Pics

We just got these, and I had to add them in!

Sorayah and Violet
Cora, Sorayah, and Kylee hanging out in the dollhouse

3 bus drivers!
What a nice grandma to let granddaughters draw all over her face!