Christmas Decorating

We started putting up some of our Christmas decorations this week! Cora thought it was pretty neat to have so many shiny things to explore and boxes to play in. She's become quite the little climber in the last few weeks, and loves to get on top of chairs, boxes, and even the coffee table. So she especially loved this stepstool and claimed it for her very own. Hopefully we'll get Christmas put up all the way this week! It's been a more 'slowly but surely' process than the 'all in one day' I'm used to without a toddler!

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a terrific Thanksgiving week with Kevin's family coming to town to celebrate with us. We had yummy food, got some Christmas shopping done, and had fun hanging out as a family. Kevin and I also went to the BYU-Utah game, and although we didn't win the recliners and tv from RC Willey (1 in 5 chances! Oh well!) we had so much fun watching the exciting game. Go cougars!

Kisses

New Favorites

Some of Cora's favorite things of the moment:

Remote: She is fascinated. It's no longer enough though, to just hold it and push random buttons, she gets frustrated if the buttons she pushes don't do anything! She'll point it at the tv and say 'toons, 'toons. She doesn't watch a lot of television I promise!

Stepstool: I got her a stepstool so she could look out the window easier. It gets taken all over the house to help her get up on chairs and other things. She is becoming a little climber! She also loves this chair, and sometimes gets upset with me if I'm sitting in it when she wants to be in it. Good thing there are two of them in the room!

Crayons: Drawing has really clicked with her the last little while. I got some butcher paper and she colors on it on the kitchen floor and thinks that's pretty neat.

Blowing bubbles: New skill! I just thought she was obsessed with drinking the bathwater (which she is too, but oh well!). Then one day Kevin noticed she was doing bubbles! She does love bathtime, and bath is one of her new words this week, along with banana and a few others.



Popcorn Popping: I started singing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree to her while I'm changing her diaper. She caught on so fast! I think it was only the second or third time I did it, she popped her little popcorn hands right along with me!

Another new word: Cora loves to look at a mini quiet book with pictures of Jesus in it during church. She's caught on and answers "Jesus" when we ask who is in the pictures in the book or the pictures on the wall at our house or church.

Others: Cora loves to climb up on our office chair to look at the family photos better. She LOVES the calendar my mom made that is full of family pictures and will stare at the pictures for hours, and gets upset if I'm using the calendar and she can't for the moment (unfortunately this means I can no longer paperclip reminder notes tot he calendar!). She likes watching her mobile more now than she even has, and loves making the animal sounds when they go by. And I think lima beans are still her favorite food, even surpassing cheese, and maybe even graham crackers!

And her last new thing-- probably not a 'favorite' but a success story-- she has points through on four molars now! I've heard the second four aren't as bad as the first, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Ut-Oh!

Cora opened her first door all by herself this morning. Oh no! It looks like we've entered yet another stage of childproofing.

Cora reaching for the graham crackers-- her favorite.

It's going to be a girl!

Well, probably! The ultrasound tech said she'd give it a 92% chance of being a little sister for Cora. We are so excited! They didn't do a video for us of the ultrasound, but they did give us a cd of pictures, so some of the images are attached. Our new baby girl is due March 28th.

Our Little Flamingo

Cora and dad getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

Cora got carried part of the way! She loved to run around, but she was getting pretty tired too.

I think Cora's favorite part of trick-or-treating might have been ringing the doorbell. When we got to the doors, she'd raise her arms up and say 'button, button'.

We only went to a few houses but Cora charmed them all and still got a good-sized treat pile. It didn't hurt that about half-way through our outing she understood that she could reach for the candy in the bowls. Some generous neighbors let her take advantage of that a little too much! Cora loved looking her candy over, she was especially fascinated with a little clear package of runts. Too bad she won't be able to eat much of it!

Cora eating some mini m&m's. Just her size. She also loved the smarties and candy corn we let her have too.

We're Now a Minivan Family

Well, we got it! We got a good deal on a 2007 Honda Odyssey. They said it was the best time to buy-- the end of the month and the end of the year. It's a pretty one! Cora loves it already. Now when you all come visit us, we can ride in one car, and there will be plenty of room for the new baby and our yet-to-be purchased double stroller in the spring!

New Stuff

Cora has a new bottom front tooth all the way in, and two molars just poking through.

Her new words this week are cute, mom (finally!), and baby.

She is getting less scared and more adept at going down the stairs. She won't do it on her tummy, but sits on her bum and turns to the side to slide down each step.

Ultrasound Appointment....

.... is scheduled for Monday, November 5th at 9:30am. We'll let you know if we find out any details!

Baby's First Moves

I felt the baby move for the first time last night! It's a little bit earlier than I felt Cora moving around in my tummy. But then again, we did have a yummy chocolate souffle with fudge center for dessert last night, so maybe the baby liked that! Or maybe the baby is just excited about our planned purchase for today.... more details to follow!

If you need a quick chocolate fix: A quick & easy recipe that can be mixed before meal, then put in oven at end of meal--for a delicious warm chocolate dessert. I can't take credit for it, it's from my latest email recipe exchange I participated in.


1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup semi sweet choc chips
Microwave 1-2 min & stir

Whisk together 5 eggs & 1/2 cup sugar
Combine with microwave mixture above
Then add 4 teaspoons (yes that's right tsp!!) flour
Add 2 tsp vanilla
Mix all together.
Spray 8 ramekins with oil
Fill 3/4 full. When it's time--bake 450 degrees 10-12 min.
Ovens vary--they are done with little ridge forms circle on rim edge, but
Looks somewhat fallen/still undone in middle.
Turn upside down onto dessert plate--middle will be somewhat runny--like
Fudge sauce--serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

New Stuff

Cora has a new bottom front tooth all the way in, and two molars just poking through.

Her new words this week are cute, mom (finally!), and baby.

She is getting less scared and more adept at going down the stairs. She won't do it on her tummy, but sits on her bum and turns to the side to slide down each step.

Tuesday in New York City

Tuesday we had yet another beautiful day! We were so lucky with weather the whole trip. We met up with my mission trainer, Kiasa, and her daughter at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Cora loved it! There was one floor with activities and displays just for toddlers, so everything was just perfect for her.

Cora driving the New York city bus. I think she could have spent hours here pushing the buttons and foot pedals! Beep beep! Baby bus coming through!

Cora loved feeding this dragon his alphabet cards. When you put the cards in his mouth, the dragon would say the letter, a word that starts with that letter, and something about that word. The little boy on top of the dragon would gather up the cards for Cora and hand them to her to put in. They had quite the system going on!

Isabella (middle) and Cora playing on the toddler-sized couch.

Cora gathered up the balls and put them one by one through these holes to see how they bounced off the pegs and went down. I think she could have done this all day too!

Cora and Isabella playing with this air display. If the kiddies put their hand on top of the silver hand, air shoots up and blows the styrofoam popcorn around in the case. Pretty fun!

After the Children's Museum, Kiasa's husband met up with us for Indian food for lunch and then a walk through the Museum of Natural History. Cora slept through most of the museum, but woke up in time to growl at the bears! We then took a break at Central Park to let Cora run around, and then she took a nap while Kevin an I walked through a good long section of the park. We ended the day with Cuban food and a cab to a hotel near the airport so we could be close for our 6:30am flight.

We had such a fun trip! Thanks to everyone who helped us out!

Monday in New York City

On Monday, we were on our own to explore for the day. We started off with a trip to Ellis Island. With all the security checks and lines, this took about 6 hours of our day! But it was worth it, there is a lot to see and it's just neat being there. Cora hung out with Kevin while I went to the climb up to the base of the Statue of Liberty. Then we switched off. I think Cora enjoyed hanging out and running around a lot more than waiting in another security line! So it was good we separated even if it took a bit longer. And it was nice not to have to carry her up the 160 stairs.

Cora with Manhattan in the background.

After the Statue of Liberty and our visit the Ellis Island (a great museum is there!) we went to find Little Italy. After walking for a bit through the restaurant supply store section of Little China, we found it! We ate a great authentic lunch... just Cora was a little bit tired.

After Little Italy, we went to the Top of the Rock, the observation tower at Rockefeller Center. More amazing views! It was a fun way to see the city.

We ended the night with meeting up with Selina for yummy Ethiopian food. Cora was having a little bit of a hard time during dinner, so she and Kevin went on a walk and saw an episode of Law and Order being taped!

Sunday in New Haven

On Sunday, we took a train ride to New Haven, Connecticut, about 2 hours away from New York City. There we met up with my friend Lauren and her family. It was another beautiful day, and we had such a fun time visiting. We also took a walk around Yale campus and a picnic up to a park that looks over New Haven. There are so many trees! And the fall colors were so pretty. Cora watched with fascination as some of the other kids in the park were playing in the leaves. She's never seen that before, in fact, she had never stepped on a crunchy leaf before and she thought that was very cool too. We played a lot in the leaves and took some pictures of the view before taking an evening train back to New York.

Kevin and Cora at Grand Central Station-- we arrived a little bit early so we could look around.

Cora and I on the train--she slept all the way there. She had a lot of catching up on sleep to do too!

Cora with her two big yellow leaves she found as we walked to Lauren's house. She loved running with them.

Cora and Amelia sitting in the leaves. They are a little less than one year apart in age.

Cora looking out at the city.

Lauren, Cora, and I.

Kevin and Cora-- you can see Long Island Sound in the background.

Saturday in New York City

Our flight was supposed to arrive late Friday night, but due to weather problems (and I think a stingy airline) we landed in Washington DC instead of NYC, at 2:00am instead of 11:00pm. We had to spend the night in the airport, but they flew us to NYC Saturday morning. Finally! It was a long trip across the country. At least we didn't pay hardly anything for our tickets! Kevin and Cora on the plane. Cora did really well, and lucky for us, she slept most of the time.

Kevin, Cora, and I at Battery Park. After we got to Selina's apartment, we spent the morning walking around the southern tip of Manhattan with her.

Cora and I in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Selina and I on the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked halfway across and came back-- what lovely views of the city!
Selina had some work planned for Saturday afternoon, so Kevin, Cora and I explored on our own for a while. We went to F.A.O. Schwartz, the Apple store, walked down Broadway to Times Square, and took a carriage ride in Central Park. It was such a fun day, and lots of walking! We were beat by evening. We grabbed a pizza and went back to Selina's apartment to catch up on our sleep.

Cora's Agenda

So, this morning I put Cora's socks on her when I got her dressed. Promptly afterwards, she grabbed her shoes and made it clear she wanted me to put them on. Finally I did, and then she ran to the laundry room and was upset when I tried to shoo her out and shut the door. I realized she was pointing to my shoes! She was much happier after I put my shoes on. Then she pulled me to the door and reached up as high as she could to try to open it (she's still lacking about 6 inches). She was very happy when she finally got me outside and she could run around in the backyard for a little while. I guess she's got the routine down!

Pumpkin Picking

We went to a pick your own pumpkin patch in Tooele tonight for Family Home Evening. It was fun to watch Cora walk around and look at all the pumpkins! We even got to have a bumpy tractor ride back to the entrance. We're looking forward to carving the pumpkins when we get back from NYC!