Hammy

Cora has decided that she loves the camera. She puts on a production whenever I turn it on. I just wanted to get some pics in her cute outfit the other day, but these are what she gave me. Such a ham! I couldn't believe how big she looks when I uploaded them to my computer...not a little bambino anymore. Oh...please disregard the giant bruise on her forehead - she had a collision with the cocktail table a few days ago.

Walking the dog

Cora has an obsession with Lily. She hears her eating and says "dau dau", hears her barking and says "dau dau", tries to throw the ball to her, pets her, hugs her and most recently, started trying to put her leash on her. We appeased her wishes the other day and this was the result. Poor Lily...bean just kept saying "dau dau" while walking to different parts of the room trying to "walk" her. Lily is such a good dog :)

Good Morning

This is how I get to start my day :) Cora loves her new chair. She comes downstairs every morning, and piles her babies, moo cow and bunny in the chair with her to watch a few minutes of sprout while mommy makes her coffee. I am constantly amazed at how fast she is turning into a "big" girl, as the baby traits fade away. Seriously, I know I am her mom, but how could you resist this face :)

Happy Birthday Cora Bean! (I know, I am way behind!)

I can't believe a whole year has gone by! April 11, 2008 enriched my life beyond words the moment the doctor announced we had a little girl. Cora Genevieve, Cora Gen, Cora Bean, sassy pants or peanutty - whatever you would like to call her, has rocked my world for the past year, and I look forward to watching her grow into a young lady. Yes, I know that between her daddy and big brothers she will have lots of rambunctious moments, but I can tell in the way she loves her babies and daintily picks up her food, she will be a sweet little girl. I had high hopes of doing all kinds of first birthday blogging, but our week was beyond crazy. So, I am nixing all the birth story and sentimental posts, and jumping right into the big day. Cora's party was absolutely fantastic! We are so grateful for such wonderful family and friends - near and far. She was blessed with so many thoughtful gifts, and will have plenty to keep her entertained for a very long time. I was shocked she did so well! No nap from 7a until 4p usually makes for a cranky Cora, but she must have known it was her day and turned the charm on the moment people walked in the door. Thank you to everyone who shared in Cora's special day, whether in person or spirit, we are grateful to have you in our life.

sans the tutu - such a bean pole

checking out Clive
sharing grass

Cora with Dani, Aunt Maddie & Natalie

Cowgirl Cow Print Cake

Cora hugging Miss Lily

Taylor showing ladybug a new present

Cora was more interested in her baby than presents

Ah...the stroller - we take the stroller everywhere

Had to have the baby in the high chair for cake

mmm...and yes, baby enjoyed icing too

Mommy & the birthday girl

Cora and great grandma Cora

Baby and Moo Cow - her new favorites

A new ball! (she loves to throw balls)

Easter 2009

I am still working on the birthday post, so I thought I would share a few Easter photos while you wait. Easter weekend was huge this year with Jason's Baptism, Cora's birthday and the actual Easter holiday. Since Jason was baptized at the Easter Vigil, we decided to have a very laid back Easter morning, followed by brunch at Cora's great aunt Laurie's and a late lunch at great grandma Bettie's house. My grandmother (whom Cora is named after) made me several smocked dresses when I was a baby, and we were so excited that sassy pants fit perfectly in my toddler Easter dress that she had made. Cora loved her Easter basket, which was pretty basic after all the spoiling on Saturday, and she lugs her new bunny everywhere. She even got to hunt for goldfish filled eggs at Laurie's house. All in all the Lord blessed us with a wonderful weekend with family and friends!

Checking out the loot

Very happy with her new presents

Her favorite new activity - piling all of her stuff her the new chair

Sweet Easter dress....have to keep the toothbrush in hand (good habit I guess)

terrorizing Maggie

shake shake shake

sweet face

hiding with a few eggs :)

mmmm....I like this surprise!

no more goldfish :(
All eyes on Cora

Countdown To One!

I can't believe we are inside the 7 day countdown to Cora's 1st birthday! This week has been crazy busy preparing for the big O-N-E, Jason's Baptism and Easter... all with a walker -working on molars. I have so much to post about Cora's first year, but it is going to be slow since I can only blog when she is asleep. Here are some photos from the past 12 months to keep you entertained while I put the posts together.

5 minutes after birth

1 Day Old

3 Months

6 Months

9 Months

5 Days after turning 9 Months she stood for the first time on her own

11 Months 2 Weeks

Hooray!

Well, it's official....Cora is walking! She has been taking 4 or 5 steps to get to kids/toys/lily on a daily basis, but today was the first day of real walking. Of course, I took the video cam out of my diaper bag and we weren't at home when she started, but I will post a video as soon as possible (she wouldn't cooperate once we were home).

However, here is a video of our brave little climber - please excuse the quality as I was trying to prevent an injury....oh, and she did actually make it in the stroller the second time around...I think she might be trying to copy her friend Madeline in TX.

The boy next door

Charlie, our neighbor, turned 2 on St. Patty's day. He was so sweet to bring some birthday shamrock cookies and green/white balloons to Cora. They really play well together, but this took the cake! I am starting to think we may have to worry when these playmates get into high school! Cora pushed Charlie around the living room trying to get his balloons, climbing all over him and putting her fingers in his mouth. Charlie was so well natured - he just stood there and was so gentle with our little taz. Cora actually started crying when he left, and we had to go give kisses at the door to appease sassy pants. Oh my, are we in for it when she gets older!

Sweet Charlie

Fingers in the mouth
Funny Girl

My Fave - she is "talking" to him

Trying to get the balloons away

New Chair

Cora's grandma and grandpa got her a new chair for our patio...and, she absolutely loves it! This way she can sit outside with us like a big girl and enjoy the summer nights. Right now she loves to pile all her babies and animals in the chair...then she tries to climb up with them - too cute! Here is a video of her showing off her big girl kicking skills in the new chair. (as a side note - please excuse my voice...it is so high pitched in this video - lol)

Fun Day Outside!

The weather finally started to warm up enough to have some play time outside. Cora loves...loves playing outside! She stands at the screen banging and yelling at the kids riding up and down the street on their scooters, hoping that I will let her crawl through the grass to participate in all the fun activities. So, last week we spent half of our days either on the back porch, in the front yard or cruising in the jog stroller. Here are some photos of Cora enjoying the beautiful weather.

The spring air makes for great naps in the stroller

really trying to convince me to let her take her giraffe outside
Oh, how I love this face

trying to give me a piece of dirt, or a stick