There's something in my mouth and its really sharp

Its official! A tooth is on its way in!  So far we can only see a tiny little hole in her bottom gum, but she is definitely teething.  Cora is not too fussy, a little bit more temperamental than usual, but overall still a fun girl who happens to be slobbering liters at a time now.  Currently, there is nothing of picture-quality, but we may post a pic next week when something more substantial comes through.  In the meantime, if you should happen to wake up in the middle of the night, pray for us.

And so it begins...

What begins, you might ask?  Several things, actually.  I think teeth are finally on their way into the part of the world known as Cora's mouth.  I've been saying this for a couple of weeks now--other people have been saying it for MONTHS--but with the day we've had, I think they REALLY are starting to come through.  Cora has been so fussy today and I've chalked it up to teething.  If its not that, then its a sore throat from the cough she's had the last couple of nights.  But I'm hoping its the other.  If a tooth does come through, you'll definitely know right away.  I'm sure we'll post a pic!

 

I mentioned the cough which leads to one of Cora's "beginnings".  We took her to the doctor for the cough yesterday, and while we were there, she showed her first sign of waving bye-bye.  The nurse waved "byebye" as she was walking out, and Cora raised her arm just a little and moved her fingers just a tiny bit--a wave.  We had just told the nurse that she probably wouldn't wave because she hadn't been doing it yet.  But she did and the nurse said it gave her warm fuzzies.  Geron also tried to get her to say "Byebye" and she said it very clearly.  No one was around for that one but us. 

 

Other things beginning to finally take root in Cora's life--crawling, REAL crawling.  For a few months she's been scooting backwards, and getting faster and faster at it.  And lately, she's been doing what I believe is called the Monkey crawl.  It involves pulling yourself around with your arms and one leg, while the other stays in a sitting position.  But she's finally beginning to get the knack of this going forward business.  And she's so ready for it!  Today, I sat her down on the kitchen floor and turned my back to fix her cup.  When I turned around, she was up on all fours, hands and FEET, that is, ready to go.  She stayed in that position for almost a minute, seemed like 10, and then sat down.  I think she realized she'd accomplished a great feat and threw her arms up in victory and grinned.  She may just skip this crawling buisness and just take off walking.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. 

 

Speaking of walking, Cora is showing some signs she's ready to go.  She'll stand with support for a minute or so and then let go and balance herself for several seconds, nothing touching her to keep her up.  Usually, when she does this and she starts to lose her balance, she'll lean down and put her hands on the ground and then sit.  She so desperately wants to be on the move.  Her favorite thing that she's dying to get into right now is the cabinet at the bottom of the entertainment center.  I wonder if when she opens that door, she thinks to herself "Is this how I get to Narnia...If I could just crawl in and shut the door, I'm sure I could find Aslan and Lucy and all those other interesting people.  Darn it! Why can't I crawl?" or maybe she's thinking "door. crawl. sit. dark. hide. no mommy. Whew, I needed a break from that crazy lady!" 

Finally, the girl is doing a lot of talking.  Most of it I haven't deciphered yet.  BUT the words "Dada" and "Mama" have finally come out of her mouth and they are music to my ears!!  She often says what seem to be sentences and mentions things in those sentences about Dada.  I hope she's saying nice things.  Mama is usually used when she's frustrated about something.  Its probably not "mama" in the sense of "mommy" yet, or maybe it is and she's just trying to tell me what's bothering her at the moment.  Whatever the case, sure sounds good. 

 

And so it begins...our baby is turning into an individual whose ready to tackle the world and all its challenges.  Tonight, I was thinking, Lord, please let her teeth come in quickly.  And then I thought, after reading this post, No, Lord, its okay if they come in slowly.  I can handle the whining without words.  I'll pray a prayer for time to fly when we hit the pubescent years. 

How Cora is like Ralphie

Most of you who know me from way back when know that Ralphie was my pet lop-eared rabbit.  He went on to bunny heaven during my third year of college.

 

And now, how Cora and Ralphie are alike.

 

• They both love to jump--Cora more specifically in a johnny jumper or while being held on someone's knee. She hasn't mastered the "jump as high as you can in the  air, twitch your whole body and then hop on down the hall" trick yet.  It has a degree of difficulty of 9.6. 

 

• They poop anywhere they please.  Although we haven't found any "Cora bean-bean" behind the recliner yet.  MOST of it stays in her diaper.

 

• They don't want to sit in your lap too long.  While Ralphie preferred laying beside you on the couch, Cora prefers jumping up and down on your legs for a few minutes and then being put down on the floor to go wherever she pleases.  Watch out! She's on the move!

 

• They love the outdoors.  If we'd taken Ralphie outside for just a minute and let him hop wherever he pleased he'd be gone!  I learned later, from Holly, that I could have put him on a leash and he would've done well.  Cora's not quite as fast as Ralphie was, yet, but I will probably have to put her on a leash in a couple of months.

 

• They both love carrots.  Cora's are still mashed, of course.  I can't compare the two in the teeth department yet as Cora has NONE.  I'm sure it won't be long, though, before I walk into the kitchen, see the refridgerator door open and find Cora behind it, gnawing on a carrot from the bottom shelf.  Ralphie loved this treat!

 

• They both have cages...Cora's is called a "Pack and Play".  Unlike Ralphie, though, she enjoys being in her "cage".  Ralphie only stayed in his at night.  Thus, the bean bean behind dad's chair. 

 

• They both enjoy eating the binding off books.  I know people say board books are good for kids while they're teething, but are they actually meant to be consumed?  Ralphie, on the other hand, had much finer tastes as he preferred to eat certain movements of my piano music that was left on the floor.  Now that Cora is crawling, I keep music in the bench, in a file cabinet, and anywhere else she can't get into, yet.

 

• They both have cute ears.  Cora's aren't floppy.

 

YES, I KNOW CORA IS A BABY AND NOT A BUNNY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lasagna Night

Hooray for Dada!

Actually, Hooray for Cora SAYING "Dada!"  For the last couple of days Cora has been jabbering a lot of different things, in Babese of course.  And from time to time she'd say something that sounded almost like "Dada", but we weren't quite sure.  And she wouldn't dare repeat herself.  But today, as we traveled home from picking YaYa up at the airport, and mommy dozed (Little turkey just had to wait til mom was asleep), she said it.  "Dada! Dada! Dada!" Later, when I was awake, she did it again and it was one of the cutest sounds I'd ever heard.  She even says it differently then her other "words".  Its high pitched and absolutely adorable!  Just in time for Father's Day, too.   So, Hooray for Dada!  But don't think I don't know she's saving the 'best' (MAMA) for last! HA!

Best friend?

One of Cora's favorite places in the house is the door to her friend's room.  After I finish changing her, she likes me to carry her over to her "friend's" room so she can play with her friend and her mommy(who looks just like me).  She grins from ear to ear when she sees her friend and her friend's mommy.  She tries to give her friend a kiss but there's always a barrier between them.  She'll laugh and grin at her friend and her friend's mommy for the longest time.  She'll carry on a conversation with her friend and they'll both laugh at the funny things they share with each other. And then she'll try to give her more kisses, but again, the barrier is always there.  The other day she tried to pull the barrier down and look behind it to see where her friend and her friend's mommy were.  She can't understand why they won't come in her room and play with her.  I realize I'm being corny, but this seems to be Cora's point of view.

 

Cora absolutely loves to look at herself in the mirror.  The first time I ever held her in front of it to really study herself, she cackled and cackled.  And ever since then, she loves to visit the baby in the mirror.  She truly looks for her when we go in her room.  I must confess, it is one of my favorite games to play with her, too.  I'm cherishing this game because I'm afraid of the day she'll stand in front of the mirror and say "Mom, this looks awful.  I don't like the way my hair looks.  I hate my nose, etc."  Even as I see that in words, I am beginning to pray that she will see herself as God sees her--his beautiful child whom He loves and values.  Perhaps then there won't be a day like the one above.  For now, I'm enjoying every minute of my little girl's life.  Excuse me while we go play with our friends in the mirror some more.

Cajun Crawtator

Its official--Cora's Cajun!  Well, half anyway. The three of us along with Geron's parents headed down south right after the morning service last Sunday.  Cora's first trip to meet her Mimi Brown, last of her living great grandparents, was 12 hours long.  She was a trooper! When we got to Uncle Duke and Aunt Judy's in Lake Charles, LA, she was sound asleep, or so we thought.  She woke up briefly to greet Jenn, Joni and Judy.  (I guess she wanted to make sure everyone noticed she'd arrived.) 

 

Cora had tons of opportunities to experience the fine cuisine of Lake Charles.  Firsts for her--that are neccessary if you're going to spend time in Lake Charles, LA, were bites of: 

                    1. Meatball Poboy (like a sub sandwich) at Tony's

                    2.  Whole peas and garlic bread at Aunt Judy's (part of a meal that also included beef brisket, baked beans and potato salad)

                    3.  Burrito and spanish rice at Casa Manana

                    4.  Roll at Pat's of Henderson (Great seafood and steak restaurant)

                    5.  BOUDIN from Hackett's  (boudin is a combination of rice, sausage or seafood, and spices in sausage casings)

We didn't give her any seafood this time--I think its still a little too early--but she'll be having her share of crawfish ettoufee soon enough, I'm sure.

   

Our "shah baby" (cute baby) was spoiled rotten by the Quinton Brown's, the Jonathan Brown's, the Jonathan Brown in-laws (who were down from Indianapolis), PawPaw and YaYa Brown, MiMi and anyone else who could get their hands on her.  She especially enjoyed attempting to play with Jonathan's miniature schnouser puppy, Jasmine Claire, who was quite afraid of Cora.  Wednesday night after church, Jonathan brought Jasmine over.  We'd heard a lot about her and how hyper she is, so people were kind of concerned how she would be around Cora.  When they arrived, Jasmine came bounding into the living room wagging her tail at everyone, making her rounds and then she spied Cora.  Of course, Miss Co was especially excited about seeing a dog and started bouncing up and down trying to get at her.  Jasmine GROWLED at Cora.  She barked and barked and would come close and back off when Cora tried to grab her.  It was hilarious to watch.  Eventually, Geron and Jonathan were able to tame their "babies" and introduce them to each other.  After that they were friends, or "cousins". 

 

Another dash of excitement came by way of a quick storm one afternoon.  I say quick because it was not in the least way small.  If you've been to Lake Charles, then you know it is very flat and there aren't nearly as many trees as Tennessee to block the winds that come with storms.  Also, considering that the hurricanes hit not so long ago, we were quite frightened.  Rain just started pouring out of nowhere it seemed--like God had just turned on the shower head in Heaven.  Winds were blowing so hard and suddenly it started hailing!  For a girl who hasn't seen much hail, these pieces looked huge!!  Some were as big around as quarters, maybe even pingpong balls.  Fortunately, the storm didn't last very long, quick, I tell you.  Made me thankful to live in beautiful Tennessee. 

 

A quick little funny to show you how much Cora has taken to her cousins....Wednesday night, we went to church with the Quinton Brown crew.  Cora and I attended Kids Club with Cousin Jennifer--an excellent children's teacher, by the way!  In the children's room, there are several bins full of all different kinds of puppets.  One lad, Logan, was taken to attacking Jenn with a rather realistic looking orangutan puppet.  He'd shove the puppet toward Jenn and make a loud growling sound.  Cora was sitting on the floor watching.  Everytime Logan's 'puppet would attack, Cora would make "muscle arms" and yell at the orangutan--as if to say "Get off of my cousin you hairy freak!" It sounded more like "Yaaaghhhhhhhhhhh!!! EEEEyaaaaaaaaaghHHHHH!!", but I'm sure it meant what I said before.  She was really quite good once Bible study started.  She loved being around the older kids and watching them interact with each other.  I know she was longing to chase after them.  She made a good buddy, too--Audrey.  Audrey is three and tried to hold Cora's hand a lot of the time....Cora also found out how much cousin Jennifer loved HER when she let loose on us one day.  I'll just say, Cousin Jennifer endured MUCH in helping me give Cora an extra bath that afternoon. 

 

Cora's first trip to Louisiana was certainly worth every minute.  She loves her "new" cousins, Jennifer, Joni and Jeffrey (oh, and Jasmine, who can "praise the Lord"--another blog entirely).  She loves playing with Aunt Judy and watching Uncle Duke turn into a complete crazy when he sees a baby.  Her Mimi Brown holds an extra special place in her heart, even though you couldn't tell by the way she smacked Mimi when it was time to say Goodbye.  Of course, seeing the country with Mommy, Daddy, YaYa and PawPaw will be a cherished memory for her.  But the cajun food is what she is looking forward to most when she goes back--by then she'll have teeth!!

 

swimming

Cora is a water baby!  She definitely takes after me around the water.  Our best friends from Richmond came down this past weekend to spend time with Cora and us, and we tried the pool out one afternoon.  Holly, Cora, and I, that is.  We had emptied the pool and were refilling it.  Holly suggested we let Cora sit in the pool as it filled.  Cora was all about it!  Except she didn't want to sit.  She kept getting down on her stomach trying to swim!  It was hilarious to watch her!  She'd flip over and wave her arms and kick her legs--kind of like when she's trying to crawl--she loves the water!  Eventually the pool filled and she played in her crab for awhile, bending over every now and then trying to take a sip of water.  I'm so glad she is enjoying her pool.  BUT I think she's taken it a little too far.  Since we've bought the pool, Cora seems to think everything with water in it is a pool.  Taking a bath is a whole new adventure!  She keeps splashing down on her belly to swim in it, too!  We'll have to post video of it soon, too.  I'm thankful I've got a little swimmer!