Lean, Mean Climbing Machine

On Monday, I took Cora to her 9 month pediatric checkup. Wow, how time flies. Nothing new of note. No concerns from the doctor. My only silly concern...perhaps we should start encouraging waving. She's got the clapping down, but seems less interested in the art of waving. I am very blessed that this of all things would even be a concern. There are a million other more serious things that I could be worrying about, thankfully none of which affect us. And if you are wondering, no, I am not worried about the waving; I'm just putting it on the things to introduce/encourage list.

We also have Cora's new size statistics. Our lean, mean daughter is weighing in at 17 lbs, 12 oz (25-50 percentile) and measuring 28.5 inches tall (75-90 percentile). She's following the growth curve so the doctor said that there is nothing concerning about her weight.

Well, she may be "petite" (as people tend to refer to her) but she's certainly not immobile. The girl is on the move. Crawling, no problem. Cruising, you betcha. Climbing stairs...I'm afraid so!!! Cora picked up a new skill today. Lord help me!

Eventually we'll get to the going-down-the-stairs part. I need to rest my heart before that day comes.

The 'D' Sandwich

I never cease to be amazed at how children, or, in the least, my child, thinks. Reed requested grilled cheese sandwiches today because that's what the kids from daycare were eating today. I was happy to oblige since he was so enthusiastic about it. Reed even helped me prepare them. We finished the last two pieces of bread from one loaf and opened up a new loaf for the other sandwich. As I was getting ready to cook the sandwiches, Reed said, "I get the D sandwich and you get the B sandwich."

Baffled, I asked him what he meant and he repeated himself. Suddenly I looked down at the sandwiches and it became clear. He was referring to the shape of the bread! I thought it was quite clever and certainly not obvious...at least to the cluttered mind of an adult. Yes, I am referring to myself.

The B sandwich and the D sandwich

It's a Sibling Thing

I just can't get enough of the loving pictures of Reed and Cora. Every morning when Reed sees Cora, he excitedly says, "Good morning, Cora! Love you, Cora!" Then he gets right in her face, lovingly (believe me, there are plenty of times that it's not so loving,) and briefly talks to her. It's amazing how quickly the pendulum can swing between best buddies and annoying-little-sister/over-aggressive-big-brother.

One of their favorite interactions takes place in the bathroom, of all places. Reed still likes company when he takes care of business; although he does, from time to time, ask for privacy. I end up sitting on the edge of the bath tub with Cora sitting on my lap. Cora loves to grab the shower curtain and play hide-and-seek with Reed. They laugh hysterically almost everyday. I love that it is "their thing." I really look forward to all of the future "things" that will be just theirs to share. Sometimes I have to remind myself that when Reed tackles Cora for getting in his way or any similar scenario to that.

Sometimes it's her poking him in the face...

...but most of the time, he's the one being too rough

Potty Dance House Party

Last Saturday Reed, Cora, and I hosted a Huggies Potty Dance House Party for our regular playgroup crew. It was fun. We had a houseful of guests; the group keeps multiplying. Several of us now have two kids and one has three. I think we totaled 22--a nice size crowd for our somewhat modest-sized house. Besides streaming a Ralph's World concert over the internet, it was pretty much a normal free-for-all playdate.

I was too preoccupied to get any real good pictures of the party. Here's one of some of the kids gobbling up the snacks. You can also see the little party packs in the background that I put together (materials from Huggies: a potty-training video, coupons, stickers, coloring sheet, and Potty Dance mat.)

Eating, always a highlight to any party

In case anyone is looking for any good "potty" reads, here are some of our favorites that we checked out of the library for the event.

Potty Animals: What to Know When You've Got to Go, by Hope Vestergaard
Even Firefighters Go to the Potty, by Wendy Wax
Have You Seen My Potty? by Mij Kelly and Mary McQuillan

If anyone collects codes for EnjoyTheRideRewards.com, here's one for you: DMDMG-SGQBB-GFCPX. That is good for 5 bonus points.

She listens...

Yes, she listens, but maybe too well. How could my daughter make it through her first 3/4 of a year and not understand sarcasm?! I probably find this to be funnier than I should, as a kind, concerned, loving mother.

Our little singer

Reed's singing has become quite the hit since we released the video of him singing Happy Birthday to Willa. We will go ahead and showcase some more of his singing, since he's being doing so much of it lately. Reed's favorite movie continues to be the Polar Depress (okay, Polar Express--I always snicker when he calls it the Polar Depress though.)

He loves the Hot Chocolate scene and likes to sing the song.

You want to go want the movie now, right? Hee, hee. Here's a clip if you are interested.

I'd rather be standing

How quickly it all changes. One day they stay in one place. Seemingly the next day, they are rolling around. Then comes the crawling. Each step seems to captivate them. They spend a lot of their effort trying to master each new skill. These days Cora is a pretty proficient crawler and she has redirected her energy to perfecting the art of pulling up and cruising.

Life as an "upright" being was had its challenges but she takes a licking and keeps on ticking. No one is going to slow this girl down... no matter how frustrated it makes her in the process.

Playing peek-a-boo behind the table leg

Which way to the baby food aisle?

One second we're having fun, the next, not so much