Daddy's Birthday!

For everyone else, April 15th is known as Tax Day, but at the Mihelich House, it's DADDY'S BIRTHDAY! Bob has been extremely busy this semester but he was able to take the day off for his birthday to celebrate with the family. We took a little trip down the Fox Valley area. First we swung by a house in St. Charles that Bob helped redesign with a new addition (it's looking great!) and then we stopped in Geneva to check out a really cool, huge historic windmill. Then we stopped at a baby store to check out car seats. Cora will be graduating to convertible seat as soon as we make the big purchase. We were doing a little research! Then we had a nice lunch out.

After naps, we walked to the bakery at the end of our block and picked out some cupcakes. We got plain ones, brought them home, and Reed decorated them. It was a pretty fun day for us all. Simple family togetherness!!!

Birthday cupcakes

Sunday we had Bob's family over for dinner...TACOS! If you were worried that Bob didn't have an actual birthday cake, don't fret. Herb's, our trusty local bakery at the end of the block, came through yet again with a delicious cake. Almond cake with vanilla butter cream icing.

Looks like Bob's age was leaked with this photo...yep, 35!

I bet you are wondering, 'What is the best gift ever for a 35 year old male?' Let me tell you. Playmobil Pirate Ship! Okay, this isn't THE Playmobil Pirate Ship. His original ship lives at his parents' house for the grandchildren to enjoy. This is a mere Dinghy, but it is his own Pirate Dinghy. One day...one day, the Playmobil empire will be rebuilt.

Reed was pretty happy with Dad's present

Cora enjoyed the festivities as well because she got to try a little cake. With her birthday less than two months away, she needs to start training. Good thing she gets another practice run next month at Reed's 3rd Birthday!

Cake is good!

Don't Feed the Animals

Cora is at the stage where she likes to put things into other things (blocks into a box/toys into a bin) or pull things out (like all the clothes out of her drawers). In this discovery process, she has discovered that it is really fun to feed other people. She gets a kick out of sharing her Cheerios and other food items with anyone who is brave enough to accept them with an open mouth. Usually she is feeding me and she really cracks up. Bob caught on video a little interaction between Reed and Cora.

While I am excited that Cora is now becoming excited to pick up toys and put them in bins (if only her brother shared her enthusiasm), I am less excited about the fact that she also loves to pull things out. Nothing thrills her more than to stand next to a basket of clean laundry and start chucking articles of clothing out, one by one. Well, unless maybe she enjoys emptying her brother's sock and underwear drawer more. Sigh.

Super Heroes

Perhaps this video illustrates Reed's fascination with super-heroes:

Did you catch he named "Red Robin" as a super hero? I think this is a hybrid hero that he generated from Batman's sidekick Robin and the kid-friendly burger joint Red Robin. When handing out superhero names to the family Uncle Nay Nay ended up Red Robin. What name did Mommy get? Tigress, from Kung Fu Panda. I'll take it :)

Spring Update

It's been a few weeks since I posted last and it seems like quite a bit has happened. After Bob's trip to Nebraska for a conference, it seemed like it took us a little time to get back to normal.

Then it was Spring Break. Oh yes, it is nice to have Spring Break again, since Bob is teaching and I am on a little hiatus from working at the moment. What did we do for break? Sandy beaches, tropical weather...not so much, we headed to Greenville. While they enjoyed 80 degree weather the week prior, we pulled into town with a blanket of snow on the ground. Not exactly what we had in mind, but honestly, we didn't go to Greenville for the exotic weather or gorgeous sightseeing. We did get to sleep in several days. We ate out several times. We were around to coach my brother Nathan through the prep for a huge job interview/presentation for a job as Senior Research Specialist at the Nano Research Facility at Washington University in St. Louis, a sweet gig that he DID get. Hooray Nathan!!!! We also got to spend some time with my sister's family. Reed loves playing with Owen, 6, and Willa, 3. We also stopped by my Grandma's house for a little visit too. She just celebrated her 91st Birthday, though unfortunately at the hospital. The day after we headed back home, she took a nasty spill and broke her jaw. She had surgery and has been in the hospital almost a week. Prayers for Grandma Maher's continued recovery!

Once we got back, we had to get back on our normal schedule again. Besides that, the kids are continuing to get into new stuff all the time. Reed is 35 months and is strongly looking forward to his third birthday next month. He has already requested superheros for his cake. He is also really anticipating Easter. He asked if he could dress like a superhero for Easter. After that idea was shot down, he redirected his intensity for Easter celebrating to all things Easter bunny related. He even started sleeping with his Easter basket, though he has stopped doing that, thanfully. He is REALLY into blocks lately too. I am amazed at what he can build by himself.

Future Architect?

Cora, Reed, Daddy, Mommy--built just by Reed

Cora is now 10 months. How can that be?! She is really getting into everything now. As you might have seen from the previous video, she can climb stairs. She has made her first unsupervised trip upstairs by herself while Bob and I were engrossed in conversation. I am constantly pulling non-Mommy-sanctioned objects that she is trying to eat out of her mouth. Who knows where she picks up some of this stuff, though a lot has to do either with her big brother or my inability to keep up with all the housekeeping duties. She is standing alone for a few seconds at a time before she sits herself back down, usually pretty controlled. She's clapping, waving, pointing, dancing, and saying Ah-ah-oh! when she drops stuff on the ground. She loves eating and seems to be telling me that she likes more big people food. I am kind of chicken about choking, so I think I tend to be a little slow moving away from pureed food.

Playing under the buffet

With Spring here, it seems like things are really starting to get busy. We have a lot of birthdays to celebrate, as well as Easter. Before we know it school will be out, but until then Bob is going to be swamped with work. We plan on taking it one day at a time and hopefully the weather will warm up soon so that we can start spending more of our days outside.

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