Great Friends, Great Night

Last Friday we ventured out to the beach for the first time this year. Jon and Ash came along and it was a fabulous night even if it was a bit chilly! Cora did great, especially since we were eating dinner at her normal bedtime! Love our friends and our nights out as a family!

365 Days Old

Last Saturday we were thrilled to celebrate Cora Isabel's first birthday! It was an absolute gorgeous day and we were so blessed to have everyone over to help celebrate our little loves special day!

Cora is such a stinker right now. She is walking, already whining and is very independent! I may already feel bad for any young guy that wants to date our daughter. She is going to be STUBBORN and strong willed! On the other hand, she is so good about (starting) sharing, signing "more" and "all done", trying every type of food we put in front of her, and is all done with bottles (expect for the night time one). We love her to pieces and wouldn't change one single second of our life. It is so amazing to see the world through Cora's eyes and we are so excited to continue this journey for the next 38,023,849,024 days! :)

 Happy Birthday, Cora!

 Blueberry Pancakes for Breakfast!

 Her First baby doll from Mama and Dada!

 Someone fell asleep for the first 30 minutes of her own party!

 Excuse me, party girl is ready now!

 Must not take after her mother, she didn't love the cake and brownies!

 It's tiring opening presents!!

 We love you Cora!

FIVE

that's how many steps Cora took today all by herself! She is going to be walking in no time or at least we hope!

One more MONTH...

...until our sweet little girl is ONE YEAR old! That's right, next month we will have a one year old...where has the time gone? Cora has grown so much this past month. She is talking, talking, talking (well, really not talking but babbling a ton!). She still says mama, dada, nana and lots of words that she knows we just can't understand just yet. She can point to your ears, nose and mouth but little stinker has no interest in finding her own ears, nose and mouth. She is laughing with you and at you so much more...it just melts my heart. She loves to be chased around and laughs as she is crawling her little heart out! She has taken a step or two but really doesn't have much interest in walking alone.



 Cora loves playing outside. As soon as you say, lets go outside and get the mail, lets go outside and play, lets go for a walk, she knows exactly what you are saying and with her chubby cheeky smile we go outside and have a blast!

 Cora loves food - but it has to be on her own time. If she isn't hungry, then she just won't eat and will throw all her food off of her tray! She absolutely loves food with flavor! Spaghetti, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, pizza, chicken, all fruits and veggies and of course the Gerber crunchies - her FAVORITE!!

 This month we started swim lessons. We thought we would introduce Cora to water now since summer is hopefully right around the corner, but it is Michigan so who knows when summer is going to be here! At first she was a little shy and scared and now we can't pull her out of the pool. Cora has mastered the inchworm in the pool and it is adorable! I can already see Joel and I sitting on the sidelines of her high school swim meet.

 Aunt Megan, Aunt Jillian, Uncle Matt and Grandpa all participated in the Riverbank Run. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the greatest so Cora sported her team shirt indoors at the after party (aka: brunch with family).

 A lot of people have asked - can you really believe she is going to be ONE?? Yes I can, but am I having just a slight hard time that yes, she is going to be one...maybe just a little :) I can also say that we have been so truly blessed with this little lady and I'm really looking forward to seeing her personality continue to grow!!

No Name Post

Who wins...the egg or the 10 month old...

 The 10 month old...

 So excited about her jackets - she loves loves to put on coats, such a silly little lady!

 Helping Papa heal after having surgery!

 Loving the wind chimes with Nana!

10 Months

What a crazy month it has been yet so much fun seeing the changes with Cora. She has battled RSV, bumps and bruises from trying to walk, perfected speed crawling, cut a top tooth, became a daddy's girl, started clapping and now hides when she is filling her diaper. We are so proud! :)

She is becoming such a little girl! Just looking at her when I come home after work, I feel like she has changed in those 9 hours I was away. She comes crawling as fast as she can towards me, her little booty shaking as she slides across the floor on her knees. She is so close to wanting to walk on her own. She has a little toy walker and could push that around all day if we let her.

 She loves playing hide and seek. Love the smile that is beaming as you turn around the corner and catch her trying to find you. melts.my.heart.

 Ms. Know It, as well...she knows what she wants and she wants it 5 minutes ago. Right now the favorite toys are our keys and sunglasses. Screams when we take them away...watch out boys, she's going to be a handful!

 Oh, the cheeks. Just love them and don't want them to ever ever disappear. I'm sure she'd say differently if they are still around when she is 17.

 Unfortunately this little miss caught her 4th cold (I know, the Dr. said she should have about 7 her first year), which turned into a little case of RSV. She received a nebulizer treatment at the Dr's office and then was sent home with an inhaler. She's doing much better - thank you Lord!

 She also cut a top tooth in the middle of the RSV ordeal. Not a good week and a half for this peanut. Lots of cuddling, Tylenol and gnawing on anything she could get her little chubby hands on. We have many more teeth to come, just hoping it doesn't happy during a cold again!

 She now knows how to get your attention and she LOVES it! Her and her funny faces...nothing at all like her mother (ok, maybe just a little). We can't help but crack up when she makes faces to just get a reaction out of you. Love this little miss to the moon and back. What a blessed ten months it has been.

Beauty

Even though she is sick again, she is the most beautiful little girl I have ever laid my eyes on. 

that's all.