My favorite Three Year Old!

This has been one of the most rewarding birthdays yet.

First birthday= no clue what is going on.

Second birthday =suffering a UTI.

Third = anticipation, planning & Party!

The third is definitely blowing the competition away! Cora was first rewarded by the arrival of her cousins, Ellie and Eli, which made her party start early, as in the moment they arrived! On the birthday morning Aunt Angela made pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips. What child can say no to something that is nearly a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast? After filling our bellies we headed to the Mall, which is Cora's favorite place to go. It sounds terrible, I know, but she is not there to shop. Our Mall has a wonderful play area for children that Cora loves, so we headed there, played for a little, checked out Cora's "house" which is really a super kitschy place that has all sorts of worthless baubles that Cora loves to gawk at. Water fountains, imported alarm clocks, things that come to life when you clap. Fun. As long as you don't take them home. :) Next, the the Jump Zone where we indulged Brian in some birthday enjoyment since his is only a couple of days off. Unfortunately his harness was not well secured and he ended up only enjoying the first couple of minutes before he had to beg for an early release from his torturing harness. I did get a good shot of him before things got too bad. Poor guy.

Next, on to the carousel where Cora, Ellie & Eli packed in with Uncle B onto a teacup. Intense spinning ensued. Ellie is a staunch spinner, and the younger set eventually bailed, leaving Ellie and a dizzy uncle B to finish up the teacup party. Cora and Eli enjoyed their horses. Last but not least, the food court! We had lunch and then headed home to get ready for the party. I told Cora that she wasn't going to have a party if she didn't take a nap. It was a bold faced lie, but it worked, and it was for her own good, so guilt was quite minimal. She took a nap, and we got ready for guests.

It was a perfect evening and we did a barbecue, games, pinata and monkey cupcakes. Our guests were super generous in spoiling Cora with fun and exciting gifts.

Brian was in charge of the games and took his assignment very seriously. We were doing an animal rescue theme to go along with the Diego enamored attitude of my little girl. Brian set up a monkey ball toss, pin the tail on the lion, and a whole animal rescue set up around the yard. He was awfully cute, and I really appreciated him taking that one on!

Cora had been carrying her Diego pinata around all week, and I had been mentally preparing her for the beating of the pinata. I was a little worried about the emotional impact of the pinata process, but Cora, and all of the children seemed to have a great time. Ultimately we had to call in one of the big hitters to finish the job.

I was TOTALLY exhausted by the end of the day, but Cora had a great day. No tears, lots of fun, and she loved the party, so mission accomplished!

Fall Family Photos

With the gorgeous Fall leaves in the air we met up with our friends Katie & Chris for another round of fun and pictures. This time we visited their house for the weekend, and had a wonderful time. One night Katie set up a fire pit in the backyard and we roasted marshmallows-- that was pretty much as good as camping for the 3-5 year olds, and I got to breathe in the wonderful smell of Fall, pretty much my favorite smell in the world!

The next day we went to an old plantation and took pictures. The one where we look like a super happy family with just a little boy and no little girl was because our little girl was way too interested in the chickens to come smile for the camera. Unfortunately, you can't force a smile, so we decided to just make the best of it with Sam.

It was a great day, and to top it off we stopped off at a restaurant called "The Flying Biscuit" My food was pretty good, but we ordered Cora some Macaroni and Cheese that made me stop and gape when it arrived. Rewind 25 years to my favorite food, Grandma Draper's macaroni and cheese! I snuck a bite of the stuff, and suddenly felt 10 again. Cora was eating it, but not in the appreciative way that I would, so I started to help her, and then said "What the heck!" and ordered my own. It made me so happy. It is funny how something that is simple, and on the culinary scale of things a very basic dish, just made me smile the rest of the evening. I don't know how long it has been since Grandma Draper made me mac n'cheese, but the next time I go to Charlotte, I might have to cruise by the Flying Biscuit for a little trip down memory lane. My grandmother is turning 105 in January, and is still going strong. I don't get to see her much these days, but I am so grateful for all the good times we had, and all the meals filled with love and good memories!

Grandma & Grandpa come to visit

Brian's dad and stepmom came out for a fall visit and brought their RV. Cora was intrigued by the concept of a little house on wheels, and absolutely loved going to visit the RV park, the dogs, and hanging out in general. We had a great time with Grandpa Brian and Grandma Suzi. Cora enjoyed an early pre-birthday celebration, and a mini cookout at the RV park. After Grandma and Grandpa left Cora kept asking to go visit their house. It was hard to explain that the RV park was still there, but Grandma & Grandpa weren't!

2 going on what?

Yesterday Cora was not pleased to be leaving Mommy and Me classes. She protested before leaving, on the way to the car, while getting buckled, and some more on the drive home. Not too far into the drive she said "Mom, just stop the car here and I will walk back to Ryan's house." Isn't she supposed to be a teenager before she comes up with lines like that?

In other, not so surprising toddler news Cora has really taken a fancy to stripping as a form of protest.

Me: Cora, I asked you not to do that, you need to go to time out.

Cora: Fine. I am going to take off all of my clothes!

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Me: Cora, I need you to finish your dinner before we can go out.

Cora: Fine, I am going to take off all of my clothes!

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Me: Cora, I need you to give me some space so I can feed Samuel.

Cora: Well I am taking off all of my clothes then!

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You get the idea. Sometimes I can distract her, with additional conversation, even as she is tugging at her sleeve to begin the process, but often times I just end up with a naked girl for a variety of time, depending on what is going on. I am trying not to make a big deal about it, but it is an interesting form of protest. Quite amusing too, though I have to laugh my own time, since I am hoping not to see this one pop up at nursery or mommy and me!

Little Sam Sam

Just shy of 8 months Samuel is getting really mobile. He can roll and scoot whatever general direction pleases him, as well as hold himself up on all fours. We are just waiting for that moment when he begins crawling in earnest. He is very much interested in what I am eating-- not so much interest in his baby food. Tonight at dinner he was screaming in his high chair to be picked up, and so I brought him into my lap. Immediately he began a full court press on my plate, arms flailing and grabbing, head and body thrust forward. Attempts to block him with a single one of my arms while eating with the other quickly proved useless. Samuel stepped up his efforts and caught hold of the edge of my plate. Only my cat-like reflexes prevented a complete loss of dinner to my lap and the floor. After that I gave up and just let him suck and nibble at what was on my plate. At least one of us was happy.

Even though Samuel only has minimal control over his body, I find it amazing how much he can communicate. In the car we have "The" CD. When Samuel is upset, track6, also known as "Snuggle Puppy" will buy you 1:47 seconds of peace, and if played twice can often segue in to a nap, or the patience to listen to another tune without squalling. As maddening as it might seem to have one CD to listen to day, after day, after day, I have decided it is better than screams from the back seat. Once calmed, Samuel is also opinionated about which songs on the CD he likes. He complains, grumbling at first, then escalating if I forget to skip songs he deems unworthy of his time.

Ever since he was tiny he had the greatest lower lip. When something is not going his way, it just drops out in the most adorable, yet heartbreaking way. I have to remind myself not to let the way it melts my heart dissuade me from proper choices, but it is so hard to say no to that lower lip! I love my little guy!

Cora in the fast lane

Cora seems to have developed her first crush.

Who wouldn't be in love with a good looking boy who has a baby jaguar, and spends all of his time saving helpless animals? I am not sure how much Diego paraphernalia exists for little girls, but there is definitely a market for the nearly 3 year old toddler.

Today I was trying to nurse Samuel in our living room. He tends to whip his head around when Cora is in the room, and I am really not a fan of this whole phenomenon when he is attached to a rather sensitive part of my body. I asked Brian to help me out, and he made Cora go down to the playroom against her will. Next thing Brian notices she had stripped down to her birthday suit and was chanting "I will never wear a shirt again! I will never wear pants again! I will never wear panties ever again!" Brian was really enjoying this one, and wondering how long our feral daughter was going to last with this new idea. After I finished nursing Sam I went to find her. Once Cora learned she was no longer banished to the playroom she happily got dressed and joined society as a well behaved little girl.

One last amusement from today. This evening Cora was telling us how grown up she was. She had helped load the dishwasher, and was having a really hard time waiting for our cookies to bake. Brian said "Cora, you are going to be my little girl forever!" To which Cora replied quiet crisply "No, I need to grow up, or I am never, ever going to get to cook!"