Full is my heart

It's after 11pm and I should really go to bed, but I want to capture and record what is a very meaningful anniversary for me. Exactly one year ago right now, I was pretty much convinced that I was in labor.  I'd had regular contractions for much of the day and as I went to bed they were about every 10 minutes.  I was excited, but also didn't want to get my hopes up in case, once in bed, things slowed down.

But they didn't slow down and an intense, powerful, empowering night passed and we had our daughter. And now I'm crying thinking of what an amazing beginning that was for our family. Cora is such a beautiful, wonderful, happy little gift of a baby. Jacob and I (and usually Jack) are just so in love with her. She's nearly always smiling. She's so expressive. She's dramatic. She's funny. She's smart. She's loving. She's incredibly cute. She's increasingly determined and spirited.

It blows my mind to think of the amazing process of a baby being formed, born, growing, and changing. To know that one year ago, we had no real concept of this child.  And to know that we have no real concept of the child she will be one year from tonight. To look at Jack and see how much he's changed from the baby he was to the child he is now and to know the same will be true of Cora.  To know that the people they will one day become are being formed layer by layer by every one of their childhood experiences. I stand simply in awe of that process.  And so, so humbled by it.

This week has been a big one.  Cora took her first steps!  She took them to her daddy, going after the sippy cup he was holding up for her.  2 days later, she's taken as many as five at a time!  She also got her first ear infection. She also may now be saying "dog," "ball," and "baby," along with a lot of "uh-ohs" and "hi's".  She is intensely a mama's baby (as in don't even think about leaving her to go upstairs), but she lights up to 100 watts when she sees her daddy.

  

She is beautiful.

We call her "Flip" because of her sweet little hair do. 

I do a decent job of appreciating my children but I could do so much better. I'm grateful for birthdays and celebrations like tonight and tomorrow that give me the chance to refocus on what matters.

Jack at 3.5 ... !!!

Biting my tongue (or rather crossing my fingers) to keep from writing the cliched line about where has time....

Here is my snapshot of what this little boy - my little boy - is like as he hits the 3.5 year mark.

Jack, in the mornings,... 

• has a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going.  He's sometimes super sweet, adorable, and snuggly in the morning and other times seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed (or maybe not gotten enough sleep?)  He usually comes straight to our room with his striped pillow, "soft" blanket, and "a friend" and climbs in bed with us
• has the loudest, fattest feet, which, when running down the upstairs hallway at 6:30am, have gotten us a few emails from our tenant
• loves his daily "yum-yum," his baby word for oatmeal that seems to have stuck
• makes a ridiculous mess with his "yum-yum" (and any food for that matter)
• raises our blood pressure to get him to complete all the steps of his morning routine

Jack, throughout the day,...

• believes in the power of positive thinking and talks in a very affirmative, it's-going-to-happen way to try to make the things he wants, reality.  For example, (with lots of intonation) "Mom, I have A  - GREAT  -  IDEA!  If I don't take a nap, and Cora is still asleep, I can watch ONE Fireman Sam.  Okay?  Okay Mom? 
• calls us Mom and Dad occasionally (and usually intentionally to get our attention)
• is likely to be loud, drop something, spill something, or wake someone up
• can be convinced at any moment to sit down and read a book
• likes to help ("let me get the step stool Mommy") and likes to do things himself 
• ALWAYS is up for a game of Fireman Sam involving wearing fire helmets and climbing on makeshift engines to respond to emergencies 
• would always be happy to eat some cheese, nuts and raisins, or any type of fruit
  

Jack, at night,... 

• would be thrilled if it's possible to fit in a bike ride or park visit before dinner
• likes to say his school blessing "Open Shut Them..." before dinner
• can be picky about his dinner
• can be motivated to clean up all his toys by referencing The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room - he gets a lot of satisfaction about making his space as clean as the bear cubs' space and he does a very thorough and organized job!
• brushes his teeth with chocolate flavored Theodent toothpaste
• has, just for kicks, been sleeping with his head at the foot of his bed for the last few weeks
• likes to read books, say prayers, have his back rubbed and a song sung to him, a night light turned on, and a kiss given all before bedtime
• if he gets up at any point, MUST be tucked back in.  He will cry if you suggest himself tucking himself back in.  "But I don't know how to tuck myself in..."

Jack Speak This Week

• "Actually..." - this is one of his favorite words and he says it about 20x a day 
• (To Grammy) "Normally, when you're not here, I get to brush my teeth all by myself first"
• (When offered Mickey when Minnie Mouse couldn't be found) "But I don't sleep with Mickey usually"
• (When I walk in the room after hearing Cora shrieking and ask what's going on:) "Not really much..."
• "Daddy...I have a GREAT idea..."

You are opinionated and have your "moments," but you are an amazing gift from God, have a beautiful spirit, and brighten every day.  We love you!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

 Happy Memorial Day!  

Some pictures from the last few weeks:

Music in the Garden at City Park

Happy Graduation Daddy!

Pretty in pink

First pool visit this summer!

Almost birthday girl :)

The Many Faces of Jacob Landry

In any one week, Jacob Landry can be found:

• managing the strategy team at the largest school district in Louisiana
• tending the Landry farm: feeding the ducks and chickens, putting new plants in the ground, watering the vegetable garden
• heading out to Tulane for Executive MBA courses (but NOT anymore, hello family Saturdays!)
• selling eggs on Craigslist (the chickens' eggs that is)
• participating in pretty much every New Orleans leadership fellowship/summit/weekend/happy hour
• wrestling with a 3 year old or crawling around with an 11 month old
• finding the very best deal on every single thing we need to buy
• washing dishes, cooking, bathing children, reading bedtime stories

You don't have to tell me I'm a lucky woman.  Now he's not perfect or anything.  He doesn't do dirty diapers.  He will be the first to say that sentimentality is not his strong suit.  He stresses me out by nitpicking every trip I make to Whole Foods.

But he is such an awesome father; he really loves me and our family; he really cares about people.  He lives life fully and he makes sure I do too.

We've had some awesome adventures together with many more to come.  He is my co-pilot in this life.  I'm very proud of you Jacob as you add another couple of letters to your name. 

Happy Graduation Daddy!

Young Jacob wearing, yes, fake glasses

College-era Jacob

This guy's hair grows fast!  Jacob in France

He occasionally sports a mustache, mainly to annoy me!

My favorite Jacob Landry hairdo.

It's been fun (scary?) to see that Jack is turning into a jokester just like his Daddy.

Daddy Jacob

Cora at 11 months

I like to play a little game called "This time last year..."  I remember doing this a lot the month before Jack's first birthday and I've already started doing it this month.  When you are pregnant, there is no way to fully appreciate what happens post-child birth.  This past year has been such a journey and definitely one to celebrate next month.

We have such a beautiful little girl over here.  We get lots of comments on how happy and social she is.  (Outside of her experiences at the church nursery where she is one sad puppy!)  She is a charmer with her southern "Heyyy" and accompanying wave which she generously shares with the world.  She recently added "Nuh-nuh-nuh" with a wagging finger to her list of words (mama, dada/dadee, ja-ja, and hi/hey).

The last one she picked up because we've started using NO a lot this past month.  At the toilet.  At outlets.  At nightlights and fans and wireless routers.  At stairs.  This has been her month for getting into everything.  If she's quiet, then you better go check.

She reminds us of a little puppy dog because she is always crawling around with something (stuffed animal, LEGO, coaster) gripped between her teeth.  She chews on everything (with her 8 teeth: 4 top/4 bottom).  She pulls up and can even stand unassisted (briefly) but she doesn't cruise.  Crawling is how she gets around.

She's very expressive and has a gasping "oh-oh" sound she makes.  Today she would do it every time a song ended on the CD player. Then when a new one would start, she'd start bopping to the beat.  She loves music :)

We still are all over the place with sleep.  She has been making some improvements with going down for naps.  She cries for shorter times and sometimes will just talk herself to sleep now.  But she still wakes frequently at night.  A handful of times I only nurse her one time in the middle of the night, but most of the time it's twice, with several nights of THREE night nursings.  This would be on nights where Jacob has tried for 15-20 minutes to get her back to sleep.  Enter another Cora characteristic: DETERMINATION.  Sometimes she just wants me and she's not going back to sleep until I come in.  As any nursing mother knows, night nursing can be a doubledged sword.  It's a magic potion that immediately induces sleep, but only you can administer it!

It may be true that I coordinate her sunhats with her clothes :)

Nursing is still going well and she still nurses a good bit every day.  I've been questioning the baby-led weaning a bit this month because I sometimes wonder how much she's really eating.  She picks up food, puts it in her mouth, chews it, but then it seems a lot of it comes back out and ends up on the floor (where a dog would come in handy.)  We do spoon feed her oatmeal some mornings (to limit the mess) but there are times when she doesn't want to be spoon fed or to feed herself.  I never nurse her before meals, but I could see how all her nighttime nursing leaves her not all that hungry.  It's a balance I'm going to pay more attention to over the next month.  I trust that she knows what she needs and we certainly offer her a wide range of healthy foods.  But there is a desire to know that she will ULTIMATELY eat more/nurse less :)

I had my first Cora-induced mother's guilt this month.  Our oven doesn't get hot on the outside, so I'm not overly concerned when Jack and Cora are near the oven when it's on.  Well it was on and Cora cried out.  She had her hand between the broiler drawer and the oven and I thought she just got her finger stuck.  I pulled her hand out and she crawled off, seeming fine.  Well the next day I notice she had a nasty burn on one finger.  Even then I didn't think too much of it, but it looked worse each successive day - to the point it looked like a chunk of her finger was missing.  AAHH!  Then I called my mom (the nurse) and her doctor but was told to just keep it clean and expect it to take some time to heal.  It is a bad feeling to think you let your precious child hurt themself.  :(

Pretty Cora - now with bangs long enough to warrant a bow!  We are in love and so lucky to know you!

Ellie - cute new exercise fashion line!

A few months back I tried pv.body, a company that sent you a monthly exercise outfit to match preferences you submitted. The company has since morphed into its own fitness fashion line, Ellie. Their rationale was that rather than trying to find consistently quality, stylish fitness wear, why not invest the energy in developing their own high quality product.

I was interested to follow the company's evolution, so I signed up as a Fit Fashionista to review their first offerings. Their goal is to offer a new collection each month. You can still sign up to receive a monthly box (you can pre-select the items or you can let the company pick) or you can just shop the online store at any point. The monthly box option is attractive because you can pick any two pieces for $49.95 and free shipping.

I loved their first collection (February) and I was really happy with the leggings and long sleeve running tank I received (pictured here.) The leggings are flattering and have a nice long fit.  The shirt I just love.  The material is very soft, the color is beautiful, and there are both thumb holes and cuffs that you can fold over your hands for cold runs. (Which I would do if I lived somewhere cold, that is.)

Their March collection was on the theme "Little Black Collection" and was also fun to shop through.  I opted for black leggings and a black sports bra/racer back tank combination top.  This is definitely the most stylish workout top I own!

In April, they launched the Coral Crush collection; Ellie will continue to roll out a themed collection each month.

The turn around time on my February and March outfits was slow, so I held this review to see if the company could work out the kinks with their shipping.  Their customer service was excellent and they sent me a free outfit for April.  That outfit came within a week of the order.  Their commitment is to turn orders around within 24 hours.

I have a friend who has also tried the clothes and really likes them. Check them out online and take advantage of the 20% off coupon you get through my link!

Disney World with 2.5 Kids in 2.5 Days! part II

On our second full day we went to Animal Kingdom.  We lasted from 9:00-5:00 and Jack found this park just as captivating as Magic Kingdom. 

Jack's favorite ride was the Kali River Rapids which we went on twice.  Big Papa's favorite part of the trip was watching Jack giggle every time someone got wet.  My favorite part of the trip was leaving the ride the second time and hearing someone in the other line, say "Wowww, look at that guy" and pointing to Jacob, who was drenched and not loving it - hahaha!

I second guessed myself taking Jack on the scary/realistic dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom.  He was sitting beside me and as we jerked around in the dark with realistic dinosaurs looming at us and loud, panicky voices directing us away from an incoming asteroid, I kept squeezing his arm, saying "It's just pretend; it's just pretend."  I couldn't see his face in the dark, but he seemed perfectly fine afterward.  Still, this would be the one ride I think we shouldn't have taken him on.  Too realistic.

Cora spent her time between the Ergo carrier, in loving arms, or in the stroller.  She was very friendly, waving and saying "hi" a lot, and, overall, was a trooper.  She fell asleep pretty easily but also woke pretty easily, so she didn't get the greatest naps and was starting to get fussy the second day.  Luckily we had lots of help.

Take away #5: Make sure you have a very favorable adult: child ratio.  Ours was 3:1 adults: in the flesh children (just to be extra clear, the half child is my sister's baby boy, due in July!)  

This was just plain AWESOME.  And with Grammy not wanting to get her hair wet and Aunt Kristen unable to ride roller coasters, it also meant that Jacob and I got to experience most rides with Jack, while Cora was being loved on by others.

I also found nursing Cora to be extremely easy at Disney.  Rather than sit in the heat and nurse or ask everyone to wait while I fed her, I would nurse her as we rode on calm rides (i.e. Peter Pan's Flight) or on rides where we were supposed to be quiet and she was not (i.e. The Carousel of Progress) :) 

We explored our hotel the last night and then Grammy and Big Papa took over kid duties, while the siblings went out to dinner.  Our hotel was exceptionally kid friendly so the final morning was spent at the hotel pool and playground.

Our adult: child ratio had dropped to 3:2 at this point since my parents and Kristen had left earlier in the day, so Jacob and I took big kid Chris and little kid Jack to Downtown Disney to the LEGO store.

Takeaway #6: Don't enter the ultimate toy store without a game plan. 

Jack immediately zeroed in on the elaborate fire LEGO kits and we had to negotiate him down to the paltry $10 and $7 boxes.  Big kid Uncle Chris was rationale enough to say no to the $400 Star Wars LEGOs that he wanted :)

And, as all vacations do, ours then had to end.  We said good-bye to our last adult companion/baby-holder/child-entertainer and went through security alone (or as alone as one can feel with two small children, a stroller, a baby carrier, a bookbag and two carry-ons since Jacob Landry doesn't check bags.)  Our over-tired children did NOT sleep on the flight home as is the habit of over-tired children.  Jack was actually entirely docile, whereas Cora alternated between big flirt (smiling and waving) and tired baby (screaming).

Jack was excited to see his stuffed animal, "Regular Monkey," waiting for him in the car and Cora also seemed happy to see her comfy carseat.  (She fell asleep 5 minutes from home.)  We then enjoyed a dinner of oatmeal, since that was the only food we had in the house, and got ready to go back to real life!

But Disney World, I hope to be back!  You were a fun excuse for carefree time with my family!  Thank you to my parents for this trip - it was an awesome memory for all!