Picture Update!

I've had many moments of major over-stimulation this week!  It's my own fault in that I oftentimes get on the computer during my few moments of downtime rather than unplugging from the world.

The other cause of my over-stimulation is that this week has had lots of projects to accomplish but only small chunks of time in which to accomplish them.  This leaves me perpetually frustrated because I keep starting things and not finishing them.  I'm definitely craving a few hours alone so I can think and actually complete a task! 

So in an effort to not spend an hour on my blog (which I consider fun but which doesn't help my problem of not getting anything finished!), I thought I'd just share some recent photos this week! 

Enjoy!

Morning snuggles, tickles, and wrestling

Bedtime ritual.  Jack would like 20 books, but we usually just read 1 or 2.

Jack and Cora reading together :)  Had to grab the camera!

Another "grab the camera" moment - Daddy and Cora talking.

Little Red Riding Hood is a full-on crawler now!

Cora in heaven - Jack's still asleep and she has unlimited access to his toys!

Baby Cora Visits the Hospital

This has been a busy week!  The next few weeks should be a bit quieter and now that we finished watching Downton Abbey, we can stop staying up so late and get back to our good sleep habits :)

We met with a pediatric surgeon last week who felt that Cora should go ahead and have her umbilical hernia repaired rather than risk it causing her any further problems. I scheduled a visit with Cora's pediatrician to get her opinion and she agreed, so we scheduled Cora's hernia repair for this past Wednesday.

Baby girl did great and I was proud of team Jacob and Courtney.  Thanks to friend Sarah for hosting Jack in the early morning, for the Waldorf family who let Jack attend school for the day, for friend Katie who brought dinner by, to OR nurse friends Erin and Kate who educated me so I wouldn't be worried, and to all the other friends and family who checked in with us throughout the day.

Coincidentally, Cora was in the same room as Jack was pre-heart surgery and dressed in the same salmon gown!

Thanks brother Jack for the LEGO you sent me to play with :)

Happy Baby turned to Sleepy, Hungry Baby when surgery was delayed.

 

Missing Picture: Drowsy and extra cuddly post-surgery Cora, who nursed and slept in my arms

But after your nap, you were back to your normal, happy self

Playing with your IV

Chewing on your IV

And on the subject of babies... We were all set to have a 50-person, baby shower bash on Saturday, when the baby himself makes an unscheduled arrival the night before!  Welcome to the world Baby John Crews!  In your vegetarian parents' honor, we will be eating lots of squash this week in creative ways :)  So far: grilled squash, veggie wraps, and squash casserole :)

8 Month Update: Everyone Else

Jack

You are such a talkative child! You are a parrot if I ever met one.  If I want to know what expressions I use, I just need to listen to you.  Common Jack-speak these days:

• "Actually... (and then you insert what you think is a better idea)"
• "Suddenly..." (you have a flare for the dramatic)
• "First of all..."
• "Momma, can you please be quiet, I'm trying to think..." (Thankfully, only said one time)
• "Will that be a good plan?"
• "Let's play the biggest hide and seek in the world!!!"
• "Gracious!"  (which neither of us says!) and "Thank goodness!"
• He continues to be generous to us with his "thank yous" though we usually have to prompt him toward others

You started swimming lessons and love them.  You started Kindermusik classes and love those too.  You still read and read and read.  You continue to be very into fire books but also like Berenstain Bears a lot now too.  We let you bring books to our bed this month (trying to promote the idea that we each read our OWN book) and you think that is just too cool.  You insist on bringing at least 15 with you. 

Mardi Gras has been so much fun this year.  You can't beat living a block from the parade route and you've gotten to experience parades on foot, parades in the ladder box, and parades sitting in your wagon.  You're still young enough that we've given away everything we've caught.  Except your fire truck beads - those are special!

Me
I gave my notice at work a few weeks back that I won't be coming back next school year.  After countless hours thinking this decision to death, I came to what feels like a very "right" decision for me.  I no longer feel that my role is a good fit for a part time position.  I've been searching for project based work for next year which I feel is a better match for me right now.  I like to do good work and feel like concrete projects that I can choose to take on, do well, and complete and be done with is a better fit for the balance I'd like to strike between working and having more time for Jack and Cora.  I feel very at peace with my decision and patient with the process of finding new work.

Jacob

Athens it is!  Jacob, Cora, and I will be going to Greece and Turkey for 11 days this summer; first for Jacob's final MBA class and then for travel time!  (Jack will be going to Grammy Camp which is equally exciting for him.)  In other news, I'm really proud of the massive amount of work Jacob has done taking our disaster of a backyard and turning it into a chicken farm, garden, and play area.  He has gone through a dilapidated garage full of junk slowly making sure to recycle, sell, or donate everything that wasn't true trash.  It took a full year of effort, but for our second annual Mardi Gras party last Friday, we were able to pull our cars all the way up our clean driveway for the first time.

8 Month: Cora Update

Oh Cora-bell!  This last month means we finally need to qualify the "easiest baby ever" label!  You are still the definition of sweetness, but you certainly haven't been all that easy this last month!  It seems a long time ago now that you only woke once a night.  You've been waking 3-20 times a night in the last 4-6 weeks!  Usually, most of these wakings are in the first hour after we put you down when we truck up and down the stairs 10 times to keep settling you, but most nights we get up another 4-5 times in the night with you.  You were sick with a croupy cough a few weeks back, but all this started earlier than that.

You also have been hard to get down for naps which made for some tense days with your sitter the last two weeks.  I, for one, hate coming home to know you've been napless and in tears :(  I've rearranged my schedule a few times to get you down for your morning nap before I leave for work.  (But hey, when you are up at 5:00, you're quite willing to take your morning nap at 8!)

You also had your first trip to the ER this past week.  Your umbilical hernia has been causing you some trouble.  It has seemed to be getting smaller as of late, but this past week was quite pronounced.  It is supposed to easily retract and two days last week it wouldn't.  We had an ultrasound at Children's last Friday which showed normal blood flow in the area, but Saturday night you were fussy for hours and your hernia area was hard for the first time, so our pediatrician recommended we go to the ER.  The doctor there was able to work the protruding bowel back down through the hernia, so we were sent home, but we are meeting with a pediatric surgeon next week to see if we need to close the hernia or whether we can continue to just watch it.  Umbilical hernias are common and are okay as long as things move in and out of the area easily.  The danger comes if the bowels get caught up in the hernia area, so we are just continuing to pay close attention to Cora's belly.

You could wake us up a hundred times and we'd still feel our giddy Cora love whenever we see you (but let's not test that out.)  You bounce up and down with happiness when you see your mommy and daddy or your Jack-Jack.  You learned lots of new tricks this past month: you can clap your hands, wave, bounce to the beat of music, and you started crawling yesterday!

I love getting to know you more and more.  You are a precious gift!

Favorite Moments of the Week

#5: Talkative Jack on the drive to Charlotte: "Momma, keep your eye out for some really old houses."  Repeated 40x in various ways over the course of 2 hours. The drive along back roads between Florence, SC and Charlotte, NC did not disappoint. There were lots of falling down houses along the way.

#4: Elated Jack at various points on his Grammy/Big Papa vacation: driving up to their house, saying "I need to hug Big Papa first"...having the time of his life at the YMCA pool...playing hide and seek with various family members (he is the world's worst player btw!)...visiting the main Florence fire station and getting to watch firemen slide down actual poles!

#3: Watching Cora perk up the first time she saw her Daddy on Face Time one day into our trip. She was obviously so happy to see him :)

#2: My buddy Jack being so happy to do "big boy LEGOs" with me last night. As we got closer to having the LEGO fire truck built, he kept clasping his hands and saying "I am so excited!!"

#1: After being told no by the first attendant, my mom and I found a different USAirways employee and asked if my mom could come back through security with me at the Charlotte airport since I was traveling alone and my flight was a little delayed. That woman said it was unlikely, but when I mentioned I'd been able to do it before, she said she'd check with her supervisor. The supervisor said yes and FOUR HOURS LATER our flight left Charlotte. I am so grateful my mom stayed and helped corral my napless children.  This meant she had to drive home through sleet and ice late at night. I am so thankful for her selflessness and that the supervisor was feeling generous!

SC weather had us wearing jackets and hats for the first time this winter!

Looking to update your work-out wardrobe?

I've made no secret that I'm a fan of Stitch Fix.  Fashion advice in a box?  A personal shopper that sends clothes to my door with few strings attached?  This fits my life right now!

So when I heard about pv.body, a similar concept, but for work-out wear, I signed up to review their product.  pv.body works in the following way:

• Take a simple style quiz online
• Pay $49.95
• Be mailed a box of high quality workout gear (1 top and 1 bottom) that you would pay more than $100 for in a store

The style quiz lets you specify what type of workouts you typically do, where (outside, the gym, etc.), what size you are, what type of fit you like (think racerback tops, cropped pants, fitted shorts, etc.), and what type of color palettes you typically wear.

I received one box and was really happy with both the quality and the "fit" for my style.  I received a MPG brand racer back tank and cropped leggings, that do indeed retail for over $100 (I checked them out online.)  They both fit me, were flattering, and coordinate as a work-out outfit.

If you receive items that you don't like or that do not fit, you have the option to exchange for different sizes or styles at no cost to you.  You can also choose to return the whole order for a complete refund.

When you sign-up, you will automatically receive boxes (and be charged) every month, so you would need to cancel if you only wanted one box or only needed a few new outfits.

I'm not someone to do a lot of shopping, so the monthly option wouldn't be something I'd be interested in, but I'd most definitely sign up for a box the next time my workout wardrobe needed a boost.  I was very impressed with the quality of the clothes and the company's ability to take my style quiz and translate it into clothes that I really liked.

If this sounds appealing, sign up through my link and you'll get 20% off!

The 7 month update

Cora (7 months) 

We are all in love with Cora-bell, also known as Cora-ba-dorable, Cora-Bora, and Cora-da-belle. 

My absolute favorite thing is to watch Jack and Cora interact.  With very few exceptions, these are sweet and loving. They both light up when they see each other. She's started playing in the "doll house" recently which just tickles them both. She loves all the toys and he is always wanting her to be a part of his imagination games (fire fighter responding to duty, conductor leading band, playing train, etc.)

I also love watching Jacob interact with Cora first thing in the morning.  We've had a few weeks of rough nights where she's waking 3-5x. Usually she just needs her paci back, but it involves us waking up fully since she's in her own room.  She also has had a run of nights where she was up for good between 4:30/5:30. Yet no matter how rough the night, Jacob is always so happy to see her in the morning. She can do no wrong in his eyes. I think it's the constant smile!

She continues to be such a happy baby, thought maybe a bit less "easy" because of the night wakings and a little difficulty getting her down for naps. She also seems to be teething, though she still just has two bottom teeth showing.

She eats 3 meals most days and seems to be swallowing more. Loves cucumbers, apples, pears, bread, pasta, sweet potato, butternut squash, cheese, and loves her sippy cup.

She sits up great now. This is such an awesome phase!! I remember this with Jack. The pre-crawling, but happy to sit and play and watch phase.

Her usual schedule now is: up early, early morning nap (8/8:30), long afternoon nap (1:30-4:30ish), and ready for bed by 7. She has had some nights where she doesn't nurse between 7pm and morning but then other times demands a 4:30am feeding.

Jack (3 yrs 1 month)

His memory impresses us. There was his Twas the Night Before Christmas reciting and he also has some of his other books memorized.

He's still a voracious reader. We probably read him 5-10 books a day depending on our mood and he flips through another 10-20.

He naps 50% of the time and is good about having quiet time.

The fire truck obsession continues. His latest game is to act out when the fire department came to our house on New Years Day thanks to my mom cooking pancakes and setting off the fire alarm. The fireman that came to the door was the same fireman that came to Jack's party and who we later saw at the firehouse when we dropped off thank you cookies. It was funny to be re-meeting him in our pajamas, but Jack was thrilled. We sent the firemen home with pancakes, so it seemed that everyone left happy. Now Jack plays this game complete with me giving him pancakes after he responds to the "call."

The time together over the holidays has made us all feel closer.  Jack continues to love his momma A LOT, but he's had some special time with Jacob too. We can tell he is processing no longer being a baby - sometimes he's happy to be the big boy but other times he wants us to pick him up and he uses baby talk.  

When he's not baby talking, he keeps us amused with his steady stream of talking. He has picked up an impressive vocabulary from his books. Our favorites: "actually," "probably," "I'm feeling a little confused," and "You're fooling me."

He was very excited to have his old buddy Lucius join his class at Waldorf.

He started swimming lessons and Kindermusik and loves them both.

Jacob & Me

Jacob is about to have a week long intensive session of his Executive MBA program so Jack, Cora, and I are headed to SC because I didn't like the sound of being a solo parent from 7am-10pm for 7 days. He will get to focus on school and sleep soundly all week and I will get to visit friends and family and get lots of Jack and Cora help. I'll also get to see my sister for the first time since she found out she was pregnant!

In other news, we got new bedding for Christmas/my birthday! After a month of no bed, our mattress arrived.  This upgrade to a king is awesome!

Celebrating the Mother

 This seemed a good topic for this week.

On the one hand, I just had my 30th birthday, and felt very celebrated by my family and friends this week.  Free babysitting, new bedding, sweet treats, a surprise lunch, a Sucre cake, a date night out, time to myself, nice messages, and lots of hugs (Jack) and smiles (Cora) from my kids = a very nice day.

On the other hand, I'm going to call myself out.  I'm at a unique place as Cora has a few weeks of solids under her belt, but hasn't yet had any decrease in her milk feedings.  This means I can claim nearly full responsibility for this:

It would be easy to see only a beautiful baby and to overlook the pure accomplishment that this beautiful specimen is!  But I was thinking recently, that I GREW her!  Jacob gets credit for half of her DNA, but I took her from mere cells to 20+ pounds of preciousness.  For 38 weeks "inside" and, now, for nearly 7 months "outside" through my made-to-order 100% cream shakes!

I can tell you that it's a rare day when a mother gets thanked by her children for the milk, love, nourishment, and care that is poured out for them daily.  (Although Jack does have a very sweet habit lately of saying thank you quite frequently!)  So I'm going to pat myself on the back for the absolute MIRACLE that are pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding.  Amidst the moments of pure joy that they offer, they can take a physical toll.  They are each HARD at times.  But, I doubt I'll ever accomplish anything as beautiful, special, or amazing as this :)

Side note: statistically, if Cora encountered 99 other babies her age, she'd be the biggest!

Baby Led Weaning Update

Three weeks in...

 Today's menu (a typical day):

- Still nurses the same amount - 6-7x day
- For breakfast: 3 pear slices and 1 cucumber stick
- For lunch: 2 apple slices and 1 cucumber stick
- For dinner: combination of apple and pear slices and 2 cauliflower stalks

Favorite foods:

- Cora has liked everything (as in she goes for each food with laser focus, jerkily brings it to her mouth, and goes after it)
- She is most able to eat pear slices because she can easily hold them and they melt away in her mouth and she seems to swallow them
- Apple slices and cucumber sticks are my favorites, because they are really easy for her to hold, the least messy, and she can gnaw them, taking in the flesh
- She also easily handles steamed or boiled cauliflower/broccoli and roasted butternut squash/sweet potatoes and is definitely eating them - these are just more messy!

Least favorite food:

- We both are frustrated by bananas: her, because they slip out of her grasp constantly, and me, because they keep falling on the floor, leaving a sticky mess behind.

Pros:

- This just feels like a logical approach to eating.  We put food in front of her and she is in charge for the rest of the meal.  We have to retrieve food from the floor at times, but otherwise, our meals are relaxed.
- Cora is always excited to be put in her high chair.  If we are heading into a nap or bedtime, she gets frustrated after 10 minutes; otherwise, she is content for up to 30 minutes.
- We are all having fun watching her discover FOOD!

Cons:

- The combination of Jack and Cora at a meal is MESSY.  Jack eats on a bench and tends to migrate around with greasy hand streaks and crumbs following.  Cora frequently knocks her food on the floor.  This leaves stickiness and small chunks of food all over the place.  Lots of on-hands-and-knees cleaning after meals!

Merry Christmas!

What an absolutely beautiful season of year.  Time to remember the birth of Jesus and the hope, love, joy, and peace that his life offers to the world.

We are enjoying celebrating with Jack and Cora.  Amidst the craziness of moving and being in my first trimester last December, I was really looking forward to this year's celebrating.  We decorated our tree, celebrated Advent at church, went Christmas caroling, went to Celebration in the Oaks (beginning what I think will be a special Landry family tradition), drank hot chocolate with special marshmallows from Aunt Claire, baked and delivered treats, and tried our hand at alternative gift giving.  Still ahead: spending time with both of our families and getting a sweet break from work to spend at home together!

So here's our Merry Christmas "card"!  We have several copies of Twas the Night Before Christmas and we found that if we stop reading, Jack would just continue on.  We decided to see how far he could go.  Turns out, pretty far!  Enjoy!

Experiencing life for the first time

This video captures one of the coolest parts of being a parent: watching your child experience pieces of LIFE for the first time.  I love exposing Jack to new things and watching his eyes light up in wonder.  Babies are equally fun as every day brings them into contact with something entirely new.  And how great to have video cameras!  Now we can rely on something more than our memories to preserve "firsts."

 

 

A few pictures from our life lately:

Shepherd Jack before our church's Christmas Pageant

Cora starts solids at the 6 month mark.  We're taking the Baby-Led Weaning approach.

No she doesn't really have enough hair for a bow, but I couldn't resist!

Cora at 6 months

Half a year tomorrow!  Time is definitely flowing faster in Cora's life than it did for Jack (at least from my perspective!)

She's not a child for drastic changes.  She has gradually changed some over the past month, but we'd still describe her as:

• Calm
• Sweet as sugar
• Happy
• EASY!
• Full of love and full of chub! :) 

A typical day for Cora looks like this:

*Wake once in the night to eat
*Wake once more to remind my parents I'm alive and to request pacifier be put back in my mouth
*I might wake between 5:30-6:30 but if I wake up early, I'm usually happy to just lie awake in Mommy and Daddy's bed and stare at the ceiling fan while they go back to sleep
*Get up and get dressed with Mommy, watch everyone eat breakfast (I got to join in yesterday and today with my own banana!), nurse before Mommy leaves for work
*Spend my morning with Ms. Rachel 3 days a week
*My days vary, but a mix of naps, tummy time, going places, and watching my brother.  Right now I have laser like focus on anything that comes within my reach and I grab for it and bring it right to my mouth.
*I like me a LONG nap after lunch.  3 hours at least, but if you keep the house quiet, I'll go longer.
*I'm always happy to see my daddy come home.  I adore everyone in my family and think my brother is hilarious. 

I smile, laugh, chew on things, stick my tongue out, and kick my legs to make my bouncy seat move.  I am getting pretty good at sitting up.  I'm not that interested in rolling over, but I can, and do it most mornings in my crib.  I am chill and happy to just observe and chew thank you!  (I now have two bottom teeth - they have caused me no tears, just a strong desire to gnaw on things.)
*I save my crying for when I'm tired or hungry and I start to get pretty of both by 7:00.  If you give me a bath, I immediately switch back to happy because I love splashing my legs in the water.  Nurse me and I'll go right to sleep.  Unless I'm overtired, and then I might make my dad pat my back for a while.

You are a joy to all you meet sweet Cora-bell!

 Oh and got to love the new nickname: "Cora-badorable"

Happy Birthday, Birthday Boy!

My baby is 3!  That sentence will probably start to sound really crazy in future years, but 3 is still a baby, right? 

Here is what my baby boy is up to these days:

- Just went down for a nap with his "bop."  A reminder to never say things like, "MY 3 year old won't still be using a pacifier."
- Uses words like "usually," "probably," and "along."
- Uses phrases like "I decided to...," "That will be so cool," and "I'm so excited!"
- Has cute ways of emphasizing his point.  Nods his heads, looks at you earnestly and wide-eyed, and, for example, today when he passed out a special birthday treat to his friends at school, puts his head inches from his classmate and says, "Tin, this is special popcorn.  It's called kettle corn."  When he doesn't get a response, moves from 5 inches to 2 inches from his friend and says "Tin, this is SPECIAL popcorn.  It's called kettle corn."

- Loves his baby sister - they communicate right now by laughing (giggling, chuckling) at each other and through lots of physical attention (Jack to Cora) and adoring looks (Cora to Jack).
- Is a cute middle man/interpreter.  We will be sitting in a small group and if he likes what one person is saying, he will turn to someone else and repeat it word for word, as in, "Daddy, Mommy said she will share a bite of her sandwich with me!" (with big, bright eyes, and a happy-go-lucky smile)

- Is a happy-go-lucky guy a lot of the time.
- Is WILLFUL, unique, odd, charming, and goofy, as I'm sure both Jacob and I were when we were little (are now?)
- Has a sweet soul.  Example: Jacob and I ate lunch with Jack at school today and sat through his class' goodbye circle.  They end with a hands in the middle cheer and today they said "Happy Birthday Jack!"  Well another boy is having a birthday in a few days and asked to have his name called out, so the class did.  Then another girl said let's do one more cheer.  The teacher said, "Jack, should we do Happy Birthday Jack again?"  To which Jack, replied, "No, let's say Happy Birthday to Tin" 
- Says "thank you" unprompted (sometimes) as in "Thank you Mommy" Always makes me smile :)

- Thinks all firemen and fire trucks are the definition of awesomeness. 

Jack's fire truck "cupcake cake"

Knows many local firemen by name, lights up to a hundred watts when he sees a truck driving down the road, and can spot a fire truck in a second no matter how hidden it might be in a picture/someone's toy chest/etc. 

You can imagine he was pretty thrilled when the local fire truck came to his birthday party!  We'd dropped an invitation off at the station earlier in the week, but I wasn't thinking they would actually come.  This act of kindness absolutely made my day as well as Jack's!

- The night before his birthday party, Jack slept with the cardboard picture of a fire truck that came in the package of the fire truck balloon we bought for his party.  Absolutely enamored is the best way to put it.

How could I have had any concept how rich my life would become by having this child?  December 3, 2009 was no doubt the longest day of my life, but the days since have been more vivid, more lived,  more colorful, and more meaningful because of this little boy.  I love him so much and am so proud to be his mother.

Happy Birthday Jack!