Change of scenery

Day 4: Sunday, June 16^th:

What we did: We had another picture perfect breakfast overlooking Athens.  Bread, homemade marmalade, dried fruit, fresh fruit, cheese, bacon, cheesy eggs, frittata, chocolate cake… Proving to my husband that I’m still hard core, I volunteered us to take the metro to the airport, rather than a cab.  This led us to more new friends thanks to Cora. 

We then flew to the island of Rhodes.  We weren’t paying attention to our seat assignments and, upon boarding, noticed we were sitting apart, so I graciously volunteered to let Jacob sit with Cora.  So I did get my quiet and reading after all!  (Though only on a 40 minute flight.)  We had been told that my missing suitcase would make it onto our flight to Rhodes, but it didn’t, so we were told to come back to the airport to meet the next Athens flight.  We spent the intervening hours exploring Rhodes Town, where there is a medieval walled city. 

We were turned off by the over-touristy nature of this area and hoped our VRBO.com find was more off the beaten path.  Was it ever!  After finally reuniting with my suitcase, we drove about 90 minutes around the island to the out of the way inland village of Askilipio. 

Our day ended with dinner in the village square.

What was most memorable: Askilipio is pretty idyllic!  Winding footpaths and alleys connect stucco houses on a hilltop, all situated around a small village square where the locals meet up in the evenings.  Our little house was recently redone and is very cute with an awesome little patio with a view of a river valley, olive grove, and views of the Aegean Sea.  Cora likes the new setting and SO WOULD JACK!  Speaking of him, I am missing him more and more each day.  The travel and Athens portion would not have been a good fit for a 3.5 year old, but he would love this island stop.  At our village square dinner, Cora continued to be very cute.  She has been making lots of “wow-whoa!” exclamations whenever she is excited along with lots of “uh-ohs” as she drops things she wants us to pick up.  She’s also being very clear that she loves dogs as she lights up, exclaims, points, laughs, and bounces every time she sees one.  Luckily there was one in the square and this kept her entertained throughout dinner.

The Mandolin - our island home

And in terms of memorable happenings, I won’t be forgetting that Cora threw up not once, but FOUR times, when we finally put her to bed this evening.  She had been crying, so I went in to get her and so all four of those times were while I was holding her and Jacob was running around looking for a washcloth.  By the time he got back, I was so drenched, we needed way more than a washcloth.  He was gagging, she was crying, but I couldn’t help but laugh as it was just a ridiculous picture!  After a bath, she was back to herself and finally (at 1am) ready for bed.  (In our defense, we don’t think the throw up was trip related as this is actually the seventh time she’s gotten sick over the past ten days and the first time on the trip.  We think her stomach isn't liking her ear infection medicine.)
 

Athens!

Day 2: Friday, June 14^th

Reunited

What we did: This day was a bit truncated because we lost 8 hours due to the time difference.  Cora finally fell asleep in the Rome airport and pretty much stayed asleep until we arrived, via cab, to our hotel in Athens.  The downside to this was that while I was exhausted and ready to finally sleep, she was ready to play.  So I pretty much dumped her, awake, into her “baby cot” and fell asleep on the bed.  She fell asleep again too and we both woke up, feeling refreshed and ready to see “da-dee”.  He arrived back at the hotel from his final day of MBA class lectures/tours/presentations and we got to go out with his classmates and professor for the final dinner.  Luckily, I’d thrown a change of clothes into my book bag because our luggage did not arrive in Athens with us.

What was most memorable: I’d heard less than stellar things about Athens, but my initial impressions were all very favorable.  Driving into the city was impressive – white buildings as far as the eye could see and two big hills – one with the Acropolis on top and the other where our hotel was located.  The closing dinner was at a rooftop restaurant on the slope of the Acropolis hill.  The weather was temperate and breezy and the views of the city and the lit Parthenon were awesome.  Plates of food kept arriving and I thought everything was delicious.  I thought my baby-led weaning baby would do me proud, but after eating a few bites of moussaka, she stuck to her bread for the rest of the night.  She continued to be Miss Charming, engaging the neighboring table and happily being passed from classmate to classmate and to our Greek hosts.  

We had made a major gamble that my suitcase would indeed arrive that evening (as I’d been told) and that the final diaper in my carry on would last us through the evening.  Well, there was no suitcase when we got back, so Cora spent the rest of the night in that same diaper until a pharmacy opened up the next morning.  Her sheets had to be changed, but not too much harm done.

Day 3: Saturday, June 15^th:

What we did: On our full day in Athens, we started with breakfast on the picturesque terrace of our hotel with full views of the city.  We then set off on foot (a trademark of a Landry vacation) and walked to the Acropolis making a stop at a baby store to pick up a backup outfit for Cora since we were still wearing our one and only change of clothes.

We walked from that hill to the spot where this picture was taken!

We toured the Parthenon and other ruins and walked through the local market.  

This is "Elvis," a stowaway that Jacob found in his shoe.  We think that was a Cora move, but Jack appreciated seeing his friend's travels.  

We had a yummy lunch of lamb and Greek salad and then walked back to the hotel for rest.  Cora napped twice in the stroller and explored the ruins via the Ergo. Still without luggage and with the luggage department unable to tell us where my bag was, I went shopping at H&M for clothes while Jacob and Cora listened to street music. 

We then made a misguided metro trip to the port only to realize we’d not chosen a very picturesque spot.  We backtracked and walked around the city looking for dinner.  We figured Cora would fall asleep ... at any moment... and then we’d stop for dinner... but that never happened and we ended up with one MAD baby on our hands.  We learned that 11:00 p.m. is so far past Cora’s limit that she won’t even be distracted by food.  We made it through a delicious crepes dinner at a café where she may or may not have peed on the street (was that puddle there before?) before getting the poor child into bed.

What was most memorable: I don’t like to make generalizations, but since this is a positive one, I will.  The Greek people seem to really love a baby (or at least this one!)  Cora spent her entire lunch not eating, but instead, reaching out to various diners wanting a handshake and an acknowledgement.  On the half hour subway ride, she made friends with all around her and even though not much English was spoken, one of her new friends was able to tell us that there was “no good eating” where we were headed, thus helping us know we should rewrite the dinner plan.  Waitresses and our hotel housekeeper just pick her up and walk off with her, which we decided we were okay with (we'll take free babysitting on this trip.)   

Going International!

Thanks to Tulane's Executive MBA program, Jacob flew to Athens via Amsterdam on June 7th for an international course. The plan is for Cora and I to join him for two weeks of vacation while Jack has his own special adventures at "Grammy Camp" in SC.  Here's the run down on our adventures.

Day 0: Wednesday, June 12th

I can already tell that having Cora with us on this vacation is going to allow us an entirely different experience and perspective. She had me interacting way more with my fellow travelers than I would have on my own.

What happened: After spending a few days with my family, I left Jack for 12.5 days (!?!) in South Carolina at "Grammy Camp" (co-counselor: Big Papa), flew home to New Orleans, unpacked, repacked, ran errands, picked 68 blueberries off of our bush, and called Grammy Camp 3x to check in. Cora and I have just a one night NOLA stopover before our big flights tomorrow.

What was most memorable:

• Saying goodbye to Jack, then leaving the security line and going to find him and my mom in the bathroom so I could say goodbye again (and get one more hug)
• Travel Angel #1: My Myrtle Beach-Charlotte seat mate. At first glance, he didn't look like the most baby friendly guy, but he ended up spending his entire plane ride interacting with Cora and entertaining her.  And he even helped me realize she was about to throw up, allowing me to do a perfect catch in the barf bag.
• Travel Angel #2: Charlotte-New Orleans US Airways flight attendant Greg Johnson - he plopped down beside me as we were getting settled to help settle Cora down and later came back by, took Cora on a walk and brought her back with a bag of cookies.

Day 1: Thursday, June 13^th

What happened: Jacob and I had spent many hours searching for the “perfect” itinerary and had settled on me taking a one stop route through JFK to Athens, thus having as short an itinerary as possible since I’d be flying with Cora by myself. But we should have expected perfectly laid plans to not work out perfectly.  Due to delays, I was rerouted on a two stop itinerary through Atlanta and Rome.  In the end, it only added 3 hours to my trip, but it sent my luggage on a multi-day adventure.

What was most memorable: I almost need to thank Delta for the delays and rerouting because I don’t think there were better flight mates than the ones I ended up amongst. The only way Cora would go to sleep would be if I stood up and swayed with her in the Ergo. She’d nod off but then when I’d try to sit back down, she’d wake up and scream (because she was, after all, very tired.) For our 9 hour 18 minute flight, I didn’t get any sleep as Cora only slept for one 40 minute stretch and one fitful 1 hour stretch, most of which I was standing for. But it really wasn’t a bad trip because of the wonderful people around us.  Sitting beside us were a woman and her elderly mother on their way to Rome, who never got annoyed with Cora and kept remarking on how adorable her facial expressions were.  They would pick up things from my seat every time I approached, put up their trays for my cups, and talked to me.  Across the aisle were a retired military couple from Georgia and an older couple from Columbia, SC.  The men in these couples each took Cora on walks, let her hold their fingers, picked up things we dropped, gave her pretzels, and stood and talked with me while I was up with Cora. 

I was initially a little jealous of Jacob’s solo international flight.  The movies!  The reading!  The solitude! In 9 hours, I caught 20 minutes of a movie and read only 3 pages, but I also had the experience of interaction in a way I know I wouldn’t have if I’d been traveling alone.  I would have turned inward and Cora ensured I turned outward and we both got to see what lovely people our neighbors were.

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!