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!

30 Days of Gratitude - Days 18-27

Day 18 - VACATION!  This is awesome!

Day 19 - The adoring look Cora gives us when she is in the Ergo.  Her head tilts back and she just stares up at Jacob or me with a look of pure love :)

Day 20 - This mild-fall weather of low 60s, with crisp cool air.  It made for a picturesque stop at Stanford and great photo ops.

Day 21 - I'm so, so grateful we live in a small-ish city with no hills and no need to take public transit. Both of those things with two small children and a stroller are not easy!

Day 22 - Old friends.  We were able to hang out with some college and TFA-Hawaii-era friends and it was really great to catch up.  I loved our friend Andrew's comment: "It was surreal to see Jacob tucking in a small child."  Haha, I bet!

Day 23 - LEGOs - we brought a small number and they provided lots of entertainment!  We also went to a wine tasting in Sonoma where there was a basket of big boy LEGOs that transfixed Jack for our entire visit.

Day 24 - Time alone.  I spent 2 hours alone at a coffee shop.  I can't remember the last time I was by myself (work doesn't count!)  I could definitely do this more often...

Day 25 - Playgrounds - always a crowd pleaser!  There are some excellent ones out there and we happened upon a great one in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood.

Day 26 - My travel partner (the adult one) - we made a great team on this trip and were able to laugh a lot despite the craziness/stress of various situations.

Day 27 - My mom!  (I love my dad too but he's not coming until Friday).  She arrived tonight!  Talk about the well-timed arrival of reinforcements!  I got 4 hours of sleep last night due to a delayed flight, so I'm excited for the help.  And there isn't anyone you'd rather have around than Beth Ann Owen to help get an event together (i.e. Jack's birthday party!)

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 17

I'm grateful for the March of Dimes, the work that they do, and the wonderful experiences I have had as a volunteer.

Why care about the March of Dimes?  Because they make stories like this possible.  This is written by my friend Emily about her beautiful little girl, Anna Kate.

Interesting side note.  Emily and her husband Jason joined our church, Rayne UMC, on the same day Jacob and I did.  We were both pregnant and due about a week apart.  Well Anna Kate came very early and I remember seeing her name on the prayer list and praying for her.  Emily also remembers seeing Jack's name on the prayer list soon after because of his heart surgery and praying for him.  It was only later that we reconnected and are now members of the same Sunday School class.  Healthy Jack and Anna Kate are now also friends :)

30 Days of Gratitude - Catch up

Day 14 - The start of 10 days of vacation!!  That's a real TGIF!

Day 15 - Living Social deals that buy you dinner and lunch for tomorrow!  We used ours at the Fresh Bar tonight (they have been pretty empty on both of our visits, but it's a great spot if you want to make an intricate salad.)  Jacob is never going to let me forget that when we first went, I gave Jack the power to "create" his own sandwich and we walked away with an egg, bacon, garbanzo bean, cheddar cheese wrap. 

Day 16 - Baby Cora.  She deserves another shout out.  I feel like this child has graciously accepted her spot living in the background for the moment.  We do almost forget she's here sometimes.  She's usually just waiting patiently while we attend to the louder Landry child.  (Or as my friend said, when describing her older child, the one who sucks up all the air in the room!)  It makes me feel guilty at times because she is sort of like a little puppy in that she just shines when we do focus our attention on her.  I just love her to pieces and am grateful that she is so gracious and patient right now, as it is just what we need as we learn to love and care for two children.  And I'm especially grateful for the little moments where it is all about her.  I borrow some of the Jewel Lullaby songs and sing or hum to Cora before I put her down to sleep.  This is my favorite verse:

Lullaby and goodnight,

you are mother's delight.

I'll protect you from harm,

and you'll wake in my arms.

You are such a delight little one!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 13

I'm grateful for laziness tonight.  The plan was to go to the gym this evening, but when Jack got up from his nap, I ended up in his bed for an hour (joined by Cora soon after).  I feel like my mind has been racing the last few days with so many things to think about and do, that I felt like rebelling and doing nothing.  We read some books and then watched as Cora started reaching for Jack's pacifier (update: we are down to him just having it at naps).  She would pull it out, and then bring it toward her mouth.  She had it almost all the way in, but that would have been too much germ sharing for me.  Her discovery of her opposable thumb and her glued-fingers grab was just too cute to watch.

The laziness has continued all evening.  It's been nice.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 12

A Good Night of Sleep! 

Even though there were piles, disarray, and no plan for the week (admission: I write out a weekly plan on Sunday and it is my guide to making sure we stay organized and things get accomplished), I went to bed early (at 9:00) last night. 

I slept straight till 4am when rain woke me up.  Then, like all mothers of young sleepers, I was worried about why my baby hadn't woken me up since she'd been asleep since 7:30.  I checked on her and she stirred, so I fed her.  Then I went back to bed for a whole additional hour.  I got up at 5:30 thinking I'd accomplish much of what I wanted to last night, but of course both Cora and Jack were up for good at 6, so only some of the disarray went away, BUT I feel great today!  It's amazing what 7 straight hours of sleep will do for a person.  This is probably the 2nd or 3rd time I've had this in the calendar year of 2012 thanks to pregnancy and a newborn, so I'm riding high today!

5 Month Update & More Gratitude

Do they look alike?

Jack at 5 months

]\

Cora at 5 months

Cora (Gratitude Day 9)

She continually impresses us with her sweet nature, her calmness, and her chubby thighs!  We remark over all of these things daily :)  No matter what her brother is doing, she just loves it.  We can't legitimately say "Jack, stop, Cora doesn't like that" because Cora is always smiling and laughing (no matter whether he is rolling her back and forth, laying on top of her, poking her face, etc.)  She loves him and he loves her!

We will have a weight update tomorrow, but I think she will have surpassed her chunky brother, who was 19 lbs at 5 months.  She has some serious thighs with lots of rolls and creases to be pulled apart and cleaned :)  She is still nursing only and still waking one time in the night to eat.  I am starting to drop her "dream feed" which is when I would wake her around 10 to eat right before I went to bed.  This doesn't seem to change her sleep pattern - she still goes down between 7 and 8 and wakes around 3am to eat.

She is now a littler harder to get down for naps, but she loves sleeping in her crib and nearly always takes a 3-4 hour afternoon nap with some shorter morning naps as well.  She can roll because I've found her on her back when she goes down on her tummy (she's been a belly sleeper since 1 month) but I've only seen her roll one time.  This completely matches her personality.  She's happy to just lie, sit, or prop up on her arms and watch the world around her.

She is good with her hands and grabs toys and takes them to her mouth.  She also pulls her paci out and then works very hard to get it back in.  She knows her name and looks to see who is saying it.

Jack

He has loved the visits from Aunt Molly, Poppy, Cousin Wyatt, Aunt Claire, Meemaw, and Uncle Chris this month (it's been a busy month!)  I've said before how blessed this child is to have so much love in his life and that has definitely been reinforced this past month.

Firemen dress like this for bedtime, right?

We've spent time with two Jacks over the past month.  This one and then a throw back to this one.  This is a precocious little boy who is very smart and very willful!  It's a dangerous thing when your 2 year old child says things like "Daddy, you are being impatient." or "In a second, Mommy."  He also is quick to negotiate himself a better arrangement.  And we've heard one too many "Nos" this weekend!  But then his sweet and generous nature come out and our faith in human nature is restored :) (Gratitude Day 10)

Mommy/Me/Courtney

The combination of work/motherhood/hobbies/life has caught up with me some this last month.  I feel very invigorated by the busy schedule but I've also felt a little worn out and overwhelmed.  The areas that suffered were exercise (cancelled Pure Barre classes, runs that turned to leisurely walks) and our eating habits.  I want there to be healthy meals in our household and I definitely hold Jack to a higher standard than myself, but it's hard to make sure he has healthy lunches every day when there is less cooking going on.  Finding time to make meals continues to challenge me.

Jacob

The 2013 International EMBA trip locations are in: Buenos Aires, Argentia; Athens, Greece; and New Delhi, India.  No final decision made yet as to where Jacob (and consequently me and Cora) wil go.

Landry Family
 
We're counting down to our big San Francisco/CA trip (Gratitude Day 11).  I'm looking forward to great family time and am hoping we aren't crazy to be attempting this full family of four trip!

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 8

Naps.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 7

I'm grateful that Cora has now met all of her aunts and uncles.  In addition to Louisiana aunts Molly and Sara, my siblings have all taken the time to fly to New Orleans to meet Cora and spend time with Jack. 

The last of the group, Uncle Chris, arrived today!  And he has officially brought the best surprise ever.  A REAL fireman's helmet.  Left behind after the recent wildfire in Jackson, WY where Chris lives. Jack wore it the rest of the day!  We went by the fire station, twice, and I was more than amused by my little boy (with no other fire gear on) running around the park with an oversize helmet on.  Hahahahaha...

30 Days of Gratitude - Days 5 & 6

Oh to be a mother.  My heart has been extra full of love for Jack Owen Landry lately.  I'm so grateful for him and also so grateful for the ability to enjoy him (that's day 5 for you).  He is a wide open, living-life-fully, high energy, passionate little boy that can drain my energy to negative levels sometimes.  So the fact that I've been day-after-day just appreciating and enjoying him lately is no small thing!

His heart is so beautiful and I feel I have such a precious thing in my hands because I know that our time together inevitably shapes him to a certain degree.  I want him to grow up to love others more than he loves himself.  I want him to be confident and operate from a place of knowing he is loved for who he is, no matter what he does in this world.  And I can only hope he always loves me and our family as much as he does now.

True anecdote:

A few weeks back, after I explain the concept of college as we drive through Tulane's campus.
Me: So do you want to go to college, Jack?
Jack: No
Me: Why not?
Jack: I just want to stay with you forever Mommy.

I love this little boy who gets concerned when he sees others cry, who asks to read another Bible story, who wants to bring a book to the table, who asks "So tell me about your day," who makes his baby sister laugh, who sings songs at full volume, who displays a wide variety of Jacob and Courtney characteristics, and who is just plain beautiful inside and out.


And I'm extra grateful (that's day 6) that there is still lots of little boy/my baby in there!

30 Days of Gratitude - Days 2, 3, & 4

There will be a lot of gratitude in this post, so we'll let this count for three days to catch up with the day of the month.

I'm grateful for our church, Rayne United Methodist, for so many reasons.  It's introduced us to our pastor Callie, who has become a spiritual mentor for me.  It led us to starting a young adults Sunday School class which now has more than 20 members.  The Sunday School class introduced us to a great group of parents with similarly aged children.  (No joke, there were 7 babies born/to be born in 2012, 6 of them girls!)  The class was initially titled Grace Based Parenting because we started studying a book of the same name.  We are now reading Raising Kids for True Greatness.  What an awesome task in front of us.  We quickly affirmed that all of our parenting desires cycle back to what we are modeling to our children which comes back to who we are, what we believe, and what we embody on a daily basis.  We have read books in the Good and Beautiful God series by James Smith that were focused more on our own spiritual lives.  My heart has been undergoing a transformation as I've read these books.  I'm learning so much about what I believe and about God's love for humanity.

Through our church, I've also been participating in a Meet the Bible course that has met at times over the year, but which was a commitment to read scripture daily throughout 2012.  I've been in and out of the Bible over the years, but really did need to be reintroduced.  I struggled through parts of the Old Testament this summer (through a fog of new babyhood) but am taking so much away from the New Testament readings now.

My own reading has paralleled Jack's interest in his children's Bible (a version I only halfway recommend).  My mom started reading to him daily from it and he asks to read from his Bible most naptimes and nighttimes.  Be still my heart, it has just been the most beautiful thing to be a part of.

30 Days of Gratitude - Day 1

I don't know how I can post daily blogs, but on the other hand, I love the idea of focusing on gratitude during this month of Thanksgiving.  My friend Jessica has inspired me to try.

Rules: Keep it short and sweet.

I am grateful for Jacob/Jake.  It amuses me how this one person has two names to me.  I met him and knew him as "Jake" and it was only years later that I realize that he had grown up as Jacob.  Thus my family and SC friends know him as Jake.  Most people in New Orleans know him as Jacob.  When I introduce him, Jacob Landry sounds right to me, Jake Landry sounds wrong.  Jack knows him as Jacob Daddy Landry.  Most of the time I call him Jacob.  But sometimes he's Jake.

But mainly he's the best thing that ever happened to me because he's given me the best things that have ever happened to me.  I believe God led us to each other.  I mean how else would a boy from rural Louisiana and a girl from small town South Carolina who never lived in the same place end up meeting?  (Future Business Leaders of America National Conference in case you don't know the story.)

Just last night, a woman (wife and mother) said "It's easy to just coexist with your husband when you are so focused on your kids, but I think it's important to remember that it all began with the two of you and it will end with just the two of you.  If your marriage isn't solid, then what do you really have?"

We are IN this parenting thing right now and it isn't easy, but I'm so grateful to have such an amazing life partner. 

Happy Fall/Halloween!

We FINALLY got some 60 degree weather!!  Even 50 degree as well!  I don't think it's here to last, so I'm not motivated to drag out winter clothes yet.

Aunt Claire has been in town and we kept her busy with a zoo trip, dinner out, 2 gelateria stops, our church fall festival, our neighborhood Halloween carnival, and a visit to the fire station.

Matching cuties - thanks Grammy!

Wait, matching cuties again!  Jack's "puhjammies" - a gift last year; Cora's pjs - zulily purchase!  Jack was SO excited for them to "match".  (No she's not sitting up alone.)

Fireman and Firebaby.  Aunt Claire was an honorary firewoman for the day

I'm always an honorary fireman.  (Missing from pic: honorary fireman Daddy)

The "Jacks" having fun at the neighborhood Halloween carnival

So Much

This week I feel like there is just SO MUCH.  So much going on, so much on my mind, so much to say.  This is not a bad thing; I actually like how full life is right now.  So what's going on?

1. Don't brag on your baby.  She will make you eat your words.

Perfect sleeper decided to mix things up and for 5 nights woke us 4-5 times.  That coupled with daily alarm clocks for work or exercise led to...

2. The remembrance/realization/reestablishment that I NEED sleep.

In our Sunday School class' recent study The Good and Beautiful God, one of the first challenges we were given was to ensure we were getting 7 hours of sleep at least (I need 8).  It was easy to make jokes about doing this, but the first few months of being a mom of 2 and this last week reminded me of why this is so critical.  One may have lofty goals and aims, be they spiritual, personal, professional, what have you, but you derail yourself if you are tired.  You eat poorly, act meanly, and just can't enjoy life the way you can when you are rested and have given yourself some margins.  So...

3. We made a change.  Cora got moved down the hall into her crib.  

Turns out baby girl (at 18 lbs and 25+ inches) just wasn't loving her little cradle anymore.  She immediately returned to her once nightly waking and last night (for the first time, let me hear a Hallelujah!) slept through the night!  9pm-6am (when I woke her bc I was so worried about her).  On the topic of sleeping...

4. Right before we realized Cora was going to trip us up on sleep, we decided to do a BOP BAN at nighttime.

What's a bop?  That's Jack's self-created word for his pacifier which he still passionately uses at sleep times.  Jacob says he's addicted and he's being serious.  I'm more moderate on the issue (is it really doing that much harm to have it at nap/night time?)  So we compromised and decided to say NO BOPS at night time but YES BOPS at nap time.  (No messing with nap time allowed!  My rule!)  While this might seem like it could be confusing, I think it's actually kinder.  As the child sobbed and sobbed, at least we could repeat that we weren't taking the bops away, just trying to teach ourself how to sleep without them at night time.  For the record, he does not care that firemen, Mommy, Daddy, or his friends don't use bops.  We are several nights in and it's getting better.  At least he's had awesome daytimes, because...

5. We live in and love New Orleans.

In the past week, we have had park play dates, a zoo playdate, listened to a youth orchestra while picnicking on the lawn of our mansion turned local library, gone to the farmer's market, gone to the Children's Museum, and gone to the Parenting Center (aka toddler heaven).  It's easy to have low-cost fun in this city, especially when...

6. We have such awesome NOLA friends.

I love how we run into friends every time we are out walking in our neighborhood.  I love that our circles of friends are interconnected.  I love that many of our couple friends are starting to join us in the parenting stage of life.  I love that Jack has so many friends from such loving, caring families. 

7. But mostly, I love these little ones.

...despite their idiosyncrasies this past week!  Note: I'm attributing my effusive mood right now to the bedtime book I just read Jack, Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado, just picked up for $1 at our library's Saturday book sale.

4 month update

Baby Cora: I'm not trying to brag on my baby, but I can't quit saying what an awesome baby Cora is.  At least by writing it down repeatedly, nothing she can do in the future will erase the fact that she was just a chubby bundle of precious sweetness right now.  I really love having a baby.  This may sound silly, but whenever I'm reminded that that's "my baby" over there, I just have this tremendous happiness.  I'm sure it doesn't hurt that she's so easy, but babies are just wonderful.  I highly recommend them ;)

What a look!

Cora's a smiler and a laugher, but not a mover or a shaker yet :)  And I don't mind at all!  I love that I can put her anywhere and know she isn't going anywhere.  She's also a firegirl in training.

On her 4 month birthday, Cora was 17 lbs, 11 oz and 25.5 inches.  Which means that in 4 months to the day, she put on 10 pounds to the ounce!  Impressive!  Apparently I'm producing pure cream.

She needs at least 5 hours of nap time during the day, which comes in 3-4 naps.  She has started sleeping in a little later than us, even to 7:20 one morning this week.  She is ready for "bed" by 8 at the latest and usually doesn't wake up much when I feed her before I go to bed.  Still waking once to eat and going right back to sleep.




Big Boy Jack: The fire truck obsession continues.  We're all a little tired of playing, but are continually amused by Jack's additions to the game.  Now there is a telephone involved to signal a fire.  He's alternatively manic, running to get his gear and hurry to the fire, and, at other times, the fire rages for half an hour it seems before he gets around to fighting it.   The other day I was told to "be patient" and many times the fire truck has left something at the station and has to leave the fire to go back and get it.

Favorite quote of the week, Jack to Cora: "Are you admiring my fire gear?!"

Our local hero is Captain Ross at the Arabella Station.  We met him several months ago and he achieved  mythical status in Jack's play world.  We've returned to the station many times, but just this past week ran back into Captain Ross.  Jack had a great talk with him and walked away with many more factoids and stories (luckily he didn't understand all of Captain Ross's stories - he's a colorful guy!) 

Jack and buddy Thatcher

We are loving the Waldorf School and Jack loves going.  He also seems to love his new babysitter Miss Rachel and luckily she doesn't seem to mind playing fireman.

"Laundress" needs to be added to my business card.

Mommy Landry: I'm proud to say I completed my first month of Pure Barre classes, going 12 times in 30 days.  Thanks to my husband's pace, I also met my goal of running a sub-8 minute mile and actually did 7:20.  We've been toying with the idea of running the New Orleans Half Marathon in February.  Registration goes up this month but ???  It will take a big commitment to fit in longer runs (and probably mean hiring a babysitter once a week bc more than 45 minutes in a stroller is a lot to ask of two children.)  I've finished 4 weeks of work and things are going well.  More thoughts to come after I reach my official 6 weeks so-now-I-can-assess-this-situation-fairly mark.

This guy definitely loves having a baby too!

Daddy Landry: Jacob is now more than halfway through his Executive MBA at Tulane.  I know I, for one, will be on the moon when he isn't taken away from us 7:30-5:30 every other weekend!  His program ends with an international trip next June and the tentative plan is that I will join him (probably with just Cora) after his week of classes for an international vacation.  We don't know yet where he's going, but it's exciting to think about.