First day of school pictorial

I think their thought processes were something like this:

Cora, just smile, they're not going to let us leave until you smile.

Little sis, what part of sit here and smile don't you get?  Trust me, I know how this camera thing works!

Wow, there's my wa-wa!

Hold up, this is a black lunchbox and it says "Jack."  Am I getting my brother's cast off lunchbox with the wrong color monogram?

The squinty eye smile

Nope, not quite it either

Ready for Year 2 in Waldorf's Nursery program!

Ready for her first day at the Child Development Program

No doubt Mommy has the worst first day of school jitters of anyone in this picture!

Daddy says he's not nervous, but he did check in several times for updates.

It's actually time to talk about Jack

 We are living in actually land right now.  Jack has always liked this word, but I've noticed its use has gone up tenfold lately.  And not just by Jack.  Do I say actually because he says actually?  Or the other way around?  Hard to tell these days.  Of course I feel like I use it appropriately.... "actually, that is not what is going to happen..."  Jack is a little more liberal.  He may just like the sound of this word.

I feel like we've hit another parenting milestone recently.  That is, we now live with a fully cognitive child.  Meaning, there is no longer a small child in our midst who we can mollify with "fuzzy" rationalizations.  Case in point.  I'm driving, Jack drops something in the back seat.  He wants me to get it for him.  "Jack, I can't get that for you because I'm driving."  In the past, that would have sufficed.  Last week he replies, "Okay, mom, well you can get it for me when you get to the next red light."  It's like he "gets" life now and sees through flimsy excuses.

He's also an inventive thinker.  This is fun a lot of times as he has a great imagination.  Other times, it comes back to bite us.  Last week, we went on a play date at his school to meet his teachers and classmates.  Jack loved returning to his same room from last year and quickly found the new toys.  He started  serving up a table of food to me and putting fruit in a tea kettle for "tea soup."  A friend came over to play too and Jack started hoarding the food and trying to edge the other little boy out.  I was talking to him that night about what had happened and asking him "What are some other things you could have done?"  I was looking for "I could have shared," but what I got was "I could have just ignored him."  Hmmm.  Wish us luck that he chooses friendlier approaches next week when he goes back to school!

Jack with our five baby ducks: Sam, Elvis, Penny, and "the twins"

He continues to be a voracious reader.  I never thought we'd need to give books away, but we are drowning in books.  Add stacks from the library and it gets a little chaotic.  I like it thought because it keeps the content fresh :)  Jack has a great vocabulary and I think it comes from his reading.  He's recently gone on record with things like:

• "I'm dashing up the stairs."
• "And then I realized I wasn't full!"
• "I didn't notice that before."
• "I don't have any energy left."

There have been more moments of sweetness toward Cora lately, though he can definitely annoy her!  (And she's no longer afraid to show us how she feels.  She'll holler, shriek, or grab back a toy.  We now have to be careful to make sure Jack is actually doing something wrong before we jump in.  I think she may have gotten a few freebies before we realized she may have been working that situation.)

Jack likes to say things to Cora like "You are the cutest baby I've EVER seen!"  He also gives her his own nicknames, which oftentimes include the word chubby.

Jack loves me a lot.  (The feeling is mutual.)  He always wants to snuggle his momma and can be really sweet.  He's generous with his "Love yous" and kisses.  I hope he's always this free with his affection.  The snuggles don't stop one day, right?!

Jack L. at Vacation Bible School

14 month update

Lots going on for the Landrys these days!  For now, here's the update on Miss Cora...

This last month has been more challenging for us.  And that is because we have a shrieker on our hands!  I've reminded myself a few times that this was about the age when Jack started hitting his head on the floor whenever we would leave the room - maybe it's just a difficult age!  For Cora, she has a shriek sound she uses when she doesn't like something, and she has a yelp sound she uses when she wants something.  We've been working to teach her "please", with no luck.  It makes total sense that this is the age where a child acts out somewhat; they now have very clear emotions and wants, but don't yet have the language to convey it.  So they headbutt or shriek :)

As for the sleeping...  We felt there was no point in making a big effort to work on sleep habits pre-international trip...or on the trip...and then July was so busy...and then Cora and I went to SC...and now she's 14 months and is so headstrong that our efforts are failing.  Case in point.  We had "decided" not to let her nurse until after 5am.  Well Cora "decided" she didn't like that plan.  The baby that could once be patted to sleep refused to lay down, arched her back, pushed away, and all but spit in Jacob's face, as she reached for the door demanding her mommy.  A few times we've given in, depending on the time of night, and a few times we've just shut her door and let her cry.  We're going to try to be more consistent.  It's just hard when one child is waking the other and you know all will be quiet with a few minutes of nursing.

Naps have also been hard lately.  Part of it is having babysitters.  Part of it is that she no longer needs two naps every day.  We're figuring it out.

Cora will start school on the 19th. I'm excited and hopeful she will like it.  She'll go two full days to match my two full work days.  On Friday mornings, my other work day, she and Jack will be home with a sitter.

Now for what is going well!  She is still Miss Personality and a very aware/observant child.  Lots of smiles, waves, and "hi's" to friends and strangers.  She pays attention and remembers where things are and what our routines are.  If you ask for something by name, she can bring it to you. When we visited pregnant Aunt Kristen, she knew to point to Aunt K's belly when asked "where is baby Billy?" She loves, loves, LOVES her blankie, "dankie," and drags it (luckily any of a set of three matching ones) around the house.  She also loves real and fake dogs and often has her pink and white "DOG-gie" clutched in her teeth as she toddles around.

Her new words this month besides blankie are thank you "da-doo"(when you give her something), "wa-wa" (which means her cup, but also can mean milk), "petty" (pretty), and "baby".


With the challenges are intermixed all the delights :) We are so infinitely blessed by these two beautiful creatures, so full of life!!

Stitch Fix - the time I bought the whole box

I've already shared my love of Stitch Fix.

It is still the perfect shopping solution for me.  A few clicks online...stored style/color/fit preferences...a box arriving at my doorstep...trying on clothes at my leisure at my house...shopping credits thanks to friends using my link...and the end product of stylish clothes that I would never have made time or known how to find.

As a treat to myself, I scheduled this, my fourth, Stitch Fix to arrive before I left on my international trip. I liked four items, but if you keep all five, you get 25% off the whole order, so it was cheaper to keep all five, so that's what I did!

If you haven't tried Stitch Fix, use my link to sign up - I continue to be 100% sold!

New dress

New shirt

New shirt