Age of Lady Cora: 7 months, 9 days
Family,
And a good afternoon to you from the Queen City, where another wonderful July is in the books.
Let's get amongst it and start recapping the festivities, shall we?
7/1 - So this day was a little tougher than expected, but it was still fantastic. The plan was to get JT and the Rice's to the Whitewater center early, and I was going to join them in the afternoon. Well, I did make it about 1, but the heat index was 96, and K was in full on meltdown almost instantly due to the heat (she was so tired and was bawling, plus she could barely walk in the flip flops she'd picked out. Luckily I'd brought tennis shoes as well). Cora couldn't get comfortable either (just no circulation in the stroller, and by 3 PM I had to get them out of there. That being said, they were really pretty good, and we did get to have some fun with bubbles and Go Pup (plus K got a hot dog...a piece of which she ate off the Pump House floor...details).
Two moments stick out for me. At one point I was feeding Cora and had taken my eyes off K. I look over, and she is RIGHT AT THE EDGE OF CLASS 3 WHITEWATER LOOKING IN. I quickly got her back, and admittedly there are 49,000 people watching that water, but still - I almost freaked out.
The other moment was at the Deep Water Solo wall. K has suddenly started saying "Oh My Gosh" (and I think has even taken the Lord's name in vain a few times), and I have warned her several times that I only want to hear "Oh My Goodness." Well, she let "Gosh" slip again at the wall, and when I corrected her (rather sternly this time), she just broke down into tears. It was NOT pretty. But since then I've only heard one slip up, so that's improvement!
7/2 - Today was a great day to just reset and reward K for being so good and so patient over the weekend. After church (where she got ice cream), we hung out for a bit at the house before spending 2 hours at the pool. JP brought Ryann and Eli over, and of course K had a BLAST swimming with her. Those two hours passed quickly, and for me, it was just such a GREAT reset, as it allowed me to relax. For some reason, I had been torqued up all day, and that pool time (as well as the run that followed) really helped me reset my priorities and clear my head. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!
On the Cora front, it is AMAZING how good she's sitting up now. She can really sit for extended periods (this evening was the longest I'd ever seen), and she's even transitioning from sitting to crawling now! It feels like daily she's hitting milestones and growing in leaps and bounds - truly amazing. 
7/3 - So today was a great day, largely because it just felt so relaxed. We didn't have plans, and after such a fantastic (and busy) weekend, it was good to just reset. I actually slept in until almost 8 AM!K was really tired in the morning, but she rallied big time in the afternoon. JT filled the little kiddie pool, and she spent the afternoon splashing around in it and playing with the little puppy sprinkler. JT and Cora got some time outside as well, and then I fed Cora and stayed with her while JT and K went to NOMAD (K was THRILLED about the chance to go to Child Watch :-)).
Cora ate AMAZING for me today, just like yesterday. And I'm not talking about formula, as she's actually eating less of that (still about 6.5 oz per feed, but the third feed is usually a bit of a struggle). I am talking about solids, as she is TORCHING THAT right now. Both yesterday and today she took 2 cubes of sweet potatoes with some oatmeal mixed in to thicken it. And she started apples today! So far she's had banana (on the 30th I think) and apples in the fruit category, and she hasn't loved either of them. I think sweet potatoes are her favorite at present. You should see how excited she gets in her seat and how wide she opens that mouth!
Her little personality is really coming out now, and we are getting lots more squeals, screams, smiles, and howler monkey moments (I should just put a vocal track of her on this site so you can hear it). It's hilarious!7/4 - So today was a GREAT day for every member of Team Taylor. I got 4 hours of running the trails at Crowders in the morning, while the girls walked in the 4th of July parade and then had THREE HOURS at the pool! I only stopped by to collect Cora, but K looked to be having a BLAST playing with Ry. They were jumping off the side, then later diving off the side (against the rules), and then swimming and playing all over the place. JT said that K was even mixing it up with the older kids who were roughhousing on an inner tube. Way to go, K!
After quiet time (both girls napped), we rolled over to casa de Williams, where we had a great meal and the kids had a blast playing together. They were dressing up, running around the yard, building obstacle course in the loft - you name it. It was too cute watching them in action.
I left with Cora about 8:15 (she was fussy, tired, and wasn't eating), but JT took K to see the fireworks. Luckily she had noise cancelling headphones, but it was still apparently an EPIC disaster. The fireworks must have been a) too loud and b) scared her to death, as JT said it was ROUGH. That's 2 years in a row where fireworks have been a disaster, so perhaps we'll look for a quiet spot to chill next year. :-) Even that evening was a special moment, as K requested the Dohm due to all the fireworks around the house! JT had tried to give it to her when we tucked her in, but she said no. Two minutes later, however, we hear, "DOHM!" Too cute...oh, and K hasn't had a bath in 2 days despite playing like a CHAMPION and swimming like a dolphin. She's starting to take after her father clearly...7/5 - So 2 interesting points for Cora to note. First off, when reading her board books, she is ALL ABOUT trying to eat them at present. More importantly, however, when reading Go, Dogs, Go - I have noticed that she is amazed at the page that has the red stoplight. Well, interestingly enough, Beka had commented this past weekend that Orange and Red are the first two colors babies see. It's so crazy to watch the development truly right before your eyes! She really was fixated on that color and spot in the book like no other. And on the reading front, I'm proud to report that's now operationalized. I am reading 2 books to her every time I put her down, and she seems to enjoy it so far.
Second thing about the Scream - she is sucking her big toe now! I mean, this girl skipped the pacifier and her thumb and went straight to something out of a Cirque show - hilarious!The funny story for K today - about 3:20, JT "lost track of her in the house." Well, come to find out, she was in her bed, propped up on Big Bear as a pillow, PASSED OUT. Her thumb was in her mouth, and she was snoring like a banshee. We woke her since it was so late (she prob got a 20 min power nap), and I did get to cuddle with her and tickle her for a bit, so that was fun (she's at Childwatch with JT as I type this).
7/6 - Mad props to JT today, as she and K "made slime" to compensate for the slime from Summer Camp that K accidentally let dry out. It's actually really cool - you take glue and food coloring, mix them somehow, and voila - it looks like a pink Slimer has descended upon your house. Way to go, Wife Muffin! I have to give her TONS of credit, as it takes a special mommy to keep coming up with ways to entertain the munchkin! This was also a great day because Kate and her family were back from Disney, and so they got a good hour plus playing together. Kate walked in and said, "where is the red ball?" (it was in the bonus room). They were super cute playing together, crawling around like kitties and getting on like a house on fire of course. It warms my heart, as I was worried about them staying in contact over the summer. However, they seem to be doing great and still playing well together, so I am feeling good about their connection through the summer and back into pre-school.
7/7 - not a lot to report today, but Lindsey came over with the kids, and they played with K while JT and Lindsey got a little break. We've actually seen them a lot this summer, and that's been really great. K and Ry are playing great together, and K's getting a ton of terrific social interaction with the boys as well. I know that it gives Lindsey and Jenny a break as well, so it's truly a win-win. God blessed us when he put us in line beside them at the Sports Club during Santa's visit - truly amazing!
7/8 - TODAY IS OUR ELEVEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!! How did that happen? Let me take a moment to just say that I live with three of the most amazing women on the planet, and one in particular. Jenny - I love you SO MUCH and just can't believe I get to do life with you every single day. Going to sleep and waking up beside you (to say nothing for everything in between) is such a blessing, and I want you to know how much I love you and treasure every day we share together here on Regal court with these kids (and everywhere else as well, of course :-)).
 |
| Wife. Best Friend. Soul Mate. I LOVE THIS WOMAN!!!!! |
The day was a lot of fun - we spent about 3 hours at the Sports Club pool with the Williams clan, and I got to see K go down the slide for the first time ever! She loved it - even went down on her tummy (feet first) a few times! She was a rock star and swam HARD the entire time, and I even got some of her dedicated time (but most was with Ry of course :-)) in the pool.
Cora actually had her first pouch this day, and she LOVED it! She was really cute in the water, and I got to swim with her about 45 minutes or so. I think she really does love the pool, which is AWESOME.
Oh, so Jenny and I had date night that night. Well, the sitter rocks up about 5:30, and all is well. We give her the instructions, and then we take off with K bawling in the background. We hear nothing, so we assume all is well. Well, we rock up about 11, and our poor sitter (cute as a button, but only 13 - first time managing both of our munchkins) says that Cora didn't even EAT her last bottle, and they put her down just 30 min after waking her up! She even called her father over, and he tried to feed her, but to no avail. JT and I were worried that Cora would wake up (suboptimal considering that we'd been drinking), but unbelievably she slept until 5:45! That is a MIRACLE!!!! THANK YOU, FATHER!!!! It was a great (but expensive) night - we won't have too many of those! Oh, and to wrap up the story - when we got Cora that following morning, she was still in the sleep sack (vs. PJ's), and the diaper was on backwards. But hey - they were alive, unharmed, and slept through the night, so no complaints here. :-)7/9 - We started butternut squash for Cora today (props to JT for cooking and pureeing it!), and I think she liked it. Honestly, that girl really seems to love her solids. You thicken it up a bit with some oatmeal, and you are good to go!
Another note for Cora - she has been simply ADORABLE lately with her giggles. She's almost transitioned to full blown laughter at this point - too cute!
7/10 - The next summer camp started today: "Things That Go" at UCUMC. It takes some work, but you can usually confirm a) the topic, b) who she played with, and c) what the snack was (she ALWAYS remembers that part). 
Now the funny part - I may not have mentioned "nudie bootie," but if I have not - it's basically what you sing when you are naked in the house. Yes, it usually involves you mooning someone. Yes, Kaitlyn and I have both run around naked at the same time and mooned Cora and JT. Yes - we have done this more than once.Well, on this day, Kaitlyn runs in after camp and says, "Dada, I sang Nudie Bootie to the teacher today!" Um....excuse me? I asked if she did, and she was fairly adamant that she had. She said that the teacher laughed. However, she then told JT that she showed her meningning while singing it, at which point I decided she was probably pulling my leg. Let's hope so at least!
But some good news to report - she can pretty much brush her teeth on her own, and she's wiping much better when she poops. Apparently she's been successful several times at preschool, so that's a big win! Credit to JT, as she's the one who's been helping her with her technique. :-)Also, we played volleyball in the foyer today with a beach ball, and K LOVED it. It was really fun, and she made some good contact! JT remembered mom talking about how much fun we'd have with the wide foyer, and she wasn't kidding, as moments like that were EXACTLY what she was talking about (and the memories we form from those moments).
7/11 - Cora is UP ON THOSE KNEES! That girl is already moving good, but she's about to be crawling at LIGHT SPEED. Seriously - she is poised to go at any moment.
Today was a cute one for the girls, as it was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. They wore white shirts and put black spots (construction paper) on them, and as a thank you for dressing like a cow, they all got free food! Love that place (and the pics!).
7/12 - Cora was truly laughing this evening, and I was laughing at Jenny making her laugh. Why, you ask? Because Wife Muffin was straight pinching that poor girls nipples to make her laugh - HILARIOUS! I am telling you - #PARENTSOFTHEYEAR. 
Oh, and K has truly gone thug life on us. She is running around all the time now saying, "Yeah, Yo!" I simply must watch what I say in front of this child. Oh, and did I mention that she can now do the entire course of Country Grammar by Nelly? You should hear her sing (the clean version, mind you) "Going down down, baby, yo' street in a range rover..." - it is absolutely priceless, and she knows EVERY WORD. The "light it up and take a puff, pass it to me now" is particularly heartwarming...
7/13 - I got to accompany Kaitlyn to karate today, where I saw her perform a formal technique! It was pretty cute watching her do blocks, punches, and kicks. It was SUPER HOT in there, but she rallied when the lollipops came out at the end. :-) I got some good video of her practicing technique - pretty cute.
Also, K read to Cora tonight, and it was SO SWEET! She read 10 little fairies, and she really does have a lot of it memorized! This was an amazing moment to me, as I remembered all of the times I read that book to her, adding in sound effects and speaking really slowly (and using hand gestures) to a) improve her language retention and b) more importantly, make the moment last longer with her in my lap. What is funny as she reads it now - some of them she gets exactly right, and when she gets the page and the number right, she always says, "that rhymes!" I don't think she's yet realized that they all in fact do rhyme - details. It's cuter listening to her do it her way.
Also, the evening "run out ritual" is firmly established now. I have to go into my room, turn my back to the door, and get on the balls of my feet, pretending to listen for K. She then sneaks into the room and runs between my legs. I tell her every night that I will get her this time, but somehow she continues to elude me. :-)
7/15 - Today was a SUPER busy day for Team Taylor, but we had a blast. Let's start with the biggest news - K got ready ALL BY HERSELF!!!! This was amazing - she picked out her outfit, brushed her teeth, and even brushed her hair! She's done most of that before, albeit usually with a little help or supervision. Today, however, she just rolled downstairs like it was nothing. Proud of you, kid!!!
The mid-morning saw Kaelin come over for a visit, during which time they played in the bonus room and were GREAT together. K has really been social lately, and it's been wonderful to see. She and Ry always have fun, but she's also had a blast with Tessa and is starting to interact a lot more with Kaelin (too bad she's leaving soon, but she's just going to Skybrook, so they will still be close for play dates). And the social hour kept on rolling Saturday afternoon, as she had 2+ hours at Ray's Splash Planet for Claire and Lucy's joint birthday party.Jenny took her (I stayed at home with Coda), but JT said she swam HARD and played like a champion. They played in the lazy river and must have had an absolute blast. Lightning forced them out of the water a little before the planned end of the session, but that worked out well because they got the chance to shower before church (it was funny, because K didn't realize that a "shower counts as a bath", so she thought she had to bathe again when she got home. Too cute. :-)).
Church was great (they prayed over the mission team in Haiti), and then afterwards I stayed around for the "end of summer party" in the Freedom House parking lot. They had several inflatables, hot dogs, temporary tattoos, and even ice pops for the kids. As usual, FH did a great job, and K enjoyed herself quite a bit (even though she was quite tired and it was a bit rainy). She got on the "young kids" inflatable twice, but then she set her sights on the big kid/adult inflatable. This puppy was a monster - 4 huge red balls that you had to jump across - and I will be honest and say that I was afraid she would hurt herself on it. However, she did AWESOME!! |
| K surveying the rapids - future kayaker in training. |
7/16 - K had swim lessons this afternoon, and she must have crushed it! JT said that she did great, and even K was excited to tell me about doing breast stroke kicks. She said that Mr. Brandyn said her freestyle was excellent, and apparently the backstroke is really coming along - just need to keep the belly up. Way to go, K!
7/17 - Kaitlyn started VBS today, and I think she's really enjoying it. They have a different color shirt they need to wear every day, and she's learning some dance routines, memory verses, and songs (I get to hear them sporadically in the afternoon and evening).
On the Cora front, she is really up on her knees now and ready to go at ANY minute. She is sitting MUCH better these days and can really keep her torso upright. Also, when she wants to go from sitting to crawling, she can now transfer on her own and start moving (without clanging her head). She's still army crawling, but when she stands on my lap she can now support her entire body weight. I still hold her for balance, of course, but I expect she'll be pulling up in the not too distant future. The good news - I just did another sweep, and we are still baby proofed. :-)
Cora is blowing raspberries all the time now, and she's truly laughing when you tickle her! She is giving us tons of smiles - especially when Kaitlyn or Jenny walk into the room. She watches both of them SO intently. K has continued to be great with her, always wanted to hold her, read to her, or watch her to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. :-) K has actually taken it one step further and now likes to pretend she too is an infant, so we are spending a considerable amount of time with "pretend I'm a baby..." This takes many forms, but K seems to enjoy it. 
For Cora, the schedule is now pretty well entrenched. Basically, she's up at 6:15, down at 8:30, up at 10:30, down at 1, up at 3, down at 5:30, and up at 6:30, with true bed time being 8:30. She's in a sleep sack for all but the last one, at which point she's in long sleeve PJ's. She's continuing to use her sleep sack as her pacifier, which means it is SOAKED AND DISGUSTING by the end of the day. Seriously - we are rotating them daily, and we could pretty much do three a day if we wanted to.
Oh, and K's quote of the month: She knows that I'm heading on a mission trip, and we've told her that I'm going to Haiti. Well, that's not how she heard it, and she keeps saying, "Dada is going on a mission trip to Hades." I tried to explain that I wasn't going to Hades, but that opened up a whole discussion about Hades, and the weather in Hades, and why I don't want to go there, and who is there, etc. So as far as she's concerned, my mission trip is to the Underworld. Quality.
Another generally cute comment - K has started saying, "You stinker!" Clearly we say that more than we realize, as she's throwing it out all the time now. It's adorable. "You stinker! You forgot my milk!" "You stinker, you forgot to wipe Cor Cor!" I mean, pretty much any occasion is an appropriate use. Oh, and the other day JT told her she was going to DPK, and K yelled back, "That is MONEYBALL!!!!" I mean, I am training these kids right. :-)
7/18 - on the Cora front, she actually pushed up from crawling to sitting today! I still haven't seen it (almost did on 7/20), but JT has seen it multiple times. EXCITING!!!! That girl is getting CRAZY strong - it won't be long before she's pulling up on furniture, and after that - LOOK OUT.
7/19 - So today was another good day for the fam. K had VBS, and then she got the chance to play with Tessa and Eli for most of the afternoon (Liz had stopped by to bring JT a gift from the DR). It is SO CUTE to watch them play together, and I really do feel like K is continuing to come out of her shell. She was expressive and talkative, and her imagination is truly starting to take flight (lots of "now pretend I'm the mean guy..."). There was a cute moment when Eli wanted to play one thing and K wanted to play another. Each one took turns saying, "No, I want to play XXX," followed by the other then responding with their preference. I heard it go through three or four cycles before I returned to work - not sure where they landed, but the good news is that they are learning how to play together and communicate, as well as (hopefully) respect one another's preferences. Plus, it was just pretty darn cute to listen to the conversation (they played together GREAT in the Bonus Room).
That evening was a visit to the Fire Station for the annual Freedom House Serve/Muster Event. I was covering for Lindsey and had both the kids in tow, but PRAISE JESUS they were really good. K was whiny out of the gate, but once we got some food in her (cake, hot dogs, Doritos, etc), she was good to go. She met a new friend (Christina), and they were SUPER cute playing together. They were playing a lot of hide and seek in the fire house (in safe spots, of course).
And Christina was a HUGE help keeping Cora calm, as I didn't get to feed her until 8 PM (an hour later than normal). It was miraculous how calm they both were through it all, and I felt that a spirit of peace was truly at work over the Taylor family during that window! K and I got to do the bucket brigade and fire up the hose, and Cora was great the whole time in her infant carrier (amazing, right?).
Bedtime was LATE that night - 9 pm for Koda and 9:24 for the Sneetch. But hey, we got there...even if Cora woke up at 5:20...
7/20 - So here I am - last post until my first ever mission trip to Haiti. I am admittedly writing this in a rush given everything I've got to do between now and this time 12.5 hours from now when I wake up, but I didn't want to leave the moment and the emotions without capture. I am SO EXCITED about this trip. I will miss my girls terribly (have never been away from them this long except JT, and even then it's been 2009 since we've had this long a separation), but I know they are in good hands (I will be off the grid the entire time, so I won't even be able to email). The emotions are many and varied, with anticipation and excitement being chief among them. Also, I am looking forward to resting and restoring my mind, body, and soul. I am looking forward to the unplug, the focus on God, and the chance to vision cast about me, my family, and our future. I feel I've been a pretty good hubby lately but only a decent father, focused more on tasks and discipline than achieving the right balance. And try as I may, I've been unable to right the ship with regularity. I'm hoping this time will help me look inward and make me a better parent, helping me to think about what it truly means to guide, guard, and govern in this present world we live in. Obviously that's not my primary motivation for going (that would be serving Christ and the people of Haiti), but I definitely think it will be an ancillary benefit.
Okay - going dark until at least 7/29. Love to my girls. See you on the other side of a God Encounter.
7/29 - I'M BACK, BABY!!!!! Now, I am struggling a bit since I picked up a virus in Haiti that's left me in the bathroom quite over the past two days, but the good news - I am on the mend! Seriously - the last week was incredible, and I have a separate blog of my time (as well as the team's of course) at www.crosspointministries.org. If you click on the Haiti blog, you'll see my handiwork.
As for JT, Cora, and K, they had a blast. For starters, the weekend I left was a hoot, as JT's friend Julie came up to visit. Julie and her family had never been to CLT, so they visited as part of a road trip that also hit Savannah. They had about 36 hours here and really made it count - Romare Bearden park in Uptown seemed to be the highlight (mini splash pads and misters helped given that it was about 142 degrees in the shade).
The week saw them all down at the Tacy's, and then I returned to find Kim, Matt, and James at the house. It was James' second birthday on Saturday, and we had a little get together with the fam. K LOVED the cake (there was vanilla and chocolate - #bestdayever), and K even had a present from Nole Nana and Grandpa (all the way from Pure Michigan). I was exhausted and sick, but I was able to hold it together until I hit the sack about 8 PM (party animal).
7/30 - "Ank it, dada!" So I love this quote. Basically, when I'm brushing K's hair into a pony tail, I now know that you need to hold the ponytail as you brush so that you can catch all the fly-aways. Well, as all that pulling sometimes hurts her scalp (same with de-tangling), I try and "anchor her hair" while I brush. I usually ask if she wants me to "ank it," and now she's actually started proactively telling me to do that. It's pretty cute. Taylor Base Camp vernacular, baby!
K has been really, really sweet this weekend. She has wanted to cuddle and snuggle all day, and I have obviously LOVED that. Love that kid! Cora, however, wants nothing to do with snuggles. She just wants to crawl!
Speaking of the Scream and crawling, that girl is almost at a full crawl now! She will sit up with a straight back for extended periods of time, and she's even hat meat in a jar at this point! The girl loves her solids more than formula, and it's actually getting tougher and tougher to give her formula. That being said, the first feed is good, the middle two feeds poor, but the last feed is EPIC. That kid ALWAYS sucks down the last bottle of the day - seemingly in increasingly record time! Also, she's now at 2 cubes of food (plus oatmeal or rice cereal for thickening) 3x daily. This girl can put it away! She is so excited when she sees the spoon and the solid food bowl - hilarious!7/31 - Last day of summer camp kicked off today! This one is our first Highland Creek camp: Little Scientists - creature feature. I must say that JT and I were really, really impressed (I'm typing this after her last day of camp), as the crafts were good, K had a blast, and best of all - it was 2/3 of a mile from the house!
Okay, that is July in the books. Over to August for us - speak in a month!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
