Age of Lady Cora: 1 year, 2 months, and 6 days
Family,
And a good morning to you from the Queen City - another epic month in the books, so let's get after it!
On the Cora front, she got her first hair clip today! Holy Moly - she is getting so big! It was some work to get the (cute pink) clip in there, but once she did the bangs were out of her eyes (too cute). My girls - so beautiful (and happy with their smiling faces).
Oh, and it should be noted that Buke LOVES the vacuum cleaner. When you put it away, she is NOT happy. I mean...a Dyson is cool and all, but seriously? :-)
2/3 - So Buke went full on pigtail today! I would call it a ponytail except for the fact that it is a collection of bangs that basically points due north when pulled together in a teeny rubber band. Too cute. Also, we've noticed that, when at the dinner table, Cora will mimic us as we pray - she folds her hands in prayer! It's too cute, and when we notice it and applaud her for doing it, she smiles SO BIG. It's honestly AMAZING what a difference a year makes. This time in 2017, poor Cora was screaming in pain constantly from hunger, reflux, and who knows what else. Now, however, she is smiling all the time - the serious face is really starting to dissipate! It's beautiful to watch. Love my girls!
2/4 - Today was a good day, filled with plenty of play time. I ran in the morning, and after that I wasn't terribly mobile for the rest of the day. We filled the hours by a) discovering Netflix (Finding Dory), b) playing games (Candyland, Tumblin' Monkeys, the Wii, etc), c) reading books, and d) playing with toys. Also, we had an awesome moment this evening - our first ever "dance party!" We rocked out to the song "One Foot" by Walk the Moon, and K was just cackling as I did my pathetic attempt at the Running Man (think Justin Timberlake and Vanilla Ice both hammered in a bar in their 80's trying to dance to salsa music - I'd say that visual isn't far off...), and K was in Heaven. It was just a perfect, fun, happy moment, and I was drinking in the laughter.
That moment was a good one for me, as the two days before it had been fun but tough. K has been tough the last little bit - refusing to answer when spoken to, refusing to be anywhere near us (and moving) during nighttime prayer, refusing to actually ask for what she wants and just grunting, etc. Also, she is purposely falling all the time at the moment, and between that and her normal behavior she is "hurting" herself all the time (saying "ow" about 6,000 times a day). I feel I am trying to hard to engage and bond with her, but right now it's a struggle. That's why the dance party was such a wonderful lift - we laughed and just had fun. It was great. 
Also, we have definitely turned a corner in Cora's walking progressing. She is really, really starting to move now! She's getting stronger and steadier on her feet, and she's definitely walking more and more. She still is crawling more than walking (and falling down plenty), but there is no question that we are trending toward being bipedal very, very soon. Exciting! It really is interesting to watch, as Cora is certainly discovering how strong she is and how she can control things. This week she actually took 5 blocks out of a suitcase (one of K's toys) and carried them to the actual toy they were designed for in the living room. It was a really neat thing to watch! The cutest thing right now is watching her play with what is clearly her favorite toy at the moment - a blow-up beach ball. She LOVES walking with that thing - she's on her knees holding it, and then she just slams it down (and cackles each time). She is really smiling a lot now - especially when you play the game of mimicking her grunts and noises. I've also taken to doing eskimo kisses with her while she's in her high chair, and she thinks that's quite hilarious (and she won't shake her head until I've pulled way - the delayed participation is really cute).
2/5 - So a God moment: after K went to pre-school, Jenny and I talked about some of K's behavior. I didn't know what to do, but Jenny made the observation that some kids just don't like to talk about school. It's their place and their time, and they don't really want to open up. She said that perhaps all of our questions (especially the repetitive ones - who did you play with, what did you do, how was lunch, etc) might just be annoying her. Consequently, I didn't ask about anything when she came home. And you know what? We had a GREAT evening. K spoke up when she wanted to, and there was virtually zero whining. We played with My Little Pony dolls, played Monster (first time in awhile!), and just had a really good time. Thank you, Muffin, and THANK YOU, FATHER for this answered prayer!
On the Cora front, that girl took 12 steps in a row today!!!!! It's amazing how much quicker she's getting the hang of it. She will be running in no time! The evening was a lot of fun - we played around, and Cora loved throwing the ball at K. JT and K each took a hand and did laps around the house with Cora walking between them - too cute! K even said, "I don't mind having a baby sister now." Love. That.2/6 - a treat for me - I got to go to gymnastics today! It was so cute to watch K out there stretching, running around, and bouncing on the trampoline. She did good work with her moves, and they had a blast walking on apparatuses, jumping into foam pits, etc. JT suggested I go, and I am so glad I listened to her.
The evening was not all ponies and rainbows, however, as K was a TYRANT at dinner. We actually had to threaten sending her to bed without supper (I didn't know parents really did that). We ended up having to take a lot away that evening (which was disappointing after such a good evening the day before) but I am happy to report that the 36 hours since have been good. K did say that her neck was bothering her - must have been from how she slept (she said it's been fine since then). 
2/7 - Not much to report today except that poor K rolled her ankle in the rainy day room! I didn't realize how sore she was until the following morning, but it must have really hurt. She was in different shoes (her kitty shoes were soaked form jumping in muddy puddles with Kate the previous day), which meant that we had to put her in shoes that were slightly too large. She must have caught her toe while playing, and then her ankle rolled under.
Oh, and a classic moment - K tells JT and I that she's made something for us at pre-school. she shows it to us, and it's a card with me on one side and Jenny on the other. I say, "Sweetheart, this is really good!" She says, "Yes, that's you, and that's a big bee stinging you." Seriously - the bee was the size of GODZILLA!!!! I flip it over, and she says, "And that's a bee stinging mommy." NICE.
2/8 - Poor K was really sore this morning, crawling around the house and sliding down the stairs (the sliding is normal for her, but not all the crawling). The fact that she wasn't whining but was really trying to avoid walking told us it was serious, and so we gave her some ibuprofen. We did get the report that she was able to walk into preschool without a limp, so that's great news. I am awaiting to hear how it all went. :-)
2/10 - Today was a good day, albeit a quiet one in the house. K was a little challenging throughout the day, but some of that was (I think) excitement, as she had company coming over! Matt's family (everyone but him, as he'd been running a 50K that morning) came over for a babysitting/playdate session. The girls (Lily and Grace) were SO SWEET to K and Cora, and our girls were in Heaven. They brought a gift over for her (a little beanie baby named Snowball - it hasn't left K's side), did crafts, ate popcorn, played games, stayed up late - K was in HEAVEN!!!!! AJ was here as well, and they had a blast playing together (they really do get along well). JT and I got 5 or so hours of date night (AMAZING), and so it was a win-win-win! 2/11 - Family swim day!!!! We were in the water a long time today - over an hour! And while we had a meltdown to deal with at the end of the night, it was a really fun day playing with the girls. We spent a lot of time playing "Rapunzel" with K (think "sissy kitties" but with a Disney Princess and Mother Gothel thrown in), and it was just a really fun, happy day.
There was a meltdown in the evening of EPIC proportions, but honestly - that's all I want to say about it. I don't want this blog to turn into a recounting of every single blowup and every subsequent disciplinary action taken, as that would give the perception that times have been really tough vs. times being great with a mixture of some sass and frustration thrown in. Yes, K has been tough at several points lately. Yes, I have been at a loss recently (at times anyway) about how best to raise my daughter. And yes, there have been many tears cried. However, there have also been so many AMAZING, wonderful, happy moments that don't make this blog, and I don't want to lose site of all those - the wonderful moment each morning where K comes down the stairs (big smile on her face), the way she puts her head on my chest when I'm reading to her, the way she laughs when I say something she finds funny, the way she LOVES her Mac 'n Cheese, the way she LOVES LOVES LOVES putting her "melty mints" into cheese sauce (GROSS), etc. The reality is that we have two beautiful, happy, amazing, loving, wonderful daughters. And while there are some challenging moments, we have far more sunshine than rain (and hey - no rain, no rainbows).2/12 - So I collected Cora this morning when she awoke, and I discovered that she LOVES to pull clothes off the hangers in her closet! It was the cutest thing - I picked her up out of the crib, and she immediately pointed to the closet (she's getting very good about pointing at what she wants now). Well, I opened the closet, and she gave me a big smile. But when I actually let her touch the clothes and yank a few down, she was in Heaven (and refused to let go of them, for the record).
All kidding aside, she has DEFINITELY transitioned from cruising to walking. She's much sturdier now - you can set her down on her feet, and she will stand there. Also, she is walking MUCH further than at any point previous and is (finally) walking more than she's crawling (except around the kitchen at dinner when she's exhausted). It's really amazing to watch how much stronger she's getting every single day - so fun! Also, she is standing up with just a little assistance at this point (really just holding 1 finger). Things are happening quickly!!!
Side note - K is falling down and injuring herself all the time. I am telling myself that it's just "the age," but she's had some decent wipeouts. That being said, as her pain tolerance appears quite low, I'm not sure when she's crying wolf vs. actually hurt. I mean, let's face it - she bounces back in 5 min, so I'm gonna assume all is well until that doesn't happen. :-) Buke did bang her head from a fall on the hardwood tonight, and she actually does have a little pump knot. However, as she's a future Rugby player, there were few tears shed. :-)And just to capture it for posterity - K, when you read this 30 years from now, know that, for some reason, you liked to slide Twink around on the floor EVERYWHERE you went in the house. That poor critter is SO DIRTY. But the good news - we don't have to sweep as much!
2/13 - Gymnastics tonight (we took Elizabeth), and K played with Kate at the house, but the featured event of the evening were the Charter School lotteries at Bradford Prep and Corvian.
2/14 - Happy Valentine's Day! By and large I think it was a good one until about 2 PM, at which point the wheels came OFF for our oldest daughter. Now I know that I said I didn't want this post to become a running dialogue about discipline, but I have no option save for recording this most recent chapter.So K had her Valentine's Day party today, and by all accounts it was fun. She'd spent a lot of time working on writing everyone's name on their Valentine's Day card, had picked out stickers for each of them, etc. However, when you introduce as much sugar as that child received during this party...let's just say that we've determined sugar is a very likely trigger for her behavior, as we can tie all major meltdowns back to overindulgence and the subsequent crash that follows.
After preschool, JT drove K and Kate to Latta Park, where they had a nature walk. Everything was fine during the walk, and the folks running it even gave all the kids a little unicorn eraser. Well, K somehow broke hers. Her solution to this problem? BREAK KATE'S UNICORN HORN AS WELL. Now I wasn't there, but apparently she flat told Kate "I'm going to break your unicorn when we get home." Kate told her not to, and when JT heard it, she also told her that wasn't acceptable. It was at this point K started screaming in the car (Kate had to cover her ears) and kicking JT's seat. JT pulled TV (all screen time) for a WEEK (PROUD OF YOU, WIFE MUFFIN!!!!), and when they got home she went up to change Buke. While she was upstairs, what do you think K did? BROKE. KATE'S. UNICORN. HORN. I mean, are you kidding me!?!?!?
K then proceeded to call JT stupid and act out, and after 2 spankings, more toys taken away, and placing K outside to finish screaming (luckily Kate had left by now), she was STILL behaving like a monster. So JT made the boldest move I've seen to date - she took a toy and threw it in the trash right in front of her - a little Anna doll! When K didn't stop, JT took the teapot and chucked THAT in the trash. AMAZING! That did (finally) slow K down. She was bawling crying and begging for them back, but she didn't scream anymore. (For the record - JT later "reclaimed" the toys, wiped them off, and put them in the laundry room. Plan on seeing them again in about 6 months when Buke is older. :-)).
JT also made K write out "I will not break my friend's toys." AND she took a dollar from her piggy bank to buy Kate a new unicorn. Never a dull moment. Super proud of you, wife muffin!On the Cora front, she woke up from her nap with TONS of snot caked onto her nose. She really struggled to even get to sleep because she couldn't breathe - we had to give her ibuprofen for her nap (still took 30 min to settle). JT is gonna monitor it, but we are thinking we'll have to take her in for a check-up.
Some cute things from Cora - tonight when I said "let's go up!", she was in her high chair. She immediately raised her hands in the air and said, "Up!" We of course bragged on her, and she smiled a mile wide (just like she does when she hears more and does the sign language). She also meowed when she saw the purple cat in "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" - no doubt she knows that sound now.
2/15 - So JT ended up taking Cora to the doctor today. While they saw fluid in her ears, they weren't yet ready to call it an infection. Jenny and I were both a little frustrated, as it basically felt that JT was being punished for catching it early. Buke was still pretty happy throughout the day and is now walking SO GOOD! It's amazing how sturdy she's become, and walking is definitely her preferred method of locomotion. Also, she LOVES flap books now - that is always the weapon of choice, and she is really good at finding the notch to lift the flap. Also, it's so cute to watch her point (and lean) at whatever she wants - especially when you pick her up out of the crib. On the K front, she worked on her "sorry note" to Kate today. Kate doesn't attend preschool on Thursday, so that gave us a day to a) procure the replacement and b) complete the note.
2/16 - So today went really well. K presented her apology note, and everything seemed fine. Preschool was good (show and tell day!), and afterwards Kaitlyn went to the park. It was an AMAZING weather day, and JT and the girls managed to fly a kite!!!!! I was SO impressed, and the pictures were so cool! It's the first time we've managed to get a kite in the air (first time we've used a decent kite as well), so that was exciting and a great start to the weekend. We started giving K children's allergy medicine again today. I wasn't a fan of this, but the Peds have repeatedly suggested we try it to see if it stems a) her cough and b) her consistent infections. Well, it certainly felt like a miracle drug this day, as she didn't cough ONCE after she took it and was blowing her nose like crazy to clear out snot. If this stuff really does work, I'm going to call it the miracle elixir!!!!!!!
2/17 - So today had the potential to go south in a hurry. K was playing with a cheap, plastic slinky from Halloween, and it got slightly tangled (still worked fine). She kept pulling on it and stretching it (even after JT told her not to), and eventually it got so loose that it no longer worked. K just went CRAZY and started screaming "It's so ugly!" and begging one of us to throw it away. We told her that she could do it, but she refused - she always wanted one parent or the other to throw it away. I mean...you can't make this stuff up. The good news is that we rebounded and actually had a really good day after that, including father/daughter swim at NOMAD. Plus Lindsey came over for a babysitter swap, so Team Taylor had date night! BOOM!!!! :-)
2/18 - Today was a whirlwind, complete with church and TWO birthday parties! The first party was at Chuck E. Cheese (AJ's 5th). K had never been, and she LOVED it. The games were fun and collecting tickets was nice, but the real highlight for her was running around with Lilly and Grace - she LOVES those girls (and they seem to like her as well, so it's super sweet). K was a MACHINE during food time - that girl at 4 SLICES!!!!! I didn't realize that (I thought it was two, as they came around asking kids if they wanted 1 or 2, and K showed 2 fingers as quickly as you can say please - apparently she bagged two more at some point). K actually lost her play pass, but I bought her another one, and that more than carried us through. After that it was over to Defying Gravity with JT for Emmi's party - looks like they had a blast! I saw some super cute photos, my favorite of which was K swinging off a trapeze into a foam pit. K's favorite part was making silly faces with the Disney masks (and I was treated to a cute photo recap later that evening). All in all it was a day of good food, good times, and PLENTY of sugar for our oldest. The good news - she slept like a ROCK that night. :-)
I even got some quality time with Buke in the afternoon (I had her at the house while JT was with K). We did the 5K loop, and Cora was GREAT in her stroller. It was just nice to go at a leisurely pace, enjoying the pretty day and just letting my mind wander. Those moments are rare (especially in the middle of the day), so that felt like blessed, sacred time.
Oh, and here's a random note - when Cora sees a dog, guess what? She SNORTS! Yes, the snort/hock is clearly her "I see an animal" noise, and it is HILARIOUS. JT had noticed it before, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I witnessed it in action for the first time.One other note - K's cough is back with a vengeance. Jenny actually took her in on Friday, but they said that it was fine - likely still a holdover from pneumonia. It has been better the last two days, but there have been moments where it's sounded like croup. Sunday was definitely the worst (meaning most frequent and loudest), and I'm sure it isn't helping her mood. Poor thing coughs all the time, and you know that slowly wears her out. She has her chest x-ray & follow-up on 3/7, so we're hoping we get some good news then.
2/19 - I was off for President's Day, and it was a great day. Nole Nana and Grandpa came over, and we spent the day playing games and riding bikes. K FINALLY agreed to spend a little time on her real bike today, and I am THRILLED to report that she made some tremendous progress! She definitely prefers level ground or going uphill to riding downhill (it's all about being able to control speed), but it was AMAZING to see how quickly she found her rhythm! I was super proud (and you could tell by her smile that she was as well :-)). 
Oh, and we have started playing the "Hatchimal" game now. Mom gave this to K for Valentine's Day, and it's REALLY cute. K loves it, and did 3 or 4 rounds today (as well as a few other rounds over the weekend). I am such a fan of boardgames - I love the rules and objectives. They make life SO much easier (especially when compared to sissy kitties :-)). Honestly, I love playing with my girls, but some things (like sissy kitties) I just simply cannot do. Judge me if you have to. :-)On the Cora front, we did confirm an ear infection for her. She's now got antibiotics, and we're hoping that we'll see her turn a corner soon. JT's been sucking her out quite a bit lately with the snot sucker, and Cora HATES IT. Poor thing - she can tell when it's coming, and her screams during the whole process are almost primal. But there is a payoff at the end! I just hope she starts breathing better soon - especially for our time in Texas.
2.21 - BIG NEWS on the mobility front: K biked to the park today! It was K's idea, and JT said that it was awesome. And best of all - K seemed to really have fun riding it! She did fall once on the way home, and JT said that it was a struggle to help her up the hill en route home while also having the stroller. However, a) Kaitlyn was treated to a sweet Elena band-aid for her arm boo-boo, and b) the trip to the park was MUCH quicker than walking, so it was a win-win. It has been AWESOME to see how much K has embraced the bike this week. She is really enjoying it, and she is getting more confidence by the minute - especially in the downhill sections. Where she would have previously braked every tenth of a second, she's now starting to (slowly) build up speed. Proud of you kid!
2/22 - Cora rolled 14 months today! How is that even possible? She spent it crawling around the deck and walking around the backyard. That girl LOVES the great outdoors, and she always smiles when she gets outside. That makes me VERY happy, and it's great to see her really enjoying the sun, the wind, and everything to explore outside. Admittedly, we're not quite ready to let her tackle the deck stairs on her own, but hey - we'll get there soon enough! It's also great how good she is in the stroller. Bottom line - as long as that girl is outside, she is content. Also, I have to compliment the change of attitude during teeth brushing - she's really starting to get the hang of it! Instead of constantly having to fight to wedge the toothbrush in, she's now opening her mouth and actually letting me scrub the enamel. Yay!
2/23 - So today was another big milestone in the adventures of Team Taylor - our first ever Family of Four flight! That's right, sports fans - today Sam and his ladies boarded SWA 360 bound for Dallas Love Field, and I'm pleased to report that it was a SMASHING SUCCESS!!!! Seriously - it was just PERFECT. The girls were great, and everything went super smooth. We basically fed Cora the ENTIRE TIME (yes, we're talking like 2.5 hours), and K was happy as a clam between a) her tablet, b) food, and c) my tickling her with manic zeal (at her request, of course). 
The one incident - K got off the plane SO EXCITED. She was sprinting through the terminal, jumping over cracks, and just enjoying a general state of euphoria. Well, we arrived at the escalator for baggage claim, and she said she wanted to go with me. Considering we've done escalators about 14,985 times, I said cool and hopped on. Well, she didn't, and then she FREAKED OUT. She was SCREAMING for daddy to come back up, but I was loaded with 3 bags. Jenny then tried to get her in the elevator (she had Buke in the stroller), but K REFUSED - even when Jenny tried to pick her up and carry her! Luckily a very nice lady offered to hold her hand down the escalator, and K assented. I mean....WOW.
Our friend Jen picked us up and took us to her house for dinner, where the kids were able to play and then eat mac 'n cheese and dino bites like they were going out of style. :-) K and Cora got into all of Hunter and Acadia's toys as well, so they had a blast. We even got to knock out bath time there, which made life MUCH easier when we rolled over to the Robinson Roost. We weren't totally without incident, however, as K had a classic comment for the ages. She asked me when we drove up (and when we left) about their "upstairs" (Dada, why don't they have an upstairs?). I explained that, because there is so much land and because heat rises, most houses in TX (like FL) don't have second floors. K must not have heard that (or bothered to realize their house was just under 3K square feet), as she proceeded to tell Jen and Matt: "You have a tiny house. We have an upstairs. We have a ginormous house." QUALITY. Needless to say we had a little talk about a) what's big and b) what's appropriate. :-)We arrived at the Robinson's to find presents on every bed - including in the pack 'n play! Jenny and Henry had purchased the CUTEST little gifts for the girls (bath towels, books, clothes, etc), and it was a great end to the night. We got the girls down by about 9 CT (so 10 pm their time) and expected they would sleep like champs. Oooooooooh, naive parents....
2/24 - So Cora did NOT sleep good. She called out at 12:30 (woke up the house), 1:42 (woke up only me), and 3:06 (woke up the house). She was in the room with K, and obviously that woke her up as well. K said, "Dada, I can't sleep," but she was a trooper and stuck it out (and managed to fall back asleep rather quickly). They were up in earnest by 6:45, but I honestly woke up feeling pretty good.
The day was AWESOME for everyone. It was raining, but Jenny had TONS of toys for the girls (from her time as a Kindergarten teacher), and they were in HEAVEN! Plus, Jenny was GREAT about playing with them, and K fell in love with her. Plus they played kitty with her and responded whenever she meowed, so obviously their stock shot through the roof. :-) The girls actually didn't leave the house, but it was a wonderful, relaxing day - which is exactly what you want on the eve of a marathon. 
2/25 - So today was AWESOME, as I got a treat - my girls cheering for me at the finish line of the Cowtown Marathon! Jen had given K little pom-poms and a skirt, and she was my cheerleader as I came through to the finish line. Too cute! K played around on all the stuff that was at the finish, and she was thrilled with all the stuff I got in the food line (lemonade, Bai, banana, etc).
We got back home shortly thereafter, at which point K and I celebrated with a cookie and by dipping our feet into the pool (it was FREEZING!!!!!!!). K was tough as nails - that gal basically got into the water up to her tush! My feet was as far as I could go, as it was MISERABLY cold. But I did enjoy celebrating the run with a cookie...as did K (of course).
Buke was really good, too, and both the girls definitely got some sun. Buke's nose and cheeks were SO red (she's just so fair skinned), but she didn't seem fussed. That's my girl! :-) 
Other side note - we tried Zyrtec at 2.5 in the morning and 2.5 in the evening today trying to stave off K's evening cough. However, I really don't think that worked, so we're going to go back to 5 ml's in the morning. She is definitely coughing less now that she's getting it, but I have noticed that the cough tends to return in the evening. Was actually really, really sweet the first night at the Robinson's. When she realized Cora was in her room, she said, "Dada, what about my cough?" I told her it was fine, but she still ran out of the room to cough the first time before she crawled into bed. Sweet girl (most of the time :-)).Needless to say it was an early night that night!
2/26 - Another great day for Team Taylor today. I worked at the Robinson Roost, while JT took the girls to the Ft. Worth Zoo. They had a BLAST! At first we were worried about the size of the place, but K walked around for 5 HOURS without ever getting into the stroller! She petted birds & snakes, saw all kinds of animals, and just had an absolute blast. They spent 5 hours, and even capped the event with ice cream! Now for the record - the issue was in doubt, but K's charm prevailed. You see, JT had promised K ice cream at the end, but when they rocked up to the stand, the lady said "we're closed." However, seeing the look on K's face (and likely Jenny's), she still gave her a cone (Crazy Colors flavor, which is apparently vanilla yet turns your teeth NEON BLUE).Zoo Highlights:
K's foot started hurting her toward the end - not sure if she tweaked her ankle, walked too far in bad shoes, or something else, but she was struggling pretty good when she got home. Buke was a little fussy as well (absolutely REFUSED to take her meds in the morning), and both girls passed out on the ride home (Buke had also passed out on the drive there). They crashed hard that night, and we followed soon thereafter.
2/27 - K was really hurting today - couldn't put any weight on her foot! The pain lessened after some ice and ibuprofen, but she couldn't put any weight on it at the airport. That made things TOUGH at the airport, as we had about 16,000 bags to juggle! However, between the kindness of strangers, carrying Buke, having short lines, checking three bags, and putting K in the stroller, we made it work. I had to carry her through security and onto the plane, but by the end of the plane ride she did feel better and was actually able to put weight on her foot (which was awesome). We still made her ride in the stroller vs. walking to ensure her foot healed for preschool (and JAX, of course). She wasn't happy about that, but ultimately she did submit (when we didn't really give her any choice :-)). 
The flight home was great for the first 90 minutes, but then it was a DISASTER. Cora just absolutely blew a GASKET - we are talking BALLISTIC. She was screaming and fighting tooth and nail during the descent, so much so that she actually puked twice (just a little, but still). She was thrashing, screaming, gagging - it was insane! She was clearly exhausted - that girl didn't even want food! Luckily, the favor of God was with us, and for the FIRST TIME IN PROBABLY 10 YEARS we walked outside to find the Long Term 1 shuttle waiting for us. We hopped on and were home quickly, getting the girls down by 9 (which felt like 8 to them). They both passed out almost instantly and slept until 7:45 the following morning! Cora actually fell asleep on me (never happened before) when I was putting her down, and while she did wake up when I placed her in the crib, she didn't make a peep. Amazing!
Honestly, it was SUCH a great trip - so much more incredible than I even thought it could be! It was really relaxing, the girls had a blast, I didn't have to take time off work, JT got to relax some (including a massage and pedicure), I crossed off a bucket list item, we ate like kings, and we spent almost ZERO dollars! Seriously - it was just perfect. We were treated like family and royalty at the same time - gifts, great food, people driving us - I could get used to life in Texas! :-)2/28 - Today was a busy one, emptying out the suitcases, washing everything, and then getting ready for a) Lifegroup in the evening and b) the trip to Jacksonville tomorrow! But the great news - K felt MUCH better today and was able to go to preschool without incident. And even better - she got to play with Kate after school!
Also, since we are leaving tomorrow and I'll miss "Donuts for Dad," K presented me with my very own donut today. :-) She also gave me the little packet she created for me, which is HILARIOUS!
1. Age: 14
2. Favorite thing to say: "Donkey Trash" (got me on that one!)
3. He's as big as: A Door
4. What he does well: Gives me piggyback rides
5. What we love to do: Go to the park and watch K slide down poles6. He makes me smile when we: Walk to the park
Can't argue with any of those! Too cute. The little book is adorable and something I will cherish forever. It's already in my "keeper" files.
Oh, and while sibling rivalry is nowhere near over, today in the bath K conceded the following: "I guess it's not so bad having a sister." #progress.
Okay, so there you have it - February in the books. Just 11 more days to record before volume 5 is ready for print! Chat with you after we've been parents for 5 YEARS! WHAT!?!?!?!!?
Love,
Sam and Jenny
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