Lots of Pictures

It's been 10 days since I last updated - sorry! Lots going on - planning a big 1st birthday bash, landscaping & gardening a plenty, and talking about moving next year (so we've been checking out some plans & lots). Yikes!

One thing I don't have a picture of is Cori's first tooth! On mother's day I felt something sharp graze my finger when I put some banana on Cori's gums. Surprise, surprise -it was a tooth that had broken through the gum-line!

I apologize in advance for the grainy pics - Blackberry's may be useful for surfing the inter-web, but they take lousey pictures!

Here's Cori sampling her first soft pretzel at Hofbrauhaus. She clearly enjoyed it.A few weeks ago I went out with some friends and decided to spend my entire $20 on $5 martinis... - oy vey! But it did feel good just to be silly for a while.


First taste of summer - ice-cream!!

Cori got her first car for her birthday. As you can see, it is a huge hit!

Cori's hair is getting really long in front - this morning I decided to put it in a bow like Cindy-Loo-Who

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick entry to say "Happy Mother's Day" to the women in my life! Many of my friends are moms, and I'm thinking of them too. But some of my friends aren't moms yet, as much as they want to be. And I remember them during this 'holiday' too, because it can be rough. I know; I've been there. I'm sending extra hugs to you all.

Most of all, I'm sending my love to my mom. I hope I can be half the mom that she is to me. Being a mom is truly an amazing experience - my whole world has changed every since I first saw my daughter. Life is truly good!

Exploration

Earlier this week Cori climbed our stairs without showing interest before. Uh-oh! We're in trouble now!

Just some pictures from playing this week. And while like most kids her age, Cori likes books. It's just funny what she likes to read!

Play Time

The warmer weather of this past weekend made for lots of outdoor adventures.
Cori is really at such a fun age - she laughs so much and it's infectious! She loves it when you chase her around and she's gotten to be quite the expert at playing "How big is Cori?" ("Sooooo big!") It's funny because when she hears the word "big" in conversation, she'll raise her arms up over her head like she does with "so big!". It's amazing to see her word recognition in action and her intelligence just grow and grow.

One of her favorite things to do is for us to create a tower from stacking cups, and she is immediately drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She will then proceed to knock it down, scattering all the pieces around and laughing at her destruction.

Before

After

Cori is pulling up to stand and starting to cruise around a bit. But her favorite mode of transportation is still scooching around our hardwood floors from room to room. We're thinking of attaching a swifter cloth to her and letting her clean as she goes. She's getting close to a year - that's old enough to earn her keep right?

Cori 11 months

Our big girl.... where did the time go?
Will she really be a year next month?

the week in pictures

It's been a very busy week since the last post. Dave turned 40 and my brother got married. And I found out that my work is again laying off people and I'm being told that I have to take 3 additional weeks unpaid leave, one per quarter for the rest of the year. With the 4 weeks unpaid this year and my 3 weeks vacation time, I've never had so much time off! Too bad I can't get paid for half of it. At least my job is safe (for now - nothing should be taken for granted).

Dave came home on his birthday to a house full of balloons, streamers and beer! So far he seems to be handling 40 without much a breakdown - mentally or physically!
Over last weekend my brother got married in a semi-private ceremony with a full reception of family & friends. A good time was had by all! Congratulations to David and Kelly!
This weekend's weather looks to be amazing - sunny and upper 70s Friday through Sunday. My intuition must have kicked in as I'd requested Friday off a few weeks ago. I look forward to lots of yard work, long walks in North Park and a big dinner at Mad Mex!

Amazing weekend

Lots of photos ahead, because we had an awesome weekend this past weekend! We got to see lots of family in from Connecticut & Rhode Island and locally as well. Saturday Cori spent some time with her cousins who adore her (and she is enamored by them too!) . Even better is that they will be at the beach in Corolla the very same week we will be this year, so we'll get to hang out on the beach!Afterwards we met with Mark & Kacey and went to Phipps for their spring flower show.
It was beautiful as usual, but it was extra nice to see the exhibit through Kacey's eyes since she'd never been there. The rooms looked amazing - picture perfect! Can't you just imagine a wedding here?!
Cori had a blast too and did wonderfully even though she missed a nap. After dinner out, we hung out at home and played Guitar Hero which was hysterical and a lot of fun!Easter morning Cori had her basket and we couldn't resist the bunny ears. She didn't seem to mind very much at all. And she was on excellent behavior in church (as usual). So many members commented how beautiful she looked and what a pretty baby she is, which just makes me smile. Ovbiously we think she is the best little girl around but we admittingly biased.
We got to spend the whole day with my mom, much to Cori's delight. After a delicious brunch out we took Cori to the park. It looks like we'll have to get a swing now! What an amazing day - we couldn't have asked for anything more!

Ready for Easter

We're all set for Easter this weekend! We dyed some eggs on Thursday night - Cori supervised.
We have her basket ready to go (the Easter bunny dropped it off early!)This weekend will be busy since Uncle Mark & Aunt Kacey are in from Providence, as well as Aunt Kristen and Uncle Rich & Cori's 3 cousins - all from Connecticut. Tomorrow we are going to visit Cori's Pop-Pop & Grandma Kathy to visit and have an easter egg hunt. Then we're off to Phipps with Mark & Kacey & Grandma Lois and then maybe the Pittsburgh incline and dinner. We hope to fit everything in before bedtime!

Hey! I recognize you from somewhere...
you read this blog, don't you?

Sunday is church services with Grandma Suzie and then brunch. It looks to be the beginning of a great week - Dave's 40th birthday is later this week followed by my brother's wedding. Lots of pictures to come I am sure.

Cranky

A certain someone has been extra cranky today. That combined with the new phase of temper tantrums when told "no" or when she doesn't get her way makes for extra fun times...

We think it's teething. Heck, at 10.5 months, one of these times saying it, it is bound to be true! We don't see or feel anything in there, but someone's continued fascination with her tongue makes it hard to check.

This was today's church outfit prior to the first of many meltdowns. Good thing she is so darn cute!