Happy Easter!

Easter Bunny, Easter Bunny..."Hi Easter Bunny". I don't think I have ever seen or had a child who loves the Easter Bunny as much as Cora. She couldn't wait to see the Easter Bunny, say hi, give love, wave, say hi again. A store in Old Lyme was having free pictures with the Easter Bunny this past Saturday. It was wonderful. Short line, no pressure to order any pictures and they emailed the photos to us. Cora loved it! These are three pictures that their photographer captured.

Three more photos from an Easter egg hunt event at church. She would seek him out constantly. 

Hammonasset Beach State Park

Cora and I went to a new place to run. We met another Mom and stroller there - someone from an online running group I have recently found which supports finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Its called OutRun38. They have a Facebook page which I have found to be very motivational with everyone reporting how far they ran, where, etc. If you submit your miles, then it helps with donations towards finding a cure for CF. It's a nice state park next to the water and flat. This run wasn't without a bit of excitement but luckily not for us - we saw a woman fall on some ice. We were able to run up quickly because of where we were from her, help her stand up and walk her to a safe place. Cora still talks about "help lady".

A love for reading

I have always loved reading. Not sure when it started or how although I can bet my Aunt Linda had a good part in it. I used to think I should be a Librarian when I grow up because I love books, and I knew Aunt Linda had been. Not sure how that disappeared but I have always kept up the reading. Although, having kids has slowed down my pleasure reading but am recently trying to step up it again. I can remember sitting in my room, in a bean bag chair and digesting an entire book in a day.  Now, I have a 9 1/2 year old who does the same. A six year old who is learning to read and definitely enjoying it and an almost 23 month old who when she was much younger wouldn't sit through many books but that's not the case anymore. This is a recent stack of books requested for bedtime. She likes to read some of the same books over and over for a few nights and then just like that she will choose something different. You can sometimes find her in her room reading some of her books. I would have to say her favorites are any Eric Carle, Bunny and Me (which was a favorite of E and K too), and Freight Train. Actually she has a lot of favorites but it's amazing how she has picked up "Brown Bear, Brown Bear..." I know it's all about repetition for little kids and it's amazing to see what it makes happen. 

Just hanging out...

She likes to build...and so the engineering traits continue

Open for the Season

We discovered the Dairy Queen in Niantic is open and it's a walk up exactly like what I used to work at in Sheboygan, WI. Great memories. First DQ of the season. Yep, they are my children. Love ice cream!

Changes come in baby steps

I called the right person at the right time and that paid off. Thanks to a referral from a new acquaintance we had some house changes a week ago. Thanks to a great friend visiting and helping us choose some colors it became reality. Let us know what you think. It's a start and decorating is not my strong point, at all, but hopefully it will eventually start to feel more like ours. This does help make it feel more homey.

A new look in CT

We knew eventually this would need to happen. It took some time to become settled and decide on the right professional for us. But yesterday the day arrived. The beginning work of a new smile for our oldest.

Before

After

a close up from the chair. Her new orthodontist loves this shirt it says "Be U Tiful"

22 months and counting...

This little one, this Sunshine of our lives is growing much too fast. Twenty two months today. She is a closet cracker monster, she loves to play along with her big sisters, she is a parakeet or "Coraakeet"as she called herself one day. We finally found a toy that keeps her undivided attention for sometimes up to 15 minutes--Legos, duploxs, anything that connects and builds. She loves to "build"! Yep, another engineer. She is smart, stubborn, independent, funny. She loves music- listening to it, singing it, she will sing songs that you don't even realize she knows the words too, she loves to play the drum at music class; she's figured out how to jump, she's learning to swim and does it by "herself" with her "bubble". She loves the water just like her big sisters. She enjoys being read to, and has been found reading books to herself. I have recently discovered she is enamored with a baby in music class. She loves MaMoo- a monkey/rattle blanket that goes everywhere and must be with her for bed, and luckily Mom found an extra one online to have in case of an emergency. She loves dogs and squeals with delight. Oh, squeals! Cora is a master of loud-yelling, screaming...a lot of it, we think, is her not being able to put together the words she wants and some of it is probably attention seeking and just excitement. She's definitely a third child and gets away with things or is allowed to have things way before her big sisters ever did. She loves to go for runs in the stroller with Mommy even in the winter. Unless she is sleeping or in the stroller she doesn't stop moving, and if she does it's usually a rare moment. Oh, she is not shy! She's never been afraid of Santa, Easter Bunny or any other characters and will gladly walk up to anyone in the local coffee shop that she and Mom frequent and say "Hi". We were introduced to a wonderful local coffee shop that has a little nook of toys for kids and you can hear the Amtrak trains driving by when you are there because the station is next door. She loves to hear the trains. She loves snow- eating it, touching it and seeing snowmen. She also loves to hide things. She'll finally stop and say "cheese" for a camera most of the time. I regret not having kept up with Cora on the blog in her younger months but I guess you can't live in the past in order to enjoy the present. 

Today, March 1, 2015

After a run in the stroller on a recent sunny afternoon. 

Reading with Daddy.

This is one time she was caught in her closet cracker monster mode.

She loves "snowman!" 

A rare moment

She hid Katheine's shoes, no one knew until I found them late one night. 

Morning Group Run

A local running store has group runs on Saturday mornings. Needing some motivation and camaraderie I went yesterday. I guess winter mornings are not popular in Connecticut. It turned out to be me and these two young men. I was worried I would slow them down but they weren't concerned. My first group run with them was on a Wednesday night after a snow storm which proved to be quite adventurous and fun. Today they took me on a new route in Old Saybrook. It turns out there are a few hills in Old Saybrook. It was a great 8 1/2 mile run at sub 9 minute pace which as of late is quite a record for me especially since I didn't feel winded or out of breath while running. 

A great family day!

'Emma had a soccer game to start the afternoon. From there we went to a new place for lunch and then used our membership pass to check out the Mystic Aquarium in winter. Plus it was sunny and maybe 30 degrees. We had a great time at the aquarium. The beluga whales were active, we saw the seals being fed and practicing tricks, there was one penguin swimming while all the others were inside, and to warm up a bit we checked out the inside Main Gallery. For dinner Daddy made homemade macaroni and cheese. The girls and I started a 200 piece puzzle while waiting for dinner. A well needed day of family togetherness. 

Cora loved the whales! 

Cora trying so hard to see over the wall.