French!

It's been exactly one week today since we started French lessons at home with Sonoma.  We've always known that French was the language we wanted her to learn, so we are excited that it is finally happening.  Marcus knows a little French, but I do not, so I am eager to be learning along with Sonoma.  We are using the amazing "Gus on the Go" language app on the iPad and I am very impressed with it.  I've always been told that the best time for a child to learn something new is when they are really and truly excited about it....and Sonoma is really and truly excited about French!  She wakes up wanting to do her "lesson"  ( 30 minutes a day ) and she's actually getting pretty good.  Sometimes she does better than me on the quizzes ;)

-2

-2 . . .  that's the low for today and tomorrow.  While I don't always enjoy staying home the entire day, there's just some of those days when it's a must!  Hibernating at home with hot soup, baked goods and Disney movies is a whole lot better than bundling up two babies and braving the chilly temps.  Sonoma has a pretty bad cough, so we wanted her to get as much rest as possible today, and try to keep everyone else healthy while we are at it.  There's a lot of yucky stuff going around, but luckily, the worst we (Sonoma and I) have had so far is a cold. I would LOVE to keep it that way if possible.  I made Sonoma apple cinnamon pancakes for breakfast ( her request ), avalanche bars for a treat, and broccoli cheddar soup for lunch.  We are still keeping our fingers crossed for snow.....

Watching Cinderella together

 IU photo shoot for Cora

Love her

Happy 5 Months, Cora!

5 Months!  Whoa, how is this possible?!?  I was very emotional last weekend as I packed up the newborn and 0-3 month clothes and transitioned Cora into a 3-6 month and 6 month wardrobe.  Our baby girl is growing up and it makes me so sad :(  

However, Cora is thriving on a daily basis, and we love watching her reach all of these wonderful, new milestones.  I'm not quite sure her weight, as we don't see the doctor again until 6 months, but I am guessing 12, maybe 13 pounds.  She's still a tiny nugget :)

Cora is grabbing everything in sight, and also just started grabbing her feet, which is one of the cutest things that a baby does, in my opinion. She is drooling like crazy and cramming absolutely everything she can in her mouth.  No signs of teeth, but I am sure they are coming soon. She is experimenting with her voice and screaming in high pitch tones on a daily basis.  She has already started scooting off of one toe, preparing to army crawl.  I've only caught her doing this a handful of times, in between the dozens and dozens of rolls she is doing all over the house.  I am NOT ready for a crawler, whether it is army or regular. Not yet, please!  Unfortunately, Cora will not take a bottle.  Daddy has been working very diligently for over a week now, trying to get her to take one bottle a day, but it's been a very bad struggle.  We are hoping this will soon change, as I need an occasional break, and the girl just has to learn how to take a bottle again!  January 11th was her first night in her own room, but she is still sleeping the night in her Moses basket.  We are past the 4 month wakeful - THANK GOODNESS!  And she is back to sleeping 12-13 hours, with one feeding in between in the middle of the night.  We are still working on her morning naps in her crib, and her long afternoon nap is still in the beloved swing.  

We are beyond blessed to have Cora in our lives, as she truly lights up the room every single day.  I can't even put into words how happy she makes me, and how much of a joy it is to see her and Sonoma interact together as sisters.  It's the best part of my day, watching them each grow and "play" together :)

AIC

Last weekend we took both of the babies to the Art Institute of Chicago, one of our favorite places in the entire world.  It was Cora's first trip, but of course, Sonoma has been many times before.  Art has always had a special meaning in me and Marcus' relationship, and we look forward to teaching both of the girls as much as we possibly can about art.  It's not easy taking a day trip with a toddler and a newborn downtown to a museum, but we actually had a very successful, enjoyable experience and we will probably be back sooner than we expected.  There is something extremely calming for a baby to be strolling through art galleries, looking up and around at all the beautiful pieces of work.  Cora was very soothed and relaxed and Sonoma had a great time asking us about the paintings and letting us know what she thought about each and every piece.  The kids area is also a fun place to play in, so Sonoma enjoyed that.  We had lunch at one of our favorite spots, Terzo Piano, before we headed back to the 'burbs.

Back to the Grind

We are back to the grind this week!  Monday started with Sonoma going to the gym daycare while I went running.  Today was finally PDO, and boy, were we all happy that it started up once again!

Dress-up

Getting ready to crawl?!

So proud she did her new puzzle!

Yesterday was a monumental day - Sonoma asked for and ate a salad!  I brought home a salad from the gym cafe and she begged to share it with me.  Now, Sonoma is good at eating her veggies, but I couldn't believe she was eating forkfuls of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, chicken and onions.  I was proud!

2 0 1 3

1st post of the new year!  Happy 2013,  y'all!  I was sad to see 2012 end, since it was the year I gave birth to Cora, but I'm anxious to see what 2013 will bring to our family.  It's very cold in Chicago right now ( still no snow! ) so we are trying not to completely hibernate yet, but it's tough with the cold temps.  I think we are all ready to get back into a routine now that the holidays are over.  PDO starts up again next Tuesday for Sonoma ( way too long of a break for her ), and gymnastics starts up again tomorrow.  I will probably start taking Sonoma to the gym daycare more often to get her out of the house and let her burn off some of her energy.

What we've been up to:

I'm trying to transition Cora to her crib.  For now, just starting with 2 of her short naps a day in there.  It hasn't been easy.

Sonoma continues to harass Dixie by either hiding her toys, or making her play doctor and get a check-up

Sonoma and I have sort-of been living in our new matching PJs from Grandma.  

One morning Cora wouldn't stop crying so Sonoma went and got one of her favorite stuffed animals and gave it to Cora. SO sweet.

Poor girl is just BEGGING for snow.  Wants to make a snowman and throw snowballs.

Happiest baby ever.

Sonoma went for her first outdoor run.  Her legs were very sore the next day.

Do pigtails get any cuter??

Wild New Year's Eve dinner

Still loving her little moses basket at night 

Daddy painted the playroom!  Oatmeal on the sides, gray accent wall on the back

Waiting for the milkman to come is a fun activity

New leotard all ready for gymnastics!  Thanks to Auntie K!