I just wanted to put a rant post up here to complain about how annoyed I am with mobile apps. If they don’t work why do we bother? They end up taking more time than they are worth. Plus all the grand writings (and boy can I get really prosaic on my phone) goes to waste when the app doesn’t work properly.
There, I got it off my chest.
I know we call everything an adventure, but it’s really hard not think of it that way. New baby on the way and a rock star toddler at home, what else counts as adventure? Working full time, and our fare share of drama? The weather is also getting a little better in the PacNW so it tends to give me a better outlook on things. Plus look at this face!
We decided to find out the gender this time (well if Sean tells it, *I* decided to find out) and we’re excited to say we’re having … a BOY!
I tried to pull a last minute change and not find out the gender WHILE we were actually getting the ultrasound, but still wanted the option to find out before the baby was born. So we had the ultrasound tech to tell us the gender by writing a little note and putting it in an envelope for us to open at our choosing. Which of course was as soon as we all got home, Cora included.
The other day Cora, held out her cup and said plain as day, “I want más”. I wish I could capture her saying this because I think it’s hilarious, BUT it was my first evidence she is learning some Spanish, albeit more like Spanglish.
For those of you saying, oh wow Cora’s in a Spanish immersion school, hold your horses. Her language school is her g-fab mama busting out the limited Spanish she learned in a couple of semesters of Spanish 101 at Rice U, her old Vistas textbook, Bing translator and translate.google.com. I’m sometimes a little embarrassed at this hodge-podge manner of language education, it’s not like I have some huge body of evidence that says learning a second language is so valuable for development, so who cares if it’s broken and grammatically incorrect! But it’s kind of fun because I’m relearning a lot of Spanish I’d lost (or perhaps never knew) and it’s hopefully keeping my brain a little more spry as the new baby tries to consume all my cognitive faculties.
Here’s a shot from Mother’s Day. What gifts I have been given already…
I happened upon this porch adornment while walking through my neighborhood and I had to snap a shot. It begged a shout out to all my good friends and old college masters from back in the day, back when Wiess was cool.
I’ve finally installed a WordPress app on my phone in hopes of getting to more posts more often. Most of the media I capture of our lives is on my phone, and according to a mobile development insider, people don’t use desktops anymore for this sort of stuff.
Not that I agree, but my posting frequency can’t get any worse with more avenues for posting, right?
We went to Madrona Beach after work to enjoy the last of a sunny stretch of weather. It was just what was needed after a stressful week of life was finally behind us.
It’s hard to get to the blog these days but I would like to note some tidbits of Cora’s personality and life that I think are hilarious, endearing, goofy, you name it. She’s in the tantrum throwing phase and that comes with its own share of wild mood swings and histrionics. Some of my favorites include the full body wet noodle manuever including foot stomping, which really just becomes this crazy flailing that usually lands her smacking her head on something. Also part of the tantrum throwing is the huge dramatic crying which involves both hands going to her wide open mouth and throwing her head down as if the world was going to end. It’s hard not to laugh when she does these things, but they are really not that effective at getting what she wants from us either way!
On a lighter note, she snorts a LOT when she’s having a real good time, I’ve tried to catch it on video with no success, usually because I too am laughing along with her. She looooooves talking on the phone to someone, anyone. Auntie was kind enough to give her an old cell phone of hers that has a keyboard, which are a favorite. Cora can text better than I can on that thing.
A real favorite is when she starts to get a little too loud, BUT before we even ask her to be quiet, she will put a finger to her lips and go SHHHHH! loudly of course.
Of course who doesn’t want to be able to go to Hawaii all the time and just relax and have fun with your family? I suppose I’d be crazy to say, Geez I sure wish we didn’t have to do THAT again.
Maui is a great place for families we learned, and had a beautiful trip to the island for 6 nights. The weather wasn’t as accomodating as we would have liked for sun and warmth-starved Northwestern dwellers, but it gave us enough opportunities to enjoy shorts, t-shirts and sandals appropriately.
Some items of note for this trip:
Eventually we’ll get more pictures up on the site, but it will have to wait until watching the videos doesn’t make me seasick.
It’s hard to believe she’ll actually be 2 in a few months. Ok 6 months, but I was never good at the math. I’ve got lots of video and pictures to share of recent activities, so here is a little blast of what’s been going on with her in our lives.
Help! What do I do with the categories on the blog? She had her very own category “Baby” but soon there will be another in the same category. Is there some etiquette to moving her into a “big sister” category or something like that so I don’t feel guilty for slighting her (because we all know she won’t really care)? Any ideas? Does anyone really worry about this stuff or is it just me?
I got all of the biscuits in the tabletop for putting the whole thing together. It was amazing to see the wood seam dissappear after applying the glue and tightening the clamps. My one gripe is that the biscuit machine (plate joiner) is made for right handed people. Because of the way the dust collection works, when I would make a cut and then get sprayed with wood chips and saw dust. Small price to pay to see the table come together though.
Our first glimpse of our expanding experience of parenthood.
Folks, we’ve been blessed with another opportunity to practice parenting. Cora will be getting a sibling later this year! We don’t know the gender (and we’re not sure we’ll find out) but we do know a Leo will be joining the family this August. We’re very excited to welcome a new baby and member to our family and really hope those of you who haven’t had the chance to meet Cora will be able to meet both of them this year. We’ll be jetsetting a little bit less after this one, I reckon ! We’re planning to deliver close to home again, even though our home is on the other side of the lake in Seattle. I’ve also decided to try the midwifery route and have been very pleased with the choice so far. Sean and Cora will be able to meet the entire Neighborcare practice in a few weeks and we’ll tour the hospital where I plan to deliver. Here’s a shout out to all my friends who’ve weathered a second child/pregnancy (and you all know what I mean). This human experience is such an amazing thing. It’s so different this time around in more ways than I could have imagined. Fatigue took on a new dimension I didn’t know possible and I apologize to anyone I gloated to about how easy the first one was! Cora has added a whole new dimension to pregnancy that I wouldn’t have expected. She has this eerie wisdom about what’s going on despite her limited spoken vocabulary. She’s also been a hugging, kiss-blowing, cuddling machine, and that just makes the fun abound. If you want more details, we’d love a phone call or skype any time.
