and some of May

snaps from May.  Philadelphia.  

i know she was way small, but she loved hanging out in the johnny jumpup.  

first picture with glasses.  

Family of four.  Last time at Love Park.  

Me with my girls.

Rittenhouse Square for a rest.  

Pretty sure Cora dressed herself that day.  Love the trucker hat and the kool-aid mustach.  

Dancing to the cello music in the park.  

Vera is always along for the ride.  

Cousin Elsie and Cora flying kites.

march and april

Snaps from March and April. 

Vera about 4 months

sometimes i just cant get a good pic of the two girls.

Cora 3 yrs 8 months, Vera 4 months

Cora 3 years, 8 months

Vera 4 months

Cora decided to take picture taking into her own hands.  

lots and lots and lots of dancing in our house.  

and lots of no clothes wearing.  

nice little mermaid tatoo on Cora's belly

We thought it was a good idea to put Vera in the doll bed.  

Look, she fits.  

Cora now nurses her baby Lucia.  

cute girls.  

nice drool.  

Vera totally prefers be on her tummy.  Always has.  

Love my girls and love my guy!  

video #4

This one is pretty funny.  Cora on her 3rd b-day.  Ryan was the camera man and does a pretty funny job of it.  And no, we didn't re-do the birthday song.  I just love that the first thing she could think of was dance class.  too cute.  

video #3

Cora is constantly singing.  Singing EVERYWHERE.  The car is no exception.  This isn't the greatest video, but I love that it shows how 'into' the music she gets.  It was taken in the car and I was kinda hiding the camera.  It gets best toward the middle and end.  She stopped singing when we arrived and parked the car.  I hope she doesn't grow out of singing constantly.  I love her little voice.  

video #2

Cora loves using signs whenever she remembers the correct signs.  She know all the letters, so I was teaching her to put the letters together to spell her name.  We have a different sign for her name.  She was being a little goofy for the camera.  

video #1

Cora dances/spins for at least 1 hour each day.  I made her skirt in this video from an old bed sheet.  It was supposed to be a cute high-waisted skirt, but considering that her waist is bigger than her hips, it may not actually be high waisted on Cora until she's 5 years old.  Good thing it's kinda long.  

funny photos.

cute toes.  photo by cora. 

side of our fridge.  photo by cora. 

ready for the park.  cora 3 year, 3 months. 

look who can get a snack all by herself.  nothing is safely hidden anymore.  

I am pregnant

I haven't been very good at taking pictures of my growing belly.  Here are some that I found on our little, semi-broken camera.  

Mid July- how many months is that, 5?  Photo by Cora (in my bedroom.  see our giant closet.  (It's tiny and isn't deep enough for a normal hanger so we have to angle our hangers in there.)

somewhere around 30 weeks.  Photo by Cora just before dance class.  she needs a lesson in photo composition.

i think this is right around 30 weeks too, just before church.  photo by Ryan.  

I had to throw in this cute photo from Cora's b-day to show that I can be a good mom.  

because this is pretty much how my house has looked the past few weeks.  

Liesl, you asked for more pictures.  This is why I don't post more.  

my big girl

just reading a book on the front steps before church.

In a prayer, Cora said, "Please bless our blessings."

At her well-child check up, the doctor asked if she ate all her vegetables and fruits.  Cora responded saying, "Yes, and all of my treats."

Cora was thrilled when she saw the first leaves of autumn on the ground.   She said, "The baby is coming!"  I've told her that the baby will come when all the leaves fall off the trees as a way for her to kinda estimate when that big event will happen.

She is getting a little picky with her clothes.  Luckily, if we describe it as 'princess' or 'mermaid' she is a little more convinced to wear it.  Lately, she determines what to wear based on how well it spins when she twirls around.  So girly.  I can't believe it.

She has also had her fair share of fits about her hair.  She has her own names to describe the style and sometimes it is hard to figure out what she is talking about.  A 'pony like Liesl' is a low side ponytail.  A 'crown' is two french braids around that get tied together.  A 'ballerina bun' is a bun on top.  A 'tall pony' is a high pony not tucked in.  I could go on.  I'm not joking.  The funny thing is that she really doesn't like her hair pulled back at all.

I am impressed with her dexterity and often accidentally underestimate her abilities.  She totally rolled up cinnamon roll dough without smashing it up.  She traces all of the letters accurately.  She has learned and can demonstrate accurately several precise ballet positions and steps.  Although she loves to be wild and crazy, she is showing that she has control over her physical movements.  I love when she learns something new, but it also is sad to leave behind the baby and toddler characteristics.

Cora was super bummed the Sunday that our church had the primary program, especially since I go up with my class again this year.  Cora wanted to have a turn to talk and sing the songs up front with the rest of the older kids.  Ryan kept her in the audience, but I saw her stand for the songs and sing along.............Two Sunday's later was Fast and Testimony Sunday and Cora noticed all the different people going up front.  I was home sick, but she asked Ryan if she could go up there.  They talked about it and went up.  After getting a tad embarrassed, she sang "I am a Child of God" into the microphone for the whole congregation to hear.  She really does love music and that was the best way she could express her testimony.  So cute.

she loves reading.  i love hearing her "read" books during quiet time.  seriously my favorite sound on earth.  

thursdays

Thursdays are exciting days for us.  My dining room transforms into a complete dance studio.  

Here's the story.  I don't know where she got it, but she has been talking about 'dance class' for months now.  We kept saying that when she turned 3, she would be old enough to go.  Well, I looked into the actual dance classes in the community and found that it was way out of budget for us this year.  I just couldn't let her down.  I spent a few weeks thinking of ideas and then it came to me.  I could teach a 3 year old dance class.  Seriously funny, but Cora thinks it's the real deal because a couple of other little girls come over with their dance clothes on and we learn real dance positions and steps.  I feel a little silly teaching a dance class with so little experience and having such a big belly, but it is working out.  Cora has a blast and even practices on her own outside of class.   The research and planning has created a big mental diversion for me.  I hope to get some pictures of the actual class sometime soon.  Cheers to Thursdays!

Oh, if Cora looks bigger to you in these pictures, it's because she did indeed grow.  She grew 3 inches in the past 6 months and hasn't gained a pound in a year.  Woah.  She looks like a big kid compared to the baby she seemed last year.  I love her so much.