A Kind Action

A kind action by a friend really lifts your spirit and helps you remember what is important!  Thanks to Tom for cooking us a wonderfully delicious meal: vegetables, nuts, & chickpeas over rice with teriyaki sauce.  It was such a nice treat for us this week as we've been packing up. 

Thanks Mike!

Cora recently received a very cool growth chart keepsake from Josh's colleague Mike.  Currently she's just a little taller than the box it came it, but hopes by her 1st birthday to register on the actual growth chart tree.

 Thanks Mike!

Infant Massage

Yesterday, Cora and I attended an Infant Massage class.  According to the materials, massage helps with indigestion, stress, relaxation, development, better sleep, and bonding.  Sign us up!  

Cora gearing up for her massage.

My favorite massage techniques were "I Love You" and "Sun and Moon." Maybe someday, Cora can give me a massage :)

Taking the opportunity to *almost* roll over.

Cleaning out my desktop at work...

I came across this funny video (don't ask me why it was on my work desktop!  I don't know).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF22fxcpf8Y&feature=youtu.be

So funny to reflect that this was to Cora.

First Mother's Day!

What a wonderful first Mother's Day!  Becoming a mom and sharing this experience with Josh has been an unbelievable blessing.  I feel so lucky to be Cora's mom, and Josh's wife.

Josh and Cora planned a very special day...

First, Cora surprised me with a sweet and funny note:

Mother's Day 2012

After a good night's sleep at the hotel (preceded by several uninterrupted hours of mindless and blissful TV watching), I woke up to enjoy brunch with Josh and Cora in Goddard Park.

Josh indulged me in a little momma/daughter photo shoot, before we went for a family walk.

Classic one-arm shot.  I love our family :)

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mom or has a mom, especially Cora's Nanna Beth and Grandma Mel!  

Interacting with her world

It is amazing to watch as Cora progresses through the stages of normal infant development.  Right now, she is exploring the world with her mouth, and is also taking tentative steps toward purposeful movement.

Today, Josh captured Cora interacting with her toy dog.  The end result?  An (accidental) hug.

Bath time!

Sous chef

Cora helping her daddy make marinara sauce with vegetarian meatballs... what a talented little girl!

Joe + The Three Questions

Today, Elise's friend from RICBT -- Joe McGlinchey -- met Cora for the first time.  He gave her The Three Questions, a children's book based on a story by Leo Tolstoy.  It has a wonderful, mindfulness-based message that we hope Cora will understand and internalize some day.  It's a message that is important for Cora's parents to remember, too :)  

Q: "When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?"

A: "Remember then that there is only one important time, and that time is now.  The most important one is always the one you are with.  And the most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side."

Bear Costume

Today we went for a nighttime family walk, as this tends to be a lowkey activity that is manageable during Cora's "witching hour" (~6-8:30pm).  It is unseasonably cool in Providence, so we dressed Cora in her bear costume.  I have to laugh that this is what we accidentally brought to the hospital for Cora to wear on her way home.  Three months later, and this 3-6mo outfit is still a little big.