Monday, July 30, 2012

Sitting!

Cora has been making overtures toward sitting for awhile, but this afternoon was the first time I could confidently say that she was capable of sitting solo.  Hoooray, baby girl!  
Sitting (July 30, 2012)

She is still wobbly and can only sit for a short while before toppling over.  Still, if this developmental milestone is anything like its predecessors, she will master it in no time.  Next step: crawling.  Eek!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

6-month birthday!

Cora is a little sick today (and through the powers of disease transmission, so am I!).  But, this doesn't diminish the gratitude I feel to experience the incredible gift of being Cora's mom.  I wouldn't trade this love for anything in the world.  Sweet dreams, baby girl...


Cute video from Miss Maggie's daycampers:


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Baby in the Mirror

Much like Schrรถdinger's cat, whenever Cora is observed--especially with a camera--her behavior changes.  


Today was one of those rare instances where we were able to capture her silliness when playing one of her favorite games: Baby in the Mirror.  



Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Rolling Buckeye!

Cora has become a master roller.  Go Cora, go!




It is amazing how FAST she develops.  Case in point:


Elise Marie Clerkin
June 9
108 · 




Saturday, July 14, 2012

Introducing Solids

Today marked a special day for Cora: the introduction of solid foods!  At this point, eating solids is more about getting to know different tastes and textures, versus providing significant caloric intake.  So, we opted to start with a sweet potato, to (hopefully) begin Cora's lifelong appreciation of vegetables :)



Cora did pretty well, although you can see we initially forgot the bib.  Details, details.



Special thanks to our friend, Amanda Morris, for the fabulous Baby Cookbook.  My favorite thing about this book is that fancy sounding recipes like "sweet potato puree" are nothing more than "potato + water."



Clerkin family reunion, Oxford edition

Hands down, my favorite thing about living back in the Midwest is being closer to family.

We enjoyed a great visit from the Clerkin side last weekend... Nanna, Grandpa, Aunt Maggie, and Uncle Darren.   All we needed were Uncle Patrick and Aunts Jennifer and Kirsten for a full Clerkin family reunion.

Of course, the visit was well-documented.  


Thanks, Dad, for being our videographer!

Saturday morning


Swimming


RedHawk Land


Nanna Beth and Grandpa John


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

first Fourth!

Happy Independence Day!  Such a great time to reflect all the blessings we have, simply because we were born in America.

To celebrate, we woke up bright and early to enjoy a swim at Hueston Woods Lake, before the sun became blindingly hot.  Cora inherited our ghostly white complexions, so we slathered on the SPF 1 billion and tried to stay under an umbrella.


Continuing the celebration at home, daddy made a delicious and 'cruelty free' feast of shish kabobs, corn, and asparagus.  Yum!   Meanwhile, Cora wore her most patriotic outfit, which ironically is a blue and white Parisian sailor suit from Uncles Andy and Brian.  We ended the evening with a festive Sparkler Show in the backyard, since Cora's bedtime rules out the nighttime fireworks.    


Don't ask me why I seem to be taunting Cora in this video... honestly, I'm a very loving mom most of the time :)


Sparklers!