Saturday, December 28, 2013

Thanksgiving 2013

"When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully everyone is blessed."  -- Maya Angelou



This Thanksgiving, we were thankful to celebrate with delicious food, and great friends and neighbors.




Thursday, December 26, 2013

Nanna and Grandpa videos and photos (November 2013)

Thank you Nanna and Grandpa, for watching Cora while mommy and daddy were at ABCT!


A few videos from Baba/Grandpa:

Brushing Jack's teeth

Grooming Jack

Dancing with baby doll

Cooking with Nanna

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas 2013!

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” 
― Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas!


wrapping mommy's present


excited for visitors!


fun with Nanna and Aunt Maggie 



Christmas morning!  


Cora's toddler bed!

Three nights of good sleep in a row, and counting!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Mini U Holiday Recital - 12/10/2013

Cora did a great job singing "I'm a Little Snowman"!


Saturday, November 23, 2013

Singing and Kissing

A hilarious rendition of Baa Baa Black Sheep (if you listen closely, you can hear the "Yes sir, yes sir" and "3 bags full").  :)

Also: kissing Jack.

Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for watching Cora this weekend!  

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Visiting Grandma Mel in Columbus

While momma attended an ACT workshop, Cora and daddy enjoyed spending time with Grandma Mel in Columbus.




Nanna and Grandpa visit Oxford

While mommy was recovering from her neck pain, Nanna and Grandpa took care of us in Oxford.  Thank you!!



Here are a few more vidoes - Josh raking leaves and Cora raking leaves.







Sunday, November 3, 2013

October 2013 snapshots and videos

October was a fun and eventful month.  We went to Macomb for Fall Break, enjoyed a trip from the Nonnos, and visited the zoo.  Special thanks to the Gramparazzi and Aunt Magpie for many of these photos. :)


Fun times in Macomb...





hello, Aunt Maggie :)


A trip to the zoo with Daddy.  


dancing!


good morning, Daddy.


Not one of our finest parenting moments... :)

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Halloween 2013

We had so much fun with Cora the owl, Nanna, and Grandpa.  Happy Halloween!  

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

CT & Lucy's Big Party!

We were grateful to have the chance to celebrate with CT and Lucy at their Big Party in Pittsburgh, along with so many friends and loved ones.  Congratulations! 





Sunday, September 15, 2013

Happy 40th Anniversary! (9/1/2013)


Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!  Congratulations on a life full of love, friendship, and commitment.  And thank you for such a fun, generous celebration in Chicago.  We love you!



Running at the Congress Hotel.


Laughing with Aunt Maggie.


Mrraaaaaaaaaw!


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Naming her Clerkin family

Cora may be a little shy in person, but she definitely knows everyone in her Clerkin side of the family :)



Sunday, September 1, 2013

Yellow Room

Cora is officially a toddler.  On her first full day in the toddler room at Mini U, Cora wore yellow for Yellow Room.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Yellow Room!

Tomorrow, Cora makes her full transition into the toddler room (aka "yellow room") at Mini University.  We are excited that she will be reunited with her old pal Emily.

Here is a cute video from Emily's dad to commemorate the occasion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai4goeo1jQs&feature=youtu.be

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Charlottesville!

Charlottesville is the home of so many happy memories for us - where we fell in love, launched our careers, and made lifelong friendships.  What a wonderful experience to share this city we love with Cora.  


I seriously don't think Cora has ever had as much fun as she did at Shari and Seth's wedding.  Here she is joyfully clapping along with the rest of the crowd.  


Monday, August 19, 2013

for Nonno :)

We are still working on the other grandparent names, but Cora has this one down.


Saturday, August 10, 2013

Cora's Words

Cora indulges me and recites a few words over dinner. :)


(other words include: happy, rain, mail, bow, milk, more, bug bite, mouth, help, please, thank you, uh-oh, yes, no, water, bubble, and flower!).


Daddy's birthday week (+ a visit from Grandma Mel!)


After eating cake, we tried to get Cora to do her cute mannerism where she tucks her chin to her chest.  This is a halfway version of that.  


Sunday, July 28, 2013

Cora kisses

Cora just learned how to give kisses :)



Saturday, July 27, 2013

Oxford Summer Music Festival

Recently, we've been enjoying the Oxford Summer Music Festival, a series of free concerts held Thursday evenings in the Oxford Uptown Park.  Live music + fun atmosphere = happy Cora.  

Grandma Mel Visit (July 2013)

Cora loved visiting with her Grandma Mel!





Sunday, July 21, 2013

Entertrainment Junction

In line with our earlier post, here are a few photos from Entertrainment Junction.

Water Play at Mini U (July 8, 2013)

Cora enjoying "water play" at Mini U with her friends and wonderful teacher, Ms. Mel.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Train-o-mania

In the spirit of our recent visit to EnterTrainment Junction, Cora decided to work on her train noises:






Thursday, July 11, 2013

Grandpa John Visit - June 2013

I'm not sure what we would have done without Grandpa John's help during our move - he single-highhandedly moved many of our boxes, drove the truck that transported nearly all our items, and still found time to cook breakfast every morning.  


(not pictured: all the long hours of moving; pictures: a few cute Cora photos during Grandpa's visit).

Monday, July 8, 2013

Water baby

After the initial (difficult) first swimming class, Cora took to the water like a little fish.  She loved the classes, and I loved sharing the fun of water play with her.

Here are a few photos from the last day, when my dad was able to attend and document her lesson.


And here is Cora's "Final Skills Report." :)


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Grandma Mel Visit + Sister/Friend Time

While I was travelling, Grandma Mel visited Oxford to spend time with Josh and Cora, and to help Josh as he prepared for our move.  Thankfully, they kept a steady stream of photos coming my way...


Meanwhile, I enjoyed a wonderful visit to Chicago with my terrific sister, Maggie.  So much fun!  And, to top off a great trip, I attended a beautiful wedding in Galena, IL, where I reunited with old friends.   

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

June 2013 snapshots and videos


Silly, laughing girl!


Sliding at the playground



Monday, July 1, 2013

Cora Says Bye Bye

This weekend we finished moving our possessions to the new house, and Cora and Daddy made one last trip to give the old place a once-over.  We talked a lot about how we were saying goodbye to our old house (in which Cora has spent 13 out of her 17 months!), causing Cora to go on a bye bye rampage.  Here is the tail end as we drove away:


Cora at the new place:


and practicing being a teenager:




Monday, June 17, 2013

Swim classes

Pretty much sums up our first evening of swim classes at the Miami University Rec Center.  (not pictured: the rest of the class, who were all engaged in what seemed like synchronized swimming from my vantage point).  *sigh*  Maybe next time... ;)




Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day! 2013



Today, I'm most grateful to my Dad and Josh, as well as all the other wonderful fathers I know - especially the Nonnos and Uncles Andy and Brian.  Happy Father's Day!  

Cliff Walk, Rhode Island, October 2010

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Happy Anniversary! (June 13, 2013)

This blog is for our daughter, but our daughter wouldn't exit had we never met and fallen in love.  Today, Josh and I celebrate that love :)



And here is a classic photo sequence of our family celebration in Oxford's community park.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Taste of Cincinnati

In which Cora enjoys a soft pretzel and her first two carnival rides.


Here is a video of Cora's ride :)

Nonno Mark visits!

We love you, Nonno Mark!  Thanks for visiting us in Ohio.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Uptown Water Fountain

Today we enjoyed Oxford's very own water park.  

Macomb!

While daddy was at a conference in Chicago, momma and Cora enjoyed a great visit to Macomb.  We were so lucky that everyone came home.