Last Week of Stay At Home Mommyhood

I'm glad no one can see me as I write this post because I know before the end of it I'll be shedding some (maybe many) tears. My time on maternity leave has flown by and tomorrow I officially return to work. While I'm excited to get back to a job I love and to coworkers who are also friends, there is definitely a part of me that will always be thinking about Cora. So I tried to fill my last week of maternity leave with tons of fun memories...

Early in the week we finally had cool temperatures so Mom and I took Cora to Westmoreland Berry Farm. She absolutely loved it. It was a little overcast, but perfect for taking little babies - which was exactly what lots of other parents and grandparents thought, too! Cora wanted to wear her little brown jumper that makes her look like a farm girl. Grammie thought that we may be able to keep socks on her feet if we put them on under sandals, so I apologize, my darling Cora, for this fashion faux pas.


Oh well, it's adorable on little feet at least.

There are so many fun things to see at the Berry Farm. They have a couple of goats in pens that kids can feed and pet. Cora was very interested in the new animals she was meeting.





Then Cora wanted to be the horse in the the face cutouts.


And of course you have to watch the goats cross the high bridge over the road.


Cora loved watching them!

Grammie and I got to enjoy a good lunch and even a little dessert (non-dairy for me, unfortunately). And then we took lots of fun pictures - as many as possible!












One afternoon we also took a little break down at the beach. Cora loves the water and I know next summer she'll be quite the little beach bunny!














We had such an amazing week. Cora also got her very first babydoll that we aptly named Carolina (at least until Cora names her whatever she wants). She loves Carolina very much and really enjoys chewing on her hands, her face, her bow, whatever she can get in her mouth.

My sweet Cora, I will miss you terribly tomorrow!

Ballerina in Training

I never took dance lessons as a child, and although I can "busta move" when it's truly necessary, I really know nothing about the fine art of ballet. I think, though, that it would be awfully sweet to see Cora perform a dance number in a little tutu.

Well, she's not dancing yet, but check out the adorable leotard/tutu combo she has!

At first she wasn't really sure this dancing thing was her style.


I have to do what?!?

Maybe I'll just smile and that will make everyone go crazy and forget ballet.



This is one of the positions, right?

It may be a little early for ballet lessons, but Cora has shown us that she's ready to sit at at the table with us. She has really started to master the head control thing, so we gave her Bumbo seat a try. Well, now she hangs with us while we eat and she sits and drools in her seat.

Papa has been teaching her "You are My Sunshine" and she has started singing along.


Last night she asked her daddy for a bite of his steak... :)

Williamsburg Revisited

In late July, Mom and I decided to introduce Cora to two of our favorite things - Williamsburg and shopping. Little did we know that the day wouldn't be the success that we had so excitedly imagined. Let me take a brief moment to tell you that a few days after this unfortunate trip at Cora's one month visit the doctor told us that she was right in the middle of her fussiest weeks. Had we only known that in advance...

The day started to go awry about halfway through the drive down when the fussing began. Admist the screams, we managed to finally arrive at Megan's condo where Cora got a clean diaper and a snack. Then, with a calm Cora in tow, we thought we were ready to go find Mommy some new cute mommy clothes. Oh, how much we were mistaken. She cried in Ann Taylor Loft and finally had another snack in the dressing room while I tried on numerous skirts, shorts, and shirts and even bought a few items. She slept briefly following her feeding, but woke up before I could check out and was once again on the fussy side. Mom, Megan and I had glorious plans of Target, Trader Joe's, and other fun adventures, but after the long morning we opted for Chick-Fil-A which Megan and I scarfed down while we drove around the parking lot and Mom ran into Hallmark. By the time Mom had secured her Christmas ornaments Cora had almost drifted off again. Could it be? Were we going to get over to the outlets and get to try on a few clothes before Cora's next awake time? Hahahaha.

On the ride to the outlets a couple of things happened. First, Cora fell asleep. Then, a huge storm came up and when we parked right in front of Banana Republic, the skies opened. Megan and I had to laugh at the way the day was going just to get through it. We finally decided to run for it. Megan had been driving my hybrid vehicle and when we parked, accidentally turned it off without realizing it. She and I rushed into the store where we loaded up and headed back to the dressing rooms. While I was checking out, Megan got a frantic call from Mom that sent us rushing back outside. When we got to the car, Mom was holding Cora in the front seat. It was a scene I'll never forget (and that still makes me laugh out loud). Their hair was frizzed out to unbelievable lengths, Cora was crying, and Mom had texted both Megan and me the following, "Awaakee skreeamin" and "Hort oen oere." Apparently the car had started to really steam up, Cora had awakened because of the heat, and Mom had been trying to let us know that things were not going well. After making sure everyone was okay, Cora had another snack and then we had a relatively successful run through J. Crew. Cora must like that store.

Finally it was time to head home. We had all had about enough. After such a big day, Cora slept the longest that night that she had yet - 5 hours in a row!

Surprisingly, earlier this week I decided maybe it was time to revisit the Williamsburg idea and I packed Cora up all by myself to go meet the rest of my family for the day. You can see how this trip went on Mom's blog at www.cindypackett.blogspot.com. After Tuesday, we may even go back again sometime!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

I'm not sure if it's because Dustin sings this song to her often, but Cora really adores Sunday mornings. Truthfully I think it's because every Sunday she gets to wear a beautiful new dress that everyone at church will ooh and aah over. I mean, wouldn't you love days like that? This month has been my month to teach our Bible study class and I just wish there were a few extra hours on Sunday mornings. Getting Cora ready, myself ready, feeding her so that she won't need to eat again at church or thawing some expressed milk and fixing a bottle, getting to church, getting her settled in the nursery, getting myself settled after running all morning to teach (this series is about relationships) - ah! And thankfully most Sundays I have Dustin's hands to help out. How did my mom ever do it with three little girls, especially when my dad was a police officer and rarely off on Sundays? I have so much (newly earned) respect for my parents.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Cora was pretty in pink and was a lot of fun for the women in the nursery. After her church performance, she was exhausted and slept for a long while in her carrier even after we got home. Dustin and I actually watched a whole movie while she napped!

Once she woke up, I had to get some pictures before she got a little more comfortable. At first, Cora just wanted tos how off her dress.



Then she started to get silly!


Cora, put down your dress!

"Mommy, you're so funny!"

Shhh...don't tell Daddy.

Then we went for a little stroll to check out Dustin's food plot for attracting deer. Cora loves trees and you'll notice that she's looking up at them even though she's screaming.


The church's youth group came down to the beach for their end of summer picnic so we stopped to chat during our evening golf cart ride. Cora really enjoyed watching the kids play and splash. She even did some splashing of her own.



With Sundays like that, you can't even be mad about Mondays! :)