Saturday morning chores:

Our lawn needed to be cut about 5 days ago...and then it rained for 5 days straight.  It was a jungle out there!  So Jonas hacked away at it this morning, and then gave the kids the job of raking up the mass of cut grass he left behind.  Layla did an awesome job, per usual...and Finn...well, he practiced being fast.  He still needs a bit more help being focused.  

I love her pride in the connection to the "Tortoise and Hare" story.  :)

Best Dad ever.

Six years ago Jonas scoffed at men who wore their babies.  Oh, how I love his change of heart...because it's the sweetest thing ever.  You guys should SEE how excited Cora gets to go in the Ergo and get to be with Jonas as he does all his very "manly" outdoor chores.  ;)  Love it!!!!

He didn't know I was taking these pictures from the porch so they obviously aren't the best angles, but very true to life.  

She falls asleep every time he mows.  Magic.

Proof of Cora walking:

Cora's 1 Year Well Child checkup:

Yesterday, on the day Cora turned 13 months, I took her into the Dr. for her 1 year Well Child checkup.  We don't like to rush things around here!  We'll get to it, we'll get to it! ;)

Cora weighs 19 lbs, 5 oz, so she is my lightest child at a year+, but she sure doesn't look like it!  Finn weighed the most at this point, but Layla looked skinny for sure.  Cora doesn't, but she is skinnier than Layla was!  The reason may be obvious below:

Weight:  19 lb, 5 oz.  31%ile
Length:  6%ile.  Wowza.  Sorry, Cora, guess you gone none of Papa's genes there!  Poor kid.
Weight for length:  62%ile, which is where she gets her chunky look...
Head circumference:  73%ile.  I am pretty sure the nurse did this wrong after watching her, but then again Cora comes from two families with big heads, so this is not very surprising if true!  I can't even find normal hats to fit my head (but half the problem is my massive amount of hair...)!

Cora is generally very healthy, but she's had a wet cough for the last 3 weeks, mostly when going to sleep or getting up from sleep.  The Dr ruled out basically all other possible causes other than allergies and a viral cough.  She is leaning towards a viral cold just because of Cora's nose, but I might test out giving her some Claratin and see if it helps at all.

I don't plan to post this much about ANY well-child checks after a year, as they are totally and utterly boring, BUT as I do this blog in place of any baby books, I thought the first year stats might be interesting, especially when going back to compare the 3 kids.  :)

Off to take care of a non-napping Cora!!  Craaaaaaaaaaaanky pants.

Graduation and the start of summer:

Layla graduated from preschool today at 11:00.  I was teary a good portion of the time, and not at all because she is growing up, but it's just so sweet to hear my little girl standing up there and singing songs about God, and reciting scripture after scripture that she learned with her class in music.  I do understand the draw of a Christian school...but just not enough to pay a butt-load of money to give it to my child.  ;)  Haha!  Sigh.  Anyway, it was precious, and Layla has had a fantastic 2 years there.

Cora, the little stinker, fell asleep on the WAY to the program.  So I carried her car seat in to the church (something I never have to do thanks to babywearing...good grief those things are heavy!!) and she slept about 20 minutes of the program, waking for the last 10 minutes.  So, her little cheating 30-minute nap has TOTALLY messed up our day today.  But at least I was hands-free to try and get some pictures of Layla's program.  

Forgive the lighting and fuzzy pictures.  Nowhere in the world seems to have worse  light than this church, and I even had my light scoop with me!!

Such a cute little stinker.

My cute big girl.

She is SO into the singing and motions.  She's the best with remembering the lyrics (sort of...her version) and the actions...and she puts some DRAMA into those actions!  Haha!

Finn, eating a sucker and standing in the middle of the aisle with the camera moms to get the best view...

Most of Layla's class.  I think it was really 10 kids, but 2 weren't there today.  Samuel is the only boy there, and he is the one who told his Mom "Mom, I think I'm in love.  I think I love Layla."  He's adorable.  

Getting her diploma from Mrs. B.

Behind the diploma they also gave each kid a picture bible.  Layla LOVES this.  When we got home she said "I'm going to put my book up on my shelf with the other books.  The other books will be so happy to have a GOD book there!!"  And then as she was walking through the living room I heard her say to God "Thanks God.  You're the BEST."

Two of the songs the kids sang at the program (saving so I have the words for Layla):

The God of Angel Armies

Gloria

(This was the song they used the wrist decorations with...)

We RACED out of her program, even before it was over, because on the way there I realized I had left the hose running to fill the pool.  And it was close to being done!  Visions of a flooded basement stressed me out to no end, but I couldn't turn around and go home because it was too close to the start of her program, and I knew of no one she knew was there when it started she would be just crushed.  So, we FLEW home, with only minor violations to speed laws because I value law-abiders too much, and got home juuuuuust in time to turn the water off before the pool overflowed.  Phew!!!  I was rather stressed out that whole program, let me tell you.  :)

The Pool is THE highlight of the kids summer, far above anything else.  They live in it.  When it's up, they are often in it 2X a day at least, often 3.  So, they just had to try it out.  Guys, it was freezing.  Absolutely frigid.  But me telling them that did absolutely nothing.  They had to learn it for themselves.  So in they went, and in they stayed for about 5 seconds at a time.  Finn was actually much more tolerant of the cold than Layla was.  

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!

Taking pictures in bright sunlight is tricky, but taking them of sunlight reflecting off water is nearly impossible for me.  :)

The little pool at the bottom of the slide will serve two purposes:
1.  A foot-washing station so less crap gets in the pool from the yard.
2.  Cora's special little pool that she can get in and out of herself.  :)

The sun was beastly hot...it was right at 12:30...so I took Cora inside after a bit so her baby skin would not burn!
Here we are in the porch, me taking pictures and Cora playing with the shoes.  

Some backyard swing time this afternoon:

Working on my camera settings for high speed and bright sun.  Not quite there yet, but we'll probably get there by end of summer... ;)

Don't you love that grass so in-focus behind Finn?? ;)

She is such a determined walker these days!  No surface scares her off.