Christmas Fun!

We had the most wonderful relaxing Christmas at my parent's farm! Eli has been begging to go to the farm again (he's determined he's ready to go "BY MYSELF"). We had to take off a day early because of icy weather. It was a little scary on the second half of our trip, but we made it safely, Praise God! The kids just had a ball. They played in the cabin, slid on the ice at the pond, played marbles, and just got smothered in attention. It was so great! We enjoyed so many delicious meals! I was ready to move back in and be cooked for every meal :-). Christmas Eve meal was steak fondue. Oh dear God it was good. Eli enjoyed singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus with a tasty caramel flan. We read Christmas books and put cookies out for Santa and cheese out for Santa Mouse. The next morning Eli was SO excited to go see if Santa had come. He was thrilled to get a huge candy cane. I think he licked on that thing for several hours. He enjoyed opening presents and played with his new marble maze for literally 8 hours. I had to bring him his food because he wouldn't leave it. The kids played with their new toys all Christmas day. We had to convince Eli that YES we were taking the marble maze with us and he was sure to oversee the loading of it. It was so fun!

Merry Christmas!

Gluten Free

We are doing a two week gluten free trial with Eli. He has just had so many digestive issues, and when one of my friends mentioned that his symptoms sounded a lot like her ex boyfriend (who had celiac disease) it just clicked...DUH! Brandon and I spent the evening reading articles on the internet. Literally he has EVERY symptom of having a gluten intolerance. I am just hoping we figure this out, so he can start feeling better. The ped. recommended a two week gluten free trial to see if that helps. If not, we'll move on and try something else. My sister has struggled with digestive issues her whole life (and has felt sick for most of it), so I'm praying we can find a solution even if it means eliminating a LOT of foods from his diet. The nurse practitioner at my doctor's office was so helpful because she has to have a gluten free diet. She gave me a lot of helpful hints, and I really appreciated it! On a happer note, Cora is taking STEPS! She is so proud of herself. She can take around three steps at a time before she falls into our arms. Here is a picture that shows Eli's name writing skills! I'm so proud of him! I was laughing

the other day because I heard the refrigerator open, so I came to check it out and there was Eli with the chocolate syrup trying to pour it into his mouth. Little sneak!

Dr. Rebecca Isaacs

My sister graduated with her doctorate this weekend! I didn't get to go support her, but the rest of my family did. I guess Korey yelled "YEAH!" when Becca walked across the stage and everyone in the crowd laughed. My parents stopped by on their way home and took Eli out to see Christmas lights. He loved it! Cora has her own language with my parents. The second she saw them she started her "hyperventilating" that she started doing to them when we were at the farm. It's so cute! Cora is obsessed with standing ALL the time now. She stands and pushes her walker (from the outside of it) and is really close to pulling up. She takes these itty bitty steps. It is just adorable! My goal is to rest up before heading to the farm for Christmas. I need a few days to just unwind!

Almost Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas is a week away! I knew November and December would fly by...they always do! It's been wonderful having a kid who can actually understand the true meaning of Christmas and enjoy the holiday cheer. Eli knows that it was "baby Jesus" who was born on Christmas day, and we've talked a lot about the stories involved with Christmas and who Jesus is. I've tried to do some type of Christmas craft or activity with Eli every day and I've played Christmas carols on the computer, which has been really fun. Eli loves the Christmas lights in our house and reminds me to turn them on every day. He also loves the lights around town. There is a house nearby that has the lights to music and he LOVES it! We made and gave "Reindeer Poop" aka Oreo truffles to all of our neighbors and friends on our street, and I baked sugar cookies for Brandon's coworkers. Eli has enjoyed the extra treats around. I don't usually make desserts unless we're having people over because we just EAT it all! Eli asked for a "poop cookie" the other day. I got a big laugh out of that one! Eli is really into trains right now. He has a train set he got for Christmas from my brother last year that he has been playing with. Last weekend Brandon took him to go see the trains at a station nearby. He loved it! He told me there was "paint" on them (aka graffiti) ha ha. Cora has been babbling like crazy. It seems she never stops talking! She is also standing on her own for several minutes at a time without holding on to anything. She has taken a couple of steps, but is still tentative to move! I put her in the church nursery for the first time on Sunday. I actually got to worship AND listen to the sermon, which never usually happens! I did have to go get her before the service was completely over because she was crying for me, but I consider it a pretty successful first time. I'm really looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my family!

First tooth...for real this time!

Cora officially got her FIRST TOOTH this week! She had started chewing on toys differently and biting when nursing, so I knew it was coming. She is getting the bottom right tooth, and the tip broke through on Nov. 8th. The kids and I took an impromptu trip up to the farm. Eli was crying because he missed the farm and his grandparents, so I said, "Let's go!" Brandon said it was so quiet here it was strange! We had so much fun. Eli played in my parent's new little cabin they built for the grandchildren. He loved it! We also took a walk to the pond

and just enjoyed the wide open spaces! It was a very refreshing trip. Cora started this hilarious hyperventilation thing while we were there. She still is doing it, and it cracks me up. Eli is saying the funniest things. Just yesterday he cheated in Candy Land. It was a very smart move! He loves to draw the cards that involve the candy; well if you know Candy Land you know to win you have to get to King Candy. Eli drew a card and said, "King Candy!" and moved his guy there (thus winning the game) all the while hiding the card from me. The problem is THERE IS NO KING CANDY card. I thought it was genius of him :-). I also said, "Uh oh, mommy needs to go to the bathroom" and he said, "Uh oh, mommy poop pants!" Not quite son, but you are a character! This talking thing is amazing!

7 Months

It is time for Cora's 7 month update already! Would it annoy you if I once again said TIME IS FLYING! Can't help it, sorry! My little girl is growing and changing every day! At 7 months old she:

1. She can say "Mama", "Dada", and "Nana" and is babbling a host of other sounds like "ba ba ba" and "la la la"

2. She LOVES standing. She always wants to be standing and is crusing a tiny bit on chairs, the couch, etc. She loves to stand and play with the kitchen set.

3. She can take steps holding onto our hands and can stand on her own for a minute at a time before losing balance.

4. She isn't crawling yet, but can scoot in a circle and backwards a little bit.

5. Cora is finally getting HAIR! Visions of bows and barrettes are dancing before my eyes, and I can't wait until I can actually use them. Every morning it seems her hair has grown more! It is coming in the exact brown as Eli's. Both kids have my exact hair color. How did Brandon's dark hair escape them??

6. Cora is still the sweet, joyful, gentle spirit like her Dad. She is affectionate and gives the most wonderful hugs and snuggles! I adore her!

7. She is still a bad sleeper, but is making some progress. I have been doing a little sleep training and am seeing improvement. I'm hopeful!

8. She has started growling more and more. She and I play a game where I copy all the sounds she makes and she loves it. Brandon plays peek-a-boo with her and gets some lovely squeals.

9. Cora is eating better and better! As of now she is eating: acorn and butternut squash, peas, sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, bananas, apples, pears, oatmeal and rice cereal. I am really enjoying making her baby food!

10. People are always stopping to tell me how beautiful she is (of course :-)), but everyone fawns over her big round blue eyes. She is a doll!

"Dada"

Cora is officially saying "Dada". Brandon walked in from work yesterday, and she just looked up at him with a big smile and said, "DADA!" It was awesome! I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the park with the kids, so it was perfect ending to the day!

MAMA!

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving was that Cora started saying "MAMA". She hasn't been as verbal as Eli, as far as babbling goes, so it was a total shock when she said it. Brandon had gone out with Eli and I thought I heard her say it. When Brandon came home I told him, but he reminded me it doesn't count until both of us have heard it. He took Cora and in minutes was yelling for me to bring the camera. There she was saying, "Ma ma ma ma ma". It was awesome! Eli said "Dada" first, so it was my turn! She is still saying it all the time and has added "Baba". The other morning my mom was here and actually got her to say, "Nana" too. We all heard it loud and clear! She is at a very fun age! This video is the exact moment she started talking!

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a wonderful week in Plano, TX with Brandon's family for Thanksgiving. The trip there and back went great (it helps that Cora is so easy and we stopped for an hour both ways at a play place). The kids soaked up all the attention from the family, and Eli got to play with his cousin Gavin almost every day! The weather was in the 80's the entire time, so we spent hours outside playing at different parks. Eli enjoyed playing in the hot tub every night, visiting Santa with Gavin and Cora (who cried the second she saw him), getting hot chocolate with Papa, eating all the delicious Thanksgiving treats, painting ornaments with Grams, visiting his uncle Paul's pig Dudley, and more! Eli asked for a "candy cane" for Christmas, and my nephew asked for a "spaceship and matchbox cars". It was adorable! All three of Brandon's brothers hadn't met Cora yet, so it was fun to introduce our sweet little girl to them! After our horrible two weeks of sickness, we are SO THANKFUL to have two healthy kids.