5 months

I can't even say 5 months without tearing up. What happened to my little snuggly newborn? It's just surreal. I'd forgotten how exciting every single day is the first year. It seems she changes overnight! At 5 months she:

*Can sit on her own for a pretty good chunk of time
*Can go from sitting to her stomach without hurting herself
*Has scooted in a circle one time
*Rolls from stomach to back
*Tries to roll from back to stomach but hasn't quite made it yet
*Laughs and laughs
*Is extremely ticklish and it is fun to torture her to hear those beautiful giggles and squeals
*Loves reading books with Eli and grabs at the pages (actually ripped one last night...oops!)*Takes 3 naps and always sleeps a 3 hour nap the same time as Eli :-)
*Loves grabbing hair
*Still is up at night a lot
*Grabs her feet
*Blows raspberries, especially when she gets excited
*Loves playing on her stomach
*Loves ALL things Eli....you can just see the adoration in her eyes
*Enjoys our daily walk, as long as we keep moving
*Will reach out for you if she wants you to take her from someone (the other day she wouldn't come to me...she wanted her daddy!)

She is such a beautiful bundle of joy! She has a mild personality and will sit on my lap and enjoy her surroundings. Eli always had to be moving, so this is new to us! We love you Cora Eleanor Judson!

TOOTH!

There's a reason for the sleeping madness...Cora is getting her first tooth. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me before (hello...I've done this ALL before..DUH). I can feel the little ridges with my finger but can't see anything yet. What a big sigh of relief. We had a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends. We are so blessed with amazing people in our lives! My parents came down for the day and the kids just lit up with joy! They had a blast playing! Saturday night we had friends over for dinner. The Horsts and my neighbor and her daughter Mia came over (she's 4 months older than Cora). Eli loved playing with his friends Seth and Jesse and the girls were so cute together.

I was dreading church this morning. We went from Eli loving every second of it to him screaming bloody murder if we tried to leave him. It has been so frustrating the past couple of weeks. I was feeling super discouraged about it and was almost in tears when we took Eli to his class and he got hysterical and we had to leave. The Horsts were teaching the Sunday school class across the hall and offered to let him join theirs and see if it would make a difference just being in a different room than the one he got hurt in. He cried a little, but they did a great job distracting him and keeping him busy with games and snacks. When I picked him up, he gave Chris a big hug before he left. Thank you God! I left church feeling so encouraged! I really needed that! We had told Eli that if he stayed in Sunday school we would give him a special cookie and Brandon would take him to Guitar Center to play the drums after his nap. True to our word I made him some little cookies and he had a great time with dad jamming on the drums. He was really excited about his rewards. I'll be sure to remind him of that next week! My best friend Courtney came over for some girl time. Brandon did his best to keep the kids distracted so we could hang out and watch a chick flick. She stayed for dinner and we all had a blast. We all adore her! Eli even asked if he could kiss her hair before she left ha ha. She does have dark, long, gorgeous hair! Another funny Eli moment was when Brandon asked Eli, "What color are your teeth?" to which Eli replied, "White!" Then, Brandon asked him, "What color are daddy's teeth?" and Eli said, "Yellow!" We got a laugh out of that one! The more he talks the funnier it is getting!

Fall Fun

I just couldn't write this week. It was too much of a let down coming home from such a fun weekend with my family and finding out Cessna is laying off 700 more people (Brandon is safe this time because someone retired in his group)! I've been very sleep deprived lately, as Cora still isn't sleeping all that well. She only eats a couple times in the night, but she wants her pacifier multiple times on top of that. I know it's only a season, but please child can you sleep through the night sooner than your brother did at 16 months??? I don't mind getting up for feedings, but the whole pacifier part is getting old. I'm really looking forward now to getting her in her own room and having my room to myself. It's hard to sleep hearing every little noise and kick she makes (and that's with a fan on high blowing against the wall to try and block it out). Eli is really excited to move upstairs to his new room in the coming months. We need to get a heat pump installed and then we'll be good to go. I can't wait to fix up his airplane room and do Cora's girly nursery! I have started to focus on Fall and all the things I have to look forward to these next few months. Here is my list so far:

1. Starting Fall and Halloween crafts/decorations with Eli

2. Celebrating Jacklyn's birthday at a Tea House and having my sister's family stay with us

3. Halloween and trick-or-treating with Eli

4. Great Wolf Lodge for two nights with all of my family (can't wait to see the looks on my nieces and nephew's faces when they walk in)

5. A week in Plano, TX for Thanksgiving

6. Christmas season

7. Celebrating Christmas with my nieces and nephew

8. My cousin Ellen's wedding

9. Moving Eli upstairs and Cora to the nursery and decorating

Happy Birthday Korey Isaacs!

We went up to the farm this weekend to celebrate my niece Korey's birthday. She is turning a whopping 4 years old! She is at that adorable stage where everything she says is SO cute and funny, and we are all biting our lips to keep from laughing our heads off! You can't help but love her instantly! My mom had planned such a special weekend for the kids. She had an animal themed weekend planned. For the party the kids got to: use flashlights to find the "escaped" pets hidden all around the yard, garden, and trees, have a pet show and win a trophy for each animal, play pet shop and have the adults all buy an animal, play pin the tail on the donkey, play instruments, dress up etc. Eli had a blast playing with his cousins. They all enjoyed swinging on the tire swing, riding the 4-wheeler, searching for the cows, having a bonfire and roasting hot dogs and making smores, having a tea party in the special lilac bush fort etc. Destin spent the weekend catching snakes and "Daddy long legs" spiders, and a stinky turtle. I don't think I ever saw him without a snake or spider. What a cutie! Cora just soaked it all in and enjoyed grabbing for everyone's faces and hair! She started blowing raspberries at my mom too. I made an extra effort to make sure to tell each kid individually that I love them and think they are so special and give them some extra snuggles! I can't get enough of these spunky kids!

We're really enjoying the crisp and cool Fall mornings around here! Eli is talking more and more every day and it's a lot of fun to see what he'll come up with next! I'm just trying to enjoy every moment with the kids and treasuring watching them love and play with each other!

State Fair

Our band played at the Kansas State Fair yesterday. We had a great turnout (for our no name band) and sold around 14 cds. Most importantly though, I got an amazing message from someone in the crowd that I'd like to share. First, I should mention that I have been so stressed and dreading this show, not because I don't love doing it, just that it has gotten really hard with the kids. Practicing for this has been disaster. Trying to deal with the kids and do music just causes me a lot of anxiety, since Cora is a baby. Once she's Eli's age it will be a lot easier. I just have to accept that right now my kids are my ministry! Since both kids have been sick I just have been figuring I would be sick with this show and probably have to cancel because I usually lose my voice with a cold. I told Brandon yesterday that I couldn't believe I wasn't sick and that God probably really has a reason for this show. Turns out He did. Here is the message I received:

"Today me and my 2 adoptive children attended one of your performances at the state fair. My daughter who is now 27 has PTSD because of childhood abuse. She came to our home at age 13. She fit right into our family, my biological children have accepted her with open arms. We all understand that we will always have to care for her. She has never shown much emotion she does not call me mom and she has never shown much attachment to any of us. In the last 2 years there have been some very hard times and some suffering for me related to her. This has been so strong in fact and she has had so much anger (the only emotion she does freely show) that I have wondered if I was doing right by her and by me. Today at the Kansas State Fair the combination of 2 of your songs for whatever reason spoke to her, she cried! When I asked her why she was crying she told me that "Miracle" reminded her of what we all went through with the birth of Angela (my youngest child) and "Africa" made her think about some stuff and then she laid her head on me to hug me (she has only hugged me 3 other times) and she told me "I love you". She has never told me that she loved me! At that moment I had my answer to my own struggle, yes I am doing the right thing she is still growing and she has bonded to me! Her love is the most valuable gift I could ever get from her and I never believed I would ever get. I just wanted you to know that your group played a part in bringing out something in my child that in 14 years nothing else could. We bought your CD and I can tell you that those 2 songs will also bring tears to my eyes. Thank you."

Humbled and blessed is all I can say! As far as the kids go, they had a BLAST at the fair. My parents and Kurt Chapman babysat while we played and Eli had a great time! He wanted to see all the animals, so they spent their time at the petting zoo (where Eli kissed a cow's butt....yes you read that correctly) and enjoyed feeding the goats one grain at a time :-). The rest of the time he spent with the cows and sheep. It was difficult dragging him away from his beloved sheep. He didn't want to leave! My mom has all the pictures and videos on her camera, so as soon as I see them and get the photos I'll post some of him with the animals! I can't wait to see them myself!

Cora's 4 month Stats.

Cora had her 4 month appointment this week. These are always nerve wracking for me. As a homemaker, raising these kids is my job and my priviledge. I want to make sure I'm doing a good job. I love our pediatrician (and so do my kids...considering she gives Eli fresh baked cookies when he comes). Dr. Barker is upfront but also encouraging. She's GREAT! Cora's stats are as follows: 14 lbs 4 oz (75%), 23 1/2 inches (25%), and her head was 15 3/4 (30%). I glanced at Eli's baby book to compare. He was a pound less, the exact same height, and a bigger head :-). Anyway, Dr. Barker thought Cora looked wonderful and is very strong. She thought she'd probably be crawling by her six month appointment (YIKES)! Cora can already sit up on her own for a short time before toppling over. She discovered her toes and is playing with toys like crazy. She sucks/chews on her hands and fingers constantly and still takes a pacifier at sleep time. She loves watching her brother and has started laughing at his goofy self and especially when tickled. She has started making a new higher pitched squeal as well as growling constantly. She loves reading books with her brother, Peek-a-boo, and bounching on my knees while I sing "Pop goes the Wheasel."