Farm living is the life for me!

Brandon is headed to his uncle's funeral this weekend in Odessa, mandolin in tow, to sing and be with his family. His dad was able to get the same flights from Dallas to Odessa, so they should be able to spend some great time together. It's not very often he gets to be with his dad on Father's Day! Eli, Cora, and I are headed to the farm! We haven't been in a long time since I was unable to travel at the end of my pregnancy. I'm so thrilled to get to introduce Eli to his cousins and see my beautiful and handsome nieces and nephew! I've really missed them! Eli is determined that he is going to be sleeping with the cows :-) My dad may even be harvesting wheat while we're there, so the kids are in for an experience. I'm hoping to survive the two hour car trip with the kids and wrangling without Brandon's help! I'm really looking forward to being with ALL my family! This will be the first time we're all in the same house since Becca and Joel got the kids! It's going to be wild and crazy fun! Another piece of good news is that Cora's head is pretty much completely better. Her hair is even growing back in nicely (dark too...yippy)! Brandon took Monday off, so we can still celebrate Father's Day with him as well!

I Love You

Eli has started telling Cora that he loves her. It is the sweetest thing, and it melts my heart every time! Yesterday, he was having his morning snuggle with her on the bed and he pointed to her and said, "I love ya!" several times. I said, "Do you love Mommy?", and he pointed to her and said, "Bree (what he calls her), I love ya". Then I said, "But do you love Mommy too?" He gave me a "no" sort of look and pointed and Cora again saying, "Bree, Bree, I love ya!" She has stolen his heart!

The one picture is of Eli praying. His prayer never makes sense, but it sure is cute!

We just found out this morning that Brandon's Dad's brother Roland was killed in a car accident last night. He lived in Odessa, so the last time we saw him was when Brandon's Grandpa passed away two years ago. Of course we are heart broken and waiting to hear if there is going to be a service or anything. Prayers for all the Judsons would be greatly appreciated.

On a happier note, we had an amazing week! We spent every morning outside walking and playing and Eli was SO much better. Less hitting, less screaming, less terrible twos! Maybe it was teething? Who knows with him. Like I always say, he's DRAMA like his MAMA! Cora's head infection has definitely changed and gotten a little bigger. I don't know if it looks different because it's getting worse or is responding to the medicine. So frustrating! I left some questions for the doctor yesterday, so hoping for some answers on Monday. At least it is something that doesn't bother her at all. I am very thankful right now for my life and the gifts that God has given me!

Summer fun

Our week is going SO much better than last week, what a relief! The hitting has barely occurred so far. How enjoyable! Today I took Cora to the Dermatologist. She thinks she has a fungal infection on her head that has caused that spot of hair to fall out. We are putting a cream on it twice daily and going back in a month. Right now I'm just praying that it doesn't spread, goes away quickly (can take a long time to go away), and that her hair will grow back (there are kids who permanetly lose their hair in the area of infection). Luckily the spot is on the side of her head so the upper hair would cover it if that was the case. It takes 5 weeks to culture it and actually know for sure that's what it is, but definitely worth taking action in case. Eli has been enjoying sliding into the baby pool the past few days. Summer fun!

Cora's 1 month appt.

Today was Cora's one month appt. It's always nerve wracking taking either kid to the doctor just because you never know what you might be doing wrong ;-). Cora is a chunk! She is weighing in at 10 lbs 3.8 oz which is the 90th percentile. This is a whole new experience! She is 20 1/2 inches long, which is the 26th percentile and her head is 14 1/2, which is the 60th precentile. She smiled and cooed at the doctor and nurse and just cried for a second when she got her vaccination. The only issue is that she has a spot on her head where she has lost her hair (on the side front) and my pediatrician said she's never seen anything like it. Of course that immediately worried me. She got me an appointment with a very experienced dermatologist on Wednesday afternoon to figure it out. I'm not letting myself get too worked up about it, but am glad that I only have to wait a day or so to take her in. Last night I had Brandon try to give Cora a bottle of expressed milk to make sure she'll take a bottle. She accepted it fine, so that's encouraging. I may be able to escape for a little bit one of these days!

Marion Lake

We met my mom and some friends at Marion Lake (an hour away) this weekend.

It was so refreshing for me after this tough week! Eli is a little fish. It was super wavy and choppy so we stuck a life jacket on him and he swam and swam. He'll already pretty much do everything he would learn in swimming lessons. He'll lay on his back and kick, put his head under, jump from the side etc. He definitely doesn't have a fear of water. Cora and I chilled in the shade while they played. Eli enjoyed building sand castles and lady bug homes with Nana. A family friend Nancy Stork helped my mom watch both kids while Brandon and I went bike riding on a beautiful trail there. We enjoyed the butterflies and just spending a few minutes kid free!

We just got back from a wonderful time at church. Eli ran to his class he was so excited! In the car I asked him if he'd learned about Jesus and he said, "Yes". Then, I asked him what he learned about Jesus and he said, "Snacks and ball". We got a good laugh!

One Month!

Cora is one month old today. I can't believe it! What a bundle of joy she is (and I mean bundle...this girl has rolls). My mom was saying how she looks like a three month old she's so filled out and wiggly. She is super ackward to hold, it makes it difficult to hold her and do other things because she constantly is throwing her head back and wiggling. She is smiling and cooing more and more. It's a nice reward for all the time and energy I put in. We have had a rough week around here. Eli is going through a hitting/fit/screaming phase. It's called the terrible twos...and it SUCKS! Part of it is molar pain I think because he does tell me his teeth are hurting, but I'm afraid it's just something we have to suffer through for another year or so. He's hitting all of us...even Cora now. He goes in time out when he does. It's mainly out of frustration because he still isn't talking very well and can't tell us what he wants all the time. I'm SUPER frustrated that he's still not talking in sentences. It causes a lot of fits. I'm really praying that he'll start talking better. He did start saying a few more things this week like "bee", "green", and "ho ho ho" and did say "Nana boo boo", but that is about the longest sentence he'll say. Lord give me patience!

We decided to go to Nevada this summer to see my grandparents and other family and stay up at my grandparent's cabin at Lake Tahoe. This was a summer tradition for my family every summer, so I'm thrilled to introduce Eli to the most beautiful place on earth. I can't wait to show off Cora to my family as well! My parents and brother are going to, so it should be a lot of fun! I'm already making lists and planning for a great trip and spending our days on the beach!