Over the summer we completed a few projects. We had our sliding glass door replaced with one that works, added a window to our bedroom, painted our bedroom, rearranged quite a bit of furniture & junk, and Andrew made Cora & Olivia a train table.
The train table was a lot of fun. Cora's favorite place to go shopping is Barnes & Noble, not just because she loves books, but they also have a Thomas the Tank Engine train table display that she loves to go play with. Olivia likes to play with the trains as well, but she often gets distracted by the stuffed animals nearby. We got Cora a wooden train set for her birthday, as well as a few trains. She really loved playing with them, but it was always a struggle to keep Olivia away so she didn't just tear apart the tracks that Cora had just put together.
The train tables are pretty expensive so Andrew decided to make one himself. He can tell you how much he spent on it, probably less than $5 because he used wood that we already had lying around. Then he AND Cora painted it, and Cora really enjoyed that! Andrew set up a track arrangement then glued it all down. Now Cora and Olivia can both play with the train tracks without it all falling apart and there is extra track in case Cora wants to get creative and make up an arrangement of her own still.
They have had so much fun playing with the trains! The toy animals and even the dinosaurs like to play there also. Cora knows the names of the trains and has finally seen some of the Thomas videos. Our one major outing of the summer was a trip to Sacramento that included a visit to the Railroad Museum. That was a lot of fun and Cora's souvenir was a Thomas DVD and a new engine. The train table has also become a great place to store toys -- underneath. I've started adding some detail work to the top, I painted some grass and a pond in one corner and I have plans to do more.
The table has been a source of fun for the whole family so far. Cora and Olivia still squabble over it occasionally, especially when one of them is in the other's way or if one of them has a train the other wanted, but for the most part it is one thing they can both play with at the same time without too much trouble. And it's really great to see them playing nicely together!
Over the summer we didn't really go many places. We spent a lot of time at home, playing in the yard. Water was of course a main ingredient in our outdoor play, because Cora & Olivia love the water and because it keeps you cool during our hot summers. Uncle Lance & Aunt Barbara came up for the 4th of July, we played in the sand and later went out to watch the fireworks. Olivia didn't seem to be scared by the bright lights and loud noises. Cora seemed to really enjoy the display.
Andrew and the girls made many trips to Bidwell park, often to the creek. Five mile was a popular destination because the creek is wide and shallow there. Upper Park was good for swimming. We all went up to Upper Park with Aunt Cristina & Dave one day for an enjoyable swim in the creek.
Cora really had a great time, Olivia kept trying to swim off by herself, but we wouldn't let her. Even when Olivia goes underwater unexpectedly she doesn't seem daunted by the experience and tries to get away on her own. I think perhaps both the girls will be avid swimmers.
Today we met some of Cora's friends at the park to play together. Both the girls had a lot of fun, I realized that it is so much easier to have Cora at the park than it is with Olivia. Cora is so independent; she runs around, slides, climbs, and plays with her friends and doesn't really need much except an audience occasionally. Olivia on the other hand, also loves to run around, slide, climb, and play, but can't really do all these things on her own. She doesn't always have a very good sense of what sorts of things are safe and what is not. She thinks it's fun to change her mind when Mommy is waiting at the bottom of the slide to catch her and run around the play structure instead, thus sending me running around the structure to keep up with her and make sure she doesn't fall off. And then she wants to climb on the big kid play structure instead of the lower to the ground one for little kids that I prefer.
Both Cora & Olivia have a tendency to do what I consider "dangerous antics." But at least Cora is coordinated enough that she usually doesn't hurt herself. Olivia will sometimes try to do what Cora does and will surprise me by jumping off of something when I'm standing next to her or some other crazy thing. So far she seems to only do these sorts of things when I'm standing there and able to catch her, but I worry about what she will do when I'm not there. Olivia is climbing all over everything and everywhere. She loves to jump too. This morning I went in search of her when I couldn't hear her and she was standing on a chair trying to unlock the sliding glass door! Then this evening while Andrew watched she moved a stepping stool over to the sliding screen door (the door was open but she couldn't get the screen door open) and proceeded to stand up on it and managed to slide open the screen door to get outside.
When it was time to leave the park today I started heading over toward Cora and 2 of her friends where they were playing. Cora had been helping her friend, Isaac, to lay down on a stone bench as if he were sleeping. Then she leaned over and gave him a kiss! It was either a good night kiss or a kiss to wake him up. Cora has some really nice friends.
Olivia is 16 months old now. It's interesting to see the differences and similarities developing between Cora & Olivia. I'm suprised to see how similar and yet how different they can be at the same time. Cora much prefers to be naked, although she also loves to dress up (most often like a princess or ballerina). Olivia seems to like clothes and especially shoes; she will try on any shoes she finds. She can even walk around perfectly well in Cora's dress up high heeled shoes. They both love to dance, Olivia starts twirling almost immediately when I put on classical music. Cora gets pretty athletic with her dancing, putting in plenty of jumps and twirls.
Cora was an early talker and by this age was talking up a storm, repeating just about everything she heard. She continues to be very verbal and has a tremendous vocabulary for a 3 year old. Olivia on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in talking. She communicates her desires very effectively; lots of pointing, sometimes very loud vocalizations, leading you around, some sign language, but a very limited use of words. She uses the words "dada", "cat" (sounds like hat), "moo", "up", "app" for apple, and a particular sound effect that is difficult to describe for the word "dog". She doesn't seem to have any desire to try to say new words, she just yells more when she wants something or is trying to tell us something. I've been trying to steer her into using more sign language and that seems to be working out okay so far, but I need to look up more signs.
Both of the girls love to be outside and playing in the water. I've always thought of Cora as a huge water lover, but it almost seems as if Olivia likes the water even more, something I wouldn't have thought possible. Over the hot summer, they both have spent a good deal of time in the sprinklers, in the pool, and with the garden hose. Olivia likes to sit in a little bucket full of water that I got for washing our feet off before getting in the pool, it's just the right size for Olivia. Olivia is always really excited when it's time for a bath and she likes sometimes to lay down on her back in the water while she's in the tub. Cora used to love taking baths, now she always says she doesn't want to take a bath, but once she's in she usually has fun and sometimes doesn't want to get out. Cora hates having her hair brushed, she has pretty fine, easily tangled hair, much like mine, but hers is a lot curlier than mine. I have to use a good conditioner on her hair, or it would be impossible to comb through. Olivia doesn't have enough hair yet for there to be any problems.
Cora quote, from July 17, "We go together like a puzzle," said while laying next to Daddy on the floor.
On an unknown date, "Cousin Dana is my best friend."
Cora likes to call Olivia "sweetie."
Well, summer is coming to a close and I have lots to update. We had a very busy summer, although we didn't really do very much. Life in general is much busier these days. Cora celebrated her 3rd birthday in June. We had a small celebration on her birthday, June 16th, with Aunt CC and a few cupcakes. After all, Cora will certainly tell you that birthdays are all about the cake, and especially the frosting (no question here about which of us she takes after)! Cora was thrilled to receive several birthday phone calls; she likes to talk on the phone. Later there was a birthday party celebration shared with her friend, Calina, whose birthday is just a few days after Cora's. Cora & Calina had a great time with their friends in our backyard.
As Cora approached 3 years old I noticed that she must have had a growth spurt. I had to change out all her 2T clothing for 3T and even 4T. I'm not sure when it happened, but she seems so much more of a big girl now. At her 3 year checkup she knew very well what was coming and was scared of getting a shot, starting to cry even before the supplies were brought into the room. She weighs around 30 pounds now, and is 36 inches tall (at least she was in June).
