Fall has finally arrived in our Chico yard. Last week we still had hot days with temperatures in the high 80's, possibly even the 90's, but the last couple of days have been downright cold and we even had some periods of heavy rain today. The girls still went out to play of course, Cora even went out with Daddy when it was really coming down hard. When the sky cleared Cora insisted on getting out the watering can to water the flowers. Andrew started up the fireplace and we all got warm by the fire.
A couple of days ago I decided to take the girls for a walk to the grocery store. I didn't have the double stroller with me so I put Olivia in the wagon and Cora rode her tricycle. We were having a wonderful time until the wagon suddenly decided to fall apart, Olivia was still sitting in the wagon, but the front wheels and handle just came off! Deciding it would be too difficult to try to carry Olivia while trying to drag the wagon home, we simply left the wagon behind. Aunt Cristina came over later and had noticed what looked like our wagon on the way over. She went back to get it once she confirmed it was ours and it was no longer there. Poor little wagon! Maybe someone will fix it and it will enjoy a new life with someone else!
I had some pictures taken of the girls last week. Olivia didn't much care for the whole thing and we didn't get any really good pictures of her. Cora turned out some nice poses though. I had been talked into their portrait club last year and I just wanted to use up the free pictures I had coming before it expired. I got a pretty good photographer this time, but that wasn't enough to convince me to do the portrait club again. We even took some pictures in their halloween costumes, Cora is a princess and Olivia is a cat (same costume that Cora wore 2 years ago).
Olivia has this thing she does, she will keep her head tilted down while looking up at you with her eyes. She has such a coy and mischevious look about her when she does it, it's really quite funny! Someday I hope I can catch a photo of her doing this. She is getting to be quite expressive and she really likes to give out kisses these days. And yet she still hardly says anything! She manages to get her ideas across pretty well without words. We have a toy phone that allows you to record a message to play and Cora knows how to do this. She has been recording "Hug me please!" on it lately and we've all been having fun with it. Cora will play the message for each of us so that we will give her a hug, making sure to get lots of hugs! Olivia likes to play the message and get hugs as well, it's almost as if she deliberately uses Cora's voice to speak for her!
This weekend we had a visit from Shannon, Brian, & Brynne. They were the second group to stay in our "new" guest/office room. Our first guests were Sheila & Sarah Decker all the way from Michigan. That was our first time meeting little Sarah, at ten months old and just as cute as can be! Sarah has such an expressive face and a wonderful smile! Brynne will be 2 years old next month and is just the perfect age to play with both Cora and Olivia. Brynne is very smart & articulate, with the most beautiful curly brown hair (unlike Cora's her curly hair isn't at all frizzy & tangly, which simply amazes me).
Cora was so excited about having Brynne over to play in the yard, they had a wonderful time! They ate snacks at the picnic table, played in the playhouse, ran around and chased each other, played in the sand, and just generally had a great time. The three girls even took a bath together to wash off all that sand & dirt!
Today we all went out to the Book Family Farm to play, feed the animals, go on a wagon ride, and get a pumpkin. The girls had a fun weekend and didn't want it to end. Cora was sad when Brynne had to leave, and Brynne wanted to come back to our house again. Brynne thanked us for letting her invade our house and we all hope she can come again soon! Of course we also enjoyed visiting with Aunt Shannon & Uncle Brian and look forward to meeting Brynne's new little brother once he makes his appearance in a couple of months...he will certainly be outnumbered by the girls in our gatherings!
Today we all ran the Mozart Mile, actually it's longer than a mile (they just call it that, it's really a 5K), and the only one who actually ran was Andrew. However, we all participated in our own way. Cora had wanted to try to run, but was a bit overwhelmed by all the other runners so she was pushed in the baby jogger by Daddy. I pushed Olivia in the stroller, we walked briskly and enjoyed the sights and sounds. The Mozart Mile is a benefit event for the North State Symphony so there were musicians along the route playing music. It takes place in Bidwell Park so it was a delightful experience for those of us who didn't run. Andrew did very well considering he didn't warm up, we hurried there just before it started, and he was pushing Cora the whole way. Cora & Daddy placed second in the men's 35-40 age division! If Cora had actually run/walked the race she could have placed first in the girls 0-9 division because there weren't any other competitors! Maybe next year! Olivia seemed to enjoy walking in the park, seeing all the dogs, and listening to the music.
Last night Cora & Daddy camped out in the backyard. Cora has a little ladybug tent that she has been playing with in the yard. They tried to camp out once before, but Cora wouldn't go to sleep or something like that. But they really did it last night, all night long! It's not a very big tent so it was pretty cramped for Andrew, but now Cora has had an outdoor sleeping adventure in the comfort of our own backyard. Next we'll have to go camping in a real campground!
Olivia surprised me with a new feat today; she can now climb up to the top of the changing table. At first I thought Cora must have helped her, but I later saw her do it with my own eyes. It was a little disconcerting the first time; they had been playing and I had come into their bedroom to check on them, and there were Cora & Olivia, both standing on top of the changing table looking out the window! I tried to act as calmly as I could and I asked Cora to please tell me if Olivia did this again. I don't remember how old Cora was the first time she did this, but I'm sure it was a similar age, they are both such good climbers! Cora has never fallen off the changing table, so maybe Olivia will be okay with it as well, but it sure does scare me!
At night Cora likes to make up her own bedtime to do lists. She will list out all the things she needs to do and in the order she wants to do them. She also likes to "check" them off when they're done by saying, "Brush my teeth -- check!" In the morning when she wakes up, her favorite thing to do is sneak up on anyone who is awake, which is usually everybody else. This morning Olivia and I were in the living room when we suddenly heard a loud knock on the kitchen door, surprise! Cora is now awake!
Olivia's favorite book right now is "Goodnight Moon." We often read it before bed, she will usually pick it out from the shelf. She likes to touch her nose with her finger and say "Shh," for the quiet old lady whispering hush. Cora loves so many books, I'm not sure if she has any favorites right now. Not long ago I finished reading "The Trumpet of the Swan" by E B White to her and she really liked it. We've started reading some of "The Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We went to the library yesterday and I got "Charlotte's Web" on CD, we've been listening to it in the car. It's so great that Cora loves books so much, when she's quiet and I think I better check to see what she is doing, she is often sitting quietly looking at books! But not always...
Cora has her share of temper tantrums. Some other mothers I have discussed this with agree that the 3's are worse than the 2's. Cora can be very impatient and stubborn, add to that the intensity that she possesses and look out! She is definitely a very strong willed child. I'm hoping that all this means she is going to be a very independent, smart, and strong young lady. She can also be extremely sensitive and very loving. This morning she told me, "Hey! I love you Mommy!" And when she has a time out she has been known to scream and say that she doesn't love me anymore, she hates me, or that she doesn't want me to be her mommy anymore. But then all is forgotten very quickly and she loves to be held and cuddled.
Another summer update... Our one trip over the summer was to Sacramento. We went to the Sacramento Zoo and had a wonderful time. This was Cora's second trip to this zoo and Olivia's first ever trip to a zoo. They both loved looking at the animals and running around. It was a little hot for some of the animals, but the chimpanzees were very active in their little habitat. After the zoo we drove to Uncle Lance & Aunt Barbara's house in Orangevale. Both the girls zonked immediately in the car, but woke up again once we arrived. Cora wanted to play with Aunt Barbara's barbies, she always looks forward to that! Olivia had to try on Uncle Lance's enormous shoes!
We stayed at a motel near Old Town Sacramento that night, after driving past the capital in the dark so Cora could see it all lit up. The night went very well and the next morning we headed to Old Town. Cora & Olivia rode on some of those coin operated rides for little kids they sometimes have outside stores, Olivia had so much fun riding a mini merry-go-round with Cora. We went to the California State Railroad Museum and that was very fun as well. They even have a play area for kids with a large set up of Thomas the Tank Engine trains and accessories. We had lunch, Cora talked to a mounted police officer, and then we headed for home. It was a short trip, but it was very memorable.
Some Cora quotes:
Sept 27 or 28 "I just can't take it anymore!" Just before bedtime.
Sept 30 "What on Earth is this?" Looking at something new.
Oct 1 "Now I've learned it's more boring doing chores."
Oct 1 "We can still see him on Liberty's Kids, but in the real world he died a long time ago." Referring to George Washington. Liberty's Kids is one of her favorite cartoons, it's usually on PBS and it's all about the American Revolution.
