Walks With Cora : Neighborhood Flowers

Nearly everyday, we've been trying to get out of the house and go for a walk.  Most days we cut through to the playground or putz around the yard, but yesterday we did more of a slow walk around the neighborhood before we headed to the playground.  Cora is really into all of the flowers and loves when she finds something that she recognizes (dandelion, grape hyacinth, buttercup, etc).  We both love to point out all of the colorful flowering trees in the hood and Cora always finds some flowers to pick (I only let her pick the wildflowers or ones between the sidewalk and street) so she can carry them along on our journey. We finished the day by dropping our chores and heading outside to see the sunset. It was a ordinary and perfect weeknight.

I'm not sure why this picture is all blown out like this, but it makes me chuckle because Cora always insists she's orange... then I look at some pictures and sometimes she really does look orange.

 See more pictures of my regular #walkswithCora on Instagram.

A Little Something Pretty...

Saturday, the girls and I spent most of the day outside.  My mom dropped off Cora from her sleepover along with some yard tools and flowers.  I dug out some pots from the garage (still working on unpacking everything) and set up a little potting station on top of one of the raised garden beds I've been tearing up.  Cora had so much fun helping with the flowers and digging around the yard all day.  We planted the leftover pansies in our front garden with the help of our neighbor's grandson. We uncovered a whole bunch of snakes and had quite the time screaming and running around each time a new snake would come out.  After all of the excitement, the girls and I hung out on the steps until dad came home.  It's fun to have a little something pretty in the midst of all of the mess of cleaning up the yard.

Life With Ida : 6 Months

Can't believe Ida is already 6 months old!!!  I finally feel like we're hitting our groove and I'm loving her at this age.  The last week or so she has been sick with a pretty bad cold and a double ear infection.  She hasn't been sleeping well and crying more than usual, but she's on the mend and getting back to her usual cheerful self.

We've been trying to get out on walks more (#walkswithIda) and Ida loves it.  She's always peeking around to look at everything and is a lot more curious than I was expecting.  She's been spending a lot of time in the Ergo thanks to her cold and I think she is a huge fan.

Ida is always along for the ride and has the best go-with-the-flow personality.  She enjoys naps no matter the time or location and seems to have sleep patterns more like me (early to bed, early to rise) instead of the rest of our night owl family.  Before Ida, I used to enjoy early weekend mornings working on projects and putzing around the house before everyone else woke up.  Now Ida joins me in whatever project I'm working on and rides along in the Ergo on my early morning grocery runs.  I love getting to have some quiet one-on-one time with her before the rest of our family wakes up.  

We started her on solids over the last month.  She has enjoyed everything we've given her except the peas/pear baby food but who really likes that anyway?!  She's really into watching us eat and wants to try whatever we're having... yup, that's my daughter!

She's still quiet, but a really happy baby.  I love her smiles more than anything and she's always up for a cuddle.  We've been so lucky to add such a sweet baby to our family and I'm so grateful for the joy she adds to our life.  I'm looking forward to watching her grow and change in the coming months.

 Ida Rue, I love you!