lullabies

I am totally convinced that we have a go-to song to get Cora to calm down. When I was pregnant, I listened to certain songs a lot at my desk at work, and I couldn’t get enough of one particular song. I asked for a CD with it on it for Christmas and received it. Since she was born, I’ve played it for her a few times while on the couch (closer to being a newborn), and she fell asleep or stopped crying when I did. Okay. In the car one day this past weekend, Brian & I had a screaming kid in the back. I popped that CD in, and she FREAKING QUIT CRYING. I LOVE CROSBY, STILLS & NASH FOREVER. She even went to sleep. Since we were close to our house already, we kept driving. We had a nice, quiet, music-filled ride all over Homewood. After we listened to the songs I like on that CD, we switched to Amos Lee, and the girl continued to have good taste. We listened to that whole CD, then went back home. Woo hoo! Here’s the song that’ll fix her *hopefully* every time:
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doIEwzc6k_k

 

odd excitement

Did you ever think a not-so-tidy person would be pumped about getting a few minutes to clean house? That’s how I felt Saturday when Cora went to sleep for a nap. I actually wanted to clean! Our house is driving me NUTS. I cannot wait to get it straightened up, but I just have to find the time and the energy at the same time.

father’s day

Brian is an awesome dad! I’m not going to do a post on how great he is at being a dad with specifics, but because he’s great, I want to do a post to tell you how Father’s Day went this first time around.

Cora posed for some pictures so I could put together 2 frames full of pictures for him to take to work. Here’s a sampling!

This isn’t one that was used, but you can get the idea, and it’s funny because she’s rolling around with the heart in this one. I had a moment of not wanting to plaster her face on the blog, so this picture takes care of several things.

He also got a new plaid Patagonia shirt because he loves plaid short-sleeved button downs, and Patagonia is his favorite company because of their commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Ask him sometime!

His card was one of the signs I used for photos that said “I *heart* Dad” folded in half so that was on the inside, and I decorated the outside with markers.

Anyway, we went to church together, which is a nice thing to be able to do on Father’s Day. After church, we went to eat a Mexican lunch at Sabor Latino. That evening, we went to his parents’ to see his dad and have dinner (Donato’s delivery).

It was a good day!

GOOD THING: Monday is behind us.
BAD THING: headache/felt weird today 

wedding weekend

Howdy! We just got back from Georgia again. This time, we went to my cousin’s wedding! Here’s a picture of the happy couple:

 

My cousin is Samantha, and her husband is Michael. He’s a great guy! They had a nice down home kind of wedding, and it fit them perfectly. Her dress was great. The bridesmaids magenta/hot pink knee length dresses with brown cowboy boots, and the guys all wore jeans with brown vests. The bride even had fancy white cowboy boots! It sounds crazy, but it was cute. It was very country glamorous, which fits Sam to a T.

I had the best time at the wedding reception. There was good music, PERFECT weather to sit outside, and everything just felt relaxed. I don’t usually get to spend lots of time with my family, and it was the perfect chance to sit around and just chat with each other in a different setting. Awesome!

The next day, we were supposed to go to my other family’s reunion. We were about to walk out the door, and people pulled up to visit at my parents’ house. Oh, well! No one was exactly dying to go to the reunion, so we told the new guests to stay when they tried to leave to let us go on. My aunt & uncle just really love to visit Cora, and I’m happy they do! Everyone seems to love her so much. I love it. It’s very odd how babies being around can reignite the family feeling among a family that’s been together forever. I guess a new item of interest is always good!

One of the best parts of the weekend was that we made the trip both ways without stopping. On both trips, I told Brian to get off at the next exit because Cora was crying too much. By the time we could get pulled over, she stopped each time. A miracle! I’m proud of her. Also, while we were there, she slept almost 10 hours on Saturday night, so that was a good thing to experience since her sleeping habits have gotten a bit worse lately. It’s just a phase. I know it will get better!

GOOD THING: Choxie has meds and will get better soon!
BAD THING: My stomach hurts. 

memorial day weekend

I have let too much time pass since the last holiday, and I can’t remember what I did! Here’s what I remember.

I had a lot to do before Memorial Day weekend, so my hopes were to have NO plans over the long weekend, and we did just that! I wanted to get stuff done around the house and just hang out, which I did. I did some housework, bought a few things we needed, went on extra walks with Cora & the dog, and just had some lazy fun. Friday night, Brian’s mom and sister were busy, so we couldn’t get them to watch Cora for us to go out even though we needed a break BAD after a tough week. However, we let them do that on Sunday night, and it was awesome! We had a gift card to Carrabas, and we never go there, but we should. It was delicious! I ate SO MUCH FOOD before we went to Target and bought ice cream for ourselves. I got Starbucks vanilla bean cream. We went to church that morning even though most people weren’t there, and we did NOTHING on Memorial Day! That means no cooking out, no laking it, no anything. I only got out of my pajamas that evening to go get some food! It was great.

Casey will appreciate my forgetfulness because I cannot go into long detail.