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. 

up all night

That’s a good name for that sitcom since it’s about parents and their baby.

Cora’s always been a good sleeper (in my opinion). I’ve been told several times that around 4 or 5 months, the sleeping gets all crazy again. Well, 2 nights ago, I got up 2 times with her, which is odd. If she even gets up during the night, it’s just once. Well, last night, she woke up FOUR TIMES! I ignored her the last time, and she went back to sleep, but it still woke me up. She ate some the first 2 times, and she just went back to sleep after I put a pacifier in her mouth the third time.

The craziest part is this (2 things):
1. I am no more tired after getting up 4 times than I was after getting up 2 times with her the night before.
2. She is SO FREAKING CUTE AND SWEET in the mornings that I don’t even care how much I’ve been up. Now, if she’d woken up crying, it could have been different, but she was so adorable and smiley this morning. It was heaven! 🙂 

mother’s day

My first one!

Here’s my sweet sweet holding my face! I love it.

I had a good Mother’s Day. Brian made me brownies, got me really pretty flowers, and loaded up a digital picture frame with various photos featuring Cora. He also cooked me breakfast and let Cora watch him while he did. She likes to watch him cook! I also got a sweet card. We went to church together, too! After church, we picked up lunch from Taco Bell on the way home. We also had some good times playing at the house. One of the best gifts Cora gave me herself was a bath with no crying whatsoever! I tried something new with bath time, and she obviously approved. No more silly little baby hammock – we just want to sit up in the tub like a big girl! Score all around.

 

cliffhanger

Are you dying to know what the secret is to helping Cora go to sleep! Wait no longer! It is softly rubbing her head – especially around her ears. She is always rubbing her hand – never stopping – when she eats, and she holds her head when she sleeps. I finally put it together that maybe she’d like it if I did it, and it seems to work. It’s not instant, but you can instantly see the change in her when you start. Score one for mom!

sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Cora fights sleep harder than I can even imagine a baby fighting it! I figured out how to help her go to sleep when she won’t, though. I can’t believe it took me almost 4 months, but I figured out a trick for her! It’s worked 3 times since Sunday. Yes!

half a day

When I want to post but don’t have much to say or don’t feel like typing tons, I always just do wrap ups of a day or a few days. That’s what you’re getting right now…a wrap up of just what’s happened so far today!

It’s Sunday. We woke up at a decent time, and it would’ve been better if the dog didn’t decide to have a licking party at 8 AM. She ignored me getting up at 6 AM to feed Cora, but I guess we can’t expect to sleep much anyway. We had a good, relaxing morning of eating breakfast (Brian made cinnamon rolls), feeding Cora, checking the internet, and just lounging around. I usually have to go to band practice, but I got a break today. Cora at at the perfect time to get to Contact, so we went and had a good time. The sermon was great! After church, we hit up the Taco Bell drive through for lunch and ate it outside in our back yard while Cora slept. Next came Brian’s haircut. He’s needed one for QUITE a while. We did that outside, too. Cora woke up in the middle, so I did the harder parts with her in one arm and with one hand. It went surprisingly well. She finally let us put her in her bouncy seat for the hardest part. Brian trimmed his beard and showered after the haircut. Then, we took a family walk!!! It is dang hot today. The walk was pretty much a success. We saw several people we knew. Some (but not all) were: Andy & Dawn Wolfe at Matt’s house, Laura Eanes in her car, Phella & Guy working in their new yard (we left them alone), and Catherine Owen at her van. Now, we’re drinking Gatorade and playing with Cora! The dog is passed out on the floor because she got hot and tired on the walk.

Sundays aren’t always my least favorite day of the week anymore!

GOOD THING: The walk was physically easier for me today.
BAD THING: definitely sweaty 

good report

Today, Cora was said to have a “FANTASTIC DAY!” It was her best day yet with Jo Jo, which is Brian’s mom. That makes me happy. She ate more than ever from a bottle, wasn’t fussy, pooped, napped well, and talked a lot with a new squeal sound. Here’s to hoping good naps equal good night sleeping like people say! It does seem to be true. We did try to video chat with my parents this evening, but she decided to cry from hunger about 2 minutes after we started. That seems to be her trend. At least I tried!

tuesday

Today has been very odd. It’s my last day at home with Cora, but I refuse to focus on that. I’ve felt very positive for the last week about going to work, and I want that to continue.

This morning started with great news from work. I can now work from home one afternoon a week and have a little more time with Cora on Wednesdays. This is beneficial especially since I’m usually back at the church for band practice on Wednesday evenings. I don’t want to work all day and also be gone half the evening. It’s a trial basis, so pray that my coworkers are satisfied with how it goes.

Then, there was some weirdness, and I over-analyzed because that is what I do when I have nothing else to think about. After that, I was afraid I’d annoyed a friend too much. By the time Brian got home, I was sort of crying about it all.

Also, a friend came over to talk Arbonne with me and to visit Cora. That was good.

After Brian got home, the day got better again because the above-mentioned friend called, laughed that I thought she was mad or annoyed at me, and then we discussed the other above-mentioned weirdness to length, which made me feel a lot better.

Now, Brian is making me a pizza, and Cora is asleep. He’s also volunteered to figure out how to use these new bottles I bought for Cora to try out. Fingers crossed she’ll drink from them! She HATES bottles usually! I guess there’s nothing like the real thing just like the oldies song says.

The only thing I haven’t done that I wanted to do today is go shopping. I am in dire need of some new clothes. A lot of my clothes were pathetic even before I was pregnant and stuff. Nothing fits great, and it’s mostly all low quality crap. I need better things to feel better and to look better – not to mention like an adult instead of a 15 year old. I still might get to go tonight, or maybe I will go another evening or this weekend.

GOOD THING: Paychecks are about to start rolling back in!
BAD THING: My back is killing meeeeeeeeeee. 

saturday

Here’s another recap for you.

Saturday: I woke up after Cora slept 8 hours!!!!!! Brian then made me eggs and toast for breakfast, and that was yummy. After a while, I went running in the nice weather (and pollen) for the first time in many months. I only went about 1 mile and had to walk 2 times, but that is okay because my back between my shoulder blades were burning like crazy from the swinging motion of my arms. My legs could’ve done a little more, but I’ll try again soon! Brian stayed home and made faces at Cora while I went out (he said). That’s how we play these days mostly. Anyway, after that, I showered before we went to dinner at Lovoy’s with Brian’s parents and sister. While there, the family’s favorite waitress wanted to get a picture with Cora since she hadn’t met her yet. She’s been serving the family since Brian was little, and she knows what we all want to order before we say anything. After dinner, we stopped by CVS to rent a movie, then the group continued to our house to visit a while. After his parents left, his sister stayed to play with Cora and watch Your Highness with us. I ended up bathing Cora (my choice, of course) during the last part, so I missed the best stuff judging by their laughs, but that’s not a big deal. I also washed diapers during the movie. It was a pretty good day!

The best part – Cora slept 8 hours Friday night, and she slept 8 hours and 15 minutes Saturday night and only woke up when she did on Sunday morning because I was in there making noises in my closet! I needed her to get up, though, because she needed breakfast before I went to church.

wftw

*title stolen from Sheena’s life motto!*

I am actually NOT working for the weekend since I don’t work these days, but the weekends still roll around! This weekend, my parents came to visit from Saturday morning until Sunday after church. They love visiting Cora, and it’s nice that they’ll come down here to do so. We went to Moe’s BBQ for dinner and met Brian’s parents there. That is a great place to go eat with Cora! It’s not crowded, it’s laid back, and it’s loud enough in there to drown her out if she cries. Plus, they have good music (usually). Sunday was church, and my parents went with us. It was just the 2nd time we’ve been since Cora was born. Apparently, she farted really loud a couple of times during the special singer’s song! haha