Update

Dada
It has been a long stretch for Brandon with work. The hardest part about him working so much, is that he almost never gets to see the kids. One week, he was working the night shift - so at least he got to see the kids during the day. AND he got to see the sun! With these short winter days, he often leaves the house when it's still dark and doesn't get home until after sundown.

Enjoying a post-nap banana with Dada
before he heads back into work

We have been having some beautiful weather down here. We have been trying to get outside as much as we can. I'm so glad the warmer days were while Brandon worked nights, so at least he got to enjoy it a little. The kids love having him around during the day!

One day, while we were eating lunch, Jonah and I had the following conversation:

Jonah: I want to go to the other house.

[He used to say that when we first moved, talking about our apartment in Iowa....but surely he is not still thinking about that??]

Me: What other house? 

Jonah: The house where Daddy lives.

Me: Daddy lives here!!

On top of working, Brandon has also been studying for Boards. Jonah wanted so much just to be near Brandon, that he settled for side-by-side while Brandon did review questions

We have another long-hours block coming up - but there is warm Florida sunshine at the end of the tunnel!! We have a much-needed vacation planned. I think we're going to make it :)

Word Girl
Cora's first word was "Dada" - and she stuck with that for a while. But in the past few weeks, her vocabulary has exploded. She now says a couple dozen words. Many are pretty unintelligible to anyone who isn't Mom, but she makes a consistent sound for each "word" and is able to communicate well.  A sampling of her words, just so I don't forget:

Dada
up, down, stuck
baby
uh-oh!, drop
sit
shoes, sock, dog, book, ball
open
blueberry
bath
poop (as in, she tells us when she has pooped - ha!)
no-no
night-night





Cora got a ride-on giraffe for Christmas, and she likes to walk behind it (and stand on top of the seat!). Her legs are not quite long enough to ride it yet, but she has figured out she can make it go by sitting off to the side and pushing with one leg. She has trouble going straight, but she gets where she needs to go.

 

Cora has enjoyed the change of scenery the nicer weather has brought about. It's easier to take her outside now that she can walk, and I don't have to hold her the entire time.

So much fun having a little girl to dress!
I have a feeling she is going to have opinions about her clothing much more than Jonah ever did

A little porch swinging
Rare Mom-sighting on the blog :)

Cora had another reaction to food...although this time, we're not sure what it was. I don't think she ate anything she had not had before, but her lips swelled up. Top picture is after breakfast, bottom picture was taken the day before.

About a Boy
I am daily writing down funny things Jonah says so that I can share them with Brandon. He cracks us up. He is equal parts sweet and rough-and-tumble boy. It has been hard for him to be so cooped up in the house (it seemed someone was sick for weeks and weeks!), so it's been nice to get outside a little more. He needs to run and climb and throw. When we stay inside too long, he tends find new ways to get into trouble. His new favorite way to cause mischief is to pull all the books off the shelf. Maybe I just need to let it go, but for some reason this drives me crazy. Although, the process of having him put them back might be more obnoxious (I can't do it! It's too hard! They fell down!! Can you help me??)

He is growing up, and looking less and less like a baby. I was looking at old pictures the other day, and I can't believe how little (and blonde!) he was. From back in the Fall of 2013:

Better Together
It is fun to watch a brother/sister relationship begin to develop between Jonah and Cora. They play together really well most of the time. Brandon was able to take Jonah swimming one morning during his transition from days to nights. Cora was so sad when Jonah left - I think it was probably one of the few times they have been apart. We are almost always together.

Going in for a kiss
Bad timing on the part of the photographer, but this illustrates each child's technique:
Jonah gives a cute little pucker, Cora goes in mouth wide open (with sound effects!)

Jonah schools Cora in the art of puzzles. She wants to do everything he does.