Happy Birthday, Cora!

This girl is THREE today!!!

A few things about Cora at three....Cora is articulate and joyful and observant. She often notices things that need to be done - and does them! She is great at finding lost items and following directions. Cora is careful and passionate and LOUD. But she is also pouty and sensitive, prone to whining and stubborn......and definitely three years old :)

Cora and Jonah continue to be buddies, acting out elaborate stories together or fighting over puzzle pieces or chasing each other around the yard with sticks.

She is still taking her gymnastics class once a week while Jonah is at school. It's pretty serious business. It's just Cora and one other little girl in the class. The teacher is pretty tough on them - she has them carrying mats around the gym and doing strength work like pull-ups and sit-ups. It's hilarious! It's been good for Cora, since Miss Sarah doesn't put up with any whining - haha! Cora enjoys it, and it's been fun to watch her progress.

Working on teeters

And here's a video of Cora doing a pullover on the bar. This is from about a month ago, and she can almost do a pullover by herself now! (The background noise is Esther...we get to watch class from behind a window).

Cora's skin just keeps getting better! Perhaps she is starting to outgrow her eczema, but I also think we have finally figured out a skin care routine that works for her: daily baths with a bit of bleach added in twice a week, and moisturize with Cerave cream several times a day. Her skin looks better than it ever has - and maybe she will even get to wear shorts and dresses by summer!!

Cora knows all her letters (and the sounds of most of them). She counts like this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....8, 9, 10, 14. She refuses to smile in pictures. She is still a super picky eater - she eats nothing at meals, then all day long, I hear: "Mommy, I'm still hungry." Cora naps about 75 minutes a day, and she loves sharing a room with Jonah. She could sit for hours and glue things onto paper. She loves going to First Friends, and most mornings I have to drag her out of Jonah's classroom after drop off. She would happily sit down with the other kids and join right in! What a joy she is in our lives.

Happy Birthday, Cora!