Going Bananas

Cora has started this super cute habit of lip smacking. Sometimes she'll start by saying "mamamamamama" but then continue moving her lips but not saying anything. Sometimes she will wake up and start just lip smacking right away. It is so cute! She looks like a little tiny grandma with no teeth.


Since my last post, Cora has really developed her strength to sit up on her own! Of course I still get scared she might fall when we are playing on the floor or bed, but I now have enough confidence in her strength to let her sit in a high chair and in a shopping cart! The first time I had her in a shopping cart I was so nervous and kept going back and forth whether I wanted to let her sit in it. I texted Adam to get his input and when he couldn't answer right away I called my mom to see what she thought! My mom didn't think it would be a problem at all, so we did a short grocery shopping trip with her in the shopping cart! Cora was so curious with her new shopping cart outlook and kept turning around to see everything. She definitely caught more people's eye sitting in the actual cart instead of in her car seat. She got lots of compliments on how cute she is!


I had Cora sit in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time on Friday at lunch when my family who came to town. She looked so cute and tiny in it! She has yet to stay in her high chair for a full meal though, but oh well. I am sure we will get there eventually. I should have known considering she rarely sits in her high chair at home for a full meal!


Cora going to town on her giraffe Sophie while sitting in a high chair

Our weekend was so full with my family in town. We were out and about for a big chunk of the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Once they got to town on Friday we had lunch at a Greek restaurant and then went to Ikea. On Saturday we went to the Perot Museum as soon as it opened. I am glad we visited it, but it wasn't as exciting as I hoped it would be. I think the amazing museums in Chicago just set the bar really high for me! It was fun though and I'm excited to go back once Cora is older and can appreciate it. After that we ate at Hopdoddy Burger Bar. The deciding factor to go there was the fact that they have a Nutella shake! It is quite delicious and I highly recommend it. I am craving one as I type, ha. We went to Grapevine Mills mall after to try and find clothes for Cora. We are going on a cruise to Alaska soon and she needs clothes to help keep her warm and a dress for formal night. We definitely found plenty of regular clothes for her but no luck with the dress. It is always fun going clothes shopping for Cora, which is no surprise. I think she must like hats because she is always so happy when we put one on her! My mom and sister put a ball cap on her at H&M and she was pretty pleased about it!


On Sunday after church we went to the Allen Premium Outlets. I feel like an outside shopping center is just a terrible idea for summer time in Dallas. Even though we stopped in stores frequently, stayed in the shade, and got shaved ice, the heat still beat me down. I was so exhausted that night! I couldn't even keep my eyes open as I put Cora to sleep. I wanted to stay up later since it was my family's last night in town, but I fell right asleep.

So since Cora's first experience with solids, we've given her yellow squash, carrots, and bananas. She has pretty much hated everything except for the bananas. She only eats a couple teaspoons before getting pretty upset. I've read that it takes a few tries sometimes before babies start liking whatever food you're trying to feed them. I'm hoping she will eventually like her veggies, but it's not looking good so far. We gave her banana Sunday night and she loved it! She actually kept reaching for the spoon and wanted more and more. She didn't finish the whole thing, but she definitely ate much more than any of her veggies. It was very exciting to finally see her like something! We will be giving her sweet potatoes on Thursday so we will see how that goes! What foods have everyone else's babies loved?



Cora was a little cranky over the weekend. She didn't nap as much as she usually does since we were so on the go. Plus it seemed like she didn't want to go down to sleep for the night with everyone else up and being social. I would take her back out to the living room to see everyone for her encore and then she'd finally be okay to go to sleep. She must just want to be up for the party! I think the heat really wore her out too. My mom and sister really spoiled Cora though by fanning her constantly. She was like a little princess all weekend long.


Cora being doted on in Ikea
A couple weekends ago we went to see Adam's parents. Of course Cora has been there several times before, but this time she finally noticed their pets. They have 3 cats and a mid-sized dog. She was excited to see the cats, but she was super excited to see their dog, Angus! She gets excited when she sees our little pups, but she really went crazy when she saw Angus. If you weren't looking at her you would think she was crying, but she was so happy! She has never laughed that hard before. He wasn't even doing anything funny, just standing there and panting!


In other new developments, Cora has started to say "dada!" I still don't think she's connecting it with Adam just like I don't think she's connecting "mama" with me. Adam and I both love it either way though! Should I consider "mama" and "dada" to be her first words even though it's just babble? I don't think I'm going to.

So this Friday will be my first night out and away from Cora! My sister Khristina and I are going to the New Kids on the Block concert and to the after party. I am simultaneously excited and nervous. I will be away from her for about 7 hours! The longest I've been apart from her so far is maybe 2 hours. It will be a fun break and I'm sure it will go by quickly, but I still feel pretty anxious about it! She will be in good hands since Adam will be taking care of her and of course he would be the #1 person I trust to take care of her. I just hope that her pureed solids will be enough to keep her full. I am planning to pump, but since she still doesn't take a bottle who knows if she will actually take any of it. I told Adam he can try to give it to her from a cup. I will just feel bad if she is screaming all night. Surely it won't be even half as bad as I'm picturing it, right?