Smiley girl.

 We’ve been catching little smiles from Cora. They’re so precious and a sign she’s getting bigger and growing so quickly. 

We love you sweet girl. 

Toddler pumpkin patch.

 

Koltens school had the yearly pumpkin patch for the kiddos. Last year was the first year & Kolten was in the infant room. It was pointed out to me not only did Kolten grow, but so did the pumpkins! I couldn’t wait for the picture above just for a comparison picture from last year (see below). 

Love this boy and all his joy. Also, I love the he has a tutu on. His teacher said he’s been putting it on daily. Great opportunity for independence! I love it. 

Fall baking.

I have been trying to make a habit of spending some dedicated time with Kolten each day when he gets home from his toddler room. Some days that may be an art project or a special toy that’s been tucked away. This day he and I made some crock pot apple sauce spur off the moment. We had a few extra apples and he had just made at school that he really enjoyed so I wanted to give him another opportunity. He loved participating and using the materials himself. Most of all I think he liked to sneak bites of the apples. We recently got a “kitchen helper” which is basically a wooden stool that goes up to counter height. This allowed him to really be involved safely. It is going to come in so handy over the next few months with the holidays. 

PJ day.

Happy almost Halloween! Kolten’s getting full use of his halloween pajamas. Today is pajama day in the toddler room therefor skeleton jammies for the win. He wore them with a black and orange bib which was perfect. It was a wet day so thankfully I think these kept him warm but still had lots of function. 

When we picked him up he had some orange paint on his PJs. I bet he had lots of fun painting and doing art. I’m so thankful he gets to experience that at school. 

Other Halloween pajamas we have include one with a pumpkin face and one with footies and stripes. I love holiday attire. Just wait until Christmas;)

Kolten right now.

• 21.5 months
• Big brother status
• Loves pushing cars and anything with wheels around
• Says no to every question, even if he means yes
• Loves watching Blippi on youtube
• Climbs up on the couch to sit with me & Cora 
• Does not nap well at school
• Will dance at random moments and occasionally when we say "Kolten dance!"
• Asks for mama on most mornings when he wakes up

 

Pastels on the Plaza 2021

This past weekend we attended our real first outing as a family of four. This is one of mine and Jim's favorite events here in Humboldt, Pastels on the Plaza. This is a yearly event (with the exception of last year due to Covid) that is a fundraiser for Northcoast Children's Services. This event is special to us because Jim has been volunteering/attending with his mom since he was a toddler. Typically, Jim, his mom, and siblings would show up before sunrise and assist with things such as marking off the squares and helping with sign in for the artist, etc. This year due to Kolten and Cora's unpredictable sleeping pattern, Jim didn't attend early to help with lines, but everyone was understandable and hopefully he'll make it out next year to help set up and maybe even complete a square! Since Jim's mom has passed away, we've been continuing to attend in her honor. This year, pastels was on two days (Saturday & Sunday) instead of all the artists arriving on Saturday. We only made it out Saturday, but I found some photos that friends took and want to share those below. Even Little Learners had a square done by Teacher Amber!

This year was special because my dad was able to come down from his home in Oregon, and he went with us. Now, I will say, getting out of the house with two kids under two years old was not not stressful, ha! It was a lot- and there was a lot of stuff because I tend to be over prepared & overpack. Also, a double stroller definitely takes up a lot of car space. But, we did it! Kolten had fun finding some pastels and drawing lines on the ground in the kid area. Jim got to chat with the director of NCCS, who is now retired, but knew Jim's mom Janet very well. My dad got to see some of the artist action, and we also scoped out the farmer's market. I got to see some familiar faces that I haven't seen in a while and so that felt good to be out. Overall, it felt amazing to see the event happening and for me to be off the couch. 

*The photos of the pastels are taken from various findings of friends' photos! 

Cora Lynn, our baby girl.

Happy birthday, Cora Lynn. 

I gave birth to my, our, daughter, Cora Lynn on September 13th, 2021. It was truly a moment, day, weekend, I'll never forget. Being my second child, I had lots of ideas on how it would go and although there were lots of similarities, Cora's birth was also very much different. I am forever grateful for my amazing husband, Jim, who was by my side the entire process. I am also eternally grateful for my mom, Grandma Laura, who spent the time at our house with Kolten to ensure his needs were met. Finally, the staff and Dr. Vu who delivered Cora, took care of everything so well and I will be forever thankful for their presence and support during the most vulnerable time of my life. 

Something I aspired to do when Kolten was born was to keep a short documentation of the first "30ish" days after he was born during the "4th" trimester. I love to document, share, and write and figured it would be fun to look back on. I mildly succeeded writing in a little notebook that is now tucked away in the office. This time with Cora, I thought I'd try again. I have been keep a short log in my "notes" app on my iphone and add to it each day- some days more than others- but keeping it extremely minimal and doable is the key for this mama of two. 

Below are the first two days. 

More to come. 

Day 1- 

Ouch. Things are settling in physically and mentally. I feel ok, proud, and complete. I feel nervous thinking about how Kolten is going to react and how we're going to adjust but I do know that we will. 

I'm in my PP room. Jim's coworker brought us coffee (YES!) Having Kolten at home changes things. We're dividing and conquering. We are going to be spread thin like butter on toast, but we will do it. (By we, I mean Jim and I).  Baby girl got her newborn screening, hearing test, hospital bath, etc. All the tests. 

Noted- I keep calling Cora HE, but I'm sure that will fix it's self. 

I farted real big and all I smelt was TUCKS pads. HA, Jim and I laughed! We needed that! Keep it real. 

Day 2-

We stayed in the hospital for 24 hours from delivery to being released. Kolten had a covid exposure at school, so us leaving the hospital at 7:00 pm allowed for him to go to bed, Cora and myself to isolate in the bedroom, and we didn't go out to meet brother until his covid test (which was first thing in the morning) came back *thankfully* negative. After that huge relief, Kolten was able to meet Cora. I sat on the couch and held baby and he joined us. It was a magical moment for me. My heart felt so full. 

I cried today. And tonight. Breast feeding is HARD. I wanted a different experience this time. Baby girl does love to breast feed. We're working through this. It's only the second day. 

I got my pump out. That was helpful. & then I cried more. Jim is so supportive and calming. I hate being an added stress to him. 

Kolten has been super snuggly with me. And dad. And gma. I am trying to support him. 

Jim and I slept on the couch last night. Baby girl slept for a four hour stretch. 

Here we go.  

Our sweet girl- lots of snuggles with mom, dad, and big brother Kolten. 

As many have pointed out, Cora looks JUST like Kolten in this picture. I couldn't agree more!