What I Love about You … 16 months

So much happens between the age of 0-1. I LOVED keeping up with all the new things Cori Belle did each week in all my “What I love about you” posts and I’m excited to do them again with Finley. But, what about what happens after they turn 1?!?! There is still a lot of learning going on and so many things I LOVE about my girl. SO, I’ve written down a few for memories sake…

~CB is currently 16 months old!~

I LOVE…

• That Saturday, 4/16/2011, was the first day you were bottle free!! We have been down to one bottle a day for quite some time, but last Saturday was the first night without one. You did GREAT!
• The 6 teeth you have! Two on bottom, three on top, one molar on the top right! You are also a pretty good tooth brusher!
• That Sunday, 4/17/2011, was your first day in your new BIG GIRL car seat! Still rear-facing, but we’re moving up! :)

• Hearing you talk! Your vocabulary consists of mommy, dada, cat, outside, ball, cheese, please, hi, bye, baby, eye, up-oh, you, yeah, more, Maverick, up … Some of these words have a little different variation to them, but you and I know what you are saying!
• Hearing you say my name! You walk around saying, “Mama, Mommy, Mama, Mommy.” When you say, “mommy,” it sounds like you have a British accent. LOVE it!! It’s more like, “mom-eeee.”
• That when I ask you what a sheep says, you laugh! HAHA!
• Seeing you RUN!!
• That a fork and spoon are a MUST during meal times now. And, you have to do it all by yourself! You are actually getting quite good and pretty much get every ounce into your mouth without a mess! P.S – you are VERY into yogurt at the moment!!

• Your love for balls. EVERYTHING in a circular/spherical shape is a ball!
• Watching Praise Baby with you.  You sway back and forth to the music and get so excited about the things you see on the screen.
• That you consistently fold your hands to pray at every mealtime.
• That you still want to read your bible every night before bed!
• Having this conversation with you … “I,” says mommy. “I,” repeats Cori. “Love,” says mommy. “You,” says Cori. :)
• That you point to yourself when I ask where Cori Belle is. You can also identify a lot of family and close friends in pictures!
• Your obsession with being outside! “Outs” as you call it!
• That you love cats! Too bad mommy and daddy don’t! We have a gray stray cat that lives outside our house and you are obsessed with it!
• That no matter how cold you get, you LOVE being in the pool! This picture is hysterical! You were SO cold!!

• Watching you dance to music. You especially love the Joy FM! This morning you wanted to dance with me. I picked you up and you reached for my hand to dance like grown-ups do. So sweet!
• That you are all about learning!!
• Seeing you complete puzzles all by yourself! It makes your momma so proud!
• Watching you feed your baby bottles and put paci’s in her mouth. You LOVE your babies!

• That you still want 2-3 paci’s in bed with you for bedtime. Not sure when we’ll break that one!
• That you are very interested in coloring and drawing.
• Seeing you hold your hands up by your shoulders and shrugging when you are looking for something and can’t find it.
• Watching you climb up the steps and slide down the slide ALL BY YOURSELF last week!! You are such a big girl!! I’m so proud of you!

• The way you pat your chest and say, “Da-wi” (Maverick) when we are outside and I’m trying to get the dog to come inside.
• Your fake “sad” face. It’s so funny how you crinkle up your nose and scrunch your eyes together like you’re so mad, when you’re really not!! I’ve yet to get it on camera, but believe me, it’s coming soon!!
• That you’ve been sleeping with a pillow and blanket for the past few months.
• Being your mom! Oh, sweet one, that will never change!!

A Visit from the Northern Tundra!

Last Thursday, my SIL Rebecca, and her sweet baby boy, Taylor, came down from Minnesota for some good ‘ole Florida sunshine!! Rebecca said she needed a break from all the cold and snow. I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t last one winter season up there!! … We hadn’t seen Rebecca since Thanksgiving and we had never met Taylor, so it was a real treat to see them! We weren’t expecting to see them until our annual beach vacation in June!! So glad we got to see them unexpectedly!

Taylor is such a smiley and sweet little boy! He is the spitting image of David’s brother, Casey. Something about those Smith genes. All our babies are born looking just like their daddies! I’m looking forward to meeting Jona (David’s older brother’s daughter due in June) and Finley. I wonder if they will look like their daddies too?! Only time will tell!

Cori Belle, me, Rebecca, and Taylor

We met up for lunch at Mama Jean and Papa’s house (David’s grandparents) who live just down the street from us. It was their first time meeting Taylor as well. We took a few pictures of the kids and Papa. This was the best one I had on my camera.

 

Then, we put the kids on the couch for a photo session. They were so cute together!! I love this first picture of Taylor making eyes and smiling at his momma! Cori wasn’t sure what to think about all of this at first, but then she warmed up. After a while she got right up in Taylor’s face as she spoke all kinds of baby talk to him. Then, she must have decided she really liked this cousin of hers because she leaned in to give him a kiss ON THE LIPS! haha! So sweet!

 

We had such a great time visiting with them and can’t wait until we get to spend a week together at the beach!! It’s only 7 weeks away!! Wahoo!

Here is one last picture of Cori from our visit that day. She loves getting right up in the camera and then seeing herself on the viewing screen. This picture cracks me up. Check out those teeth!!

Easter 2011

Saturday

We started our Easter weekend on Saturday morning with our 3rd egg hunt! Cori was such a pro this time around and probably collected the most eggs out of everyone in her 1-2 age group! Just check out her basket and a few pictures of her hunting. She was so proud of herself!

 

After the egg hunt was over, she decided it was time to play in the fountain! She LOVES the fountain in our neighborhood and can’t wait to get her hands in that water every time we walk by it. One day I think she might jump in it! I’m just praying that swim lessons come before that happens!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday

Cori woke up Easter morning to find her Easter basket. She slept in LATE on Sunday morning so she had to get dressed first thing so we could make it to church on time. The Easter bunny brought her a book about the true meaning of Easter. It’s a Veggie Tale book, called Madame Blue’s Easter Hullabaloo. It also has a button in the top left corner that upon pushing it sings, “Oh may we ever praise Him with heart and life and voice…” I can’t make out the rest, but Cori LOVES it!! I have a feeling I’ll be hearing that song A LOT in the next week or two!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think of Cori Belle’s smocked Easter dress?! Kristy’s mom found it for me and I LOVE it!! Those are little chicks with bunny ears if you can’t tell from the picture. SO cute! It may be a little big on Finley next year, but we’ll see if we can make it work! … Or, maybe the girls will have MATCHING smocked Easter dresses! Oh, the joy of having two girls!! :)

My parents came up to celebrate Easter with us. It was nice to have my mom and my sister at church with us. My dad didn’t quite make it to church because of an allergic reaction to a cat, but that’s another story! … Pastor Max’s sermon was titled Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), which is exactly what Christ did for us. He came to show us God in the flesh. He saw us for who we are as he lived among us. And, He conquered the grave by being risen on Easter Sunday. Because of what Christ did for us, we can have life and life to the fullest. I’m so thankful!

After church we headed over to our good friends, Rose and Chauncey’s, house for lunch. We have done Easter lunch at their house the past 3 years and it’s been such a fun tradition. Here is our family picture last year compared to this year. Hard to believe that next year we will have an additional child! :)

 

My dad and Cori were both wearing purple and I thought that was so sweet. She had a ball with my dad over the weekend. She just adores both her grandpa’s!

Granddad, Mia, Aunt Amber, Cori Belle, me (with Finley Grace), David

Here are a few more pictures of my sweet girl playing outside on Easter. She loves to be “outs” (outside) as she calls it. And I love watching her run around!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sang this song at church on Sunday and I just LOVE it!

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

 

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

In Christ alone, who took in flesh

Fullness of God in helpless Babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones he came to save

 

Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

 

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

 

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Could ever pluck me from His hand

Til He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I stand

 

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!!

Celebrating Easter with Tea

Yesterday we went to a Tea Party with a few friends to celebrate Easter. We had to wear our Sunday Best. It was a lot of fun! First, we had our tea and a few snacks… Then, all the kids listened to a few Easter stories…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we got ready for our egg hunt!

 

Since it was Cori’s second time hunting for eggs this week, she thought she was a pro! You should have seen her carrying her basket to the field where all the eggs were hidden. She acted like such a big girl!! And, when she got to the field, she knew just what to do! Too bad all the big kids got there first and she only ended up with 2 eggs! She didn’t seem to mind though. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Cori and her friends. I didn’t get a single good one where everyone was looking at the camera! This is a real picture of kids being kids! :) HA!

Willie, Madelyn, Annabelle, Cori, and Michael

We have another Egg hunt on Saturday before we actually make it to Easter. Can’t wait!

Alachua Egg Drop

A new church in Alachua just had their 1st annual Egg Drop this past weekend. They were supposed to drop eggs from hot air balloons (hence the name “Egg Drop”) but it was too windy on Saturday so they scattered eggs in a field for an Easter egg hunt for the kids. It was so much fun!!

 

We got Cori this sweet Easter basket this year. I immediately thought of her the moment I saw it. I’m planning on getting her name embroidered on it so it can be her lifetime Easter basket. I wanted to get a matching one for Finley, but then I thought about the possibility of having more girls SO I decided I’d buy each kid their own basket at their own time so each one is special is it’s own way!

Cori did a great job hunting those eggs. She thought they were balls, which is probably why she was so excited about collecting them. The girl is OBSESSED with balls at the moment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cori’s good friends Aaron and Claire met us at the Egg Drop. Here is a picture of Cori and Claire as they hunted for eggs.

 

Here are the three of them strolling around after the hunt was over. Cori and Aaron rode together in our new DOUBLE BOB!! It’s a 2009, but in GREAT condition! I’m so excited about it and can’t wait for Finley to get here so she can ride in it too! We got it for 1/2 the retail price on Craigslist! Can’t beat that! On a side note – the family we bought it from are missionaries and were moving to the Philippines with their 2 sweet little girls. He is an aviation missionary and she is related to Nate Saint who was also an aviation missionary. Nate Saint is the one who flew the plane into the jungle of Ecuador (where I’ve been on a mission trip before) to bring the news of Christ. There is a movie based off his story called End of the Spear. I’ve actually been to Nate Saint’s house in Ecuador. SO COOL!

 

David snagged this picture of Cori holding Aaron’s hand. I thought it was so precious! She is such a lovey little girl! :)

 

We had such a great time out as a family and can’t wait for Easter next weekend! Unfortunately, our family picture didn’t turn out as I’d hoped, but we did get good pics of Cori with her mommy and daddy separately! Whatever works, right?!