And Then There Were Three

Last year at this time we were only days away from welcoming Corinne into our family. Amazing! What a difference a year makes...

Downtown Adventures

Our plan was to see the trains at the Duke Energy Building downtown, but the line was crazy long...similar to waiting in line to ride a rollercoaster at King's Island, only lots more kids and no humidity! So we watched through the window for a while and then headed over to Fountain Square to watch the ice skaters. After a few too many of them crashed into the wall right below us we went to Graeter's and Corinne tasted her first (gasp!) bit of ice cream from this amazing Cincinnati establishment. A day to remember, for sure.

Teamwork

And together they got it done! Corinne read the directions and then supervised Brett's work. What a team.

Brett & Corinne

Priceless.

Cover Those Ears

Corinne handled her hat surprisingly well, I thought. Her only venture out this weekend was to Target with her daddy since she's not been feeling well. Of course I made her wear a hat to cover her ears, and here she is getting ready to go. Lilly is in the background and I can only imagine what she's thinking...she's not even supposed to be on the table (!) but she probably figured it might be a good show with this funny pink thing on Corinne's head.

Ear Infections...

are NO fun. An inevitable part of growing up, I suppose. But they stink. Poor Corinne.

Corinne's Friend, Baby Gwyn

Corinne met her new friend, Gwyn, the other night when we went to visit new parents Ryan and Lauren! Gwyn was born on November 21st and so this picture captures about a year's worth of growth by showing newborn to (almost) one year old between the two girls. Wow! Ryan and Lauren have so much to look forward to!! They are already awesome parents and little Gwyn is a very lucky girl. I can't wait for Corinne and Gwyn to be playmates...I wonder what kind of mischief they'll stir up together?!? Or maybe it's the parents who will do that...?

Look Who's 11 Months Old Today!

Corinne was born 11 months ago today, and perhaps the only thing more significant than that is that now we are officially counting down to her FIRST birthday!Here is our sweet girl after having opened the desk drawer to find...a piece of candy! It is so amazing to me that Corinne knows the difference between toys, plain old inatimate objects, and food--even if she has no idea what the food is and has never seen it before she has some kind of radar that lets her know when she comes across something edible! And then she immediately wants it. Case in point: this picture. How did she know this was a piece of candy? The funny part: she's trying to eat it, even with the wrapper. Whew--that's a good thing--we'll be holding off on candy for as long as possible. Mostly because I have the worst sweet tooth on the planet, I'm sure, and if she inherited that then we're definitely in trouble.

Things Corinne is into:
throwing her socks out of her crib after naps
avocado and banana
climbing the steps
pointing to eyes: animals', people's, anything that has them!
walking her lion
reading her books
bath time
doll baby
the phone
playing at, around, and in (!) the dishwasher
crossing her legs
smiling for the camera
sucking her thumb while twirling her hair
eating her barettes
laying on, hugging, and "kissing" her teddy bear
crawling up onto the dining room table from the chair

Taming the Lion

Remember just a few weeks ago when Corinne was riding her lion? Well now she has quickly mastered walking her lion. I think that walking (without lion's help) is right around the corner--I can't wait! It's amazing to us how much Corinne has changed since September when she turned 9 months old. Since then each week really does bring something new as she adds one more step, layer or level to an already mastered skill. It's pretty fun to watch. And, Corinne definitely enjoys her new found freedom, as well. Way to go, Little C. We are so proud of you, smart girl.

Conquering the Steps

This is how Corinne begins her ascent to the top of our stairs (there are 12 in all, after the landing). Just the other day she climbed the stairs at least 3 complete times, with increasing speed. Her secret motiviation: the grouping of photos of Brett, Corinne, and I which hang in the hallway at the top of the stairs. She LOVES to look at pictures these days! When she climbs all the way to the top of the stairway she then proceeds to stand up against the wall and look up at the framed photos that still hang several feet above her. She beams and talks and points at them each time she gets close to them. It's very sweet and so neat that she recognizes her family. Anyway, here are a few pictures taken at various stages of one of her "rookie" climbs just one week ago. Now her climbing skills have become second nature! (I'm going to work on getting some pictures of her from the top...but that's tricky during the day since I follow behind as her safety net:)