We Got a Dog!

Okay, not a real one. But I got your attention, didn't I?! I'm very confident that this is as close as we'll ever come to getting a dog. Corinne doesn't know any different, and she seems quite happy with the plastic version.

15 Month Update

Corinne is 15 months old and more fun than ever! Overall, our observation is that Corinne's personality is definitely introverted when in unfamiliar places or with unfamiliar people. She does this shy/coy head tilt and a very tentative wave to new people. She is also a keen observer of everyone and everything! She is a happy girl and has this amazing smile that melts the heart of both strangers and friends. It is so very obvious that her spirit is extremely sweet and gentle. She loves to wave, dance, clap, shake, bounce, and do the twist! Though Lilly (our cat) is still not into Corinne, Little C remains quite enamored with her --especially touching her paws (as of late). A new favorite game of Corinne's is identifying her (and anyone else's) nose, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, hair, belly button, toes, and knees. Her favorite foods change from time to time, but generally include: kiwi, raspberries, strawberries, banana, avocado, yogurt, chicken and ice cream (my fault on that last one, I'm afraid). She has many words, including: baby, up, down, hi, bye, dad, peek, eyes, cup, duck, more, baaa (as in, what a lamb says), that, tree, and oh-oh. Then there are her words that are "almost there"--meaning, we know what she is saying because they closely resemble the real words: teddy, cracker, juice, bird, tweet, dog, woof, cat, tap, clap, twist, book, ball and car. Not bad, eh? Her pediatrician told us today that just 3 words is acceptable at this age! She is also able to do so much independently these days, like eating with a fork, putting her dirty clothes down the laundry chute, putting toys away and following detailed directions. Amazing! However, one thing she has been SLOW to grow in is her weight...she only eeked out one more pound or so since her last appointment, which puts her at a whopping 19.3lbs. Yes, folks, you read that right--we have not been able to turn her carseat around because she isn't even up to 20 lbs yet. Yikes! But she is maintaining her 5th percentile standing in that category:)So, on the days where I get anxious about this (which are becoming less and less, thankfully) I just tell myself that she eats well, drinks well, sleeps well, and is hitting all her developmental milestones with no problems. Sigh. Has anyone else out there been in our position? Just curious if our readers have any seasoned perspective to add. Thank goodness she is in the 75th percentile for height!! She grew 2 inches and now stands 31" tall. Perhaps she gets her tall lean body from Brett?

Anyway, we are loving life with Little C and can't wait for summertime (or even spring)! We love being outside and we are even more excited to take Corinne to the beach this summer.

March Madness

Both of my parents graduated from the University of Dayton and my dad recently got Corinne this cute cheerleading outfit for the express purpose of cheering on the Dayton Flyers. You see, my dad has season tickets to the UD men's basketball games and he said he just couldn't pass up this outfit for his one and only grand daughter. Here she is sporting it today in honor of their 2nd round game in the NCAA tournament. We were enjoying a little sunshine outside before tipoff (actually Corinne took a nap during the game...sorry Grandpa!)

The score at half time had Dayton losing to Kansas. Yikes! Corinne was just about ready to call Grandpa to ask him if the Flyers could pull it out in the 2nd half.

Unfortunately, Dayton lost the game. However, Corinne is practicing her basketball. Do you think she might be a lady Flyer someday? (Uh, not if my own skills are any indication)

Stroller

This is the stroller Corinne loves to load up with random things! She is quite good at steering it in the direction she chooses (which changes frequently). However, she has also invented some not so traditional ways of pushing the stroller--and gets mad when they don't work very well. Her mind is always working, that is for sure!

Going Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We celebrated by going out for some ice cream tonight. Sadly, it wasn't green :)

Bad Hair Dinner

Want to make your own hair do this? Just add food!

Same Game

Yes, it's still the same game--different scenery. What a great smile, though, huh? I couldn't resist. Corinne loves Peek-a-Boo, even now. Will she ever tire of it?! (sorry for the yucky view of the underside of the kitchen table!)

Here and There

Corinne likes to move things from here to there lately. It can be anything: A spoon from the dishwasher to her baby stroller. Teddy from her rocking chair to atop the toilet in the bathroom (lid down of course). Tupperware lids from the kitchen drawers to the living room coffee table. Lilly's stuffed toy bear from downstairs to upstairs. You get the idea. In this photo Corinne has carried her Noah's Ark (bottom half of the ark, only) from one room to the next. She must be searching for the right spot to set it! Too bad all of Noah's animals didn't get to make the journey...they must be somewhere else at the moment! Dry land, perhaps?

The Great Outdoors

Even though Corinne has been walking for a while now, the weather has not really permitted us to spend any time letting her explore outside using her new mode of transportation. However, this weekend we've had extremely warm weather--70's if you can believe it--and so Corinne finally got her chance to walk around outside. And she LOVED it! She discovered rocks, bark, twigs, grass, mud, leaves, and more. She showed no fear at walking as fast as she could in any direction she could. It was a blast to watch her go! (Too bad we couldn't get her to come in without tears--she liked it so much that even mealtime didn't motivate her to join us inside!) I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time outdoors as spring and summer arrive, and I'm pretty sure that I'm just as excited as she is! The uneven sidewalks didn't even slow her down!

Here she is ready to take a detour to the grass.

Checking things out--SO much to see!

And time for a little rest after taking time to touch the sidewalk...

Lately

Having just surpassed the 14 month mark, I thought I would give an update as to what Corinne is doing, saying, and generally "into".

Corinne's vocabulary is expanding and now includes: up, hi, bye-bye, uh-oh, baby, down, dad, mom, and her own slightly off version of book, bunny, and bath, which all generally sound the same and basically consist of "buh". She also talks to Lilly, our cat. It goes something like, "Hi, ye-ye!" And, when we were waiting for my dad to join us for lunch the other day I mentioned to her that Grandpa was coming and she uttered what very much sounded like "pa pa"--though I won't claim that as a vocabulary word yet!

Corinne is into trying to climb up or into everything! Into the bath, stroller, refrigerator and up the door and wall. We recently got out one of her Christmas gifts from Brett's mom, a box that includes a baby doll stroller, baby doll pac and play, baby doll bouncy seat, baby doll play gym, and a diaper bag. She LOVES the stroller, though she does not like to put her baby doll into it. Only random objects such as her cup of milk, a small green clip on bunny, and tupperware lids have gotten to enjoy the ride so far. Go figure!

Corinne is NOT into the nursery at church. But that is really nothing new. Her personality is very sweet, sensitive, and even shy, at times. She is most comfortable observing others and her surroundings when she is in new places--and then maybe she will join in. However, she is enjoying her music class on Wednesdays and has warmed up to the other kids and the teacher. I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows and changes through the next 12 weeks or so of her music class. It has been such a great experience already!

Corinne is happiest with those who know and love her. And no wonder--there are so many amazing people in her life that love to be with her! We are very thankful for all of you!

Here's to the next adventure, Little C!