The trip down to visit e-noni wasn’t so bad. The drive down was hard cause he only slept maybe an hour of the 7 hours to get down there due to traffic. He was irritated and we were pulling all the tricks we knew to keep him occupied. We were both exhausted by the time we got there. Cory ran around getting into everything at the apartment. Mom had a pot roast ready for us. Cory barely ate anything. He was too wound. Finally it came time for bath and bedtime. He didn’t want the bath at all- probably cause it was a sign of bedtime and he was having trouble settling down. We did get him settled and he slept in e-noni’s room.  We walked a few blocks and wandered the beach. It was neat to see all the sea creatures washed up like the egg cases and shells and seaweeds and horseshoe crabs. Cory wasn’t too happy about walking on the sand at first, but eventually he got down on the harder sand and picked up things and put them in bags with e-noni.

Jay and I went out for the afternoon and evening as Cory enjoyed his time with e-noni. Jay and I spot shopped at some stores. Then we went to the boardwalk and looked around and ate at the Hilton. It was very good. Cory definitely calmed down and did get a bath that he didn’t want out of and ate a good dinner and slept well with e-noni. Jay and I got to sit up and talk and sleep in. It was great. Sunday morning we drove off to the zoo and mom followed us so we didn’t have to turn around being a half hour closer to our destination-home. Oh yes, and we saw the elephants. The favorite.

Drive home was much better.  There wasn’t the traffic and Cory slept most of the way. We did make a pit stop to stretch and have snacks. It seems that last hour home was hard. He was done and ready to be home.

All week Cory’s been waking up wet or really upset in the middle of the night. I don’t think Jay or I got more than 6 hours sleep any night. Of course for some of you, you may think that’s a good night’s sleep. I need at least 8 hours or I’m unfunctioning. I’ve been so tired all week. i can’t wait for the weekend so Jay and I can get some sleep.

Pippin started peeing on things0 specific things. Like plants and Penny’s bed while we were gone. We’re gonna take him to the vet to see if he has an infection or I can kick his butt for being a brat!

We went to visit new baby Ella yesterday. She is beautiful and Chloe is seconds away from walking. She was happy tearing up paper from her present of books and Cory was the one being a whiny  toddler. Their poor cat wasn’t used to a toddler chasing her around! The two toddlers had a little piano duet.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrishel/2926806130/ 

We played with toys for awhile and stopped at a diner on the way home thinking it was better to feed Cory sooner. That was a bad idea. Hind sight, we should have taken him home. Let him get a half hour snoozer and then feed him. He was terrible. squirm and all. We have been trying the strapless booster seats in booths lately. It really doesn’t work well unless we have straps. So we might be back to highchairs eating out. He’s been doing fine in his booster with a buckle at home.

The weekend is drawing closer and I can’t wait for some sleep.

I decided I was tired of scrubbing down a dinner table and highchair every meal, so Jay and I set up his travel booster seat without the tray at the table. He suddenly likes eating at the table and with a plate. That doesn’t mean the food always stays on the plate, but we’ll get there. I feel like it was a huge accomplishment. We gave Cory a light breakfast of a few Cheerios and watermelon from the one that Grandma brought over from her garden. At his snack time we went to Big Apple Bagles and had a bigger breakfast before we went next door to get shoes. His toes have been smooshed in his size 4s, and the Robeez aren’t going to cut it for outside play. A woman helped us find shoes for him that were a thumb too big. We got the only pair or Robeez Tredz in his size and another higher topped shoe. It was a good thing we had that gift certificate from the Coleman’s because two pairs of good fitting nice shoes would have cost me just under 100 bucks. I can’t imagine paying $50 every time he grows out of shoes! Of course, I spend more than that every time he grows out of clothes. This afternoon we went to Eliza’s birthday party. Our friend Amanda’s daughter is now one. How exciting. Cory thought it was his job to go over and open presents. He also thought if he started playing with something it’s his. I guess this is from being an only child and being the only kid at the babysitter except for the 3 year old twice a week. I made a shepherd’s pie for dinner. I made fresh mashed potatoes and found some mushrooms in the fridge to cook with the meat. It was going to be great, because Cory loves mushrooms. Of course, I pull it out of the oven to serve, and EW! It smelled so strong. I used shitaki mushrooms instead of white caps. Don’t do that. It was really horrible. Cory scooped around some bits and did eat a spoon or two. At this point Jay left to get some salads from Wendy’s cause we were both too tired to think about cooking AGAIN. Cory made a terrible mess of his all over the table and him, and then finally looked up at me and said “Mama…ba ba.” Whether my child was reminding me that I was “bananas” for making such a terrible mistake on dinner or he was telling me dinner was so horrible he should just have a banana, I felt both interpretations were accurate and did cheer me up.

Where oh where can by baby be? He’s absolutely gone. Now I have this incredible toddler, through and through. It seemed over night he’s transformed into this comprehending creature. He has been responding so well to our questions. He makes simple decisions, like what he wants for dinner (peas or green beans). He shakes his head and nods to answer questions. He picks up more words than we can count at this point. Art seems to be his favorite thing next to riding his rocking horse (Jay’s old one, that he can climb on himself) and being outside. Poor kid, not too many days left of good weather to be outside.

We also got him a demolition set. I have to admit. I have been avoiding getting “boy toys.” I thought it was more important for him to be well rounded and play with blocks and balls and rings and dolls and trucks too. However, I caved in and got this Fisher Price, Little Poeple set where boulders and blocks get blown up and the people drive around noisy cranes and trucks that dump and spill and blow more things up. He loved it. Boys like to blow things up. He spend a whole afternoon playing with Jay. There is also a new Mr. Potato Head I got with some parts from Craig’s List that others didn’t want any more. Mostly Cory thinks it’s mini dress up for him. He’ll try on the glasses and hats. What a riot, him walking around with teeny tiny plastic yellow glasses on. Maybe he wants dress up clothes? Hats and glasses!

All in all, I’m just so impressed by the person he’s becoming. He is slowly learning not to push the buttons on the TV or Stereo. He gets a time out if he disobeys. It seemed to work in a short amount of time. He’ll stand next to it, but with a reminder (and his totally throwing a fit) he won’t touch it. It feels good to know he can follow directions (even if it’s painful). This weekend we went to a birthday party for Emma who’s 4. Also, I got terribly sick. So much for just one infection. I got a secondary one. I pretty much just has the sniffles and a sore throat now, but boy was it like a whammy of a flu. Cory has had a runny nose, but doesn’t seem too sick. It could be teeth pushing through more. We all seem to be surviving and getting by week by week- spending most of our time marveling at our growing child.

The is nothing more precious than listening to my little boy. In fact this week I wish he’d keep doing it. I’m sure it’s allergies, but I have a terrible pressure in my ear and a hum that wont STOP. When there’s other sound or I talk, it goes away. Of course, as a symptom, it’s called tentinitus- ringing in your ear. I can be from lots of things. Mine is from an ear ache. It’s frustrating to the point I made a dr. appt. because I take allergy meds and I took all kinds of congestion medicine that didn’t work. In any case TV helps a lot, so while Jay is out with his buddies for the evening, Cory and I have been watching episode after episode of Pokoyo. It’s adorable! It’s an English/Spanish production. The episodes are shorter than Elmo and Cory is really starting to like it. He dances and names the animals. It’ll be hard laying in bed when it’s quiet and I can’t enjoy the precious noise of my toddler and all I hear is a low irritating hummmmmmmmmmmmmm…

Just an addition to the night: There are a few sure signs of teething. Typically, Cory will get fussy, have his fingers in his mouth constantly, drool, get a runny nose, and then diarrhea. A parent earns a new merit badge when your child poops in his crip with runny mess oozing out of his diaper and then, when no one comes, because he’s supposed to be napping, paints in the mess all over his crib, sheet, toys, blanket, and self. It didn’t look nearly as bad as I make it sound, but it was pretty gross.

With Cory’s canines now coming in from the bottom and top, he is a cranky, snotty, whinny mess. In between the tantrums and mucus moments, there are the adorable ones. Last night Cory was running around giggling just before bed time. We had gone out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant, Masa, and he was very well behaved. We finished early and he had tempura banana and then we went to Toys R Us. The initial goal was to get new sippy cups.  Our dishwasher accidentally was set to heat dry and a lot of our sippy lids and bits were melted on the bottom. However, we did also get his Halloween costume- guess I’m not making it this year. It’s pretty cute and Cory and Jay like it. You’ll get to see it in a month or so- Jay won’t let me share what it looks like. ANYWAY…we got home and before bed he was climbing and giggling around on our large floor pillows. He put his head down and did a forward roll. Of course we ran off to get the camera and he pretty much fell down all over and didn’t repeat his stunt. Sunday we went to church with the Coleman’s to see Nora and Allie’s baptism. It was sweet. They had candles and even small quilts that were passed around and the congregation knotted a string and said a prayer. They also had Worship Bags. I really liked the idea. Small book bags with coloring books, story books, crayons, a toy, and a snack inside - age appropriate- for kids to play with. Cory did end up at the “cribery” adjacent to the two year old room.  They also did a video conference from Ganah, Africa with their missionaries. It was a pretty big church that had three worship halls simultaneously. We were at the contemporary one with a band and singers and folding chairs. Cory was pretty cranky the rest of the time. He wasn’t very polite at the Coleman’s after-party. We went home and strait for a nap after a brunch snack at their house. It was nice seeing Andrea’s parents, too. They are still prettty active in the community and especially at York Little Theatre. Wayne will be in Pirates of Panzance. I should ask my dad to go and Grandma to watch Cory. The sad news was that Wayne has cancer and is going through trials. Prayers for them. I also took some personal time out to go shopping. I saw an outfit that Courtney’s sister was wearing and had to get it. So I did…and got Jay some clothes and Cory new toys. I finally caved in to the fact that I have boy and got him a demolition truck set. I thought he’d hate it and that he liked playing house and kitchen and dolls and generic things like blocks and balls. Of course he loved it and played with it with Jay most of the afternoon. I was a little grossed out by the excitement of blowing up blocks and rolling boulders around with trucks and cranes. If I have another, it should be a girl, so I can buy LOTS OF PINK. If- meaning after grad school. Watch I’ll have another boy…

Now, keep in mind, there are only the ones I wanted to have prints of. Not that my other cousins aren’t adorable, I just like these the best. I’ve edited and fixed them up a bit and here’s the collection I got:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrishel/sets/72157607205793256/

He’s starting to recognize grandparents. We’ve got “Pa” and sometimes “”Ma”, and now we have “NaNa” for e-noni. Don’t have Dzaidzi yet!

Last time Cory was at the York Fair, he was about three months old. He got to do more this time:

Petting Zoo

Played Games

Watched “Ma” and “Pa” show their sheep

Saw the exibits and other animals

Last week was busy and we did find one hot afternoon on our way home from the sitter to stop and meet Daddy for some time at the park.

This weekend Jay and I went out to dinner and we saw a beautiful double rainbow after the remains of the hurricane went through. Cory stayed with Dzaidzi and even got a new doggie toy with buttons.

We went shopping that afternoon during the rain, and ran into the Colemans looking for baptism dresses. We went to Tumble Town. Poor Cory was overwhelmed at first. He even got jumped on by another kid. Who didn’t say anything because Jay was giving him a terribly angry face. The kid did look very sorry…and scared.

I just had Open House and grad class in one night. I’m a little worn out, but I just got outfits and pictures from the grandchildrens’ photo shoot in FL and I’d like to look at them. Gald to share once I dig through.

This weekend we missed being with Grandma and “PA!” as they prepared and showed their sheep in MD, but we did get to spend a lot of time with other friends family. Thursday we had dinner at the Coleman’s before Matt and Courtney left on their trip to FL for a concert and some couple time.  Saturday we went to my PopPop’s 80th birthday which took place at “The Shore” where I remember swimming and playing with cousins. It’s mostly a marina now with boats on the Chesapeake inlets. It was a surprise party and everyone seemed to have a great time. There was plenty of food and family I haven’t seen in a very long time. Cory ran around and everyone admired his energy and cuteness. Even some women on the pier stopped to talk to Dzaidzi who was feeding baby ducks with Cory. He’d tear a piece off for Cory to feed the ducks and Cory would eat the bread. Poor ducks. We headed home after about four hours and he was so tired. At this point he had two days of one hour naps. He slept the whole way home and was awake when we got there. Sunday we were short grandparents and our adoptive grandparents, Phil and Katie at church. Monday we stopped over to Jay’s great Aunt Ruth and Uncle Elmer’s for some flea market stationary supplies I got to have first dibs at. I ended up with binders and paper and markers and dustless chalk (I’m always trying to get the school to get that) and markers and highlighters and folders, staplers, tape dispensers, and more. It was like a one stop shop instead of going to Office Max! She had toys our for Cory to play with like a spring horse, wooden swing, a ball and bat, bubbles, and a visit to the neighbor’s pool. We chased Cory around and even got ice cream cones and sprinkles. Jay got lots of compliments on what a wonderful dad he is. Cory finally took a good nap on Monday. Three days without a good nap was starting to wear us all out. I spent some time in the morning making sure all my ducks were in a row for the first day of school tomorrow. I got most of it together, but it wasn’t all done. I have a few things to put away and make sure I have copies for. Otherwise I’m ready to go. I hope Cory is ready to go back to the sitter. I hope Jay is ready to deal with me having school and grad class…and PMS!

With his canines coming in, Cory seems to be eating well. It may be tomato picking from our garden…he’s learning red ones taste better. Or, my favorite, breakfast time where he thinks every blueberry is nectar from the gods.

He’s being playing a lot with his baby dolls, but this morning, dinosaurs were back on the play list.

I spoke with my professor, he told me to calm down and not to worry about missing the class. He just said when I have a student who goofs up real bad to remember and tell him that I once screwed up real bad too. It seems like I’m going to like the class. He’s the exact opposite of me, so we’ll see how it’ll go in the learning process!