Wow, I knew I was behind, but didn't realize it's been 6 weeks already! Yikes...thanks for the reminder mom!

Probably the biggest excitement in the last 6 weeks was that my baby girl turned one! We had a nice party for her at our house. Everyone was able to make it - Grandma and Grandpa Arbaugh, Todd & Kristin and the boys, Jody & Brian and the girls, Jeff & Trisha & Robby, Grandpa Maya (my mom), Grandpa and Grandma Lynn, Erin & David, Grandma Regentin, Grandma Vogel and Virgil. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anyone! Cora got a whole new wardrobe of clothes, which was perfect because she didn't have much for the winter.

Cora has been walking for a while now...she's actually starting to run now! She isn't talking much...once in awhile she says "mama" or "dada" or "hi"....but that's about it. The doctor said that's normal though. She had her one year check up a on 10/21/10...she was around 21lb and 29.5" long. She is in the 50th percentile for her weight and 75th percentile for her height. So, she is growing just fine.

This was an extremely busy "picture" month... I think I did around 12 sessions. I guess that would explain why I've been so absent from this blog!

Other excitement....we bought a fifth wheel! It's a 2001 Jayco Qwest....here's a few pics...Ok...I guess the pictures are up top...can't seem to figure out how to move them down here.

Halloween was today.....we ended up taking Nathan and Braden along with us because Todd and Kristin had to go to a funeral for Sara Wood. Blake was a hunter, Cora was a chicken, and Nathan and Braden were Star Wars characters...couldn't tell you which ones! Those pics are still on my camera....They had fun tonight though. We went to my Dad's, Grandma Vogel's, Aunt Peggy's, Aunt Gail's and Aunt Diane's. They were SO generous and got TONS of candy. Thank you all!!

Aunt Diane even gave us homemade popcorn balls...brings back memories of trick-or-treating when we were kids and going to Great-Grandma and Grandpa Peruski's.

Tom and I are in another weightloss competition with Jody and Brian...it started 10/1 and will go to 12/31. This one is a little less intense, as we are really focusing on eating healthy and making this a lifestyle change. If we all meet our goals, we are going to start another competition focused on maintaining our weight.

Cora had another tooth come in this week....top right...She now has 3 on top and 4 on the bottom.

Blake has been doing very well with pre-school. He had one bad day, and it took awhile but we figured out that the problem was he had to go #2 and didn't want to go at school...so he threw a terrible fit and didn't want me to leave. We haven't had any problems since then, and he really looks forward to going to school. He goes 2 days a week. He is starting to talk a little more about it...and about the kids in his class. He talks about this "girl with the beautiful hair and beautiful eyes...but she has a mad face." Too funny! He also mentioned "the girl with the little head." I'm trying to put "a name with the face" now that I have his class photo!

That's all for now....I'm gonna really try to keep this better updated from now on!!

Walking & Waving & School

Well...last week Cora took her first few steps and started waving - all on Labor Day - August 6, 2010. Can't believe she is starting to walk at 10months already. Craziness!!

Blake started pre-school on September 8th. He goes to Peace Lutheran in Sandusky, 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each time. He has been looking forward to it all summer, and was very excited on the first day. When I picked him up from school, he almost cried because he didn't want to leave. He said his favorite part was going outside to play. He says he didn't make any new friends because they "all had mad faces." I asked him if maybe the other kids were just being shy, and he thought that might be it. Looking at his class list, he is one of only 4 boys in a calls of 14 kids! It's hard to believe my baby boy is in pre-school already and how fast the time flies. Even harder to believe that Cora is going to be a year old already next month!

I've been very busy with photography as well. I've been trying to cut back and am learning to say No to some people, just so that I can manage my time better and be able to spend enough time with my family. The extra money has been nice, especially in this economy, but it stinks being gone more and spending so much time on the computer when I am home!

Cora talking & Blake's 3 year check up

Cora was saying ma-ma and da-da by the end of July. Over this past weekend, she started saying "up" and "uh-oh". Not real clear, but definitely repeating after us.

Blake had his 3 year check up at Dr. Kramer's today. I was afraid that he was going to freak out about getting shots. When I told him he had to get a shot, he acted like it was no big deal. I told him it would hurt for just a second and then it wouldn't hurt anymore. He even picked which leg he wanted the shot in. He cried from the initial pain, but got over it very quickly. I was SO proud of my big boy! Speaking of big...he is almost off the charts for his height - 41" tall which is above the 97th percentile and 37lbs, which is around the 93rd percentile. So, he's definitely a big boy! We also went to get his new bike after the appointment (which was a great bribe). His daddy accidentally ran over his other one that he got from Grandma Bower for his birthday.

Standing & Camping

We went on our first family camping trip last week up to North Park in Harbor Beach with Jody, Brian and the girls. We borrowed Dad and Lyn's pop up camper. It was a good time, except for the rain! We ended up going to John & Flo's in the middle of the night because I was sure that we were going to either get flooded or the camper was going to be picked up and blown away! We had fun and want to go again, but maybe not in a pop up next time! :-)

Cora is 9 months old now and is actually standing up by herself! Crazy stuff. I remember the day that Blake stood by himself, it was the day of his first birthday party! She is really doing her best to keep up with him. She is crawling, standing, pulling herself up, clapping her hands, shaking her head "no" when you tell her no, and she gives kisses too!

My baby boy turns 3 tomorrow. We celebrated his birthday last weekend with our family. He is really into Toy Story 3 right now, so he had a Buzz birthday cake. He had a great time. Some of his favorite gifts were his new bike and helmet (from Gramma Sue), Big Buzz (Gramma and Grampa A), fishing pole (Grandpa and Gramma Lyn), and his Leapster 2 (from us).

Blake amazes me everyday with his knowledge and wit. He speaks unbelievably clear and has for over a year now. He's a really good kid overall, love him lots! :-)

Milestones - clapping & talking

My little Cora, who will be 9 months old next week, started clapping her hands this weekend and trying to talk. She's starting to say mamamama and dadadada!! I'm quite sure she doesn't quite know what she's saying, but she repeated it enough all weekend that I think it's notable! :-) She is still pulling herself up like crazy and not far from standing on her own. Wow!

Today, Blake and I went out to play on his swingset. He climbed up his ladder to go down the slide. Once he got to the top he sat there and says to me, "Mama, wanna come down the slide with me?" I said, "no, I'm too big." He pauses and says with complete innocence, "Oh, your butt's too big mama?" Good thing I love that boy!!!

Yikes, where has time gone!

It's been a busy couple of months, obviously from the lack of my posts!

My Grandpa Regentin passed away June 5, 2010 down at Port Huron Hospital. It was a long, tough day. He ended up having a possible heart attack and obstructed bowel. Fortunately, he did not suffer and was not sick long. He was very healthy up until the end, at age 86. Love and miss him lots.

My little Cora is now crawling! She has been taking just a couple "steps" the last few weeks but finally today has really started taking off. The remote control or her bottle are great motivators for her!

Blake has been doing very well with the potty training. He has accidents now and then, but overall has done extremely well! He has only had one accident at night and it was shortly after he went to bed, and we had forgotten to put him on the potty before he went to bed (so much to remember!!). As a reward for him doing so well, I took him to Chucky Cheese down in Port Huron with Cora, my mom, Jody, Brianna and Kelsie. He loved it!!

Blake also had his first movie theater experience. We went to see Toy Story 3 at the Firebird Theater in Sandusky on Sunday, June 20th. He loved it! Pics are posted above.

Teeth!

Cora got her first tooth last Saturday, April 25th and her second one came through just yesterday - May 1st. Not sure if it was teething or what, but she had diarhhea for about 5 days, poor little thing. However she had just had her 6 month shots too, so it was probably a combination . Poor little thing. At least she is feeling better now, except for the teeth that is.

Blake is still a potty master! He even tried it standing up a few times today and liked it. Boy, does that make me nervous though..I'm gonna have pee everywhere in my bathroom!