Fall Photo Shoot

Today started out breezy and cold, but later this afternoon the weather turned perfect for a fall photo shoot. Surprisingly I didn't really go all out on Cora's Halloween costume this year. The whole idea came together because Anna talked me into buying a cute orange and black shirt in size 9 month for Cora. I wasn't sure that it would fit in time for Halloween, but it looks like the shirt will work. The tutu idea came after I saw something similar at Art in the Park for $30 (I think mine cost less than $5 to make). The hat I scored at Target for $1 and I made her some cute booties with little pumpkin bells on them to complete the ensemble. Across the street from our house there is a giant tree that dumps a ton of beautiful leaves each fall. Since the house if vacant, I thought I would venture over and set up a little photo shoot for Cora. Here are the results.

Starting To Tumble To The Side
Another Side Lying Shot

Thinking of Casting a Spell

Perfect

Next it was to our backyard for a change of venue. We have a little maple tree that has great purple/maroon leaves each fall. Cora was SO excited to get to sit in these leaves. She was waving her arms up and down, patting the leaves, and making cute little excited noises.

Mmmm Yummy Leaves

She did pretty well looking at the camera, even if it was only for a second.

She looked at them so thoughtfully in this shot.

It was a fun way to spend part of an afternoon. Now the little girl is sleeping peacfully. Hopefully she will take a good nap and sleep through the night for me. A mom can wish, can't she?

9 Mile Training Run

Wow, what a day today started out to be. Here is the background. I worked Wednesday night, came home Thursday morning and was able to sleep from about 830-1030. Thursday night I went back to work and came home on Friday morning and was able to sleep from 1030-1145 or so. So that is 3.5 hours of sleep I was running on and trying to get through Friday. Friday afternoon was great. Mike's sister Chrissy was in town for a visit and Cora adored her. We had a great lunch together and spent part of the afternoon visiting. Later in the afternoon I went for an excellent hike in the foothills with a friend and her baby girl. This all was making eating out for dinner more and more appealing. Mike and I met up with a couple of friends for a nice dinner outside, enjoying the fall weather. After dinner and a quick stop at Costco we all came home to relax. Around 930 I was pooped and Cora and I headed for bed. Cora decided that it would be fun to wake me up every hour almost on the hour screaming. I tried everything. She wasn't hungry and her diaper was fine. I felt so badly for Mike who had to get up and go to work today, but then again I know he is probably napping in the recliner or watching TV as I type.

Needless to say I was VERY tired this morning and really didn't feel like running for 9 miles. I looked outside and I didn't see the rain that was in the forecast so I decided to get everyone ready for our run. Everyone was ready, the dogs were pumped, and then I opened the back door only to hear the rain pounding against the patio cover. So now, I had to try and calm two VERY excited dogs and get a tired baby to sleep (she usually naps on these runs). Well, I got Cora to sleep for a whole 30 minutes and then tried the whole thing again. Here she is all bundled up in Cougie (our Chariot, I name everything).

Cora all tucked in for the run

My running entourage

The run started out beautifully. Nice crisp fall weather and beautiful trees to view along the way. About mile 4 it started to rain. Thankfully I had a lightweight jacket in the back of Cougie and Cougie has a cover to keep Cora dry. So we kept trotting along. It rained on and off for the rest of the run. About mile 7.5 Cassius started to limp. I was thinking oh great, now I am going to have to carry a 60+ pound dog for a mile and a half while trying to push a jogging stroller. Actually, I didn't want to have to walk the 1.5 miles home in the rain. I examined his foot and he had a split in one of his pads. Poor guy, but I discovered that if we ran on the sidewalk where it was smooth he could run just fine. Apparently, the asphalt/chip seal stuff bothered his foot.

We made it home and things have been a bit better since. I was able to clean the bathroom and get a shower which is always a bonus when you are home with a baby. Cora took another 30 minute nap, and now I am hoping to run some errands. Hopefully things go ok.
The adventures of being a mom......

A Fall Day at the Park

Cora and I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon. I wanted to get out and enjoy the wonderful fall weather before I had to go back to work tonight. Cora had a fun time swinging and watching the lawn maintenance team cut the grass. It was a nice way to spend some time with my girl on a Thursday afternoon.

Barber 2 Boise

In training for a half marathon next month today on our training schedule it called for running a 10K race. A couple of weeks ago I started looking around to see if there was a race that would work with the schedule. Thankfully Barber 2 Boise was slated for the right day. I was happy to know that a couple of our good friends were running as well. It is always nice to have a crew to run with. So this morning Cora and I packed everything up and headed to Kendall and Christian's house where we would later walk to the starting line, Barber Park. This is a random photo that accidentally got taken by the woman we had asked to take a group photo. I was trying to explain to her how to use the camera, and whoops this is what happened.
So this is the photo that we wanted. A happy crew. Left to right: D with Cora, Kendall, Christian, and Wendy.

Cora sporting my racing number. It was pretty interesting trying to run in a big race with a stroller. For the first two miles I was caught up in the crowds, but finally broke away and caught back up with Wendy and Kendall to finish up the race. I also met up with Angie, who ran a marathon with me.

Cora and I at the finish line in Bronco Stadium. Coming into the last turn I had a little moment. I was thinking how cool it was running a 10K with my daughter. Growing up I never thought I was athletically inclined. Over the last 5 years or so I have become more and more active and I am so happy I have chosen this healthy lifestyle. Being able to share this healthy life with my daughter and to be able to set a good example for her makes me not only happy but proud. I hope this is the first of many races with her.

Cora's New Toy

This post should actually be titled Mike's new toy. Ever since we knew we were having a baby Mike has said that he wanted to get a walker for the baby. He finally got to do that on Friday. He was so excited, and thankfully Cora was SO excited about the new toy.

At first she went for the bears, gnawing them terribly. Then it was time for movement. She was motoring all over the kitchen.

Mike was excited to give Cora some cheerios while she was motoring around the kitchen. After all, she needed some carbs to fuel all her motion :)

September & October Update

On the 25th of September Cora and I participated in America's Largest all Women's 5K Race, Walk, or Stroll with our friends' Christina and Breckin. I was pretty excited because this was my first race (even though I was just walking) since I had Cora and because it was Cora's first race as well. Even more cool was that we got to share it with Christina and Breckin (who is supposed to marry Cora someday).

The photo above shows Cora and I at the start line just in front of the state capitol. She was all decked out in her Boise State Bronco Gear to show support for our team. I never really was one for school spirit while I was going to BSU, but now that I have two degrees from BSU I guess I could show a little support.

Here are Cora and Breckin awaiting the start of the race. They have it pretty cush in their Chariots. I have to say, strolling along in a race with a yummy cup of coffee isn't so bad either. The course took us through downtown, up next to the train depot, across the bench, and we finished in Ann Morrison Park. The scenery for the race was perfect as was the weather.

October 9th was the annual open house for Eagle Fire Department. I have always gone in the past with my friends and their children so this year it was pretty special that I could take Cora. Mike was working, so his crew was down at the main station helping out with the festivities. He was a pretty proud daddy. I LOVE this photo of them.

After the open house Cora and I went home for a nap and then it was off to Breckin's house for his first birthday celebration. What a fun party. It was great to see all the kids that have been born over the last year in our circle of friends. I feel really blessed that Cora will have such a great crew to grow up with. Below is a photo of Kevin, Breckin's grandpa, holding Cora.

These photos are from the other day. I was trying to get some cooking done inside and Mike wanted to work in the yard for a bit. Cora wasn't too interested in sitting in her bouncer or playing on the floor so I asked Mike to pack her around in the Kelty while he picked up the dog doo doo. She was so happy. I watched them from the kitchen window and she spent the entire time just looking around the backyard and playing with the rope on the inside of the back pack. Oh yeah, don't ask me about Mike's outfit, it is pretty funny though with the black long socks, slip on shoes, and plaid swim trunks.

Here is Cora all set up to go in the Kelty. She was so content. I can't wait to take her out this Fall for some day hikes. This Kelty will come in handy for snowshoeing as well.

Cassius is pretty fond of Cora and Cora is very fond of Cassius. I think this photo depicts a bond that these two are going to have over the time we have with Cassius. Cassius is so great with her. He is always checking in on her while she is in her bouncer and often gets in trouble because he wants to check on her while she is napping, which usually wakes her up because he isn't very good at sneaking in her room. Often times, I will catch him trying to push her door open with his nose and if I do, he will just lay in the hall outside her door until she wakes up. Cassius makes Cora laugh. They are so cute together.

That is it for now. Cora and I are running her first 10K on Saturday. I am so excited! I can't wait to post photos.

Cora's Bouncer Workout

Today while I was working on a sewing project I placed Cora in her bouncer. This way she could have some fun and stay entertained, and I could get a little work done on a project I started about a week ago. She was going CRAZY for almost 45 mintues. I couldn't believe she stayed happy for so long. Hope this makes you smile, or laugh out loud like it did for me.

Update, it's been a long time

Wow, I have been a big old slacker when it comes to updating this blog! With Facebook it seems that I have been doing more with that rather than posting here. My goal is to work a little bit more with the blog and a little less with Facebook since I can't tell the whole story on Facebook.

Ok so here we go with the update. About a month after I made the last post to this site we found out we were pregnant, due in May 2010. We spent the fall, winter, and first part of spring getting ready for our little one to arrive. I headed back to school in the fall watching my belly grown through the rest of my clinical rotations. On May 5th I listened to my last lecture on line for school, got a pedicure and a haircut, and went to sleep. The next morning my water broke and after Mike got home from work we made our way to the hospital. After an unexpected c-section (Cora was breech & we didn't know it), our little girl arrived.

After she was born I spent the next month studying for my nursing boards. After that we spent the summer traveling and enjoying getting to know the newest addition to our pack. We traveled to Seattle, Twin Falls, San Francisco, Northern Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and many camping trips closer to home. Cora is a rock star traveler and camper and we are so excited about all the adventures to come.

After Labor Day I went back to work, but this time as an RN. Work is going well. Trying to adjust to being on night shift, which is going better than I expected, and being away from Cora and Mike on a more frequent basis.

Hmmmm, what else? Oh yeah, Mike and I decided it would be fun to train for a 1/2 marathon together. So on November 6th we will be running the Zeitgeist Half Marathon here in Boise. I am really excited since I haven't run a bigger race since before I was pregnant and because I will be running with Mike this time.

So there is the basic update. I will continue to post here all the happenings of our pack. Stay tuned.