Hands On Museum and Botanical Gardens

Corinne and I had a very busy day. We rolled out of bed, had breakfast, got dressed and took off to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum with our playgroup. We had fun. As you can see, the slide and water table were Corinne's favorites.

She kneels at the top of the slide. When I tell her to sit on her butt she just moves her legs out more so her butt touches the slide, and then she pushes off. She was doing what I asked, but you can see it made her position on the slide very strange.

The water table was her favorite spot. Those raincoat smocks are genius. She splashed enough to drench her face and hair.

We stopped by the botanical gardens to take in some warm, thriving, living things on this cold January day. I know it helped my overall mood. She ran around and pet the plants, touched the rocks, and played in the dirt. We both thought the gardens were a treat.

Holidays, where did you go?

Okay, I see I have not had an entry since Kevin's birthday. Perhaps I owe the blog a bigger apology than I thought. Corinne and I were sick for most of December, it has not been a healthy Winter over here. We still had a blast and got to visit and play with those we love. Here are some pictures from our fantastic visit with Amy, Tiffany, Tommy, and Sam before we got sick.

Dear Blog

Dear blog,
I am sorry. I did not mean to neglect you. Life just came between us. Please accept my sincere apology. Here are a few pictures of my time away:

Crying babies and the Nicholls Family on Jessica's First Birthday

Cousins Playing on a Super Fun Slide at Grandma's

So Sweet

Playdate with Colin

Now that we have that out of the way. Everyone is doing pretty well over here. Corinne had another cold that she passed on to Kevin last week. They are both feeling good now, but still congested.

Corinne has mastered running around the house. One of her favorite games is chase. She finds Kevin or I hiding in the kitchen laundry room waiting for her, then she dashes off back to the family room and we chase her. Another very fun game is with the exercise ball, she will push it anywhere once she goes to get it.

As some of you may know, I am theoretically anti-TV for the little one. I don't think she should NEVER watch it, but I don't think it should be on most of the day. When Kevin comes home and the TV is off she greets him with a big smile, finds the remote, carries it to him, opens his hand, puts it in his hand, and snuggles up to him for them to enjoy Lazytown together. I love and hate this. It is adorable to see her so happy and for them both to totally enjoy their cuddle time, but the TV corrupts it all for me.

Happy Birthday Daddy

We Love Bubbles

My Computer Is Home

About a week ago my computer was sent off to the doctor. The backlight stopped working and the hard drive went kaplooey. Sadly, I had not backed up my pictures since 10/4/09. So, the last month and half has been lost. I had a really cute picture of the three of us I wanted to share, and wish I had. Then I could download it and have it again. I am sad, but not a huge deal.

Corinne is taking 5-6 steps regularly. It is pretty awesome watching her put the pieces together. She started climbing the sofa the other day. We taught her to get back down feet first. She crawls to the very edge face first and then turns around to get down. It is adorable. She is babbling more and more. Still saying "yeah", "mama", and "dada / daddy". She studies her books often, she really loves them.

We are excited the holiday season has begun. We are hosting Thanksgiving next week. Then Amy, Tiffany, Tommy, and Sam are coming 2 weeks later. I am thrilled for the craziness to begin. Kevin might not be as excited. Corinne is great at opening things now. So, presents should be super fun. I just wanted to post a quick update because I can, because my computer is home.

Beautiful November Day

Steps

Halloween was a blast. Corinne dressed up in her turtle and bundled up to give out candy to all the kids that came to see her. Our wonderful neighbors were disappointed we didn't take her trick or treating because they had made her goody bags of treats she could eat. I love them, they couldn't be sweeter.

Simba got a new costume this year. I think he looks cute. Corinne thinks it is hilarious.

We also went to the zoo for part of our Halloween celebration. She adored the train and the tigers, it was very cool.

Corinne is now taking 5+ steps at a time on her own, but she still doesn't care that much about walking. She is such a fast crawler, it just seems she could care less. She is cutting her upper front teeth and in a growth spurt. So, she is still a pleasure most of the the day, but she is extra cranky when she is sleepy.

Corinne does more than laugh, but...

Here is a sneak peek at Corinne's Halloween costumes:




This video shows Corinne's mood when we have pancakes for dinner:

Why do we have toys?

All she needs is her Simba Dog and a sock.

OT 26-20 Victory for MSU

What a fantastic game! 26 to 20 in overtime, and GREEN and WHITE one. Corinne was sporting her MSU sweatsuit and she and I were thrilled with the outcome.


Kevin was less thrilled...