Cora

Cora
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

I finally got some pictures of Cora this morning. She can be hard to catch on the run. She's usually engrossed in something else or doesn't want to be bothered by the presence of a camera.

more notes

pondering
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

Cora has enjoyed an unprecendented burst of creativity since turning five. Learning to read boosted her creative confidence in all areas. She now wanders off and draws pictures or colors on her own.

When we're in the car she'll read signs as we pass by and ask questions. The world has opened up to her, and it feels like she has been waiting for this age since she was eighteen months old.

Our sleep has evened out a bit as Oliver grows accustomed to life without Mommy milk. He has a transitional addiction to Elmo crackers. As soon as he wakes up he says "Emmo............cacka?" He has been devouring food all day long for a week or two now. He must be growing.

Notes

Oliver started putting words together this week. He says the first word, pauses, then says the second in a singsongy question. He already has some words like school bus that are more than one word, but now he is starting to express concepts.

Long week

Last week was a long one at the Wingate household. I started teaching my Monday/Wednesday night classes, we weaned Oliver; he did not appreciate it one bit and started waking up for the day at 4:30am every morning on the dot, getting out of bed and wandering around in the dark, knocking on the door pitifully. He's also breaking in four new teeth all at once.

Today he woke up at 4:50, so that's some improvement. We don't know exactly how he does it, but Oliver has a circus-like ability to crawl out of enclosures. We've never seen him actually do it, so there's still an element of mystery to how he pulls it off. It involves kicking one leg up over the rail and then heaving his body up after it. But that takes a lot of strength. He's manly.

We retired Oliver's crib because he fell out once and was halfway out a second time when Kate came into the room. With his recent nightly wanderings we decided he needed to be contained for us to have any sanity. Rather than reassemble the crib and risk another high fall, we set up the portable play pen in his room. It's roughly the size of a crib but lower to the ground; the rails are at his eye level or a bit higher, so it should still be tough or impossible for a baby to climb out. Sure enough, at 4:50am this morning he woke up and started crying. A minute later we heard him plodding around in the dark, looking for a door to knock on. He didn't crash to the ground or make a thud; one moment he was in the playpen and the next moment he was out. He's a little Houdini. The playpen did help, though. We put him back down and he slept until 6:00. It was probably too much trouble to escape over and over again.

Cora, on the other hand, has been a dream. She enjoys school soooo much. She has had two sleepovers at friends' houses the last two weekends, so she really knows she's growing up.

Oliver--One Year Ago

Boy, kids grow up quickly...

Oliver has been a trip lately. His personality is blooming. He is absolutely obsessed with school buses and trucks, squealing with delight whenever we pass them on the street. "Boo Buck!" (School bus) "KUK! (Truck)

We were riding in the car a few days ago and listening to some old-time music on the radio. Uncle Dave Macon came on the radio. We didn't know that Oliver was really listening, but as soon as the music started he called out "Dad Dad!" for Granddad, who plays guitar. Then a day or so later, he pointed to a small picture of a fiddle on the wall and said "Dad Dad!" again. He obviously has Granddad's musical style and instruments pegged. Then when Grandma Sally was over for dinner he tried to strum the image of a fiddle on her shirt. He has been mesmerized by music since he was very young, when he crawled up to anyone playing an instrument and tried to strum the strings.

All By Self

hammock boy
Originally uploaded by Wingates.

When Cora was Oliver's age she would often refuse our help with any task and say "All by self. All by self." Oliver has reached that stage. He wants to do everything all by self. Going down stairs, putting on shoes, eating with utensils...all by self. He was in the hammock all by self and flipped out onto the ground moments after this picture was taken.

We enjoyed a visit from my lifelong friend Alex this weekend. Oliver called him Ack. Uncle Ack it is. Both kids loved Alex, and we managed to fit in some grown-up catch-up time as well as kid playtime. We took Cora to her first baseball game at the minor league stadium. We caught a foul ball, so Cora even got a nice souvenir.

Oliver's Mane