it's finally her turn! cora goes to preschool:

this fiesty girl has been waiting and longing to go to preschool like hazel for like the past two years. well, today her turn finally came!  she was so excited!

obsessed with this 3-year-old

she's a spitfire

for every moment they make me want to pull my hair out, there are a dozen moments like this.

hazel:
has to make a wish on every dandelion on our walk home from school
is still obsessed with the number 11
asks for hot chocolate even on warm days
is always saying also-ly, "let's ride the matterhorn and also-ly the teacups"
puts on her "you make me smile" jammies first thing when they are clean
walks up the stairs on all fours, as slowly as she can (especially when we are in a hurry) - she knows how to get on my nerves!

cora:
says yes in the most enthusiastic, slow-building shout "yyyyyyYUH-ES!"
is obsessed with pizza right now
is a champion fit-thrower
helps me make dinner or a treat often.  she is expert at evenly spreading cheese on pizza!
has started fighting her naps a little bit
could be potty-trained right now, if she wanted to be
has started talking tons, but i only understand about half of it!

throwin it back to the fattest baby

giggles from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

cora tastes a lemon... then goes back for more! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

easter pics of my girls

while we were in pennsylvania, a cute friend of a friend did a photo mini session of my girls for me.  it was so much fun!  i'm so happy with how they turned out.  here are some highlights:

mae mae walking from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

life lately.

this week has been a week of big changes.  hazel has started going to preschool and is loving it.  she comes home from school so chatty and happy.  sometimes i feel like i have no idea what she does at school but whatever it is, i'm glad she enjoys it!  

and heffalump has taken a few steps!  she is way more cautious than hazel ever was, but she will walk to me with encouragement, and is actually way better at it than i think she realizes.  

here's a quick little video from instagram of cora's first steps, which is amazing that we got them on video.  you can hear the surprise in our voices when she starts to go.

cora mae's first steps! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

also the weather has been warming up which means we've been having park days and it's quite thrilling.

we start 'em young.

cora chores from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

happy first birthday cora mae! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

thanks to our favorite nj family the harmans, for loving us and celebrating with us!

hazel's birthday celebration.

some pics {and two videos!} of hazel's birthday that we celebrated in utah.  

i can't believe she's THREE!

happy birthday hazel! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

^^^ cora dancing in the sidelines.... 

ALSO... since the grandparents were there, my girls' birthdays are only five days apart, and cora LOVED the singing so so much, we sang to her as well :)

early happy birthday singing to cora! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

YOU GUYS.  this girl is awesome.  and she turned one today.

cora mae...

is starting to get a mind of her own.
has three teeth.
gets mad at me and screams at the top of her lungs.
likes reading books by herself, but not being read to.
loves pulling clothes up over her head.
loves doing anything and everything she sees her sister do.
loves chewing on q-tips.
gets into every cupboard within reach.
climbs all the way up the slide.
still doesn't talk much, but babbles some.
typically sleeps for two solid hours each nap.
grabs my hand and puts it somewhere to tell me what she wants (often she wants "this little piggie"... sometimes "patty-cake")

we love our cora mae.  i can't believe that this sweet girl has been a part of our family for a year now! she came into the world so easygoing but she has been beat on by her sister enough now that she is starting to get more assertive and fight back ;) 

happy birthday cora mae.  you are the coolest baby ever.

the other day, cora was getting SO MAD when she got stuck with her walker.  too funny. 

the epic throwdown from Paige Brmunt on Vimeo.

a magical 52-degree day in february from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

yes, it was 52 degrees the other day and yes, there was snow on the ground but it felt so warm and hazel begged me to take her to the playground.  it felt so nice we could have stayed there all afternoon.  sadly, the 50-degree weather did not last and we got snow that very night.

peek a boo from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

baby giggles from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

better vacuum. someone's on the move! from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

who's that baby? from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

love life: cora mae at 8 months

here's what is going on with cora mae at 8 months:

we call her heffalump 50% of the time

she tries everything we put in front of her

she has started crawling!

she stares at her big sister and smiles and laughs half the day

she loves playing on the ground with anything she can get her hands on, including cords

she is always touching the xbox power switch

she loves scrunching up her nose and breathing heavy - she thinks it's so funny

her favorite thing to do is look at herself in the mirror

she loves peekaboo and touching my face when we are nursing

she beams when daddy gets home

we love her so.

swinging for the first time!

excuse our outfit.  back-up clothes out of the diaper bag don't always match.

swinging for the first time from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.