Tidbits of news

Wow! I can't believe how fast time went since last time I posted. Cora is getting braver with walking, but she still crawls everywhere. Once in a while we "catch" her taking a few steps on her own - mostly to get from one handhold to another. Or she'll start out walking for about 3 steps and then bend over and crawl. She's taken as many as 10 steps by herself when we've encouraged her to walk from one of us to the other. Often when is Cora is walking to me she'll get within about 2 steps away and then just fall, arms stretched out, into my lap like it's a big relief to have made it. It's quite cute.

She also cut her first molar! I'm not sure when exactly - she HATES it when I try to put my finger in her mouth. She clamps her jaw closed and purses her lips so I can't get in...Hand her hands are really accurate at moving my hands away from her mouth! So I haven't checked for a quite some time. But yesterday she was laughing really hard and threw her head back enough that I could see this white glimmer on her gums (top right side). Sure enough - it's a tooth!

We also think that Cora definitely knows the difference now between "mama" and "dada". Although she often refers to just about anything as "dada" or some variation of that. It seems like she's trying to imitate our sounds. These are some pretty consistent ones: when we say something is cold and "brrr" she tries to say "brr"; "uh-oh" is "uh" and usually looking at whatever was dropped accidentally; and when we tell her to say bye-bye she often says "ba ba" while waving! I'm more excited for her to talk than for her to walk. I guess I figure that she can get anywhere she wants to go right now by crawling so I don't feel like she's frustrated or missing out on the fun. But it is so exciting for communication to be happening!

Oh yes - we have tried to teach her a few useful signs like more, all done, please, thank you, eat and drink. Well, she has morphed all of these signs (which at one point she did a different sign consistently for each phrase, maybe not accurately) into pointing at whatever it is she wants and making a waving sign. That's right, she no longer signs anything for eat, more, please...It's now just point and demand! She will still do her "all done" sign but it doesn't seem that she usually means it. She'll sign "all done" and we'll start cleaning her up, then she'll point at her drink and ask for that! Anyway, it's an adventure one way or the other! We usually understand her and that's our main goal.

Brad turned 32 on Sunday! Happy Birthday, babe! Sunday is a long, busy day for him so we didn't do much celebrating. But Monday is his day off so we dropped Cora off at Grandma and Grandpa's in Montrose and we went on to Ridgway where we cross-country skied for a while. It was beautiful! And windy! Then we had a light lunch in Ouray and went to the hot springs. There is something so wonderful about sitting in 104 degree water while it's snowing outside! We had originally intended to go to Telluride for the day but there was a huge storm blocking the way and they had shut down the highway to get there. Anyway, we went back to Montrose and had a DELICIOUS prime rib that Mom made for dinner! The storm hit Montrose while we were eating so we hurried out after dinner. It was pretty close to a white-out for the first 15 minutes and then cleared up, thankfully, for the rest of the drive.

Another piece of news is that our dog, Jack, who is 10 and a half, has developed tumors. There are two obvious ones and a third that the vet found. The two are located behind his right ear and on top of his left shoulder. The one on his shoulder is about the size of a small plum and has stopped growing I think. The one behind his ear is currently the size of a baseball or softball and seems to get bigger every couple of days. Just this last week we've noticed a change in Jack's demeanor. He's not as quick to jump up to go outside with us and he doesn't seem as interested in eating. Now - he still eats, but previously he would be asking to eat as soon as we were done with our meal. The other night I forgot to feed him when Brad was gone and he never once whined or looked at me like I was forgetting something. This is very much not like him. When I remembered and fed him he ate just fine. But...the end may be coming soon for Jack. It will be a sad day, but I actually hope that we wake up one morning and find him peacefully gone. I would hate to have to make the decision to end his life but if he continues to change for the worse and seems to be in pain, I know we will have to. So if you're in the habit of praying for mercy for animals, pray that Jack goes quickly and peacefully, without much pain and without us having to do it to him!

Lastly, I have been subbing about 2 days a month and teaching piano lessons to 5 students (2 hours a week) with a new student adding on next week. This has been a good fit for all of us, I think. I really enjoy the piano lessons and it's good money. And subbing is usually enjoyable, if a little boring. Well, I have been asked to work 8 hours a week (a flexible 8 hours that I pretty much schedule) as a birth parent counselor for Bethany Christian services here in town. I met with the director this morning to find out more about it and it sounds like a neat position. My biggest dilemma is whether or not I want to commit to working 8 hours every week. In my mind it would take the place of subbing, but it's more of a commitment than subbing is. I feel blessed to have this opportunity offered to me but am unsure at this point what to do. I LOVE being home with Cora and being able to be home on days that Brad is home. Please pray for us as we weigh this opportunity and make a decision in the next week or two.

Sorry there is so much writing and no pictures this time!