Jun 07 2008
While Adam was at the office today, Cora decided to enjoy herself in the kiddie pool at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. It took her a little bit to figure out the concept of a giant “bath tub,” but she ended up enjoying herself. Luckily we got her out before she turned into a raisin.
Jun 03 2008
I’ll admit that it’s hard sometimes to watch Cora fall, which she does her fair share of, while learning to walk. However, whenever she’s fallen or bumped herself, it’s always been under our direct supervision and usually it happens on the carpet.
Well today we got a call from the New Horizon Academy, where Cora attends day care, informing us that she has a black eye. How did she get this black eye you ask? Well, she got it after falling face first into a bookshelf. This is the result:
Even though I’ve seen her fall before; this is different. Given the insane $300+ a week I pay them, I find it completely unacceptable. But, we don’t exactly have many options.
Day care is an interesting business model. Unlike, say the telephone company, you can’t exactly switch very easily. The day care business works against all the other traditional “path to purchase” models. Think about it, your day care has to:
Assuming you can find one that offers 1, 2, and 5; you are still screwed because you have to hope the location works, the price is acceptable, and most importantly they have an opening.
So, if you are displeased with the center and want to switch you have to hope that you can find another location that offers all of the above at exactly the same time as when you want to switch. This is highly unlikely; trust me.
So tomorrow morning, you know what I’ll be doing? That’s right, I’ll be dropping Cora off at the very same day care that has allowed her to be bitten on 2 occasions and allowed a black eye to happen. Oh, and I almost forgot, if they think she’s sick they can just send her home, no questions asked, and you have to come pick her up.
It’s got me thinking that maybe I should open a day care.
May 26 2008
Memorial Day was a blast. We ate some great food and enjoyed the some-what chilly weather. As you can see Cora really enjoyed herself. I really liked watching her pick up and throw the baseball. I tell ya, the girl has 1 heck of an arm for a 13 month old.
May 26 2008
I love Memorial Day. It’s the unofficial start of the BBQ season. Memorial Day basically says, “Yes, it’s ok to do nothing, until the day after Labor Day, except eat MEAT that’s been carefully grilled.”
There’s a smell that comes from cooking on a grill that you just can’t replicate in the kitchen. It’s almost primal in nature. Like moths to a flame, the smell draws people in and once they’ve arrived you’ll see smiles all around.
We didn’t host Memorial Day this year. We picked up the brats and let Cheryl’s parents do the cooking. If you ask me, that’s a smart move, since that means they’ll be doing the clean up as well 
Cora was too young (just over a month old) to really enjoy Memorial Day last year, but we made up for it this year. Check out the photos covering her 2nd Memorial Day experience.
Cora Shopping At Target (Day Before Memorial Day)
A Wise Selection; Johnsonville Brats
Clearly Those Brats Are Hers
No Seriously, Those Are Her Brats
As a Matter of Fact, Let Me Try to Eat Them Now
Love My iPod; Thanks For Reminding Me
Indeed It IS Time For Brats
We’ll Boil Them in Beer First…
…Then We’ll Grill Them
Almost Done
Now, That’s What I’m Talking About
Cora’s Ready to Eat
We Gave Her a Tiny Taste; Now Using Sign Language She’s Saying “More”
Yes, Chow Down
All in all a great day. In addition to cooking and eating, we made time to visit the park, where Cora enjoyed the swing, throwing the baseball, and the slides. Pictures of those activities can be found here.
May 20 2008
Last night we took Cora to her first baseball game. She got to watch the Minnesota Twin beat the Texas Rangers in extra innings. Cora saw some great defense, so-so pitching, and a few home runs. We even almost caught a foul ball. Literally, the ball was caught two rows directly in front of our seats. Oh well sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.
Cora made some friends at the game and had her first taste of cotton candy. It was really funny watching her try to figure out why the cotton candy kept melting in her mouth. Photos were taken with the Fuji; so please excuse the quality.
May 17 2008
Went to the park today. The weather has just been great. Cora loves the wide open spaces and the freedom to run everywhere. She’s also becoming a big fan of the swing.
May 11 2008
To all you moms out there…Happy Mother’s Day. We started this Mother’s Day with a trip to the hospital emergency room. Cora wasn’t feeling very good and sounded like she might have an upper respiratory infection. Sure enough, she did; thanks WebMD for once again making me as smart as the doctors.
After a few rounds with the nebulizer she was all better! Well at least least close to being better. After some brunch we took Cora to the park and she had a blast.
May 11 2008
We took Cora on a carousel ride yesteday. She really enjoyed herself. I think she was a little freaked out at first, but once the carousel started moving she really embraced the whole experience. The pictures are a little blurry; my bad for not using the Nikon D2Hs and instead opting to use the point and shoot Fuji F31d. Next time we do this, we’ll have better photos!
Apr 20 2008
So we heard Cora’s first word today. It wasn’t mom, or dad, or asshole (as made famous by Meet the Fockers). No, it wasn’t anything normal or ordinary. Her first word was actually a phrase; she’s an over-achiever. Earlier this morning she said, “Uh-Oh!”
Apr 16 2008
I’ve been photographing Cora every day since she was born. It was part of a project to capture 1 photo each day till her 1st birthday. Well Sunday April 13th, 2008 was her 1st birthday. It was a BLAST. Check out some photos here. Well yesterday, I didn’t know what the hell to do. I didn’t pick up the camera once and boy it was strange.
