Mr. Attitude

Cory has developed a fun new habit of giving us furrowed eye brows and pouty lips to show his displeasure. We can't help but laugh at him and his frown very quickly turns into a smile. I mean, how could you NOT laugh at that? Priceless.

We have started Cory on real food. Before he was only eating Gerber ravioli and other packaged meals. Now we're starting to let him eat food with us. He had some BBQ chicken the other night and loved it! We haven't really gotten utensil usage down so he sticks to using his hands.

We've discovered that he has a fondness for fruits. Loves strawberries, pears, bananas, and watermelon. Today he'll be having mac n' cheese, pears, and cooked carrots for lunch.

It's just hard to believe how big he is, how much he has grown and how smart he is getting. He learns so quickly. The other night, the fan in his room was turned off (which it never is) and while Chris was feeding him his night bottle Cory sat up, looked at the fan, did some baby talk and snapped his fingers at it. Chris turned it back on and Cory went back to his bottle. He knows stuff and he watches us so closely. He learned to snap and call the dog because that's what we do.

Another wonderful discovery for us is The Wiggles. Apparently it's a big deal, but we didn't know that. Found them on Netflix as a full length dvd of just music and dancing. Cory loves it!! No matter what he's doing or how upset he is, this dvd captivates him. He sways, claps, and stomps his feet. It was during one of these viewings that he figured out how to walk backwards and sideways. Everyday it's something new!

I believe this weekend will be Cory's first try at coloring. We have big paper and fat crayons. I'll just be happy if he doesn't mark up the table or eat the crayon!

the party of parties

What a day, what a day!! Started off at 0630 so I could get the chicken in the crock pot. Cory didn't get up till a little before 8am. He had a good breakfast with Grandma, and even got some blueberry muffin. Took a nice nap after playing for a few hours. Then he had a nice lunch and played for a little bit before the party guests started to arrive.

What a party! Lots of close friends. There was lots of yummy food, but of course Cory's favorite part was the cake!! He got his own personal cake, which he tore into. He went straight into a bath. Then he was ready to play some more. He really had a great time hanging out with all his friends.

Tomorrow is another exciting day. Cory is being dedicated in First Baptist Church Temple at the 11am service. Well, we should be getting to bed.

Cory the 1-year-old

What a day!! We can hardly believe that our little dude is the big 0-1. Seems like only yesterday we were waiting for him to come on out. We wanted to make this a great, fun day.

Cory slept in this morning, rightfully so. After a nice breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt we headed to Whistle Stop

to swing and play. Cory loves the swing! He liked walking around the playground. Then it was time for a nice mid-morning nap.

After a nap and some tasty ravioli for lunch, it was off to the mall. First we grabbed a new traditional birthday cookie fo

r later, and then we headed to the kiddie area so Cory could run around. He made some new friends. We got him some fancy new clothes and a new taggie ball on the way out.

Once we were home it was time to play a little longer before dinner. Cory took a nice nap after dinner and was up in time to play some more and then have his birthday cookie in

his jumper while enjoying Stargate SG1 that he and mommy used to watch on the computer when he was a tiny baby and our tv was still broken.

Grandma Harrell called and Cory talked her ear off. He's just so excited for tomorrow when Grandma Harrell and Great-grandma Poland get here!

What a day! Full of fun! One whole year and our little man has gone from a teeny tiny baby to a walking, talking toddler. He does something amazing everyday and I just sit back and think about how blessed I am that God would pick me to look after this precious little darling. Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

sicky, sick sick

Cory has not been having a good past few days. On Thursday we went to visit our BFFs, Josh & Andie Campbell in San Saba. That's about 2 hours away from us. Cory did really well in the car, but we could tell that his throat was a little sore. He liked walking around on the hardwood floor in their dining room. He didn't hold all of his lunch down, and he developed a fever. So after some tylenol he took a good nap. We all got to play some fun games and have a great lunch. Their little yorkie followed Cory around and licked his hands. He ate all his dinner, but then it all came right back up, projectile like. It got all over the place. It's a good thing I brought two changes of clothes for him. I was already wearing a shirt of Andie's because he got me once. He had to be washed off a bit in the tub and changed. Andie and I went to the store to get him some fluids and some nice mild pears. He took a short nap and then was happy and playing again. He slept the whole way home.

Yesterday he did pretty well until his night time bottle. He got himself, me, and a lot of him books. Daddy was nice enough to clean it up while I gave Cory a bath. He went right to sleep. Today he has been a bit cranky, but we went out and he had fun playing in the kiddie area at the mall with all the other kids. He fed himself apple pieces and baby sausages. He drank all his night time bottle and quickly passed out. Sundays are always interesting, so we're hoping that he gets a good night sleep and is happy for skype with Grandma Harrell!!

Cory's first haircut

Cory got his first haircut today at The Cut & Curl Hair Salon. Cindy Schleede was his stylist. He did so well. Didn't fuss or scream or anything. Had a cookie or two while he was getting his haircut. He looks like a little toddler now. We got a nice first hair cut certificate for his baby book and I got lots of pictures. He's growing up so fast!!

11 down - 1 to go

Cory has made it eleven months. He celebrated with some grape juice and banana cookies after a nice long Skype with Grandma Harrell. He was walking better today. We had a few good falls this week. Cory got his first bruise directly followed by his first busted lip. Not even 24 hours later he got his second busted lip. I understand, walking is tough. He's getting the hang of it though. Our next adventure is a hair cut!!

Cory looked particularly festive in his 4th of July wear. His Old Navy American flag shirt was a gift from his favorite babysitter, Aunt Dianne. And you can't get any more American than good ol' fashion blue jeans. He had a great time at the concert where he got to hear the First Methodist and First Baptist choirs sing together. He was fairly well behaved. He got to sit next to Aunt Andrea Bartee. Then he hung out for a meal, but he only got cereal puffs. Walked around showing off his new skill and got home in time to play a little before it was time to go to bed. A very nice first 4th of July!

Daddy's little fishy

After a nice skype visit with Grandma, Cory went for this first swim in the pool. He floated around in his comfy raft, complete with fun pool toys. He had a great time relaxing and took a long nap afterwards.