Thriving

Cora Elise.

Cora is my grandma's name. I'll never forget the way her eyes lit up when I told her it was going to be my daughter's name too. My eyes lit up a moment later when I found out that my grandma's grandma was Cora too. There's something extra neat that it's all down the maternal line. Cora is named after her mom's mom's mom who is named after her mom's mom.

Elise means "God is bountiful." A year and a half ago, He gave us the awesome gift of a child - something we've done nothing to deserve - a spectacular show of His grace. Then, He turned around and gave us another one! Yes, God gives generously.

Since Cora was born, the temperature outside has steadily risen from the 90s, to the 100s, and right now the internet tells me it's 106 degrees out. Even in the evening when I step outside the house, the heat is almost palpable, like a thick blanket that I can touch and taste and see. Before Cora was born, based off of how difficult the first two weeks were with Grace, I spent many hours worrying about the pain of childbirth and surviving the first couple of weeks. I've been shocked by how smooth and joyful everything has been. We are not just surviving. We are thriving. Like the heat rising day by day, my sense of God's grace and peace surrounding our family and household grows until it is almost palpable. I can almost taste and see that He is good.

Grace - 18 Months Old

It's 98 degrees, I'm super pregnant, my kid is napping, and my husband is busy. It's the perfect time to sit in front of a fan and write a blog post!

So, what is 18-month-old, almost-big-sister Grace up to these days?

Lots!

Grace eats everything including seaweed, broccoli, vegetable juice, raw onion, uncooked beans, uncooked rice, dirt, and gravel. She's even begged for raw chicken, but I've drawn the line there. When I cook, she begs to try whatever I'm preparing, hence the onion and uncooked rice and beans. If she's playing outdoors and snack time rolls around, she'll put a fistful of whatever into her mouth, hence the dirt and gravel.

When we are out of the house, especially in social situations, Grace is usually very quiet, keeps to herself, and observes what's going on. But, the moment we get back into her safe, little home bubble, she fills any silence with talking, singing, helicopter noises, dog barks, etc. She practices talking so much, she's pretty amazing at it! She uses more words than we can possibly count. The other day, when I put her sandals on wrong, she pointed at her feet and said, "Shoes uncomfortable!" She's also been saying some simple sentences like "Mama's shoes are off" and "Dada put red shoes on." Yes, a lot of her best talking is on the topic of shoes.

What are some of Grace's favorite things besides eating and talking?

• Finding polka dots everywhere. I didn't even know there were so many polka dots in the world until she started pointing them all out.
• Doing things "All bah fahFAH." (all by myself)
• Letting us know she doesn't want something: "All done mama hug." "All done outside." "All done water."
• Helicopters, trains, airplanes, and the trash truck. In fact, we finally got her to accept childcare at church without too much crying by switching her from the nursery full of baby toys to the toddler room which has a train set.
• Playing with dirt, gravel, water, and sand.
• Finding mommy and daddy's red car in the parking lot.
• Telling us things that she thinks are beautiful. So far, clouds, trees, my colorful shoes, my colorful bracelet, a golf cart, and several songs.
• Singing songs, especially songs with motions, and especially "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
• Counting. Which goes something like this: "one, two, five, FIVE!"

Grace, you are fun, goofy, sweet, and affectionate. It's so fun watching you become more and more independent and brave. We love you sooo much!