Cora is Three!

My baby girl turned three a week and a half ago.  How is that possible?  This little one, who started out so colicky and miserable...

... is now so full of joy and energy.  Her vocabulary and verbal skills are second-to-none, and she has a contagious smile.  She wins over most anyone who knows her with her hilarious speech and beautiful personality.

Here is a little glimpse into Cora's world at age three:

Cora Loves...

• purple and pink
• Caillou
• Hello Kitty and princess paraphernalia
• her stuffed piggy and elephant, "Ellie"
• peanut butter and jelly (every. single. day.)
• nail polish and lip gloss
• painting
• dancing
• playing "I Spy" in the car
• seeing her friends - especially her best friends from church

On Cora's birthday, she woke up to find pink and purple decorations greeting her at the breakfast table.  I always hang balloons and put down a tablecloth for the kids' birthdays, and this year, when Cora came downstairs and said, "Wow!  Thank you, Mommy, for doing this for me!  I love it!"  I knew it had been worth it to get up while it was still dark and hang balloons.  :-)

Since we couldn't enjoy any family festivities until after Daddy and Brennan got home from school, Grandma and I decided to take Cora for a haircut and some pampering!

Word to the wise:  NEVER pay to have your daughter's hair curled at Snip-Its.  They did a great job, but if you really feel the need to spend obscene amounts of money on a hairdo, come see me.  I'd be happy to curl your child's hair for you!!

In the afternoon, we had planned to go to a local pumpkin patch for hayrides, corn mazes, and more, but it rained.  :-(  Instead, we went with Cora's two best friends and their brothers to Monkey Joe's for some good, basic jumping.

Cora was given her first ever "My Little Pony" set.  She loves those ponies more than any toy in our house right now.  I wish so much I had thought to get a picture of Cora with Joshua and Dylan, but I didn't.  I was too busy staying flexible with the changes our day brought.

After we left Monkey Joe's, we went home for cupcakes and family presents.

The big gift of the night was the only one she cared about.  Cora has been asking for months for a "big girl bike."  The neat thing is, she didn't demand it or even act disappointed when the bike didn't make its appearance until the end of the night.  It made it all the sweeter to see her face when she finally got on.

All in all, it was a very fun day.

Cora Katherine, you are a gift from God.  We love your girly ways and your big, cheesy grin.  We love the way you pray to God to make people feel better and the way you try to take care of your brothers and friends.  Your songs delight us, your stories amuse us, your speech baffles us, and your heart captures us.  Happy three years, precious girl.

Blogging is Like Laundry

Yes, you read that right.  Blogging is like laundry.  If I don't keep up, I get overwhelmed, and the thought of doing it becomes more and more daunting.  Well, today is my catch up day.  I'm going to write as many posts as I can bang out.  Get ready for an influx of posts!  :-)

Today's post is dedicated to all of the little things in our life over the past month.  In this month we have...

Enjoyed Brennan's soccer games:

(Brennan is number 3)

Introduced solids to Seth:

(this was our first breakfast with all three kids at the table!)

Improved Cora's cooking skills with the help of Grandma and Daddy:

Spent some time on the phone with Nana:

Read lots and lots of books:

And taken our annual apple-picking trip:

Okay, with my first "load" done, I am going to go have some lunch!  :-)

Back in the Game!

Guess what?!  After spending the whole summer without one, I have a new computer!!!  

Gosh, I feel like I haven't had the freedom to blog in forever, and it feels so good to sit down at my computer and have everything at my fingertips!  However, having to survive without a computer all day, every day for months really taught me a lot.  I have learned to focus more on my kids and stop wasting time.  I have gotten a lot done around the house and made the little time I could spend on Jim's computer really count.

While I have been absent from the world of blogging, our family has kept busy with more traditional pastimes, like...

Coloring:

Sleeping:

Grocery Shopping:

Roller Skating:

Learning to Curl Hair (Thanks to Hair-Savvy Teenage Friends):

Rolling Over:

And Sewing:

This is the first outfit I have ever made for Cora! :-)

Also, I mentioned in my last post that we started redoing the kids' bathroom a few weeks ago.  Well, it's done, and it is exactly what I envisioned!  I love it when a plan comes together!!

Jim took this photo, and I commented on the towel being askew and the toilet paper being nearly empty. I think he wanted to have me committed for noticing every. little. thing.  :-)

Check out the before and after pictures!

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I may do another post with the bathroom details if you're interested in knowing more (let me know in the comments if you have questions you want answered).  In the mean time, I'll leave you with one more picture of my little girl before church this past Sunday:

Have a great day! :-)

Busy Weekend

Saturday was a big day for the Riggs kids.  In the morning Jim and Brennan went to their bi-weekly Lowe's workshop, in the early afternoon we had Brennan's birthday party, and at dinnertime we went to a potluck and Eggstravaganza with our church.

I don't have any photos of Brennan hammering nails with Daddy at Lowe's because I am never invited to this exclusive boys' event, but I do have a few pics of Brennan's bowling party.  There were 17 kids there, and everyone seemed to have a really great time.

I made Brennan's bowling shirt to match his invitations and favors.  I thought everything came out really cute.

Our annual egg hunt with our church was almost canceled due to rain, but we just pushed the time back, grabbed some rubber boots, and ended up having a lot of fun.

Cora was a pro at grabbing eggs.  She just kept shaking the eggs and saying, "There's candy in there!  There's candy in there!"

Brennan didn't get quite as many eggs as Cora, but that's because he wanted to get as many blue eggs as he could find.  (Blue is his favorite color.)  I told my neighbor Leslie about this, and she said, "That's so Brennan."  :-)

It was hard enough to get pictures of two kiddos hunting for eggs this year, but soon I am going to have to figure out how to get shots of three!  Just crazy.

This week is Brennan's actual birthday, and I'm also helping to throw a baby shower for my sweet friend, Kelly.  As soon as we get through the weekend, I'll be ready for baby boy to make his appearance.  He currently has his head on some kind of nerve that runs down my back and into my right leg, and I'm ready to reclaim my body.  15 days and counting...