Battles

She looks quite innocent here, I know. But, she was really quite devious yesterday and I have to take a moment to vent. Do other moms out there feel like they are fighting a battle ALL DAY LONG? I have felt like that quite often lately. I am not sure if it is because Coranelle is teething like crazy, or if it's because she knows so clearly what she wants- but she can't articulate it.

Yesterday- Battle 1- changing her diaper. Why is this such a hassle? Why won't she listen when I say "Don't touch".
Battle 2- getting her dressed. She's crying, twisting, rolling and thrashing around. Geez!
Battle 3- putting her hair in pigtails to keep her from ripping her hair out. She was throwing her head around and screaming. I would like to prevent her little bald spot from getting any bigger before her Uncle Stefan gets married in August.
Battle 4- Breakfast- she sees something she thinks she wants, so she won't eat her oatmeal. Instead, she spits it out all over herself and me. When I peel the banana and offer it to her (since she's been saying "naNana" over and over)- she rejects it.
Battle 5- Sunscreen. Such a painful task
Battle 6- Short walk in the stroller- She's yelling and crying the whole time. I give her juice, snacks, toys, etc. and she's still throwing a fit. So, we stop at the Rec Center so she can play at the indoor play place. I figure she is ready to get out and run around.
Battle 7- the indoor play place. Now that she's out of the stroller, I'm apparently not allowed to put her down. She just cries and wants to be held. What?
Battle 8- Diaper change all over again.
Battle 9- Nap time. She's clearly tired, but spends at least a half hour kicking, thrashing and whining in her crib.
Battle 10- lunch time. No kidding- the only thing I could get her to eat was cottage cheese.
Battle 11- getting the swim suit on for a play date, then getting into the car seat
Battle 12- trying to prevent her from drinking the pool water or walking into the pool
Battle 13- changing into clothes and diaper
Battle 14- finding that she had pulled out both rubber bands and eaten them. Given, these are like tiny braces rubber bands, but still. At this point her hair is sticking up in two long points- almost like horns and she's in all red. Yup, she looks like a devil child as we walk up and down the aisles of Sprouts.
Battle 15- She sees the box of strawberries in the cart and really wants some. But, they're not washed or paid for so I refuse and she melts down.
Battle 16- another nap
Battle 17- leaving for Body Pump
and it goes on. I think you get it.

Anyone else have days like this. It's like nothing we do is fun to her. I have to stop and wonder on days like these if it makes any difference that I am home with her. So, I looked into some preschools around the area. Did you know that some preschools charge $1,534 a month per child! Whoa! I guess I'll just keep pushing on at being my own preschool and trying to keep my little one entertained and as happy as possible.

For those of you reading that are pregnant or have young infants, I am not writing to scare you. Keep in mind, Coranelle is one of a kind!

Speaking of the peanut, I'm going to go start all over again with Battle #1 and pray that today goes a little more smoothly!

Mork Family Camping

Trail mix while hiking.
serving up ice cream in honor of my birthday day! The best ice cream ever!
Mother/son shot!
Bruce and Claire making ice cream
Coranelle spending one of her many many moments with her uncle Josh.
Weeeee!



This past weekend, we had our annual Mork family camping trip up in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a little different than camping with Coranelle when she was 8 weeks old, but we had a great time. She toddled all over the campsite and park, always wanting to hold someone's hand and lead them around. We enjoyed good food over the campfire, ice cream with the ice cream ball, relaxing in the hammock, walks with beautiful views and chatting around the fire.

Coranelle loved being outdoors, but didn't love sleeping outdoors. She fought her naps, but gave up if I would lie next to her pack n' play and pretend to sleep. Both nights, she woke up in the middle of the night crying and had a hard time going back to sleep (as did we). One night we had creepy howling coyotes that Coranelle got started with her cries. But, after a bit of cuddling and humming, she went back to sleep. All things considered (cold nights, strange place, odd noises) she did great. She LOVED the tent and running around in it.

Now is my call for advice... or someone who can relate. Coranelle has started pulling out her hair. Odd, I know. Sometimes it's single strands, other times it is entire chunks. It seems to be self soothing and something she does when she is tired. Since Thursday, two upper molars have come through and it may be a pain coping method. The pediatrician says that we need to distract her and teach her not to pull out her hair. The things to worry about are her eating her hair or it wrapping around fingers like a tourniquet. The strange thing is that sometimes we do find her chewing on her hair. Any other moms out there ever seen anything like this with their kiddo? Any other advice for me?

I hope you are all enjoying your busy summers.

Amazing family Vacation!

Walking around at the top of the gondola
Bringing dad his water bottle
Playing downtown. I love this picture!
Heading up the gondola again.

taking a break in Frisco on our mountain bike ride
eating ice cream in our "fort" during the rain
playing in the fort
walking around peak 8 in the rain
Taking the gondola up
Hiking from Mom and Steve's campground
Self taken shot on our date night
hanging out by the river watching the kids play in the water
Playing in the sand
The top of our hill climb on our mountain bike ride


Family Vacation Fun

We just returned from a truly marvelous trip to Breckenridge, Co. I wasn’t ready to return home. I kind of felt like a puppy on a leash who didn’t want to leave her adventure, but was tugged and forced away by the owner.

We rented a beautiful condo just a few blocks from Main Street. It was the nicest lodging we have ever had ( even honeymoon!). It was very modern, with great views, 2 bedrooms, lots of DVDs, games, a well stocked kitchen and 3 bathrooms! It was a great price because the expensive time is ski season. Coranelle did fabulously the entire trip. She was perfect in the car, didn’t fight the stroller much, went for walks in the pack and borrowed ergo carrier, splashed in the pool, and enjoyed babysitters and adventures.

My parents and sister, Amanda, came up Fri-Sun and camped nearby in Frisco. They came up to Breckenridge to hang out and have dinners with us. They watched Coranelle so that Ryan and I could go mountain biking and out on a date. The mountain biking was great fun and gorgeous. Later that day, we got to head out to the Brewery and sit out on the deck with amazing views of the slopes and mountains. It was a romantic time to wander town together, share a cookie and watch the sunset. Meanwhile, Coranelle had a blast with her GPS, Grandmadele and Auntie Amanda. It has been really fun to see Amanda and Coranelle bond now that Amanda is home from Haiti. Coranelle has been walking all over the place and loves to take your hand and lead you around. She really enjoyed the river walk and watching all the other kids and dogs around town.

Despite having more than enough to do, we took full advantage of Coranelle’s naps. We enjoyed time to read, watch movies, relax, or take turns wandering into town, finding a cup of coffee, checking out the farmer’s market, or getting a nice haircut(that was me☺).

Sunday, and then again on Monday (because it was free) we took Coranelle up the gondola to Peak 8 and watched her walk all over the ski lodge and check out the fun park. It was cold and rainy the first day, but she could not have been happier. When the rain continued and we were stuck inside for the evening, Ryan made a fort out of the couches and she had a ball. She was such a blast on the trip. Monday, she shocked and amazed us with her perfect behavior in the bike trailer. We rode all the way from Breckenridge to Frisco and back! It was almost 20 miles and she never complained, or even fell asleep. She just checked out the view and enjoyed her pacifier and little plush frog. We stopped for a snack in Frisco and headed back up to Breck. I was pretty exhausted when all was said and done, as I was pulling her as well as all of our water, toys and snacks and it gets heavy cycling up hill for that long. It was totally worth it as the day was perfect and the views were amazing!

We loved not ever having to move the car. We could walk into town and get a pizza to take home, head over to the city market, grab a cup of coffee or sit by the river and we never had to put Coranelle in the car seat. I miss that now that we are home!

Coranelle is getting to be more and more fun and it was a family vacation that I will remember and treasure forever! I would love to come here every summer and make this a tradition!

Clarification

I have heard from a few people recently that my blog post last month seemed like it was targeted at them in a passive aggressive sort of way.

http://mommamork.blogspot.com/2010/06/15-pieces-of-advice-for-friends-and.html

I just want to make it perfectly clear that this post was not, in any way, meant to be pointing a finger or making accusations towards people for something they did or did not do. It really, truly was a post for me, to help me remember how to be supportive to new parents for when our friends and siblings have their own kids. I know that Ryan and I sort of paved the way when it comes to starting a family. With that, comes the fact that no one else has been through it and that means they cannot possibly know what you are going through, what is hard and what might be helpful. I realized early on that I cannot expect for people to know or understand what I was going through, being anew mom. I am really appreciative of all of the kind things people have done for us and how much our friends and family love our daughter and have made an effort to get to know her. A thousand apologies if the blog seemed to be accusing anyone in anyway. That was not my intention at all. Thank you to all of you for all the love and support.

In My Arms

The following is a song I wanted to share. I first heard this song in prenatal yoga, when I was only about 30 weeks along. Our yoga instructor told us that the song was by Plumb. So, I found it through Itunes and made it my ringtone. This morning, while at the rec center, the complete song came on my Nano, and I just listened to the lyrics again. It made me tear up to think about how perfect this song is for me and for my little girl. Yesterday, I was just overwhelmed with love for my little one, as I watched her proudly walk all over Kohls, screeching with excitement at her new found skill. She has truly been such a joy to us and I am so thankful for her! It is amazing to watch her really start to grow up and imagine what the future holds for her.

In My Arms

Your baby blues, so full of wonder
Your curly cues, your contagious smile
And as I watch, you start to grow up
All I can do, is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage and
Storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down, waves will crash around
But you will be safe, in my arms

Story books, full of fairy tales
Of kings and queens, and the bluest skies
My heart is torn, just in knowing
You’ll someday see the truth from the lies

When the clouds will rage and
Storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down, waves will crash around
But you will be safe, in my arms

Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
Because I will always, always love you

When the clouds will rage and
Storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down, waves will crash around
But you will be safe, in my arms

caminando

Walking, that is. Coranelle is starting to toddle from one place/person to another! I cannot tell you how proud it makes me to watch her venture away from whatever she's holding on to and put one foot in front of the other. At this point, it's only 6-12 steps at a time, before she gets going to fast and falls down. Regardless, what a blast. She gets so excited that half the time, she is clapping for herself and laughing as she goes. This makes balance a littler harder to maintain, but I'm confident she'll figure it out soon.

The funny thing about Coranelle learning to walk is that her crazy personality is thrown into the mix. She does not want to do it all the time and if you try to stand her up and push her to walk when she doesn't want to, she'll become a rag doll in your arms, or just flop to the ground and start crying. Stubborn, always!

In other baby news, she has really mastered some sign language and it seems to really make her happier that she can communicate with and respond to adults. She can ask for more, tell us she's "all done", and when we tell her we're going to change her or give her a bath, she'll sign "change" or "bath". I've been signing to her since she was 5 months old and she never really responded. About a month ago, she started "more" and it surprised me and also gave me the push I needed to not give up with some basic signing.

This weekend, we had Rachael's bridal shower up in Estes and enjoyed a beautiful day with friends and family. It was a really fun shower and I am getting super excited for their wedding!

Ryan got to spend the whole day with Coranelle while I went up to Estes with mom for the shower. It was some good father, daughter bonding time. He took her to the fountains at Orchards mall and got to play with her a lot.

That's all for now because I need to go get some cleaning and weeding done, but enjoy the pictures and the video!

summer fun

I guess it's been a while since I last wrote. I guess we've been a bit busy! Last Sunday and Monday, we went camping up to Golden Gate State Park with Bruce and Heido. We stayed in a really cute camper cabin and had a great time. It was wonderful to be outside and have the time to relax and talk. Coranelle loved the dirt- crawling in it, eating it, being covered in it. She was filthy, but so happy. I cannot wait until she's older and can run around campground and explore. We saw some families up there with younger kids that were having a total blast. Lots of fun things to look forward to! Everything went really smoothly- Coranelle napped in the car and in her pack-n-play in the cabin. She slept great in a new place and even stayed asleep when we all four came in a few hours after she went to bed. We got to enjoy the stars and s'mores while she snoozed. We took her for a little hike in the pack and a little ride in her bike trailer and got to enjoy the wonderful weather.
We had one glitch in the shower house that I will tell you about so maybe you won't make the same mistake. So, Coranelle was filthy on Sunday night. She usually gets a bath before bed, so I decided it would be a good idea to take her in the coin operated shower to get her clean and relaxed before bed. While she might have gotten a bit cleaner, she did not have a chance to relax. After stripping both of us down, I realized that I had to step into the shower to insert my quarters in the slot. To my surprise, I didn't have to turn the shower on, it just turned on. And did it ever turn on! The extremely hard and freezing cold spay hit Coranelle straight on. It scared me, so I jumped and squeezed her, which scared her more. So, she began screaming. I couldn't attempt to adjust the water spray or temperature without stepping into the spray of water. I had already lathered some soap on Coranelle, so we couldn't just quit. So, as she's freezing and hurting, I'm hollering over to Heidi to see if she can help us find a warm shower. There we are, waddling through a bathroom, naked and cold and in tears. We found a warm shower, but the spray was still painfully hard, so we did the best we could to rinse off. I handed Coranelle off to Heidi, who got her warm and dry. I don't think it scarred Coranelle for life with a fear of showers, but I think a dirty baby would have been better. Now I know!

The following day, we took turns bikeriding while Coranelle slept. Ryan and I took off on our mountain bikes, thinking we were going to go about 3 miles. We each had a little bit of water in our bottles, and nothing else. Turns out, it was the most under prepared we have EVER been. After going down 1.7 miles rather effortlessly, we decided on a whole loop we would try. Ended up without any water before we were half way done, in 85 degree sun, with no sunscreen, no snacks and at 9,000 feet. The trail turned into a steep climb in a hiking trail terrain that was impossible to ride over a lot of the time. It was rather exhausting, but we didn't want to stop and rest because we knew we didn't have water. It was a beautiful area, and we made it through the 10 miles of hills, but it was quite an adventure. Oh well, it was a good chance to be out with Ryan, and we'll never leave for a ride without a camel back, sunscreen and snacks again!

On Wednesday this week, we celebrated out 3 year anniversary! Bruce and Heidi came out and watched Coranelle while we went to a Belgium brewery for a nice dinner and beer sampling and enjoyed hanging out at an outdoor mall with delicious chocolates and lovely company. It was a nice celebration with a wonderful husband!

Friday, Coranelle spent her first night away from us. We had a softball game scheduled for 9:30pm, which was too late to have someone stay at our house for. So, my mom drove Coranelle to her house on Friday, and she and Steve fed, bathed, played with her and put her down at their house. They all had a great time, despite Coranelle waking up a few times in the middle of the night with a bad diaper rash from the massive amounts of kiwi and cherries she had enjoyed that day. It is great to know that she can do that now, and I know my parents had a great time with her! It felt very quiet here without her. When my mom left with her Friday afternoon, I set out to make a fruit plate with chocolate mousse dip and cinnamon chocolate chips for a birthday party. It was so odd to not have my peanut crawling up the back of my legs while I was working in the kitchen and babbling to me. We went to the birthday party before the game was supposed to start and everyone had kids and I didn't know what to do with myself without a child to take care of! I felt the same way the next morning when I woke up and peeked into an empty nursery. We didn't have to be quiet making coffee and we didn't have to get up at 7am! But, we enjoyed a walk in the rain together and an episode of Lost with Josh and Claire. I think it was a good thing for all of us, regardless of how much I missed her!

Saturday night, we had a fun baby shower down in Denver for a friend of Ryan's from work. Coranelle enjoyed playing with the massive St. Bernard and was just giggling whenever his huge tongue would lick her face and cover her hands in slobber. Ah, fun!

Yesterday, Ryan and I competed in the Broomfield Mini Haha triathlon together. This weekend, it rained constantly, and it was a cold and rainy morning for a race. My parents came out to hang out with Coranelle while we headed off to set up our bikes in the transition area. Despite the rain and cold, we had a great time! I did well in the swimming portion and had a blast biking with Ryan and our neighbor. The new road bike made a world of difference for me and the biking was pretty easy! I was soaking wet and constantly had water splashing in my face, but for some reason, it was still great fun! We got off our bikes after 11 miles and tried to find our legs for the run. The rain let up a little and Bruce, Heidi and my mom were all out cheering us on. We finished and were really glad we had the opportunity to do the race together. We later celebrated with our heat at a BBQ and now it's time to catch up on the grocery shopping and laundry and everything else that has been neglected in the busyness!

That's all for now! Have a great week!