5-21-12

Poor Cora apparently watched part of Wizard of Oz at daycare today. She is now having one heckuva time going to sleep - she's terrified of witches suddenly. I went up there and talked to her for 15 minutes about movies (adults playing make believe in front of a camera) and how witches are not real, and about thinking happy real thoughts instead. 

Then when I started to leave, in a shaky little voice she tells me "Mommy, when you leave my room at night, and you turn off the light and go downstairs ... it feels like there's a hundred monsters under my bed." Poor baby.

5-16-12

Cora this morning: Mom - I love you 25, 1 million, 6, 38 and 84 and then up to the moon, up to outer space, up to GOD and BACK!


Me: WOW! That is a LOT of love, I feel really special! I love you that much and maybe even a little MORE!

Cora: You love me ALL the numbers?

Me: Yes. I love you All The Numbers.

5-13-12

Cora came in to my bathroom to ask me a question this morning while I was mid-mascara application. As she ran back out she shouted over her shoulder "You're starting to look beautiful mama!" And I thought "Thanks. Wait!...."

5-9-12

We've had an eventful few days here.  

This is a photo of Cora that I took two weekends ago. It plays into my story.  Allow me to begin.

About a month ago, Cora came home and told me she had a loose tooth.  Being not yet 5 I figured it was more wishful thinking but when I gave that little bottom front dude a poke, wiggle it did!  Since that time we've been preparing for The Big Day.  Ryan and I got some cute tooth fairy envelopes to place under pillows, and we've been occasionally checking out Wiggles to see if he wants to get crazy yet.    

Then, this past Friday, we get a call from her preschool.  Cora and another kid "bonked" on the playground and her front top tooth was bleeding a bit.  We called her dentist who said "no bigs just watch it". So we did. (ok so that may not have been his exact words but that's what I heard) The gum above her right, front tooth and its neighbor donned a lovely bruise and the tooth looked a bit "set back" from the others.  But over the weekend it healed up nicely.  Or so we thought.   This morning, Cora came into the kitchen saying she bonked her mouth on the couch and her tooth started to bleed.  Sure enough, it was bleeding a fair amount. We cleaned it up, had her drink some icewater and took a look.  I figured maybe this was some pooled blood that had built up in the gum and she tapped the tooth enough that it let loose.  However it still didn't look just right and I wondered if it was my imagination or if that front tooth looked a little darker than it had days past?  So she went on to school and I called her dentist and made an appointment at 9:00am the next day just to check things out. 

 About two hours later, around noon, I got a call from her preschool that she had bonked head to face with another girl and boom - blood again and now lots of hysterics to go with it.  Ryan went off to get her from daycare, while I called the dentist - again - who said to bring her on in and see her right away.  I sent the info along to Ryan and went to my 1:00 meeting.  About 20 mins later I got a text from Ryan telling me that it "didn't look good" and that two of her front teeth were at a backward 45 degree angle.  Ugh.   So he took her on to the dentist and I sat and waited.  Then I got the text:
          "Waiting. Going to be pulling three teeth."  
WHAT?????   Yeah.  Three of her four top, front teeth are now in a small pink "treasure box" awaiting the tooth fairy. 

So, feeling horrible that I couldn't be there with her I set off on the skywalk (a Des Moines thing - basically some shops spread out over gerbil-trail like hallways connecting buildings downtown) to hit the banks there.  NOT ONE bank had silver dollars or gold dollar coins that I could buy.  UGH.  I remembered our vending machine at work would often dispense dollar coins as change if you put in a five. I bought a terrible cup of overpriced coffee to break my ten and headed back to work sweaty and downhearted.  When I got to work I threw away the unsipped coffee, and hopefully slid my five dollar bill into the machine.  I made my selection and waited.  Cha ching, ching, chingchingchingchingching......  Quarters.  CURSE YOU QUARTERS.  So now I had an icky bag of vend-chips and a crapload of quarters.  Luckily while wandering the skywalk I had popped into the little card shop and purchased a suitably fluffy stuffed kitty cat (the animal du jour lately).  But still... I so wanted her to have something special from the tooth fairy. :(

So yeah, that photo above?  That is the last photo I have of Cora with all her baby teeth. :)   And here she is as of this afternoon - still smiling after it all.

Oh and Wiggles - he's still there.  Probably feeling pretty pissed about being one upped by the top trio.

5-1-12

Well obviously Milly is learning how to work the heartstrings.  While I was trying to get ready to head out the door this morning, she was tugging on my pant leg with her ususal "Uppy Guppie!  Uppy Guppie!"  So I leaned down and told her "Mommy can't right now, mommy's busy."   In response, she stopped, hung her little head and said "But I just wan' hug you."   Oh man.  How can you not stop everything for that?  Answer: you can't.