Family Reunion!

Sunday was a great day! The weather was great and the traffic wasn't too bad for the drive to Toledo. It was such a nice day to spend with Adam's family.

Cori got to see her great- great aunts Teresa, Lucy and Kathleen, her great aunts Rosie and Jo and her great uncles John and Jim. She was sooooo happy to see her Granny! As soon as she saw her she started running to her. I think Granny was pretty happy to see Cori too!

Tara and Eric were there with Logan and Lucas. Lucas has come such a long way since his long stay in the hospital and i know he has a long way to go. We just keep them all in our prayers. Logan is such a big boy and he and Cori had fun playing with his cars and the sidewalk chalk.

Cori and Daddy tried to play a race game with the other Daddys and their kids. You placed the kid on a beach towel (sitting) and while the kid held on for dear life, the Daddys raced across the grass pulling the beach towel along behind them. Someone forgot to tell Cori to hang on and she went flying backwards as Adam took off. I have pictures, i will post them. Needless to say, Cori and Adam finished last!

It was nice to see everyone and Adam and i each won at card bingo. And i guessed the number of malted milk balls in the jar! Whoo hoo!! Can't wait to do it all again next year!

The Celtic Festival!

I decided to let Cori see some of her Heritage in action and off we went to the Celtic Festival in Dayton. We met Grandpa at the Cultural Tent and had to pass by the Entertainment Stage on our way. For a little someone who seemed awfully tired in the truck, she sure livened up as we were passing the live music. She was clapping her hands and kicking her feet to the beat of the Irish music. Shortly after we met up with Grandpa, Kerry and her clan arrived. Then it was off the to the kids games!

Now Cori is really too little (and Mommy was really too broke) to play any of the games. However, there is an area where the little ones can build Fairy Houses out of bark and stones and shells and moss. So Cori jumped right in and started helping Erin and Molly build some Fairy dwellings. Mostly, Cori picked up stones to hand to the other children who were also building fairy houses. She is a helpful kid afterall!

We watched Erin and Molly play some more games and WIN a couple of them! Yeah Erin and Molly! Pretty soon we ran into Mr. Hoying and his wife. Mr. Hoying was my history/government teacher in H.S. and also my softball coach. He was also my favorite teacher (except for you Dad) and someone i respect and admire. He hasn't changed a bit! I don't think he ages.

Later, Grandma showed up and it was hugs and kisses all around. Grandma took off with the children and it was off the the games once more while Dad and i talked about what is wrong with sports. After a while i went looking for my kid and when i found her she was letting anyone in ear shot know that she had had enough of the Celtic Festival and quite frankly so had Mommy.

Cori loved the music, loved the Fairy House she helped her cousins build and loved the ride home where she got to watch the Backyardigans on the DVD player (thank you Emily, you have saved our summer)

Today it is off to Toledo to see the other side of our culturally diverse family. We are going to the Polish Family Reunion on Daddy's side! My poor child is half Polish, half Irish - God help her!

Dinner, Dancing and More Cori Fun

I know, I know. I am a slacker blogger. Well here is what has been going on around here lately. Last night my Mother took Cori to a restaurant in Dayton to hear Rick Fanin play guitar. My Mother assured me that this was not a bar but indeed a restaurant and that they would be seated on the patio. Apparently, my Daughter was a hit and nearly stole the show. She danced in the isle, clapped her hands to the beat, had the waitresses waiting on her hand and foot. They brought her ice for her sippy cup water!! She better not be expecting that at home. She also danced with the different patrons and gave high fives all around. She slept in until after 9 am which is unheard of!

A few days ago Cori and i went to lunch with my Dad. It was so cute. She ran right up to him and said, "Hi Ampa!" We had a nice lunch and visit. Cori loves lemons. She chews on them and says "Mmmmmm" the whole time. I have pictures to prove it.

We have been swimming with Kerry and Erin and Molly at the Theological Seminary Pool. Cori likes to sit on the side of the pool and then we say "Ready jump!" and she scootches herself off the side and into the pool. Of course Mommy is there to catch her. She is quite the little water baby.

We had to make Cori an appointment at the Dr.'s office this past week. She kept patting her left ear and saying "utch utch" which is how my Daughter says "Ouch". Turns out she had some fluid in her ear that wasn't draining. The Dr. said it wasn't infected and that as long as she didn't run a fever, it would probably drain on its own. Cori got tired of waiting for the Dr. to come in so we had a picnic as you can see in the pics above.

And finally, we had a great time last week at Abigail and Jacqueline's birthday party. Cori loved the balloons. The ballons were life sized figures of Strawberry Shortcake and Dora. I posted about the party earlier but now i have pictures. You will have to go back and take a look. This week we are hanging out and then we will be off to Granny Haines' house for the family reunion in Toldeo. We are all looking forward to that!

Happy Birthday Abigail and Jacqueline

Sunday, we went to my brother's house and had a party for his girls, Abigail and Jacqueline. They are a year and a couple of weeks apart in age, so this year they had one party. Cori had a nice time playing with balloons and sweeping. That's right i said sweeping. She found a toy broom and started sweeping the kitchen, the living room, the hallway. I knew all that broom coaching would pay off eventually!! But why can't she sweep her own house??

I had to go to a church function so i left early and left Daddy in charge. He did a great job, which he always does. I learned a long time ago that Daddys do things differently, not wrong, just differently. And while it may not be the way Mommy would do it, it is still ok.

We are trying a new approach to naps. We are just placing Cori in her crib and letting her fall asleep. So as i am typing i am listening to the protests of my child who does not want to be napping. But eventually she will fall asleep. At night i still hold her while she falls asleep. I am not willing to give up that time of togetherness yet. There will come a day when my little girl doesn't want Mommy to hold her and i am getting all my snuggles in while they are still wanted. I have pics of the birthday party and of cori sweeping and i will post them as soon as we get to Kroger to have them transferred.

In the Words of Cori

Today at the pool with Kerry and Erin and Molly, Cori learned to say "Ready, Jump!" after about 2 tries. It started me thinking about all the other words she knows and has picked up recenly. She knows the standard "hi" and "bye-bye" and "NO!" She says "Daddy" like a pro. She also says, "Hi Shelby" and she is working on Hi Hanford, but apparently that is harder to say. Usually when she greets someone, she says "Hi Baby!" The other day i swear she said "Grandma." And her new favorite is "Goo Chawb. Which to you and i is "Good Job."

The other night i was passing a ball back and forth with her and i said, "Cori, this is a ball, can you say ball?" She looked at it for a second or two and then said, "Baww" , which certainly sounded like ball. Tonight when i was putting on her pj's she was looking at the turtle on her wall and pointed to it. I said, "Cori that is a turtle" and she said "turl". I am thinking that the next few weeks are going to be filled with new words. And i can't wait.

For months now my baby girl has sounded like she is fluent in Dutch. She talks and talks and talks and knows exactly what she is saying but no one else does. Sometimes she finishes one of her "sentences" and then pauses, and then laughs. I guess she has a sense of humor too!

So far though, she hasn't said anything that sounds like mom, or mommy. Sometimes she hollars "Maaaaaaa" but usually that is when she is mad. I am looking forward to that first, "Hi Mommy" just like she says "Hi Daddy." Hopefully it won't be long now.

Beeep Beeep Beeeep Beeeep

That is the sound of Cori backing up. Sometime this past week she figured out how to walk backwards and she thinks this is the best thing since the sippy cup! She does it all the time now and laughs and laughs while she is navagating through all her stuff on the floor. Along with the walking backwards came the ability to spin around and around. So now she spins and spins and makes herself dizzy and falls over and laughs and laughs. I have decided that spinning yourself dizzy is to toddlers what getting drunk is to adults (not that i would know what that feels like :) ) I honestly belive that she gets a "high" off of getting dizzy. And it is freaking hysterical to boot!!

The other day Cori and i went to check out Menards in Tipp City for its Grand Opening. That place is HUGE! Cori started making a noise that his hard to describe but believe me when i say it was loud. The noise she was making echoed off the high ceiling much to Cori's delight. So she spent our entire visit making this noise so she could hear the echo. Of course passing people would smile and laugh at her which in turn made her want to make the noise louder and louder. My daughter the ham. I wonder where she gets that from??

Cori spent the evening with Uncle Scott last night. Just Cori, Scott, Erin and Molly. Apparently they had a hoot! Erin and Molly think that Cori is a one ring circus. Thank you to Uncle Scott for watching her and thank you to Erin and Molly for watching Uncle Scott. Cori had a wonderful time.

The Zoo Again!!

Tuesday the Kadel Clan went to the Columbus Zoo and a grand time was had by all. The weather was perfect but the crowd was insane! I though Adam and my Dad were going to start giving classes in manners and taking turns and waiting in line properly. And those classes were just for the adults! I won't even mention the kids. Let's just say that if i acted that way at the zoo when i was little, my parents would have snatched me up and taken me home beating my butt the whole way back to the car!

Anyway, Cori had a fun time, and i have some pictures to share. Adam and i had such a nice time at the Columbus Zoo that we are talking about a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo as well, just so we can compare all three of the major zoos in Ohio. I also have photos of the pirate ship, that i am adding to the Yo Ho Ho post, and at the end of the blog i will add some photos of Cori and her friend Monica swimming in Cori's wading pool for the first time this summer. Enjoy!