CORA SAID

Cora followed me upstairs to the bathroom when I preferred to have some privacy, so I asked her why she was following me. Her response? "Because I'm a mommy lover!" 4/10/15

After an especially big push on the new swing Cora said "Whoa, that tickled my belly AND my vagina!" 1/7/16

Gramma told Cora she'd remember the place they wanted to show James and Cora "How do you keep your remembers in your head? Are you like James?!" (because we always tell him he has an awesome memory) 11/24/15

"So we don't crush the fairies" (explaining why you point your toes in ballet) 11/1/15

“James! We don't do tattletaling!” (in response to James telling us that Cora said a bad word at home earlier) 10/12/15

Finished the first Magic Treehouse book, where they travel back to the Cretaceous, and now the kids are running around with "portal" books about dinosaurs. Good thing we don't have a treehouse, or they'd be pretty upset not to be transported into their books... 8/29/15

The kids were playing "mommy and baby" when I came downstairs this morning. James told me that his baby was a robot, and proceeded to move the dolls arms in robotic motions while making mechanical noises. Cora quickly snatched the doll from him saying "Baby Joseph is NOT a robot! He's a gift from heaven!" 7/12/15

"Mama, you have the most beautiful face in the whole world" (while cupping my face in her hands at bedtime – yes, she can be SO SWEET sometimes!) 6/30/15

I just fussed at Cora for touching every single display on the way out of CVS and she scowled at me and said "It's MY life!" 6/22/15

"Gramma, you don’t wanna tease your brain?!" (asking Gramma about helping her with a puzzle, after Gramma had called it a brain teaser the day before) 6/21/15

Trying to decipher the source of James' crying over something and I get tired of getting nowhere so I say we're just going to let it go and stop discussing it, and Cora busts out from the back seat with "Let it gooo! Let it gooooo!" 5/29/15

"There are millions of spiders in the world, you know. They're hiding everywhere." 4/18/15 (as I'm putting her to bed…)

“Moms do all the work.” (said with a sigh and hands on her hips as she “played house”) 3/1/15

“Oh Brudders!” 2/16/15

As Jay picked up Cora to take her to bed she said, "Yip yip!" (which is what they say to the air bison to get him to fly, in Avatar: The Last Airbender, a cartoon both kids are really into lately) 2/12/15

Before I forget to write these down... Cora STILL says "Up a top" in place of "on top of" and "Nail Tail Polish" instead of just "nail polish". Cracks me up! 1/1/15

Driving home from dinner in the rain Grambot says "I wish I could take some of this rain back to California with me!" (in reference to their ongoing drought and Cora matter of factly replies "Well then, get a bucket!" 12/28/14

After getting into the very warm salt bath with me (do I ever bathe alone?...) Cora turns to me with horror on her face and exclaims "This water is freaking HOT!" 12/25/14

Cora swirls her cup around in circles and says "I'm stirring all the germs up!" 12/20/14

The kids were sweet as pie to each other this morning on the way to school... James said that he's getting hot chocolate at his kindergarten Christmas party, but it isn't fair if Cora doesn't get any, so he's going to bring her some to her class (if Ms. Tina lets him). Cora said "Aw, thanks James!" The discussion then moved on to sharing and love and helping each other get back up if they fall down. I told them they are so lucky to have each other and that I hope they will always be best friends. That sure was a great way to start the day! 12/16/14

"I know how to spell my next name. It's M A E." That's your middle name... "Oh. Well, I can spell my first name too. It's C O R A." 11/9/14

Asking daddy to drive on our pumpkin patch adventure, Cora reasons "Because I love you the most!" Jay tells her that hearing that might hurt mommy's feelings, so she says "Well, I love you the most, but I love mommy the best!" 11/2/14

The kids inherited a TON of kid magazines from their older buddies. One such magazine (from Discovery Kids) is an issue all about the Aztecs. There is a picture on one page of their kidnapping and sacrifice ritual, complete with blood and guts and souls floating skyward. Cora asks me "Why are those guys showing their blood?" James cuts me off and tells her "It's a battle, Cora. They won." She harumphs and says "Well, that's not very nice. Those guys should not have cut each other up." 9/18/14

Driving around town, Cora randomly starts speaking in monotone. James immediately cuts her off with "Cora, don't talk in that voice!" Innocently, she says "What voice?" And he replies "That one. It sounds mad." Now she's offended and yells at him "It's not mad! That's my beautiful voice! Like Ariel!" 9/5/14

I'm trying to convince James to eat the peanuts and almonds that are untouched in his lunchbox at the end of the day, telling him that they are good and I know he likes him, and that mommy would never give him yucky ones or something that he doesn't like. Cora chimes in with "Yeah James, there are no yucky ones because God doesn't make bad nuts!" And yet another stellar parenting moment where I'm laughing hysterically and the kids have no idea why... 9/2/14

We just told the kids about going to the Redwoods while we're in California and how the trees are so tall they won't be able to see the tops. Cora gets a huge smile on her face and exclaims "Whoa! Did Grambot water them a lot?!" 7/15/14

"And if daddy doesn't do the right thing, then when I get home I will tell my mommy that daddy didn't do nothin' right!" (Her statement to me when I asked her to remind daddy about some trivial something that they need to take care of after school) 6/19/14

Upon returning from a bathroom break on our road trip Cora tells me "Daddy and me both pooped and peeped in the potty!" 5/26/14

While having a minor meltdown in the car about the fact that there are still 6 hours left to drive (at least) before we get home, which morphs into whines and complaints and just random loud and annoying noises, I tell Cora to stop pushing my buttons. She replies with a scowl on her face "You don't have any buttons." Then, after a thoughtful pause "Where ARE your buttons?" 5/26/14

Cora tries a new soap and says "Ooh that smells so good! It smells like Pixie Dust!" 4/26/14

"Mama? Are you anywhere?" (Playing hide-n-seek with Cora is fun!) 4/17/14

Cora, continually falling off the paddle board as she attempts to cross the pool solo, as we repeatedly offer balance assistance and follow closely... "Stop touching me, I got it!" (falls underwater and needs rescue) "I don't need you!" (falls again) "Leave me alone! I can do it by myself!" Mm-hmm. 2/24/14

"Mmmm, I love these spoiled peanuts!" Said while eating boiled peanuts in Georgia. 1/26/14

"I just want my Starbucks!" Shouted during a road trip after being told that our backroads route was not going to have any Starbucks, and therefore no cake pops, along the way. 1/23/14

"My heart is crying." 12/29/13

"You're hurting my FEELINGS! You're breaking my HEART!" Said dramatically to daddy after getting in trouble... 12/22/13

Cora and daddy like to practice math with the bedtime vitamins. Cora calls it "cwakulating". 12/20/13

"STOP IT!" (Cora's sleepy response to my early morning running alarm going off on a Saturday, after she'd snuck into our bed.) 12/7/13

James tapped on Cora’s shoulder while driving home after school and told her “I’ve got something to tell you, I love you Cora.” And Cora replied with “I love you too James!” We are definitely doing something right… 8/1/13

“Are you sleeping in my bed mommy?” No. “Then get out of my bed!” Thanks sweetheart… 7/28/13

“Oh, them has sparkles on them!”(In reference to sprinkles on cupcakes) 7/20/13

“Ah! It’s bumpily! You makes me bumped dada!” (Driving over train tracks) 6/20/13

Backstory: Cora has an ear infection and has been on antibiotics since Friday, which as you know, causes sporadic loose/looser stools. Last night at dinner (pizza) the kids asked for oranges, which Cora is allergic to anyway (because they and other citrus fruits giver her loose stools). So, I asked her "How's your poop looking?" before acquiescing to her request for oranges. She looked at me with the most shocked face, said nothing for a few seconds, then cracked up saying "Ew yucky! Poops are yucky! Ew mommy!" Why did I think it was ok to ask a 3-year-old what their poop looks like? 6/18/13

“No peoples goes in daddy’s tummy.” (Discussing the fact that boys can’t have babies.) 6/10/13

In response to daddy talking about taking her dirty self home to hose her off, she replied haughtily “I don’t want to get hosed! Uh!” 5/15/13

“I’m gonna wear this bwacewet.”No, mommy is going to wear both bracelets because they go together. “Nooooo, I’m gonna wear this one cause mommy is gonna share!” 5/10/13

Cora just put a cape on one of her baby dolls and is flying it around the room singing "duh nuh nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh nuh Bat-Babeee!" 4/3/13

I sang "You are my sunshine" as usual with Cora at bedtime tonight. Afterward, she tells me "We have to keep it". I ask her what. "The sunshine. We can't let them take it away. That's not nice." So I ask who is going to take away the sunshine. "The bad guys will take it, and I will be sad because I need to share it. With everybody." Got that everybody? Cora wants to share her sunshine with you. 2/8/13

It's suddenly raining really hard outside. Cora stops what she's doing and gets a very surprised look on her face, then yells "It's raining buckets!" 4/21/13

We're driving around and talking about our upcoming vacation in June, which we'd just purchased plane tickets for, and how it's right after Cora's birthday. Cora thus immediately starts talking about June being for HER birthday and asks for a Hello Kitty birthday party, so I tell her I think that's a great idea and that I'll buy her a special Hello Kitty dress. She gets this big smile on her face and says so earnestly "Oh THANK YOU mama!" 4/18/13

James was doing something (who knows what) to annoy his sister, so she told him "Do you want me to put you outside with the possums? I'm gonna bop you on the head!" The backstory? Ever since Jay found the possum in our garbage can and let it go under the big tree out front, he's been using the possum as a threat to the kids (i.e. eat your dinner now or you'll be finishing it outside with the possum). Mean? I kinda think so. But it's working... And the bopping on the head is in reference to the Little Bunny Foo Foo song, which we've been singing a lot as Easter neared. 4/2/13

We were waiting and waiting for Cora to come back from the bathroom while Skyping with Grambot and Pawpaw. Finally we yelled to her and told her to quit playing around and get back out to the living room. Her reply? "I'm washing my hands! Give me just a second!!" No idea where she learned that phrase... 3/31/13

Cora was being a monster to get dressed for bed (why is she still like this anyway, she's never liked getting her jammies on, even since she was an itty bitty baby...) so Jay told her "Don't make me man handle you!" He had to, of course, and she ended up telling him to go away, crying for me. When I went in and asked her what was wrong she sobbed "Daddy handled me!" It was so hard not to laugh at her! 3/21/13

Walking along a lake... Cora: "Aw, ducks! I like ducks!" Jay: "Those are coots." Cora: "Aw, I like dem Coots!" 3/10/13

I sang "You are my sunshine" as usual with Cora at bedtime tonight. Afterward, she tells me "We have to keep it". I ask her what. "The sunshine. We can't let them take it away. That's not nice." So I ask who is going to take away the sunshine. "The bad guys will take it, and I will be sad because I need to share it. With everybody." Got that everybody? Cora wants to share her sunshine with you 2/8/13

While attempting to sing "the rainbow song" together at bedtime tonight, Cora stopped me to say "Mommy wait! Mommy, I have bad hip-ups!" (Jay made her giggle too much before bed...) 1/9/13

My mom asked Cora "Isn't your mama silly?" and Cora replied "No, she's crazy!" Thanks sweetheart. 1/3/13

The first thing Cora said while waking up? "I'm stuck in the castle!" Must have been a princess kind of night. 12/24/12

Baby Doll sang "Over the Rainbow" with me tonight at bedtime, all the way through. It's really hard to finish a song when you're overwhelmed with cuteness and pride. 12/20/12

Cora just took off her shoes and socks and told me to massage her feet. 12/16/12

James is jumping on the couch, and Cora tells him "Ooh Dames! Walphie is hiding in the sock! He's watching you be naughty!" (Our Elf on the Shelf, who had landed in one of the Christmas stockings, really does have magical powers.) 12/12/12

This morning Cora was being difficult and whining/crying about everything and nothing (well, she didn't want to go to school, didn't want vacation to end, missed her Gramma, didn't want to eat the breakfast bar I offered her, etc.) and James asked "Mommy, what's Cora crying for?" So I told him "I don't know, you should ask her." He did, saying "Cora, why are you crying?" and she answered him in the most pitiful and dramatic voice "Because I'm a big baby!" I almost hit the floor I was laughing so hard. Somebody please save me from this girl when she hits 12! 11/26/12

And apparently my daughter has OCD to some degree. Her teacher told me that they normally do their charts (colors, shapes, numbers, etc.) in the same order every morning. Well, she tried to change things up yesterday just for fun and Cora yelled at her "Miss Kim! Miss Kim no! Not like that!" until she gave up halfway through and started over in the usual order. Pretty sure our queen rules more than just our household... 11/14/12

Halfway to daycare Cora says "Where's my Josie baby? We left her at home? We gotta go back for her, she's all alone!" Luckily my explanation that Jude and Mouton would watch her and take good care of her was sufficient. 11/14/12

Cora serenaded me tonight instead of me singing to her. "Skidderidinki doo, I looove Josie baby! A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Pink. Q R S T U V W X booty booty butt!" Rest assured that is NOT how I sing it to her. 11/07/12

Sang a duet version of Skiddermerinky Dinky Dink with Cora at bedtime tonight and she actually remembered the order of verses I always sing to her. And I'm pretty sure she has the cutest little voice ever :-) 09/17/12

James and Cora are both in trouble for jumping on (and over and off of) the couch. They go to time out. After 3 minutes, we let them out to discuss the problem. They know perfectly well why they were in time out, of course. James starts listing "James no jumping on the couch, Cora no jumping on the couch, Mommy no jumping on the couch, and Daddy no jumping on the couch. Nobody is jumping on the couch anymore." while Cora chimes in, pointing her finger at each of us in turn, "No no, No no, No no, No no!" 09/14/12

Cora is singing away in the back seat on the way to school, repeating over and over "Doomie duh da da, dooby da da da, dummy duh da da, doomie da da da" and eventually she stops long enough for me to ask her what she's singing. Her reply? "I singing the dada song" Well silly me... 09/11/12

Cora just woke up from nap, realized the gate at the bottom of the stairs was completely shut for once, and called up "Hey Daddy? Hi. Hi Daddy. I awake! I downstairs! Open the gate for me!" all in the sweetest little voice. Dude, could she be any cuter? 08/28/12

I just got home from my run and received zero attention/enthusiasm from my kids (normally, they are, in fact, happy to see me), so I asked Cora "Are you gonna give mama a hug or what?" Her response? "What." Oh yeah, she's 2 alright... 08/12/12

Cora has entered the phase where she says things like "Leave me ALONE!" and "Go away Mommy!" Definitely not my favorite phase... 08/11/12

Clever Cora wanted a drink of water 20 minutes after already being tucked into bed. We told her no (because we don't want her to wet the bed), she threw a fit, then got quiet. A few minutes later she came out again and told she NEEDED water because she had "Hee-cups". Kinda hard to argue with her sneaky logic (even though she most certainly did NOT have hiccups). 08/10/12

Cora is singing herself to sleep... "Skiddery-doo, I wub you! Wub you in morning. Un-duh a moon! A B C D EFE. I wub you!" and James is chiming in with "Skiddermerinky I love you when you're shiny! I love you when you're silly. I love you! Skiddermidoo!" 07/01/12

James and Cora are playing "Doctor Smith". He is trying to explain the difference between an owie and a boo-boo to her. (We only say owie, so she has no idea what he's talking about.) Finally she says to him, in a slightly condescending mama-voice "Ohhh... Owie boo-boo? K. I fix it!" 06/09/12

Cora just walked into the kitchen with her undies around her ankles saying "I pooped!" Naturally, I went to find out where. "Right there! I poo poo in the potty!" Yeah you did Baby Doll! Well done! 06/05/12

Took the kids to a waterpark for the first time and they loved it. Cora is FEARLESS and rode all the slides that her height allowed, all by herself. My arms are sore from catching her and lifting her back out as she squealed "Again! Again!" Nobody believed she's not even two yet - wild girl! 06/03/12

Every night this week as I'm putting the kids to bed, Cora has told me "Hey Mommy? I'm OK." This is EXACTLY what James tells me each night, as he's getting sleepy and finally settling in. Monkey see, monkey do. Sometimes I LOVE the things she picks up from her big bro! 06/01/12

When I told Cora it was time for her bedtime potty break, she ran to the bathroom yelling "My turn! My turn!" But then she proceeded to pull the little stool out from in front of the toilet, sit down on it, point at the toilet, and tell me "I sit here. You go potty!" Um, not exactly what I meant... 05/30/12

Loading up the van and Cora suddenly yells "I pooping!" So far it's just gas though. Must be hard learning to distinguish between the two... 05/29/12

Cora's favorite phrases these days include "No, I don't WANT to!", "I do it MY-SEF!", and "I not a BABY!" 05/07/12

Cora woke up just before our alarm went off this morning. Jay went downstairs to try and get her back to sleep. When I got out of the shower she was in my bed, wide awake. When I asked her what she was doing in mommy's bed, she said "Uhhhhh, sleeping". How is it possible for a 22-month-old to have this much attitude already? 04/23/12

Cora told me for the first time unprompted this morning "Hey Mommy, I love you." Sure can't get a better start to my day than that! 04/22/12

Little Miss Monkey See Monkey Do asks to go to time out with James. When we tell her no, because he's in TROUBLE, she crosses her arms, turns her back to us, and yells "Uh!" all while giving us the evil eye over her shoulder. If she has this much attitude at 22-months, what will SHE be like at 3-years-old? 04/16/12

Cora has learned the proper usage of "Booya! Backfire!" as evidenced by tonight's dinner conversation. 04/10/12

In the car, we hear a little 'putt putt putt' from the backseat, followed by hysterical laughter from James. I ask "What's so funny?", to which Cora replies "ME!" 03/31/12

Pointing at her Care Bear up on the kitchen island, she tells me excitedly "That's my bear up there!" And when I stand with my mouth hanging open, shocked that she just used a very clear 5-word sentence at 20-months-old, she points emphatically (as in, come ON mom, hand it over) and yells "Right there!" So I hand her the bear. And she giggles, so happy to have her bear back (we'd had to wash it due to a vomit incident - a thankfully rare occurrence at our house). She also sang the lyrics "Ha Bur-day to you!" this morning, at James' request. 03/08/12

Cora is learning to sing her school song, and it's so cute! She sing-songs "A, B, A, P, P!" over and over. (The actual "lyrics" are AGAPE, of course) 02/27/12

Cora is continually going in and out of the sunroom, so I say "Cora, are you coming out to play with us or not?" With a sneer she states "Not!" and slams the door in my face. All this attitude from a 19-month-old with a black eye. 01/29/12

Cora surprised us at dinner. Not only can she say "spicy", but she apparently knows the difference between "hot" and "spicy", since her response to her first taste of her BBQ burger was to whine and sputter "picy!!", when she normally tells us something is "hot" if it's steaming or she sees one of us blow on our food to cool it down. 01/12/12

Cora is finally tall enough to climb up into the van, up on the seat, and up into her car seat! Add in her saying "My buckle!", then proceeding to buckle her chest clip while I go around to get James situated, and mama's job of loading two kids into the van just got a whole lot easier! 01/11/12

Gearing up for a run I asked James if he was going to motivate me by yelling "Go Mommy go!" and he dutifully replied "Go Mama go!" Then I asked Cora the same question and she replied "Run!" Ha! Yes ma'am! 01/09/12

Cora just came running up to me yelling "Poosh! Dames poosh! No no! Shtop! Shtop it!" all while shaking her finger back at James. She even walked up to him and poked him in the chest while telling him "No no!" And now the tattle-tailing goes both directions... 01/09/12

While sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I sneezed, and Cora promptly told me "B'ess oo!" 11/25/11

Cora is learning new words every day. Tonight I brought home pizza for dinner, and she very cleary, and very happily cheered "Peez-zah" when I told her what was in the box. 10/06/11

Apparently Cora likes Beyonce. She sang "Oh oh, oh oh oh, uh oh" while pointing her finger up and down (after viewing the video on youtube). 09/09/11

Cora's favorite words lately are "No" and "Mine". If I ask her for a kiss, she very cutely tells me "No" while shaking her head. And if she doesn't want to give something up, she'll clutch is to her chest with both hands while declaring "Mine!" 09/03/11

While changing Cora's diaper before nap, she suddenly stopped her wild kicking, grabbed her left foot with her left hand, pointed to her toes with her right hand, and said "toes", unprompted, plain as day. 08/14/11

When offered a bite of cinnamon raison bread this morning, Cora turned her head away and said "Ew". We didn't even know she knew that word, let alone the surprise of her NOT liking a food item, since she eats everything. 07/27/11

If Cora hears us say (even from two rooms away) "Ready? Set?" or "1, 2, 3...", she will always answer us with "Go!" 06/05/11