CORA'S PRETTIES

Babywearing is always convenient and comfortable, but if you haven't noticed, it can make for a pretty accessory as well - and I'm not just talking about my cute kids! In fact, they can be so pretty that if you're not careful, you can get as addicted to buying baby carriers as you can be to buying cloth diapers. Except baby carriers cost a lot more...

Unfortunately, I don't have many (good) pictures of our pretty slings and wraps, since we usually wear them around the house and are busy making dinner or doing other chores while keeping the kids close and happy (and we don't usually think to take photos), often using our Becos instead when we're out and about because they are super easy, fast, and fool-proof for getting kiddos secure while rushing in and out of the Mississippi heat.You've seen LOTS of pictures of Cora in her Beco!

This is what Cora USED to look like in her Beco Gemini on my back:

And once she was a bit bigger (that's a backpack strapped to my front, FYI - multitasking mama):

And even bigger (she still loves to snuggle on mama's tummy at 2-years-old):

And now for the pretties...

Last summer, a good friend let me borrow one of her wraps, just to see if wrapping was something I would like. These were my first attempts, with her Hoppendiz Light in Montreal (a great wrap for hot and humid climates because the weave is airy, which also makes for a very soft wrap, yet it still has great "grip"), tied in a simple Ruck (first with a regular tie, then a Tibetan tie):

I loved how high I could get her on my back, and so did she (so she could look over my shoulder)!

I made sure to test it out in public as well, to get an idea as to whether Cora would like being wrapped up in different situations. She was SO comfy!:

It didn't take me long to decide that I could be a wrapper, so I started searching the babywearing swap groups to find something that would work for our Mississippi heat (since I had to return the borrowed Hopp Light). My first find (from the BBC Babywearing Swap) was a Didymos Agave in a size 6 (the recommended size for beginners, and the size needed by most women in order to be able to do all the different wrapping styles - there are MANY). This one is a Ruck with a Twist.

But what I really wanted was a wrap I found that has BIRDS on it! And in a more girly color (since Cora got called a boy until 22-months-old, when her hair finally started to lengthen, even when she was wearing pink - so it was especially bad when her outfits were completely covered up by blue wraps). My ISO ("in search of") dream was the Vatanai Valensole (another wrap perfect for our climate, and with a slightly wider weft so that there is less "butt pop-age", meaning Cora will fit in it longer than some other wraps), and I finally found it. In a size 5... It's not the perfect size for me (I can't tie it Tiebtan-style), but I can do the back carries that I like (my favorite being the Ruck with a Twist I mentioned earlier). Now that Cora is older and doesn't like to be wrapped as often (and James almost never likes to be wrapped), I sold the Agave. So we have just one wrap, which I plan to keep for Cora to use with her own babies some day (the wrap you refuse to sell is termed a "Legacy Wrap", and I'm hoping this one will be passed down through the generations):

As far as slings go, we have had three. The first we bought when James was still little. It was a Sleeping Baby Productions size medium, made with sage-colored tencel fabric (also perfect for the heat and humidity around here). I used it a LOT when Cora was a newborn. Very easy and very comfortable.

But the tencel fabric seemed to be a bit "slippy" once Cora surpassed 20 lbs, with my nice, secure hip carry slipping as the minutes ticked by... So I decided to try something that was definitely "toddler strength" material - a Girasol. Gira's are a much heavier-weight fabric, so they are perfect for cooler months and larger babies, and they are blanket-soft. The sling I found on the swap (used is always better when purchasing wraps and slings, since they are broken in for you - already soft and floppy) is a slingified wrap (a wrap that has been turned into a sling), converted by Sleeping Baby Productions (I really love the shoulder pleats that Jan uses, as opposed to the gathered styles of some other brands) in the Wrappers Paradise colorway. Oooh, it's so pretty... This is another carrier that I'll be keeping for Cora to use with her own babies some day.
I can't wait for the weather to cool off so we can use it again (it's too thick for summer use)! In the meantime though, we're going to loan it out to Little Lauren for some indoor snuggling with her mama.

And lastly, we had a water sling (purchased new from a BBC mama friend of mine who owned a small online sewing shop before she had her 2nd baby). Water slings (and wraps, for that matter!) are perfect for pools and splash parks when babies are slippery and need to be held close and safe. We used this last summer when Cora was new to walking and still loved to be held constantly, even when big brother was running wild at the splash park. This summer, she's too busy swimming and splashing to tolerate a water sling, so I sold it back in the spring. Sure was cute though, and I loved that it matched her polka dot sun hat!

WILD COUNTRY SAFARI PARK

The kids have a lot of field trips this summer. A LOT. That means a lot of previously unplanned days off work for Jay and I to drive them (since we don't trust anyone else to drive them, watch them in crowded public places, and make sure they still eat and nap). Oh well. It also means more fun for us and more time with our kids, watching them experience new things. We'll manage vacation time this fall one way or another. Anyway, today's trip was to a drive-through safari park in Louisiana. We decided I would do this first trip, so off we went (after I worked a couple hours this morning, so at least I didn't have to take a whole 8 hours of leave). I made sure to dress James in his Cookie Monster animal cracker safari shirt for the occasion.

As usual, James and Manu showed up in coordinating outfits. Too funny that these best buddies have that happen so often!

Waiting in line for the wagon ride

All aboard!

James' face cracks me up here - he was SO excited to get to feed the animals

Jacob (who is attending AGAPE with his brother Bridger this summer!) feeding one of the bison. Their tongues are ridiculously long and twisty. Totally gross. You could literally pour the food into their mouths.

Baby Doll hung out in the safety of her carrier. She enjoyed watching and feeding the animals too (or "Elmos", as it sounds when she says it), but I doubt she'd have been as brave without the security of having her Mama.

Bridger, James, and Coley feeding more bison. There were lots of them! Babies even!

See? Baby bison! So cute!

And baby water buffalo

James LOVES Jacob and Bridger, in case I haven't mentioned it before. And he really likes to sit on their laps. He told me yesterday that Jacob said "Giddyup!" and today I found him sitting on Bridger's lap near the end of our safari tour. Luckily for James, these boys seem to adore him and don't mind holding him. Such a little snuggler, our boy is!

One of the coolest things we saw was a territorial male zebra chasing down a donkey. They were fast! And it was pretty funny to see that scared donkey just stand sadly ("Oh bother") at the end of the road as the zebra trotted back to his females...

There was a petting zoo too. This is Avery and Cora feeding a  young kangaroo.

I thought the rock pile for the goats to climb on was cool. Unfortunately, the goats who weren't hanging by the fence to eat were too busy lazing around in their feeding troughs to climb rocks for my amusement.

It was a pretty cool looking petting zoo, and I particularly enjoyed the fact that the animals were all enclosed, so the kids had to feed them through the fence (and I didn't have to worry about any animals digging in my pockets or peeing on my foot).

James was so funny with his animal food. As soon as he'd run out, he'd go scavenge in their feeding troughs to refill his bucket. I'm pretty sure we could have stayed there all day feeding the goats and chickens and cows and camel.

Cora was a food hoarder though. She did NOT want to give it all to those animals. She was the only kid left at lunch time that still had a full bucket of petting zoo food pellets... (And yes, her shoes are on the wrong feet. I told her as much, and usually she sits right down and fixes them, but today she wanted to keep them on her way. Whatever. Betcha this photo is messing with Jay's eyes though. He says she makes him dizzy when she does this.)

Dude, Jacob got a kiss from the baby camel. How awesome is that?!

James tested out Jacob's binoculars. You can't tell from the photo, but he's actually looking straight up at a roof...

 It was fun trip, the kids got to hang with their buddies and watch animals poop and chase each other around, and then they napped all the way back to Vicksburg. Win! And since we arrived at the gym long before the daycare room opened, I cranked up the AC, locked the van doors, and napped with them for 45 minutes until it opened. Then I did my 3-mile run, and some stationary bike (just to stretch my legs after running, 'cause I really do hate biking). I'm definitely feeling better (more energy) today, thank goodness. I've never had such long side effects from donating blood before (not even when I foolishly donated as a nursing mom when James was 7-months-old, and I was also unaware that I was pregnant with Cora). I donated Tuesday morning and have been exhausted until today. I suppose the middle-of-the-night potty drama with Cora and actual EXERCISE I do now are to blame too, but jeesh. I should have gone to bed earlier tonight. On that note...

"PIRATE SHIP ISLAND"

We had ANOTHER day-long field trip today (yes, our annual leave is not accumulating very fast these days), but we decided to go for it and make a fun day of it. A LONG fun day! Some of the fundraising we did this year went to secure our seats on the bus down to West Ship Island (or "Pirate Ship Island", as James called it) and pay for our ferry tickets. So we set our alarms for 3:30am, hopped on the bus at daycare at 4:30am, arrived in Gulfport at 8:30am, got to Ship Island by 10:00am and stayed until 3:00pm (the departure was delayed due to needing a new ferry to come out and get our group), stopped for dinner on the way home, then finally pulled into daycare again at 9:00pm. It was a long day, but totally worth it. The kids had SO MUCH FUN at the beach, and we really enjoyed getting to hang out with them all day (and the bus ride provided lots of extra cuddle time, which is always a bonus)! Ship Island is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore and is a true gem of the Mississippi coastline!

James getting ready for his very first bus ride!

Cora was so excited she couldn't sit still...

...but as soon as we started moving and I made her sit, she fell right to sleep. 

Not James though. Cora and I napped until 6:30am, but James was very busy talking to Daddy and showing him everything he could see outside the big bus windows. Like the many ponds. When he spotted one with a tree in the middle, he said "Hey, there's a TREE in that pond! I gotta get it out!"

The ferry out to the island was fun. The kids saw lots of dolphins (many jumping in our wake) and pelicans (a favorite of theirs, of course) AND got to eat ice cream. They were in heaven.

James and Daddy on the pier. Fort Massachusetts in the background.

Fort Massachusetts is one of the smallest forts we've visited. We didn't get a chance to take the tour (because the inside is flooded with rain water right now), but it definitely reminded us of Fort Jefferson, which we visited way back when we were SCA interns and first dating in south Florida.

The walk across the island, from the pier to the oceanside beach, a nice walkway over the hot sand and swampy area (we saw a snapping turtle under the walkway and lots of red-winged blackbirds). In the middle of the photo you can see the snack bar on the far side of the island, so it's not too far a walk. Perhaps a quarter mile (right mom?) ;-)

Here, this gives you a better picture of what the island looks like. The passenger ferry docks on the left  near the fort, and the beach with the snack bar is on the right.

The kids went right to playing in the sand as soon as we dropped our stuff and set them free!

Driving his pirate ship around and making tracks in the sand

Thanks for the awesome sun tent Gramma! It was PERFECT!!

Cooling off in the ocean. For both kids, this was their first time SWIMMING in the ocean, and they liked it (Cora more so than James - we think we was still picturing the giant waves of the Pacific, so he preferred to stay up on the sand!)

Burying herself in the sand

Helping Daddy build drip castles by bringing him water

James learning how to build drip castles

Lunch break in the shade!

On the way back to the ferry at the end of the day we stopped to get our usual "photo in front of the national park sign", even though Cora was already asleep (as soon as we showered her off, changed her clothes, and stuck her in the Beco, she was OUT, and stayed that way for 2 hours of me walking around, waiting for the delayed ferry, and the entire 1-hour boat ride back to the coast).

The boys walked around the fort while we waited for the delayed ferry and Cora slept...

...and found some shark teeth (from the recent dredged sand deposit made post-Katrina to protect the fort).

James lasted until the ferry was in motion (around 3:15pm) then passed out himself. Sleeping babies = a day well spent!