Happy Mother's Day!

Seeing as this is Gena's first Mother's Day, and she is currently in Milan, Italy, I felt this post was necessary.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, mothers-to-be, mothers-in-law, honorary mothers, step-mothers, and anyone else I forgot out there, I hope today is worthy of you.  

Gena, wherever you are right now (hopefully still Milan), and whatever you're doing (probably listening to someone talk about an infectious disease of some sort), Cora and I want you to know that you are very, very special.  You make the hard times not quite so hard, and you make the good times even gooder.  You have somehow managed to turn me into a responsible adult (please excuse my last interjection for a shout out to my Mom who also played a part in that role...I love you Mom!) just in time try to raise a human being from the parasite you so lovingly carried for those long months.  Just when I think I'm about to snap, you swoop in and make things alright.  You have a way with Cora like only a mother could, and I love you all the more for it.  Cora absolutely adores you, and I can already see her wanting to follow in your every footstep.  You must also have had one heck of a mom to somehow know how to be everything Cora needs without even trying (ok, I lied, here's my last interjection...I love you too Leta!).  This year I'm making my very first Mother's Day Resolution.  I resolve to show you every day just how much I love you, and how much we appreciate your amazing Momness.  You truly are our wonderful.  Happy Mother's Day.

This is begging to be clicked on!

Sleeping Soundly

Over the last nine months Gena and I have developed many new routines.  One such routine, as I'm sure many parents out there have adopted, is going in to kiss (or gaze upon, now that her crib is lowered) the baby goodnight on our way to bed.  Now, I've always heard kids could sleep in any position they can twist their body into, but I never realized just how twisty and random they would be.  Since Gena is the proud new owner of an iPhone 4, she has a small flash on her phone, and can take some great sleeping-baby pictures.  We've talked about putting together a collection of sleeping pictures, and since I don't have much else to say today, I figured now is the time to share.  Here are a few of our favorite "Sleeping Soundly" pictures. 

Picnic in the Park

Last weekend was beautiful. Yes, the weather is warm in Louisiana, but so far it hasn't been too warm. You might actually say we've been enjoying a nice spring, but as soon as you say it, we'll be in the 90s. Saturday was sunny and 80, so we packed a lunch and headed to the park. You saw the first part of the trip's photographic output here, so I won't bore you with any more details. Here are some wonderful shots from last weekend's picnic.

An instant classic, one of our new all-time favorites

Marshmallow pictures - Months 7 & 8

Once again, we took Marshmallow pictures a little late. As you can guess by the title, I also decided to continue with the two-months-at-a-time blog post. Trust me folks, these are worth the wait. The lighting was tough when we took the seven month pictures, but I think we got a few good ones. We also snapped photo a cute, but way too blurry to share, photo of the first time Cora ever sat up on her own. Suffice it to say, it was very adorable, if not mostly accidental. In case you missed it, I believe I explained in the Spring Break and milestones post. So without further delay, here are our favorite marshmallow pictures from seven months. Remember to click on any pics to view them full-size.  

Grandmom and Janna

Cora's Grandmom (my mother) and her Aunt Janna made it in last week to spend a few days with her, and they had a blast!  Janna hadn't seen Cora since Thanksgiving, so she had a lot of catching up to do.