And just a couple more pictures.

And here is another picture from our recent portrait session. Look closely at the dress Cora is wearing. That dress was made by my Grandma Grush and worn by my mom, Carolyn, when she was three and made out of parachute material. At the time that was the only material available. Mom has kept it all these years and has it hanging in her entryway. We borrowed it and had Cora wear it for some pictures. It's a beautiful dress and very, very well made to have survived 60 some years.

Every year I have the kids' pictures taken around the time of their birthdays in June and around Christmas, six months later. This year we were kinda busy in December and didn't get them taken quite on time, but instead it was well into February before we got to the studio. Anyway, here are some of their pics. Enjoy !!

Thank God for friends! Have you ever noticed how different friends serve different purposes in your life? I want to send a quick thanks to my friend Sarah who is my "Gosh, I wish I was young like you" friend. To Lynn who is my "You have an older son, what can I expect next with Henry" friend. To Amy who is my "I idolize you and your great figure and three well-behaved adorable girls - how can I be more like you" friend. To Lillyan who is my "We're both in the same boat with our kids, how do we handle this situation" friend. To Shelly who is my "Can your daughter come over to play with my kids because I'm tired of playing Candy Land and need a break" friend. To Yvette who is my "I'm having man trouble" friend. To Kim who is my "I've gone through this with my kids, can I offer some advice, which she always appreciates" friend. To Heather who is my "oldest and dearest" friend. To the other daycare and kindergarten moms who are nothing more than a wave and a "good morning" friend - you are also important to me and make me smile. And mostly to my mom, my "boy I didn't like you growing up but now you're my best friend" friend. I love all of you gals !!

It's not that Henry isn't cute too - but these Cora stories are just priceless. Last night we were snuggling in bed and Cora asked for about the 13th time if she could get out of bed for something (another glass of water or another stuffed animal or something) and I said that if she got out of bed again, she would lose her TV privileges the next day. She immediately dissolved into tears and threw a full-blown temper tantrum for the next five minutes. Then with tears still running down her cheeks she looked at me and said, "Mommy (sniffle, sniffle) why I mad?" The poor girl had forgotten why she was throwing a temper tantrum. It was so stinking adorable, I could hardly control my laughter.

Then tonight at the mall Henry and Cora were playing toss the ball with some friends of theirs and Cora made a comment that sent everyone at the table into fits of laughter. Let me set the stage: Last week Henry came home from school talking about his "nuts." Since that's not a word we use at our house, I asked him where he learned that particular word. Well, of course, it was from Aspen (that's a whole 'nother blog sometime - I'd like to wring that kid's neck). So Cora heard Henry talking about his "nuts" and pointing in the general direction of his privates. So back to this evening - the kids were sitting on the floor with their legs spread out and their toes touching and rolling the ball between each other. Henry rolled the ball to Cora and it bounced off her privates, whereupon she announced in a rather loud voice, "Oh, Henry you hit my nuts!" Seriously, how could you not laugh at that !!!!!