September Synopsis

We attended our one and only Dust Devils game for the season. We left early 'cause Ally refused to sit still, we were tired, and they were playing horribly. I think Chris is still trying to figure out how they let one guy basically walk from third base to score a run. Short season minor league baseball just isn't the same as watching the Durham Bulls or the Phillies play.

At the beginning of September, Cora started screaming bloody murder whenever we'd put her in the crib at night. This intense fear/hatred of the crib and/or going to sleep seemed to come out of nowhere. On the third night of hour-long crying spells, I decided to try a new sleeping arrangement. I pulled out Ally's princess couch and tucked Cora into her new "bed". Ally was super-excited to have Cora sleep in her room. She told me she was happy to not be by herself anymore (because she had been having nightmares), and that Cora could stay as long as she'd like. Ally even talked to Cora that first night to calm her down, and then sang songs to her until she fell asleep.
I was a little concerned that Cora would wake up in the middle of the night and wander. That hasn't been an issue; she stays put 'cause she has unlimited, unsupervised, instant access to the bookshelf. What can I say, the girl loves books. Ally's nightmares have diminished, and Cora again goes happily to bed each night, so the girls are now sharing a room. And I supposed we'll eventually get Cora a real bed.

Chris, Ally, Cora, and I went to the park for a music festival. We saw some Chinese dances, some Scottish dances, and a few local bands. We also got to share a bubble gum snow cone and play outside. Ally and Cora both wanted to wear their Eagles clothing. Chris says that's a sign of good parenting.

Ally started attending a preschool co-op that my friend Jenn hooked me into. Some women that she knows were starting a group up, and we were invited to join them. Ally is very excited to go, although she keeps referring to it as "pretend school" or "not real school" when people ask if she goes to preschool. Class is only once a week for 2 hours, and we rotate houses and who's teaching. She's had fun being with Ashlyn and getting to know the four other kids. I think her favorite part has been figuring out what to bring for Show-And-Tell.
The first day I dropped her off and came home with Cora, it was eerily quiet. I mean, Cora was talking plenty-- constantly asking "Where's Ally?" and giving me a play-by-play of what we were doing --but I'm used to constantly hearing Ally's voice, too. I think it's been nice so far for them to have a little separation and for Cora and I to have some one-on-one time, although I know Cora would rather be at preschool with her big sis.
Two weeks ago we took a preschool trip out to the country, aka Benton City. Little siblings got to tag along, so Cora was thrilled. We saw some steer and some horses, some grapes and some apples, and some fake giraffes too. The concord grapes get picked and then processed by Welch's, which would explain why the air all around the fields smelled like their grape jelly. Cora took to heart the owner's invitation to "pick as many as you'd like"; she stood in the same spot for 10 minutes and shoved those grapes in her mouth while Ally ran up and down the aisles of the vineyard. Ally loved harvesting her dozen apples from the trees and putting them in her bag; Cora chose one off the ground and spent the remainder of the trip contently eating it to the core.


The last weekend in September, we took a trip out to Portland to celebrate my birthday. But I'm going to save the blogging of that adventure for later since the weekend spilled into October. And, truthfully, I think I should go to bed.