I recently wrote about struggles with bathtime and bedtime - no more! We purchased a "shampoo rinse cup" from One Step Ahead, which has a flexible side that molds around our daughter's head and keeps the water from going on her face - no more crying when we have to wet, lather, and rinse! Yay! She LOVES bathtime now. Often, now that it's summertime, we incorporate bathtime right before bedtime, and once she turned 18 months old, she no longer gets to have her "special" blanket all day - only in her crib at naptime or bedtime, so that gives her extra incentive to head to bed. So, a relaxing routine + getting to see blanket helps!
Cora's "Aunt" Louise brought her this rocking horse, which she loves! She "feeds" him crackers, and makes sure he gets plenty of water to drink, as she holds up her sippy cup to his muzzle. What a good horse owner she is!
Cora and I headed to visit her aunt Jill, where we had a very fun time getting to visit her and play on the playground. It was a really nice spot that was just for younger kids, many had babies smaller than Cora, but the majority were her size, a few were a little bigger. She LOVED watching the other children play. We also got to go to Barefoot Kids while there, which sells cloth diapers, and purchased some DreamEaze all-in-ones, which so far are GREAT, and a couple of pairs of training pants, though she's not really quite ready for that yet.
Then in mid-June we had the annual extended family gathering where nearly all of Matt's side of the family gets together here at the farm. His dad was one of 9 children, so all of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and their children assemble here at the farm. Many of the aunts and uncles live within a few miles of the "homeplace" which is just 1/4 mile north of our house. The kids get to play in the barn, go on hayrides to check the cows and calves, go along and do chores, play with the kittens, and just do all kinds of outdoor/farm things. The adults get to visit, enjoy plenty of good pitch-in cooking, and enjoy getting together again. It's always a fun time! Cora was one of 3 babies born within about a month of each other, and the littler ones got the first chance of sorting through the sunflower seeds to look for coins.
We had a taco buffet at our home on the Saturday of that weekend, and as we waited for everyone to arrive, the girls blew bubbles in the garage for Cora to watch and try to pop. If you haven't played with bubbles in a while - it's surprisingly fun even when you're not a kid anymore!
Then the next weekend was Father's Day, and we took this picture in our front yard early the morning before we headed to church. ((Isn't that girl and her daddy cute together????))
Then after church for Father's Day we headed to the lake where we met up with my parents and sister who had camped the night before. Cora got to go on a few bike rides, Dad grilled steaks, we had a delicious lunch, then headed down to the lake where amazingly we were the only ones swimming at that spot. Cora had fun playing in the sand, and we all enjoyed cooling off in the water.
And this week was our county fair. We went as a family on Tuesday, and then worked the Farm Bureau booth last night, giving out free popcorn, while Cora wandered the fair with her grandparents, and had fun collecting stickers (she didn't wear them, grandma and grandpa did!) and seeing the sights. The picture is of her in the car seat (I took the picture, Matt was driving). She has just been jabbering away a lot more lately....no clue what she's saying, but she even speaks with her hands for emphasis! It may be time to get some regular Signing Time videos, since we only have Baby Signing Time. I know we've avoided a few tantrums because she's been able to tell us what she needs/wants without being able to speak clearly yet. She's close, but the sentences she rattles off now are nowhere near coherent, but you can sure tell she thinks they are! 
Of course we've been busy doing other things too, and don't feel bad if I didn't mention a specific activity, but I just included the ones I had pictures for!
