Quarterly Report- 21 Months

How are we 3 months away from Cora's second birthday?? I'm totally in denial.

Cora has EXPLODED in her language this quarter. (I think I wrote that last time too.) She actually used 2 words together for the first time. "Baby sad." (when she saw a commercial with a baby crying.) She can now request a lot of the things she wants. It is SO helpful when she is crying and can actually tell me what she wants. The other day she was crying and fighting me to get away when I was trying to put on her shoes, and I asked what she wanted. She said "Mult" (milk), so I told her to grab her sippy cup of milk which was sitting nearby. She did and stopped crying. It was AMAZING! She can request milk, cheese, cookies, crackers, apple, banana, oranges, blueberries, and water to eat.

In addition, she is learning everyone's name. She can identify all the Giullians by their pictures, without even being asked. She calls Steve "Paman" and Karen "Dama". She is learning everyone else's name. I need to make her a photo album of everyone in pictures with her!

She loves to sing and dance to songs! Some of her favorites include "Wheels on the Bus", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree", and ESPECIALLY "We are the Dinosaurs" by the Laurie Berkner band. Basically the songs she can do the motions to. She is learning to love "Do As I'm Doing" as well.

The one thing I hate right now (which has more to do with the time of year than her age) is she has been sick nonstop for probably 6 weeks. Right now we're staying home from church because she is sick AGAIN. It is just what happens at this age. I've learned to not freak out too much about it, because kids are just walking cesspools of germs.

She has been a TROOPER during this last quarter. Which I will write up more on later. But she is still the sunshine of our lives. She just makes me laugh every day. Even when she is being naughty like thinking she can walk up and down the stairs by herself.

We love our Cora Faye!

Giullians expand again!

And no, I'm not talking about Ashlee getting married. (BUT THAT IS STILL SO EXCITING!)

A few months after we move to Visalia, we will be welcoming baby 2 to the family! And we just found out it is a-

Since we moved from Florida I've had a hard time finding a doctor in network here. Since we'll be hopping on Brandon's work insurance soon I figure I can get some of the important appointments soon enough, but I was just dying to see the baby. So I found a place that does ultrasounds (for cash, which totally sounds legit right?), and went. Brandon was going to come but Cora was sick and miserable. So I went by myself and asked for the pictures as a surprise so that Brandon and I could find out together. We came back and watched the DVD. And it was a BOY!

Since we didn't tell anyone about the appointment, we decided to surprise everyone. Hence the cake. We were eating dinner at Megan and Ashlee's that night, so I got a cake from Raley's.

So to start, I found out I was pregnant 2 days after my grandpa's funeral. Which was a surprise and a great way to lift my spirits. I was extremely nervous about going to Ecuador the NEXT WEEK pregnant, especially if I turned out to be as sick as I was with Cora. I haven't been even nearly as sick! I was exhausted but I could blame that on the altitude change. I'm still exhausted. But I have only thrown up a few times this whole pregnancy. Less than I did in the first 2 days of morning sickness with Cora. We told my family on Thanksgiving since we were in Ecuador and talking about what we were thankful for, told Karen and Steve when they were in Florida, told Brandon's siblings on Christmas Eve with this shirt:

And told the rest of the world with this picture captioned: "Don't worry Cora, in about 6 months you'll miss our undivided attention!" around the New Year.

I am so excited and nervous for another baby, especially a boy! I didn't have a feeling one way or the other, even though I knew what I wanted his middle name to be if he was a boy. (which will be a surprise)

I have to say, I'm nervous. A boy is a whole new ballgame. I don't know why I seem so nervous about a boy, since both girls and boys will be challenging during the teenage years. With a boy coming, I worry about him learning that "boys will be boys" is NOT an excuse to do vulgar and horrible things. He will still represent our family, and the church, and everything we stand for. In a world where people say it's "normal" to say horrible things against women, I want to raise my son to know that is still wrong!

End of rant. I love this little boy already. I worry about Cora adjusting... but she will be fine! She's learning to say "baby brother".

Our Next Step!

So we moved out of our apartment December 10, not knowing where our next step would be. Luckily, Brandon got many calls and interviews after graduation so we felt like we weren't totally stranded.

On the 27, Brandon and I were able to go to Visalia CA to an interview for a family healthcare job. I was glad I got to go, even though I missed Cora terribly.

The job was AWESOME. They even drove us around town for a few hours letting us see places we could move into, and the parks nearby. It has running trails! SUPER excited about that. We found an apartment complex that we wanted to live in if they offered us the job. It has reasonable cost of living (especially for California). The population is 130,000, but due to the large migrant worker population would still qualify to pay off our student loans in 5 years. AND we would be 30 minutes from Fresno, which means a temple nearby!

But my favorite part of the place is the location. It is halfway between our parents. Which is perfect. When my parents get back they'll only be 3.5 hours away, which I am excited about because I will want to see them a lot. We are within a day's drive of Utah, and a much longer day's drive of Colorado.

Growing up we called this (and I still do) "cow poop country". Because it does smell like cow. But honestly, if that's my biggest complaint then whatever.

I wasn't totally sold on the move, but there was literally no reason not to be. It's just scary to think of living somewhere for at least 5 years. Since Brandon and I have been married we have moved every few years. And I never saw myself going back to California. But it feels right! So we are moving there February 6, and I can't be more excited to start our new chapter. CORA GETS HER OWN ROOM. I REPEAT, CORA GETS HER OWN ROOM. Which means WE get our room back! I can't wait to decorate Cora's room. Which she will get to share soon enough.