Coco is ONE

One year ago on June 8th I held a brand new baby in my arms and wondered how I had lived through bringing her into the world. I remember clearly the frantic moments where I thought I may slide to heaven at the same time she slid down to earth. The pain. The fear. The shock. The desperation. The total lack of control. (more of that story here) When she was finally out and I was finally stable I remember thanking Heavenly Father for my life in a way that I had never, ever done before. I was alive! More alive than I ever could have been without welcoming that healthy baby girl. And she was alive. More alive that she ever could have been without my strong and accommodating body. And oh was I thankful.

One year ago on June 8th I held a brand new baby in my arms and wondered how I had ever lived without her in this world. Cora Nicole Wigginton, she was as sweet, soft and perfect as I knew she would be and cuddled right into my chest like a puzzle piece long missing. How could our family ever have been complete without this precious angel? It couldn't have been. I've said it before and I will say it again, I would struggle through a million horrible deliveries if it meant that Coco could join our family. She is worth it, oh so worth it.

Last week on June 8th I held a one-year-old toddler in my arms and wondered how I had witnessed a year pass by in a manner of blinks. How in the world did yesterday's newborn transform into today's wide-smiled, walking and babbling babe? Ever her lot in life, Coco's birthday fell on the boys last day of school so there were parties and events galore to attend and her birthday celebrations were sandwiched with theirs. But piggy-backed as they were, celebrating her was what this day was all about and it's so easy to do because she is so easy to love. She smiled through her waffle breakfast, beamed on our morning stroll, and didn't shy away from her cake as T's whole scout troop stood around admiring her sweetness. She opened presents, played with toys, kept her cool when Quinny commandeered the lot and reminded me that life is beautiful and precious and perfect. Cora, sweet Cora, we absolutely could not love you more. Happy birthday, my love.

Our little Wiggy circus is keen on their hooded bath towels and a first birthday meant that Coco graduated from her newborn mouse towel (that Quinny also used) to a brand new hot pink flamingo towel. She looks so big as a mouse, but so small as a bird and while I thought I might feel a little melancholy nostalgia at this little step I could feel nothing but excitement over Coco's cuteness and the fun new stages in store for our family.

I probably won't dress these sisters in the same outfits for every major milestone (probably!) but I bought these cute kitty jammies for Quinny to wear on her first birthday and I couldn't help but put Coco in them on hers. It's so much fun to have two little girls and I love the idea of them sharing life together. (Including kitty pajamas!)

Sappy, sappy Mama made James stop working at 11:59 pm and come watch our baby as the clock turned our 0-year-old Coco into a one-year-old Coco. I could have stared at that cute little bum all night long!

Fun birthday surprises for our fun birthday girl in a fun and festive birthday dining room! (With a few last day of school presents for the kids for good measure!)

Including a cheetah fidget spinner for our scary cheetah girl. She got the hang of that baby really fast but tbh, it could have been a rock painted like a cheetah and she would have been thrilled.

I mean, c'mon!!! This girl was thrilled about quite a few things in this picture, least of which was the fact that I smeared lots of syrup on that toasted waffle! Never a happier friend.

She took her first steps the Sunday before her birthday but she was still fine-tuning the process and decided to crawl on our morning jaunt and snack on the purple snow from the Jacaranda trees while she was at it.

One one balloon for our one-year old (with three pink ones for extra pizzazz!)

First she picked off every strawberry and threw them on the ground...then she went for the cake. Because hey, we're all about healthy eating over here but birthday's are definitely cheat days!

Happy birthday beautiful Cora. You are such a bright light in my life and I couldn't feel more honored to be your Mom (especially when I saw you devour that cake, wink wink! #thatsmygirl).

Schools out for the SUMMER!!!

'Twas the year of the dab, brought the birth of the fidget spinner, began their love of Pokemon and on a more serious note was the year our Ever Knight learned how to read and my Mr. T found his passion in publishing. Both of these darling boys worked so hard this year and learned so much. I am so proud of them and love them so much and I'm SOOOO excited for a summer full of adventures with them by my side. Hooray for the best eight weeks of the year!  

One of the best Memorial Day's in Memory

Memorial Day weekend absolutely ROCKED this year. It was so fun and so restful and so full of family time and both James and I have commented multiple times during the crazy week since that we would not have made it through without such a great break. The real reason it was so wonderful was that the documents James was waiting for on Friday (which would have taken him the whole weekend to turn) didn't show up until Tuesday morning so even though it made for a crazy all-nighter and some late nights this week it also meant that we were free from work all weekend long. It was amazing!

We went on a little family adventure every day--a hike on Saturday, the cemetery on Sunday and the beach on Monday. Here are a few pictures to remind us of the fun.

Inspiration Loop at Will Rogers Park. Pacific Palisades. Perfect!

He has rocks in his pockets and she was sticks in her hands. She's the pokiest of the bunch so she gets the best service!

Our pretty city, LaLaLand. 

Photocred: Mr. T.

Front and center and a few steps ahead, like it or not!

Not a rock left untouched on that whole mountainside. 

Oh the places they'll go!

Such a great after-church activity--starting fire with magnifying glasses. Little (and big) pyros!

Our first cemetery was tucked away inside a city block in our neighborhood and we didn't even know it was there until our visit. I was shocked to learn that so many celebrities were buried there, including Marilyn Monroe, Rodney Dangerfield, Farrah Fawcett, Merv Griffin and Walter Mathau. It was a gorgeous cemetery and I'd love to be buried in a place equally lovely (and not spooky) someday! 

From the celebrity cemetery we headed to the Veterans cemetery and were touched to see tens of thousands of flags honoring the great women and men who fought for our country. We talked to our kids about what this weekend was really about and felt honored to tell them about our own brave family members who have served in the military. 

Summer! Summer! I love Summer! It was so fun to play with the Hayes family at Will Rogers beach on Monday. I can't wait for a hundred more beach days this summer!

Happiest baby on the block! Happy Memorial Day!

There and all theirs.

It's the end of the school year and the events are endless. I'm so proud of my boys and all of their hard work this year, and seeing the twinkle in their eyes when they show me their stuff assures me that they too know they've accomplished something great. Education really is such a special gift.

The circles under my eyes may have replaced the twinkle inside but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't darn proud of myself as well. This year was intense and exhausting and I had a million excuses not be present in the boys' life at school, but I was present. I never missed an opportunity to read during library time, help with parties, share our culture, go on field trips, admire their artwork or hear them sing--always with a baby on my hip and a toddler doing somersaults by my side. There are so many big and great things I could be doing in the world and sometimes I wonder why I'm not, but then I attend morning events like the Spring Sing for T or the Bug Bash for Ev and realize that the big and great things I'm doing are the small and simple ones. I'm present. I'm there and I'm all theirs. Those sweet boys know they're loved, they're safe, and that no matter what is happening around them I will be the constant in their lives. It's not always glamorous but boy is it a beautiful thing.

SPRING SING

The second graders at T's school gave a concert to all the parents last week and it was great. T has suffered from polyps on his vocal chords so he is a little self-conscious about his sometimes squeaky singing (and speaking) voice, but Mr. Harrison, AKA the worlds best music teacher, is so playful and silly and has really boosted T's confidence in singing. The concert was wonderful and he was so proud of having all the songs memorized. 

T had a special part on the Glockenspiel, and I don't know if he liked performing his part or saying that silly word more! I have not a musical bone in my body so let's just hope he inherited some from his Dad! 

T's cheerleaders! Luckily Grandpa Christofferson was there to hold Quinny and Cora was content to eat puffs on my lap so we all got to enjoy the performance. I love that happy smile on T's face.

And of course T wouldn't let us leave without holding Coco for a picture. He is such a great big brother and loves his little sisters so much. We're so lucky he came first.

BUG BASH 

Everett's class has been working hard to learn all about ladybugs and caterpillars and butterflies and moths and about a hundred other kinds of creepy crawly things. The girls and I went to his classroom last week and did a scavenger hunt to find all of his written work and artwork about bugs and he was tickled teaching me things like the number of legs a spider has (8) and the number of days it took the butterfly to leave it's cocoon (17). Kindergarten is so much fun and I'm so sad to see it end.

Quinny was running around there somewhere but here I am with my amazing Ever Knight (and the ceramic donut he made, yum!) I look at this picture and I just want to kiss the cheeks off of that squinty-eyed darling.

Kindergarten writing is THE BEST! I'm so proud of Everett. Like so, so proud! When he started kindergarten he could only write his name and barely knew his letters. Now he is reading well above grade level and writing like a true kindergartener and really excelling in school. I am so glad that he loves learning and works so hard at school.

Let's be honest, could there have been a cuter sequence of pictures than this one? Ev's class learned about the life cycle of different bugs so they also talked about their life cycle. It makes me smile super big thinking about my sweet Ever Knight and his perfect little life. 

An Almost One-year-old

One week from today my last baby will be one year old. Time is trippy, that's for sure. It seems like only yesterday I was big and pregnant, willing this little miss to stay in my belly so that I could attend all of the end-of-school events and performances for her big brothers (obedient even as a fetus, this one). Now we're doing the end-of-school stuff once again, only this time with an 8-toothed, wide-grinned, standing-but-not-walking-and-always-wanting-to-be-held-by-Mama darling in tow. Cora is just so easy to love and I love her so hard. She is the grandest of finales for our family and I'm so grateful she's ours.    

I have a feeling this lady love is not far from walking. She crawls super fast, stands on everything and cruises along furniture, but in true fourth child fashion she is uber content (and actually prefers) to be carried around. She's not in a hurry to get bigger, and that makes two of us!

Always smiling with her cute little mouth, scrunchy nose and those sparkling eyes. She's a dream. 

A girl can only pose for pictures so long before she's back on all fours, ready for another adventure. And ready or not, here comes our next adventure--a one-year-old Cora!