Train potty

Oh, Cecelia. Today you are three years old and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by this birthday all of a sudden. Because how are you ONLY three and ALREADY three years old? I said in your second birthday post that you act like you are fifteen sometimes and holy moly, that means you must act like you are sixteen now. Well, you act either sixteen years or sixteen months old depending on the day. You are a child of extremes, my dear. Like, woah.

(in love with this picture of you....it's so very YOU)


Let me just get this out of the way here: you are without a doubt our most challenging child. That's nothing new, since you've always been our fighter, our most emotional, our most exhausting child from day one (and even your early pregnancy). I'm not sure why I'm surprised by this anymore but I continue to wonder if I'm mom enough to be your mother. My own mom assures me that I *am* cut out for this role as your mommy but I can't help but feel a little deflated after a day of constantly trying to mold you, to hold you, to calm you down and redirect you, to try to figure you out.

You'll melt into a puddle of tears and screams and 'no no no no no's if things do not go your way, and sometimes the meltdowns continue well past the point of reason. I blame it on being overtired, or hungry, or being told 'no' to chocolate for breakfast, or if you bump your knee, or have to share your things with your brothers. Sometimes I think you crave 100% of my attention and none of my efforts to provide that in small doses seem to be enough. So: Emotional Meltdowns (capitalized, yes) happen and they sort of suck the life out of us all.

What I tell myself is this: it's a good characteristic as a girl in this world, to have a strong will, to be determined and 'fiesty.' I think this quality will serve you well over time as nobody is going to make this child a doormat. There will be hell to pay if they try.

Two has been a wild ride at times, Cecelia, and we are lucky we made it out alive. If anyone tells me that three is worse than two here I might knife them, so let's just pretend that you'll get a grip on your emotions before the teenage years provide a fresh burst of crazy;)

(Happy thoughts! Gear shift because I really do love the hell out of you even when you are a lunatic!)



You are incredibly independent, hence the spunky, spirited, determined aspect of your personality as seen above. This independence means that you prefer to get yourself dressed and undressed, sometimes needing help with your shirts. You like to pick out your own clothes and your own shoes but occasionally you'll let it slide if I try to make those decisions for you. You potty trained quickly and completely right after you turned 2.5 and it sort of amazes me how BIG you seem without diapers. You do the whole routine alone--announcing you have to go, actually going, pulling up your undies/pants, and washing your hands. I have to remind you that you aren't quite old enough to wipe your own booty after a number two, though---all of this is funny to me because Truman took quite a bit longer to be fully independent in the bathroom. But getting up in the middle of the night to pee or realizing you should potty before we leave the house means you seem significantly older than three years.

You love to have a task and are genuinely helpful around the house. This is huge! You have a little water squirt bottle and you like to help me clean the kitchen counters, the table, and the floors. You will happily dust bust crumbs but you despise touching dust bunnies or any bits of dirt that might look like a bug. Because bugs are the WORST in your world, Cecelia. Ants are scary, bees are terrifying, and we regularly talk about how flies cannot 'get' you. Also you don't really love thunderstorms or black dogs, and you'll tell me that, 'I not do that monster talk anymore,' out of the blue---because you seem to get yourself worked up if you talk about monsters, bees, or thunder. But you do love most animals, especially ducks and birds. You'd be happiest if we took you to the zoo daily to observe any and all animals, but you still talk about that one time you saw an elephant pee and poop at the zoo. It was the highlight of your life, I think.

Actually, your 'potty talk' with your brother is becoming a thing. It's innocent enough and you really love to get a laugh out of Truman with your 'did you pee on your head?' discussions. I secretly love to hear you belly laugh with him, although most of the time you're only laughing because of pee and poo jokes. My dainty little flower, talking about a 'fart face, poop butt' at the dinner table.



Other things you love? Caring for your baby dolls, pretending to change their (very very poopy) diapers, taking them for a stroll outside, laying them down for naps, and telling them 'It's okay, CC is here.' You are also bordering on obsession for swings, so many of our days at home revolve around getting you on a swing and pushing you for hours on end (it seems). Chapstick and specifically carrying around a dozen kinds of chapstick in a ziplock bag is your fave. Transporting random crap from room to room of the house in various containers will always be a priority for you. The other day I found a paperclip, a random doll shoe, a rubber band, a match box car, and a McDonalds figurine with long hair all scattered across your bed. You have a basket full of randomness on your bed at all times and I have no idea why any of it is important, but apparently it is VERY special junk.

You also adore your brothers and both of them are complete fools for you. I see such a caretaker heart in how you interact with Porter, it kind of makes me tear up at times. The other day, Nate caught you sitting outside by Porter when I came inside briefly. Porter was fussing when I walked away, so you scooted over to him and sat very close to his little body. You were talking to him saying, 'It's okay, Porter,' and he instantly calmed down and smiled at you. With Truman you obviously adore him and want to emulate his every move, kissing him goodbye before school and giving him an aggressive hug when he returns home. You two also butt heads like siblings do and you know how to push Truman's buttons, but a majority of the time you get along just fine. Because I picture you as the child with the biggest personality, we sometimes like to imagine a day when you are sticking up for both of your brothers even though they will likely tower over you;)



You can play independently for a minimal amount of time but you absolutely prefer to have me play with you or watch you play, and you haven't found anything that keeps your attention for more than maybe five minutes. Well, except for playing in our kitchen sink---you could fill random cups with water and 'help wash' our dishes for a solid 30 minutes at times. And digging in the dirt next to our house is also a favorite pass time for you, something you could probably handle for a half an hour if I also allow you water to create mud. You both love and hate to be dirty, and you are both really girlie and a total tomboy. Again, a girl of extremes!

Not a big fan of screens---not the TV, not movies, not an iPad, NOTHING. This is admittedly kind of maddening when I want just a quick 20 minutes to focus on making a meal or sitting in silence. Throw me a bone, girl! But other than watching videos of yourself for a few seconds, you simply do not care about screen time. This makes you unique and maybe it won't last, but I know your big brother already loved TV shows at this age.

You seem pretty athletic as you climb all over playgrounds that would have intimidated Truman at age three, you love to run and jump and race. But you apparently dislike organized sports as your soccer practice has been a big flop. Granted, you ARE a little young for the three year old team and the practices are a full hour long---but still, the three practices you've had resulted in very little participation by you. The first practice you lasted 20 minutes before running to me and being 'scared', the second time was maybe 10 minutes, and the third time you only ran out to give the coach a high five then returned to my side without any intention of ever leaving again. Oh well, at least we tried and you like being outside in general, so we will keep bringing you to watch Truman on his five year old team, at least;)



I find it interesting to see you in activities without Truman, since admittedly we've done very little without your trusty sidekick. But you've done an art class (with me and Porter present), soccer (with Truman on a different field), and I have you signed up for gymnastics alone and also swimming lessons alone. We will see how they go, since it appears you are going through a bit of separation anxiety with me. You are fine when I leave you and Porter at Lori's, but you will get sad and fight back tears if I leave you with a sitter or with Papa---I guess that sort of depends on your mood, really.

As far as actual school-type learning goes, I think you are probably right on track for age three. You can recognize some of the alphabet (especially all Cs!), some numbers, and you'll draw circles all day long. When you count you regularly skip numbers 6 and 7 but can get up to 15, and you have no desire to write letters outside of 'C'. I definitely cannot push you to do anything in this life and because you are our second born, I realize that it's okay for you to be a kid and not focus too much on school-things just yet. You also don't care about puzzles, which were your brother's favorite at this age, but you do love to look at books and can make up the best stories based on the illustrations.



Sleep is one of your greatest achievements, when I think back to your first year of life when you hated the Zzzzzzs. You wake around 6:30-7 but don't come out of your room until 7 when your clock turns yellow. You usually request to nap by 11:30 but I try to push it off until after lunch, around 12:30 or so. And then you'll nap for a solid 2-3 hours. Bedtime is at 7:30-8 and although you don't pass out within seconds, like Truman now does, you usually enjoy going to sleep at night. So getting eleven hours of sleep at night plus 2-3 hours of napping is necessary for you because you are a flurry of non-stop activity during the day.

Also, you still get your nuk in your bed for naps and nights, so perhaps that is why you enjoy your snoozing so much. I never would have thought I'd let one my kids keep a pacifier until age three but honestly, it's one of the only soothing tools we have with you when you are hysterical. Going into your bed for a 'rest' with your nuk absolutely helps you to reset somehow, although you've been talking about a 'Nukie Fairy' coming to visit you after your birthday. I'm all for this fairy coming to take your nuks and a few nights you have asked for her to come, but then you'll chicken out last minute. I think you'll readily give it up when you're completely ready, hopefully soon. Just another example on how you've changed me as a mom, forcing me to adapt my expectations as we go. Forcing me to loosen up and ATTEMPT to go with the flow. HA! ;)



You aren't a huge eater in that you prefer to graze all day and can't seem to chow a big meal in a sitting. But you do love to try new foods, usually asking for things off my plate---green beans, spinach salad, pork roast, scrambled eggs, anything! It seems like if you eat the food off my plate it's tasty, but if you get your own serving on your own plate it's disgusting. Very interesting phenomenon for my most adventurous eater! But you do love all sweets, trail mix is a recent favorite, and of course any junky snack foods will always be a hit. I'm just happy that you do eat a variety of foods (ahem, Truman) even if they are in smaller servings spaced throughout the day.

The first thing people notice about you, Cecelia, is your trademark curly-red hair. It's getting crazy long and humidity is your friend for those ringlets--jealous! Plus you have the biggest blue eyes and pouty lips, and you're quite simply beautiful, CC. Stunning, really. You are incredibly tall and thin, still fitting in most of your 2T clothes from last summer but you really need 3T pants and tops because of the length, size 7 shoes. Basically, you struggle with my same wardrobe issues---size up and have the clothes too baggy but long enough, or size down and wear high waters or 3/4 length sleeves at all times. I just weighed you specifically for this post and you are *thisclose* to breaking 30 pounds, which means you gained about four pounds in the past year. You also grew nearly four inches and are about 38.5" tall now---definitely taller than most of the girls your age and some of the boys, too. But you're a string bean, sister, and Porter will surely lap you on the scale soon enough.

Your grandma and grandpa from Colorado, and your great-grandma from Missouri are all flying in today to help us celebrate. Your party at Lori's was yesterday, today you are home with me and you have requested to go to the swings and eat ice cream, and then your big party here is Sunday. I can't wait to see your face when you open up your scooter and Hello Kitty umbrella----the two very specific things you requested for your big day;) You also informed me that you want 'lots of candy' but I'm hoping you forget about that one.

All of this rambling to say that I love you to pieces, Cecelia. You are our firecracker, our big girl, our sweet daughter who keeps us on our toes. We wouldn't have you any other way. We are so glad you are here and can't wait to watch you grow up!

And oh, how much you've already grown.

(On turning one) (On turning two)



xoxo
Mommy


Third Birthday Interview: to hear her sugary sweet voice and die a little. This is the first year I did this with CC, love how Truman kept answering her questions and she was talking in a silly voice so I couldn't even understand half of her answers. My favorite is 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' ;)

Cecelia's Third Year Interview from Julia H. on Vimeo.

Three Years of Cecelia: photo montage. Why do photos set to music always make me cry? I made this in iPhoto this year and really like how it turned out, even though I stayed up until 11pm one night  semi-crying over this making it. I had a lot more pictures than I thought from the year, but I promise the 3:40 are worth it!

CC 3 years slideshow from Julia H. on Vimeo.

1, 2, 3, 4...

How is this possible? Only-already four years old? HOW, I ask you, blogland?

Comparisons make me happy you know: me and my girl on her birthday each year <3


I struggle to capture all of my children's personality on this blog, but Cecelia takes the cake when it comes to an indescribable spirit, a uniqueness that can't be contained by labels or words or stories. She's our fighter, our rainbow baby, our feisty daughter, our emotional rollercoaster, our genuine sweetheart that keeps us guessing. And yes, she is absolutely stunning, too. Thankfully she has a lot more going for her than 'just' her looks but wow, she really takes my breath away with her big blue eyes, toothy smile, and those curls.


Cecelia embodies everything that represents childhood, the way it should be: innocence, playfulness, curiosity, and sometimes testing boundaries. She hates to get her face wet and is petrified of thunder. But she's fearless when it comes to trying new foods, going places without me, and climbing/running/jumping. She loved going to Sunday School this year and did not show one ounce of shyness or sadness when I'd leave her there. She'd simply wave goodbye to me with a big grin and get started on a project. She'd ask to go to Sunday School each week, when I know Truman required me to sit inside of his classroom for the first week or two when he started at age three.

I was also really nervous about Truman starting Junior Kindergarten when he turned four. But Cecelia? She is going to rock it's face off. She's ready, much more so than I'm ready to let her go this fall. But perspective teaches me that her first year in school is really just 2.5 hours every day, and it will go by in a blink. It still boggles my mind to think that my little girl is ready to go to Truman's school each morning. Three separate trips to school each day will be super fun on my end (drop off both kids at 8:20, pick CC up at 10:55, pick Truman up at 3:20) but STILL. Two kids in school this fall. Holy crap.


Sister is a great sleeper, although she has officially dropped her nap in the past four months. Dropping the nap means her bedtime is easy peasy and she passes out within minutes around 7:30-8pm, just like Truman. They still love sharing a room and I don't see that changing anytime soon. When their Tot Clock turns yellow at 7am, they both have usually been awake for a good 15 minutes, but they don't dare come out of their room until then. Sometimes T and C will fight about who gets to open the door, who walks down the stairs first, etc. Oh, those two for SURE like to push each other's buttons. But I also think sharing a room is a huge bonus for Cecelia, especially. She will likely get her own bedroom someday, and maybe the boys will share----but for now she really enjoys being with her big brother.


CC is also our best eater, by far. She loves to eat salad (off my plate), raw veggies (cucumbers are her favorite), and pretty much any meat (preferably off my plate). She loves to sip my La Croix and begs to chew gum almost daily. Truman has had gum maybe five times ever, and Cecelia possibly twice, but she knows how to ask the same question repeatedly hoping for a different answer each time.

For being such a great eater, she is still a string bean! I'm not sure of her stats, her four year appointment (with shots, yikes!) is this week, but I'm guessing she is in the 90th percentile for height and 25th for weight. I know she is not even close to the forty pound mark needed for a booster seat, so that five point harness will be around for awhile longer. She might be around thirty-five pounds and....super tall. She wears mostly 4T clothes but sometimes the pants are way too baggy in the waist, so we drop to 3Ts in pants but then they are high waters. Thank goodness for warmer weather with shorts and dresses! Her feet are a size 9-10 and she has more pairs of shoes than the boys combined;)


I honestly have not worked on writing the alphabet or numbers with Cecelia at ALL, compared to how much I practiced with Truman. And yet, she somehow can write her name with most of the correct sequencing and even draws stick figures and other random shapes without prompting. Truman was never into coloring before Junior Kindergarten, but Cecelia loves it!  I do not know how high she can count or anything like that because, well, second child syndrome. But I think she is a pretty smart cookie regardless!


Other things she loves: chapsticks, baby dolls, nail polish, shoes, skirts that twirl, glitter, potty talk, and riding her bike or scooter. She loved dance class and gymnastics, really hated soccer. Taking a family walk around the block might be one of her favorite activities of all time, and she frequently tells me, 'I love everyone in our family so much.' The feeling is very much mutual around here as Cecelia's mood dictates our day, it seems. But as I just told Nate the other day, I do think the emotional meltdowns are spacing out quite a bit lately and perhaps age four will be MUCH easier on us than ages two and three were with this little lady. She seems to pull through from a low moment quicker than she could last year, but there are still PLENTY of times when she can't deal and needs a break from everything (i.e. a time to rest in her bedroom, which usually means she is screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time but there really isn't another way to exorcise those demons).

On the flip side, when Cecelia is happy she is REALLY REALLY happy. Showering us with affection, and love, and giggles----it doesn't get much better than a happy Cecelia.


She says a lot of things that really need to be documented into eternity on the internet, but I forget so many of them that it's a shame. Some that I posted on Facebook...




Cecelia at bedtime: "Mommy, do you know how much I love you? I love you like polar bears love their mommies." 

She also regularly tells me that she loves me soooooooooo much, and that 'You're my best mommy ever.'  I never ever want to forget how many times she will tell me this in a day. Probably at least three times every day she tells me she loves me, and the most random times. Kind of like when Truman used to randomly declare me as his 'best friend', this is something that already makes my heart hurt for the time when she stops telling me this! (Just like Truman never tells me I'm his best friend anymore, wahhhhhhh). 


Another one I posted in the winter:
Walking home in the 3 degree weather, after dropping Truman at school: Cecelia--> "Porter, when we get home I'm going to give you some Chapstick because you be so hayve. (Behave)."

Cecelia loves her days with Papa so much. They have really found a nice groove together and my favorite day was when I came home to Tony with painted fingernails. Because obviously, Cecelia wanted to paint his nails and he couldn't say 'no'. That was a first for him but probably not his last! Understatement of the year: we are so blessed to have Tony in our lives. 


Did I mention that my mom made a flower girl dress for Cecelia to wear to Nate's brother's wedding in July? I DIE.




She spontaneously hugged my mom after trying the dress on for the first time. Genuine gratitude, right there.


Also a big fan of her light up princess dress my mom made a few years ago. This child is 100% girl, you guys.


A drawing of our family, 'And everyone is going potty here.' She even got the colors right with the gender of each!


Sometimes Cecelia reminds me that she isn't actually fourteen, and instead just turned four. Like when she asks me to carry her up the stairs.


But really. This face.


We had a small-ish BBQ birthday party for Cecelia on her actual birthday this year. It sort of felt rushed because Nate and I were just getting back from our San Diego trip and I hadn't even bought our girl a single gift until a few days before her birthday. But we did get her a Minnie Mouse watch, some pink Ray Bans, an Ariel tee shirt, Disney princess flip flops, and chapstick. She woke up to helium balloons all around our house on her birthday morning (which promptly dropped to the ground before her party, hours later), she picked cinnamon rolls for her breakfast, and then counted down until her party. I made her a 'candy cake' this year, inspired by the cake my mom made for me at my eighth birthday. Cecelia freaking loves sugar and has even asked Lois for a spoonful of sugar to eat when she hungry. So I knew a homemade cake with candy on top would be her heaven and sure enough, she devoured it (all of the kids did!).

CC wanted to wear her birthday crown all day and had such a blast with her friends. She had requested s'mores, so we did that at the end of the night. The accidental theme of the party turned out to be SUGAR.




Close up of the sugary delight:




Like any four year old, Cecelia freaking loves to open presents. She also wanted to play with a few of them immediately while her buddies all played in the backyard.


She perked back up for this, one of her favorite treats ever:


This big girl lights up our world!! She is now using Truman's old bike since he got a new one, still using training wheels but I predict she will ride without the trainers way before Truman ever did.


She's a hoot in her new sunglasses.


Nailed the family picture!!!


I don't know what else I can share about our girl, but I highly recommend you watch this video of her birthday interview. This is the only way you can get to know the type of entertainment that Cecelia brings to the table. I mean, listen to what she wanted for her birthday this year!!

Her fourth year interview:

Cecelia's four year old interview from Julia H. on Vimeo.

I haven't come close to adequately describing our girl, but those of you who've read my blog for awhile know how much we wanted her. She is so celebrated and so very loved. And she is FOUR! I can't imagine life without our Cecelia, and on this birthday especially, I want to absorb the enormity of this blessing. Another year with Cecelia, and oh, what a ride.

We love you, big girl!!!
xoxo
Mommy

January 28 | Eight months







Likes: her brother's toys, smiling at people, nursing, her family, eating real food, the doorway jumper, playing peek-a-boo, and waving on command which always gets a huge reaction from her nutso parents.

Dislikes: being dropped off at daycare, naps, having her nose wiped with a Kleenex, most car rides, being left alone to play for more than 3 minutes at a time.







Biggest Achievement of the Month: sleeping through the night two whole times! Coming close a handful of other times.

Biggest Challenge of the Month: getting her to nap longer than 30 minutes at a time. Sleep. It's always sleep that's a challenge around here.

(every parent must have at least one picture like this, right?)










The Mecca (aka Sleep): Naps are freaking ridiculous and I'm not joking when I say that 30 minutes is her max at home, and she will go most days clocking less than an hour total of nap time. Ridic for a baby that is eight months old, right? She is pretty happy and content though, so whatever. Mama just needs a break every now and then! And Cecelia naps for over 3 hours total at Lori's, always getting two decent naps in for her---do not understand why my children are like different creatures at daycare.

Nighttime sleep is better lately. I'd say that most nights she is up just one time, around 3 or 4 am, and takes a bottle for Nate without a fuss, returning to bed without a fuss, and is up for the day around 6:30. But some nights she is up twice, sometimes she is really loud and fights returning to sleep, and sometimes she needs to nurse immediately AFTER a 6 oz bottle because apparently she is starved/needs to nurse for comfort. Definitely have our nights about twice weekly when she is up for 1.5 hours at a time. So draining! It's like she is just ready to be up for the day at 4 am, happy, yelling, playful. Um, no.

Luckily the norm is waking just once. And sometimes she will even sleep until 7 am which feels like sleeping until noon for most families;) Plus there were two nights when she slept all the way through the night without waking. Holla!!! Let's hope those golden nights become more and more common up in here.

(napping in the Ergo--an act of desperation)






Temperament/Personality: She's the best baby I know (biased, yes). But seriously---she is so happy, smiley, nosey, social, curious, and pretty laid back. Unless she is tired or if she can see me across the room when someone else is holding her. Then The Diva comes out to play. As Lori says, 'Cecelia is a girl who knows what she wants.' Most of the time she is chill but when she isn't, watch out. She's still my cuddly girl who prefers to be held and carried around, but yet she kind of wants to be down and in everyone's biz at this point, too. I think that is why she hates to nap, too---doesn't want to miss anything exciting!

Also, she has her first cold right now and is handling it like a champ. Cannot believe we made it 8 months without any real illness for this baby. She had a touch of a GI bug when she was 3 months old but nothing since. Which is amazing because Truman had his first cold at 3 weeks and then had one literally every month of the first year of his life. Love my healthy girl! Hope it stays this way and that she kicks this runny nose/wretched cough/congestion stuff quickly.





(video of her amazing giggles)




Talking: New category because baby girl is just so freaking loud and I have a feeling we will have a chatterbox on our hands very soon. She loves to shriek and yell and then she will just grin at us like, 'I'm so awesome and don't you love how I shattered glass three doors down with my antics?' She is consistently saying 'yayayayaya' and 'dadadadada' and 'bababababa.' Truman will tell you that she says 'Dada' and 'Mama' but I haven't really heard the 'M' sound too much just yet. She loves to repeat the letter 'T' over and over again. What do you want to bet her first word will be 'Truman'? ;)

(videos of the chatter)




Eating: Still eating 12 oz of milk in two bottles at Loris, then will nurse before daycare, right after daycare and before bed. Nighttime feeds are usually just once but can be 0 or 2 times, too. That means it's usually 5-7 times per day that she is feeding. I have no idea what she does on days we are home together since I basically just nurse on demand or when it seems like it's been awhile. I would estimate we nurse about every 3-4 hours at home, probably a little more frequently than she'd eat on daycare days.

She is now eating 3 solid meals per day, sometimes only eating 1 oz and other times housing 4 oz at a time. She loves to feed herself chunky foods and we haven't come across too many flavors that she dislikes yet. At least ONE of my children will eat ;)



(something on her face?)




The Superficial: Still wearing all 12 month clothes, maintaining her signature 'long red bang' look, and knocking you dead with her big blue eyes. I feel like she is actually getting a little chunkier somehow, because I just noticed that she has legit wrist rolls now. Do not remember those last month!

(Belly!)


(wrist rolls!)


(chunk!)


(eyes!)


(bangs!)



Teeth: still only the bottom two but for the love of GOD, I better be able to report that at least 2 more poke through in the next month. I am shocked that the top 4 and other 2 on the bottom are still hiding out. The amount of drool we experience on a daily basis is just absurd. I'm tired of jamming my fingers into her mouth each day expecting to feel a new nub of a tooth, too.

(drool)


(teething!)



Motor Milestones: I feel like she is on the cusp of SO much in this category. She is so close to being up on all 4s and loves to spend her free time popping her hips up when she is on her tummy, trying to get those knees under her gut. She sort of army crawls if she is on the hardwood, but on carpet she can't really pull forward as well so she just spins on her belly in a full circle, or rolls to where she wants to go. Definitely mobile now---able to make it across the room and she will get stuck under chairs or against walls. She loooooves that, of course. ;) The other really awesome thing she is doing now is waving on command, and trying to copy our deranged 'Sooooooo Biiiiiiiig' requests.
Video of said tricks:



She sits without the boppy for insurance most of the time and can get onto her tummy from sitting pretty easily. Doesn't know how to move from laying down to sitting up just yet but she will get there. And the grabbing---oh, the grabbing. Sister has to explore everything with her hands and her mouth.



(waving again)



Out and About: The Dells trip was pretty huge, as it was only the second time she's slept anywhere but our house. She loves to be my shopping partner, mostly preferring to be ON me in the Ergo, and I love running errands with my girl while the boys do their own errands on the weekend. She sort of hates her car seat again and I've found the best weapon against a backseat meltdown is to turn on music on my phone and aim it back towards her head a bit. Not ideal to have one hand on the wheel and one hand holding my phone, dangling above my baby but it works! Desperate times...






Firsts: First cold, first time in doorway jumper, first waves, first time REALLY getting into a pool, first time on mommy's back in the Ergo, first time in a high chair at a restaurant, first time to Cranky Al's---a local (amazing) donut shop. She liked the little bites I gave her, obvi.

(Cranky's---little head!)


(first time in a high chair---not a fan. Rough dinner out with two kids. I remember why we've only done it twice since CC was born now.)


(The Dells!)


(bored)


(video of her first time in the doorway jumper)





Favorite Baby Gear: Doorway jumper, Ergo, wooden 'bead box' that Truman got when CC was born (whoops!), and our old play table on two legs.



(tried the back carry with the Ergo--I like her in front better, but she sure does look cute!)


(doorway jumper)






Little Sister and Big Brother:


I love reading back over Truman's monthly posts because it's the best way for me to admit that I'm losing my mind. And I remember SO LITTLE from when he was eight months! In my head, I remember the 8 month mark being when Truman started STTN (no) by us trying the big 'bottle-before-bed' attempt. But no, we had already tried that at this point and he was still waking up at least twice per night. WHAT? Not what I remember at all. I think the stuff must have really hit the fan with Truman's sleep closer to nine months---because I do remember it getting really awful before it got better, and I remember that giving him only bottles at night helped him sleep better than letting him nurse. Also, impressed that I was so focused on breaking the nurse-to-sleep association with Truman at this point. I was really into that with CC, too, but now we are slacking off again and I'm sure that isn't helping her naps. Girl loves the boob, though, and I'm in that 'too tired' phase to do anything about it. I would like to start reading her books at night before bed, though, instead of her frantically searching for my boob and promptly passing out for the night.

I also remembered that my milk supply started to drop at this point last time but apparently not---still going strong back then. Very odd. But it's also fun to see the striking similarities between my children at eight months. Both just learned to wave (again, I thought Truman did that way later!), both weren't really crawling but they are getting around now, both are waking in the middle of the night, both aren't napping as well at home as they are with Lori (although Truman was still giving me two solid hours at home, so Cecelia loses in this category). Both love solids but I am definitely giving CC more of the finger foods this second time around compared to when I was a little more nervous about that with Tru. And both kids are really vocal at eight months:)

Present day brother-sister relationship is still the most heart-warming part of my days. I love watching Truman give CC toys to play with (mostly to distract her from the trains she REALLY wants to have, but whatever). Whenever she fusses he immediately comes to find me and says, 'Mommy, CC needs you. I think she wants to nurse.' He does not like to see her sad, and now that she has a cold he is always like, 'Oh, poor baby girl. I sorry you sick.' Such a sweet heart big brother! And CC adores Truman, too, of course and he is the one that always gets the biggest smiles out of her.

(big girl sitting in the double Bob with brother at the zoo!)


(Saturday Daddy tickles!)


(Twins!)




(Reading together in mommy and daddy's bed)


(Love, love, love them playing together nicely)


I love you, little lady. You're the best.