18 months

Wow, a year and a half! I know I always say that time just keeps going by so fast (and it definitely won't be the last) but it is so true. I feel like these last 6 months have been a whirlwind. CeCe has grown from being our baby to such a little girl. Here is what she has been up to the past few weeks:

CeCe has always been so active, I mean non-stop ALL DAY LONG, and she continues to be our little energizer bunny. She is extremely independent and when she sees something she wants or there is something she wants to do, she goes for it. If that means climbing up onto the dining room table to get it, that's what's she'll do. But with this adventurous, curious side of her comes many scratches and bruises. These days her legs are full of war wounds. And you'd think that would slow her down just a tad...nope, she keeps going, stronger and faster than ever. She is one tough cookie!

This is her first experience with a popsicle and she loved it! She held onto it and slurped all of the goodness out of it like she'd done a million times before. It definitely put a big smile on her face. I bought some popsicle makers so I'll be making my own for her to eat this summer!

I was amazed the first time I witnessed her beginning to organize objects and stack them. I guess it was just because it was the first time I felt like it was something she was doing that was deliberate and not just random. I think it's fascinating how all of sudden they change to a more abstract way of thinking and doing things. I know this is only the beginning!

Here, she is playing with torn pieces of paper inside a box while sitting at the table. I'm not sure exactly what she thought she was doing but I could tell her imagination was running wild. I was so impressed that one, she sat down for more than a millisecond to focus on it, and two that every single piece of paper wasn't in her mouth.

Her love for shoes has grown much deeper. I think it's closing in on becoming an obsession. The FIRST thing she wants to do in the morning when she gets out of bed is go straight to her closet and pick out some shoes to put on. If we leave the house, as soon as we get back, she's headed back to the closet for a shoe change. Many times throughout the day, she tries to wear mommy's and daddy's shoes. And if we are out somewhere and shoes are in sight, she has to put them on. The only time shoes are not on her feet is when she is riding in the car. It is a task trying to keep her shoes in her room and not all over the house.

This is her after her 18 month well visit. She got poked twice, one in each leg, and for being such a good girl, I gave her a sucker. Lots of smiles! She is growing and developing wonderfully and her stats are:
weight:23.5 lbs - 25-50th percentile
height:32 3/4" - 75-90th percentile
head: 47 1/2 cm - 75th percentile

Her vocabulary is growing exponentially especially in the last couple of weeks. Last time I posted about words she was saying, they were momma, dada, light, flower, ball, bird, and duck. Some of her new words include:

bear "brrr"

knee
toes
Nana
Nannie
PawPaw
Anna
CeCe - and she'll point to herself when we ask who CeCe is
drink "dink"
cookie "too-tee"
book
bug
bubble
bobo - after bobo, the clown - one of her bath toys
pool "poo"
boo boo "bee bee"
baby
elmo "melmo"
car "ta"
butterfly "bu-fye"
star
rabbit "op op" for hop hop
mmmmm - for yum
hi "hiii-ee"
bye bye - she says while waving and blowing kisses
more "mo"

Her schedule these days are pretty good and consistent. On a normal day it looks like this:

7:30-8: Wakes up, drinks milk and has a cereal bar
9-9:30: Eats breakfast
After breakfast until 12:30 - plays, run errands, eat a snack
12:30-2:30 - nap
3:00 - lunch
After lunch until dinner - plays, run errands, eat a snack
between 5:30 and 6:30 - eat dinner
After dinner - check the mail with daddy then we take a walk around the block*
After walk - bath
8-8:30 - bed

*When we go on our walks, she holds our hands. And she loves to pick the dandelions and try to blow the blooms off.

I feel like there is so many more new things that are going on with our baby girl but I'll leave it at that for now. We are blessed to have an amazing daughter that not only fills our hearts with joy but tests our patience everyday! Love her!

Another one bites the dust

Today is my last day of this Spring semester and I can't be more excited! I really enjoyed the classes but besides the fact that I am soooo over school these days and am beyond ready to be done, this has been such a hectic few months for us. And it doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. I wish I could say that now I get to enjoy summer and have a break from school, but I have one week off then I'm at it again. I decided to go ahead and take a summer course so that I could be done for the rest of the year and focus on getting ready for and having another baby! I planned on finishing up this fall and graduating but, once again, that will be put on hold. I just hope that this time next year, I will be posting about finally walking across that stage!

This semester would not have happened if it weren't for a couple of people. To our friend Rhonda, who came over every Wednesday to watch CeCe while I had class, and my mom, for staying over and taking care of C while I had to complete my observation hours. We were so blessed to be able to leave her in good hands! So thank you, thank you!

I think I can, I think I can! Only 7 more weeks :)

Mother's Day 2010

Yesterday, CeCe and I spent the day with my mom. We both got haircuts, then had lunch, then went to see my grandmother! It was a busy day but so fun!

This is me with my new haircut and my favorite girl!

Today was such a low key, relaxing day, which was a nice change from how it's been lately! I got some extra sleep this morning while Josh watched C, so it was a great way to start the day. We had a pancake breakfast and Josh got me a Java Chip from Starbucks...my fav! For lunch, we went to Josh's Aunt's house to celebrate with family. And when we got back, I headed out to get a much needed massage. It was my first prenatal massage and I thought it was really nice. I will definitely have to keep those up! The rest of the evening, we just spent catching up on tv and relaxing.

I feel truly blessed to be a mom to such an amazing little girl. CeCe is such a joy and I'm so thankful that she is so vibrant, happy, strong and healthy!

Thanks to my wonderful husband for making me feel so beautiful and loved each and every day, and making this day so special!

Hope all my favorite mothers had a wonderful day!

Happy Mother's Day