Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Firsts















































































This weekend marked two firsts for Cecily - her first taste of solid food and her first visit to the pumpkin patch. Cecily was not real enthused about rice cereal. The tongue thrust reflex is still pretty strong, which surprises me because she's a month older than any of our other kiddos were when we started them on solids. She'll get the hang of it eventually though, I'm sure. And then I'll miss the days when all she needed was a bottle. The other kids all tried some of her cereal too. Allegra and Hero didn't think it was too bad but Ian just about died (or so he thought). That boy has an overactive gag reflex. On the same day (Saturday) we also visited the pumpkin patch - the same one we've been going to for several years now. It was an adventure, as always. Cecily did NOT like the Kelty backpack, so we ended up putting Colin in there. Carrying around a 34lb kid on your back when you are as short as I am is not easy. But it saved him Ian's fate, which was tripping over a pumpkin vine and face-planting directly (and I'm not exaggerating here, I mean directly) into a big ol' rotten pumpkin carcass. The pumpkin patch is always a "whew, we survived another year" adventure. And on a side note - today is my birthday! I'm 31 years old today, woo-hoo. Ian complained that my birthday was no fun, and I kind of agree with him. It's just not the same when you are an adult LOL.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Music Music Everywhere


The crazy piano season has started. First off was the Halloween recital (which had to be crammed between Nutcracker rehearsals) last Saturday. Tomorrow is the Hymn Festival, and then two Saturdays after that is Sonatina Festival. This is Ian's first year in festivals and it's nerve-wracking. When they are so young you never quite know what's going to go on behind the closed doors of the judging room. Hero's becoming quite proficient - I certainly can't keep up with her. Allegra has shown steady progress as well (but I still can supervise her practice because I can play what she's playing LOL).

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Five Months
















Cecily turned 5 months old yesterday. She's HUGE (to us anyways) and is learning so many new things right now. Everything goes into the mouth, so it is time to start solids. My favorite thing about Cecily right now is that when she's tired she likes to lay cradled in my arms and reach up and play with my face until she falls asleep. It's moments like these that make me sad that we are experiencing them for the last time. But then she'll wake up at 1 am and I'll gladly remind myself that this is the last time I ever have to deal with sleepless nights, at least because of a baby. Christmas is going to be SO fun with her, I have a feeling, she's just at that adorable age - a bit of personality without the attitude of a toddler.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

We've Given Up




Trying to win Best Parent Ever status that is (it's a really funny blog, by the way, if you are ever bored). We caved and bought a "cage" for Colin. We call it his funhouse, because if you just say it then it's true, right? I've always thought that they were for lazy parents, but after one too many episodes of computer screen coloring, refrigerator raiding, and toilet-flushing it was either the play yard for Colin or the psych ward for me. James was put off by the cost, but can you put a price on sanity? Kind of like the Mastercard commercials - priceless. It is working beautifully - we rotate the toys that are in there to keep things fun and fresh and of course we let him out for some free-roaming time. I've felt more productive and peaceful this week than at any time since Colin became mobile. Note that in the pictures Ian, Allegra and Cecily are also in the funhouse. This is not normal, but ANY new thing is exciting, I guess. Even Hero got in it for a while on the weekend.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Enjoying the Weather






















Fall is such a great time to be a kid. Sometimes I need to give them a little extra push to play outdoors, but once they've gotten settled out there they LOVE it. Mom loves having the kids out of the house too LOL.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Already a Fan




Cecily already knows one of the great things about fall - football! She seems to know when the game is on and enjoys hanging out on Daddy's chest the whole time. Go Boise State and Green Bay!

Friday, October 2, 2009

The Best Month


I know I say every year that October is my favorite month, and its true. So far, though, October 2009 has been a disappointment (yeah, yeah, I know we're all of a whopping two days into it LOL). I've come down with some icky virus that's left me feeling like I've been kicked in the head by a horse. I *think* I'm slowly on the mend though (liquid Tylenol Sore Throat and Cough medicine is a godsend). It took a turn towards fall weather-wise as well, with a 30 degree temperature shift in one day. It's been in the 50s since Wednesday and while I enjoy me some good sweater weather, it's been a shock to the system after all the 90 degree late summer heat. In other exciting news (haha) I got to go on the hunt for a new OBGYN as my current doctor is leaving private practice. This is a bummer as I loved my doctor and had been with her since I got pregnant with Allegra, but what are you gonna do. I should have seen it coming because things got kind of weird during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and when I finally did go into labor my doctor was no where to be found and I ended up being delivered by the on-call doctor (blech) and she never checked up on me after delivery or anything. I finally finagled a recommendation for a new doctor and she did accept me as a new patient, so that's good. It can be tough to find a doctor that is VBAC friendly, and while I'm not planning on having any more children, it's still important to me that my doctors share my philosophies. But with that stuff behind me hopefully its on to the better parts of October - apple pie, pumpkin picking, falling leaves, new clothes, my mom's visit (yeah!), my birthday, and Halloween.