Monday, January 31, 2011

Last week, Cecelia had her 18 month doctor's appointment. During the course of the appointment, the doctor got wind of the fact that Cece isn't really talking yet. We were advised that if she doesn't soon, we should bring her back. To do what exactly? I asked. (poke her a little, tell her to talk, I thought but did not say). Not much clarity from that point forward. Now, Jeff and I have background in behavioral therapy with children on the autistic spectrum and are well aware of any and all indicators, including lack of speech prior to age two. Buuut, we are also aware of what to look for to negate that potential and I like to think we are not in denial. With that said, after realizing that Cece is not verbal at this point, a nurse tossed in a "18 month survey.". I recognized it for what it is and began to answer each question honestly. Jeff looked over my shoulder and exclaimed, "Hey! That's an autism survey!". To which I replied, "Yes honey, it is.". "Well, why don't they just say that?". Good question.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

18 Months

Yesterday was January 14th which marked Cece's 18th month. She is getting taller, faster, stronger, and smarter with each passing day. Recently she's been going through quite a growth spurt, sometimes eating double her usual portion size. She's also grown taller as evidenced by her running into tables that she would have previously walked clear under. It doesn't help that she doesn't look where she is going while she is walking. She is also walking so fast that it resembles running, it also sometimes resembles tripping and falling but you get the idea. Cecelia is an excellent communicator but words are just not her preferred method just yet. She signs "more" (I know, you're shocked), says dada, pop pop, and makes distinct sounds for squirrels, cats, and cookie monster. She points to her diaper when she needs to go potty and is very persistent about trying to get her point across, just not with words. I am curious when we might see Cece's language explosion. I know that one day I'll be hoping for her to take a break from talking, and I am not worried, just interested in when she will reach this next big milestone.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

More Snapshots

I thought of a few more snapshots:

1) Cecelia spontaneously began a few months ago laying on her belly to write, color, and, as of this morning, eating breakfast - cereal... With milk...in a bowl...with a spoon!

2) Her shiver shake resembling a wet dog shaking to the tail while sitting in the bath.

Precious moments escape us too quickly.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snapshots

There are a few snapshots of Cecelia memorabilia that I want to keep stored in my brain for when she's 15 and screaming at me.

1)The way she gasps in surprise and covers her mouth when the buzzer on the dryer goes off.

2) Her dances, mostly knee bending head shaking stomping fun

3) Her face scrunching smile

4) Her finger pointing karate chop move that she defaults to when she now hears anyone say hi-ya

Monday, January 3, 2011

Hershey Park Happy

On New Year's day, the family travelled to Hershey, PA for a mini vaca. We were enticed there by an email promising discounts and lights. Which I assumed referred to the lights of "Candy Lane". You know what they say about assuming, right? A friend who knew we were headed to Hershey for this joyous occasion offered me her next day Candy Lane tickets that she had not used - score! But then, when she found the tickets and looked closely, she noted that the expiration was New Year's EVE and we were planning to go on New Year's DAY. So, after some web site investigating and email offer fine print-looking, I noted that Hershey Lodge had indeed enticed us with promise of a Sweet Lights Spectacular NOT to be confused with Candy Lane - with all the light-y glorious wonder. No problem, this is just as well. We an stay in our car for this. So, we arrived at the lodge, went for a swim in the pool (which the girl loved), got dinner, and headed to the Sweet Light Spectacular. I ALMOST forgot. When we checked in, I clarified the price per car as I had seen it on the website. The lovely lady at the desk informed me that I could get the very same ticket for $2 less at the concierge desk - score again. AND she asked if we would like tickets to "The Hershey Story". Not knowing what "The Hershey Story" was, I asked how much those tickets were and she told me they were free for guests of the lodge - double score! Then she checked to be sure that Cecelia was under 2. She is, and she's such a peanut that she may just be "under 2" well past July if you know what I mean. So, after dinner, we visited the concierge desk for our Sweet Lights tix and he gave them to us for FREE. He said not to mention it, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind me expounding on the awesome-ness of the Hershey Lodge and the awesome-ness of FREE! And to sum up the Sweet Lights "Spectacular", I was REALLY glad it was free. Then we went back to the lodge for some (also free) Frigid Family Bingo Night.

Since Cece needs her own space to sleep, we set up her pack and play in the bathroom. I'm sure she'll just love this story when she is older, but you can refer back to our beach vacation when she ended up being the only person in house with her own room, stranding two people in the living room in her wake (or sleep - haha). And this was a much better option than paying for an adjoining room. I'm pretty sure the Hershey Lodge draws the line at a free room for a baby. So, into the bathroom she went. This also meant that Jeff and I could not utilize the bathroom during her sleeping hours. We rationalized that the lobby bathrooms were close enough. Morning came - we both used the exercise room (for free) and sleeping beauty awoke.

On Sunday, we visited the Hershey Story (free) where I learned about how Milton and his wife Kitty searched the world for a cure to her ailments (which were never diagnosed) which was very interesting and learned more about what a swell guy Milt was. Seriously. Then it was off to Chocolate World, everyone's favorite free Hershey attraction. While there, we were inundated with propoganda from the milk and sugar lobbies. Good times. Seriously. off to lunch. All in all, it was a great (and mostly free) vacation.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Morning Glory

Pre-Baby: Awake at 5:30 exercise, inclusive of yoga, healthy breakfast, herbal tea, pack healthy lunch for the week, lovely shower, dress in re-chosen the night before clothing and off to work to arrive (always) early to accomplish many preparatory tasks for the day/week/month ahead.

During-Baby: Awake...all the time, exercise was made a priority after 6 months or so but became obsessive due to the "catch up" factor coupled with the remaining "baby weight", got to the point that I ran for the first time since that presidential challenge in high school (note that I did not air quote ran so as to denote that I really did do it), showers seemed like a luxury and one that I didn't really need anyway (I was just going to get dirty again) and if I showered while she was awake, she would just scream, and if I showered when she was asleep, she would just wake up...better to be dirty if you ask me, breakfast and lunch tried to be healthy and during the fittest mama challenge when I learned more about balancing proteins and carbs and fats, it really was healthy, and I could never be late for the job because "the boss" would have my head and it was a 24/7 gig anyway, so how can you be late for that?

Post-Baby: Cecelia is officially entering toddler-hood, or is smack-dab in the middle of it depending on who you ask. Around 13 months, after she stopped falling asleep in-arms and really started sleeping... At night, naps, all of it miraculous and glorious and 12 hours- oh my! But with sleep there are other challenges. For one, since I was catching up on a year plus of no more than three hours of consecutive sleep a night, my body ate up 8-10 hours easy... I found that I just wanted more in the mornings. At first, Cece slept til 5, 5:30, then 6:30 and now, over winter break she's made it until 7:30! So, recently I could not make a peepity peep or else she would wake up instantly, so some mornings I would wake up and just stay trapped in bed like a mummy, not moving a muscle for fear. Then, when she does wake from her slumber, she wants to nurse for at least a half hour. Which is great. Except for when she slept til 6:30, woke up, and nursed for a half hour, that put us at 7 and I had to be out the door at 7:15. So, exercise, showering, eating a healthy breakfast, and packing a healthy lunch, along with making a healthy cup of tea, putting on a well coordinated pre-chosen, laundered outfit, and, in this weather, warming up the car ALL went out the window. Add to that our bathrooms gettng redone and there is a real recipe for disaster.

But, it is a new year. And last week, I got u Bette Cece, exercised, ate a healthy breakfast, made and drank tea, AND (you'll all be glad to hear this) got a shower, and she didn't wake up. Tricky thing with a 7:30 wake up is that leaves no time for an AM nursing on school days. We'll see what she does tomorrow morning. I like to think I follow her cues. She certainly is a great communicator these days!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Resolution(s)

So, I kind of have a LOT of resolutions for 2011. Oh yeah, Happy New Year! I almost forgot :/. Where was I? Right - resolutions... Lots of them. Included among my resolutions is better blogging, and like Lucy who we all love, I feel that I have some 'splainin' to do! I promised that I was going to try to blog more, like every day- and that clearly did not happen. Here's the deal - confession time - when I do something, I don't want to just do it, I want to do it well. So, when it comes to blogging, I want to include relevant pictures, embed videos and polls and widgets and icons and write well and accurately capture moments for the collective memory. So, since I could not achieve that perfect snapshot over the past few months, I did nothing instead. And that is really not an acceptable alternative. So, how do I plan to address this? By utilizing the tools I have at my fingertips, I.e. The magical iPhone. Surprisingly though, there is NOT an app for that. I am on the Internet via the phone, and that'll do. Downsides, I am not yet proficient, nor is my phone fast enough, to add photos, so it may still be awhile before the visual appeal of this blog returns, but rest assured, pictures ARE being taken and one day you MAY (note that is not a will because I no longer make promises) see them. Also, the autocorrect function on the phones keypad may leave us with some less than desirable phrase-ology. One thing I have noticed is that the phone simply will not allow the use of it's without the apostrophe even when used in the appropriate context. I will do my best to proofread all submissions, but if something sounds funny, just blame the phone. With all this said, I realize that I have a good bit of catching up to do and I WILL try to do so, but give it time.

With all that said, there are a few other resolutions, but rather than allowing the whole world to hold me accountable for those, I'll keep a few things to myself.

Happy 2011 - we are on our way to Hershey at the moment. Imagine our family sailing into the New Year on literal rivers of chocolate.