5 month birthday!

Cecily turned 5 months old today. I got her a little present.

Another headband? Really, mom? 

Hi Lola.

Two layers of wrapping napkins. That's wild.

 What's this? Is it edible?

 Let's find out.

 Nope, definitely not edible. What's the point of that?

Good thing you can't spoil a 5 month old. I know I can't go on celebrating every month birthday, but I am enjoying it for now.

Chubby baby

Cecily is a roly poly baby. I took some pictures and videos today to document this fact.

Please note: three belly rolls

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago. I felt the need to document her "butter knees" as our dear friend Gisela calls them.

New drinking adventures

Cecily still won't take a bottle. We tried it many times when we were still in Urbana because I worked part time while Alex watched the baby for a few weeks before we moved. It went well exactly twice and the rest of the times she never latched on and it mostly dribbled out of her mouth and made her mad. 

After we moved there was little motivation to try. I have been contemplating returning to the work force for a few hours per week and, as many mothers can identify with, my biggest stress is finding the right child care for my baby. Also stressful is how to help her to eat while I am gone. 

I have been reading about how you can teach a newborn to drink out of a cup and from 5-6 months old they can actually do it by themselves supposedly. Amazing, no?

I decided to give it a go. I bought a Doidy cup that has sloped sides (read about it on some blog) and we have been trying it a few times per day for the past few days. 

How is it going? I would say well. She puts it up to her mouth with my help, and while the majority dribbles out, I hear at least a few swallows each time we try it.

How does baby feel about it?

 About like this.

Home grown produce!!

going a little crazy here...

Woo hoo! Finally figured out how to post these crazy things on the blog...

quick comparison - mom and daughter

When I was taking pictures of Cecily yesterday in the yellow bucket I remembered that somewhere there existed a picture of me as a baby in that same bucket. I asked my mom to find it and scan it for me and she did, post-haste!

So here you have the side by side comparisons. I was about 9 months old in the picture, and Cecily is half that age.

the sleep saga continues... and pictures of course

Hi guys.

When we visited the pediatrician 1.5+ weeks ago, (by the way, we were 89% for weight, 70% for head circumference, and 95%, or was it 97%? for length) I complained about not having a nap schedule. So the pediatrician said "oh that is simple. Just keep track of her naps for a few days and then when you see a pattern and know when she will be tired put her down for a nap."

Right. 

This is our sleeping and eating log. Let me explain. Red lines are feedings. Black dots are night time sleep (yay! We are doing great!) Black bars are daytime naps. There are some squiggles in there which indicate she had a hard time falling asleep that particular nap or sleep time. 

Here is the pattern I notice: 

a) falling asleep at 7:00-8:00 most nights, eating at 10:00-10:30 (I wake her up for this one) and waking up once more during the night to eat.

Here are the patterns I do not notice:

a) eating during the day pattern

b) nap pattern

Am I missing something?

 No I don't think so mom. I really like the teether you got me. Thanks. 

In other news, I think I solved, at least for now, the ant problem. 

Good job, mom!

The garage nest was easy. They were like sitting ducks. 

Go on.

The inside of the house was more difficult. I knew there was a nest but didn't know where. Eventually one day a small movement on the side of the door frame of the front door caught my eye.

Over there, right?

Yeah. I found what looked like the beginning of tunnels. So I baited it. 

 That sounds reasonable.

Yep. I haven't seen any ants since then.

I think I see one right now.

Just kidding, that was the cat.

I have only seen dying ants. Usually in the bathtub for some reason.

Really?

Why are they in the bathtub?

That I don't know. 

hmmm...

Um. Please clean them out before you give me a bath.

I don't do baths with ants, not even dying ones. 

Taking pictures of my baby is like trying to not eat chips.

So hard to stop...

You really should check my diaper, mom.

Ahhh!! I won't post the other 60 I took.

Alex and I went to the Lowell Folk Music Festival today. It was crowded but fun. We managed to find a salted chocolate covered caramel.

Cecily enjoyed it.

That is the stage with a bluegrass band from Ohio. The guy on stage left was an ASL interpreter of all the songs. I had never seen that at a bluegrass concert before. 

Alex taught me some Ukrainian on the way there. I learned (and forgot) how to say "how old are you? I am 30. Where is the bathroom? Joseph Smith was a prophet."

Proud homeowners

...of only one home!!

Our Urbana home closed this week. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I feel major relief. Two mortgages is not something we need right now. On the other hand, it is like letting a piece of my life go. Or closing a wonderful chapter of my life that I wasn't 100% ready to close yet. 

This is a letter I wrote the day of the closing for my Realtor to give to the buyers. 

Dear buyers of 7 Weaver Place:

My husband and I wish we could be at the closing to meet you and wish you all the best in your new home, but circumstances are such that this is not possible. I do want to write a little note to hopefully convey how much we loved that home and our wishes that you will also be able to. Forgive me for a few reminiscences as well.

7 Weaver Place was the first home that we owned. We bought it a year after we got married. We looked at many houses before settling on that one. We liked so many things about the home – the quiet neighborhood, the size and potential of the yard, the skylights, the layout of the home and possibilities to renovate and make the space our own. It truly was a “fixer-upper” when we moved in and the first thing we did was replace the kitchen and put in the tile floor. We started out with lots of energy for home improvement projects but laying the tile floor about sucked us dry and after that, all of the other improvements we did were spaced further and further apart. Eventually they all were finished and it was a joy to see the space transformed to a welcoming, friendly and happy place. We loved having friends over and have many happy memories sharing meals and spending time together. We hope you will also have many happy memories with friends and loved ones there.

We were excited to have our own backyard and that first year put in all of the fruit trees and brambles and grape vines and were pleased to see that the wild black raspberries that were already there were very productive. The raspberries and blackberries were incredibly productive as well as the peach and pear trees. I canned dozens (hundreds?) of quarts of jams, preserves, juice and fruit the last 2-3 years we were there. I had no idea how to preserve food initially but having so much produce encouraged me to learn how! The first year the peach tree produced peaches, even though I pruned off much of the fruit as I was supposed to, the trunk split under the heavy weight of the fruit. We propped it together and it has continued to do very well. The squirrels, though, also appreciate the fruit :) We loved having a few chickens in the backyard and spent many hours watching their fun antics and we enjoyed their wonderful, home-grown eggs. We hope you also find joy in the productivity of the land.

7 Weaver Place is where we brought home our baby from the hospital, now just over 4 months ago. Those early days were so wonderful but so hard and I felt completely at home and surrounded by friends and neighbors. In fact, our backyard neighbor was so good to us that I hated the thought of leaving her almost as much as leaving the house and tried to convince her to move with us. We hope that you will also enjoy the neighbors and neighborhood. 

The day I left 7 Weaver Place for the last time qualifies as one of the saddest days of my life. But even though I miss that wonderful home, I am so grateful for the many happy years we had there and hope that it will also be a memorable, happy and joyful home for you and your family. My husband and I are hopeful that you will cherish that home as much as we have. We wish you and your family all the best. 

***

Alex finally gets a bit of a breather on an outpatient service and we are lucky to have him for the whole weekend! Two whole days! Yesterday we went to Hammond Castle in Gloucester (say "glah-ster") that happened to also be hosting a renaissance festival. 

 I blended right into the renaissance festival with my Peruvian cowboy hat. The blanket (thanks Ashlee!) that is shielding Cecily's legs from the sun also lends a certain something to the ensemble.

This is the courtyard inside the castle.

 Do any of my Philadelphia friends recognize this tile work?

 Cecily was a really great sport and made us popular with the natives. 

Hammond castle was build in the 1920's by John Hammond, a wealthy inventor. It was a gift to his wife as well as a home for all of his European artifacts and the headquarters of his inventing operation.

We visited the Cape Pond Ice factory. We got to go inside their freezer with its 300# blocks of ice and ice statues in the works.

In other news, we have been overrun by humongous ants. I found and baited their nest in the garage and it is like an ant battleground with corpses lying around all over. I haven't been successful enough to convince the inside ants to take my bait. But I am patient...

Had to add this picture. Sweet Cecily moments before snoozing off into dreamland...