Christmas in Missouri

For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, we were in Missouri with the Swobodas. We were able to decorate the tree with Cecilia, which was great fun - although she had no clue what was going on. She really just wanted to eat the ornaments.


On Christmas Eve, we went and saw Ben's grandma and introduced her to Cecilia. She kept asking how old she was and what her name was, which was to be expected. However, near the end of the visit, she called her Cecilia, which was wonderful to hear. They got along just beautifully, and we had a happy visit together.

Later in the day we went to see Becky sing at Elliott and Becky's church. Cecilia was pretty god throughout and was adored by all - per usual. That evening we bravely took little Cecilia Jo to midnight mass. It was beautiful this year, and Cecilia slept through the whole thing. Poor baby was really tired, even with a late nap. She was a little fussy the next day from being tired. We're not sure if we'll take her (or another baby) to midnight mass again, but it turned out pretty well and we really enjoyed sharing that mass with her, even if she was sleeping. There's something special about the night-time masses, Midnight Mass and Easter Vigil. Maybe it's the sense of anticipation or maybe it's the quiet. Whatever it is, I love those masses, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to bring our children.

On Christmas morning, we got ourselves up and out of bed, and then Cecilia opened her presents with Mommy, Daddy, Na-naw, and Paw-paw. She really doesn't enjoy wrapping paper as much as we had hoped, but she does like bows. We also opened gifts that were sent from Nebraska. Afterward, we ate Christmas breakfast, Ben's favorite meal of the year. Here are the 6 videos from that morning :).







Later in the day, Uncle Elliott, Aunt Becky, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Ashley came over and we all opened presents together. After the baby was in bed, we hung out and played games (not to say the baby didn't wake up ...). It was a wonderful Christmas with Cecilia. We missed everyone who wasn't there, but we were grateful for the people we did have with us. As Tiny Tim says, "God bless us, everyone!"

New Jobs and a Move to Cape Girardeau

Ben and I accepted jobs in Niskayuma, NY as physicists at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. They build the reactors in submarines, so we won't be able to talk much about what we do. :) We'll be moving to the Schenectady, NY area when our clearances go through, which may be about 3 months. In the interim, we'll be staying with Ben's parents in Cape Girardeau, MO. We're moving there this weekend (December 20) and are very grateful for their hospitality.

My sister, Allison, had agreed to move to NY as our nanny, which we are also very grateful for. It's a lot of big changes, and we are excited, scared, nervous, sad, relieved, and thrilled. The map below is a general idea of where we'll be. New York here we come!


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Daddy Playing wtih Cecilia

Daddy can always make our little girl laugh!

Snow Storm 2009

We had the first snow storm of the year in Madison right after Oma left. We actually had a snow thunderstorm, which is very disconcerting. Nothing like thunder and lightened that's not accompanied by the pitter patter of rain. The snow was wet and heavy and several inches on the trees. It was so heavy, that high tree branches were bending nearly to the ground. By the way - they did end up bouncing back, so to speak. We got some video and pictures while the snow was still falling. I think we got about 14 inches and it was a record storm in Wisconsin - which is saying something. From what we hear, it will be the first of many this year. UW and MATC got a snow day, which stinks because I have the day off anyway! Oh well, at least I won't have to change my lesson plans.

Christmas with Oma 2009

Because we were moving to Cape over Christmas, we were not going to see the Nebraska folks for Christmas this year. So, when Oma came to visit at the beginning of December, we had our Christmas with her. She also brought things from Allison and Libby. Cecilia did not have as much fun with the wrapping paper as we thought she would. Actually, she was a little frieghtened. Still, she loved the presents she got from Oma, Aunt Allison, and Aunt Libby and played and played with them.

There are several videos because the spliced together video was too long to upload.

Little Steps

Cecilia has begun to take little steps when you hold her up. Actually, she's loving it more and more each day. She'd love to run, if she could. Over Thanksgiving, we caught some of these first steps on film. We'll record more to document this process. I have a feeling she'll be running before crawling.

Sidenote - this video is funny, not just adorable. Ben's behind the camera. I don't want to give it away, I just want to say that it's funny.

Thanksgiving in Nebraska and First Foods!

This year, we spent Cecilia's first Thanksgiving in Nebraska. During this trip, we learned that Cecilia will sleep the whole way if we put her to bed in her car seat after a normal night-time routine and drive and night. It worked like a charm, although mom and dad were tired because she was up at her normal time! We had Wednesday to recover (yea grad school and no class on Wednesday) and on Thursday we went to Columbus for a Thanksgiving feast at Hannah's Aunt Karen's. It was a fun day, especially since Hannah got to play Settlers of Quatan twice! She didn't win at all, though. Cecilia was a big hit with the family, and she laughed and cooed at all the attention. Everyone commented on what a wonderful baby we have, and we, of course, agreed. After a fun, but long, day, we drove back to Oma's and enjoyed some quiet. On Friday, we headed to Lincoln to visit Grandpa Yount. We had a seafood feast and hung out. Cecilia enjoyed Grandpa's banjo and even tried to play it a little. We had an enjoyable visit, and made it back to Oma's in time for Cecilia's bedtime.

In addition to all the Thanksgiving fun going on, Cecilia also got her first taste of solid food. As it turns out, it was not a roaring success. Although, looking back on it now, she liked it more that day than she does now. Now, she does not like solid food and will not eat it. The videos of solid food eating are on youtube - some of them should be in our sidebar. They are too long for the post, so I just uploaded several videos.




Later in the day, Daddy gave it a try. At this point, she was still slightly interested.

Uncle Jarrod Playing for Cecilia

Here's a video of Jarrod playing the guitar for Cecilia. She loves it and all music!

Practicing B's

I got a cute video of Cecilia practicing her B's with Ben. The Husker game is in the background (go Huskers) so you can hear some of that, too. She's been trying to imitate the words "Bless You" (she sneezes a lot) and "baby". The video is on the sidebar and our YouTube channel.

6 month pictures and family portraits

We got family pictures taken today for Cecilia's 6 month milestone and to have a family picture. You can use the link below to see all of the pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda, and it is on the JCPenny Portraits website.

The pictures we ordered are:
E3, E4, P2, P4-P6, P9-P11, P16-P21
-P7 and P8 are the color versions of E3 and E4 (sepia) which we didn't get
-P12-P14 we didn't get because my necklace was very obviously and distractingly askew
- P15 we didn't get because Ben and Cecilia were looking at two different places and Cecilia wasn't really smiling

It was too bad, but Cecilia was very tired during the photo shoot and Mommy was in the first and middle stages of a migraine. Cecilia WOULD NOT nap today! It is not like her, and we aren't sure why, but she would only go down for a few minutes at a time, maxing out at a half-hour later in the afternoon. Normally, she sleeps 1.5-2.0 hours in two morning and early afternoon naps and then a half hour late afternoon. This means she was fussy and splotchy all day. She still pulled out a few smiles, though. The photographer this time wasn't as good as for her 3 month pictures, but our little girl is beautiful no matter who is taking her picture! :)

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0151114099JCP

Link to our Videos

Here is a link to the Swobodafamily Channel on You tube. You can also use the URL below or the link in the sidebar. We generally put extra videos and long videos on our YouTube channel. You can follow the link to see all of the videos we've put on YouTube. The most recent of these are what appear on the sidebar of the blog.

http://www.youtube.com/user/swobodafamily

Trip to the Zoo

We have a free community zoo in Madison, and today was beautiful (when we left) so I took Cecilia to see it. I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised at how extensive the zoo was! A lot of animals were indoors (they have several buildings too), but we walked outside and saw giraffes, polar bears, brown bears, black bears, a Tiger, otters, penguins, camels, an osterich and its egg, bison, and a lot of monkeys (sorry Allison - primates?). We went inside the PRIMATE house, and saw chimps and orangutans. We had to leave the stroller outside, however, so we only went inside one place. I took a picture of Celia in a polar bear cutout (cute!) and I also took a picture of the solar panel. You don't see many of those sitting in the middle of the zoo.


I got video in a few places, although it was just me so pardon the videography. Celia was interested in things at times, particularly the giraffes, but she got more tired as the day went on (her afternoon nap wasn't long enough). After the zoo, we picked Daddy up at work and went for a nice family dinner at The Great Dane (boy, we'll miss that place). It was a wonderful afternoon!

This video is of us and the polar bears.

This video is of us and the brown bears.

This video is of us and the otters. She really enjoyed the otters. You can't tell as much on the video, but the otters made her babble a lot.

New Game

Cecilia and Daddy really enjoy playing the game you can watch in the video. Cecilia realized that if she speaks while bouncing, it makes a funny sound. Now, when she's on Daddy's knee, she will make a long sound and expect Daddy to bounce her. It took a few takes because the video camera distracts her, but it is the cutest thing! I actually had to sort of hide the camera from her to get this video. What a clever baby!

6 Month Doctor's Appointment

Cecilia had her 6 months doctor's appiontment today. I uploaded her revised growth charts. It looks like her length is leveling off but her weight is holding steady. I question the length measurements, though. They stretch her out along a bumpy table, then hold a tape measure and measure the "crow's flight." As a scientist, I cannot believe it's accurate and it's probably off by an inch or so. They also screwed up the head circumference measurement. She recorded it as 41.3, but I was pretty sure it should be between 42 and 43 from what I could see. After the nurse left, I measured it myself and it was 42.3 cm which keeps her along the same growth curve instead of leveling off. I think Ben was a little appalled when I measured it myself, but I wanted to make sure her head was still growing.

Summary:
weight: 18 lbs 9 oz; 91.32%
length: 26 in (or so they say); 60.49%
head: 41.3 cm (officially, really 42.3 cm); 18.6% (should be around 50%)

Yesterday I put a pony-tail on top of her head for the first time, too (is there a word for that?). It's in the picture we took a picture while we were waiting (cute!). Cecilia also got a DTaP shot, which didn't even make her cry. We have such a good girl! Leah (our doctor) was also impressed that she was hungry and tired and was still so happy and interactive. What a wonderful girl we've been blessed with. She was pronounced perfect.

6 months flies by so fast. She's now learning so quickly, and everyday brings development. Today, for example, she was trying out really loud sounds. I'd be sitting with her, and she'd look at me and just "speak" really loudly for a long time. Then she grinned at me. I wish I could capture every moment on video, but then we wouldn't be living it :). We're just so happy with our baby and couldn't love her more. Happy 6 months Cecilia!

Daddy's Feet

Cecilia is obsessed with feet lately. She loves investigate people's feet and, of course, try to eat them. If she's fussy, stick a foot in front of her and it will gain her interest for a while. We try to keep her from eating them if they are not recently washed (yuck!), but this is a cute video of her going after Ben's feet. It's so cute that when she wants something, she leads with her mouth!

No Socks!

Cecilia worked very hard this morning to take her socks off all by herself! And I got it on video! It took her awhile (3 minutes), so the video is too long to put in the post. Keep an eye on the toolbar, though, and it should turn up there on our YouTube channel!

Check a few of the earlier posts. I try to keep things in chronilogical order so we can preserve some of this time accurately (if I ever get around to archiving it). There are a couple of cute videos from earlier.

Plumber's Crack

Cecilia had a case of plumber's crack first thing in the morning!

Highchair at a Restaurant - We've Hit a Milestone!

Well, we hit a milestone tonight. Our baby sat in a highchair at the table for an entire meal. She wanted to be held at the very end, but Mommy and Daddy got to eat first - at the same time! Wow, what a wonderful family meal! She is so curious now that she spent the whole meal watching people and chewing on her toys. She threw some on the ground, but for the most part she played quietly and watched us eat.

She is getting really interested in us when we eat. She watches closely as we put the food in our mouths and chew. When we started eating, she started making chewing motions, too! She's definitely getting closer to getting ready to eat, but we aren't rushing into anything. I think that Ben is perfectly happy to wait for the diapers to need to be rinsed out :)! She behaved so well, and we got complements on her all night. We may be able to take more family outings like this in the future!

Daddy's Softball Games

I found a few pictures from Ben's softball that I thought I'd share. She really started enjoying it once she could sit in the stroller with her toys. We have a couple of the baby with Daddy at the softball games (big sigh, they're over).


Here we are with Daddy and the Fall Ball trophy for the last game of the year! It was cold, but fun. Yeah champs!

New Chew-Toy

Cecilia has a new favorite chew-toy, and it is an old washcloth. She was getting ready for a nap when we took the video, but she loves to chew on this. I guess the old saying that the simpler toys are the best is true!

Upside-down

I want to be upside-down! Cecilia loves this play-time position now when she plays with Daddy. What is it with kids and being upside down? Different view I guess.

New Carseat

We got a new carseat for Cecilia. She outgrew the old carrier, so we got her a convertible carseat that should last for quite a while. It is rear-facing until 45 pounds, and front-facing until 65 pounds. It should last her for quite a while, so we decided to go with the "girl" design, since it is unlikely it will be shared by another child. The old carrier will be stored until it is ready to be used again if needed.

Torro! and a High-chair

Cecilia laughs and more things everyday! Here, Ben was playing Torro! with the old washcloth Cecilia's been using as a chew-toy.



Oma also finished the high-chair that we used as kids for Cecilia. She got us a chair cover, too, and it is all set-up as of today! It looks great and fits her perfectly. We've been using it without the cover, but she slid down on the slippery wood. We sit her in the chair while we work in the kitchen. She's happy because she can reach the toys and see us at the same time. Mommy's happy because she can wash dishes and make dinner. Funny what makes you happy when you get older! Now that the cover's on she doesn't slide around and is much more comfy. Yeah for sitting!

Halloween 2009

Aunt Allison visited this weekend over Halloween. We took Cecilia to the pumpkin patch, but it was a little cold and windy. We still took a gander around the barnyard and went on a hayride. Cecilia touched a goat and fell asleep on the hayride! That night, we carved our pumpkins and handed out candy to trick 'o treaters. Not a bad first Halloween for the baby!

This video is of the corn maze. It was actually just some corn in a barn. It was too windy to go through the corn maze outside.


Here is the hayride.


Here are the jack-o-lanterns and Cecilia in her Halloween outfit.


Sunday we celebrated the Feast of All Saints with a giant turkey dinner. We roasted a turkey breast, and had mashed potatoes, amish corn, green beans cooked with onions and bacon, honey glazed carrots, sweet potato casserole, and dinner rolls. Ben had a sore throat so he couldn't eat much, but we had a delicious meal! It turned out too many of the dishes were sweet, so next time I will make more variety of flavors and not so much sweet.

Playtime and Sitting

Cecilia is able to balance herself now, and even sit straight up at times. We have to be watchful, though, because she will throw herself backwards when trying to chew something. I have a video of her sitting, but it is too big to upload. I will take another one or post the video on our YouTube channel (it should show up in the videos on the sidebar).

Celia also loves to rub her feet together, go figure! Her new game is also to blow a rasberry while trying to speak. We're now sure exactly what sound she's going for, but it is very wet.

2 Year Anniversary Trip

We went to Omaha over the weekend to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. Ben and I decided there was nothing we wanted more than to spend a nice evening together as a couple. So, we went to Omaha and Oma watched Cecilia at various times throughout the weekend, including over night on Saturday, so we could go on a date.

We were worried we wouldn't make the trip because we'd been sick the week before, but Friday morning most of the cold symptoms were gone and we decided to go ahead and go. We got in
before Cecilia's bedtime and had a pleasant evening at Oma's. Amber, my good friend since high school, came over to meet Cecilia and visit with us. It was so wonderful to see her, and we drank wine and chatted until after midnight. Amber is always fun to hang with.

Saturday morning we had to get up early because Oma bought tickets for Ben and I to see the Husker game as an anniversary/birthday present! It was Ben's first time to a game, and my second (the first was nearly 10 years ago). We drove to Lincoln with Oma, and Oma and my Aunt Arlene stayed with Cecilia while Ben and I went to the game. The game was disappointing, but the experience was fun. Ben was very impressed by the Husker fans. During the course of the game, the Husker's had 8 turnovers - not a good thing. Still, every time the defense came up to try and minimize the damage from a turnover, the fans were on their feet and screaming support. Up until the last play - when Lee threw an interception so Iowa State took a knee and the game was over - the fans were on their feet and yelling support. Many places, the fans would be leaving much earlier in the game, but the Husker fans stuck with the team to the bitter end. They lost 7 to 9, but it was a lot of fun anyway. We took a couple of pictures of us at the game with our cell phones.





After the game, we took Cecilia to see my Dad in Lincoln. It was great to see Grandpa, and he showed Cecilia his banjo and guitar. She loves music and was mesmerized by the sounds. We may have a musician on our hands. We took some pictures at my Dad's we hope to have up soon.

After my Dad's we headed back to Omaha so Ben and I could start our date night. Oma watched Cecilia and showed her off to some friends. Reports were that they had an easy night, yeah! While Cecilia was with Oma, Ben and I ate at Anthony's. It was the first time Ben had been there and it was just what the doctor ordered. Ben had a top sirloin with a baked potato and veggies. I had steak kabobs with a twice baked potato and veggies. We both had salads and shared the crab and artichoke dip for an appetizer. The whole meal was wonderful. After dinner, we went to see the movie "Couples Retreat" and enjoyed it very much. We were both exhausted after the movie and went back to the hotel (thanks Dad for the room!) to call it a night. The room we got was an executive suite, so it had a room with a couch and minibar and half bath, and then it also had a bedroom with a full bath. 2 bathrooms for us for one night!

We planned on sleeping in until 9:00 am, but, since this is such a rare treat, the fire alarm went off around 8:30 am. It was a false alarm, but it got us out of bed before we were ready! We then took Oma and Aunt Allison to lunch/breakfast at Perkins so we could say goodbye to Jarrod. After a quick trip to Oma's to gather our things, we headed home. It was a difficult car ride home for Cecilia, but all-in-all it was a great trip. We're tired, but we had a wonderful time!

Cecilia Has Found Her Feet

She's been working on it for weeks, can Cecilia has finally found her feet! Her favorite time to eat her toes is during diaper changes and in the bath tub. We've gotten it on video for the last two baths, and you can see her enjoying this new accomplishment!

Our 2 year anniversary

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary today. It came in with a pop - not a bang. Last night, as Ben and I sat in exhaustion with the baby in bed, I sat pumping and grading papers and Ben was sick on the recliner and waiting to take his next dose of medicine before going to bed. Ben looked over at me and asked, "Is marriage as glamorous as you thought it would be?" I have to say to him, "Marriage is better than I thought it would be!" It's not always pretty, but we have a pretty great life. A few humorous comments are in the video below.



We've been so busy lately, that we didn't realize that it was our anniversary until mid-morning after I taught my class. Someone texted us a congratulations and we looked at each other and said, "Oh yeah!" We'd been talking about our anniversary on Tuesday, but we've been so busy that Tuesday snuck up no us! As a result, there were no cards, flowers, candy, or treats. However, we went to lunch to commemorate the day. We are going to Omaha this weekend for a whole night together alone, which is our real anniversary gift to each other. Yeah! Ben's been sick since the weekend, so it wasn't too eventful. Cecilia is really coming out of her shell, and she went after my food during the meal! It's the first time she's shown real interest in what we're eating. Saying "no" just made her want it more :).

When we got home, Celia and I took a nap and Ben relaxed. When Celia woke up, Ben watched her so I could get an extra hour to make-up for burning the midnight oil working this weekend and Monday night. Then I went to teach, and when I got back we headed straight to Ben's softball game, and it was bittersweet. It was sad because it will probably be the last game he'll ever play with that team. It was exciting because they won the Fall Ball Championship! Ben wasn't feeling up to snuff since he was sick - but after a rocky start he made some incredible plays in the field. He also batted in some runs and scored a couple of times. It was a little cold and started spitting, but we made it through and put a tired baby right to bed.

Because Ben was sick, we couldn't even give each other a kiss for our anniversary. However, I look forward to many, many, many years of anniversaries and kisses. Love, I am so happy I married you. Thank you for our daughter and all the hopes, joys, trials, and tribulations that make up our life. Thank you for the past 2 years, and I can't wait for the years to come. Happy anniversary!

Conversations with Mommy

Cecilia had a lot to say in this conversation with Mommy. She is working really hard on learning to say words and is experimenting with moving her mouth. If I repeat a word over and over for her, she will study my mouth and then, when I pause, she will try to imitate me. It is a favorite game for her. Right now, she's really close to replicating the various sounds in the word "bath." She may know what the word means, since we do it every night and its a pretty obvious activity - but maybe not.

Thank you Na-naw and Paw-paw!

Cecilia got a new toy from Na-naw and Paw-paw. She hasn't quite figured out that she can use her hands, but her mouth works just as well!

And she sleeps...

The time is finally here! Our baby sleeps - at night! After weeks of difficult nights and days of a sleeping baby, we have hit upon the magic formula to put our baby to bed and keep her there. We do her bath around 8:00 pm. They we dress her in a long-sleeve cloth shirt and a sleep blanket. We turn out all the lights in the apartment, and we feed her. She is getting easier to get to sleep, too. She knows bedtime, and needs less soothing to sleep.

However, she has some funny characteristics when she soothes herself to sleep. Generally, she requires and bouncing, swaying motion accompanied by a variety of songs. We try to chose soothing songs, but occasionally we'll hit on something she very much dislikes. It turns out that "How Great Thou Art" is not one of her favorites. This process to get her to sleep works for naps too. As you sing to her, she will begin to sing along, sometimes chewing on a finger. Eventually, she'll continue singing with her eyes closed until she abruptly stops singing signaling that she's asleep.

Yes, as you may have thought, the process is also adorable. We caught some of it on video while I was putting her down for a nap. It is not my most flattering video, but the baby is too cute to pass up!

Giggles

This tickle game always gets Celia laughing.

The Scream

Cecilia has developed a high-pitched scream that she uses both when she wants something and to amuse herself. She also uses it to let us know what sort of mood she's in. In this video, she was both trying to be funny and letting us know her mouth hurt and she didn't like it. (We gave her some Tylenol later in the night so she could sleep.) We thought we'd share this wonderful, ear-splitting form of communication.

A Great Multitasker

We got a cute video of Cecilia multitasking. Here she is doing 3 of her favorite things: standing, sitting, and chewing on Mommy's finger! No wonder the child has well defined leg muscles!

Cecilia rolled!

This afternoon, amongst much applause, Cecilia rolled from her stomach to her back. She has only rolled to her right, although she did it four times in a row. Each successive time she was placed on her stomach she got more and more angry - so five times in a row is pushing it. Out of the blue, she raised her left arm, threw her shoulders back, and fell onto her back. We're so proud of her! We'll try to get a video when she's not quite so upset about being on her stomach.

Cecilia' 4 month Doctor's visit

Cecilia had her 4 month check-up. She got two vaccines, Rotavirus (oral) and DTap (shot). She was upset about the shot for a minute or so, but quickly recovered and had no apparant side effects that night. Yeah! She's back on the Dr. Sear's alternative schedule for vaccines, so we'll go in again next month for the Pneumaccocal and HipB.

I don't have the charts right now, but her measurements were

height - 26" (96.29%)
weight - 15 lb 12.8 oz. (90.33%)
head circumference - 41cm (51.97%)

It appears her weight is now catching up with her length and she's in the 90+ percentile for both! She seems to have a smaller head, though :).

Other notable points from the visit:
- Leah (our doc) was impressed her belly button was an inny already because most babies don't have strong enough abdominal muscles to pull it in. That may not happen until 2 years in many cases.
- She is hitting all of her milestones and is even a little ahead on some things (I forget what they are at the moment - I guess this is "Mom brain").
- Although she could get a flu shot at 6 months, we have decided that since she is a breastfed baby who does not go to daycare and is not in a risk group due to a medical condition we will not get her a flu shot.
- We have been assured that her infrequent stooling is completely normal for a breastfed baby and she is definitely growing well.
- We will not schedule visits for 10 am again since it is before her current "wake up" time and she was very sleepy in the doctor's office.

Overall, we are reassured that Celia is growing well and developing well. Here is a quick update on her feeding. Celia has been breastfeeding less and less, now more for comfort than for nutrients. I offer all day, but she usually refuses. I have hope that she may decide to breastfeed more often again, but we've come to accept that our baby gets most of her nutrients from pumped milk. So far, I've been able to maintain my supply and I plan to do so until Celia no longer needs to nurse at all. I have visions of her choosing to nurse sometimes as an older baby and establishing a routine of nursing at bedtime at least. The most success we have with breastfeeding now is at middle of the night wakings and at naptime - all while lying in bed. If I can catch her as she's waking she'll usually nurse for at least a few minutes. While this is not what I had hoped for, we have learned a lot and hope to breastfeed more successfully if we are ever blessed with more children. We are proud that we were able to teach her to breastfeed and every day we can continue to give her breastmilk instead of formula is a small victory.

I was surprised that the information included in the after-visit summary they gave us after her check-up said that she should be eating 6-7 ounces every 4-5 hours. This implies that she should be eating 30-42 ounces a day. We feed on demand and always have milk available to her, and she eats around 25 ounces a day - sometimes less! Obviously she is growing well, so she's getting more than enough calories to thrive. I am inclined to think that some babies might eat more because they eat so much faster with bottles than with breastfeeding and still need to suck (aka the pacifier) so that parents who bottle feed tend to regulate how much the child gets instead of the child regulating the intake. I may be way off-base since I haven't studied any research, but it seems to me that we don't have a really accurate idea of how much a breastfed baby eats (I've heard up to 30 ounces at 6 months, but I don't know). The bottles we use do require suction and compression and require her to suck more than a normal bottle to eat. I wonder if the increased sucking means she's eating more slowly (we know it can take her 15-20 minutes to eat a bottle) than if we used another bottle so she is regulating her calorie intake more closely to the way a baby does when they eat exclusively from the breast. She also usually gets milk pumped within a few days unless we're freshening our frozen supply. I've also heard that the composition of breastmilk changes as the child ages, so it may be that the calorie content of milk changes to meet the needs of the baby. Also, breastmilk is metabolized better than formula, so I wonder if the baby just gets better at metabolizing the nutrients and doesn't need as increased an amount of milk to meet her needs. These are just my thoughts since Celia eats far less than what they are telling us she should and is definitely not having any problems with growth or development. An interesting discussion. Any thoughts?

Ben's Softball Game

We've been trying to get video of Ben's softball games. On Sept. 8, I got every at-bat on video - except his home run! On 9-15, with my mom's help, we managed to get all of Ben's at-bats on video. It was an exciting game, going into 2 extra innings because of Ben's game tying, 3-run home run! The Urban Achievers ended up taking the game by one run in the 9th inning. What a game, and what a hit!

Career Change

This has been coming for months, but I (Hannah) made my career change official last week. I am going to leave grad school with a 2nd Masters of Science in Materials Science. I will not be getting my PhD. As a result, my RA (research assistant) position will end September 30. In the interim I am teaching two classes at Madison Area Technical College (MATC). I teach Intermediate Algebra I from 8:30-9:20 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I also teach Elementary Algebra with Applications, the class I've taught in the past, from 4:30-6:50 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a lot of work, but I am able to do it at home and the schedule allows Ben to spend more time at work. Before, neither of us were getting enough time to do our work since I needed to spend a great deal of time on campus. Generally, Celia gets up after 11 so now I am able to get home from teaching before she wakes up for the day and Ben can get to work by 10:30 or so. Then, he can come home early twice a week to allow me time to get to my evening class. The schedule is much better for the family and our stress level is much lower. I think this is for the best and we are now looking forward to getting settled somewhere for the long-term.

Ben's Birthday Celebration in St. Louis

For Ben's 30th Birthday, we went to a Cardinals game in St. Louis with his parents, brothers, and their wives. It was also Cecilia's first time in Busch stadium. We left for Missouri after my class on Friday and got to Cape Girardeau in the evening. That night, Ben went on a ride-along with his brother Nick who is a Cape Girardeau police officer. He saw the evening shift of a police officer first hand, and had many interesting stories about the people he saw. Evidently, there were a lot of intoxicated people Nick had to deal with and he used the siren a few times, which was a real thrill.

Saturday, the family drove up to STL for the big game. We stayed in the Crowne Plaza downtown, which was very nice. By the time we got into St. Louis and checked into the hotel, it was already after 3. We wanted to get to the park when it opened, so we walked to the stadium right away. There was a 20 minute or so wait to get in and then we ate in the park. Park food is not very nutrative, so everyone was still very hungry after the game - and a little sick feeling. So, we needed real food afterwards.

It was picture day, so people came out on the field and the players walked around to give people photo ops. We were going to do that, but it was really just waiting in another long line and none of us - Cecilia included - felt like doing that. I did walk down a few rows and get some pictures. The players weren't supposed to take pictures WITH fans, but Pujols started pulling people out of the crowd to take pictures with them. An announcer asked him about it and he said, "Why not? It's picture day!" in that cute accent of his. You could tell he was a real leader on the team, because one he started taking some pictures with fans everyone else did, too. We also got a picture of Molina with his arm around Pujols. See the sidebar for a link to all the pictures.

It was a great game and we got to see Holliday hit a HR. The Cards beat the Nationals 9 to 4, and Ben kept a scorecard of the game so that I could look that up :). We really love keeping stats at a game, it must be the engineer in us.

After the game we went back to the hotel room and Ben got his birthday cake. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting. Becky baked the cake and I frosted and decorated it while Ben was on his ride-along with Nick the night before. It said "Happy 30th Birthday Ben" and my attempt at a STL cardinal. It also had 30 trick candles. Ben blew most of them out and then put out he rest with his fingers. We ordered a meal from Maurizio's Cafe Cecilia went to bed before midnight. The poor thing was all worn out. The boys stayed up late and then we all slept well.

Sunday we went to Union Station and did some shopping and had a meal. Ben got a STL decal for the car and I go some fudge. After that last bit of time for the family, we loaded up for the trek home. Cecilia was tired of driving and being away from home, so the trip wasn't as easy as we'd hoped. We all slept well when we got home. What a weekend!

See the link on the sidebar for pictures.

3 Month Portraits

We got her 3 month pictures taken. She was so good and smiling a lot! You can get to them with the link Cecilia's 3 Month pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda. You can order them there.










We got her 3 month pictures taken. She was so good and smiling a lot! You can get to them with the link Cecilia's 3 Month pictures. Use the customer name Hannah Swoboda.

Ben's 30th Birthday and Sweet Corn Fest

We celebrated Ben's 30th birthday pretty quietly. Ben opened his cards from Cecilia and I and then we went to the Annual Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie, which is close to Madison. Cecilia generally had a good time, but it was a lot of noise and commotion for the little one.

Ben opening his cards!



This is Cecilia chewing on her monkey, which is her new favorite thing to do!


This is all of us at Sweet Corn Fest! We met up with a couple of friends, Brad and Sarah, there. Everyone was so happy to meet Cecilia!

We're working on rolling over!

We're working on rolling over and spending more time on our tummy. She's getting closer and closer to rolling over!

In this first video, Cecilia is playing on her back. Once again, forgive my amateur cinematography. She likes to go crazy kicking, and then she stops and waits for approval. If you are pleased with what she's done, she just keeps doing it! When we began to notice this, I really realized how kids like to please their parents. Encouraging her really seems to make her try harder.

***I couldn't get the video to upload, but I uploaded it into YouTube. Our channel is swobodafamily, and there should be some of the videos on the sidebar of this blog.***

In this video Celia was doing some dreaded tummy time, but really working on getting her legs up. She's getting better at it, and I think she's getting closer to rolling over.

Vaccines

Celia got vaccines today. We decided to do the alternative vaccine schedule that Dr. Sears suggests because it is supposed to be a little easier on the little guys. The idea is to space the vaccines out. Well, today she was supposed to get her next round, but no one told the nurses what she was supposed to get. She ended up with 4 shots (HepB, IPV,), and I realized later that she just got was she missed from her first visit (if she was on the regular schedule) and not what we'd talked to the doctor about. I should have been more diligent with bringing the information and not assuming that our medical caretakers would know what they're doing. Anyway, poor Celia had a rough night. One of her legs got red and she was obviously sore, and she got a low fever. The next day she was really sleepy and ate a lot, and on Thursday she had a lower appetite and slept a lot too. Today she was more her old self, so the ordeal seems to be over. Next time, we'll be more on top of things.

Kisses

Celia and I were doing kisses and she started kissing me back! It was so cute!

Super Baby

Celia does a cute pose with her arms up that we call super baby! We tried to get it on video, and got a half-hearted version. This is Celia the Super Baby!

Working Out

This video is of Celia working on her tummy time and grabbing for a toy. Once again, I am not the best filmographer, although I am trying to improve. I get a little excited at one point, but I figure I'm entitled. :)

Celia adores Daddy

I took this video a couple of days ago, and I love it so much. Ben's singing to Celia while she's in her swing and she's laughing and looking at Ben adoringly. I am not a great filmographer, so sorry about the quality. It kept going in and out of focus while she was swinging.

Cute bathtime

Celia has been sick as of about Friday night, and we feel so bad for her. We've had to put some saline in her nose so that she could eat and breathe at the same time. That has been traumatic for both baby and mom and dad. We took her to the clinic on Saturday because she's so small they wanted to see her. The doctor said that it's just a run of the mill cold and she should be fine. So, we're all just trying to rest and get better.

On a funny note, we took a video of her bath time and did an "interview" after wards. It was so precious I just had to share it!

We're Sick!

So, it looks like we're sick for the first time since Cecilia's birth. Ben got it first, what seems like a summer cold. I've now started to develop the symptoms and Cecilia sounds a little flemmy and is snorting a little. Hopefully it passes by us quickly.

Grandpa Yount's Visit

Grandpa Yount came to visit Sunday and Monday. We really enjoyed having him, and we spent most of our time eating and visiting. Cecilia really loved meeting Grandpa, and behaved the best at a restaurant that she has ever behaved. We took a couple of pictures, although my photography ability is not the best. I have begun to wonder if it's because there is some residue inside the lends, though, not because I am really that bad at photography. It was a great couple of days, though, and we look forward to seeing Grandpa again soon!

Aunt Allison's Visit

Aunt Allison stayed for a few days after the baptism. We had a great time! It was so nice to have her around during the week, she was a tremendous help. Ben and I got a break while she changed diapers and took care of Cecilia. She also did laundry and dishes for us sometimes. It was also fun hanging out with her and chatting. It's been a while since we had some good, relaxing sister time, so this was very special. We can't thank her enough for all her help, and hope she comes back to visit often! Not because she helped us out, although we are forever grateful for it, but because we really enjoyed having her. Thanks Aunt Allison! We miss you!

Baptism

Cecilia was baptized today at the 8:00 am mass by Msgr. Ken Fiedler at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Madison, WI. She did so well, and there are videos and pictures on facebook. The link should be added on the side bar, too. Allison Yount and Nick Swoboda were her godparents, and we were so surprised and pleased that my Uncle John and Aunt Bernice came with their children, Jonny and Mariah, from Omaha. Oma Yount, Paw-paw and Na-naw Swoboda and Becky and Elliott Swoboda (and Ashley Swoboda, Nick's wife) were also there. She wore the christening gown Oma Yount made for the Yount babies to wear. It was beautiful!

Oma and Allison came Thursday night and stayed with us. Everyone else came Saturday and we had a cookout Saturday night. We celebrated a little for Oma and Nick's birthday's and Paw-paw and Na-naw's aniversary which all occurred the preceding week. After the baptism on Sunday morning we had a brunch at our apartment. It was a little crowded, but we made it work. We are so happy we had such a great weekend!