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!