Santa Rant

We had good intentions of introducing Cecilia to Santa yesterday. We ventured out to Colorado Mills (along with the rest of the world). We did a little shopping on the way to Santa. When we got to Santa's "house" the line was long and the signs were many. Signs stating that visiting with Santa was free, but if you wanted to take a picture with your own camera, you would have to purchase their minimum photo package of $20 to do so. BA HUMBUG!!!! Well, little commercialized elves, Merry Christmas! We will not be participating in such ridiculousness. Since when did it cost so much money to get your picture with Santa, and in this economy?!?!? The Colorado Mills Mall charges an extra fee on every purchase at every store for "community improvements", or something like that. Shouldn't that cover the cost to have Santa at the mall for a few weeks? If I wanted to buy their pictures, then the photo they take should be better than the one that I can get from my camera, and the photo should be a reasonable amount (not $20 for 2 5x7's). After all, the kid behind the camera is probably only making minimum wage and his photography training probably goes no further than "press this button, and make sure the flash goes off". So, maybe this makes us bad parents. But I don't care. I can't afford to pay $20 for a photo with Santa, and frankly, Cecilia has nothing to say to the big guy, so a free visit is kind of pointless. I'd like to think that I am a better parent for not giving in to this racket. Even though Cecilia is too young to know or care about this decision, we have set a precedent for future years. So, alas there are no photos to post of Cecilia with Santa. There probably won't be this year. It is just another reminder of what this season is really about, and that JOY can not be found in a mall.

Merry Christmas

A COLD 4 Month Dr.'s Visit

Cecilia had her four month check up yesterday. Jon was going to meet me there, so that I wouldn't have to go through shots by myself, but the battery in the Accord died. And to top it off, his office had the AC and the fans on all day, he was so cold! Poor guy. I think it only got to about 16 degrees yesterday, and when I left for the doctors, my car said it was 11. BRRRRRRRR! Jon got a new battery for the car this morning before heading to work. Gotta love those unexpected expenses!

Anyway, according to the doc, Cecilia is "advanced". She "has the head control of an 8 month old" and is "the strongest 4 month old" that the doc "has seen in a long time." Dr. Postel predicts that Cecilia will be crawling by her 6 month appointment, and will have two teeth in by Christmas. That's right- my 4 month old is teething! YIKES!!! She said that we can start her on a little bit of rice cereal if we want. And at this point, I want. I want to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time at night. So, when the temperature gets to a more acceptable level (today it is only supposed to be 8 degrees), I will head out of the warm house to buy some new food.

Cecilia is in the 60th percentile for all of her measurements, here are her 4 month stats:
Weight: 13 lbs. 9 oz.
Height: 25 inches
Head: 42 cm

In other news, we finally got the tree decorated. It has been up with lights on it for over a week, and we finally got the ornaments on it on Sunday night. We already found the best Christmas present under the tree!

Cookie Exchange Review

It was a lovely gathering of women. Cecilia was by far the most popular lady around.

Before the party got started she got to meet her cousin, Chris.
Hanging out with the hostess with the mostest- Aunt Jackie, and Aunt Cindy.

Four Generation Picture

Cecilia was thrilled with the selection of cookies that I picked. She dove right in.

Cookie Exchange Preview

I admit, I am not bringing cookies to the annual cookie exchange this year. I am bringing candies. Have I mentioned that since I have been home with C, I have really enjoyed cooking and baking? It has been nice to be able to experiment with different recipes and ingredients. It doesn't help that I like to watch Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network while I nurse Cecilia. I think she is fabulous, and she has inspired me to make many yummy things.

Anyway, this year I am bringing Chocolate Dipped Cranberry-Orange Nougat, and Truffle Pops with festive sugars, coffee-cocoa, and candy cane shells. They were fun to make, and I am excited to bring some yummy cookies home this afternoon.

New Toy

Cecilia and I visited my friend Sara at Happy Cakes today. Sara gave Cecilia a new used excersaucer. I thought that Cecilia was going to be too little for it, but she loves it! She likes how it stands her up, and she loves all of the fun things to play with on it. YAY! It is perfect timing because she is going to be outgrowing her playmat very soon. Thank you Sara!!

Anti-Nap

It is 12:15PM. Cecilia has been awake since 6AM. She has taken two 10 minute naps, and I am going to pull my hair out. I think that I have the only baby in the world that is soooo tired, but won't nap. Seriously! What other 4 month old does this?!?!??!!

Turkey Anyone?

We celebrated Cecilia's first Thanksgiving at my Aunt Jenny and Denise's house. The food was delicious! We brought the mashed potatoes, and we started a new tradition and brought Butternut Squash Soup, it was so good! It was a small gathering for my family, only 15 people were there. It was great to visit with everyone, and share in the spirit of giving thanks for all that we have. Jon's Dad also joined us, it was nice to spend time with him.

Cecilia wanted to eat right as our dinner was being served (of course) and then she slept for two hours. She was having difficulty falling asleep in a new place, but Daddy's chest was the perfect bed.