My Lil' Brother

is insane on a snowboard. Love ya Petey. Please don't get hurt.

Little Ears

I am not convinced that Cecilia's ear infection is gone. Yesterday was the last day of her 2nd round of antibiotics in less than a month. She was furiously grabbing at both of her ears today, and yesterday, and the day before. She is also waking part of the time with a shriek- which, by the way, is an awful and helpless sound. We go back to the doctor on Friday to see what is going on. I am praying that this is just a result of teething, and that her teeth pop through SOON, so we can be over with this for a little while.

I have been very busy and focused on Fries the Moment Design this last week. I am giving a presentation to about 40 professional photographers next Tuesday night. I am so excited about this, and what it could mean for my business.

As a result, we have been trying to get Cecilia to take a bottle for the last several nights so that next Tuesday when I am gone for her dinner cereal, and bed time, Daddy can feed her. Lets just say that this is a process. We bought a bottle shaped more like a breast, but even then, we have had to take baby steps to get her comfortable enough to let Daddy feed her. I've rented a pump from the hospital, and it only took one session of pumping to remind me of how much I dislike it. It takes up so much more time, and makes it impossible to be with my baby while I turn into a dairy cow for several minutes. Fortunately this is temporary, and if I can stock up enough milk for not only next Tuesday but a few more feedings, maybe just maybe, Jon and I can go on a real date. I know, it is a stretch.

Cecilia has been scooting all over the place. I find myself trying set her down in the middle of the room, as far away from any wall possible. She is starting to hold herself up on her hands and knees, but she hasn't figured out how to make it all work together yet. Making her laugh is my favorite activity of the day. Her little personality is really taking shape. It is so fun to see her whole demeanor change when Daddy gets home from work. As soon as she sees him, she gets a huge smile and starts cooing for him. It doesn't take much to get her to laugh from there. All Jon has to do is make a silly face, or say a few words to her, and she is just about in stitches! This is one of my favorite parts of the day.Last weekend included several firsts for Cecilia. She got to ride in her little stroller and her Daddy spoiled her and bought her a new hat.

She also sat in a high chair at Qdoba and played with a cup and spoons while Jon and I shared a quesadilla.

Happy Birthday Grandma Katy!

Cecilia was named Cecilia Kathryn after her Great Grandmother- Grandma Katy. Grandma Katy is my Dad's birth mother, and through my pregnancy with Cecilia I realized how incredibly strong Grandma Katy must have been to be able to carry her child for 9 months and then give him up for adoption so that he might have a better life. I am so thankful that adoption was my Grandma's only choice at that time. If she had not been so strong, I wouldn't be here today, and neither would Cecilia. Happy Birthday Grandma Katy! We love you.

Sick Little Girl

Cecilia, why are you so bundled up and in your car seat so early on a Monday? And why are your cheeks rosy and your eyes glossy? And, my oh my, you look tired!

Cecilia: Oh, you think I look tired, you should see my Mommy! You see, I had to go to the doctor again today because I've had a fever and a nasty cough all weekend. My nose is runny and I keep pulling my ear. Dr. Postel said that my ear infection is back, and I have a bad cold. Looks like more antibiotics and more tears. Hopefully my two front teeth break through soon! Then I will feel better, and Mom can get some sleep. Maybe tonight I'll only get up 3 times instead of 5, maybe.

Happy New Decade!

We rang in the new year last night celebrating with family and close friends. It was great to spend the evening with Keeghan, Pat & Sarah, Petey, Brendan, and Emily & Shawn. Thankfully, Cecilia slept through the turning of the calendar. We hosted a small party with delicious food, beverages, homemade champagne sorbet and homemade chocolate ice cream, and lots of fun. I have to mention that I love my dear husband greatly, but he is one of the biggest geeks that I know. Jon was so excited to host the party, and he wanted to put his own personal festive twist on glassware charms. At about 3:30 in the afternoon he disappeared for about 30 minutes to make these:
For those of you that don't have a geek in your life, these lovely charms were made with resistors, capacitors, and LED bulbs, and soldering wire. Don't ask me what a resistor or a capacitor does, all I know is that Jon has been know to attach them to circuit boards and then make the LED's light up. It was a very 'JON' idea, and they were very festive and served the purpose intended. Love ya babe!

Cecilia's First Noel

What a whirlwind the last week has been! Our celebrating started on Christmas Eve morning, when we had Jon's Dad over for brunch. It sure was cold and icy that morning, but we were glad that Chic finally made it. He brought Cecilia a cute little dress.
In the afternoon we dressed Cecilia in her pretty Christmas dress and headed to church with my family, and then off to Ma and Pa's for the big Christmas Eve dinner. I love Christmas Eve at Ma and Pa's! It is always such a joyous gathering. Their tree is always so pretty, the food is so good, and the company is grand. It was so fun to have Cecilia there this year, especially because last year we announced that we were expecting at Christmas Eve. Cecilia got to listen to Pa read the Christmas story with all of the other kids. Cecilia's cousin Tatum had her for the grab bag and she sent a "Fortune Onesie" that says " A surprise will appear in my pants". Grandma also gave Cecilia her blanket that she has been working on for 6 months. It is beautiful, and cozy warm.


I think that Cecilia knew that Santa came on Christmas Morning, she was up and ready to go at 5:30. We opened gifts from each other. Jon gave me an Ice Cream Maker that attaches to my KitchenAid mixer, I am making Champagne sorbet for new years in it. I gave Jon some new clothes and slippers. Cecilia opened gifts from her Uncle Bill and Mike- a cute piggy bank and musical lamb. All she really cared about was the tissue paper though.


Jon's mom came over for breakfast and brought us a new toaster. This may sound silly, but we were so excited! The toaster that we got for our wedding has been nothing but problems. It was too big, it never toasted correctly, and you had to darn near break the think to get your toast out early. The new toaster is smaller and toasts as it should- perfect!


Then it was time to head up the hill (finally). We loaded up the dogs (we have been watching Daisy the lab for a friend), the baby, bags, gifts, and food and headed to my parents house. The roads were just fine until we hit Jefferson on the other side of Kenosha Pass, it was a white out- very scary! We took the back roads in through Stage Stop and made it safely. We stayed in the rest of the day, the temp with wind chill was down to -42* at times! We opened gifts with my parents, Pat, Sarah, and Petey. It was so fun to just enjoy each others company. Cecilia was spoiled this year, she got new clothes, a sippy cup, a bowl and spoon, toys, and her new seat for the table.








Nick and Megan came up on Sunday night. It was a wonderful family dinner with everyone present. Mom made a delicious prime rib- WOW, soooo yummy! The family has grown so much over the last few years, there were 10 of us around the table, enjoying being with one another. After dinner we played a mean game of Nertz, it was brutal and I think that there may have been some cheating going on, but I won't mention any names.

When we arrived home, we had yet another gift to open that was sent from Jon's Sister in Alaska. The sent cute socks for Cecilia, a votive, smoked salmon, picture frames and Chocolate. I'm a sucker for chocolate, but I hesitated a bit when I read the description of these:

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We have been so busy enjoying family and friends, shopping, home making, and celebrating.

Cecilia is getting so big. Her personality is really starting to show. She is a happy girl, and she loves to talk. She is getting so strong too. We broke out the jumper for her, and she loves it! She will sing and swing- jump around. Too cute!
She has started her nightly cereal snack. It has taken a few weeks, but she is starting to really enjoy it and eat the whole serving. We discovered very early on, that it works best if we hold her hands down, otherwise, she will try to do it herself. The cereal has definitely helped with her sleeping. She is still not sleeping through the night, but she is only waking once, and she eats and goes right back to sleep.Grandma has been down from the mountains many times to visit. She even brought Cecilia her first Christmas present: teething ladybugs. The little girl has her two bottom teeth coming in- one could say "all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth!" A consequence of these teeth has been her first ear infection :( She is feeling better now, but it was rough last week, before we took her in on Friday.
We had some excitement last week when a crane and many other big trucks and a mulcher showed up in front of the house. They came to remove the tree in the backyard of the neighbor across the street's house. Needless to say, all of the commotion and noise prevented Cecilia from taking her morning nap. It was sure fun to watch though.

Pat flew in last Friday. He even arrived in uniform! The last time Pat was home for Christmas was 2006, and he barely made it because CO was hit with three blizzards in a row. We are so excited to have him here this year, especially for C's 1st Christmas.

We went to see the Wild Boys perform their Christmas Pageant on Sunday. They are so cute. Here are two of the wise guys, Joe and Jack:

Cecilia got to meet her Cousin Keeghan for the first time. He is in town for a month to celebrate with all of us and to work a short internship before he heads back to school in TX.

Sarah came in on Sunday, along with her sister Liz, and her brothers too. She hasn't seen Cecilia since her Baptism. It is so good to see her and Pat together. We have been spending time with Sarah's family, sharing meals and watching football. The girls and I went shopping for bridesmaid dresses yesterday, we found a strong candidate. Sarah also found her wedding dress. It is gorgeous, and she found it by chance, because she didn't even intend on trying anything on. I made her try on this dress, and I am so glad that I did. No pictures of this- yet- you will have to wait till August.

Jon is off till 2010 starting on Thursday. I am so happy that he will be home with us. We are looking so forward to Cecilia's first Christmas. This holiday is so much more exciting and joyful now that she is in our world.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas, filled with cheer, joy, and gratitude.