Family Fun Day

Did I ever mention that I had jury duty last week? Ugh. I had already postponed it once and knew I couldn't get out of it again, but it's a real pain to rearrange my work week and get childcare on my usual days off. I was told to go downtown from 9-5 pm on Wednesday and Thursday. So I saw a ridiculous amount of patients on Monday and also had Friday loaded up to account for my 'missed' work day on Wednesday, and Lori watched the kids as usual on Wednesday. No big deal....aside from the fact that Truman was sick again on Monday so Nate had to stay home and I wasn't sure T was even well enough for Lori's on Wednesday. It's been a crazy few weeks of illness around here but everyone is finally well, I think.

Anyway, I got to the courthouse on Wednesday morning and started working on a few posts for the blog. My name was never called and at noon they told everyone with last names starting with A-K to come to the front. Uh-oh. But then she told us the best news ever: we were dismissed early for the day and didn't have to come back at all on Thursday, either. AMAZING. So freaking happy. I used the rest of that day to work on the back hallway (post coming soon) and catch up on work stuff.

Nate had already requested off for Thursday, to cover me for my second day of jury duty. But when I got called off, he still didn't have patients scheduled for that day and so he kept the day off. Which means we had a Family Fun Day during the week and it was pretty magical.

We bummed around in the morning at home, then got ready and headed to a local gardening store to pick up some pumpkins, some mums, and check out their clearance perennials.

First day in Halloween tee shirts and they seem pretty un-impressed.


The gardening store is always SO festive for each holiday and did not disappoint for Autumn. We had a blast looking around at everything there. It's Stein's for the Milwaukee locals;)












I wanted a white pumpkin so badly but they were too expensive to justify. Instead we got three regular ones for $12, and a few of the tiny pie pumpkins for $1.69 each. Not bad.



CC hated these warty ones. I do not blame her.



Getting a little bored at this point. T still didn't feel 100% this day and was getting tired.


Dying over their mums! We only bought two pots so far but I love them so much I could stand to buy a few more.


When we came home we immediately assembled our 'bat pumpkin' that Truman picked out himself.


And then it was time for the boys to go on their movie date after lunch. Truman filled his rock jar again and picked the movie Planes for his special date with daddy. No city bus this time and man, I wish he would pick me next time! But I understand he gets a lot of mommy time and not much with daddy, so this worked out perfectly. No nap because of the movie but he survived just fine and was asleep by 7:15pm that night---totally amazing.

I assembled a fall wreath and some interior decorations for fall, while CC slept.




After CC's nap we played tea party, took pictures, and she simply cracked me up for awhile with her sense of humor. I love this child and our 'girl time' together.








When the boys returned home we headed outside to carve our pumpkins. This was quite the feat and admittedly, Nate and I had a lot more fun with this than the kids.


Look-a-likes?


Truman named him 'Steggy' but requested he have Mater teeth. The eyes light up and are hilarious.




Lots of help carving more pumpkins.








My masterpiece. Carving pumpkins with a regular knife is hard. And mine was requested to be 'mad' so there you have it.


Nate's over-acheiving 'happy' pumpkin.


Still with the bat pumpkin being his favorite.


At night




Such a fun day together as a family, and tons of iPhone pictures to prove it;) Pizza, baths, and early bedtimes followed and we vowed to make more weekday family days happen in the future.

The End of Nursing, Round Two

Excuse the heavy dose of emotions and intensity of this post. Any ‘end of ____’ post will always be a little sad for me to write, even though I know it was time. It’s the finality of it, the end of an era, and change. Change is still hard even when it’s good and even when it’s a conscious decision that you make.

It was my choice to wean Cecelia mostly because she was nursing three times per day and each of those times she wanted to nurse for comfort, to help her fall asleep. If she wanted to nurse randomly during the day for comfort, fine, but no. She just wanted to nurse to help her relax to sleep. And if she was sleeping all night and taking great naps, I probably wouldn’t have changed a thing. Once naps and early morning wake ups started to get hectic again I knew I needed to try breaking that suck-to-sleep association.

Plus I want my cycle back so that we can move a step closer to a maybe baby three. But that’s not the only reason, although I can’t help but mention that I don’t want this to be my last time I nurse a baby EVER. Then it becomes even more emotional and dramatic, so let’s all hope I get a third turn at this nursing thing;)

Eleven days ago I decided that nursing down for naps and bedtime needed to stop. We had tried a few other times to ditch these sessions but something always came up (teething, sickness, mommy emotions) and it never stuck. But this time I just started holding her, rocking, and singing to her before naps and bedtime. She only 'asked' to nurse by smacking my chest the first time I did our new routine and picked up on the concept of no nursing after that. Who knew she’d be willing to let go of her sleepy nursing so easily?

But we still had our once per day morning session even after we dropped the other two. And she would still adamantly ask to nurse whenever she would wake up for the day, so I obliged and had no plans to stop anytime soon. Sometimes she would nurse and then be happy and awake for the day and sometimes she would nurse and try to fall back to sleep for a bit. This went on for about a week after we dropped the other sessions and we were sitting pretty at once-per-day. Then on Saturday, her actual sixteen month birthday, I wasn't home when she woke up because of the half-marathon, and she cuddled with Lois instead. The next morning on Sunday she didn't ask to nurse from me after sleeping like a champ all night long. I didn’t think much about that at first and was mostly just really happy to get a full night’s sleep.

Later that night I started to wonder if maybe we were done. I panicked a bit thinking that if we were totally done then our last time nursing was a crappy one, since I was so sick on Friday and near tears the entire time she was sucking away. No, that would never do. I wanted to end on a high note and wanted to really appreciate our last nursing session together. I like to compartmentalize and control, obviously.

So on Monday, two days after her sixteen month birthday, I went into her nursery at 6 when she woke. She didn't ask to nurse and was happy to just cuddle in the rocker. I decided to offer one last time though, and immediately she ripped out her pacifier and latched on. Cue the tears.

It was pretty emotional for me to look down on her long, toddler body and remember when she was just a squishy newborn. She barely fits in the rocker with me now. She's grown so much in the last sixteen months and my milk can take some of the credit for that. She hated the freaking bottle and loved the boob from day one and somehow we managed to make it longer than I ever expected. No formula. Lots of pumping and effort and determination, then coasting in to the end in a relaxed, special way. It’s been a wonderful journey that I feel blessed to experience again with my second child.

I brushed her hair back from her forehead as she laid in my arms. I told her I love her and am so proud of her for nursing this long. I was happy to provide her milk and nourishment. I was happy to provide that comfort zone she needed in the past few months, when I’m convinced she was getting next to no milk anyway. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and it was one of those moments.  A weak-in-the-knees moment between me and my girl. Bonding. Nursing has provided me with a forced break to slow down and bond with my baby girl, over and over again.

Thank you, God, for this child. And for these last sixteen months with her, including the thousands of nursing sessions we shared. 

Cecelia at 16 months

This might be the most delinquent monthly post yet! Cecelia turned sixteen months on September 28, four whole days ago. These seem to be the months when nothing major changes but she is subtly becoming more of her. And I love it;)

Lori has told me a few times that Cecelia seems a lot more mature than her sixteen months. I don't think she looks old but sometimes she does shock me with what she understands and how she can communicate. I stopped tracking the words she can say but one of my recent favorites is 'treat' since the girl is obsessed with giving Henry treats at totally inappropriate times (ie after he scarfs her entire lunch from her plate). The way she says it is more like 'Twee' and she does a tiny hand motion along with it, like she is holding a treat between her forefinger and thumb. Adorable.

She's also really into saying, 'Uh-Huh' emphatically for 'yes' and will nod her head with intensity, too. Her newest addition to her vocabulary is her own name and I seriously die over the cuteness of her slightly lispy 'Cece'.

(video)

We discovered that she knows her own name because she loves to point to the photos in our house and name the faces she sees. She's been able to identify 'dada' for some time now, 'mama' occasionally (not her favorite to view, I guess), and 'Tru-Tru' is one of her favorites. But lately she will point to a baby picture of hers and happily exclaim, 'CC'. The girl loves her family and approves of the obscene amount of photographs we have hung on our walls, I guess.



She will voluntarily say 'cheeeeese' when I pull out my phone to take a picture. This is the face I get for now. We are working on it;)

If she hears Henry bark, like someone pulled up to our house, she will whisper 'Papa?' and sometimes 'Yaya?' I guess we know who comes to see us the most often! Every animal is still a 'daw-daw' and she can say 'woof woof' but we are working on other animal names and sounds. Not every squirrel is a dog that says 'woof,' my dear, but it's adorable that you think that way. Cecelia will pretend to read us a book, pointing to pictures and trying to count. It's hilarious when she says 'uhhhh, duhhhhh, feeee' and then she will clap like she has just recited the exact words for us. Our little scholar. This learning stuff is really fun to watch.

This month I realized she also loves having a task and is becoming a little helper. If I ask her to 'help' me with unloading the dishwasher she will run over there and start grabbing dishes, handing them to me at lightning speeds. Sort of stressful but she's actually very careful when handling the plates. If I ask her to help me with laundry she goes and stands by the backstairs, reaches her hand out for me because she knows I have to help her down the stairs, and will happily put wet clothes in the dryer, a dryer sheet, and slams the door with authority. Mostly she loves to push the buttons on the dryer with a little guidance from mommy. Between having my sixteen month old do dishes and laundry with me, I'm wondering when I can stay on the couch and have her tackle my household chores alone?

She also loves her big brother so much that it's almost hard to watch at times. If she wakes up from a nap and he isn't already downstairs she will start to ask for 'Tru Tru? Tru Tru?' over and over again and tries to climb up the stairs to get him. When he wasn't feeling well earlier this week she would find monkey or a toy and try to give it to him, in between trying to lay by him on the couch (he was not a fan, obviously). They love to chase each other around the house and I think Cecelia gets a kick out of being silly with Truman---and it's her goal to get him to laugh. Sometimes she will pretend to fall down and he will just roll on the ground in laughter fits. I have no idea why this is so funny but they definitely have a sort of unspoken language between each other that only siblings would understand.

But the best is when I catch them holding hands or giving hugs/kisses unprompted. Oh, be still my heart. Usually it's Truman that initiates this because he loves to help her down the curb outside and likes to boss her around when she allows it. Sister has a great big brother and she loves him more than ever. Of course, she also likes to take toys from him and knock down his block towers, but whatever. We'll focus on the good here.

Cecelia just seems to understand everything that I say these days and I can't get enough of watching her little brain work. When I ask her if she needs a diaper change she will usually say 'uh-huh' and start to walk into the playroom, ready to be changed. But actually she sort of hates laying still for that long and only obliges if I let her pretend to put on some diaper cream herself. If I tell her that daddy is going to work she will say and wave 'bye-bye' and demand to watch him as he pulls out of the garage. A simple hug, kiss, and 'goodbye' inside the house is not enough. We must also stand outside and watch as he pulls away----a new obsession that is freaking adorable. She isn't as obsessed with putting on hair bows (ba-bas) before the sun rises anymore, but she does demand one each day and usually follows up that request with a 'dada?' She loves to show daddy her hair bows. I have no idea but it's cute.

In that same vein of being incredibly girlie, she has become a girl addicted to shoes (choo). For real. We have a few new pairs this month and she will randomly decide she needs to wear a pair around the house STAT and gets very frustrated if I don't put them on her immediately. Sometimes it's her pink winter boots that need to stomp around, sometimes it's her glittery mary janes, but always she will wear shoes and prance around the house to demand our focus on her feet. She likes to point to her shoes when we talk to a stranger in public, too. Apparently everyone must make note of her sense of style.

Sister loves her new silver tutu, loves hair bows, shoes, and still carries any toy with a handle like a purse. She's incredibly girlie and yet we call her our bruiser because she is fearless and tough. CC loves playgrounds, loves to flop on our couch, and loves to climb stairs all.day.long. 





Sometimes she will get spooked by something, though, and runs to mommy if she feels nervous. Train whistles can be a little too much, ambulance sirens, and just the mention of Truman going into the bathroom will also scare her right into my arms. I know, it's weird, but she used to stand outside the door and watch him on the toilet. Then he decided that was an invasion of personal space and shut the door....but of course, her fingers were in the door frame and she got the same two fingers slammed like she did a few months ago. Ever since the bathroom door incident, if Truman says he needs to potty she will run to me and start crying, pointing to her finger and saying 'ga-ga'. No idea what that means, but I'm guessing it means 'owie' and she remembers getting her finger shut in the door when he was going to the bathroom. Heartbreakingly sweet.

She also hates the goats at the zoo, which she calls 'ga-gas' as well.

She is still not a big fan of independent play and prefers to be held and carried around in the mornings and also around dinner time. At least whenever I’m home---because she is not clingy at all when it’s just Nate or Lori instead of good old mom. If Nate is watching her he says she is totally chill and happy until she sees me come in. Then she gets really flustered until I am holding her and refuses to let me put her down. It’s sweet but the mommy-phase thing is also a lot to take sometimes. Luckily she does have her moments when she is fine to play and interact with people other than me. Such a mama’s girl, this one.

C does great at daycare but lately she has been ‘punishing’ me for leaving her. She will happily go to Lori when we walk in but then she refuses to look at me and chooses to turn her head to avoid eye contact with me. If I try to kiss her and talk to her she will let me but appears mostly apathetic, as if to say, ‘I really don’t want to see you right now, just leave already!’. She’s always happy to see me at the end of the day, though, so I try not to let her antics bother me in the mornings. At least she isn’t crying!

Cecelia is a creature of routine like the rest of us in this family and she has decided that whenever I pick her up from daycare she needs water (ahhhhhh) and crackers (gra-gra). Lori usually obliges but is often perplexed by this sudden thirst and hunger since they usually have a snack right before I arrive anyway. Girlfriend can still pound some food and does not discriminate. Taco meat, chili, pork, fish--she loves it all. Even really tart things like cranberry sauce seem to be acceptable for her and we joke that she has a refined palate at sixteen months. I'm just happy to have one child that will eat pretty much anything I place in front of her and am excited for the time when she can cook for me as I lay on the couch (after she does my housework). Do you sense a theme to this post yet? L-a-z-y.

The biggest accomplishment of this month? Sleep. I don't even want to say it, for fear of angering the blogging gods, but the past few weeks have been glorious with both naps and nighttime sleep. She goes down around 8 and sleeps until 6 or later which is basically 10000x better than the previous month. She naps from 1-3 or even later some days. And dare I say it? She wakes up content now, instead of being whiny and fussy and overtired. Sleep is a great thing, my love.

Why now, you ask? Well one thing that has changed is that I no longer nurse her down for naps and bedtime. I'm going to write an entire post about nursing so I'll stop here, but dropping those sessions definitely did help her to sleep. Cue the waterworks for the topic of weaning.

This month has been so much fun, although I majorly lacked in taking any ‘real’ pictures of our girl. She is just the sweetest, most hilarious, beautiful little girl ever in my (biased) opinion. 











I love you, sweet girl. This month and every month.