Its Ladies Night

And oh what a night we had!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and to celebrate I took her out on a date.  My original plan was dinner and a movie but it became clear that she wanted Cecilia to go with us.  So plans changed and the Gee went with us for girls night.

Mom picked Olive Garden as her restaurant of choice and I did not mind one bit!  Cecilia didn't either.  She loves her some pasta!

The newness has finally worn off and we were able to walk right in which was great because I wasn't sure how Cecilia would do.  We haven't had the best luck recently with her in restaurants.  She refuses to sit in a high chair and HAS to be nosey with everyone around her.

To keep things calm, she sat in the seat next to Mom and entertained us with her silliness...

She sat like this for a good 2 minutes.  Mom and I were dying!

Olive Garden never disappoints and after a quick walk around Hobby Lobby, we hit up Stakz.  No birthday is complete without sometime of dessert!  I'm soo glad that place isn't too close.

I think a good time was had by all.  Cecilia for sure because she was wired and up WAY passed bedtime.

Happy birthday Mom/Momoi!  Thanks for letting us help you celebrate you turning 40!  heehee

Whirlwind

To say the past week has been rough is an understatement.  It was just not my week.  I was a mess at home, a few people got a little personal at work, I backed into Brent's truck (leaving a mark!) and we had to say goodbye to Brent's grandmother.

It has been a whirlwind that has left us wondering which way is up.  We are surviving on little sleep and it is amazing we can even function.

Although those kinds of weeks can be hard, it is always nice to spend some quality time with family and reconnect.

Cecilia really enjoyed her cousins, Aubrey and Nora.  She followed Aubrey around every where and always wanted to know what she was doing.  I told Aubrey to let me know if she bothered her and she never did.  Sweet girl!

Aubrey desperately wanted some one to push in the cart at TJMaxx and surprising Cecilia was up for a ride.  It was the cutest thing until Cecilia got ticked because she had to get out.  I can't keep her in one but apparently Aubrey had the magic touch.

We were able to catch up with old faces and see lots of new ones...

like this little guy.  Best baby EVER!  So laid back and happy.

Cecilia interacted with Nora more this time around and really liked playing with her.

Cecilia and I even snuck out to have a little date and alone time.  She is getting to wear she prefers to sit like us in either a chair or booth.  That night we sat right next to each other and talked and ate our chicken nuggets and fries. 

We are already missing family but know we will see them soon and have lots more play dates with cousins just our size! 

Sweet Baby

At the crack of dawn this morning, my friend, Abby, welcomed her new baby boy to the world.  John Patrick was a tad early but doing fabulous!  He is sooo sweet, adorable, precious, tiny and I loved getting to hold and rock him!  I would love to show a picture but I don't show pictures before mamas have their chance to share their new love.

On the way home I thought about how precious newborns are and was in new baby mood.  Then I walked in the house to toys from wall to wall and a wild child!  I then made a mental note to call my doctor about getting my tubes tied!  Just kidding!  Or am I?

Just the Two of Us

Cecilia and I had a rare weekend where it was just us all weekend long.

We enjoyed a friends date on Friday night with Jaclyn, Corey, Sydney, Jamie, Natalie, Jackson, Meghann, Carter and Grayson.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat then headed to the square in Franklin to listen to music and hang out.

Cecilia had a good time listening to music and watching everyone!

Her and Sydney got up and showed us how to dance...

 

They, well Cecilia, seemed to enjoy each other a little more this time around and we had a great time despite the heat!

Instead of driving back home late, Cecilia and I had a sleepover at my parent's house.  All that dancin' got her so hyped up she then put on a show for us for an hour!  Thank goodness she picked Saturday morning to be her sleep in morning because I was pooped!

We stayed for a little while at my parent's playing and hanging out until it was time to go home for a nap.  Apparently Cecilia just couldn't handle that much partying on Friday night because she slept for 3 1/2 hours!  Her current record and I was able to get the house cleaned and got to do some rearranging.  It was fabulous!

The rest of our night consisted of Wal-Mart and playing /destroying the house I just cleaned.  I have no idea what her deal is but her mission in life is to see how many toys/books/kitchen spoons/whatever she can get her hands she can spread across the house.  I was trying to get out the door Sunday morning for church and noticed 4 of the 6 rooms in my house were covered with toys!  I have no idea how in an hour she managed to do that much damage!  At least she knows how to pick up her toys and put them away.

I topped our girls weekend off by making her favorite meal...

hot dog and mac n cheese!

And by having my dad bring this little beauty up...

I have had this table and chairs for as long as I can remember and I thought Cecilia would enjoy it.

Clearly I hit the nail on the head!  She has loved having this in the house and loves to sit and color or read.  Who knew such a simple thing would make her day!

Brent finally got home late yesterday afternoon and crashed our girls only weekend but we were glad to see him! 

Big Gee

Today was day 1 of Cecilia's transition into her new class at the end of the summer.  By August 8th she will no longer be in the nursery but the toddler class with a whole group of new faces.

During the next couple of weeks she will be taking naps on her mat (today was the first day..slept like a rock for an hour and a half!), spending time with her new teachers and then finally spending most of the day over in her new room.

It is a bitter sweet move.  I LOVE her current teachers and they adore her but it's time for her to grow.  I'm so very thankful that my cousin's daughter is still in that class. I have made it a point for the girls to see each other just about every day by stopping by to say hello and to talk to her.  I'm hoping this will help with the transition.  She is used to being spoiled in her current class and I'm pretty positive that won't happen in the new one.

The change won't be easy (I have already been warned in the letter home!) but she will do fine and I'm sure love this class as much as her current one.  She will have more kids her size to play with and be able to do more fun activities.

I am bound and determined to not look at this as 'oh my gosh my baby is growing' but as 'oh my gosh let's celebrate this new change.'  We have children so we can watch and cheer as they grow older and learn new things and I don't what to dwell on the fact that she won't always be this small.  If  I let myself, I might as well check myself in at the looney bin!

Family

We made an unexpected trip to Brent's hometown this weekend.  We were packed and headed out of town in under an hour.  It's what you do when family calls and says we need to rally.

The weekend was full of cranky babies, sleepless nights and mama's on edge but it was worth it.

We got a see this cutie...

who then made our little cutie a tad jealous...

She did not want her daddy holding Nora without her.

The two got to play and giggle...

and by the end of the weekend Cecilia really liked Nora and cried when I picked her up when they were sitting next to one another!

We were also able to achieve a group shot of the girls in their coordinating outfits...

One day we will get them all looking at the same camera smiling!

Balance

We were able to manage a nice balance of fun activities with lots of down time over the holiday weekend.

Friday night we went to my friend Jennifer's husband's work for a cookout and to watch the community fireworks. 

Cecilia did really well for no nap and staying up WAY passed her bedtime.  She loved watching the older kids play and run around.  She was even able to get off my hip for about 20 minutes while Betty Jane toted her around!

Sidebar:  Looking back at this picture no wonder she was called a boy several times!  She had a red bow to complete her red, white and blue attire but Brent decided to draw attention to it and she plucked it right out!  They both got in trouble.

The fireworks were great and Cecilia seemed to enjoy them as much as a 15 month old can.  We considered it a success since she didn't scream or cry!

Saturday, Brent and I went to a Red's game while Cecilia had a sleepover at my parent's.

I debated all week on whether or not I wanted to take her but decided it may be too much for her right now.  I realized in about 2 seconds of sitting down that it was the best idea I had had.  It was so stinkin' hot on Saturday that the devil sat right in front of me!  I saw so many little babies with red cheeks having meltdowns that I patted myself on the back for making the right decision.  I told Brent I would not be going to anymore day games.  I do NOT do hot weather!

Sunday after church we picked up Cecilia and headed to the house for lunch and our afternoon nap.

While we napped, Brent got Cecilia's pool set up so we could have a little swim later that afternoon.  She was pumped...

 

She wasn't too keen on the pool at first and wouldn't get off my lap but finally I just sat her in the water.  After the initial shock, she was good with it.

We will definitely get lots of use out of the pool this summer!

Brent had to work the 4th so Cecilia and I played a little and cleaned a little.  We had a very relaxing day and she was able to get more than 5 inches from my face!

Once Daddy got home it was complete silliness!  She discovered that the rubber duck from the day before still had water in it.  This lead to Brent spraying her down with it and her thinking it was the greatest thing in the world!

She would run away from him laughing and clapping then run back to get sprayed again.

She was soaked when it was all over and she could have cared less!

And Brent has been the parent of choice these past few days.  She only wants him to put her to bed and crawls in his lap more than mine at night.  Maybe, just maybe, we are getting over our clingy stage.

It was a great long weekend and only wished every weekend was 3 days!

Stages

We are still dealing with this new stage that Cecilia is going through and if I make it out alive it will be a miracle!

I know at some point all kids are clingy to one parent or the other but I feel Cecilia's is beyond that.  She barely lets me move an inch away from her.  If we aren't touching, she screams at the top of her lungs and turns bright red.  The other morning I drove away as she stood at the door screaming and crying.

Not the best way to start the day.

Brent says she chills out pretty quickly and I know it is just a phase but it is about to kill me!
On the flip side of the drama, we end up having these fun, sweet little moments between her and I. 

The same day she watched me drive away, we sat in the floor that night and played and giggled.  As I rocked her babies, per her request, she got up patted me on the back (her new way of showing affection) and gave me a big open mouthed kiss then patted me again.

I know one day I will be begging for her to want to be around me and longing for the days that we sat in the floor and played dolls or read books.

But right now she is making it hard to feel good about going to work or anywhere for that matter.