What I Did Before...

Over the past 17 months Brent and I have said a thousand times we don't know what we did before Cecilia.  In an instant our lives changed (for the better of course) and would never be the same.  But tonight I have reflected on what my life used to be like.

1.  My house was not littered with random toys that somehow never seem to make it in their appropriate place.

2.  When I opened my cabinet doors sippy cups and all their accessories didn't come flying at me like they were spring loaded.

3.  I didn't have to convince a 17 month old that getting dressed is a MUST before going out in public.

4.  I didn't sing songs like 'it's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Its fun inside.  Its fun inside.' or 'hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog.'

5.  Cheerios, Goldfish and dried milk were not part of my car's decor.

6.  I didn't say 'no ma'am' a thousand times a day or get it told back to me.

7.  I didn't have to grocery shop as if I was running a marathon, rounding corners on 2 wheels while a toddler screams at me from the cart.
8.  When the house was quiet I didn't have to run frantically around the house to see what was getting destroyed.
But then 17 months ago I didn't have tiny little hands that reached out for mine.  Or someone who ran to me at the end of the day looking for a hug.  Or a tiny little face that gets as close as she can to mine to whisper to me when we are saying goodnight.  My house wouldn't be filled with a little girl's laughter or her sweet voice yelling 'Ma.'

I may not remember much of my life before Cecilia but I do know my days are forever changed for the better and I wouldn't trade these days for anything.

I'm exhausted and thankful I have a day to recover.  That is unless tomorrow is just as packed as the last 2 days has been.

Last night we had a last minute dinner date with my parents.  We ate somewhere new in town and Cecilia showed herself to all those in the restaurant.  She was the devil's child and let everyone know her new (spoken) word, NO.

As if I was asking for more punishment, we decided we had to get some frozen yogurt.  Thankfully stuffing her face seemed to sooth her ill mood.  She was WIRED!  The place was pretty much empty so I didn't care that she was laughing and squealing at the top of her lungs.  She was having fun and I was tired of telling her to cool it.

With the shift in mood I thought the evening was taking a turn for the better, until we departed ways with my parents.  She cried and screamed the entire ride home.

It made it worse that we were riding side by side with my parents and every time we stopped, we rolled our windows down and my dad would talk to her.

She'd smile but as soon as we rolled away, the screaming started again.  Needless to say we went straight to bed when we got home.

Today we enjoyed a day outside in the water.

Her new water table.

A gift from my parents, Cecilia loves it!  So much so, that we had round 2 after dinner.

Daddy joined in on round 2 and keep this chick happy!

And the BIG news of the day, Cecilia used this bad boy today...

We aren't serious about potty training yet but wanted to introduce it.  As soon as I got it out she sat on it and has been throughout the day.  I put her on it before bath time because running water always gets things going.  And I will be dang if she didn't go!

I yelled and praised her.  Brent came in and praised her and she stared at us.  Apparently it was no big deal for her.  Who knows if this will stick but it was a big day for us.

I'm not the only one exhausted.  After her big day outside and all her accomplishments, she was too tired to sit and watch Mickey.

I see a long nap on our schedule tomorrow.

Her Best Friend

Cecilia has come attached to something we call "wormie."  Its not really a worm; more like a caterpillar.

Wormie is squishy with a 1000 little hairlike things all over his body and is made of the material that as soon as it hits the floor, it will collect a million germs and whatever other particles are floating on any given floor.

She loves the silly thing and takes it everywhere!  I freak out of course in public because lord knows what funk it will pick up if she drops it.

This is our second Wormie.  The first one didn't make it too long and was decapitated when playtime with Daddy got a little intense.  It didn't phase her though, she just packed the two pieces around.

Mothers dream of their little girls becoming attached to cute, frilly little dolls.  I was no different.  I slept with a doll WAY longer than I should have and I was hoping Cecilia would find a doll she loved just as much as I did mine.  But instead she has found a bacteria magnet to give all her love to.

What a Weekend

Friday night I pleased my husband and went to eat Chinese with him.  I'm not a big Chinese buffet kind of girl but he hasn't been in a long while and the craving was there so I gave in.  Little did I know, Cecilia would love the place!

She cleaned her full plate, charmed our waitress and was the best kid!

Saturday while Brent went to work, Cecilia and I headed to Franklin to get my hair cut and hang out with my parents.

My hair has been bothering me the past few months so it was time to do something drastic.

 

 I haven't had my hair this short in, uh, 9 years.  This would be the 3rd time in my entire life I cut my hair off.  At that rate no one ever thinks I'll actually go through with it but I need a change every now and then.

We spent the afternoon playing at my parents and then decided to go with them to a cookout their Sunday school class was having.  I had a good time visiting with everyone from my old church and Cecilia had a blast playing with all their fun games.

  

Pap telling her how to play cornhole.

Then of course she found a game with balls and it was all over.

By the end of the night, she had warmed up to everyone and was giving out high fives, byes, and kisses.  I'm so glad she was in a good humor and made the whole evening enjoyable!

Today, her and I went to church and spent the afternoon napping, playing and watching her new favorite show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  And now I have to accept the reality that tomorrow is Monday and Mondays mean work. 

I Don't Understand

There are a lot of things in this world that I do not understand. 

I don't understand young people taken from this world before they have had a chance to live life.

I don't understand nature completely destroying a town leaving thousands homeless with nothing more than the clothes are their backs and their memories crumbled around them.

I don't understand people killing one another just because they were mad.

But what I really don't understand is mama and daddy's abusing their kids.

I have heard a new story everyday this week of some mother or father abusing their child and not having a reason other than they didn't know better or they were just tired of caring for their disabled child.

My heart has been extremely heavy the past few days thinking about these children.  I have wanted nothing more than to run and scoop these little ones up and tell them that they are special and loved and they didn't do any thing to deserve the abuse they received.

I'm not sure what runs through people's heads and maybe I don't want to know.  I do know that whether I come home to this face...

or this one...

my love for her is the same.

Yes my patience are tried and tested lots of times but every parent's are.  And if its something they can't handle I wish they would let someone else love their children because no one, especially children, deserves to feel anything less than special.

I know this isn't a fun, light hearted post but that's just not the place I'm in right now.  Sometimes I need to get things out that bother me.

Gee Smurf

The weather has been unbelievable here.  We have enjoyed sunny, cool days that beg for outside play.  I bought Cecilia some sidewalk chalk a few weeks back and it has been the best $1 I've spent!

She stands at the door with her chalk bucket thrown over her arm like a pocketbook and yells until someone takes her out.

 Yesterday was an interesting chalk day because instead of writing on the concrete, she colored herself.

From head to toe she was blue!  She even decided that she should color her mouth blue.  She became very upset when I had to do the sweep to get the chalk out.

And today was much of the same...

She only does this with the blue chalk so maybe she is just trying to tell me she wants to be a smurf.

This Is The Way We...

brush our teeth.

Cecilia loves watching me brush my teeth and will typically open her mouth for me to put the brush in her mouth.  I figured this would be the best time to get out her toothbrush.

I didn't even have to show her how to use it.  Girlfriend knew exactly what to do!

Tonight she even added turning on the water in between brushes to rinse her brush!  Just shows how much she takes in.

5 Years

This post is pretty much for Brent.

Can you believe it?  5 years.

Seems so long but yet I still remember the day I became your wife.

I was not a nervous bride.  I was a happy, excited, let's get this show on the road bride. 

I remember walking down the aisle, dying to see you.

 We had been planning this day for a year and a half and it was finally here!  I was ready to be living within an arms reach of you instead of the long 3 1/2 hours.

I don't think I'd ever seen you so happy either.  You were all smiles that day!

 We said our vows and promised to be together through the good, the bad and the ugly.  And oh how we have had our share of bad and ugly!  But we have also had some amazing good!

 

I always tell you that there is no one else I would rather be married to and it's true.  I can't imagine living life with anyone else.  We have our differences but being the same would be just plain boring!

We have fought tooth and nail to get to here and I am just as excited about today as I was 5 years ago.  I will probably even replay the whole day all day!  But I never want to forget how I felt standing in front of you hands locked ready to face with this world with you.

Brentie, I love you and can't wait for many more years with you!

Happy Anniversary!

High five!

Adjustment

Cecilia has adjusted well to her new "big girl" class.  Her teachers say she is doing great and she seems to enjoy the new group of kids.

I was so sad she had to leave her other teachers but we have since found out that 2 of them have moved up so she will have them again!  One of them just got approved to move yesterday and she called me on her way home to let me know the good news.  We were both so excited and I know Cecilia will LOVE seeing her face again!

As a parting gift, I made necklaces for each of her teachers.

I have such a hard time thinking of little gifts for teachers and I was so glad I saw this idea.  They were super easy to make and I think they turned out pretty cute!  So cute in fact, I made myself 2 different ones!

I'm really glad Cecilia is doing so well in her class.  Change can be tough on little ones but she seems to be excelling!  We've already noticed that she plays different, looks different and her personality has even come out more.  Its so crazy how much has changed in just a few days!  I can't wait to see at the end of this school year how different she will be!