Grandpas

Bath time lately is in the big bathtub, and it is soooo much more fun than the little kiddy one! We like turning on the shower and splashing mom and dad and falling down repeatedly Grandpa David put Cecelia is a gift bag and lifted her up for a kiss. It is reminiscent of anecdote my dad tells of when his mother, Nana, gave a big wet air kiss to me when I was little (or was it Rachel?) and she or I responded, "Yucky, Nana!"

Here is Cecelia's favorite chair, her new rocking chair from Grandpa Jim and Terry. She crawls into it and rocks, then slides out and does it all over again. Slouchy is her preferred position in it.

First birthday

Here are a couple of pics from the little 1st Birthday party we held for Cecelia on Sunday. Granny Rose is cutting the very rich chocolate cake which Cecelia ate pieces of from nearly every guest. She had certainly never had that much sugar, and we reaped the (ahem) benefits after everyone left and we were left with a whirling dervish in the living room. On her actual birthday she was more mellow, especially after getting blood drawn at the hospital to test for lead levels.

So she is now formally entering her 2nd year of life. Incredible! Her extensive vocabulary you will not find in any traditional English dictionary, but it sounds to me like a combination of, maybe, Turkish? and Xhosa, with a little bit of Hebrew and Gaelic thrown in for cultural color.

Walking and talking

Cecelia has been walking, more confidently every day, for about one month now. She now goes up and scoots down stairs backwards, and climbs down out of bed and off of the couch. As for talking, her babbling sounds more and more like real, recognizable English words lately. It could be our imagination that when I say, "I love you, Cecelia", she responds, "Iruvruuuuu", but she is certainly mimicking us. A budding mimic like her Auntie Rachel! This first pic demonstrates her diva side and the second shows off her bottom teeth and impressive pinching strength on poor Lannie.

Vermont

Well, not the usual image of a bucolic lake scene that Vermont usually conjures up, but...This is Cecelia in the little cabin we rented for a couple of nights up in the woods near Stowe, Vermont. It is just after her bath, and she is a little overtired, hyper and trying to squirm away from me. (I had also spiked up her hair for fun.) The little trip to Vermont was our only real getaway of the summer, but we aren't complaining because our Italy trip with my high school friend Charleen, her husband Tim and their toddler Leo, and our local friend Erica Mielke, is coming up very soon! Today is Labor Day, and I recall that last year on this day I was praying to go into 'labor' with Cecelia, but that didn't happen.

Cute new thing that Cecelia does....when Jim pulls into the driveway, I say, "Who's here?" And she gets excited and giggles and toddles towards the door.