chickpea journal

A few choice Fiona faces from tonight's fajita dinner.

2011-03-01T17:53:00.000-08:00

Fiona turned 3 years old on Sunday. She has an outsized attitude, though, more like a stubborn mule, usually regarding food. 'My not like chicken pot pie. My not eat it. My eat mac and cheesie. That it.' Or her comment about this evening's meal, chicken fajitas, seen above and below. ' My not yike onions. My not eat onions. My not cut onions.' She used to eat anything that was put in front of her. Now she is more like her mom when I was little. I'd only eat white food. Bread, rice, noodles, potatoes.

And introducing #3 Clary- James...... James Donal

2010-11-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

After a one year hiatus, we are back. With a boy this time- the last time. He's gorgeous and has won the hearts of his sisters, especially the elder one. He has brought out her latent mothering instinct, which seems unusually strong. She can't get enough of him. "He's such a cutie pie".....while trying to pick him off the floor and take him to the couch.

Fiona is also interested, but intermittently, and more aggressively. "You ok, baby?" while removing his pacifier and inserting it in her own mouth.

Face paint pic- at the Harvest Festival

Halloween pic: Fiona as a 'green bird'- so she said

Baby pic: at 6 days old

Oct/ Nov in Cecelia and Fiona land

2009-11-21T12:09:00.001-08:00

#1 is Fiona's reaction to her first automatic car wash. A little fascinated, a little scared. #2 is our favorite ice cream destination, and Cecelia eating chocolate. the aftermath was messy and hyper. #3 is our growing leave pile in the front yard, where we spent an hour or so last weekend. and #4 is the mermaid on Halloween with Granny Rose.

Some recents

2009-10-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

The first one in this series is from a Carter's store. The girls were cheerfully engaged for 30 minutes as I leisurely shopped for new pj's and socks, etc. (for them, not me).

Awwww......this was on the way home today from Williamstown.

At our friend Frankie's house.
Last one here, holding Sebastian, my friend Erica's son. One of Cecelia's favorite things.

Here you go!

2009-09-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Here are many many pics to make up for the 4 month gap in my uploads. They are backwards, chronologically. The first is Cecelia in full princess regalia, thanks to Lannie's birthday present. (She put on every single item in the dress up repertoire at once, as you can see.) The next is of Cecelia opening the gifts.

The following three are from our week in Squirrel Island- the hammock was on our lovely deck, with a view of the ocean. The next three are of Cecelia holding Sebastian, my friend Erica's 8 week old (who I was the fist person to watch come into the world!). She is VERY fond of holding him. The fourth one is the girls on the remnants of their 'fort'.

Baby Animals

2009-05-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here we are at Hancock Shaker Village last Saturday for our last chance to see the baby animals. The girls were not too keen to get in the pens with the calves, lambs, etc, but enjoyed petting and chasing them. Our other little friend in the photo is my friend Lannie's friend Aria who was visiting.

some more....2 from Florida

2009-03-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

On the beach at Sanibel Island. It was about....58 degrees this afternoon.
Fiona proud of herself for her stair climbing skills.
This last one is from Christmas Day, I like it.

some recent pics

2009-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite one here. I will upload some more relatively recent pics from our trip to Florida and from the winter.

very long time.....indoor winter activities

2009-02-08T13:37:00.001-08:00

Fiona's newest favorite winter activity is walking....up and down the stairs, her sister takes her....She has two teeth and says 'mamma' and waves as she says, 'ba, ba'. It is VERY hard for us all to believe that one year ago she was not with us yet in the flesh. Her birthday is coming up on Feb 27th. Her sleeping habits have improved of late, much to her parents' relief. Though that does not go for every night; she woke on the hour pretty much every hour last night, for instance. but we take baby steps, so to speak.

I just took this one this morning at breakfast, with both girls in their jammies, just after Cecelia requested that baby be put on her lap, and just before baby fell out of her lap. Didn't capture that moment. Cecelia is very sweet with her little sister. Today in the car when Fiona was crying, Cecelia reassured her, "Almost home, baby, no worry."
One of their little games. Motherhood is just starting to get easier, with the girls more able to play with each other, or at least occupy each others' interest, for longer stretches of time. I promise to post more often!

Christmas card efforts and cookies

2008-12-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

This is one of nearly one hundred photos JIm and I took in a vain attempt to catch both girls smiling and looking cute for a holiday card. (we did eventually succeed, or more precisely, my friend Lannie succeeded. But you will have to wait for your card to see that photo! ) This one here was about the best I could manage. Most were one baby giggling and the other one facing the opposite direction or about to topple off a chair.
Here is miss Cecelia decorating Christmas cookies with godmother Shelley. She got the knack of it after 5 or so cookies and several tablespoons' worth of icing ingestion. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of running and running and screaming done last night after this activity.
Cecelia waiting for her closeup. Doesn't she look all grown up here? The 'terrible twos' I had thought was a misnomer, now I am starting to think it is an appropriate label if a few more adjectives were thrown in. Exhausting, hilarious, adorable, monstrous....

Bath time

2008-11-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

October festivals

2008-10-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

These are in reverse chronological, as this first one here is from last weekend's Harvest Festival. We had a great time. Cecelia loved the hay maze, above, and fortuneately it cost only one ticket and the ticket taking person lost track of her running out the exit and in the entrance. We spent the afternoon on a beautiful, windy fall day with cousin Eileen and her brood of 3 boys, Eamon, Declan and Seamus (can't tell we are Irish.) Rachel and John and Grandpa David rounded out our group.
Here is the previous weekend with Granny Jane and Far at Hancock Shaker Village. Cecelia didn't quite know to make of all the animals, at least when my camera was operational.
And here is Ms Cheerful playing on the chair. As long as she is well rested and fed and is a mellow pleasure. 7.5 months now and soooooooooooo close to crawling. She does scoot forwards in her own way.. gets her to the staircase, I discovered this afternoon.

Godmother and Fiona's new moves

2008-09-26T11:26:00.001-07:00

Sorry this first pic isn't so good of Cecelia, she is constant motion and hard to capture sometimes. She is seen here playing with her godmother Lannie, and with her horn, birthday present from Grandma Jane and musician Far. Cecelia is speaking in full sentences these days, saying such profound thoughts as, "I pus baby dow" (I pushed baby down...a comment usually NOT true, though she has her moments), " I poop on the floor" (also not true, thankfully, though she is learning how to go on the potty and is close to getting out of diapers), and, my mother reported hearing yesterday, "What happened there?"

Fiona is SOOOOO close to crawling. At the moment she is at the scooting backwards phase that Cecelia went through, and she finds it equally frustrating. She backs herself under the couch and gets stuck. Or she sees me and wants to come forward to me, but ends up pushing backwards to the wall. Poor girl. She is a very happy creature most of the time now. Definately a mommy's girl, not social and attention-seeking like her older sis.

Cece Rose's 2nd Birthday and fun with sister

2008-09-13T12:00:00.001-07:00

Oops, I didn't notice the birthday girl was picking her nose in this one...it was meant to demonstrate that she and Anya were burying the latter's long suffering brother in pillows. I had thought we would play lots of fun games in the basement, but that proved to be dark and a little cramped so we moved upstairs to the living room/ piano/ king size bed to jump on, kitchen for ice cream and cupcakes, etc. No pool party because it started to rain at 3, party, sorry, 'Paw-dee' start time.
I love these shots! They like to play on the bed together. Well, Cecelia likes to play on the bed and Fiona likes to smile and Mom likes to help Fiona avoid getting a direct hit on the head from a flying foot or other sharp object.
We had a good kiddo turnout for the pawdee- 11 all told. Here are Mateo and Amiel as Cecelia tells them that the little music box with duckies is, in fact, "MINE!!"

Sorry it's been so long...

2008-09-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

This first pic is remarkable mostly for Cecelia's outfit...which was mine in the early 70's. You can best appreciate its polyester quality up close, but this will have to suffice.....Here is Auntie Rachel with Miss Finona. Rachel is now living in Great Barrington and we get to visit all the time.
So our post is going to have to change titles to reflect Fiona's photogenic-ness and general appeal. She is close to crawling now, has scooted backwards a couple of times...almost there!
This is her full on happy smile. She made music with her 'piano' and was pleased with herself. She is such a delight. Much more mellow than Cecelia was/is. She can entertain herself on the floor with toys as long as she isn't too tired or hungry. Much more to follow, I promise. Coming up next: some of Cecelia's newest sentences! full sentences!

MacBook Photo Booth and summer pics

2008-07-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a nifty perk of my MacBook I just discovered, six months after getting the computer. there are also all sorts of effects like a hall of mirrors sort of thing, but I will spare you looking at those.....This is pretty much Cecelia's personality in a nutshell. If the mouth were saying, "NOOOOOOO! MYYYYYY! TUCKEY! (turkey, her favorite lunch food of the moment)" Oh, I forgot, 'WHY?'
Cecelia loves my parents' pool. In fact she got quite upset at me when I drove away from their house today without having had a swim. 'NO, POOOO!!!' (Do you get a sense of her personality?)

Poor Finona. I am not sure what the caption to this photo should be, perhaps I can start a contest among the blog viewers for an appropriate one?

1 year ago, Neck control and backseat driver

2008-07-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Cecelia last July, lecturing her relatives on the various uses of the spoon. (little known fact: it is an effective means of getting the attention of a parent when it comes in contact with a hard surface.)
Here is Fiona's newest trick, along with the turning over from back to front trick, too, of course. She is in a very cute phase at the moment. Chunky, smiley, and noisy. She makes these strange guttural sounds that I have never heard from baby or adult before. sort of like growling.
And here the 2 girls share the wheel. Fiona's interested in whatever her older sister is into, and she is desparately trying to will herself into a standing/ walking position. It must be hard not to be able to keep up!

Yes, I will allow that they are cute.....

2008-07-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Fiona nearly upright. But not enough to prevent her from collapsing forward, which put her in the middle and bottom photo positions, after a rightward turn. Several cute things from Cecelia today: the first is: A girl named Hope watches Cecelia these days for me in the mornings, and Cecelia thinks the name rhymes with poop. So it's, "Bye, bye Hoop!" The second is: I am a swedish fish addict, and picked myself up a bag this afternoon. After Cecelia and I have each had a few fish in the car, I stash the bag in the side compartment on the driver's door of the car. In which car I let Cecelia play when we got home. A few minutes later I realized my mistake and looked out the window to see cecelia stuffing the empty bag back in the compartment with a face full of fish. But she proved to be quite generous. When I said, "Well, can Mommy have a fish?" She dug around in her belly button and handed me a 'fish'.

July 4th, 2007 and 2008

2008-07-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

This oldie was taken on July 4th last year. Miss Cecelia trying to pry the grate off of the fireplace. She hasn't tried that trick in ages, now that I think about it. Ah, those were the days. Now she has access to the silverware, to my poor, long suffering laptop, among myriad other un-kid friendly items. I like the hair swirl in front.
And cut to July, 2008. A typical morning or evening in the Clary household. Cecelia hamming it up for the camera, reading Hop on Pop ( a lesser known, early Dr. Seuss work) and refusing the sit in her high chair. Fiona enjoying the toys her sister has given her, I mean, thrown at her.
Closeup of toy playing. I think I have said it before, Fiona is much more interested in toys than her sister was or is. And she is making the funniest noises these days. Let's see what do they sound like? A little like the radio sounds when it goes into 'alert mode', or a tone deaf old lady with no teeth who still wants to sing in church.....I will work on my analogies.

Summer is here...

2008-06-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

And the time is right for sisterly bonding. Fiona really can't sit in this position for long. In fact, a few secs after this photo was taken, she started to topple to her right. She is just about turning herself over these days. She is desparate to catch up with her big sis, poor girl! She wants to get up and go and her little legs aren't ready yet. This purple elephant toy is a favorite. She shows more interest in holding toys and objects than Cecelia did, or does. Corduroy is one of Cecelia's faves. Jim and I have it memorized. "Corduroy is a little bear who once lived in the toy department of a big store.....".
Here is Cecelia Rose on the J Bar (from Bousquet Ski Area in the 80's) swing at her great granny Barbara's house yesterday. We were there for her cousin (once removed) Katie's graduation from high school party. The young man standing behind her is Martin, Jim's Uncle Joe's three year old son. He was very kind and shared the swing with Cece. She was not so kind in return and followed him around all afternoon insisting that whatever he happened to be touching was 'My, my...no, MY!!'
Awwwwwwwww......here is Granny Rose and the two girls. Cecelia is the 'I-want-to-be-on-your-lap-too-if-she-is' phase. Fiona just wants her Counting bugs book.

Father's Day and one year ago......

2008-06-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

This was late afternoon today in the back yard. Doggie Alice checking out sweet-smelling Fiona here. As you can tell, Fiona is somewhat more chunky and shall we say, 'filled out' than her sister was at the same age. She has prominent big, brown eyes, as you can see in image #3.
Cecelia has a new slide for the yard thanks to our neighbors, and she enjoyed standing on it and walking down the slide. Luckily it is about 2 feet off the ground. Here is her hands on hips, imitating Mommy stance. She is coming out with new words nearly every day now. The last few days the favorite was 'dirty', more like 'durry', usually about feet or clothing. Today she came out with 'shursh', as in 'Where's Mommy?' - 'Shursh' (church).
Aforementioned big brown eyes here. Fiona's new skill is grabbing and holding onto anything in her grabbing radius.

And here is a golden oldie. June 22nd, 2007, in Harvard Yard, Cecelia Rose 9 months old and Fiona hadn't even made herself known yet..........And Baby #2 is now, at 3 months, wearing this dress.

Three months old Fiona and new tricks by Cecelia

2008-05-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

This first photo was taken this morning. Cecelia is very cute with her little sister in the mornings when we are all at our freshest. Late afternoons are not our best times. Fiona is looking more like her mommy lately, so they tell me. She is fitting into clothes that her sister couldn't wear until she was 5 or 6 months, and she just turned 3 months on May 27th. I went through a nasty bout of food poisoning this week and Fiona was my faithful, easy companion, satisfied to nap on the couch all day long.
Cecelia's latest trick is putting on her clothes and shoes! She insists, "Idoddit" ( I got it) and manoevers her right foot into the left sneaker, sandal, etc. She does better with dresses.
Here is the little one. She is mellow and smiley, making gurgling noises and charming us all.

Franklin and Mothers Day

2008-05-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Fiona and Mom went to Colorado to visit my Peace Corps friend Linda and her boy Franklin, Fiona's soulmate. They were born on the same day! This pic is Linda's mom and daycare provider, Ann, holding both babies when Linda and I returned from a quick escape to Starbucks. Pic #2 is self-explanatory; Cecelia studying doggies on cuteoverload.com. And pic #3 demonstrates Fiona's not knowing what to make of her funny Grandpa David at our Mothers Day brunch. Spring is here and next time we venture onto the playground I will bring the camera, promise!

Good times (w/ a touch of competition) with cousins

2008-04-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had a great visit from my cousin Eileen and two of her brood, Eamon and Declan. Eamon is six, Declan three. Cecelia was a bit shellshocked for the first hour or so of the visit. Not used to rambunctious boy energy in the house. (or 'sharing' her toys. She showed interest in objects long forgotten as soon as Declan occupied himself with them.) It was traumatic to watch the boys get their turn on the lawn mower, too. And Cecelia thought Mommy's car was HER car. (Her regular mantra these days is, " Mommy, Daddy, baby......MY.")

My favorite of these pics is the last one. Eamon and Cecelia collaborated pretty well on pushing Fiona's stroller, although Eamon had to step widely to avoid colliding with her. The verdict of the day was, we really like playing with cousins.

Daddy and his girls take 2

2008-04-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Fiona is fitting into the clothes her sister wore at 4 or 5 months. (Fiona will be 8 weeks on Wed, April 23.) She is very fond of her older sister, and is starting to smile more often and more clearly for all of us. She turns her head to Cecelia's voice, even when it is raised to a screech.

Cecelia got a bit too much sun yesterday during our visit to Jim's Dad's lake house in Connecticut, unfortuneately, and she was out of sorts this morning. But as you can tell from pictures two and three, she is recovered enough to enjoy a jump in the wheelbarrow, and a try at her new drawing toy. (thanks to cousins Jim and Lisa Brady!!)

Focus on Fiona

2008-04-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

People tell me that baby#2 gets, if not ignored, then neglected in the photo taking department. I am trying to prove them wrong, but I don't seem to be toting the camera around as much as I did with Cecelia, it's true. Fiona is already much bigger than her sister was at 6 weeks, more than 11 pounds. And she continues to be a good sleeper, although we think some of her 'good babiness' comes from our ' more relaxed parentness' the second time around. Cecelia is crazy about her little sister, and kisses her constantly, when she is not poking at her eyes and ears and nose and feet and leaning on her belly. We are all very glad it is finally spring, and we took full advantage of the 70 degree temps today to have a family picnic and hike. (sorry no pics of the picnic, didn't bring the camera.... I assure you it was lovely.) We are looking forward to swimsuit weather. Well, the babies are, I personally am not looking forward to the swimsuit part.

Daddy's girls

2008-03-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are on the couch today. Cecelia carefree as usual, Mommy looking careworn, as usual, (what is with that double chin????) and Fiona looking big. She really likes to be held. Put down not so much. We are working on getting her to spend some time sleeping in a crib, now that Cecelia has moved on up to a big girl bed! (well, last night was the debut night, we'll see how tonight goes.....) We cannot figure out exactly who Fiona looks like. So far it is no one on the Siegel or Duffy (my mom's) side of the family. Grandma Jane is the likeliest candidate so far. More soon!

PS: Did you notice Cecelia's first haircut?

Making cookies with Auntie Rachel

2008-03-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Cecelia was not too helpful making chocolate chip cookies- she wanted to eat the batter, flour, raw egg......

Will update again soon with Fiona, who is now 'big'.

Settling in at home

2008-03-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

This pic is actually the last morning in the hospital, keeping Cecelia occupied while Jim got the carseat ready for Fiona. The phone did the trick. She came to be very fond of the maternity ward, taking walks up and down the hallway, greeting the nurses and housekeeper, and riding the elevator.
But that is all history now....
We have been home for 10 days now, and are adjusting nicely, for the most part. Cecelia wants to share lap space with Mommy while Fiona is nursing, which I can manage. She is super affectionate with 'gee', Cecelia's term for most animate objects. She likes to kiss her head best, and point out that both she and Fiona have feet.
Fiona is growing already. She is a ...no, I won't say it, afraid to jinx us....she is a good sleeper. She likes to sleep and eat and make funny noises and faces. That is about her whole repertoire for the moment. Will keep you updated.

And here is our nighttime routine, Cecelia saying goodnight to baby. Jim and I have been indulging a newfound obsession with the American version of the Office after Cecelia is in bed and Fiona is dozing on the couch or in our arms.
All in all, we are happy to report that Cecelia seems to like her little sister very much, and Fiona for her part is very patient and indulgent with Cecelia's shrieking and general noisemaking.

We have a little sister!

2008-03-02T06:09:00.001-08:00

We would like to use this opportunity to introduce you to Fiona Jane! She is even littler than her chickpea sister was at birth. (and we are very optimistic that she will be a much better, sounder sleeper than chickpea, too, judging from her fondness for dozing thus far!) We will probably end up making this a joint blog to make life easier for mommy. So we will be happy to take new name requests, ones that creatively combine the essence of Cecelia and Fiona. This middle photo of CeceRose was taken about 2 weeks pre-Fiona, in her brief juicebox phase. (cute Carhaarts, don't you think?) Will be back in touch soon, promise!

Christmas and after...

2007-12-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

You would assume that Cecelia's first vehicle here was a Christmas gift from Santa, but no. Daddy picked it up from the dump! To say she is fond of it would be an understatement. We got 7 inches of snow last night and she has refused to come inside today at all. She just wants to get in and out of her very own car.

Here is our Christmas morning, after Cecelia opened her gift from Granny Rose bearing her dress that she was instructed to wear for the day. Auntie Rachel is opening her stocking, while Uncle John looks on, tummy full of french toast. Cecelia's gift highlight was her own book, "My Second Christmas", which Rachel painted for her, inspired by the photo Erica took in Italy that portrays Cecelia as a successful young author.

And here is mommy and baby at the end of the day...

December diva

2007-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

This one was taken at Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house with Aunt Rachel, her diva role model in the family. She is singing "Oh, rest ye merry gentlemen" here. Just kidding. She did have the opportunity to be the bigger baby at the occasion, as our friends brought their baby J.D., 10 months. She stole his toys and tried to hog the piano.
Here is Diva with Dad's work hat. She put it on herself, this was not mom and dad dressing up the baby for photos. Our Christmas tree does not have any decorations on its bottom third, as several ornaments suffered a shattering death at Cecelia's hands before we learned better.

Here is the box which a small item from Target arrived in. Cecelia is treating it as her fort. She really likes the packing materials. Another picture we took of her inside the box made her look like a mafia hit packed in ice, so we left that one off......

November fun

2007-11-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we spent nearly the whole day outside, partly in an effort to encourage better and sounder sleeping in Cecelia. It sort of works, but 5 am is still her preferred waking time. The lawn mower is her new favorite toy, and would like the ability to ride it herself around the yard rather than depending on mom and dad who are always eager to get on to the next yard task rather than roam aimlessly around the yard. After the lawn mower, lying on the blue tarp with the leaves and getting dragged into the woods was most fun. No pics of that, though, sorry. I will try to catch it later this week. Plenty of leaves left to drag.

Note to friends and relatives: On top of Cecelia's Christmas gift list: boxes. This one held our bathroom sconces and then became a good place to practice our impressive climbing skills. Her face is covered in chili in this photo. One thing we feel very fortunate about is that Cecelia will eat just about anything we put in front of her. Have not tried liver, however. Or the more exotic green vegetables....like peas. Mom doesn't care for them.

More Italy pics of poor quality

2007-11-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry that these photos are not clearer. I realized that I did not put up any of our castle in Umbertide, which really deserved some blog space. Here are Cecelia and Leo playing 'pretend to water the bushes' together. They made an interesting pair, as she is exactly one half his weight and size. He just approached Cecelia and she fell over backwards. Our castle, Santa Giuliana, has 10 different renovated apartments belonging to people from all over. Our courtyard here had sage and rosemary bushes and a wide view of the valley below. The only downside to all of the lovely stone is that it is hard as rock, and tough on little bodies that tend to fall down quite a bit.

This is the courtyard in front of our very own Chiesa di Santa Cecilia, our CeceRose's namesake. It has a special place in our hearts because Jim and I were engaged there, and we returned to present our Cecelia to the saint herself. It is a lovely church, in Trastevere on the western side of the Tiber River, in case you are ever in Rome.....

Peanut at first real Halloween

2007-11-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Cecelia's Grandma Jane made her the CUTEST COSTUME EVER this year!!! She was a peanut, as you can see from above adorable pictures. Strangers called out, " Let's get a better look at the peanut!" We trick or treated in Housatonic with our friends and their toddler twins. Cecelia was the youngest candy-seeker out there, as far as I could see. We will have to put her in the outfit again for the entertainment value. She didn't mind wearing it at all, except for the hat. Mom and Dad got some candy out of the venture and she got to stay up an hour late.

More Italia

2007-11-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here are: fussy and squirmy in Perugia with patient Daddy, in front of the 2,500 year old well that we went deep underground and paid the equivalent of $6 to see. Perugia was my favorite town/city we visited. Very young, hip and fun. Good food, too, which is a necessary prerequisite in my mind.

Then..Erica, Sheela and Cecelia, who stood still long enough to take this photo in front of the beautiful cathedral in Orvieto. She LOVED the piazza in front of the church and spent many fond minutes running through, around and up and down it. Then....Cecelia eating her own little gelato cone. She doesn't get to eat sugary foods at home, but who could deny a child on her first trip to Italy, or any trip to Italy, a taste of gelato.

Belated Italia

2007-11-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

I was having camera tranferral issues, so our pics from our October Italy trip are 2+ weeks late. But as they say...So here are some cute ones from, a) lounging with Mom and Dad on the grass opposite the 'Bocca Della Verita', which is near the banks of the Tiber River, and at which one must pay and wait on a long line for the priviliege of sticking one's hand in the mouth. Cecelia didn't care if we were in Rome, Timbuktu, Cleveland or Great Barrington, grass is grass and worth playing on. b) Cecelia unimpressed with the Colliseum, one of the 7 wonders of the world, at the age of 13 months....a sad commentary at our jaded youth of today, don't you think? and c) her car seat, (though the photo looks more like it should be accompanied by a bio, like, " Distinguished author Cecelia 'Chickpea' Clary teaches Infant's Literature at the University of Peanuts. She lives in Housatonic with her parents and doggie Alice." ) She spent quite a lot of time in her car seat in our little Renault, but luckily she had Auntie Erica to entertain and feed her on our long jaunts to Urbino, Perugia, Todi, Gubbio, and San Marino (to see what was so special about it to make it a whole separate country. Turns out, not much.) More photos will be forthcoming.

Grandpas

2007-09-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-13T12:55:00.001-07:00

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

2007-09-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

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.

We are back!!!!

2007-08-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pretty up to date pics of CeceRose. The first also features our friends Matilda and Freya. Notice the standing up pose in the second......the standing has now progressed to walking, too!! She is getting more confident with her stumbling every day. Not sure what this bodes for us and our house but we will soon find out!

Also new since my last ancient post, we are pregnant again, and I am due at the beginning of March. I am just now finished with the first trimester and still not feeling 100%, but not as sick each morning as I was, which is very nice. Now is just one getting episode per day, or so, instead of 4 0r 5.

Our summer has flown by, of course. We spent a fair amount of time at Granny Rose and Grampa David's pool, where she grew accustomed to the water and loved crawling about on the splinter-laden deck, but never really warmed up to her red floaty device that doubled as a sombrero for Grampa to make her (and us) laugh. Some of Cecelia's favorite foods.....anything that is edible, as long as it does not come in a baby food jar.

Upcoming highlights:

First Birthday!! September 12
First international trip, to Italy, October 3
First full day wearing shoes!! Maybe tomorrow.
First haircut......no time soon. We'll let it grow.

Sorry folks

2007-06-27T16:51:00.001-07:00

Our camera died and I have not figured out yet how to transfer pics from our new camera yet, so, if anyone is still checking in....you will have to bear with me as I paint a picture for you of Cecelia's doings. She has four teeth, two big ones on top and two little on the bottom. Today I was bitten by them for the first time. Hopefully the last. She has been sleeping the last couple of nights in just her diaper, it has been sooo hot. ( She has graduated to the next size diaper now, what a big girl!) She goes to the doctor tomorrow for some more shots and a weigh-in. She is becoming quite an eater, so perhaps now she is further up the baby size scale, from 25 percentile to 30, for instance. She is happy and healthy, and easier to carry, so 25% is also good. We have been playing with Nell and Matilda and Freya lately, swimming at Lake Mansfield, and today we spent the morning at my parents' pool with Liz Goodman and Jack, her barrel-chested weight lifter of a one year old. He and Cecelia shared a romantic can of lemonade while holding hands. And both made a mess of the table and floor at Martin's during lunch. Perfect pair! Oy! It is so hot. Getting little one into her carseat is becoming more difficult as it so sticky and humid in there, and she can now squirm succcessfully down and away from me. Last night we enjoyed a one day late party for my and Ken Schumacher's birthday at the Siegel pool. Cecelia managed to stay up fairly cheerfully until about 8 at which point we had to make a speedy exit.

And still more....

2007-05-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

Since by far the best (and only) photos I have of CeceRose are from our trip to NYC 10 days ago, here are some more. Cecelia is SOOOOOOO close to crawling. Every time she gets up on her arms, then her knees, we hold our breath...and then she collapses back on her butt. Soon. I shouldn't be so anxious for crawling to start. As it is, she gets around pretty quickly scooting and rolling. No teeth yet, but her gums are preparing for them, it is clear. Lots of drool and gnawing, usually on whatever is the most non-child friendly substance in reaching distance. Dollie or dog food? Blanket or rock? Garment or grass? It is a good thing that God and evolution made babies so darn cute, otherwise we'd just leave them to their own devices and then where would we be as a species?

More New York pics

2007-05-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have 165 altogether actually! Lannie had a great camera for the day and made full use of it. We went down on the train (actually bus and two trains) from Wassaic, met Auntie Rachel and John for a chinese lunch midtown, and then enjoyed the gorgeous weather in the park. The little boy is Nathan, also 8 months and 11 pounds more than Cecelia! The only badly focused picture is the only one I took, above, of CeceRose and Lannie.

New York !!!!!

2007-05-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry

2007-05-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our camera is acting up so no NEW pics, but here is an oldie but goodie for you. CeceRose is about one millimeter away from crawling but still hasn't taken that one remaining step to get on all fours. And I for one am grateful! A few more days respite before my life gets lots more complicated. We head to NYC this weekend to visit with Auntie Rachel and John. Lannie is accompanying us to the big city on the train. Haven't tried that yet, so we'll how it goes. The plane was so smooth.....I am hoping that keeping baby outside for long walks in the warm weather will lead to better sleep, longer sleep, deeper sleep. For all of us. Not working out too well so far. Although my giving up caffeine in my mocha latte has helped a little, I think. Jury is still out. One night she slept 6 hours in a row, the next no more than 3.

Now taking requests

2007-05-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the side view CarHaart pic, per Grandpa David's request. Any others out there? Next time she gets wedged under the radiator I will catch that. And perhaps upload a video of playing peek a boo or giggling.

Mommy and CeceRose went for a strenuous hike yesterday up Flag Rock in Housatonic. It used to be fairly easy for me, but a 16 pound weight on my chest combined with a lower fitness level made for a tough haul. But it was worth it, and Cecelia loved following Alice the dog's rambling up the path and fruitful chases after squirrels. We are finally into a long stretch of mild weather and it is great not to have to bundle her up in her snowsuit anymore.

Our new dustbuster

2007-05-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Cecelia scoots around the house now and invariably gets stuck under the couch, radiator, or bookcase. She also backs up against table legs. She was whining just before I caught this first photo. Such a ham. Crawling can't be far away now!

We visited one of CeceRose's great grandmas yesterday in Pittsfield, where she had fun rolling around on the floor and being charming. (Cecelia, not her nonna.) We had a very nice visit. Will have to bring the camera next time.

She still has a cough but it has not seemed to bother her mood in the least. and lastly, Cecelia has a new cousin as of yesterday at 12:20. Seamus Lyons, Eileen's third son, is the newest addition to the Irish Duffy side of my family. Congrats!

Like Daddy like Daughter

2007-04-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here is Cecelia (we have started pronouncing her name the Italian way, Che-cheelia) in her Carhaart overalls, just like Daddy's. Granny Rose got them for her for Christmas and she is just filling them out now. We have had non-snowsuit weather the past couple of days, and it is soooooo nice not to have to bundle her up to go out. And summer clothes are so cute. Of course these overalls are about as cute as you can get, although they won't do much to change the general public impression that she is a boy. (It is the lack of hair, I think. You just assume short hair= girl, regardless of whether she is dressed head to toe in pink, brown or blue.) No crawling yet, but she is getting mighty close!! She is starting to rock back and forth on her knees. Scooting backwards is her most efficient way to get around still, although also the most frustrating. She whines as she slides around the living room, past the stairs, into the kitchen, under the radiator.

Rubber Duckie, you're so tasty

2007-04-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

The one and only thing on Cece Rose's mind when she gets into the bathtub is getting her gums into that duckie. Where is it, where have they hid it, I know his squeaky self is somewhere nearby. And once she has him in her grasp, there is no time for unwinding after a long day of rolling to and fro and scooting in reverse under the couch or armchair, oh no, it is all about showing Mr. Duckie who is boss. If I can't eat the dishwashing soap, I will eat YOU, Mr. Duckie, teeth or no teeth.

Alice is aloof

2007-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here is evidence of Cecelia's burgeoning interest in Alice the doggie, and Alice's apparent indifference to this interest. Cecelia wants to hold hands (hand and paw), Alice moves the paw away. Cecelia pats Alice's head gently (ok, smacks Alice's head with varying amounts of force) and Alice walks into the safety of the kitchen. But then there are moments of comraderie, when Cecelia is doing her thing, (intently observing and salivating on the remote control, for instance) and Alice, unsolicited, will come up and lick her rice cereal-caked face or will wave her bushy tail back and forth across Cecelia's delighted face. I have not caught those moments on camera yet, but I will!

Brunch and Easter

2007-04-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of Cecelia with Uncle Mike at Grandma Jane's house for brunch a couple of weeks ago. This is her cute new smiley face with one dimple. Her hair is starting grow in on the sides so her mohawk is less pronounced. On the right is Cecelia in her pretty Easter outfit with Grandpa David at his house. Cecelia rolled all the way around their big living room. She is mobile!!!! Read: Move into a house with no stairs! Easter Sunday featured cold, cold weather (no Easter egg hunt) and ham, spring rolls (Granny Rose's twist on Easter dinner), all the trimmings, and.....a passion fruit meringue dessert that I was sorry not to be able to share with Cecelia. Not really. Cecelia and her friend Avery (four months older and a patient toy-sharer) were the only cheerfully dressed churchgoers on Sunday morning. The wintery air doesn't inspire pastel skirts and dresses.

Linda and Freddie visit in Colorado

2007-04-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Our flight to Denver was not very crowded, so Cece got her very own seat and seatbelt. We met 7 month old Clare on the flight, and ran into her again on the flight home.

Here is our friend Freddie at his desk at the car dealership. We visited him at work in a snowstorm (we brought back the winter to Glenwood Springs) before we all headed into the mountains above Rifle (where there is the Winchester Motel and Remington Square) for a quiet weekend retreat at the Coulter Lake Guest Ranch. We were the only guests at the ranch, which has its own private lake (stocked with huge rainbow trout) surrounded by aspen trees. We had our own cabin and no noise but the woodpeckers and jumping fish. The long dirt road up to the ranch was impassable except by fourwheelers or 4 wheel drive vehicles with chains, due to deep snow combined with mud. It was Cecelia's first big adventure, and she did very well. we had cookies by the ever-burning fireplace, took walks around the lake, fished with Linda, although we were still sleeping when she caught her 2 trout in a row, and played horseshoes. Jim showed an aptitude for the game while I didn't even make the general target area. We also had a snooty lunch in Aspen, a drive thru Golden and a day in sunny Boulder where shopping was the word. verdict= travel agrees with us!!

From Glenwood Springs, Colorado, sans pic

2007-03-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hi there, sorry no photo because our camera is acting up. I did, however, catch a pic of Cecelia on the plane. We were fortunate enough to have a seat empty next to us, so we sat her in it and put on her belt and caught the moment. the flight was smoother than I had imagined in my wildest dreams. She actually made me more calm instead of stressed. BUT I am not assuming we will have such luck forever. But we did get through the first plane test with shining colors. There was another little girl too, so we had a playdate at 37,000 feet. Now we are with our friends in Glenwood where we brought some winter weather. This weekend is supposed to be nice, though, which is good because we are going to a lake cabin to get away from civilization for a couple of days. no email, no tv. We head out again on Tues and arrive home Wed. It is SOOOOOO nice not to have errands to run, house to clean, dinner to cook, etc. Just baby to play with.

First airplane trip tomorrow!

2007-03-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

We will check in from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on our weeklong trip there starting tomorrow. We are hoping for minimal stress on the plane and in the rental car. Wish us luck. We are going to visit our friends Linda and Freddie. I was in the Peace Corps with Linda. She teached Science at the high school in Glenwood. The weather there has been gorgeous, but it looks like it will be turning worse once we arrive. Here is a recent pic of Cecelia pre-trip. Bye!

Visit to Matt, Eileen, Eamon and Declan

2007-03-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the photo transfer from Matt's camera isn'g great, but better than nothing. We had a very fun visit with big cousins Eileen (who is due to give birth to 3rd boy Seamus on May 4th) and Matt, and littler cousins Eamon and Declan. Cecelia is not used to so much little boy energy, but she got used to getting knocked around a little. Good practice for if and when she gets a little brother some day. We ate a yummy lunch with asian noodles and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and went for a walk on the conservation land behind their house. No snow and very springlike.
Eamon with his trusty walking stick all the way from Prince Edward Island. He found me one too.
Declan post cookes.

Bathtime is great, sleepytime not so much

2007-03-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Cecelia had a widemouthed grin for the duration of her bath last night. Daddy is in charge of baths and sometimes gets soaked, but always has fun. Last night we tried the 'Ferber' method of sleeping for the first time, and it is working, I cautiously believe. We can't really cope with 6 wakings per night anymore, it is starting to affect my thinking ability and I am afraid if we change the status quo it will only get worse. And the first night went much smoother than I had anticipated. Yes, she woke up 6 times, but 3 were just briefly and she nodded right back off, and today for her nap, I put her in the crib, she played with a dolly and conked out without a peep about 15 minutes later. Heaven. And she woke up smiling. Bonus. Like the green icing on the cupcakes I made for Andrew Schumacher's 19th birthday.

Hands

2007-03-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

Cecelia discovers new and exciting (for her) uses for her hands every day now. She has taken to raking her nails across mommy's abdomen, for instance, she nurses. Fun for baby, painful for mommy. She also likes to grab at what little hair she has on the top of her head, twirling it in her fingers. She is able to grab toys more forcefully, pull on the straps of her bouncy bounce jumper, shake her rattle, yank on my nose, inspect my mouth, and show off her remarkable flexibility and dexterity (evidence to the right). We are going to give her real food (other than what passes for 'rice cereal' in the baby world) tonight. Pears, we shall try, and see if perhaps they have the ability to make a little person sleep for more than three hours at a time.

Matilda and Freya

2007-03-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had lunch and made cookies with Nell, Matilda and Freya yesterday. Freya makes lots of funny faces, especially when she is being naughty, or contemplating being naughty. Matilda was not impressed with our upstairs. 'So, you don't have any interesting rooms up here?' Cecelia was a little out of sorts yesterday, but we enjoyed the girls' company anyway.

This is us on the couch and one of Freya's faces. I realize more and more how important it is for me and Cece to have little people and big people visits on a regular basis. I think it is good for her to observe the girls playing, even if she can't join in yet. And moms need to connect and compare notes and share ideas and all that. I especially like Matilda and Freya's funky fashion sense. And they really seem to love each other and enjoy playing together. They are three years apart, so their comraderie would seem to recommend having that gap.

New York City visit

2007-03-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

We went to New York to visit sister Rachel and friend Kirsten and also got to have some unexpected visits. This is Rachel and Cece near the zoo in Central Park on Saturday. This is the new face that Cece has been making the last few days. I think it is an imitation of my smiling at her.
Then a few hours later with Kathy in the bar at the Tribeca Grand hotel. We caught up with Kathy and Rick on their romantic weekend getaway (some might say intruded on) and had a great time. Cecelia was cheerful and smiley throughout. We proceeded from there to Bar Pitti, our favorite Italian place in New York, where we charmed the clientele in their little dining room, including Julianne Moore and her brood.
This was an encounter between Cece and Manus ( as in McManus), a young irishman who took a fancy to Cece in front of the Dim Sum restaurant in Chinatown that we wanted at for 45 minutes and finally gave up on. (Only to be told by those remaining that they got a table as soon as we walked away. Typical.) At least we got a chance to quickly catch up with our friends Whitney and Michael, and they got to meet our chickpea. Unfortunately we did not get pics with them. Oversight on my part.

For great grandma Ellen

2007-03-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here is Grandma Jane and Cece Rose yesterday in front of Jane's beautifully renovated home, thanks to Daddy Jim. We took pictures for her to bring to her mother, Great Grandma Ellen, in Wisconsin, this week. Cece was overtired and not too smiley, though. She doesn't want to miss anything, so she forgets to sleep. Where does she get THAT from???

To bouncy bounce or not to bouncy bounce

2007-03-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here we are about a week ago. Everyone gets very nervous when I put her on my shoulders but it is the only opportunity Cece gets to pull Mommy's hair. How could I deny her that pleasure? Someone said that her laugh was just masking the abject terror she was really feeling up there, but I think that is overanalyzing, don't you? If it looks and sounds like a laugh, it probably is.

Here is the source of our latest quandary. We bought this 'jumpster' at Babies r Us last weekend as a result of many recommendations from well-respected moms. Cecelia loves it, we love watching her in it, case closed, right? Well....I told my Italian class about our fun with the jumpster and several of my students gave me an immediate and forceful earful. " I work with kids every day and I can't tell you how many kids end up with back problems because of those things." Apparently, and this makes sense, since Cece is not ready to bear weight, forcing her to do so in the jumpster ( for long, extended periods I would imagine) causes some bones not to fuse properly ad leads to subsequent problems. So I went home and glared at the empty seat hanging menacingly in the doorway for awhile and tried to find some information in my baby books and online about it. Conclusion: I am ok with using it as long as Cecelia does not sit in there for long periods of time or for more than about an hour a day. Any other thoughts out there about it?

Goopy eyes

2007-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

Poor Chickpea has been under the weather for a few days now. Symptoms include goopy, droopy eyes, congestion, coughing, general wonkiness and erratic sleeping habits. All of which= lots of fun for mom and dad. She is pretty cheerful for all of that, however, which is a big relief to us. Today is bitterly cold so we are staying here in the house and hoping not to go stir crazy. We are supposed to go visit our cousins Eileen, Matt, Eamon and Declan near Boston tomorrow but that is not looking likely. Granny Rose watched Cece yesterday while Mom was tutoring at Gould Farm for a couple of hours and they had a great time. Granny discovered the therapeutic powers of the doggie puppet. Wish I had a photo of that. Currently the little patient is gnawing on the Puss in Boots rattle that I played with back in 19....whatever. Dad is pleased because now that Cece is eating rice cereal a couple times a day, he can participate in feeding her and thus calming her. This morning Dad was very kind and, when Cece woke up at 6am and was not inclined to fall back to sleep, he got her and himself dressed and went out for an early bird breakfast and let me sleep. Ahhhhhhh........

One small roll for Cecelia, one giant step towards independence

2007-02-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

This photo is Cecelia post roll-over, about one hour ago. She likes to roll now whenever she gets the chance. She gets pretty frustrated once the roll is complete, however, as she does not know how to roll back, and the view looking up from her belly isn't nearly as good as the one on her back. Now she is (seemingly) happily restrained in her bouncy seat, which should not be confused with a 'jumper', which we have not succumbed to acquiring yet, but probably soon will. I have also succumbed to dressing her periodically in pink. Can't be avoided, like cilantro in food sometimes. I like the brighter, 'hot' pink, if you will, better than light pink. Of course all my efforts at gender non specific clothing and stuff will probably be for naught and she will be wearing tiaras at age 2, but hey, you never know, maybe she will buck trends and be obsessed with tractors soon. This one shows a) her general adorability and b) a wierd red circle on her right cheek that has been there awhile, but seems to be nothing to worry about. Doesn't stop me.

Belated Valentine's date

2007-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Jim and I are going to go out to the movies tonight! Wow, that is a first for us. Granny Rose is babysitting, and I am hoping she will have a peaceful, sleeping baby for the 2 + we are gone. If not.....no, won't think about it, won't worry about it. We are going to see 'Notes on a Scandal'. Doesn't sound too romantic, but we gotta take what we can get. The other choice is the one on Idi Amin, so, ...Cecelia fell off of the couch this morning. First time. Last time? It was worse for Jim than for her. She doesn't have a bump or redness or anything. He, on the other hand, is traumatized for life, hearing the impact of her head on the floor over and over again. We are getting a fire going for Granny Rose, it is going to be bitter again tonight. We just talked to friend Charleen and BIG baby Leo- he waved at us on the phone. It is 70 degrees in Sacramento today. No fair. I ran from the house to the car today with Cecelia's carseat, it was so windy and cold.

Snow day

2007-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

I left the house with Alice the dog today for a (very) brief walk down the street and back. There are about 6 inches so far and it is very windy and icy and all around nasty. Very glad to have a good excuse not to go anywhere. Of course, if the bad weather persists tomorrow I might start to go stir crazy. But for today the fire has been going all day long, cookies have been baked, naps taken, tea drunk and desk organized by Jim (yay! bonus!). Cecelia has been interested in Alice today more so than usual. Alice'w howl this morning set her to laughing, a scene and a sound that I wish I had caught on my recorder. As it is, I manage to catch some snippets, and I am grateful for that. Because a month from now, if my memory is anything like it is at the moment, I won't recall any of the big details of Cecelia's current stage of development.

No Washington DC

2007-02-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

What was I thinking? Jim and Cecelia and I were going to drive to Washington DC on Thursday morning so that I could attend a full day workshop on Friday for a grant I am writing. Well, a) we are getting a BIG snowstorm tomorrow (of course in a normal year it would probably be 'just another snowstorm', but this year it is cause for alarm) and it will probably still be bad driving on Thurs, b) Cecelia would most likely not enjoy a 7 hour car ride, and neither would we, even with a break in New York for lunch at the Saigon Grill and c) AM I CRAZY? So, no trip for us. We will stay here and stay sane for this week, and consider a trip sometime when the though of it does not raise my heartrate. Ahhhh, so much more relaxed now. Must stock up on mocha latte supplies today in case I can't get out tomorrow morning. Cecelia is getting more and more charming. Yesterday she kept distracting some elderly ladies sitting next to us at Laurie's sister's funeral. I tried to turn her away from them, but that just made her more determined to turn her head 180 around to make them coo and gigggle with her.

Janice's birthday

2007-02-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

We spent last evening at Janice and Ken Schumacher's house, where Cecelia entertained the crowd with funny faces and noises, her manipulations of a little spoon, and her curiosity about the baby in the mirror. That is Aimee in the mirror with her. At the moment here at home she is not so entertaining; I laid her down in her crib about 30 minutes ago and she is still screaming. This is the least fun part of parenting. And I am still not convinced that this is the 'right' thing to do, but as long as I go up to comfort her every few minutes it seems doable, if not comfortable for anyone.

Avery and Myra and toys I prefer

2007-02-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

I got to play with some other babies at church. Avery is four months older than me, and Myra was born 6 hours after me at the same hospital. OK, it is kinda silly to pretend that a five month old is writing her own blog, so I promise I won't do that anymore...just like I promise never to put a pink garter thingy around her head, either. So I bought a little mat with the things hanging down for her to whack and grab and put in her mouth, and the hanging thing that she likes is not the singing sea horse but the tag that I have not taken off yet. Lesson 1: Do not spend money on toys, just clean out containers and leave those lying around on her blanket. In church she was much more interested in playing with Daddy's coffee cup than the less fraught rattle or cloth hat. Just a preview of what is to come, I guess. We will try to take a walk today if it is not too windy, it has been pretty bitter lately.

2007-02-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here goes

2007-02-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is our first posting and as I write I am doing so quickly because Cecelia Rose- aka Chickpea, aka Ceci (Italian for chickpea)- nicknames we haven't started using for her yet but anticipate using some time soon, is crying her little heart out up in her crib. We have been trying to get her to take naps and go to sleep at night on her own, and it is painful. We are making noticeable progress, but it is soooooo hard. I go up to comfort her and shush her every few minutes, but don't know if that is helpful or harmful. She seems to then remember all over again why she should be upset, and work up into a bigger lather than before I came in. Sigh. Our first big challenge of parenthood. Luckily, I have nothing at all to do today except mother. Too often I have been filling up my days with other things to do. Which is why, no doubt, I have not had the focus or time to help her fall asleep on her own. Or, is it just not right, not natural, not compassionate, to 'make' her go to sleep by herself at the age of 5 months? I am learning that no one has that answer, definitively.