Busy time of year!

This is such a busy time of year! I feel like I say that every year about this time. We have had stuff going on the last several weekends, and it looks like that will continue for many more weeks. Last weekend was Derby. Friends of ours have a day long party, so our initial plan was for Cecilia to take her afternoon nap at my parents' while we went to our party, and then we would get her once she got up and take her back to our party. My mom however offered to take her to their party. After thinking about it for a while, we decided to let them take her. Apparently, she was the hit of their party (I called my dad at one point to check in and could not hear him over her yelling with delight in the background!), and we were able to enjoy a nice afternoon as a couple, not parents. It was very nice. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the day:(

The next day we got up early and all packed in my parents' SUV, with them and my grandma, and headed to Dayton (Cecilia's and my second weekend in a row) for Alexandra's First Communion. It was a wonderful, busy day - great food, great family, a great time!

So, we have decided not to cloth diaper anymore. I tried really hard for two weeks to make it work, and it just wasn't. My biggest problem was with leaks. I was having 3+ a day, some only after an hour! Cloth diapering alone is a major undertaking, but once you had changing clothes, sheets, etc... multiples times a day along with it, it just wasn't worth it. I am glad I tried it though.

Cecilia continues to enjoy sign language. "More" is still her favorite, and she uses it for many things. However, they all have similar meanings; she uses it for more, again, and yes. She will still only sign "finished" (or what I think is finished) sometimes, and Christian told me that she signed "milk" several times last night for the first time.

I think we may be done with bottles! She hasn't had one in over a month. She still nurses most of the time, but when she doesn't she gets a sippy cup of cold breastmilk and drinks it right up. She used to only drink a little out of the sippy then we'd have to put the rest in a bottle, bit we haven't done that in a long time. If she goes to my parents' though, I still pack a bottle "just in case."

Cecilia is continuing to show progress with her crawling skills, but isn't quite there yet. She has been "practicing" alot in her crib too, as she has been rolling over on to her tummy ALL the time and moving all around her crib for quite some time before settling down to go to sleep. The problem with that is that for whatever reason, she won't roll back over when she is done with being on her tummy, even though she is perfectly able. So she will make her distress noises, and we will go in and rescue her, put her back in her back, so she can go to sleep and will often end up sleeping on her side. However, she is currently napping and I just peeked in on her, and found her sleeping on her tummy for the very first time! I sneaked in to get a quick pic, and of course woke her up. I figured she'd be mad and want to get back on her back, but nope, she put her head back down and is already back asleep. Christian and I are always playfully arguing over who she is more like, and he has been claiming her sleeping position for a while, but she looks awfully cozy on her belly (which is how I sleep), so we'll see!

She continues to think she is too big for baby food. I can hardly get her to eat any now and usually only offer it to her a couple times a day. So she usually eats a variety of finger foods; I make a whole bunch at once, and then divide it up and freeze it in small portions, so I don't have to prepare it at each meal. She has been eating zucchini, green beans, carrots, swt potatoes, potatoes, corn, apples, pasta, pears, chicken, roast beef, beans, graham crackers, puffs, cheerios, etc... She does take after Christian in that she does not like to eat the same things all the time, so it is very difficult to make her diet as varied as she'd like. I have a few new recipes I want to try soon, so hopefully she will like them.

Here are some pics from the last week:

Playing on the floor with Mazie (this pic wasn't even posed) .
Even though it doesn't look like it, Mazie was really enjoying herself.

Playing with her new "house." The balls are her favorite part.
You can also see that we have turned our buffet into a toy storage.

The door makes different noises when you open and close it.

Still has that ball!

Mom and Dad with Alexandra

My family at the First Communion

Cecilia loves Elijah's glasses

Mazie and Shadow at my parents' house while
Cecilia and I were in Dayton the other weekend.
(Christian was on a hiking trip with the boys)
The pic I just got her of sleeping on her tummy.
Yes, that is a paci in her mouth. We decided to let her
keep it for sleeping purposes only.