29 July, 2013

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30:52

"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Cecily: 40 weeks. She's such a little gem. Especially when she's sleeping.


20 July, 2013

29/52


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"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Cecily: 39 weeks. Me and my fountain-loving babe at the Hyatt last weekend. Cecily took her first dip in a swimming pool at the hotel and loved it. She may not like the ocean, but she's certainly a water baby.


P.S. My girl is nine months today. Practically a little old lady.


19 July, 2013

Fountain Girl


Cecily is a major fountain lover (so am I), so whenever we're around one, we stop and take a look. 

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^^ the best is her squeal at the end ^^

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Apparently, we go to lots of places with fountains. This is just from the last week or two. Having a baby makes you slow down and enjoy life more.


Crossing the Border


Last Wednesday, Cecily and I had the car for the day so we picked Levi up from work a little after 7:00 with plans to go to the mall for dinner. It was drizzly and cool, and we were all in good moods so we spontaneously decided to head to Border Grill in Santa Monica instead!

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^^ silly & daddy paying the meter ^^

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^^ dressing silly up as mother mary... or something? ^^

We ate a zillion chips with the best salsa then shared a chicken quesadilla and a sweet corn tamale. That chicken quesadilla was something else. Best flour tortilla I've had in my life. If you ever get the chance to go to Border Grill... go! It's delicious.

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^^ our attempt at a family photo in a dark restaurant with a baby ^^

After dinner, it was lightly sprinkling and we felt like a little walk, so we headed over to the promenade. Everything was starting to close, but I really wanted dessert so we found a little crêpe café. I got a cinnamon-sugar crêpe (my favorite), and it was perfect.

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Then we headed home! It was such a fun impromptu weeknight outing! Totally necessary in the summertime.

I love my little family of three. :)


13 July, 2013

28/52


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"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Cecily: 38 weeks. With her sippy straw cup yesterday afternoon. I don't know what it is about Veggie Tales, but she loves it. I'm happy to have found something that she's content to sit and watch on her own for a good little chunk of time. Thank you, Dave and the Giant Pickle. Also, she can drink from a straw now!!


Linking up with Jodi.


12 July, 2013

27/52


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"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Cecily: 37 weeks. Just trying out some headphones with Daddy at the Apple Store.


Linking up with Jodi.


Another First :\


Cecily fell off the bed today, about an hour ago. She's fine, but I still feel like I'm going to die. I left her lying on her back (btw, lay vs. lie - so confusing) in the middle, but more towards the right side, of our king size bed, went to the living room to get it set up for her nap, heard a clunk, and ran back there just as she started screaming. I found her lying on face down in a frog-like position with her arms up and my cell phone on the ground at the end of the bed on the left side. ??? She was obviously after my phone (SO mad at myself for leaving it in there since it's the number one Silly-tempter), but I seriously don't know how she got there. She can't sit up on her own or crawl yet (to my knowledge anyway), so I'm guessing that she rolled to my phone, knocked it onto the floor, and then ended up sliding off the bed to the floor while lying on her stomach reaching for the phone. So maybe the fall wasn't that bad. I'm so glad our bed is fairly low and not one of those ones you need a stepladder to get on.

It was terrifying. I scooped her up immediately and held her close as I started checking all her limbs. She calmed down pretty quickly, and then she was just sort of silent and watching me for a couple minutes, which scared the CRAP out of me. I called Levi at work and put him on FaceTime so he could see her, and she started smiling and talking to him. I gently squeezed every part of her body - no problems or negative reactions from her. I got her to track my cell phone just fine. No bumps, red marks, scratches, bleeding, etc. So I guess she's fine even if I'm not!

She's napping now, and I keep psychotically checking her every 12 seconds to make sure she's breathing.

So yeah, that was probably my scariest parenting moment yet. I guess I need to start leaving her on the floor when I have to leave the room for a minute... let the babyproofing begin!


11 July, 2013

Apparently, I relate to 11-year-olds.


The question of the day in my 5-year q&a diary today asked which literary character I would be, and I think I actually figured it out!

I would be totally be Harriet M. Welsch.

She gets very obsessive and hyper-focused/fixated (you don't even want to know what I've spent the last three hours doing). She likes to wear the same thing every day. She likes to eat the same things over and over. She is very attached to her closest people. She's kinda bossy and likes things done her way... :\  She's really snoopy and sleuthy and kind of a stalker.

Yep. Just call me Harriet the Spy.

Funny that I've read this book 10-15 times since I was eight years old, and I'm just now realizing this.


Who would you be?


10 July, 2013

At the library


Last Tuesday morning (the 2nd), Levi and I took Cecily to the Central Library in Huntington Beach. We were trying to make it to toddler story time (even though she doesn't toddle), but we got there late and the story time room was so packed that I swear it was steamy in there.

So we had our own story time! I randomly chose a picture book off one of the shelves. The title was something about Sybil and a blue bunny or a sick day. I don't know. It was a really weird book, but I like weird things and Cecily isn't picky.

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^^ pretty sure those boobs up there are trying to take over the world. sorry! ^^

If it's safe, I like to let Cecily sit on the floor when we go places (during response time at the end of church, you can almost always find Silly on the floor). Even though she isn't crawling yet, I like her to feel free to explore her immediate surroundings. I can see Levi and I naturally starting to build the "cadre" for Cecily already. It's interesting to see how our innate parenting styles are coming out as Cecily grows.

Anyway, Cecily really enjoyed sitting on the floor for a bit and pulling books off the shelves. When she's older, I'll teach her how to put them back in order. ;)

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After hanging out in the children's section for awhile, we introduced Cecily to the rest of the library while I shared stories and memories from all my times there as a child, adolescent, and teenager. I really love that library. It's so beautiful. I hope they never update it. It's so midcentury and cool! I love all the fountains and water everywhere. It makes me feel peaceful.

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^^ these two are so sweet together. ^^

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We couldn't check out any books this time because we don't have non-resident library cards yet (I'm sorry, Long Beach, but your libraries are not the best), but I bought some old Martha Stewart Living and Whole Living magazines for a quarter each... did you know that Whole Living is no more?? I'm so sad about this. I loved that magazine.

So that was Silly's first visit to the library! The first of many. Levi and I really want to help her develop a love of books, reading, and storytelling so we will certainly be back!


To the beach!


We did one of the things on our summer list yesterday: we took Cecily to the beach in Huntington. It was... interesting.

She had woken up from her nap on the wrong side of the rocker seat. So much crankiness. But we went anyway! After driving around the parking lot looking for parking forever (this whole having to pay to park to go to the beach thing is soooo weird to me having grown up a block away), we coated ourselves in sunscreen, dragged all of our crap (blanket, towel, backpack, baby tent thingie, umbrella, etc.) out of the car, and began our trek to the water.

First stop: strips at Dwight's! Of course!

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^^ reaching for the strips. smart girl. ^^

I really wanted to eat on the sand because it's more fun that way so we added two boxes of food to our haul.

After setting up our blanket and umbrella (and making an attempt at setting up the borrowed baby circus tent thingie), we ate.

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Cecily really liked strips (the cheese and the sauce part anyway)! She liked them so much that she didn't really let me enjoy them because she demanded bites every two seconds! Haha! This girl loves to eat! We're working on patience right now... as much as you can with an 8-month-old anyway!

After eating, we put on Silly's Esther Williams swim cap and took her to the water. By the way, I bought this suit for her last summer while I was pregnant. I couldn't resist that swim cap. She looks like a little tomato head.

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^^ she looks like a squinty old man in all the pictures. it was BRIGHT. ^^

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^^ "i hate it, momma. i hate it!" ^^


^^ choose "original" under the settings for the best quality! ^^

This was her second time touching the ocean, and she still hated it. Haha! Poor girl! We tried for awhile after taking pictures and video, but she kept making these miserable little groaning sounds. She looooves water, but I guess she prefers it warm and not freezing cold/filled with sand/rushing at her.

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^^ "save me, daddy!!" ^^

After our "swim," she was totally over the whole beach thing so we left. I think we were there for about 20ish minutes. Haha!

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^^ she fell asleep nursing in the car. she was so tired that she didn't even wake up when i put her in her car seat. this never happens! poor sleepy babe! ^^

Oh well. We tried it! Even though we live so close, we probably won't go back to the beach until she's old enough to actually enjoy it. I'm sure she'll be a total beach girl next summer. :)


05 July, 2013

Our Summer


I don't like summer anymore.

It's hot and dry. I hate feeling hot and dry. Our neighbors drink a lot during the summer. They can drink all they want... I guess. But they tend to get very loud at very late hours when they drink. I like to sleep. And I go to bed at 9:30. The sun is up for longer, which means more opportunities to get sunburned. I don't like sunburns. Also, slathering a baby in sunscreen is not my favorite pastime. Clothing options are dresses, skirts, or shorts. I only have two dresses that fit me right now, zero skirts fit me right now, and I don't have the money to replace my wardrobe. This means shorts. I don't like wearing shorts.

So yeah. I have many reasons for disliking summer. I'm a cooler weather person. I live for cool, overcast days. I feel filled to the brim with energy on those days. Hot, sunny, sweaty days deplete me.

I swear I'm not a vampire.

Anyway, I don't like dreading an entire season. I don't want to feel totally negative until the temperatures start dropping again. And it's Cecily's first summer! I want it to be good for her. SO I made a list. When in doubt, go with a list. Always.

My list consists of activities for our family to enjoy this summer. Activities to help me make the most (and best) of summertime. Here it is:

our summer

This summer, the Myerses will:

• take Cecily to the beach in Huntington.
• go on a day trip to San Diego/La Jolla.
• go on a day trip to Santa Barbara and maybe take Cecily to the zoo there.
• have weekly picnics at the park by our house (these picnics can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, cupcake, or whatever picnics).
• set up a kiddie pool in the front of our house for Silly to play in for thirty minutes or so.
• take Cecily to the Huntington Beach Central library regularly and read to her every day.
• try out storytime at the library.
• get a non-resident library card in H.B. (I just really really love the Central library in Huntington... it's been my favorite since I was little).
• finger paint.
• make milkshakes.
• make grilled pizza.
• try Handsome Coffee.


Hopefully, I will document these activities on my blog! I know I'll take pictures, but putting them on here and actually writing something is another story entirely...

Okay, summer. I'm ready for you. Be easy on me, and don't overstay your welcome.



Eight Months


8 months

Cecily turned eight months on Thursday, 20 June.


At eight months, Cecily:

• waves hello.

• is always scratching at her diaper or pulling at the tabs. So grateful for diaper covers.

• is such an adventurous eater! She loves artichokes dipped in balsamic vinegar and tomatillo soup. She also really likes peach yogurt. And she may have had a taste of Momma's soft serve ice cream and LOVED it.

• still loves music. Her favorite song is still "I'll Fly Away" by Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch.

• has to stop in the middle of nursing to sit up for no apparent reason.

• thinks laying down is lame and likes to nurse sitting up.

• loves to hold things she's eating, and if you try to take them away, she will scream bloody murder.

• frequently needs to hold my face to fall asleep at night. And when she stirs, she searches for me in the dark. As soon as she finds my hands or face, she settles and falls back asleep.

• whines frequently but only to Momma. I'm the complaint department.

• loves getting her thumb stuck in the nipple of her didi.

• claws at my face while trying to fall asleep.

• rolls around A LOT in the falling asleep process. She would just keep rolling and rolling in the same direction and fall off the bed if I didn't stop her. She also likes to get on her stomach, forcefully slam her head against my brow bone, and fall asleep while resting her head on my face. Super cozy.

• dances when I sing "dance, dance! Cecily will dance!" or "wiggle wiggle wiggle. wiggle wiggle wiggle."

• waves bye bye.

• is starting to say hi.

• coughs for fun.

• babbles A LOT. Her babbles are starting to sound more like words.

• has officially outgrown her infant car seat and is now in her awesome convertible car seat. It's like a throne!

• loves being doted on and talked to.

• hates being ignored and hates when I leave the room. HATES it.

• begs for food while we're eating.


New nicknames:

• toot-toot


three / 52


1:52

a 1

52 project

Cecily - 01/52: 11 weeks. Lounging in front of the Christmas tree. She was annoyed when I picked her up.
            17/52: 27 weeks. Enjoying a Vivian Maier exhibit.
           20/52: 30 weeks. So many times throughout the day, I clutch my heart and say, "OH. I love her                 SO MUCH." She is so beautiful. So sweet. So perfect. So funny. So so so so so lovely.

These are my three favorite portraits of Cecily from the first half of the year. It was hard deciding (week 4 was verrrry close to making it in the top three). Funnily enough, I took all three of these with my iPhone. I initially started out wanting to use my Nikon and improve my manual shooting skills, but if you can take beautiful photos with a camera that fits in your pocket and weighs next to nothing, why not?

Looking over the past 26 weeks through portraits of Cecily just solidifies what I have already learned - nothing makes time go more quickly than having a baby. Cecily has grown and changed so much, and I have too. I have learned so much about myself through becoming her mother. And this is only the beginning.


26/52


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"A portrait of my child once a week, every week, in 2013."

Cecily: 36 weeks. We took her to the library for the first time this week. The library I loved as a girl! She enjoyed pulling books off the shelves and listening to Momma read a story. I really hope to help her develop a love of reading, books, and storytelling.


Linking up with Jodi. This week marks the halfway point of the year (and this project)! I can't believe I've stuck with this so long... even though I haven't really been blogging anything else (even though I have tons of posts swimming in my head and on my hard drive). I'm also going to be sharing my three favorite portraits from the year later on... hopefully, this afternoon. :)
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