Cecily is the happiest person I know.

And it's totally infectious. :)

P.S. For better video quality, click settings on the bottom of the video and choose 1080p HD.

Tonight

Tonight we went out to diner with friends. We went to our usual Monday-night pizzeria near our house. We always walk, and Cecily falls asleep on the way and stays asleep through dinner.

We got her dressed up all cute.

And then we headed out.

Our two friends were there when we arrived, but Cecily wasn't quite asleep. There was a 40-minute wait though, so the five us decided to walk down to a coffee shop to kill time and help Cecily fall asleep (she likes to sleep on the go).

She fell asleep about 15 minutes into the walk, but when we got back to the restaurant, guess who was up again??! Our table was ready so we all sat down, and Cecily entertained herself by staring at stuff and chewing on her thumb for awhile.

I wanted to get her out of the stroller before she lost it so I laid out her changing pad on the bench and pulled her out. She will happily lay on a bench while we're out at restaurants so everything was great... until I smelled something.

She no longer poops every day so when she does - IT IS SERIOUS. This restaurant is tiny, and only has one bathroom with no changing table. So I laid out a bunch of paper towels on the bathroom floor and put her changing pad on top of it. I laid her down (on top of even more paper towels... I'm telling you - her dirty diapers are serious) and got to work.

Once I was done I looked at the back of her (brand-new, adorable, oh-so-cute) onesie and saw that there was a lovely blob of poo right in the middle of the back. Off that came! I scrubbed it in the sink with water and hand soap as well as I could. Then I dressed her in her tights, shoes, and headband because I didn't take her diaper bag with me to the restroom. I really should have taken a picture. It was hilarious. Everyone was looking at me funny on my way back to our table. We ended up having a clean onesie in the diaper bag so she didn't have to spend dinner naked. I got pizza sauce on that onesie.

By this point, she had been at the restaurant for about 40 minutes, and she was no longer into laying on the bench. So I let her sit in my lap as I somehow managed to eat all of my dinner (with a fork and knife) in about six minutes flat.

Then she decided that it was her turn to eat. So I nursed her in public, which I don't totally love doing. It's fine, but my nursing cover is cumbersome, and we had never been out to dinner with this couple before (they're church friends), so I didn't want to weird them out. Also, Cecily likes to struggle and scream when I nurse her in public. She doesn't like being covered. Dessert came out while I was still feeding her, and that tiramisu was calling my name so I ate while she ate. I don't usually like to do this because food makes me feel sick while I'm nursing.

After eating, she spit up all over both of us.

It was an eventful evening.

But she was a trooper.

She only cried for a total of maybe two minutes, and we were out for about three and a half hours.

And I was a trooper too. I did all of that and managed to have grown-up conversation with our friends (while bouncing a baby on my knee). I felt like Supermom by the end of the night. A very tired Supermom.

05/52

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

Cecily: 15 weeks. Watching the game with Daddy. Her first Super Bowl. She's a niners fan.

Lately

I went to the grocery store tonight without Cecily. I'm not used to being separated from her, and it makes me a little spacey. I knocked over an entire display of crackers. I also told the cashier that I wasn't used to being apart from my daughter. Then my cheeks got all hot, and I swear I felt my eyes pricking with tears. WHAT is wrong with me??

I was sick for the past week even though I wash my hands like a crazy person and regularly avoid sick people. I think I'm better now? Maybe? Hopefully? I've been downing raw honey and cinnamon, and whatever this bug is, it hasn't completely knocked me down yet. I've just been feeling semi-blah. (Btw, I learned that most cinnamon you can buy at grocery stores isn't "real" cinnamon. "Real" cinnamon is called ceylon cinnamon. It's sweeter and is better for you if you're taking it for medicinal purposes. Who knew??)

(Sick Momma means lots of snuggle time.)

Cecily hasn't caught it yet (KNOCK ON WOOD), but Levi has had a fever since last night. Poor guy. He couldn't go to work today. It's a bummer.

I've been watching Parks and Recreation non-stop for the past few days. I never thought it was funny until now. I started on season one and am all caught up now... I told you it was non-stop. Leslie Knope 2016!!

Before getting into bed tonight, I leaned over Cecily's crib to check on her. She was sleeping very peacefully. I put my hand on her chest to say good night, and she gave the sweetest little smile in her sleep. And then my heart exploded into 10,000 tiny pieces.

We've been eating at the same Neopolitan pizza restaurant every Monday for the past few weeks. They have a special every Monday night (buy any pizza, get a margherita pizza for free). Their pizza is sooooo good, and their tiramisu is amazing too. It's a mile or two from our house, so we put Cecily in her stroller and walk to the restaurant. It's a beautiful walk near the water, and Cecily usually falls asleep on the way. I don't see myself getting sick of this Monday night tradition any time soon.

Cecily has been holding her arm up with her wrist bent backwards when she eats lately. I thinks it's completely endearing and adorable. I love watching her eat. No one enjoys their food as much as a baby enjoys her milk.



On Wednesday, Cecily projectile vomited about two feet in the air. It looked like a fountain and scared the life out of me. the bed was soaked, and I was covered in spit up. She projectile vomits pretty frequently because of her acid reflux, but it had never been like this before. I was terrified so I called Levi, who was just getting to work, and told him we had to take Cecily to the doctor and to come home right away (yep, I'm a total first-time mom, and I don't even feel a little bad about it). We were able to get an appointment at noon. Cecily was totally fine. Her doctor (who I LOVE, by the way) said she probably just gagged on her spitup so it came shooting out. I felt SO much better knowing that everything was okay, and we ended up having a nice little day as a family down in Newport Beach.


(the puddle of spitup is on the white sheets too - it soaked down through two down comforters to the mattress; sorry for the spitup photo, but it's just milk. ;)

For being such a good girl at the doctor and for working so hard on getting strong neck muscles, we rewarded Cecily with a bumbo. She loves it. Seeing her sit in it is the cutest thing ever.



I'm totally over losing all of my hair. I didn't have that much to start with!! It started at two months post-partum. Please stop soon, hair! Pleeeease. I'm also breaking out like crazy. But I've decided to stop freaking out over these things and just take good care of my skin and hair. Even if it doesn't look the way I want it to.

I found a baby picture of myself the other day, and I couldn't believe how much it looked like Cecily! She makes this face all the time! I think I was around seven/eight months here:



We tried out Cecily's regular stroller seat this week (we've been using her carseat and bassinet so far), and she LOVES it. She doesn't fuss when we strap her in it at all!

I've been following along with She Reads Truth in my daily Bible studies. We're going through a plan called Soul Detox right now, and it's incredible. It's really challenging me in the ways I think and speak.

Today, Cecily and I went to the park to meet up with one of my friends and her 7-month old little girl. Aren't they cute?? They're both wearing headbands from my shop.



Cecily can hardly open her eyes outside. Even in the shade. It's pretty funny. I'm the exact same way. I need sunglasses when it's dark and rainy outside. My eyes are so sensitive to light.

I found a video of myself dancing this week, and it made me kinda sad. I miss dancing a lot. I watched it in bed about a million times and cried that night when I should have been sleeping.

Cecily slept a very peaceful nine and a half hours last night, woke up, ate, stayed up for about 45 minutes, and then we all went back to sleep for another three hours. It was glorious. She's such a great sleeper. And a happy girl.





And that's lately! I love my people. And my life. :)

Three Months

Cecily turned three months old last week!

We didn't do anything to celebrate because she was wiped out all day. She even took a two and a half hour nap on my chest in the bedroom... I didn't think she'd sleep that long. Ha!

At Cecily's last doctor's appointment (on 10 January), she weighed 13 pounds 1 ounce and measured at 24.5 inches long. Her height was in the 95th percentile, weight was in the 70th percentile, and head was in the 50th percentile (as usual).

Cecily sleeps nine hours each night. She usually goes to bed around 11:00 p.m., wakes up around 8:00 a.m., eats, and takes a 1-3 hour nap around 9:00 a.m. (oh, how I wish that nap was more consistent!). She's starting to sleep less during the day now (still frequently but for shorter chunks). Her daytime naps are sometimes only 30 minutes long (ugh), but she has gotten a lot better at putting herself to sleep during the day. She's still awesome at falling asleep on her own at bedtime. She's still sleeping swaddled, but we'll probably start weaning her from the swaddle soon. I'm dreading this, but I'm really paranoid about her learning to roll over while she's swaddled and sleeping (sooooo unlikely, I know).

At three months, Cecily:

• laughs in her sleep.

• HATES hats but doesn't mind headbands.

• has started smiling at and noticing herself in the mirror.

• is getting better at holding her head up but still isn't quite there yet.

• rocks back and forth on her back.

• smiles A LOT.

• talks all the time and mimics us.

• loves when we talk to her and especially loves when Momma speaks her "language."

• works on sucking her thumb constantly. She gets it in there frequently but doesn't like when I try to help her. I think she'll be a true thumbsucker next month.

• is starting to drool a lot. Boooo! I don't like bibs.

• is looking like she will definitely have blue eyes (yay for Momma's genes!).

• still likes hanging out on her changing pad on the bed. She loves to stare at the ceiling fan.

• loves playing on her activity mat.

• has started screaming. In her sleep. When she's mad. When she's really hungry and I switch sides while nursing.

• is pretty great at going out with us and doesn't mind spending all day out of the house, which is a requirement for being my child. ;) This girl spends lots of time at coffee shops and likes to sit on my lap now when we're having coffee.

• is frequently referred to as my "twin." I don't see it, but I love hearing it!

• shakes her head back and forth when she's tired.

• has the most heartbreaking pouty face. Her lower lip trembles, and she sticks it out right before she starts crying. It breaks Momma's heart but makes Daddy laugh.

Cecily's nicknames at three months 

(in addition to last months, which are all still in the rotation):

• princess

• s'muffin

• bunny

• honey toast