Wacky Wine Wednesday!

I'm up and at 'em bright and early this morning. I don't know how, because I had an MNO last night and stayed out way past my bed time. Needless to say I had a blast and got to spend time with some really fun ladies. We went to a local art studio and painted our own wine glasses. The set up was great: wine, painting, good conversation and lots of laughter.

I am not the most artistic person so I kind of struggled to complete my finished product. It took a couple tries to get what I wanted and I think the finished product turned out really cute. We were painting for about two hours, which meant two hours of uninterrupted adult conversations! It was awesome and I think we all really need a night out, sans husbands and children.

A few of us headed to a local bar/restaurant for some appetizers and more drinks. The fun continued and we talked for at least another hour! Before I knew it, it was almost 11pm! Way, way, way past my bed time. I knew today would be rough, but it was well worth it. I can't wait for the next MNO with these lovely ladies!

The girls, hard at work.

Getting a little silly...

The finished products.

Melissa and I.

Love always,

Ian, Kim, Bella & Cecilia

Cecilia is 4-months-old TODAY!!!

The past month has been a busy one! Big sister Bella started school and CeCe Rose and I have been spending a lot of "mommy and me" time together. We're gearing up for our first family vacation soon and are very much looking forward to some fun in the sun. Happy 4-month "birthday" sweet CeCe Rose!

She won't have her 4-month well check until the 21st but, but here are some unofficial stats:

Height: about 26 inches (approximately, using my sewing tape measure)
**Official Height: 26 1/2" (98th percentile)**

Weight: about 16 pounds (approximately, I weigh myself and then weigh myself while holding her, not entirely accurate but close enough).
**Official Weight: 15 pounds 5 ounces (82nd percentile)**

Sleeping Pattern: I was truly blessed with two great sleepers! CeCe Rose goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps until about 5am, wakes up to eat and goes back to bed for another 3-4 hours. She cat naps in the morning and takes one long nap in the afternoon, in sync with her sister, I might add.

Eating Pattern: CeCe Rose is still nursing or taking a bottle of breast milk every 2.5-3 hours. She is very busy these days and easily distracted while eating... it's a bit of a challenge! We have decided to wait until 6-months to begin solids and will forgo the cereals to start with green veggies... yum!

Milestones: CeCe Rose is rolling and scooting all over the place. Whether it's in her crib or on her play mat, she never remains in the same spot any more. She is "talking" a lot more, too. She is now grasping things in her hands with a purpose. It's so much fun!

Friends: CeCe's crew of little friends include Zach, Tessa and Brynn and other friends from MOMS Club. Unfortunately Bella and CeCe will be saying another good-bye to our friends the Nelsons, friends of ours for about 2-years. 

Current Events: The Olympics in London (Michael Phelps won his 22nd medal, and now has 18 gold medals!), the upcoming RNC National Convention in Tampa (19 days away), early voting in Florida and the highly-debated Chick-Fil-A gay-marriage controversy. It's been a busy month!

Happy 4-Month Birthday, Cecilia Rose!

Love always,

Ian, Kim, Bella & Cecilia

Sniffles and fevers

It started with the sniffles for CeCe and has turned into a full blown cold for Bella. CeCe had the sniffles for a day or two, but it wasn't anything too severe. Bella on the other hand... she's got a funk and she's got it bad!

I received a call from school on Thursday afternoon that Bella had a temperature of 102! And that was taken under her arm. I quickly went to go pick her up and was greeted by a very tired looking Bella. Her teacher said that she hadn't been her usually perky little self and that she was VERY quiet. Anyone who knows Bella knows that she likes to talk and she talks A LOT, so this was very unusual. Her teacher decided to take her temperature after nap time and sure enough, she had a fever. This child is VERY rarely sick and she has never had a fever this high. I thought that I would have panicked more, but my instincts kicked in as soon as I heard she was sick.

When we got home from school, Bella was very tired and so we watched a movie on the couch together. By 7pm, she was ready for bed and went to bed without a peep. I had given her some Advil to help lower the fever and hopefully relieve any aches/pains she might have been experiencing. She slept the entire night and didn't get up until almost 8am the next day. We obviously kept her home from school so that she could rest and to keep our germs to ourselves. I knew it wouldn't be a "fun" day with a sick toddler, but we made the best of it. We watched movies, played games and even took a nap in our bed. Her temperature dropped to about 99.1 and I thought that maybe the worst was over... but I was wrong. Her fever was back to 102 by bed time and she was super cranky. We went with an early bedtime and prayed that she slept through the night. She woke up twice and ended up in bed with us around 4am because she was absolutely miserable in her crib. Needless to say, we are a bit sleep deprived today. Hopefully nap time goes well today.

Ian went into the office because he has a TON of work to do. It's the beginning of one of his busy seasons and he will be busy from now until mid-October. This definitely isn't my favorite time of year in terms of Ian's job. Late nights and early mornings make for long days for everyone. We manage to get through this every year, but this year will be the first time we'll be doing it with two kids.

My plan is to get Bella to rest for most of the weekend so that she can return to school on Monday. I hope her fever subsides and my little girl is back to her normal, sweet self soon enough. Plus, her days at this school are dwindling, so we want to make the most of her time left there. She is so close to being fully potty trained and I think another two weeks at this school will seal the deal. She had a completely dry day at school on Thursday and did surprisingly well at home with me yesterday. Having only one child in diapers will certainly make the accountant in our house happy!

Well, the girls will be up from their naps soon and Ian will be home from work. We'll be taking it easy tonight and probably veg out with a Disney movie of Bella's choice.

Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Cecilia