'Twas the night before Easter

Around here, Easter holds a very special place in our hearts. On Easter 2010, I woke up in the middle of the night and soon realized I was in labor . Our Isabella Eve was delivered, 12 hours later, the day after Easter. On Easter 2012, I woke up on Easter Sunday, began getting ready for church and yelled down to Ian, "Hey Ian? I think my water broke, but I'm going to take a shower and shave my legs first." Just 5 short hours later, Cecilia Rose was born on Easter Sunday.

Two of the most amazing gifts God has given me will always have a special connection with Easter. Whether or not either of the girls' birthdays actually fall on Easter Sunday, I will always remember where I was on Easter 2010 and Easter 2012.

Happy Easter!

Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & CeCe

CeCe Rose is 11-months-old TODAY!!!

Someone is happy about their new Tom's!

Now standing and walking... sometimes.

Happy. All. The. Time.

Oh my, time is quickly passing before my very eyes and my sweet CeCe Rose is now 11-months-old today. It's hard to believe that this time 365-days ago, I was miserably pregnant, suffering from yet another pregnancy with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy and counting down the days until my due date, from the comfort of an ice cold bath tub or our pool. Little did I know the little girl inside of me would be my sweet CeCe Rose. 

CeCe doesn't have a check up until next month, so here are her unofficial 11-month stats:

Height: approximately 29 inches (she can still fit into 6-12 month clothing, but can also fit into 12-18 month clothing, depending upon the brand). 

Weight: approximately 20 pounds (she can be quite the load to carry these days)

Sleeping Pattern: CeCe's routine has been a bit off recently. She will go to bed as early as 7:30pm or as late as 8:45pm, it all really depends upon her naps during the day. She will nap in the morning as early as 9am or as late as 10:30am. Sometimes her afternoon nap will be as early as 2:30pm or as late as 3:30pm. She's still a good little sleeper and will put herself to sleep, with her trusty thumb and blanket. 

Eating Pattern: CeCe still eats about 4.5-5 ounces of breast milk every 3-hours. She hasn't nursed since January and I'm totally okay with that, except that I'm married to my breast pump. Breast feeding, is a tiring and thankless job at times. She is eating solids three times a day and we are still working on the whole sippy cup thing. Hopefully by her 1st birthday, she will be totally off the bottle and breast milk. I cannot wait for sippy cups and whole milk!

Milestones: Just two days shy of her 11-month "birthday", CeCe took three steps! She will walk all around the room when you hold her hand, but will only take 2-3 steps on her own. I have a feeling that she will be walking by her 1st birthday. She has also started waving "hello" and "bye-bye." She enjoys waving at strangers especially. She still says "da-da", "ma-ma", "Bellllllllll-a" and has recently started saying "hi." She now has a total of seven teeth, four on the top and three on the bottom. Her sister now enjoys singing the song "Cecilia" by Simon and Garfunkel to her and it brings the biggest smile to CeCe's face. Both girls were recently asked to do some modeling for a children's clothing company, but we had to decline because CeCe has the sniffles and Ian is knee deep in tax returns and memos. 

Friends: The usual friends, Kaylee, Avery, Evan and Connor. I really need to socialize CeCe with more kids her own age and I'm going to make a point of it.

Current Events: The Pope has decided to retire and a new Pope will be elected. Hugo Chavez (president of Venezuela) passed away this week. A sink hole swallowed a man alive last week in Seffner, just 5-6 miles from our house. The mid-Atlantic was prepared for a HUGE snow storm that never happened and it's been unseasonably cold here in Florida.

Happy 11-Month Birthday, Cecilia Rose!

Love always,

Ian, Kim, Bella & CeCe