Birthday

Last Friday was my birthday. It was so much fun! Shaun took the whole day off and we went and played. My parents came down to watch Cecilia. I was a little nervous because it was the longest I've left her during the day. But she had a great time with grandpa and grandma Hadley and they spoiled her with lots of strawberries from their garden. They watched her while Shaun and I went horseback riding. It was the perfect day for it. Everything is still green and the weather was the perfect temp with just a few clouds in the sky. We went riding in a beautiful place through meadows with wildflowers and stands of trees while crisscrossing a stream. It felt so good to be out in nature. Plus it is a great thing to do here in Utah. After our ride we came home, changed clothes, kissed Cecilia, and ran off again. Shaun took me to Flemming's for dinner. It was so yummy, but definitely a special occasion place. Then to a movie to end the day. My parents put Cecilia to bed and she went down easily they say. I was really happy to hear that because besides me, only Shaun has put her down before and he has only done it a couple of times. It is a good feeling to know someone else can take care of her and I don't have to be close to run home and feed her or put her to bed. It was a great primer to leaving her overnight sometime soon.

It was the perfect day, besides the bug that crawled down my shirt and bit me. Although the other cars on the freeway may have enjoyed it because they got quite a show when I screamed and stripped right there driving down I-80. Luckily Shaun had a spare shirt in the car so it wasn't a show all the way home :) YEAH for Birthdays!

So close

Sunday's are a time when both Shaun and I are here and focused on Cecilia. She is usually in a good mood after church and we have a little bit of time to play before dinner and bed. Lately we have been working on her pulling herself up from a siting to standing position, or "cruising" along the couch which works her coordination of putting her weight from one foot to the other. She has done so well and became a pro after one or two sessions. Also last week she let go of one hand and will hold onto just one finger to walk. Even that isn't the death grip it used to be. So Sunday we decided to try to get her to walk between us. We have tried it before and she just sits down and cries, but we thought she might be ready for it this time. She took right to it and smiled huge and giggled the whole time. We had to hop on skype and show the grandparents, who were thrilled to see it. She isn't walking on her own yet, but I honestly think it isn't far away. Just needs a little more confidence, and to figure out how to get up there on her own better. Sorry for the poor placement of the video camera, it is more difficult with a tripod to get the right angle. But you get the idea.

Farr's Ice Cream stop

Katie and I took a trip down memory lane this weekend with a trip to Aesel Farr and Sons ice cream parlor in downtown Ogden. We both went there on special occaisons when we were growing up; me while on our annual summer vacation to Utah, often in my Grandpa Ritchie's big green monster of a truck. Katie would go after youth activities to the Ogden Temple. It had been at least 10 years since either of us had been to Farrs. We were on the way to the farm from a full day of family activities (mostly mine) including a memorial service for my late Grandpa Ritchie and a graduation swim party for a cousin on my mom's side. At roughly the same time, we both saw a distant Farr's Ice Cream sign and we knew we had to go. I don't think they've changed the green paint in here for at least 30 years! Apparently, we were too enamored with our sugar cones to snap a pic of the actual ice cream!

End of an Era

Tomorrow Cecilia will be 14 months old. Whew! Today marks a landmark, we stopped nursing. Done, no more, the end. On one hand it is a little sad, the end of an era. On the other, it is really exciting! I can leave her for a whole day and not have to be close to run home. Woman's weekend this fall? No problem! Plus I don't have to worry about how much I'm eating or drinking. I get more done in the day because I'm not stuck in a chair for 20-40 minutes 4 times a day. That is a lot of time if you think about it!

The whole weaning process took much less time than I thought. I think Cecilia could tell it was time and I was certainly ready for it. I had a goal of August. But it was only about a month from start to finish. Let's just hope she continues to go down easily for naps as that was the last feeding to be dropped and I really worried she wouldn't take one without falling asleep before putting her in the crib. But today she went down just fine. Keep your fingers crossed it continues :)