Puzzle time with Uncle Brian

Cecily loves the visits from my brother Brian. Brian is over at Berkeley law school and comes over every other week or so to hang out (and do laundry and get a hot dinner). Sometimes Cecily acts shy but she usually warms up pretty quickly. Brian is a great sport and will pretty much play any game she wants. Last week they did a Fancy Nancy puzzle together.

Piper 11 months old

Alice Summerthing

Greg won VIP tickets to the Summerthing concert in Speedway meadow. We took Cecily and Lauren over there but it didnt last long. It was too loud and they just didnt see the fun in the whole thing. So we took them home and then went back and enjoyed it ourselves. Its so nice that we are so close to the park for all the great concerts that go on all summer/fall. And the VIP was the only way to go!

New things

Piper is very close to walking. She is cruising on all the furniture and will let go and take a few steps. The most we have counted is 12 (or maybe 14) but they were little steps followed by a tumble. She is also saying "Oh Oh"-all the time. Over and over. She loves the oh-oh game of dropping things, looking down, and then saying oh-oh and giving us her winning smile.

Cecily is starting her summer activities. She had soccer camp last week, Stretch (Yoga and art) camp this week, next week she starts the Serra Preschool workshops. Trying to stay busy!

Happy Baby with her Daddy

Piper 10 months old

Piper is getting so close to walking! She loves to stand. She has let go and taken a step or two. She's also gotten some pretty big bumps on her head. She wants to be a big girl so badly, and I want her to stay a baby longer. Is that wrong of me? She is such a fun and happy little girl. She is very interested in toys and books (she points at the book and makes babbling noises, I think she thinks thats what I do when I read to Cecily).

At Cecily's vanity table

"petting" Luca ("gentle-gentle")

Recital

Cecily had her Ballet and Theatre class recital last night at the Herbst theater. She was a little bit nervous but had fun when she got there. All the little girls were giggling and running around as us moms dropped them off and hurried to our seats. Greg and Nana and Nono were there as well. We had flowers and gifts for her at the end.

In the theatre performance they dressed in smock dresses and pretended to scrub the floors while they sang "Hard Knock Life" and other songs from Annie.

Ready to go in her orphan outfit (for Annie)

The beautiful theatre

After the theatre performance


The ballet performance was precious. They danced to Swan Lake and linked arms and skipped around the stage. Cecily's partner was Stella.  All the girls looked like little cream puffs in their pastel tutus.

With Miss Tilly

Striking some poses



9 months

Piper at RAT beach-9 months

Our little cutie is 9 months old. Wow, time flies unbelievably fast. 9 months ago I gave birth to my beautiful little baby girl, and 9 months before that she was just being conceived. Piper is a strong, confident, happy baby. She is amazed with Cecily and it seems like she just cant wait to be as big and competent as her older sister. She is pulling up on everything and anything and her legs are getting stronger and more stable every day. She cruises around with her walker and looks so proud. Im not sure if she'll be an "early walker" (which I define as walking before a year) but she seems headed that way. She is so curious and is very interested in other people, especially children, and toys and books and "making music" (banging on things and singing/yelling). She is very snuggly and will give hugs and kisses freely. She is eating all sorts of interesting things now and likes most everything. If you eat something in front of her she will yell and try to grab it. She still likes to nurse (ALOT), and she still is sleeping in bed with us.

9 month stats:

Weight: 20 # 4oz

Height: 28 inches

Teeth: two, on the bottom

Walking with her walker at Gma/Gpa's

Disneyland

Oh my gosh we did it, we went to Disneyland. We were very resistent to doing this over the last couple of years for fear it would only lead to long lines and meltdowns, but we finally felt it was time. We kept it a big secret. We visited my parents for Easter so we planned our visit to the Happiest Place on Earth for the Tuesday after Easter. I hoped that the lines wouldnt be too long although it might still be spring break for some schools. We readied ourselves we sunscreen, a flexible plan for the day, and apps on my iPhone that showed wait times for the popular rides. On the car ride over there Cecily was very curious as to where we were going, we had only vaguely told her we were going on an adventure. Stuck in traffic we played "Im guessing of an animal" and I would guess a mouse and then say, "Just like Mickey Mouse" and Greg would do a duck and so on. When we were close enough to see signs for the exit we let her in on the secret.
 "Where do those animals/characters live?"
"Disneyland? Are we going to Disneyland? For real life?"
Before we even got in the park she wanted to make sure we were going to go again someday.
It was actually a great time. Cecily was beautifully behaved, just like a princess. Piper was good, ate, slept and enjoyed the few rides she went on. Cecily said her favorite ride was the GoGo Gadget coaster in Toon Town (she apparently likes thrill rides). Piper thouroughly enjoyed "Its a small world" and yelled out to all the dolls.

Very first ride at Disney-Alice in Wonderland

One of the highlights of the visit was the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique makeover. It is a little salon right next to Sleeping Beauty's castle where little girls can be transformed into the princess of their choice. Cecily picked Snow White because she didnt yet have that dress. She picked a hairstyle and crown and they did her makeup with lots of glitter. The hair was great because it stayed out of her face all day (and all the next day too, there was ALOT of hair spray). And Cecily loved that everywhere we went people oohed and ahhed and called her "Princess". Its a definite must for the girlie girls.

A little pixie dust from the Fairy Godmother in Training

Me & Piper waiting for Cecily's transformation



Cutie Pie



We quickly discovered we werent going to be able to avoid the "Character Meetings". This is the latest rage at Disneyland. Most of the characters dont randomly cruise the park the way they used to. Sure, I saw some second rate folks like Goofy and Captain Hook out and about but for the real celebrities you had to wait in a line to meet them. Cecily clung to her pink autograph book and waited very patiently to meet everyone. 

Twinsies

Rapunzel & Flynn Rider

 All in all it was a fun experience. Cecily was great, Piper was easy, the weather was perfect and the lines werent too bad. Im sure we will have many more Disney trips in our future.