Cecelia at Eighteen Months

Cece is a year and a half. I know I say this at every update, but honestly, I can't imagine it getting better. This is a great age. She's so busy, this kid. Always on the go. Running, climbing, dancing, talking. She has a strong personality and isn't afraid to "stand her ground" as her teachers at her new "school" like to say. Hum, I wonder where she gets that from? =)

Girlfriend is a blond hair, blue eyed wonder. With all the time we spend outdoors, her hair seems to be getting blonder and blonder. If her facial features didn't look so much like ours, I figure people might wonder if she actually belongs to us. Her hair is getting pretty long these days but she won't let me put a hair tie in it and forget about a clip or bow. She's a Tom Boy all the way, this one. I don't think she's worn a dress but once in her whole life. It never really felt right. Pretty soon she'll be making her own wardrobe decisions though and she can have her own say in that matter.

Cece never goes anywhere without Doggie. As you can see in these pictures, he is literally an extra appendage on this kid. One time, Doggie was left at Nana's. Girlfriend didn't sleep for 36 hours until he made it home. Needless to say we went out and bought two more Doggies soon after that incident. She is still loyal to the original, but the substitutes seems to appease her in desperate situations.

Last month Cece started "school." She goes three times a week and it has been great for her. She loves her teachers and her new friends. Her language skills have really taken off in the past month, too. She probably has 30ish words she says on a regular basis. She's been putting multiple words together recently too and will repeat a word back to you when you ask her to. It doesn't always sound like the actual word, but it's a good start. Lately her favorite word has been "no." Or, more like, "no, no, no, no, nooooo." As is, "Cece do you want to take a nap?" "No." "Cece, it's time to get dressed." "No." "Cece, can you pick up the food you just flung across the room?" "Nooooo!" Awesome.

At her 18 month check up Cece weighed 22 pounds, 6 ounces. Not breaking any records but she gained almost 2.5 pounds since her 15 month appointment so that's something. At school, her class made yearbooks to mark the end of the school year and one of Cece's superlatives was "most likely to become a model." Ha. I have a lot of feelings about this (how about scientist? engineer? mathematician?) but in any case, I'm pretty sure Cece will be the shortest model in history if she lives up to her title.

Let's see, what else? She's sleeping great these days, usually giving us a solid 12 hours a night. She has 8ish teeth, it's hard to tell because she hates when we put our fingers in there. Her tongue is almost always sticking out of her mouth, especially when she's concentrating on something. Her love for animals runs deeps. Especially dogs, although, she is mostly ambivalent towards Summit. As far as we can tell, she is not afraid of anything, especially things that move fast, are high off the ground, make loud noises, bark, purr or even hiss at her. She is a tough kid. Hardly cries for shots. Almost always is sporting at least one skinned knee. Loves water. Eats everything. Including dirt. We love this kid. Happy year and a half Miss Cecelia!