Cecilia Prayers - Dinner and Bedtime

More audios of Cecilia praying....we just can't get enough of that little voice!

Bless Us O Lord

Rosary Excerpt- Kind of long...but so worth it!

Caught in the act

Cecilia knows that she isn't supposed to goof around on the couch. Couches are for sitting, and in Papa's case, sleeping :) But sometimes she like to play on the arms of the couch, stand up, etc. This time her goofing around got her into a bit of a jam.

She knew she was in trouble, but Matt wanted to take a picture before she went in time out.

That can't be comfortable.

Meanwhile, Miriam just played at the music table. She is getting so much better already!

Moving on up!

Miriam is getting so much better at crawling I can hardly believe how quickly she has progressed. But today, we had another surprise....Miriam pulling herself up onto her knees!

The girls were playing at the music table and I took a look to find this:

Can you believe it?!?!?! She is only 8 1/2 months old! I don't think Cecilia did this for at least another 2 months! I was kinda in shock.

She is such a big girl! Walking is just around the corner. I know it!

This was the video I caught of her trying again. A little shaky but awesome!

Cecilia being Cecilia

Today I went to the restroom for a second and came out to find Cecilia looking like this:

She wasn't sitting on the chair, but she was standing in the living room all decked out. She had found her sunglasses and put on her "rina skirt" all by herself. In order to get a picture, I had to have her sit down. So funny! I think her shirt explains it all!

Sisters' Bath!

We needed to give both girls a bath tonight, and since Mir is sitting up a lot better nowadays, we decided to just throw both of them in together and see what happened. It worked out great! Mir was a little shaky and scared every now and then, but with her big sister's help, she was just fine.

"Hey Mimi! Isn't the bath fun?"

Sissy's!

Trip to the Zoo

The weather hasn't been the best lately (I know, I know, at least we don't have a foot of snow and sub-zero temps) so we haven't been able to do much outside. However, it was warm and sunny once again and the girls and I went to the zoo with some friends. We don't have any group shots, but the girls and I walked around a bit ourselves as we thought we would stay a bit longer.

Thanks Aunt Laura, Lou, and GeGe for our Zoo pass!

Cecilia looking at the ducks and an animal that looks like a giant guinea pig.

I forgot what it is called.

Mir looking to and wanting to get out of the stroller.

P.S. Mir's outfit was given to us by Auntie Amy. We definitely received compliments on how cute it was! Way to go Mir! Thanks Amy!

Cecilia smiling for the camera.

Looking at the Flamingos on the way out.

One leg or two? Can't tell!

Flower Girls!

Not too long ago, we were VERY excited to hear that Matt's brother Ben and his girlfriend, Corey got engaged! We are so glad that Corey is going to be a part of the Hale clan!

The have chosen August 28, 2010 as the big day!

We received this in the mail today:

Cecilia isn't too sure what it means to be a flower girl, but when I asked her if she wanted to be a flower girl she said, "Um hmm," in her Cecilia way. Since then Matt and I have talked to her about wearing a pretty dress, holding flowers, walking down the big isle in church...etc.

Of course we replied with a whole-hearted YES! We are so honored to be a part of your day!

Thanks Corey and Ben! Congratulations!

FINALLY a walk outside....

Today was the first day that it was actually warm enough to get out and go for a walk! Of course we probably could have done it sooner, although I have found that time outside when it is too cold leads to weeks of runny noses! I, like most, am not a fan of the runny nose!

Cecilia and Mir pose for a picture!

Still wearing our jackets, but look at that sun! Cecilia soaking in the rays!

Another Milestone...Another Carseat

Miriam is growing like a weed. I have never seen a child grow so quickly...maybe her sister shot up this quickly and I just don't remember, but golly, time has gone by fast. Mir has officially outgrown the infant seat height-wise and needed to move to a larger rear facing seat.

Shopping for a toddler booster is not one of the most fun things I have ever done. I mean, there are a ton of seats out there and everyone wants you to buy theirs. Then you check the National Highway and Safety Commission....they actually suggest that you don't buy certain seats! Then there are recalls, then there are the ridiculously expensive ones. We finally made a decision.

What does that mean? That Cecilia is now the proud owner of the Graco Nautilus in pink and grey. I was proud of Matt that he let us get the girly one. Hopefully we will never have to buy another car seat for Cecilia again, considering this one fits up to 100 lbs. I think she will be in like 8th grade by the time she is 100 lbs. I hope she isn't still in a car seat then. We got a sweet deal on it at Target and haven't looked back since. I love this seat! Ah, the little things in life.

Papa handing Cecilia a "people" that she can stick in the storage compartment in the arm.

Notice there is also a cup holder in the arm rest. These things are getting pretty fancy!

I tried to get her to look at me....

Still wouldn't do it.....

With her cup and her people.

And finally she looked at me! She played in that seat all day, until Matt finally put it in the car. She was so proud of her big girl chair! We're proud of her too!

Bye Bye Christmas Tree

Since the Christmas season is officially over, we decided to take down our Christmas tree and other household decorations. Some families have everything down by the following weekend, but we celebrate the traditional Catholic season of Christmas, ending with the celebration of The Baptism of the Lord. Cecilia was completely distraught that her Christmas tree was "naked" meaning without ornaments anymore, and then it got worse when she found out we were taking it down. I am pretty sure we heard, "No more Christmas tree....all done. Wait until next year, " about 1000 times that day. So sad.

Here she is next to the tree and the empty tubs.

Look at that sad face! Don't worry Cecilia, it will be back next year.

Sweatsuit Day!

Auntie Steph got us these adorable sweat suits when we were visiting up in Chicago. Who knew they would be used so much down here this year?!?! And slippers too! Geesh. We have had so many cold days....temperatures down to 28 degrees! That is COLD for Florida! But it is going to break soon....I just want to get out of the house and to the park!

Mir looking cute and "praying" her Rosary!

She is a baby on the move...who loves technology! She saw the camera.

The time has come for Miriam to have her Future Catholic Illini photo shoot. She is now large enough to wear the absolutely adorable onsie that the Newman Center sent us for Cecilia. I couldn't resist. She is so photogenic and well, I love this onsie :)

I think she tried to wave.

And she still looks adorable even though her nose is running and cheeks are chapped from the cold and dry weather we are having. Way to go Mir!

We couldn't forget Big Sister...

She so badly wanted me to take her picture, and then this is what I got. What?

Ok a little better!

And the classic sisters picture...both with runny noses and once again, Mir's chapped cheeks.

Good bye cold weather....bring back my 70's!

Peter Z's Visit

(Back-posting this one)

Peter Z., our friend for Boston days, came to visit us in FL for a bit. He was in the area for the FOCUS National Conference is Orlando, so he took a few extra days to spend with us. It was great to get to see Peter and catch up after so long! Thanks for coming, Peter!

A present for the girls from Mr. Peter

Crazy Monkey!

Walk on the Beach...

Inside of Ron Jon's Surf Shop

Cecilia's Night-Time Prayers

More Rosary...she is getting better!