One More Thing . . .

Did we tell you that Cecelia is already reading?

Happy Anniversary and a Trip to the Zoo

I have no idea where the time went. Our anniversary was on May 25, but if you would have asked either of us, we would have told you that it felt like only a few months since our wedding. We enjoyed a wonderful evening out, stopping at some of our favorite places and celebrating with a bottle of champagne at the spot where we got engaged. By the time dinner was over, however, we were ready to get home to our little peanut.

(In honor of our anniversary, we post this photo from our wedding, taken seconds after Stacey's cousin Nick introduced us as "Matt and Shelly." Wrong cousin! With his nuptials just days away and Matt slated to be the emcee, here's a small warning to Nick to be ready for just about anything!) :-)

CeCe was just as eager as her mommy to eat the anniversary cake.

On Saturday the 24th we took Cecelia to the zoo for the first time. She was in desperate need of a nap and, therefore, fell asleep just a half hour into the visit. Most of the time she was more interested in the other kids than she was the animals. However, she did seem to like the aquarium quite a bit.

Elephants? Nah.

Fish? Heck yes!

Yesterday (the 29th) CeCe had her six month check-up. She's about 18 pounds now and in the 97th percentile for height, 75th for weight and 55th for head size. All in all, a very healthy girl! Given the fact that she now eats like a champ (three meals a day plus bottles), we expect she'll have no problem maintaining that pace.

Still Growing!

Now that she has the "solids" thing down pat, Cecelia has been fine-tuning her skills in other areas, such as holding her bottle (she's still working on getting it in her mouth, rather than hitting her cheek) and rolling over. Now when we put her on the floor to play with her toys she quickly finds her way over to her stomach. She's also gotten more attached to Matt and me. She often does her "fake cry" when she realizes that we've left the room.

Here are a few shots from early May:

Matt went in to get CeCe one Saturday morning and found her arms and legs sticking out of the crib.

The bumper went back in her crib later that afternoon!

CeCe and daddy enjoying a Saturday in their pajamas.

Her Rainforest Jumper has replaced the swing as her ultimate favorite place to be. Can you tell?!?

Thankfully, she's quite the happy baby!

Coxsackie virus went through CeCe's daycare in early May. One Sunday we took her for a walk in her backpack carrier (which she loves) only to have her get really fussy along the way. Later that day she started getting really sick.

She's a great cuddler, too.

Showing her love for solids . . .

On that Sunday walk we stopped by Matt's parents.
She obviously wasn't feeling well.

CeCe and I recently had a get-together with my friends, Beth and Dana, and their kids, Maggie and Brendan. Here Celia and Maggie meet for the first time. As you can tell, they hit it off. CeCe did most of the talking while
Maggie just laughed at her.

You may recall a post several months ago featuring a photo of Brendan going in to give CeCe a kiss. He's still quite taken with her or, perhaps, her toys.
You be the judge.

Today's Shenanigans

So far we've had a great Saturday. We bought a Kelty Kids backpack carrier for Cecelia and took a 4.5 mile walk to our favorite coffee shop and back. It started to rain on the way home. CeCe was just fine thanks to the sun/rain shield, but Matt and I got soaked.

Since the middle school softball game was canceled (Matt's the coach) we've had a relaxing afternoon at home. We even had time to take yet another video of CeCe.

Enjoy your weekend!

This video may make Matt and me seem like a bunch of dorks
(more him than me) but, c'est la vie!

Mid- to late April Update

Not a whole lot happened at the Stark house this month. Celia is getting bigger and bigger. She now loves her activity center and interacts with each of the toys. She is practicing bouncing and taking steps in the Johnny Jump-up she has at Cate's house (daycare).

Celia is also getting better with solids. She's now tried out peas (they're just okay) and sweet potatoes (they're better) but her favorite is still rice cereal.

Toward the end of the month we went to our first Brewers game as a family. The 7:05 p.m. start wasn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination. Since Celia has been sleeping in her crib we have her on a strict 8 p.m. bed time. Therefore, shortly after the game began she got tired and a bit restless. Things didn't start off well either - we got caught between the parking lot and the stadium in a torrential downpour. I carried CeCe in covered by a jacket, so she stayed dry as can be and snug as a bug. BUT, Matt and I weren't so lucky. We looked and felt like drowned rats by the time we entered the stadium.

Uncle Jake's birthday was April 26 so we had a family party to celebrate. As usual, CeCe had fun with cousin Greyson. AND, big news in the Stark family: CeCe will have a new baby cousin in July - and a girl, to boot! (Thanks Auntie Lisa!)

Activity Center time!

By far, the BEST Daddy and Celia photo.

Matt has all sorts of tricks to get CeCe to eat. Demonstration is just one of them.

The old pro dining on a meal of . . . peas.

With Grandpa Stark (a baby hog on this particular day! CeCe loved it.)

With Auntie Emily and some "G" rated television.

Looking for Papa to rescue her from the swing.

And today's entree? Sweet potatoes! (She stole the spoon right out of my hand.)

Reflecting on sweet potatoes . . .

How to explain this one . . . Well, she ate the mail and got ink on her face. Oops! She thought it was funny but Mommy may have thought it even funnier.

After the downpour: the Starks with Billy Porter, CeCe's unofficial boyfriend (we caught them holding hands AND one another's feet).

Yet another daddy photo. Can you tell who takes the photos in the family?

Look at that concentration! Billy watching the game.

Ian and Angela with Cecelia. They're such naturals.

CeCe shows her weakness for balloons . . .

. . . of all types.

With Uncle Jake on his birthday at Oma and Papa's.

Boo!

With Mommy in her cool BabyLegs.

She loves kisses! They usually make her laugh.

Just one of the reasons CeCe loves her daddy so much . . . he's a nut!

Had to add it: Uncle Jake reads his letter to the tooth fairy, circa 1980 something.

Pink Dress Photo Shoot

At a baby shower this summer thrown by our good friend Dana Carpenter, (the same unfortunate day Matt crashed his bike and his face, in the process) we received a beautiful girly-girl dress and matching shoes from our friend Mary-Pat Fischer. Until now it has seemed that CeCe was a bit of a tomboy - she just didn't look right in dresses. Well, on April 18 Matt's school held it's bi-annual Gallery Night open house and Matt decided his little girl had to come all dressed up. Therefore, we pulled out the pink dress and - voila! - it looked just perfect on her.

So when we got home that night we couldn't help but conduct a little pink dress photo shoot in CeCe's room. She was so smiley and happy until, about five minutes into the whole ordeal, she decided it was just too much and started to fall asleep.

Just a few of the 800 or so photos (j/k):

CeCe has Brewers Fever

Greetings from the Stark family! Yet again, we've failed to give regular updates and for that we're very sorry. CeCe is now FIVE months old and changing before our eyes. Recent developments include:

* She's now sleeping in her crib versus the Amby bed (a.k.a. very comfy baby hammock)
* She's using the bigger, stay-in-the-car carseat

And biggest development of all . . . she's started eating cereal. With a doubling of her birth weight - our little peanut is tipping the scales at over 16 pounds - and her proven ability to hold her head up without fail, we took the plunge and tried out rice cereal. The results are in a short video below. After reviewing, we're realizing that Matt (as usual) plays the role of daddy distraction while Stacey (as usual) plays the role of perplexed mommy. What can we say - we're first timers.

Spring has finally made its arrival to Wisconsin and with that comes baseball season. Since daddy's a die-hard Brewers fan, mommy and CeCe are by default (Opening Day photo below). In fact, Celia is going to her first-ever baseball game next Friday. And she even has the obligatory Brewers baby wardrobe to ensure there's no question as to which team she's rooting for.

Speaking of baseball, we just finished planning a short family vacation for July. The three of us will be flying to Washington D.C. for Independence Day and will then head to NYC for a Yankees/Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium. Now the only question is, whose team will CeCe be sporting at THAT game?

Until next time . . .

A date at Opening Day

Hey! Go Brewers!

The swing is a happy place.

Easter grass is so much fun!

Celia got Baby Elmo from the Easter bunny. Trust us, our five month old truly does like Elmo.

Opening her Easter package.

Warm weather brings the neighborhood together. Here is Matt and Celia with our neighbors/friends Sara and Lucy.

Not quite sure about this "solids" thing.

Of course three hands are needed to feed a baby!

It's gotten a lot better since this video was taken.

Celia hung-out in the stroller while mommy and daddy raked the yard. She was fascinated by the wind and the trees. Here she is talking to them.