The Cecilia Files

Ce vs. Perpetual Motion

mike — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:08:10 +0000

If you spend even just a few hours with our daughter, you know she is a font of energy. I know this is not unusual for little kids, but just like the size of her gigantic, 95th percentile head (sorry honey, that’s from me!), we are convinced her energy reserves also must be near top of the charts. In fact, the very act of sitting still is what now serves to get us most concerned something is wrong.

We call it the Dora/Mickey Mouse Clubhouse scale. If she sits through an entire 20 minute episode of either show, then she’s probably just knocked off her morning 5 miler and is just recouping. If she sits through two episodes, she probably picked up a bug at daycare. If she sits through three episodes, hot dog, we are grabbing the go-bag and hitting the ER.

And nothing seems to get Ce moving more than the vast expanse of Grandmother and Papa’s backyard. Given the opportunity she will endless run from fence post to fence post. It’s exhausting just snapping the photos.

Ce vs. the Tutu

mike — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:03:53 +0000

Swimming lessons are so 2011. Meet the newest member of the Joselyn Dance Studio.

The Art of the Egg

mike — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:01:03 +0000

There is a famous childhood story (it’s like catnip for my parents around this time of year) about me dying Easter eggs at my grandparents and ending up covered in purple dye. Cecilia is far too deliberate for that to happen, but she does like a good egg dying session. Look how far she’s come in two years, from Tupperware to glitter eggs.

If you’re feeling a little down, I dare you to watch the 0:50 second mark and not smile. Go ahead, try.

Happy Easter, everyone. If you see us on the turnpike feel free to wave!

Larger HD version here

Ce vs. Pea

mike — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:37:55 +0000

Spring has sprung with a full throated fury this past week. Forty degrees to sixty-five. Sort of like a Ce tantrum when we happen to suggest maybe four straight hours at the playground is enough. Smiling to screaming in 1.2 seconds. Two weeks ago, Chelle and I were drawing straws over who had to stomach another trip to the local Marshall’s to kill an afternoon. Now at least we are able to unleash the little beast outside to burn off that toddler energy. Forget green tech, someone needs to invest in how to harness toddler energy reserves. It’s truly awe inspiring.

So other than allowing us to put Ce out to pasture during the day, spring also means it’s the start of gardening season in New England. Last week, Ce and I planted the first wave of spring plants: snap peas, lettuce, spinach and radishes.

One advantage to Ce being in a pre-school dominated by boys is that she is not afraid of dirt. Saying poopy at the table with dinner guests. Not so much.

Ce vs. Green Macaroni

mike — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:24:04 +0000

So technically these are green macaroons but that proved a bit too much of a tongue twister for Cecilia. Or maybe in her limited vocabulary it was splitting hairs. Or maybe she was too distracted. Macaroni. Macaroon. Maybe just plain finger- lickin’ good as a St. Patty’s Day dessert. Thanks Meghan! It was really a shame you couldn’t stick around all week and when Ce bouncing off the walls each night as she plowed through the remaining leftovers. Someday we’ll have or revenge! Green or otherwise.

A Morning at the Museum

mike — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:49:26 +0000

Have you ever driven a tank through midtown Manhattan on a Friday afternoon? How about blindfolded? That’s a rough, but very similar, analogy to visiting the Boston Children’s Museum on a Sunday at the end of February school vacation week.

We knew what were getting into, last year we’d learned the hard way to avoid peak times, but at this point, even during this mild winter, we’ve exhausted our supply of crafts, recipes, pet stores, food stores, libraries and tanning salons in a thirty mile wide radius to tire out Cecilia. It was the city or bust. We brought reinforcements in the form of the Almeidas and despite a few crying jags (names withheld) we managed to have a good time. Check it out:

Larger HD version here

Ce vs. Vacation (Part 2)

mike — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:28:27 +0000

The fire dancing still continues at home, a sure sign that this vacation had some impact on Ce. A final set of pics from the vacation.

Ce vs. Vacation (part 1)

mike — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:43:54 +0000

The pictures really do say it all. We had a blast and enough rum to wash away any memory of toddler plane antics.

Fire Dancer

mike — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:39:46 +0000

Now that we’ve reintegrated into reality and caught up on work, you can expect a lot more vacation photos and videos soon, but here is a little video that captures the mood pretty well. A sunset like that will quickly make you forget a long flight in coach with a toddler.

This was taken at dinner one night when Ce was antsy. Not unusual. Sitting still for toddlers isn’t a normal trait, right? What was a bit unusual was Ce getting up and dancing in front of many, many people. Let’s just say she typically takes after her Dad and is a bit more reserved in public (we don’t know about her air guitar or how she acts at weddings yet). You’ll notice she sort of stops and stares when people try to interact with her almost as if they popped the invisible, isolation bubble she believes she’s in.

The whole show lasted a solid twenty minutes and received rave reviews from other diners. So much so that the following night, in an entirely different town, two people approached us at dinner and said how much they like the show previous night.

Larger HD version here

Ce vs. Daily Life

mike — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:35:38 +0000

You’ll hear no complaints from us about this winter, but I’ve also learned 4 inches of snow or 4 feet, it makes little difference for parents. It’s the cold that traps us inside with our little terrors. I can’t wait until it’s warm enough that we can run her around the field till she drops. We’re running low on diversions. We’re now on first name basis with many Target employees (across multiple stores) as we roam the aisles like nomads, following along in Ce’s wake as she busts up and down every aisle filling her cart. Whatever works, but I’m tired of restocking shelves.