The Passey Clan

Christmas 2011

2012-02-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

1st Thanksgiving in Iowa

2012-02-09T08:14:00.002-08:00

Amelia's 1st Day of Nursery

2012-02-09T08:14:00.001-08:00

The Cutest Bum and Dragon Ever!

2012-02-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

American Pickers

2012-02-09T08:13:00.001-08:00

Punkin' Chunkin'

2012-02-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

Amelia: Miss Go, Go, Go!

2012-01-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

Amelia has blossomed from a baby into such a dynamic little girl over the last 4 months. I love watching her do whatever it is she's doing because she's so entertaining. Celeste and Amelia have become really good playmates-I've had the privilege of being in their room while they're playing together, pretending that Celeste was leaving to go to school and Amelia was staying home (just like we do everyday when I go to school and the kids stay home). Every time Celeste would leave the room she had to kiss Amelia first to say good-bye and it was tender to see them kiss each other so naturally like sisters/family should. It made me feel good as their mother to know that they're learning to show affection, and that they want to!

Speaking of kissing, Amelia loves to give smooches

especially with her tongue. She'll draw you in to kiss

then stick her tongue on you. She's even too much

for Jacob to handle and he's the king of tongue

kissing..ha!

The girls have put in a lot of hours running around this

ottoman in the living room. We turn on the radio and dance

around usually until I can't take anymore because they

both want to me hold them as I dance.

Miss Celeste's 3rd Birthday

2012-01-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Celeste's 3rd birthday was pretty low key but

we started celebrating when my parents

were visiting so she got plenty of attention/love.

Nana sent her this super cute ballerina outfit

which Celeste just loved. She calls it her

'rina'-she always wants to wear her 'rina'!

Cute thing is that now Amelia asks for

her 'rina' too! Celeste loves to dance and

she's surprisingly skilled for a 3 yr old-

she's got a lot of original moves!

I wasn't able to do much for her actual

birthday because I had school, but I wanted

to make sure that she felt special so I

got her some balloons and flowers.

Her Minnie Mouse crown came from the birthday

card that Nana sent-she looks like a cross

between Minnie Mouse and Shirley Temple!

Daddy showing his girls how to get a lil' crazy

with flowers...

Celeste has recently started talking about her next

birthday; that she wants it to be pink and she

wants to wear a hat. She told me that I can have

a tractor birthday for my next birthday. She

gets so excited talking about birthdays, mostly

around bedtime-she gives me big hugs and says

she's happy! She can be so sweet...

Fall Festivities

2012-01-21T17:15:00.000-08:00

Before we had a chance to miss mom/dad too much,

they surprised us with an unexpected visit in September!

We went to a local apple orchard, Wilson's,

where we got to pick our own apples which

was very enjoyable. The best part of the morning

was indulging in homemade apple doughnuts

and apple cider-nothing better! My dad is an

connoisseur of fine cider and pastries himself so

he was in heaven as well...

After church picture with the grandparents...

Amelia all dressed up for church and ready

to drive there!

I decided to go ahead and celebrate Celeste's 3rd b-day

while my parents were here since dad's b-day is only

a week before Celeste's. I went with a tractor/farm

theme since my dad is a farmer/tractor user and Celeste

is always talking about Grandpa's tractor-it went over

big with both of them! Wish I could claim the credit

for making the cake, but I felt organized just

remembering to order the cake ahead of time-ha!

Amelia and Celeste tag-teaming Grandma; she

was no match for them!

Getting in some good squelching time with Gramps...

Settling In...

2012-01-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

We decided that it would be best for our family for Jacob

to stay home with the girls rather than him working just to

pay for daycare.We were concerned over how Amelia would

handle it since she has been so attached to me and while it

was a little bumpy in the beginning she has adapted

pretty quickly. There has been a few mornings that I've

had to leave her crying at the door which has been extremely

painful for me, and for Jacob, but she soon began

saying goodbye to me without crying. Celeste has

handled the transition like a champ. They're both so

excited to see me when I get home everyday

which is such a wonderful feeling. And Jacob

is too-he's been doing such a wonderful

job taking care of the girls and the house but

he gets very little adult interaction so by Friday

he's ready for a break which I totally emphasize with.

I guess Amelia was so tired one afternoon that she

fell asleep on the stairs...so funny!

First Day of Dental School

2012-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

I started my first year of dental school at the University

of Iowa in August. The first week was orientation and

classes officially started on August 22nd. I was

definitely anxious about getting started but not near

as anxious as I would have been if I hadn't participated

in the summer enrichment program this summer! There's

approximately 84 students in my class. I was pleasantly

surprised to discover that 4 other students are mothers

like me and 7 students besides myself are LDS. In fact,

our class president and vice president are both LDS!

We actually have quite a significant number of students

over the age of 30 as well, and parents. I thought

for sure I would be the only female student over 30

with kids but I'm not as unique as I thought I'd be-which

has actually been quite fortuitous/a relief!

Our school uniform is either ciel blue scrubs or business

professional attire. I prefer scrubs just because they're

so convenient but I dress up usually once a week just

to change it up.

My first semester class schedule included Biochemistry,

Dental Anatomy, Human Physiology, Experiential

Learning, Fundamentals of Clinical Dentistry, Cariology

and Preventive Therapies, Periodontic Methods, and

Occlusion and Complete Dentures, and Operative Dentistry.

The classes are on a staggered schedule so they didn't all start

at once; the semester started pretty light but by

the end I was overwhelmed with work. I had exams

every 2 weeks in most classes, sometimes a total of

4 exams in one week. I've never been so stressed from

school work but I've also never worked so hard! It was

a real challenge to accept that despite all my dedication

and hard work that I couldn't earn A's like I'm used to

getting but by the end of the semester I was ecstatic just

to pass my classes with C's and B's! I've had to severely

re-adjust my expectations but I'm happy to be doing as

well as I am because at this point it's an achievement

not to have to re-take a class.

C students still make great dentists!

The Res and the Temple

2011-12-31T09:54:00.000-08:00

Amidst the craziness of moving, we took the time

to see some local sights with mom/dad before

they went back to Ohio. We live right next

to the local mall which is actually quite

family friendly. Besides the typical kiddie

rides, they have a full-size carousel and

a children's museum which offer free

rides/admission once a month on family night.

The local reservoir is easily accessible and super

close which will make for some good summer fun.

I'm so excited to be part of the Nauvoo, IL

temple district. It's about a 2 hour drive from

Iowa City. Our first weekend in Iowa just

happened to be the last weekend of the Nauvoo

Pageant and the Frontier Country Fair so mom/dad

and I attended a temple session then Jacob and the

girls met up with us to participate in the festivities.

I hadn't been to Nauvoo since I was a little girl

so I was very excited to immerse myself in the

history and the spirit of our pioneers. We stayed

the night so we could see more of the sights

but I still left without visiting all the sites

that I had wanted to, but since we live so

close now I can finish what I started next

summer. We were able to attend two church

pageants this summer which was a treat for me

since it has been a super long time since I've been

to one. Visiting Nauvoo is always inspiring and

humbling and I'm so glad that I got to do it with

my family for the first time and my parents for the 2nd.

Somewhere between Ohio and Iowa Celeste

learned how to pose for pictures...

Grandpa trying to keep the girls happy in the

hotel room by giving them a ride on the luggage cart

Celeste and Amelia playing with the statues in the

Monument to Women garden at the visitors center.

They fit in perfectly with the statue family...

Amelia's first BFF

Monumental women in the Monument to Women Garden

Celeste and I took a horse-drawn wagon ride through

old Nauvoo which was really neat. Celeste was so

excited to see the horses when the ride was over

but when it came time she put her hands over her

ears and wouldn't even look at them! Funny little thing!

Saying good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa... It was

the most difficult for me, of course, because we'd lived

next to them for the last two years and I knew that we

wouldn't be that close to them ever again. However,

to my pleasant surprise, they've already been to visit us

three times since we've moved to Iowa which has

definitely helped ease my 'separation anxiety' from them.

Iowa-Our New Home, Sweet, Home!

2011-12-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

Amelia helping me pack up the office-she is

very good at shuffling papers!

At the end of July we said good-bye to Ohio and

hello to Iowa! It was a miracle that we managed to

fit everything into the moving truck (we upgraded to

the largest truck at the last minute...whew!)-actually,

come to think of it, we didn't! We had to leave just a

couple of things behind, what we couldn't squeeze

into our car or my parents' car or the moving truck!

My parents drove along with us, which was so

comforting and helpful, and it took us two days

to get to Iowa. It was so humid and hot (even

more than we'd been experiencing in Ohio!), it

made for very uncomfortable moving conditions

but members of our new Elders Quorum made it

go smoothly and quickly (thank goodness for

willing church members!)

One of the girls' last breakfasts in the Malta house...

Amelia giving herself an oatmeal bath...just cause

she can...

This highchair was my dad's when he

was a baby (so it's ~70 years old!) and

has been used by all of his grandkids,

especially by Celeste and Amelia, so

of course I had to get a picture before

we left...

Our local Elders Quorum really pulled through for

us on Saturday morning, the day before we

intended to leave! We'd started packing the

truck the day before but still had so much

more to load so when 8 able bodied men and

young men showed up on our door step the next

morning we were so relieved!

Celeste and Amelia, and daddy, getting a little

crazy with all the open space after moving

everything out of the house...

Our last picture in front of the Malta house (my

grandparents' house...)

Celeste & Amelia checking out the truck cab,

excited about the move...

Our first lunch in our new home...

Palmyra and Niagra Falls: July 2011

2011-11-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

Saying Goodbye to our Jersey girl...

2011-09-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Despite our desire to keep Jersey, we made the

difficult, yet best, decision to find a local family

that would love her like we do. I refused to admit

that it was for the best to not take her with us to

Iowa because I'd never considered not having her

with us since we'd had her for 7 years, since she

was 6 months old! Jersey truly was our first

baby and gave us so much love and joy. She

was an important part of our family and made

our family complete. But when we inadvertently

found a young couple with a farm and a sincere

desire to take care of Jersey, we knew that it

was an ideal situation for us and Jersey. I

cried multiple times over the thought of

giving my baby to someone else and someone

else getting to be with her besides us-it was

extremely painful to let her go. Jersey's new

family took care of her while we were gone

for the month of June and we weren't

100% sure that we wouldn't be bringing

her with us when we moved, but we

decided to leave her with them rather than

take her back for the 3 weeks that we

would be in town before moving. We went

to say good-bye to her one last time which

actually really helped me to find some

closure about leaving her. She was having

a great time, running all over the farm,

rolling in mud, chasing raccoons, etc. It

was very sad when we went to get into our

car to leave and she followed Jacob to get in-

Jacob was holding back tears as we drove away.

Even though we know she's in loving hands, it's

still difficult not to feel guilty and remiss that

we couldn't have kept her. We figured that

she would be happier in a place where she

could run and play, and stretch her long

legs, rather than cooped up in a town home

in the city, and not having a pet opened

up a lot more housing options for us as well.

It's especially sad when Celeste asks for her

Jersey...

We'll always miss and love you, Jersey girl!

More Summer Fun with More Cousins!

2011-09-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

As soon as I got back from Iowa City (like the same day),

my brother and his family arrived from Oregon to visit

for a few weeks. They have five kids, 4 girls and 1 boy,

so Celeste and Amelia had a heyday! We had a great time

with Garrett and his family and are so glad that we

got to see them before making our move to IA.

Doin' some front porch swinging' and singin'

Amelia with her 2nd oldest cousin, Maggie (11)

Taking a tractor ride on the farm with Maggie,

Lydia, Paige, and Bella

Grandpa donning his Texas hybrid cowboy hat

Amelia all set-up for watching 4th of July fireworks

4th of July on the Muskingham River in Zanesville-

surprisingly, the fireworks display was one of the

best I've seen!

Celeste gained a lot more confidence in the swim

pool this summer, jumping in with some assistance.

Playing with a wet noodle...and Grandma(:

Cow gazing...

Amelia and Noah taking a break from the swim pool.

Enjoying a hot summer day at the public pool...

Easter egg hunt in July

Fishing at Grandpa's pond...

Amelia enjoying Grandma's new deck.

All the cousins (minus Noah)

Traveling Wilburies

2011-09-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

We started the summer off with a bang, doing lots

of traveling! I spent the month of June in Iowa City, IA

participating in a summer enrichment program put on

for a handful of first year dental school students who

needed some extra preparation before the official

school year started. Jacob decided to drive to CA with

the girls so he could visit his family during that time.

I was able to sublease a 2 bedroom apartment for

the month so Jake and the girls could stay with

me on their way to and from CA.

A communal birthday celebration for spring/summer

birthdays in the Passey family.

Celeste saying good-bye to her new bf, her cousin

Fisher.

Watching the elephant get washed at Six Flags

with Uncle Steve.

Chillaxin' with Grandad

My reunion with the girls after a 2 week separation.

Having lunch with Aunt Aimee.

Spending the afternoon at Fairytale Land.

Old Mother Hubbard's Shoe

Off to the see the Wizard...!

Amelia and Nana enjoying the HOT afternoon!

Celeste with her cousin Lexie.

Aunt Jennalee getting practice feeding an infant...

Celeste and her cousin Lauren who we

stopped to see in Salt Lake City.

One of our many stops on the drive back to Iowa City.

Redhead Reunion

Hanging out with the cuzzes from Redding, CA.

Jacob and the girls had a great time on their trip,

getting to spend time with all of Jacob's siblings

and their kids. I was quite envious and missed

them terribly! I'd never been apart from my girls

for that long before and it was harder than I

thought it would be, but it made our reunion

all the sweeter. Amelia started walking while

she was in California which I was sad to have

missed, but I'm glad that Nana (Jacob's mom) got

to experience it and spent a lot of quality time with

the girls. My not being there allowed them to

bond more and also gave me a nice break

from being so needed all the time! Funny

how you miss it though, as soon as you're

not needed!

Amelia's 1st Birthday

2011-08-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Amelia's 1st birthday in May and as sort of a

farewell to friends and family (all 8 of them..ha!) we decided

to throw a birthday party. We actually had quite a turn out

which made for a fun time. Even though most of the people

we know in Malta are my parents' friends and therefore

empty nesters like them, there were a lot more

kids than I originally expected because of

visiting grandchildren and they helped to make

it much more of a kids' party instead of an adult

party like Celeste's bday celebrations have been.

We also invited a family that had recently moved to

McConnelsville who I had met at the library preschool

reading time. They have a 4 year old daughter and

a 2 year old son so they fit right in with us and our guests.

I wish the timing would have been better so that we could

have gotten to know them better because I felt that Miriam

andI had made a good friendship connection. Two years in

Malta and right as we were preparing to move, I finally

meet someone that I could relate to-ugh!

We held the party outside under our carport because the

space in our house is pretty tight but it meant that Amelia

was confined to her Exercauser or highchair since she

wasn't walking yet. She spent most of the time watching

the other kids running around her having a good time but

she didn't seem to mind.

Even though Amelia wasn't able to swing a stick, I

thought it would be fun to have a pinata for the other

kids, and willing adults. I was pleasantly surprised to find

a super cute butterfly pinata in Zanesville which coordinated

perfectly with the spring fling theme. I was hoping to

get a chance to take a swing at the pinata but by the time

the last kid took a turn it was well-beaten.

I was determined to make Amelia a customized cake since

Celeste's 1st birthday cake left a lot to be desired. I'd

been wanting to take a cake decorating class but it

never worked out so instead I bought myself the

Wilton cake decorating instruction booklet that's

used in cake decorating classes. Mom had also given

us a cake recipe book for making kids'

birthday cakes at Christmas so between the two

resources I was able to make Amelia a pretty

fabulous birthday cake for an amateur such

as myself. I do have to give Jacob credit for his

artistic eye and for adding the pink frosting

along the bottom of the cake which really completed it.

Amelia was a bit hesitant about the cake at first, but as

you can see, she quickly got over it and had a good

time experiencing the cake with almost all of her senses.

Amelia's trying to share a bite with the photographer, Grandma.

Amelia reminds me of those pictures of wet cats, with

their hair standing straight up: cake makes great

hair gel, by-the-way!

She had had her fill of fun by this point and wasn't

up for dealing with the shenanigans of 2 old men...

As part of the family tradition of celebrating birthdays

with grandma and grandpa in Malta, my mom treated

Amelia to a baby-sized ice cream cone at Taylor's

Dair-Whip. Amelia was interested in it until she took

her first bite and immediately spewed it out because

of how cold it was. After that, she refused to give it

another try and just wanted to stick her fingers in it-she

left a puddle of dejected ice cream under her high-chair

for the waitress to clean up. I guess when it's your

birthday you can do whatever you want,

especially when you're this cute!

My College Graduation

2011-08-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to finally be able to call myself

a college graduate which makes me the first

woman in my family (excluding sisters-in-law)

to earn a bachelors degree! When

I returned to school in 2005 it was with

the intention of finishing the bachelors

degree that I started in 1996 but when

babies and moving kept postponing my

graduation date I decided to apply

to dental school without a degree. Even

though a bachelors is not required for

entrance into dental school, I knew that

when I did not receive a dental school

acceptance letter that I would have to

fnish my degree after all, which despite

being extremely tedious, was actually a dream

come true for me. So in an ironic

twist of fate, I feel that it was a blessing in

disguise that I did not get into dental

school on my first attempt, though it was

extremely difficult for me see it that

way when I was in the thick of it.

The only way I was able to finish my degree due

to the remoteness of our location in Ohio was

through an online program offered through

Ashford University in Iowa. I started the program

in September 2010 and finished in June 2011 by

taking concurrent courses. I essentially had

a 3 pg. paper due every week (2 papers a week

once I started taking 2 classes at a time) and a 8 pg.

paper due at the end of every 5 week course so

by the end of the program I was really burned

out! I had a 4.0 GPA until the last couple of classes

when I finally had to force myself to accept

less than perfection in order to stay sane. I

earned Summa Cum Laude honors for graduation

which I was excited about even though it's just

represented by a couple of extra ropes worn around the neck.

The commencement ceremony was held in April in

Clinton, IA so we came out a few days earlier to

start looking for housing in Iowa City for dental school.

In another interesting coincidence, when I applied to

the University of Iowa dental school I had

no idea how I would be completing my bachelors

degree and unintentionally and unknowingly,

I ended up choosing another Iowan school which

may or may not have been a factor in the UofI

accepting me....some food for thought!

Clinton really is in the middle of nowhere and there's

nothing to it except for Ashford University.

The majority of students are online students from

all over the country. However, Clinton is right next to Le

Clare, IA where the American Pickers' company Antique

Archaeology is based from. In fact, one of the women I sat

next to at graduation told me that while her and her family

were driving around town they saw one of the pickers

outside of his home garage so they stopped and talked to him

-too funny! This spring Ashford had its largest graduating

class, something like 9,000 but not all of them attended

commencement, of course. I was glad to discover

that Ashford's campus was close enough to get to so

I could attend commencement which was important to me

and also because that it was so conveniently located next

to Iowa City where we needed to go for house hunting anyway.

The graduation was held outside on a cloudy day so

when the sun broke through 30 minutes into

the program we were not adequately prepared and

we got sunburned-mostly our fair-haired babes.

I felt so bad for Amelia because she has the fairest

skin of us all and she actually got a blister on her

cheek her skin burned so bad-poor baby! As a result,

she already has a few freckles under her eyes...I

cringe everytime I see them! Suncreen is now a

permanent part of our diaper bag along with sun hats...

Despite the sunburn debauchle, I am so glad that we

made the effort so I could attend my college graduation.

It was a long-time coming and worth commemorating by

walking across the stage to receive my diploma. My last

class didn't finish until the first of June so even though I

walked in April I didn't officially graduate until June.

Easter Activities

2011-07-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, Celeste really enjoyed dyeing Easter eggs

this year. She had dye all over the table, herself, and the chair

but it was worth it to see her excitement! She kept re-dyeing

eggs she was having so much fun...

The Passey girls all dressed up for Easter Sunday.

I love Easter bonnets and wish that it was

more acceptable for grown women to wear

them to our church services, but in the

meanwhile I'll live vicariously through my

sweet daughters-Celeste now

has 4 dress hats for Sunday wear...!

The Easter Bunny left the girls' baskets at their

grandparents' house this year, so Celeste didn't get to

search for her basket until Sunday afternoon but she

was very patient and very excited to find proof

that the Easter Bunny did indeed make a visit.

Amelia was napping so Celeste got to

find both baskets.

Amelia being introduced to the concept of

Easter...

Celeste showing the spoils from her Easter egg hunt...

The cutest little bunnies I've ever seen...!

Winter Wanderings and Spring Beginnings

2011-07-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

In February we spent a weekend in Amish country and had

a great time. The weather was perfect-no snow! We went

last year with my parents so we knew exactly what communities

that we wanted to visit this year by ourselves. One of

our favorite places was the Broad Run Cheesehouse

where we got a taste of the Swiss Alps...

Just a glimpse of what Jacob and I

might look like as Amish...

We also took a winter excursion to Cleveland. We

stopped by the Kirtland Visitor's Center for a few

hours and got a tourof the church historic sights.

We spent a few hours at the Cleveland Science Center

which had a lot of fun interactive displays just for kids

which Celeste loved of course.

We couldn't resist being so close to the infamous

Christmas Story house and not making a drive by!

If you look closely, you can see the unforgettable

lamp in the window...ha! I'm so glad we stopped by

because I have loved the Christmas Story since I was

a kid-it was magical!

Celeste and daddy at Lake Eerie.

Amelia enjoying her first crawl through grass.

We bought a kite just for Celeste and she was

so excitedto finally get to fly it with daddy...

Our first picnic of the season...

Celeste helping daddy and grandpa put new fishies

into grandpa's pond.

Right after this picture was taken Grandpa made

a split-second save, rescuing Celeste from slipping

completely into the pond. Thank goodness for

Grandpa's cat-like reflexes!

Amelia enjoying the view of the pond with daddy...

Celeste, the High Inquisitor

2011-04-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Celeste has been keeping us on our toes lately with all the mischief and changing she's been up to. She seems to absorb everything around her because she's continually surprising us with the things she remembers and says. It's kind of scary how smart she is! She loves to dance and sing. Every night we sing songs as part of our nightly going-to-bed routine and no matter how much we sing, it's never enough! Her favorite song, ever since she heard it at Christmas, is Jingle Bells-we sing it at least twice every night! She also likes Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. She's pretty good at singing the tunes even if the words are a little sketchy. Anytime there's jivy music playing on the radio she starts shaking her little booty and sings "Shake your booty!" which is at least once a day because we listen to a lot of music in our house. Just recently she's started calling us 'honey', including Amelia-she puts 'honey' at the end of almost every sentence! We're not sure where she heard it because we don't call each other honey, but it seems to be a thing for women to call each other honey around these parts. She also says, "Oh, man!", a lot and appropriately too, when she's disappointed or frustrated. She's got some of her numbers down (she counts "2,5,6,7,9,10" and can identify a quantity of 2. We think that orange is her favorite color because according to her every color is orange. And of course, she's been driving us looney with all the whys she's been asking-actually she probably asks 'Momma, what are you doing?' just as much. Even though it can get a wee bit old, I do love how inquisitive she is so I try to be patient and explain things when it's appropriate cause I know that every time that she asks it's not because she really wants to know!!

We started potty training Celeste right after her

2nd birthday mostly because one evening after her

bath she told us that she needed to p**p and she

was game for doing it in the toilet, and she did!

She surprised us even more when she reached

for a magazine as she was sitting down on the toilet!

The things kids pickup on!

Of course, it took a bit more encouragement

and patience for it to become a permanent situation,

but she was pretty much potty trained by Christmas.

Santa Clause really helped to seal the deal-I told her

that if she wanted presents from Santa Clause that

she had to use the toilet everytime-I don't think that she's

had one accident since! Thanks for the help, Santa!

Celeste enjoying her new todller bed for the first time.

One of her creations from reading time at the public library-

she's growling, if you can't tell!

This was all her own doing-she loves to put stuff

around her neck and head, anything, even mommy's

underwear but you won't be seeing a picture

of that anytime soon!

Celeste's 1st Snow Angel

All dressed up for church in her Scottie Dog outfit

Trying on her new Abbie Cadabbie slippers-what a cutie!

Getting her nails painted for the first time. Jacob insisted that

I wear my hair in pigtails along with Celeste and was

kind enough to do it for me....

Despite Jacob's anti-Princess stance, I couldn't resist

taking Celeste to the Princess Party at the mall a few

weeks ago. Things like that just don't happen very often

in a place this small, so being the good parent that I am

I made sure that she got to experience it. I've never

seen so many tiny princesses in my life, and what a

variety too! It was a madhouse, but fortunately

Celeste was still too young to be opinionated about

which activities she wanted to participate in. For

$10 each girl got 3 wishes-she could choose from

taking pictures with the princesses (and some of the

princes as well), playing games, making sashes, getting

pretty, and face painting. This picture is of Celeste

making a wish at the wishing well as part of the games.

She was so cute-she immediately closed her eyes when

the lady told her to close her eyes and make a wish, even

without really understanding why she was supposed to

close her eyes-I laughed outloud b/c her response was

so sincere and immediate.

As part of the 'Pretty Princess' wish, she got her nails

painted, a face tattoo of a princess, and a bright

yellow hair extension.

Out of all the characters/princesses, Tink was

the only one she recognized b/c she's

the only one she's seen on TV so far so she

was her 'Princess' of choice.

Jacob's been harassing me to learn to play

the accordion for months now, even though

we don't own one and I have no interest

in learning to play it, so he turned his

sights on little Celeste. He found this

mini accordion at Toys-R-Us and she

loves it. He's hoping that she'll choose

the accordion over other instruments in

the future if he exposes her to it now...

insert smilie/cross-eyed face now.

The circus came to town 2 weeks ago,

and once again, I couldn't pass up the

opportunity to take Celeste to her first

circus. It wasn't anything like Barnum &

Bailey's, but for our small community

it was perfect, and for a kid's first circus.

There was just one ring, but the acts were

still quite impressive. The highlight of the

evening was watching Mighty Jack the

boxing kangaroo 'box' the clown. I didn't

know if I should cry or laugh, it was so

bizarre, yet intriguing. Celeste & I had

a lot of fun at the circus, doing a lot of

whooping and clapping! She mentions it

often-in fact, earlier today when she

was dancing in the kitchen she

told Jacob that she could be in the

circus!!!

Riding Grandma's old grey goose

Celeste has been afraid of Jacob's motorbike helmet

from the first time she saw it on him, so it was a

totally shock to see her have this on her head while

wearing a smile.

Celeste helping her little sis get the hang of walking.

In the Army Now

2011-03-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

As crazy as it sounds, I did actually join the Army! On February 4th I was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. I'd been working with a recruiter since June 2009 to apply for the Health Professions Scholarship Program which is a scholarship awarded to qualified applicants who have been accepted to dental or medical school. Based on my GPA and DAT score I was pre-approved for the scholarship but it didn't do me any good without a dental school acceptance letter. So everything was in place for me to be awarded the scholarship when I finally did receive my University of Iowa acceptance letter this year. The Army will be paying for my tuition and fees for all 4 years of dental school while also providing me with a monthly stipend to live on. There will also be opportunities to earn active-pay during the four years. I will need to participate in a 6-week officers training in Texas at some point, but I've opted to do it after I graduate since it'll be difficult to cram it in the first couple of years of school and would be easier on the family (aka Jacob) when my daughters are older, and it'll give me more time to get my weak self in better shape.

I feel really good about this decision because it's the perfect solution, at least the best offer out there, for paying for dental school which will run around $300,000 when it's all said and done. It's been at least five years in the making which has given me plenty of time to consider all the consequences and implications. I only see it as a win-win situation and almost too good to be true. I will have a four year obligation to the Army upon graduation from dental school during which time I'll still be receiving competitive pay and great health care benefits all while they basically give me the experience I'll need to be a confident, competent civilian dentist. Of course, I have to be open to the possibility of being deployed during that time, but once again wherever I go I'll be serving my military compadres as a dentist and will be far from harm's reach. Another great benefit is that I don't have to decide while I'm in school if I want to specialize because the Army offers specialty residencies which means I don't have to kill myself in school to be at the top of my class.

Because I had to be commissioned by another officer and there wasn't an officerstationed at the recruitment office that I'd been working with, they had tohave an officer come just to do my commissioning. At this point I'd already been commissioned but because they wouldn't allow any photos to be taken of the commissioning oath/document we had to re-inact the actual ceremony for a kodak moment. Here's what you missed: I unintentionally got choked up at the part where I had to swear to defend the constitution and the rights of

American citizens. I did my best to keep the emotion caged, but it got the best of me, and yes, I shed a few tears. It totally took me by surprise and I was a bit embarrassed, especially afterwards when the other Army personnel present told me that they thought that I had a problem swearing to protect the Constitution because they couldn't see my face and that I was getting emotional. Anyway, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and honor to verbally commit myself to protecting our freedoms because I've never had the opportunity to do that before. It was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for me.

The only person I know in the picture is my recruiter,

Sgt. Canzater, on my far left. The other people, besides the

female officer, work in the recruitment office.

It was wonderful that my parents could be there

with us. They drove to all the way toColumbus

with us to be a part of this memorable event and

show me their love and support-have I mentioned

lately how awesome my parents are...???!!!

I knew that there would be cake as part of the

celebration, butI was surprised to see the Army

emblem on it-that's going to take some getting used to! And

so will being addressed as Lieutenant! Que coisa!

Me and one of my new military brats

Sgt. Canzater and myself

My other recently commissioned military brat

getting her American pride on...!

We came home with tons of Army paraphanelia-tshirts,

sweatshirts, hats, backpacks, pens, mugs, toothfloss,

playing cards, etc. Of course, Celeste was all over it!

It's still kind of surreal, telling people that I'm part of the Army now, because I really won't have much to do with the Army until I finish dental school. I'm military in name only right now so it's a little anti-climatic, all that anticipation of being commisioned an officer and then nothing. But it's definitely for the best because I need to focus all my energies right now on moving our family and preparing to start school.

I never in my wildest, craziest dreams or expectations, saw myself joining the Army, but yet, it's the most logical thing to do at this point in my life-go figure. Go Army.

Good News...no-Fantabulous News!!

2011-03-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

We finally got some well-needed, well-deserved news in December, after a year and a half of a lot of emotional ups and downs... I received an acceptance letter from the University of Iowa to attend their school of dentistry in 2011!! I thought that it was just another denial letter so I skimmed over it quickly so when I identified the word 'accepted' I shook my head in disbelief, and had to read it more intently before I realized that I wasn't being punked! I wish I could have video recorded my initial reaction but I was all alone when I read it and once the moment is gone, it's difficult to recapture the sincerity. I was expecting to hear from the school on December 1st since that was the first date they could notify students so when I didn't hear anything at that time I just assumed that I'd be placed on their alternate list and would have to wait until the spring to get an update, like I went through last year. But instead I got a late Christmas gift-it arrived the Monday after Christmas and totally blew me away! I imagined this happening for so long that I was beginning to think that that's all that it would be-a nice thought, always just beyond my reach. It was a very difficult and unpleasant process, putting myself out there for others to analyze and to critique and to judge, but I've learned a lot about myself by being put on the spot and I am more sure of what's important to me now.

Here's what I've learned:
1) At 32 years old, I still have a lot to offer the world, especially the world of dentistry.
2) I sincerely desire to help other people understand their value as children of God.
3) I love to learn and be challenged.
4) I do truly enjoy helping others-it's not just for show!
5) I can achieve whatever I chose in life as long as I don't give up.
6) I have a strong and loving support group that spans the western hemisphere.
7) I can be a supportive wife and dedicated mother as well as a successful student.
8) I am a woman of integrity-when I'm true to myself and my Savior, I will never go wrong.
9) By golly-I am one amazing woman! (I'm not sure why, but that's not easy for me to say outloud!)

These may seem like obvious lessons, lessons that I should have learned years ago, and lessons that I probably have learned many times in the past, but this is the clarity that I have gained from my recent experience of applying to dental school, twice. I can now honestly say that I am thankful for having had to pass through this difficult time because I feel better prepared now to attend dental school. I know now for sure that this is what I want for myself and for my family.

School starts August 15th in Iowa City, IA. If I get accepted into the summer enrichment program, which is a four week program geared towards helping a select few incoming first year dental students (10-12 non-science majors, students with less than average GPA, or anyone else that may need some extra time adjusting) through offering a basic dental anatomy class, introduction to problem-based learning, social opportunities, etc., then we'll have to move by the end of May because the program starts June 5th. I'll be finishing up my online classes in June so there will be some overlap which wouldn't be very convenient, but I'm sure it would be doable. The school that I'm taking online classes through is actually located in Iowa as well so when we attend my undergraduate commencement ceremony at the end of April in Clinton, IA we're going to go house hunting in Iowa City. That's the plan anyway. Always good to have a plan, and a backup plan, and another backup plan...that's another lesson learned!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year because Celeste was old enough to grasp the Santa Claus concept (better than she was capable of at 1 year old, anyway) which of course made it more exciting for us as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how 'uninterested' the girls were in the Christmas tree. I was debating between having a children-friendly tree or my traditional adult tree because I didn't want to be constantly worried about the girls breaking ornaments, but I took a chance and put up my decorations after all and they made me glad I did.

Celeste helping grandpa with his 'bag of presents' Christmas Eve. We celebrated both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at our house so mom and dad could participate in the excitement of experiencing Christmas with a 2 year old, which is easier done in home territory.

Celeste & I reading the nativity story.

Reading the Night Before Christmas

While we were in the midst of our Christmas Eve
celebrations we heard Santa Claus's sleigh bells ringing
outside the house. Celeste seemed nervous at first, it
probably didn't help that I gave a little yelp when I heard
the bells because ittook me by surprise too! It was super
cute when she ran over to look out the window to try to
catch a glimpse of the big man and his reindeer.

Little Miss Clause enjoying a Christmas baba with Grandma...

This outfit was a little small for Amelia but I had to have

her wear it at least once because it's so darn cute, and

Celeste wore it her first Christmas as well.

The first thing Celeste noticed on Christmas morning was the

toy kitchen set next to the tree-she knew right away it was
for her! We had no idea what we were

getting into with the kitchen when we bought it-
it took daddy at least 3 hours to assemble it Christmas
Eve! She got a shopping cart and lots of groceries to go
with it. She loves being in the kitchen when we're cooking
so we figured she was ready to be the chef of her own kitchen.
She was very excited about it...and the gumdrops she found
under the tree-that's what she's sucking on in the pictures.

The girls in their matching Christmas pajamas. I've

heard of other families who always give their

kids a new pair of Christmas pjs on Christmas

Eve, usually from the grandparents, and I thought

it would be a cute tradition to start.

This is a very special Raggedy Ann doll that

has been in Jacob's family since he was

a child. Celeste's Nana Passey made the doll

a dress and gave it to her for Christmas. She

loves her Raggedy Ann dollie and sleeps with

it every night.

Amelia enjoyed the tissue and wrapping paper most of all!

Another gift from Nana was this adorable Raggedy Ann

dress to match her new doll.

We found Celeste hiding in this corner gorging herself on

spice drops-she couldn't get enough of them!

My main Christmas objective was to finish Amelia's

stocking in time for Christmas-I just barely made it! I've

loved making my girls' stockings-it's been so much fun

to pick a theme and see it all come together. Amelia's

stocking theme is funky, fresh star-power!

Notice that Celeste is still eating spice drops...

Miss Amelia in one of her holiday ensembles

I had to dress the girls in their Christmas dresses twice just

so I could take pictures because we didn't have a camera

to useon Christmas Sunday.

Had to take a picture of all of our stockings

hung for the first time together 'by the chimney with care'.

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

Doing a little turkey shootin' practice with clay pigeons.

Grandpa giving the girls a whirl on his turkey tractor

while searching for the clay pigeons that were lucky

enough to 'stay alive'.

Celeste with her cousin, Hannah, enjoying the fall leaves.

Amelia getting love from her beautiful Aunt Tanya visiting from CA for the holiday.

My older brother, Garrett, made a surprise visit the

weekend before Thanksgiving on his way back from New

Orleans to OR for work. My other brother, Joshua, flew in

a day later with his family to spend a week visiting so

we were able to spend a good couple of days

together-it was a wonderful way to start off the holiday!

Tanya, Josh, Caleb, me, Jacob, & Garrett

Hannah, Grandma, Celeste & Grandpa

-Amelia was already asleep for the night.

Helping grandpa carve the turkey.

Amelia and cousin Caleb still in shock after just meeting

Ronald McDonald in the flesh!

Everyone bundled up to watch the Thanksgiving

parade on Main Street.

Amelia meeting the Big Man for the first time-she handled

it a lot better than Celeste did!

Celeste getting her cow milking groove on at the

Farm Bureau post-parade festivities.I won't post the picture

of mama breaking the milking stool while trying to prove

her youthfulness...because as far as I'm concerned,

it never happened!

Nothing like a brisk horse-drawn wagon ride to

get you in the mood for Christmas!

Enjoying a cookie with grandma.

Celeste had the most fun playing with her 4 yr.

old cousin Hannah for a week straight.

She still talks about her...

2 of the 3 most recent additions to the McKibben family,

and the very first McKibben grandson!

What bee-charmers!

Halloween 2010

2011-01-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Our very own Smarty Pants

What a pair...

Aren't we a colorful bunch?!

Grandma was in the hospital over Halloween so

we stopped by to see her before we went

to our ward Halloween party.

Celeste's first time trunk-or-treating

Celeste helping our neighbor, Phyllis, pass out candy.

Celeste was a real saleswoman-she held out her hands

full of candy while yelling "CANDY! CANDY!" to the kids

coming down the street. Phyllis thinks that she'll make

a fine politician someday!

Our own little screaming pumpkin

The Passey Girls

2010-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

It's way passed time to give an update on the girls and how wonderfully they are growing and changing. I'm so afraid of forgetting any moment of their lives that documenting everything that I can is one of my biggest priorities but unfortunately time is passing by too quickly to do as much as I'd like to. Thank goodness for blogs that allow mothers like me to be effective scrapbookers and managers of time!

Amelia is 7 months now and has changed so much just in the last month, from an infant to a baby. At her 6-month checkup she was already 17 lbs which really surprises me after how much Celeste struggled to gain weight at the same age. It's gotta be due to her "health eating habits"! She's a very avid eater, so much so that she absolutely and vehemently refused a bottle until 3 weeks ago. While I have thoroughly enjoyed nursing Amelia as long as I have, it is a relief to know that she won't be nursing the rest of her life, or mine! We're all breathing a little easier now that we have more flexibility in keeping her happy, though she does keep us on a short leash. She still prefers that I feed her even if its a bottle so it really doesn't free up much of my time, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Amelia is super particular about being close to me or having me in her sight at all times, much more so than Celeste was. Despite her extra neediness, she has the brightest, biggest smile I have seen on a baby which totally makes up for any unpleasantness. She also laughs so heartily I can't help but laugh right along with her-she's so dynamic! She's become a moving machine in the last few weeks, pushing up on her knees and rocking like mad, and lunging for things out of her reach. She especially loves to push her exersaucer to the limit, jumping so hard it sounds like it's going to break. She finally graduated from sleeping in her playpen downstairs to her crib upstairs by sleeping through the night without any disturbances so she now shares a room with Celeste. I have a sneaking suspicion that she's on the verge of teething because when I nurse her something feels slightly more uncomfortable which means that our nursing days will be over in the very near future-makes be both sad and happy to think about it...

Celeste is 2, YAHOO!!

2010-11-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

We flew home from California the day before Celeste's 2nd birthday so she actually got two birthday celebrations this year: one with Jacob's family in CA and one with my parents after we got back home.

My dad's birthday was a week before Celeste's so we had a joint celebration. I crafted up some handmade crowns for the special birthday people out of posterboard I had actually purchased with the intent to make Celeste a potty training chart, thus the lovely fluorescent pink crowns. Grandpa wore his with understated class and dignity, as any good grandpa would! Celeste loved her crown as well, wearing it for days after.

We had good intentions to make Celeste's cake but it came down to saving time and work so we went the easy route. Celeste was actually acting kind of strange when we sat her in front of the cake and sang to her-came to realize it was the lighted candles that bothered her, not our singing! I was sad that she wasn't excited about her cake and blowing out the candles. She had reacted the same way in CA.

Of course, daddy had to do his part to make sure Celeste was having a good time by pushing her face into the cake but you can tell by her expression, buried under the frosting, that she wasn't very impressed with her daddy's shenanigans. Obviously according to his face, he thought that it was the most fun!

Grandma G whooping it up with Queen Celeste and Princess Amelia

Celeste enjoying her gifts from Gma and Gpa-magnetic drawing boards, perfect for church!

Queen Celeste on her special day

Celeste showing off her new tutu from us and new friend, Eeyore, from Aunt Aimee.

Celeste's big gift was a bike from Nana and Grandad. We were hoping to find a decent used bike/trike at a local yard sale but we didn't have much luck. This bike was the best we could find but once she sat on it we knew it was too big. We ended up getting her a new RadioFlyer trike which she fits perfectly but have yet to take a picture of her on it yet. She can't quite get the pedaling motion yet though I did see her move about an inch in the living room yesterday. Might already be too late for her to make any real progress until the spring. I guess there's nothing that says a kid can't learn to ride a bike indoors on the carpet in the winter, is there??

The tutu quickly became a dress...

Oh, how I miss the days that I could fit in a bucket...

California Dreamin'

2010-10-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

In September we were fortunate enough to spend two weeks in California visiting Jacob's family-we were definitely ready for some different scenery! We usually visit at Thanksgiving but we wanted to visit when the weather was still warm and there was a push to have our traveling completed before Celeste's 2nd birthday so we wouldn't have to pay for a third ticket. I was really worried about having to cram 4 people into only 2 seats for 8 hours of flying time but the seating arrangements couldn't have worked out better. We each had our own seat for every flight, both going and returning-it was such a blessing! It was so nice to have all the time we needed to get to do everything and see everyone that we wanted to-one week just isn't enough to feel like you're getting good quality time with family. We had a wonderful time spending time with all of Jacob's family and were very sad to leave-more sad than usual. It's never easy saying goodbye to family. But we're so grateful that everything worked out so smoothly for us to make it out there when we did. Here are some photos of the special moments we had...

Amelia and Aunt Aimee sharing the love and excitement of meeting each other.

Amelia captivated everyone with her million dollar smile and giggle, as well as her ear-deafening screams! She had everyone anxious to keep her content! The rustle of the leaves and other outside noises really seemed to calm Amelia so she spent a lot of time outside.

And we thought Jersey was a big dog-ha! This is Summer, Uncle Steve and Aunt Jen's dog-Jersey's cousin you could say. Despite Celeste's concerned look she was totally at ease with Summer because she's used to being around big dogs. What a specimen, eh?!

We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the end of summer weather.

Aunt Jennalee, Uncle Steve (Celeste and Steve became good buddies), Nana, and Aunt Aimee

Amelia and Nana got to spend a lot of well-needed time together.

Celeste cuddling with Aunt Jennalee.

Desperate to get into the delta we found this tiny piece of sand to use as our access point.

Nana took Celeste to Chuck-E-Cheese for the 1st time and she loved all the rides/games

despite not being able to play them all.

Like Nana, like grandaughter-happy!

Nana showing Amelia how to have a good time!

Celeste playing 'human slide' with her soon-to-be cousins Alyssa and Alexis.

Amelia's 1st exposure to rice cereal.

Playing with cousins Allie and Fisher for 1st time on trampoline-Celeste loved it! Her jump was the cutest-more like a prancing pony than a jumping monkey because she couldn't quite get both feet off the ground/trampoline at the same time. She has since mastered this skill.

Watching Uncle Abe and dad get the boat ready for our boat outing!

We drove up to Redding to spend a weekend with Jacob's brother, Abe, and his family. While we were there he took us out on his party boat for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing. It was a lot of fun-something we don't get to do very often!

Celeste and I having a wet noodle fight

So content to be in Nana's arms.

All the lovely Passey ladies

Allie and Izabella couldn't get enough of little Amelia.

Cousin Emilee came up to Redding with Nana so Celeste got a lot of good cousin time.

Uncle Abe's successful attempt to calm Amelia-I sure do miss all those extra helping hands!

The Brothers Passey

We were delighted to have Jacob's sister, Beth, drive out from Utah with her

daughter, Lauren, to surprise us with a visit when we got back from Redding.

So Celeste got to see every one of her Passey cousins and we got to see all of Jacob's siblings-que legal!

Unfortunately the camera battery died a week into our trip and I forgot to bring the charge chord so we had to use a disposable camera for the last week but the pictures didn't turn out very good, so I'll just have to tell you about the rest of our trip.

We drove to Sacramento to spend an evening with Jacob's sister, Aimee. Another day we took a ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco where we had lunch at the infamous Red's Java House, as made famous by Anthony Bourdain, before taking the ferry back. I wasn't impressed with it-seems like just another hole-in-the-wall burger joint to me, though they do serve their burgers on sourdough. We spent an afternoon/evening with my brother, Joshua, and his family in San Jose. Celeste got to play with her cousin, Hannah, who is 4 and we got to meet one of our newest nephews/cousins, Caleb, who is 8 months old now. It was nice to just hang out with them at home, play in the pool and just chat about life-something I wish could happen more often. Since Celeste's birthday was the day after we were to fly back home, Jacob's sister, Suzanne, made Celeste a cake and we celebrated her birthday with Jacob's family before we left which was a special opportunity to take advantage of!

Blue Ribbon Babies, Zucchini, Peaches and Grandpas

2010-08-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Our vegetable garden was pretty much a bust this year because we've been too busy tending to our human garden! As you can see we let our zucchini get way too big before picking them but they made a nice playmate for Amelia! Funny story about her onesie: I asked Jacob to bring down a onesie for Amelia to wear and this was what he brought me unaware that it was a Christmas onesie! Well, we just went with it, after all haven't you ever heard of celebrating Christmas in July?!

This a comparison between my dad's prize peaches and a softball...

WOWZA!!!!

Amelia Sweetheart

2010-08-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Amelia is 3 months old and already has such a personality! She smiles so big her face just lights up and it more than makes up for her fiery temper! We're both so surprised at how vocal Amelia is for being so little. She uses her voice a lot and it's strong too. I can really get her talking, and I love to hear her giggle-it's the sweetest thing I've ever heard! She's on the verge of rolling over. She's real good at rolling her hips over but her arm prevents her from completely rolling over. As you can see she's thriving very well. At her 2 month check she was 12 lbs 11 oz. She already outweighs Celeste at the same age by about 4 pounds. Unfortunately she still hasn't caught onto sleeping through the night yet though she has gotten my hopes up a few times. But she does know when it's night time because she'll go down between 9:30-10:00 pm for 4-5 hours and only stirs when she needs to be fed and goes right back to sleep. Part of my problem is that I'm not getting to bed until midnight which only gives me a couple hours of sleep before Amelia needs me even if I force feed her before I go to bed! I think her big appetite prevents her from sleeping for long periods of time. I'm hoping that introducing rice cereal in a month will help keep her satisfied longer-here's to wishful thinking!

Amelia was blessed in June while my sister and her kids were visiting. She wore the same dress as Celeste did but she definitely filled it out better, thanks to Jacob's mom altering it a bit and Amelia's plumpness. Our camera had stopped working during this time so sadly I don't have any pictures of us on her blessing day.

This girl loves to chew on her fist. Despite multiple efforts she won't keep a binkie in her mouth and definitely knows the difference between a false nipple and the real thing! Even though she was given quite a few bottles in the first few weeks until my milk supply really came in she's been refusing them more recently. Jacob's been trying to give her a bottle at least once a day to get her to use it again just in case he'll become the primary food provider if I get into UofPitt at the last moment.

She has fantastic hair! I love to spike it up when it's wet so it'll dry standing up-I think she looks like a cockatiel!

Obviously not enjoying her Bumbo at the moment...

New York, New York...

2010-08-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

Amelia, 6 weeks old

Celeste, 3 months old

Summer Funnin'

2010-08-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Posing in front of the Wright Bros 1st airplane at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton

Amelia with the amazing baby quilt my sister made for her!

Amelia catching a few zzz's at the Dayton Airshow. Notice her stylish ear wear-we improvised baby ear protection by holding a pair of baby socks over her ears with a headband which seemed to work pretty good as you can see!

Now there's a pair of happy girls!

To help Celeste be more mobile in the pool we got her this lovely flotation device. She's been getting more and more comfortable in the water, slipping off the edge of the pool on her bum into daddy's arms, etc.

Must be dreamin' about the boobie!

Amelia all ready to celebrate the 4th of July with her 'Independence Bonnet' on

Daddy watching the 4th of July parade with his girls

Celeste just couldn't get enough of that watermelon...
...neither could grandpa!

Using our new used double jogging stroller for our nightly walk-it handles great!

Hangin' with the grandparents at the Irish Festival in Dublin, OH-the largest gathering of redheads in the country!
Feeling right at home amidst our fellow ginger haired comrads

U Want Pictures, U Got Pictures!

2010-06-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

So happy to be home...

Celeste is enjoying all the new, fun baby equipment

just as much as Amelia is-probably even more!

Caught in the swing-again!!

Amelia's first exposure to water outside of the womb

Celeste and Daddy waving their flags while admiring the Memorial Day parade

Celeste showing off her loot

Proof of Amelia's temper-she goes from 0-60 in no time flat!

Definitely has her own temperment already different than Celeste.

Taking a break with daddy 'the cow-hand'

Like Father, like Daughter! We'd been looking for a paperboy hat for Celeste to match Jacob's and just happened to find 1 at a 2nd-hand clothing store. If she's not being fed or sleeping, she needs to be held or she's a cryin'!

Amelia's gone and got herself a bad bought of baby acne which pains

me to see marring my brand new baby's beautiful face!

Amelia Mae Passey

2010-05-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Amelia Mae Passey finally decided to make her grand entrance (and what an entrance was, too!) into our lives on Saturday May 15th at 1:07 am. My contractions started at 9:30 pm Friday evening, we headed to the hospital at 11:10 pm and after pushing for about 10 minutes she was out at 1:07 am. Because she came so fast and the process to get an epidural took so long, getting an epidural was pointless (I was already at 9 cm when the anesthiologist showed up...grrr) so I chose not to bother with it afterall which was completely against my better judgement. Everyone was impressed with how quickly she came; the nurses kept commenting about it anyway. Despite not getting an epidural, which I been so counting on, the experience couldn't have gone better. The nurses also told Jacob and I that we were pros at childbirth because of how calm Jacob stayed despite my obvious agony and at how well I maintained my breathing. Jacob really was amazing but I sure didn't feel like a pro once it came time to push the baby out-there was a few minutes there where I really freaked (in Jacob's words, 'you looked possessed') but thanks to the constant encouragement of Jacob and the nurses I was able to regain my focus and get the job down.
I'm still evaluating how I feel about experiencing natural child birth-it really rocked my world! No one and nothing can truly prepare a person for managing that type of pain. When I recall the experience I still get goosebumps. The greatest relief was seeing Amelia for the 1st time and knowing that she was healthy and beautiful in spite of 9 months of constant worry. She weighed 8 lb 6 oz and was 20.5 inches long and couldn't be more perfect. She looks just like Celeste but she has alot more hair and it's darker and already wavy as well which we're thrilled about.
Celeste has been fascinated with Amelia since the moment we introduced them. She always wants to be right next to her and holds out her hands to hold her and hug her. She gets upset when we move Amelia away from her and can't be next to her. She kisses her and of course points/pokes/pats at her constantly. Without any prompting from us Celeste has already tried to put a blanket on Amelia and help put her binky back in her mouth when it falls out. We're totally amazed at how natural Celeste's sisterly affection has come-we were a bit anxious about how she would react, but it's like she's been expecting/waiting/preparing for Amelia to show up. She's been saying 'baby' for a few weeks now so of course she's always saying 'baby' and running over to her to check on her in the playyard. She says 'hello, baby' and waves her little hand right in her face and she even says 'bye-bye, baby'. I'm so happy at how well Celeste has taken to her new sister-hopefully it will stay that way for a few more years!
Celeste getting her first up-close look at Amelia
Proud daddy with his 2 girls
Our 1st family picture
Celeste's 1st time holding her new baby sister
We were released from the hospital on Monday and have been trying to regain some normalcy ever since, but I don't think it's to be found! It's been a difficult week with getting the hang of breastfeeding again while dealing with sleep deprivation and keeping a 3rd eye on a mischievious toddler. While we're definitely more at ease with handling a newborn this time around since we've already experienced it once before, throwing such an unpredictable variable into the equation as a 19-mo old definitely presents its challenges. But I'm already so content with our little family-I love having a newborn again and experiencing the sweetness of a new life. I truly love being a mother.

Baby Update

2010-05-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

37 Weeks on 4/25/10

As of yesterday, I am 50% effaced, 1 cm dilatated, 200% uncomfortable and and 100% ready to have this baby! If I'm dilatated to at least 4 cm by my appointment next Wednesday, the doc is going to go ahead and induce me. My worst fear at this point is having this baby on the bank of the Great Muskingham River because she's coming too fast and we can't make the 45 min drive to the closest hospital in time-definitely not the stuff dreams are made of!!

Meu Aniversario de Nascimento

2010-05-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of turning 32 this year.
Jacob made me a double-layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting which was to die for!

Grandma, Celeste and Jersey gettin' in the swing of things

with their festive hulas and hats (mom always has something to

liven special occasions up abit, like hulas and hats!)

We had the padres over the night before the big day to enjoy the cake with us because I decided to spend my actual b-day in Columbus, enjoying all the free food the restaurants were willing to give me in honor of my b-day. We actually only ended up using 2 of the 10-12 coupons I received, but it was still worth the trip. I got a free Grand Slam breakfast from Denny's and a free lunch from Abuelo's. Most of the coupons are goodfor a few weeks so I didn't feel so much pressure to redeem them all that day-thank goodness! It's so difficult to pass up something, especially food, when it's free!

We ended the day on a sweet note by treating ourselves to some tart yogurt at Yagoot's. We hadn't had any since leaving AZ so we were especially eager to get our taste buds on some-soooo good! Despite never having tasted it before, Celeste seemed to be just as enamored as we are-she knows a good thing when she tastes it...

Celeste & I checking out the indoor fountation at Easton Mall

The day after my birthday my mom and I had a girls day out in Zanesville which was alot of fun. Surprisingly just the 2 of us hadn't spent mother/daughter time alone since I moved here, so it was long over due. We just walked through the local mall browsing for anything that caught my eye which was mostly shoes since I wasn't in a position to be buying new clothes being 36 weeks pregnant and all. Amazing how much time a person can kill 'just browsing'. I'm definitely not an impulsive buyer so of course I have to see everything before I make my decision which can really take the fun out of shopping but also saves me from making regretable purchases. I made out with a couple of really cute, fun sandals and some delectable bubble baths from Bath and Body Works (ps-I've always been a bubble bath girl but I've been especially taking more recently because it's the only thing that seems to soothe my aching, bulging body and I was in need of some new indulgent suds and scents)-obrigadao mamae!

I really need to give my hubbie some props for humoring me during my 'birthday week'. He was so patient in indulging my crazy birthday whims and watching Celeste so I could spend time with my mother. And then on top of all that he watched her at home the next day so I could attend the temple with my parents which took us all the way to Columbus again. When I got home all the carpet in the house had been vacuumed and shampooed, along with the dishes washed and the house looking spotless, and our daughter had been excellently cared for-he did all that so that when I got home I could relax and not worry about having to do anything. It was the most thoughtful gift I've ever been given and reminded me to be more greatful for who Jacob is and to focus more on all the wonderful things that he does, special occasion or not. Beijos meu gatao~

Celeste's 1st Day of Nursery

2010-04-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Celeste celebrating her 1st day of nursery while wearing her Easter dress as well-what a big day!!

Celeste turned 18-mo old on March 30th but due to General Conference she didn't get to officially start going to nursery on Sundays until April 11th. She actually had a couple trial runs prior to the 11th so she knew exactly where to go and didn't need any encouragement by us! In fact, she runs into the room saying 'hi' to everyone and 'bye' to us. We're so happy that we haven't had to deal with any fits or crying from separation anxiety-this girl has NO problem being away from mom and dad! She's already such a social butterfly-we love it!

Easter Celebrations

2010-04-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

It was nice to have an excuse to get more into celebrating Easter this year. Jacob and I haven't even dyed egss since maybe our 1st year of marriage. So between wanting to engage Celeste in the holidy and having my parents close-by to celebrate with, I'd say this was the best Easter we've had! And surprise, surprise it had nothing to do with how much candy I got-ha! I still secretly hope the Big Bunny will surprise me with a basket full of sweets and toys waiting to be found in the yard on Easter morning like he did all those years ago....
My mom invited us over to dye eggs with her the Friday before, so while dad and grandpa did manly things around the farm, us ladies employed our craft-making abilities to decorate 2 dozen eggs.

Miss Celeste hard at work dyeing eggs. She enjoyed stirring the eggs in their cups and remarkably we had no spills!

Saturday we had a picnic down by the river at Big Bottom Memorial Park. The weather had been really nice until that afternoon-you can tell by mom's hair just how hard the wind was blowing! We were able to squeeze in a trial egg hunt run. I wasn't sure if Celeste would get the idea but with a little encouragement she quickly caught on to looking for the pretty eggs on the ground.

Sunday afternoon we left a trail of plastic eggs for Celeste to follow from the front porch around the side of the house to her Easter basket. Thanks to the experience she gained the previous day, she knew just what to do. We didn't (and don't) want the focus of Easter to be candy so she got some sidewalk chalk and a pair of house slippers along with a couple of plastic eggs with jellybeans but she was the most excited about just finding and collecting the eggs.

Celeste admiring the fruits of her labor amidst the lovely tulips...

Celeste helping momma find eggs at Grandma/pa's house one last time

Our Little Garden Gnome

2010-04-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Celeste reached her 18-month mark on March 30th and we celebrated by taking her to the doctor for her check-up. Fortunately she's finally all caught up on her immunizations (we've been taking the non-traditional route of spreading out her vaccines since she was 9 months old) so the visit wasn't overshadowed by that unpleasantness. She weighed 24 lbs and was 32 inches long which puts her in the 45th and 50th percentiles. Our only concern for the doctor was Celeste's recent sleeping tantrums. About a week before her appointment she started totally freaking out when we put her to bed, which is totally unlike her. She refused to lie down and would scream so desperately unless we stayed right there with her, which as any sane parent will tell you is mind- and body-frazzling! She'd finally calm down and appear to be snoring, but as soon as we tried to creep out of the room she'd pop right up and start the drama all over again. And then she would wake up sometime in the middle of the night screaming frantically all over again. We finally just had to let her cry it out, which has always been our method but it was harder this time because her crying/screaming sounded like it was motivated by fear. Fortunately this unpleasant period only lasted about 2 weeks and she's been going to bed like an angel since, but it has me worried about what will happen to her sleep pattern when there's a newborn in the house. It sure seems when you're in the middle of trying to remedy such a hopeless situation that the morning can't come soon enough and that it will never end!

Celeste helping daddy clean up the yard before the fence was put up, thus the leash...

At this point she only takes one 30 minute nap each day but by 8pm she's definitely ready for sleep even though she'll shake her head in denial when we ask her! Now that the weather is nice enough she's been playing outside almost every day which certainly helps to tire her out. We fenced off our back porch and some of the lawn so that she can roam freely without us constantly having to chase after her which we've all been enjoying, me especially since Celeste can out-maneuvre me now due to my rotundness. She loves climbing up and down the stairs and the small hill in the yard and helping daddy ready the garden by stirring up the dirt. She really doesn't need any toys to keep herself entertained when she's outside-she's already such a nature girl. I already feel so sad for her though because her complexion just isn't going to allow her to spend much time outside each day, certainly not the amount of time that she'll want to spend! Fortunately we live on the side of a hill so our house is already in the shade by about 4pm which will allow Celeste to be outside without threat of sunburn. Kind of sounds like she's a little vampire-pale skin and can't come out in the sun! We've designated a pair of overalls as her 'outside overalls' and bought her some rain/mud boots so mommy doesn't have to worry about Celeste ruining her good clothes/shoes.

Here are some other recent photos...

Taken from the old McConnelsville/Malta bridge-doesn't Celeste look comfortable...?

Her shirt says 'Little Devil' if you can't make it out. Like the Chucks?-daddy has a matching pair...so Celeste and I have our matching outfits and Jacob and Celeste have their matching shoes. I guess that makes her a mini-me and a mini-Jacob; poor thing!

Whoever invented these bathroom seats for kids is a GENIUS! I dread using public bathrooms with Celeste because she has to put her hands on and into everything which makes using the toilet myself nearly impossible-these seats are lifesavers!

Things That a Woman Takes for Granted when She's NOT Pregnant

2010-03-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

Bending over-period.

Taking a deep, satisfying full breath of air.

Having a waistline.

Being indigestion free.

Making it through the night w/out a trip to the bathroom.

Getting up from a chair w/out a back-end push from the hubbie.

30 Weeks and Counting....

2010-03-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Tweedle-Sweet and Tweedle-Dee:

Celeste and I sporting our matching overalls.

I couldn't resist getting myself a pair this time around because 1st of all we live in overall country now and the motto "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" definitely applies here, and secondly, when I've seen pregnant women wearing overalls they've always been so cute and I admired them for not being ashamed of showing off their lovely lady lumps, which overalls do quite well! And even though I'm well passed the cute stage of my pregnancy, woman not only looks cute but feels cute as well (somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd trimesters), the overalls help me pull off cuteness just a little bit longer, despite being as big as a playhouse!

I can't believe that in a mere 8-10 weeks we'll have a newborn baby in our home again! Kind of has me panicking! Seems like with Celeste we spent the entire 9 months planning, cleaning, and organizing in preparation for her arrival but I haven't felt the need to nest as much with this one. Probably because we already have all the baby stuff-not like starting from scratch and having to purchase EVERYTHING-thank goodness we don't have to do that again! Fortunately spring is finally here so we've been more willing and able to spend time outside in the garage organizing all of our stored boxes so we can get to the baby boxes more easily in the coming weeks.

I feel like this pregnancy has been physically more demanding on my body than Celeste was. I can't believe it has much to do with my age since I had Celeste only 18 months ago. However, I imagine having a child to chase after while being pregnant does play a factor in my exhaustion. I've been experiencing more severe symphitis (inflammation of the pubic symphysis, which is the junction of the left and right pelvis bones) to the point that I couldn't walk, though it has been better recently. In general I have more aches and pains then I remember experiencing with Celeste, to the point I wake up every time I flip over at night because of the discomfort in my crotch...ouchie! But despite all the temporary discomforts, Jacob and I are really looking forward to meeting this little girl. We're so anxious to see if she'll look like the rest of us, pale with blue eyes and red hair, or if she'll surprise us by having dark hair. It's so difficult to imagine having a child that doesn't look like the one we already have because I don't see mine and Jacob's combined DNAs providing much diversity! But I do recall from my Genetics class last quarter that there's over 1 million possible combinations of genes from just 2 people-wowza!!! So if that's the case we could be in for a REAL surprise!

Naming this baby has definitely not been easy-too bad we just can't call her 'Celeste Jr.' because we both loved that name so it was super easy naming our 1st daughter, but no such luck the 2nd time around! We're at a stalemate between either Amelia Mae or Lucy Mae. 'Mae' is in honor of my deceased paternal grandmother, Laura Mae, who's home we are currently living in. We want to give each of our children a family name as well as their own original name and since we honored Jacob's deceased maternal grandmother by giving Celeste the middle name 'Undine' we could at least agree that this next baby should have one of my family's names. So we're going to wait until we see her and then hopefully we'll both be moved upon to give her the same name- fingers crossed!

I realized that I never posted the ultrasound picture that we had back in December at 17 weeks, and how disappointed Amelia/Lucy might feel when she's older and notices that before she was even born we were taking less pictures of her than of her older sister! So to avoid any future feelings of jealousy or sadness...

We were actually disappointed with the pictures from this ultrasound because they weren't very clear or detailed. The tech was nice but not real in tune with capturing the types of pictures expecting parents are after. We were expecting the same experience we had with Celeste's ultrasound where even in utero we caught a glimpse of her features and personality. This was the best picture we got but it still didn't help me feel anymore of a personal connection to the life growing inside me-this could be any baby! I wanted to see characteristics that makes her my baby! Oh, well-she'll be here soon enough to make her own personal impression on us!

Our Sweetest Valentine

2010-02-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

I figured it was time for another post all about our very own personal cupid herself, Celeste. With her strawberry-golden locks, fair skin and flushed pink cheeks, she reminds me of a cherub. The only things she's missing are the wings and the bow & arrow. Seems like just within the last couple of weeks her personality, along with her vocabulary, has doubled in size! I've been trying to take mental notes on all the things that she does that totally tickle me, as only a mother can be tickled! Of course I realize that every child Celeste's age is doing the exact same things which may make them unremarkable overall but since she's my first child, and I don't know all those others kids, I find everything she does spectacular! And I hope I feel the same way watching my other children grow and experience life.

Here's just a few of her amazing accomplishments thus far (reads like a resume-oops!):

Words: 'hi, uh-oh, ow, nana (banana), grandpa/ma (pa-paw), daddy, momma'
Waves bye-bye by opening and closing her fist
Gives hugs and open-mouth kisses
Nods 'yes' more than 'no' (which I especially like)
Has recently befriended our Great Dane, Jersey, by lieing on the ground with her and talking/hugging/poking her when Jersey will allow it
Can throw away her dirty diapers in the garbage can (we're very proud of this one!)
Can't help but dancing whenever she hears music
Loves to sing, especially in church when she can get her hands on a hymnal and when daddy needs help scoring big while playing 'Rock Band'
Can talk on 2 cell phones at once: she has 2 play phones and 1 retired Jitterbug phone from Grandma, and can't keep her hands off of our cell phones or the home phone-hate to admit it but I think that talking on the phone is already her favorite thing to do-ahhh!
Climbs, climbs, climbs!
Enjoys making music/noise with her mini-piano with microphone and other musical toys
Brushes her hair and teeth (more like sucks the toothbrush to death!)
Gives raspberries or zerbers, whatever you want to call them
Loves the bathtub-tries to climb in clothes on or not whenever she knows the bath is running
Bananas are her favorite thing to eat
Learning to feed herself with a spoon, but still finding it hard to resist using her convenient biological utensils-aka her hands!
Picks out the veggies from her food even when we've tried to disguise them
Very helpful at assisting me with putting on shoes, whether or not I need them
Proficient at carrying clothes around the house-anybody's clothes, she's not particular!
Enjoys the adventure of walking around the house partially blind due to the cloth/see-through clothing covering her face
Giggles when her socks are taken off
Much better at letting us read books to her without tearing them from our grip or flipping the pages prematurely, or biting the books.
Attended her 1st Sunday in nursery last week (only because mommy had to teach a class and there was no one else available to watch her)
Has started going to Pre-school Reading Time at the local library once a week

As you can see with this much activity, there's no resting in our house! Unfortunately, I do have to add 'has started throwing fake fits when she doesn't get her way' to the list which frankly I was not prepared for this early! But can a parent every really prepare for that??!! Jacob and I just look at each other in amazement and roll our eyes, because no matter how fiesty she gets, she's the best thing to ever happen to us. The joys of parenthood definitely outweigh the mild unpleasantness, so far....smile, smile.

Celeste's 1st Bubble Bath-only slightly disappointed with the taste...

Celeste's new hat-aka a plastic container she found in our kitchen cupboard. In fact, it was part of the delivery kit that was provided by the hospital where I delivered Celeste. I have no idea what it's purpose is because I never used it, but Celeste sure has found it to be useful and trendy.
By-the-way, that's a headband around her neck. She loves putting as many around her neck as she possibly can-there's about 10 total that she plays with.

Cute Dresses, Interviews and Aprons

2010-02-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

This post is an amalgam of pictures/events that have happened in the recent past-nothing too exciting, but a few tidbits for our families and friends.
Celeste's Nana and Grandad Passey gave her this beautiful dress for Christmas and I've been promising to post pictures of her in it every since. She was hard to catch holding still because we had just gotten home from church and she was all about her crackers!
Celeste loves putting things around her neck/head so when she discovered that her Christmas stocking fit over her head she wore it around the house when she could get her hands on it. There are miniature Christmas light bulbs sewed on it which of course she kept putting in her mouth so we had to regulate her use of the stocking.
Here I am 24 weeks pregnant right after a 3 hour drive back home from Pittsburgh and a long day of interviewing. Actually, my experience at University of Pittsburgh was very positive, despite the long night we had in the hotel due to the unpleasant combination of Celeste teething and being sick. As the day progressed I felt more and more confident and excited about possibly attending school there. We (me and 59 other applicants) spent most of the day being introduced to the school by the dean, other key professors/Dr.'s and dental students. Everyone was very friendly and the atmosphere was very relaxed. I felt very comfortable, even during my interview which was quite a switch from my interview at Indiana. I had a one-on-one interview with a doctor of oral pathology in his office for 30 minutes. I left his office feeling good about myself and not second-guessing myself. I definitely stuck out from the other students, not just because I was the only visibly pregnant applicant, but in overall appearance. I was 1 of maybe 3 caucasian females and definitely the only redhead. Funny thing was that nobody mentioned my being pregnant except for the 22 yr old from North Carolina that I sat next to throughout the day-once he explained that his wife was due in February with their first baby I understood why he would recognize my waddle as the pregnancy waddle. Most 22 year old males wouldn't know any better than to assume that I was just portly! Anyway, it was a very quick trip but it was enough to give me a good feel about UofP and if I end up having to choose, UofP will be my first choice, out of the schools thus far. I wasn't that keen about Pittsburgh itself-very congested and confusing-but I'm sure it'll grow on us once we're there. The school is conducting 1 more interview day in February (Feb 8) and will make their decisions soon after. They're incoming class is 80 students, 40 of which they've already selected from interviews conducted last semester. They'll be filling the other 40 openings from interviews conducted this semester which from what I was told will be about 180 applicants. I feel like I have just as good a chance as any other applicant so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Jacob was in need of a project so I suggested that he make Celeste an apron since every time I get mine out she wants to wear it. We have to fold it over a few times to get it high enough that she won't trip on it, and it always comes out anyway. So we picked out some fabric and Jacob sewed Celeste her very own little apron in a matter of an hour without the aid of a pattern or anything! He took all the measurements and made a little sketch to visualize it, and then went to work! Jacob is continually surprising me-he's very creative and artistic and I love that he's not afraid to sew! He taught himself to use my grandmother's sewing machine with the aid of the manual, which is never easy even with a manual! It turned out very cute, as you can see for yourselves. And Celeste was so excited to have her very own tailored apron. *Notice the trendy, functional pocket along with the adjustable neck strap for growth convenience. How many little girls can say that their daddy made them an apron??!!

Dental School Update

2010-01-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

We're so excited! I just received an invitation yesterday to interview at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine! I can either interview on the 11th or the 25th of January. I told them that I could be there on the 11th if they still have available appointments because Pittsburgh is only a 3 hour drive from Malta. So we'll leave Sunday afternoon and return Monday evening.
This invitation really is quite a nice surprise! My only other interview thus far was in November at Indiana University in Indianapolis and I received that invite way back in July. So ofcourse I was assuming that all of the schools would have their interviews completed by the end of the year, but I'm learning that each school definitely moves at its own pace. We made my interview into a roadtrip, my parents came with us which I was very grateful for-I had an awesome support group! The interview at IU was a 2-day interview which included a 1 day tour of the campus and a 2nd day of actual interviews. I thought it went well for the most part, but I left feeling confused about what was expected of me. I was told that I under-sold myself, that I should flaunt my accomplishments more but I didn't know how much information they had on me from my application. So it was definitely a learning experience and I am excited that I get another chance to 'sell' myself! I have been placed on IU's alternate list which means that come spring they'll start filling their roster openings with the alternates, but I have no clue where I am on that list.
This 2nd interview brings me alot of relief, to know that the 1st interview wasn't merely a fluke and that I do have other options, that I'm not desperate for IU to want me!
I applied to 9 schools: Case Western (Cleveland), Ohio State (Columbus), University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky (Lexington), University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University (Morgantown), and Viriginia Commonwealth University (Richmond). My application was denied at OSU and Case Western put my application on hold until I retake the DAT to raise my PAT score from a 17 to 18 which I refused to do. And I still wait to receive word from the other 5 that haven't contacted me since receiving my application, so in actuality there still is a good possibility that I could start dental school at the end of the year despite things not having happened exactly like I expected them to. Good thing that 'somebody' knows more than I do about how my life should go!!

Seasons Greetings

2010-01-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

2009 was definitely an eventful year for us; moved to Ohio in May, applied to dental school in July, in August discovered that another baby is on the way, had interview at Indiana University's dental school in November, spent Thanksgiving in California with Jacob's family and experienced snow after many winters without just to name a few things.
All dressed up for Christmas Sunday

Celeste is 15-months old now and is so much fun! While her vocabulary is still very limited (hot, grandpa, momma, dadda) she has no problem communicating her needs and wants to us. She is very affectionate and curious about everything! She loves climbing the stairs and pretty much anything she can get up on. At her well-check appointment 2 weeks ago she was 22.4 lbs and 30 3/4 inches. The pediatrician told us that she was 'perfect'-50 percentile for her weight, height and head size and perfectly healthy. Of course every parent thinks that their child is perfect but it made us proud to hear that the doctor agreed! She did very good with our Christmas tree this year; she really didn't pay much attention to it after the excitement over the shiny balls wore off. Celeste was definitely impressed with all the Christmas lights on the tree and on the house. She's very good at pointing while trying to tell us what she thinks about them. I know that she's going to love having a sibling because any time we're around other children she's hugging them or trying to touch them and talk to them. She's an all-around sweetheart.
19 weeks

I guess that since I'm already half-way through my pregnancy it would be a good time to announce that I'm pregnant! We haven't intended to keep it a secret but we prolonged making any type of public announcement (to anyone other than family) until I could get in to see a doctor which was delayed because of health insurance reasons. I had my first appointment at the beginning of December and despite being considered high risk because I hadn't had any prenatal care yet everything was just fine. We had an ultrasound to confirm how far along I was because my uterus was a bit larger than expected for being 16 weeks, and due to the timing also to find out the sex. Jacob had been really anxious about this baby being twins because despite being a bit older for child bearing I'm also a fraternal twin which increases the chances for twins. So when he heard that my uterus was a bit larger than it should be that only made him more anxious. But it was to no avail-there was only one heart beat and one baby. We were hoping for a boy, like any parents who's 1st child is a girl and because there's lots of girls on both sides of our families, but we're being blessed with another girl. I'm kind of relieved and disappointed at the same time because I'm not sure how to take care of a boy but it would be a blast figuring it out, and to have a contrast to all the estrogen we have around our house! So now we're in the middle of the 'name battle'-we both have very different ideas about nice girl names. We might just have to flip a coin.
My due date is May 16. I had morning sickness for the first 4 months which is never fun but somehow you survive. The biggest challenge was making myself still attend my classes which were 45 minutes away 3 times a week, but I managed to pull through-seems like a blur now! We are very excited about having another daughter. Even though our immediate future is still quite uncertain at this moment, I know that nothing will be as important as protecting and loving our sweet family. For all the material things that we don't have, we certainly are very blessed with the most important things-family and health.
Celeste enjoying a toy Christmas morning from Nana and Grandad

Learning to use the popcorn popper from Grandma and Grandpa
Eating mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce with the grandparents

Sledding in a Winter Wonderland

2009-12-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

We couldn't resist playing in the snow this weekend when we got atleast 4 inches! This was the first time that Jacob and I have experienced snow together since being married and of course, Celeste's very 1st time. I'm sure the novelty will wear off quickly the longer it sticks around and the messier it gets, but for now it sure is a nice contrast from the 70 degree Christmas weather that we experienced in AZ. We bought a cheap disc sled from the local hardware store and went out to my parents' to use it. Their driveway was the perfect hill for our needs. Surprisingly both of my parents were eager to give it go. The best part was watching my mother scream all the way down. We were very impressed with her courage to even attempt it after breaking her hip 3 years ago from simply falling on the porch.
Celeste seemed to enjoy the snow. She mostly marched around in it until Jacob put her on the sled, and then she couldn't get enough of it! After riding with Jacob a few times, she was eventually ready to tackle the driveway by herself and she loved it! There's definitely more snow in the forecast for Christmas so I'm sure we'll be out again in it real soon!

Fall Fun

2009-12-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Now that classes are over for the year I can turn my focus to more fun things, like updating our blog! And maybe finish putting together Celeste's 1st year photo album before she turns 2!
It has been fun experiencing a real fall this year. The weather stayed fairly mild until just a few weeks ago which allowed us to play in and rake up the boatload of leaves at my parents and enjoy a small-town Halloween.

Celeste picking her 1st pumpkin

Celeste, The Dragon, helping our neighbor, Phyllis, pass out candy to the neighborhood kids

By-the-way, I have NEVER seen so many kids trick-or-treating! The kids just kept coming-it was really fun to see. We bought candy and were all prepared to receive the trick-or-treaters but no one came down this way. Most of the people who live on our side of the street are elderly and have not participated in trick-or-treating for years so the kids didn't bother coming this way, not knowing that a young family lives here now. So we walked up to our neighbor's house where she was getting tons of business and piggybacked with her so we could see all the fun costumes and Celeste could be involved.
Celeste and Cleopatra at the Ward Halloween party
Cowboy Grandpa Jim and Clown Grandma Georgia

We had alot of fun getting dressed up for our church Halloween party this year. I can't remember that last time I really dressed up for Halloween-maybe when Jacob and I were dating. Mom lent me a genuine Egyptian dress she picked up in Egypt like 15 years ago and a Cobra headdress so I went as Cleopatra and we bought a wig which Jacob cut into a Cleopatra hair-style. Jacob helped me with the makeup as well-he still surprises me! My parents made it even more fun by dressing up as well-the 3 of us were pretty much the only adults in costume at the party which tells you alot about my family-we're not afraid to stick out! Jacob decided to go as a civilian. We bought Celeste's costume in August when we happened upon it at Old Navy. She had everyone at the store laughing in delight when she tried it on, waddling around the store and we knew she would be the cutest dragon. We figured that she's got plenty of time to be fairies and princesses, no need to push it on her now.
Celeste helping daddy pass out candy during trunk-or-treating: the trunk was the perfect lair for containing the little dragon!

Even though Celeste couldn't eat any of the candy, she certainly enjoyed seeing how much she could get her hands on!
Have you ever seen such a cute dragon butt?! This was my favorite part of the costumer-seeing her tail wag up and down as she walked and bent over.

Celeste's 1st Birthday Celebration

2009-11-05T14:17:00.000-08:00

Celeste's 1st birthday celebrations started on September 30th, her actual birthday, and continued through October 3rd, keeping with McKibben family tradition. My parents took us to a local diner for lunch on Wednesday just so Celeste could have her 1st baby-sized ice cream cone. She really enjoyed it as you can tell from the picture. Once she got her lips on the cone she didn't let it go until she had literally sucked it dry-our sweet, little ice cream vampire!

Celeste and Grandpa getting a little balloon crazy
To help us celebrate Celeste's birthday we invited some of my parent's friends, and now our friends, over for cake and ice cream on Saturday. My dad's birthday was on the 22nd so the party was actually for both him and Celeste. I really wanted to make Celeste a special 1st birthday cake, but as you can see it didn't quite turn out like I had wanted it to. If you can't tell, it's supposed to be a pumpkin! I ordered a special 3-D pumpkin cake pan which worked wonderfully but our frosting techniques leave a lot of room for improvement. But it tasted good despite how aesthetically unpleasing it was!

Celeste didn't get too crazy with the cake. We gave her a slice to experiment with and she approached it the same way she did the ice cream cone-it didn't leave her mouth until it was all gone!

Even though there weren't any other children at the party besides Celeste, the adults did their best to make it fun, wearing hats and other festive head gear that my mother provided from her extensive collection of New Year's Eve paraphernalia. Celeste even donned a fancy head piece for a significant amount of time. By-the-way, she loves necklaces which my mother also has a plethora of. She didn't get any for her birthday but we got some cheap beads when we attended the local homecoming parade which suit Celeste's needs perfectly.
Celeste with Aunt Dee (a close friend of my mother's who has always been very supportive of me and adores Celeste)
Celeste helping Grandpa open gifts, and vice versa
And of course, the party wouldn't have been complete without Jersey!

The FOUR H's

2009-09-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering, our new blog background is in honor of the local county fair that starts next week. While we will be nothing more than observers and consumers of yummy, fattening food next week, believe it or not, 4H is part of my random history.
Before my family moved to AK when I was 9 we lived in the very small, very podunk town of Mackay, ID (http://mackayidaho.com). Even though we weren't necessarily country bumpkins, my dad worked for the Forest Service and we lived within the city limits, we were very much influenced by the local country lifestyle.
My older brother got involved with raising and showing rabbits through 4H, which is where I must have gotten my interest in it. I got to chose my first rabbit from my brother's rabbit's litter-she was all black, but can't remmember her name. I remember putting the bunnies on our trampoline and gently bouncing them to and fro-no worries, no animals were harmed in the process! I learned to show a rabbit during my 4H rabbit classes with my dear little bunny in preparation for the upcoming fair, but tragedy struck before the fair arrived. About a week before the fair I stayed the night with a friend of mine and had asked my twin brother to take care of my bunny while I was gone. He did such a good job of taking care of her, that he 'accidentally' left the door open and she escaped, which to this day is still very suspect to me! I was devastated because it meant that I couldn't partcipate in the rabbit show that I had been anticipating and practicing for. But one of my brother's friends, who bred rabbits, offered to let me use one of his rabbits. I thought I was saved until I met the rabbit for the 1st time. His name was 'Bugs Bunny' and he was HUGE-a fullgrown, male bunny which was quite a change from my cute, little bunny rabbit that I could easily hold in both hands. Anyway, by the day of the rabbit show I had lost all confidence in my rabbit showing skills because Bugs was just too big for me to handle. He ended up scratching my arms all to H**L and I was scared of him, which of course resulted in my crying in front of the judge. Instead of being a positive, confidence building experience it turned out to be a disaster! Obviously though, I have finally recovered from it and no longer hold any hard feelings towards Bugs or his oblivious owner or to my careless twin brother (wink, wink)....
Yes-this is a Polaroid picture (remember those?), and yes-I am a girl...
Me and Bugs-The Killer Coelho (Portuguese for 'rabbit')

I had much better experiences with my sewing and cooking classes. I made a top-notch laundry bag in my sewing class that I held onto until I 'misplaced' it while in Brazil serving a mission. Hate to accuse a church member of taking it because that wouldn't leave a very good impression of religious people, but once I set it down on the cultural hall stage I never saw it again... Quem sabe onde sumiu!
The only thing I remember learning to make in my cooking class was a hole-in-one: you cut out the middle of a piece of bread with the circular edge of a drinking cup, throw the holy (or is it 'holie'?) bread into a frying pan, crack an egg into the hole and cook the bread and egg together. Actually, sounds pretty good right now-haven't made one in years, maybe I'll surprise Jacob for breakfast tomorrow-he's a golf guy, he'd appreciate it!

Alas, my most memorable country experience was when I rode our horse, Strawberry, in the local rodeo. I ran the barrels with him-actually, it was more like a trot, and I recall only making it around 1 of the barrels, but nonetheless I felt like such a cowgirl! I even got a blue paper ribbon for participating-YEE-HA!!
Had we not moved to AK, I was destined to be a cowgirl-just look at that handkerchief and them boots!

So here it is some 24 years later and I'm just now learning what the 4H's are from a blog-how tragically funny! So thank you http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com for the memory jog and the enlightenement!

Celeste...THE WALKER-AHHHH!

2009-09-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Celeste showing Grandpa Jim how it's done...

Last Thursday Celeste took her 1st steps on her own: 3 to be exact, from me to mom-we all screamed in delight because it was so unexpected! Then the next day her footsteps doubled and everyday since then they've been multiplying! She is so fun to watch because she's absolutely fearless and squeals with delight as she's stumbling along, like she knows that what she's doing is stupendous! Sometimes she laughs as she totally bites it. It's so amazing how in an instant she's realized that there's a much quicker of getting around, and more comfortable, than on her knees and she just goes for it! Wish I still had that kind of courage... Everytime I see her let go of the couch or the kitchen cabinets I hold my breath a little in anticipation of how far she'll go this time. She can walk from the porch door to the middle of the kitchen before she tumbles over which is about 7 ft. So I've determined that I'll record her as an official walker/toddler in her baby book when she walks the entire length of the kitchen, which I predict will be next week with the way she's going!

Somehow I didn't associate 'climbing' with walking but they seem to go hand-in-hand. I've been noticing that Celeste likes to put one of her feet on a higher surface when she's standing next to something, like on the bottom step of Grandma Laura Mae's kitchen stool. And then out-of-the-blue she crawled her way up the couch next to me yesterday while I was watching TV-the little rascal!

Toastie O's and prunes-the breakfast of champions!

It's been alot of fun helping her discover new food flavors and textures over the last couple of months. I didn't realize that by 9 months she should have been started on finger foods which my sister-in-laws were so kind to inform me during our family reunion in Idaho over July 4th. So as soon as we got back I started her on Gerber easily-dissolved snacks. At first I was scared of giving her something too big or difficult to chew because as a 1st time mom you just don't know those things! But it's amazing how well babies can masticate without teeth-probably even better than toothless old folks! The best part of feeding Celeste is hearing the sounds of enjoyment that she makes, or to see how excited she gets when she recognizes something that she likes. Our Great Dane, Jersey, sure has been enjoying Celeste's food as well! Jersey stares at Celeste the whole time she's eating and as soon as I take Celeste out of her high chair, Jersey is all over it giving it a thorough cleaning. I'm afraid that Jersey has developed some bad habits from Celeste sharing her graham crackers with her. She's started eating food off the table/counters when we're not looking, which she did not do before! Celeste certainly doesn't mind sharing her food though-I catch her holding her little fist out with a piece of graham cracker clapsed tightly in it so Jersey can lick it and then Celeste puts it back in her mouth, if Jersey isn't insistent enough to take it from her that is. What a pair!

Passey, Passey Quite Contrary...

2009-08-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

We've had a great summer here in Ohio! It's always sad to see it come to an end but I'm really looking forward to experiencing a REAL fall season! Our summer has actually been quite mild, not near the humidity that is typical of this area at this time of the year. Ohio has welcomed us in the best way possible, by providing superb summer weather! I actually forgot how NORMAL it is to have rain after living in the desert for so long-it's been so refreshing!
We've really enjoyed planting and tending to our little garden, the 1st we've ever had. There's something so satisfying about being self-sufficient and being able to provide fresh vegetables for yourself. I've taken the opportunity of being close to an experienced and saged canner, my mother, and have spent a few mornings working together with her in the kitchen canning pickles and green beans. It's not near as complicated as I thought it was, but I would not have dare attempted it on my own!
Our tomatoes are just now starting to turn red so I hope to do some tomato canning this week before I get too busy with school.
I have also found myself cooking alot more than I had been-another influence from being around my mother. She's an amazing cook-always has been-always planning the next meal and ways she can make it memorable. Fortunately some of her excitement and enjoyment of cooking has rubbed off on me lately. It seems to come more naturally when we have fresh produce that has to be either used asap or canned asap-it requires a bit more creativity to not lose interest after eating the same vegetables for nearly every meal. Just within the last couple of days I have been very ambitious; I've made shephard's pie with mushroom onion gravy, sweet and sour meatballs, fish tacos, and homemade tomato soup.

Jacob 'the farmer' Passey was a bit ambitious with our garden; he planted cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, bell peppers, crooked neck squash, 2 types of tomatoes and onions. Unfortunately not all of it produced fruit...

Look at the beautiful 'fruits of our labors'! Looks more like artwork to me, eh?! I especially like our little eggplant...tadinho!

Safe and Sound in Ohio

2009-06-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

Figured it was about time I give a brief update about our move so that no one thinks that we've fallen off the end of the world-even though it kind of feels like it! Everyone arrived with no major incidences: Celeste and I by plane, Jacob and his dad by moving truck. They ended up driving a whopping 48 hours instead of only 30 like google map falsely informed us! I was so glad that Celeste and I didn't go with them like originally planned!
We stayed with my parents for the first couple of weeks as we waited for new carpet to get put in our house and painted as well. I was really dragging my feet when it came to making the transition from my parents house to our house because there was so much work to be done at our house and I really didn't want to do it! But once we started sleeping here we got alot more unpacking done and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We don't have all of the boxes unpacked yet but everyday we're settling in more and more. We had to put alot of boxes in the garage because there's not alot of storage place. Makes me wonder where we hid all of our stuff in our tiny apartment back in Tempe!
My main priority has actually been to fill out my dental school application and get that finished before we leave for Idaho next week so the few final boxes are still sitting in our living room. After job hunting for about 4 weeks Jacob has finally found a job at a dental laboratory in Zanesville that should work out great for him and our situation. Especially after how close he came to not getting to work in his area of expertise! We are very grateful that something so ideal came through for us after taking such a huge leap of faith in quitting a good job and moving cross country.
Both of our parents have been so supportive and helpful during our move. Jacob's parents and sister, Jennalee, came out to Tempe and helped us pack up our apartment over Memorial Day weekend which would not have been possible otherwise. And my parents were here to receive us with open arms and continue to help us in innumerable ways everyday. Thank goodness for family!
Celeste is loving the crawling room! She actually started crawling in the midst of our move and has only been getting more proficient at it. She's pulling herself up on everything and anything she can get her hands on. She has already changed so much in the five weeks that we've been here. And of course, the grandparents are loving every moment with her and vice versa.
Despite the uncertainity of our situation, we are very glad that we're here! It's been a huge adjustment to move to such a rural town from such a big city but we're already appreciating the differences and the opportunities for growth that it will offer.

Celeste is MOVING all on her own!

2009-05-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Now how could I possibly update our blog and not mention all the amazing things that Celeste is up to-never!
Rolling over is a mere parlor trick for her now! She rolls so quickly as soon as we put her on the ground and she's very good at dragging herself closer to things that she wants when she's on our tile floor. She'll certainly have a harder time doing that on the carpet in the Ohio house but it will come at a good time for making her crawling more comfortable! She's pushing up onto her knees more and more and rockin' away like the rock star she is! And just this last week she's started sitting up on her own. Jacob started sitting her next to the rail in the play yard so she could have something to hold onto which I think really has helped her get her balance. And an immediate result of that was my personal witness of Celeste pulling herself from sitting position to her wobbly, angled feet 2 days ago-it was so unexpected! It's so amazing how much pure upper strength babies have, especially with as heavy as their noggins are! We finally had to put plugs in our electrical outlets last night, which was kind of exciting, because Celeste found her first one and even though she couldn't quite reach it, she still tried her darndest to get at it! Electrical outlet plugs are one of those practical gifts that you get at a baby shower and think 'Oh, I'll never need these-that's MONTHS away from happening!' and then you find yourself frantically trying to remember where you put them!

Unfortunately Celeste developed her 1st cold last Friday (as far as we know it had nothing to do with pigs, ie 'swine flu')and we've all been suffering through it! Babies really are not themselves when they're sick and it's heartbreaking when as a parent and protector you can do nothing more to comfort them than to hold them a little more and wipe their noses. Jacob made a cute observation: he said that dealing with your own baby's snot isn't nearly as disgusting as it looks when you see someone else dealing with their kid's snotty nose!

My first Mother's Day

We're on the MOVE!

2009-05-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Literally-we're moving! Probably seems like it's coming out-of-the-blue since we've taken a short hiatus from our blog recently! We've been 'considering' it since March and now that it's less than 2 weeks away, looks like we're actually going to do it! We'll be relocating all the way to Ohio-'why?' do you say? Mostly to be considered an in-state resident for Ohio State's dental school when I apply to dental school in June which will greatly increase my chances of getting in (I'll still be applying to a few other schools, but Ohio State is obviously my 1st choice now), but also because it's a wonderful opportunity to be close to family again (my parents, specifically). We'll be living just 'across the river' from my parents in my grandparents home. Despite all the work involved with moving I'm very excited about sharing more of life's experiences with my parents and strengthening our relationsiships (Jacob & Celeste included, of course!).
We had a garage sale a week ago and it was fairly successful for us-got rid of enough things to making fitting the rest of our stuff into a 16 ft. truck more likely. And we started packing about 2 weeks ago so I've been feeling a bit closterphobic with all the boxes piled up in our already very small living room.

Now that my semester is officially over, I took my last final on Monday, I can turn my attention to more important matters like moving and preparing my dental school application (June 1st is the earliest date I can fill-out and submit it on-line, but just filling it out is a lengthy practice in and of itself!). The most important tip for applying to dental school I've heard over the last few years has been to get your application in on-time-don't wait, don't dally! Can't tell you how many students that I've heard of that were stellar applicants but supposedly didn't get accepted because they didn't get their applications in until the end of the summer or later. I say 'supposedly' because the dental schools don't take the time to inform each and every applicant as to the reasons WHY they weren't accepted, so of course every reject is left to themself to make up their own feel-good excuses for explaining their failure. Don't worry-I plan on having my application in early enough that atleast I won't have to use THAT excuse if things don't go according to plan!

6-month Update

2009-04-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

Celeste had her 6-month checkup yesterday and she's doing so good! She's 15 lbs (up to the 30th percentile now) and 26 inches. I think that she's finally doing some catching-up due to all the formula she's been getting. Yep, she's officially weaned. It kind of just happened really without my intending it to. Pumping wasn't working out as well as I thought it would, so she's been getting strictly formula in the evenings when I'm at school. I was still trying to breastfeed during the day but she just seemed to lose interest, getting easily distracted and not staying on very long, obviously not getting enough milk. So when my parents were visiting for a few weeks over Spring Break I started giving her more bottles during the day because it was just too time consuming to try and breastfeed her in the midst of all of our travels. Celeste and I took a 3 day excursion with my parents through southern Arizona and it was alot more convenient to give her bottles while we were driving. I still breastfed her in the morning when she woke up and in the evening before bed because at those times my milk supply was plentiful but within about 2 weeks I let myself dry up because it wasn't cutting it anymore. It was a wonderful experience while it lasted, but it has definitely ran its course and its time to move on! Oh, my-Look how 'calloused' I've become!-and I thought that I'd never be okay with Celeste not needing me to feed her after the fit I threw when Jacob had to give her a bottle right after I'd just fed her!
Here's some fun pictures we've taken lately...
Exhausted from playing

Playing with Daddy-Jacob sure can get her laughing good, the likes of which I can't seem to duplicate!

Every kid needs a pair of Tigger panties!

Oh, yeah-did I mention that Celeste loves to put any and EVERYTHING in her mouth?!-even her sweaty feet! Makes my joints ache to see her do this!

Mommy and Celeste all dressed-up for Easter (our ward celebrated it this last Sunday)

All baby shoes are cute, but these bunny slippers are especially adorable and fitting with Easter right around the corner!

Vintage by Celeste

2009-03-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

This girl doesn't know how good she's got it already! We received some vintage baby dresses/clothing from Jacob's sister, Beth, that she wore as a baby and they're in maculate condition. And to my surprise and joy, my mother had kept a couple of my baby outfits which she passed on to me last summer. So I've been keeping my eye on the clothes to make sure that Celeste wears them each at least once before she's too big for them, which hasn't been so easy. She may seem small, but she sure is growing fast! It's been so fun to play dress-up with Celeste. Her sizes have been a little behind the norm so I get complacent thinking that I have enough time to have her wear everything but before I know it, things start fitting a bit too snug or too short but it's good thing she's not old enough to be embarrassed of 'high-water' pants yet!
One of Beth's baby outfits-I love the 'lemon merengue' brightness!

This is one of my baby outfits-my twin brother had a matching one!
This obviously isn't vintage but a gift from Celeste's Aunt Aimee and wanted to make sure she sees how cute she is wearing it. Besides Winnie the Pooh is timeless-the very essence of vintage!

I also 'inherited' some of my grandmother's clothing, as my post-pregnancy dress-size just happened to be the same as her's, some of which included a couple of vintage formal gowns that she wore for her Eastern Stars banquets. I've been wearing them to church because there's no where else that they would be evenly remotely appropriate to wear-its not like I can wait for Prom to come around at the end of the school year or anything, anymore! I've always enjoyed discovering and wearing vintage textile treasures but they have even more significance since they belonged to my grandmother. All of the clothing that I got from grandma has really come in handy since I'm still not completely back to my pre-pregnancy size and am stuck in 'in-between land' for the time being.

4 Month Update

2009-02-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

Celeste had her 4-month well-check on February 3rd, can't believe that was 3 weeks ago already! Despite her petiteness, she's growing well. She weighed 11 lbs 12 oz and was 24 inches long. According to the Dr. her growth has leveled out a bit, fitting a little better into the growth curve. She's still only in the 10th percentile but he seemed pleased with her measurements. I tell ya, compared to all the other babies that are right around her age at church, she's a peanut! They're pretty much all boys though, so not sure if it's fair to make comparisons. It's amazing how much she is changing. The changes seem to come out-of-the-blue, like all the sudden she just gets it! She's pretty consistent now at rolling onto her back everytime we put her on her belly. Just within the last week or so she's started reaching out for things, like my face when I get close to her, or my water bottle when I'm drinking from it, or her binky.
The pediatrician gave us the okay to start her on rice cereal which we only did a couple of times at first because she didn't seem to like it but Jacob's been disguising it with formula in her bottles the nights I'm at school and it seems to satisfy her more-makes her more compliant for Jacob, anyway! So she gets strictly breastmilk when I'm home with her during the day and then at least 1 bottle of formula at night with Jacob, if I haven't been able to pump.
Discovering Rice Cereal Jacob is already trying to teach Celeste how to hold her on bottle, despite her small hands and lack of grip...poor thing
This afternoon we had some avocado out so we gave some to Celeste to see what she thought of it and she definitely enjoyed it more than the rice cereal! She kept reaching out for the spoon when he brought it to her mouth as if to say 'Keep it coming, daddy-o!'It's so fun to watch her discover new things-it's like we're rediscovering it all right along with her! Just within the last couple of days her sweet cooing sounds have definitely evolved into babbling. If I didn't know any better I would say that it sounds like she's speaking a foreign language and Jacob and I just aren't fluent enough in the language to catch what she's saying. Since we don't have a highchair yet, and Celeste can't situp on her own yet either, we bought her a Bumbo which helps her situp without our having to support her and also comes with a detachable tray. We sit her on the table so she can watch us when we're in the kitchen cooking and cleaning, and to feed her. I think she enjoys the change of view from being stuck on her back on the floor-I know I sure would! It appears as though that little Miss Celeste is going to be a people person. She just lights up when she sees people, probably because she's so happy to see other faces besides our boring mugs! She puts on a good show-smiling and cooing and squirming around. This afternoon our hometeacher came over and we were laughing about something and Celeste joined right in like she knew what was so funny-it was so spontaneous and unexpected it made us laugh even more!

Jacob's Sleeping Beauties