Derby Week Monday!

I've decided that I'll probably blog every day this week because I'm so anxious and excited for the weekend that I need to kill some time and stay busy. :-)

Today was another eventful day in the Cecil household. Alarm clock was blaring at 530 and I hopped out of bed to crank out some Cardio T-25. I killed it and felt great. Apparently it must have been sleep in day at my house because Charlie and Ryan didn't bother rolling out of bed until 8 which was GREAT for me! I actually got to relax a little this morning and enjoy a cup of coffee which I normally don't do. Most times I'm rushing around, making lunch, straightening the house, feeding the baby, getting the baby dressed or doing some other random thing around here. So anyway, when those two sleep in, I enjoy it.

When Charlie finally decided to wake up I was changing her and noticed a rash all up her belly and her back to her hairline. I was like oh great, what terrible thing is wrong with her now! I was hoping it was just a little reaction to her medicine or maybe she had a reaction to some mandarins that she tried for the first time Sunday. I wasn't too concerned because she seemed fine so we got ready and off to daycare we went. When I got there I was telling Miss C. about the rash and then Ms. T came out and told me that it could possibly be strep rash. WHAT?! She was tested for strep last week when we were at the doctor but they had me convinced that this is now what she had. Ugh.

They let her stay and I told them I would call the doctor so that's what I did when I first got to work. Of course they said they needed to see her so here goes another half day at work. Thankfully my bosses have been understanding and haven't minded me leaving to take care of the little one. They have a ton going on so I really appreciate them on days like today when I'm stressing out and worrying about the little bug. I left work at 2 and picked up the kiddo and we ran over to the pediatricians office. It was really crowded when we got there but we had an appointment so it didn't take long to get back and see Dr. Rash. Ha. Her name is Dr. Rash and we were seeing her because Charlie had a rash. That was ironic.

As soon as she walked in and looked her over she said immediately that Charlie didn't have strep and even if she did the antibiotic that she has been on since last week would have already knocked it out. Well, that's nice to know. She informed me that Charlie has a touch of Roseola which if my mother in law hadn't called me earlier in the day to tell me that this was something Ryan got when he was younger after a fever I would have looked at her like a deer in headlights. Instead I felt pretty informed and grateful that it was nothing to worry about! (Thanks Jan!)

When we left the doctor I was so relieved. The last thing we need during Derby week is Strep and a sickly baby! We came home and she immediately went down for a nap and I tidied up a little since I had some unexpected free time at home. Today has been so rainy and dreary so I haven't really felt like doing much except sitting around. Glad I knocked out my workout early.

Next topic. A friend and fellow blogger has entered a cute little picture of her and her daughter in a mother/daughter photo competition and I think you should go vote for them. The link to her blog is HERE and the voting site is at the bottom of her blog. Feel free to browse around. She's always blogging fun stuff!

Well, I think my husband is on the way home so I guess I better wrap this up. Hope everyone is having a great day despite the rain (here in KY).

118/365

As long as it stops raining by Friday we will be in good shape. 

xxx

Ryan & the rashy babe

IT'S DERBY WEEK!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm so excited! This is my absolute most favorite time of the year! I had plans to take Charlie to the Balloon Glow on Friday with Courtney and the kiddos but of course she is still recovering from that stinkin ear infection so we didn't go. My mother in law came over and brought me dinner and watched Charlie for a little while so I could go run some errands. That woman is a SAINT! Seriously, they help us out so much and I'm super grateful. All of our parents have been so much help. They aren't kidding when they say it takes a village. I'm glad I've got a large one!

So anyway this weekend wasn't exactly as fun as I wanted it to be. We had our friendly weight loss competition yesterday and I didn't win. Boo. BUT I've lost 14.8% of my body weight in 4 months so who gives a CRAP!? The money would have been nice but I prefer this lifestyle change and I have plans to keep losing until I get to my goal. 15 more pounds to go! Trucking on. Big congrats to my friends Ashley Shutts and Brian Vogel. They killed the competition. As did Brian's wife Kristin and my best buddy Geoff. Plan get skinny for summer is in effect!

Aside from weigh in yesterday me and Charlie didn't do much. Ryan came home early from the farm and I needed that break because Charlie was driving me bonkers. So when he got home I ran some errands and picked up some things for the Derby party and then last night my friend Geoff came over for some friend time and I had a few drinks for the first time in a month. I sure do love Blue Moon. Yum.

Today was uneventful. Charlie slept most of the day and I got to get the house somewhat put together. There's still work to do but everything will be in order for the party this weekend.

Here's what I've been up to:

112/365

The boys had a good day.

113/365

Double Ear Infection :-(

114/365

"So I can't go outside if I'm sick?"

115/365

Hollywood 

116/365

Diaper Daze 

117/365

Awake.

Thanks for looking! Hopefully I have time to write again this week!

HAPPY DERBY WEEK KENTUCKY!!!!

xxx

Ryan

Oh no, not again!

I had fun plans for me and Charlie when I got off work today. We were going to go to the park and play, well she was going to swing and I was going to push her. It was going to be so much fun.....until daycare called......

I got a call right at about noon saying that the bug was running a fever of 102. CRAP! I was hoping it wasn't anything serious but I called the pedi and they were able to see us at 230. I left work at 1 to relieve Ryan of his duties so he could go to work and when I got home Charlie settled in for a little nap before we had to go.

I woke her up at 2 to get her ready to go, gave her some motrin because her fever was now 103 and then got her strapped in the car to go. We got to the doctor at about 215 and got back into a room pretty quickly. The nurse poked, prodded and weighed the little one and that set her off and she cried for pretty much the remainder of our visit. When Dr. Rash came in and started her examination she said the words I was hoping I wouldn't hear.....double ear infection.....AGAIN?!?! We just went through this last month! She wrote us a script for something a little stronger than the amoxicillin but I'm pretty sure we haven't seen our last ear infection. We were doing so good for the first 10 months and now it seems like she keeps getting things. Hopefully this isn't followed by another stomach bug. That was AWFUL! So anyway, hopefully she doesn't have to get tubes in the future but I'm starting to think that's very possible.

So anyway, that's what's been going on with me today.

Hopefully tomorrow my girl is feeling better tomorrow.

Day 113/365

xxx

Ryan

It's a brand new week!

Well it's another week back to work before DERBY WEEK! This week is long then I have two 4 day work weeks so that's going to be nice! I have tons to do on those two off days though so it's not really too much of a break.

Yesterday was Easter and we had a great day spending time with 2 parts of our family circle. This year we went to the Cecil side and the Ranalli side. It's so hard running around with a baby, I don't know how we did 3/4 stops per holiday before Charlie came. That's no fun. I still felt pretty rushed yesterday but I'm glad we got to spend time with our family.

Charlie's first Easter was magical, as is every first holiday with her. She's so funny and loves everything at this age. I can't get enough. The Easter bunny brought her some really cool stuff and then she got some treats from some of our family members too. She did get some chocolate covered peeps but mommy made sure those were gone when we got home from all of our running! I probably shouldn't have ate those or the THREE Reese eggs I ate yesterday but oh well, YOLO. Yuck. I felt gross after. Plus our final weigh in for the diet competition is this Saturday. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to win but I'm super proud of myself for losing 21 lbs in 4 months. I feel good and things just keep getting better. I also received several compliments yesterday regarding my weight and my hair loss. Ha. Those always make me feel good! That's how I know that what I'm doing is working. When you don't see someone for several months and they can tell you've lost weight, that's a great feeling.

So, anyway this weekend was  a lot of fun. Charlie stayed at my dad and Jeannine's on Friday so Courtney and I went to Oiishi and ate way too much sushi. It was delicious. I love that place. Saturday after I picked up the bug we went to the park and she got to swing for the first time. She LOVED it. I was actually going to take her today when I got off work but I forgot Ashlee was coming to get Jamie's thumb drive so maybe we will go Wednesday if the weather is still nice.

SO! Here is my updated 365. I actually cheated on day 111 because I took that picture on Easter which was day 110 but I liked it and wanted it to be a part of the project. So oh well. It's my project, I'll do what I want! ;-)

Day 107

Every Tuesday and Thursday I go to my in-laws for dinner since Ryan works nights. (I know you've heard this before) Well, this is pretty much what Charlie looks like when we get home on those nights. :-)

 Day 108

Had to "BEE" careful not to get to close to this little guy. ;-)

 Day 109. 

This nest is right outside our front door. Since I've taken this photo the bird has laid 2 more eggs. So now we have 5! I cannot wait for these little guys to hatch. We're going to have to re-route traffic to our backdoor.

 Day 110.

Charlie made some friends.

Day 111.

 Cheating. Easter Sunday. Love my family. 

 

Well guys, there is my update. I'm going to download the mobile blog app for my phone so I can try to keep up more. I feel like I should be posting more than once a week but really my life isn't that interesting!

Hope everyone has a GREAT week.

Happy Derby Festivities to all my fellow Kentuckians!

xxx

Ryan

Jamie's Senior Session!

The weather is finally nice so you know what that means....time for some outdoor fun!

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of shooting my best friend Ashlee's sister Jamie's senior portraits. (Whew, that was a mouth full) It was SUPER windy out and the sun didn't always work in our favor but we had fun and took downtown Louisville by storm!

Here are some of my favorites from the session.

One of my favorite favorites. 

She has such beautiful eyes!

Thanks for stopping by visit! Congrats to all the class of 2014 graduates!

Don't forget to follow my blog and "Like" my Facebook page. You can do so HERE!

xxx

Ryan

Just need to POST THESE! Whew. That's better.

I'm seriously slacking in the blog department! I promise I'll get caught up eventually but things have been so busy with little bug I haven't had time to think! First things first. In order to get back on track I need to post my recent 365 images. I know some of them are posted in previous blogs here and there but I need to get them all on one blog to focus. Ha!

So, here they are:

Day 93.

Day 94. Just a reminder.

 

 Day 95. Chopped off my hair. 

Day 96. Sweet girls birthday party.

Day 97. Recipe Here

Day 98. April Showers

Day 99. Macro love.

Day 100! Isn't it obvious?

Day 101. Sleeping love.

Day 102. Backyard play time. (This photo scored me another feature on my 365 group!)

Day 103. Senior session stopping traffic!

Day 104. Happy birthday to this sweet girl. 

Day 105. New shoes for the big girl.

Day 106. Frosty macro morning. I laid a blanket out in my backyard and shot for about 20 minutes this morning. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. :-)

Whew! Now that that's over I can breathe! I'm currently working on editing a senior session which will hopefully be on the blog by the end of the weekend and of course I'm still shooting my 365. The weather is getting warmer so I'm trying to spend more time outdoors with the little one. She loves being outside.

Last Saturday we had a photoshoot scheduled for Miss Charlie's cake smash session with my friend Carla over at Carla Thompson Photography. I'm not going to post all the pictures here because her blog showcases them so beautifully, so I'll just post the link if you want to check them out. It's HERE and I'm totally in love with it and all the images she captured. Those are amazing memories that I will have forever!

I went back and forth about doing Charlie's cake smash myself but I don't have much to work with in that department and I really wanted to be able to watch little bug have fun with the cake instead of worrying about my settings and exposure and composition and all those fun photographer things. Carla did amazing and I got to get in some of the shots too! Yay!

Ok friends, that's all for today until later! Hope everyone is having a great day!!

xxx

Ryan

It's my party & I'll NAP if I want to!

This past Sunday we had a birthday party for our special little girl who is turning 1 on the 14th. I seriously cannot believe a year has gone by. She has filled our lives with so much joy and laughter and I couldn't imagine life without her.

We ended had a small party after much debate and I'm SO glad we went that route. I originally planned on inviting our WHOLE family which was close to 50 people and a few close friends too. That would have put us at about 65-70 people. For a ONE year old's birthday party. That's just a little too crazy for us AND for her. Instead we invited Charlie's aunts & uncles, her grandparents and our grandparents and we had such a great time. I'm not really into big birthday productions for kids. I never had that when I was growing up and I turned out just fine. I don't judge people that spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on their kids birthday parties but that will never happen with us or our kids. It's just not my thing. Plus, there is no way she needs hundreds of presents. She's one and we just don't have the room for tons of toys!

So back to little bugs party. It was at 2 on Sunday and the weather was beautiful. I spent the night before getting most things ready. Including this cute little chalkboard. I found the idea from Pinterest and added Charlie's details.

That morning I got up early and made sandwiches and got the kitchen together for the party.

The Menu included:

• Different kinds of sandwiches
• Chips
• Pasta Salad
• Veggies
• Fruit
• Cake
• Ice Cream

 I then went to pickup her cake which I ordered from the same lady that did our wedding cake. Her name is June and she's with JuLi's Creations and she's awesome and very reasonably priced. Check her out if you need some cakes or catering in the future! So, after I picked up the cake I took a trip to party city and picked up the balloons I had ordered the day before. They were SO cute and I was worried they weren't going to fit in the SUV but luckily they did :-)

Once I had the goods it was time to go home and wait for everyone to arrive. Charlie ended up taking a nap in the morning which kind of messed up her schedule a little bit for the party. She slept from about 9-1030 and wouldn't take another nap.........until her party. Ha!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Most of them are her playing with her cake and not eating it. My kid loves vegetables. Put a cake in front of her and she doesn't know what to do with it!

The cake and Charlie's mini cake.

Playing with a cup.

Getting ready!

This candle was used by my husband, his brother and his sister on all of their first birthdays. :-)

"I don't like this"

Just eating my puffs.

Get me outta here!

Just eating the yogurt puffs out of the cake and not touching the cake.

 

 

Mid party nap!!

 

So tired.

Can we go outside?

Oooooooo!

She didn't like it. Nope.

Enjoying the day outside!

Giving grandma some love. 

Our girl had such a great party and we are so glad that most of the family could make it!

365 update is coming up!


xxx

Ryan