Snow!

Today we packed up Tulley and London, and headed up to Auburn for lunch. The master plan was to have lunch, meet up with Cameron's hunting buddy to transfer some gear and go play in the snow a little. That's exactly what we did, albeit I've used the word "play" loosely.

We took the Old Auburn exit and headed into the historic district. Boy was it busy there - probably took us 20 minutes to find a parking spot. After a brief walking tour, we settled on Awful Annie's for lunch. London is getting to be such a big girl, sitting in high chairs all the time now. She found great amusement in the wine list. Daughter like mother, I guess.


Then we met us with Cameron's hunting buddy Gilles, who drove over the pass from Reno. This was all so Cameron could pick up his, and two other friends, gear that Gilles was kind enough to drive out to Colorado and back.

Next stop, Snow! We drove up to the rest area just past Gold Run Rd, where there was enough snow to get Tulley and London their first experiences. We were really curious how Tulley would react. She charged right onto it, following her dad like a good girl.



Meanwhile, I was bundling up London. We were very thankful for the little snowsuit the Moffetts had gotten her for Christmas. Purple is definitely her color too. From there, London and I stood outside while we watched Cameron and Tulley play fetch with snow balls and chunks. After a few pictures with London in her outfit we were ready to go.




Cameron and I are both looking forward to some sledding and snow man making next winter with London, which means a Cabela's trip is in our future to get me some snow boots and clothes! May have to stock up on some hot chocolate for those days as well.

And before we did any of this today, Cameron and I planted garlic in the wine barrels. We're hoping it does well, as we do eat a lot of fresh garlic.



Tootles,
Sarah

London's Stats

London is now 8 months old! I only have four months to plan her 1st Birthday party. Don't worry, I've been thinking about it for a good month already and have ideas simmering.

On Valentine's Day, London had her 8-month checkup. She did great, and only had to get one shot this visit. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 17 lbs, 3 oz, 40-45 percentile
Height: 29 inches, 96 percentile
Head Circumference: 17 inches, 35-40 percentile

So good news is London has gained some healthy weight, and her head isn't considered so small. The weight increase may be credible to the fact that London has finally decided she likes solid foods and is eating at least a small carton at dinner, 1/2 of a large sized carton.

For Valentine's Day, I got London the little "Love Bug" that Hallmark was advertising for the holiday. A Love Bug for my Love Bug. I actually call her Bug often, so it was a fitting gift. For future Valentine's Day, I'll use the Love Bug to give her presents and cards.


Tootles,
Sarah

Adjustments

There's a lot of adjustments being made in the Cenedella household these days. I'm adjusting to going back to work. After being off for almost an entire year, getting up at 6 AM 3 days a week is tiring. Cameron's also having to adjust to this as I can't not wake him when I get up, even though after my shower I get ready in the closet or downstairs bathroom.

Because of my working, London is adjusting to not having me around 24/7. At first, she seemed to be doing well. She loves our neighbor Lauren and did well for a couple hours at a time while I was interviewing. This last week she was pretty ornery according to Lauren. We all think its the adjustment, plus with the new schedule, we're making London get up earlier. And to bed earlier. She's now going to bed between 7 and 7:30. Which means we don't get to see much of her during the week. Another adjustment.

Cameron's also adjusting to not having the both of us in the house all the time. Sometimes, he walks down to see London when he needs a break and a smile.

The last major adjustment from all of this is Cameron and I are now headed to bed early on nights I work. Gosh, do we feel old when we are in bed by 9:30!

London's got her 8th month checkup on Valentine's Day, so stay tuned for her latest stats.

Tootles,
Sarah

London's Adventures

It seems every time we turn around, London is up to something new. Back in December, she sat up without the support of an arm, once. Rarely, did I see her do it again, although my dad loved the way London sat with the support of one arm. In the last month all London seems to be doing is sitting up unsupported by arms. It's so cute when she sits up playing with her toys. A corner of our family room has been transformed into her "play" room. Of course, by the end of the day several toys are strewn across the entire room, along with some in our bedroom!

London has also mastered coffee table walking and has even figured out how to transition from the coffee table to the ottoman without going back down to her hands and knees (all she has to do is hold onto the coffee table with one arm, pivot and reach for the ottoman). We've had to clear the coffee table of everything and we have to watch where we leave the TV remotes as London really wants to get her hands on these, and sometimes she does. Just this morning she managed to get off the input for the TV and on to one with no connection so all we were watching was TV snow.

And while I haven't witnessed this yet, our neighbor Lauren and Cameron say they have seen her stand on two feet without holding onto anything, briefly. My guess is she'll start doing this all the time within the next two weeks. Before we know it she'll be taking those first steps.

The solid foods adventure is slow going. She is still not too interested in it and doesn't eat too much ever. Hopefully as she gets a little older this will change.

This week also marked my going back to work. I'm currently a temp worker for Holt of California, helping them spruce up their web site. The work keeps me busy and is exciting as I'm learning new skills each day and learning about a new industry, but its a little lonely. I'm in a cold room at the back of the building, all by myself and have very little interaction with any one other than my supervisor and the guy that used to do this job. Hopefully this changes in the next week as the current project advances and I need more input from other people.

I'm set up to work 3 days a week, Tuesday thru Thursday. London spends these days two doors down with our neighbor Lauren and her husband Woodrow, when he gets home. Lauren absolutely adores London and vice verse. Its so nice to just walk her over in the morning before I leave or have Cameron take her over when she wakes up in the morning and have a quick trip to pick her up when we get home. She seemed to do ok this week, my guess being that its more of an adjustment getting up earlier than being away from me. But it was heartwarming when Cameron and I went to pick her up yesterday. Cameron picked her up as soon as we walked through the door. As soon as London saw me she reached for me and clung to me for a good 10 minutes before deciding she wanted back down to crawl. I guess she does miss me some.

Until next time, with love,
Sarah

Running in the Cold

Today was my first day with SacFit. Most of the day was dedicated to orientation and a couple of guest speakers, but there was running involved. Each member of the running group was asked to run 2 miles around Sac State's track. We would then record the amount of time it took us and our heart rates after running this distance. This information will help to divide the couple hundred of us into pace groups so that we train with people at a similar running ability, which will happen next week.

The guest speakers were great as well. First was Jon Sherwood, a former Cal bears football player and physical therapist. He reviewed with us proper running technique, from loose shoulders to short strides, and the all important butt. He stressed how a strong butt helped with your running form. He even passed out these exercise bands for us to work with to strengthen the muscles in the glutious maximus.

Next up was Iron man and triathlete Brad Kearns. He spoke to us about having quality workouts versus quantity. The main piece of advice I walked away with is that our bodies do need rest when training for distances like the half marathon I am. That means if its been a stressful day at work, or I'm not feeling well, my workout for the day is to rest - sit down and watch a movie or nap/sleep. I can go for that.

Tomorrow I'll receive an email full of this week's workouts - personal training days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. These will get quite tailored as the season goes on and will eventually begin group events as well. Wish me luck!

On another note, we're all set for Mexico! Cameron and I are going to start South Beach on Monday, as we both have 20 lbs we would like to lose before parading around in bathing suits. We're going to be staying at an all-inclusive, adults-only resort in Cancun called Playa Mujeres - this includes drinks and 24-hour room service. London will be spoiled rotten while we're gone, as my parents are coming out to take care of her. I don't know who is more excited about the week - Cameron and myself, or my parents.

Until next time, with Love,
Sarah