Cece is 9 months and Silas on skates for the first time.

This little girlie is changing so fast!  She is the size of a toddler and is on the brink of becoming one.
She scoots, rolls and shimmies around the floor looking for tasty morsels in the carpet.   She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth willing herself to move.   She has only figured out how to push herself backwards which leaves her quite often wedged under furniture.

 She wants so badly to keep up with the big kids.   Very shortly I think we will have our hands very full.  She is a curious little thing.  The next stage will include cupboards emptied, toilets splashed in, and baby gates up.  I have a feeling once she gets mobile she'll keep us on our toes.   Good thing I have lots of other helpers.

 Peek-a-boo!
This week I refreshed my "baby sign" memory and have begun teaching her signs.  She is trying to communicate in various ways so teaching her something other than screeching is a good thing.  We'll see what she picks up in the next few months.  The only babbling sounds she really makes is "da-da"...which I think she has now connected to Daddy.  Thats what Daddy is going with anyway.  Daddy and Grandpa are her favorite guys.  She spent 4 days with my parents while we were in Washington and she in now Grandma and Grandpas girl.
We've had Miss Cece for 8 months now.  Crazy.   It's been wonderful to see her grow, change and develop.
She now has 6 teeth and is working on more.  She loves big people food (any food for that matter) so I guess it's a good thing she's getting chompers early.   She is very interactive, affectionate, and content busying herself with discovering the world around her.
Each milestone she reaches or skill she develops we see as a small victory.  It would be very naive to assume that there wasn't some sort of damage done  prenatally but so far she is right on track cognitively and physically.  We don't know much about what she was exposed to or how that will manifest itself in the future.  Only when I start reading about it does it start to scare me a little.  That fear is quickly replaced with peace though.  God has a purpose for this little girl.
The truth is even our own healthy biological  kids have their unique issues.  No kid is without quirks and surprises.

 Yesterday we gathered the troupes, bundled everyone up (which as you can see is a major production) and went a few blocks to the Hickville rink.

 We haven't been skating in two years.  I think the last time was when Silas and our foster boy "Kade" were both toddlers running around in their boots.   Silas was so excited to try a sport he had little to no memory of. He was convinced he was going to "win and get a trophy".
His delusions of grandeur quickly crashed to the ice.  As he crawled his way to the exit I thought that was it for Mr. Cautious.  Once he decides against something there is no convincing him otherwise.  He surprised us all by getting back up over and over again.  He found his balance and loved it.

Miss Cece smiled ear to ear as she was pulled around on the ice.  She is a little dare devil! (I may have another Roman on my hands).

 The big kids are a little "rusty" on their skates but improved quite a bit even in just an hour of skating.  A few more hours spent skating and they may not be taunted by their Canadian peers...who happen to all be on hockey teams, in figure skating lessons or avid power skaters.

 Have I told you lately what a big helper Aili is?  She and Cece adore each other.  It's wonderful having a 9 year old who likes to help.  Her new favorite job is doing laundry...she is the laundry queen right now.

Silas had  a good time with his "icing stick".   Shameful I know...