22 Months

I can hardly keep up with this girl anymore. I feel like she changes so much over the course of a month...

Lucy is:

• talking consistently in sentences.
• speaks with a lot more inflection and facial expression.
  
• ends a lot of sentences with "okay?" i.e. "I help you, okay?"
  
• singing a lot more - "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a new favorite.
• not letting Mommy read to her much anymore - she wants to do it herself.
  
• loving the "Puff the Magic Dragon" book and CD that Daddy bought her.
• not meeting a fruit she doesn't like. This month's new love - oranges.
  
• having a bit of a fear of the dark and needs to sleep with the lamp on.
• competitive. The best way to get her to do something is to say "I'm going to do it first!"
• a good helper. She puts her dishes in the sink and likes to do little chores.
  
• doing a lot more screaming lately, happy or sad.
• not liking to be told "no" or be reprimanded in any way. Immediate waterworks. Timeouts have been initiated.
  
• playing a game of throwing her pillow out of her crib and crying for "my pillow!" so I will come back in (took me a couple days to catch on).
• creating land mines of babies and stuffed animals "sleeping" on her bedroom floor. "Shhh!"
• giving great kisses, and reminding you a hug is also required if you forget.
• 

Lucy's First Haircut

I finally broke down and got Lucy's hair cut. I was holding out because I'm in love with the little pigtails and ponytails. But the reality is, "tails" and barrettes only last a short time with her sticky little fingers. I was getting tired of always seeing her hair in her beautiful eyes, and what the heck...hair grows back. So we went in this past Saturday to a place that specializes in haircuts for kids (i.e. charges $16.50+tip for a 10-minute haircut - ugh).

BEFORE - An example of the ragamuffin/rockstar look (and don't you love the bracelets?)
GETTING SITUATED - She didn't know what to think about it all. She wanted to hold her tiger and was having nothing to do with a cape. She held onto the sucker but wouldn't eat it!
DURING - I'll sit still, Mom, but I'm NOT going to be happy about it!
AFTER - So cute! (and finally eating the sucker) At first I was scared to do bangs, but we'll try one length again when she's more patient with keeping things in it.
First haircut success!

March Madness

Ah, so it's been awhile...this month has been absolutely crazy. We've just been busy, running here and there, a visit from my parents, among other things. But the craziness is mostly centered around me working a lot of hours, including some travel to Memphis. When one of us travels it usually throws everyone a little out of whack, and this time the morning I returned, Lucy started throwing up. A stomach bug. I stayed home with her in the morning and Husband took the 2nd shift. She was fine in a day, but it threw my work schedule off in a very busy time, so I worked 8-4 on Friday (which is typically a 1/2 day) and then went back about 8:30PM-12:30AM. I wanted to get it over with and be able to relax and spend time with Lucy the rest of the weekend.

So I relaxed, and just after lunch on Saturday, it was my turn to get the bug. Husband was sick too, so we had to ship Lucy off to Auntie Candy's house and try to get some rest. We picked her up after lunch today and tried to get her to nap before going to Little Gym. She had a major meltdown after I woke her up and needless to say, we never made it. Her tummy was bothering her tonight, so here's hoping it passes and we wake up to a healthy girl tomorrow.

I have a few things to share with you all, including Lucy's first haircut, and of course her 22-month update. See you soon!

Little Sponge

One morning last week, I put Lucy in her carseat, got in the driver's seat and prepared to start the car, only to hear:

"Got get juicy!"

It is not unusual for this little girl to request things randomly, like juice ("juicy"). She typically moves onto something else rather quickly. In this case, I absentmindedly said something like "OK, not right now honey," while continuing to organize my bags and get going.

But she was persistent.

"MOMMY. Got get juicy!" I looked back at her this time, and she was pointing out the window, with a look of "LADY, DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ME?!" on her face.

My brain scanned for a few seconds, and then it hit me.

Every morning, I grab a diet green tea from the shelf by the garage door. Just the day before, I had gotten in the driver's seat and then exclaimed, "Oops, I forgot something!" then proceeded to walk around the front of the car, grab the bottle, and get back in.

She was telling me I forgot to get my juice! (And she was right, I had done it again!)

I am amazed on a daily basis by how much this little lady is retaining. She is constantly listening and watching, and in recent weeks we've really realized it's all sinking in - not just repeating, but remembering and applying it to the current situation.

My little sponge.