7 Months

They say time flies when you're having fun, right? This month fits that phrase to a T. With all the Christmas preparations and activities, it seems like I just wrote the 6-month update yesterday.

Lucy is just a (big) ball of laughter and love. We got her in for her 6-month check-up on December 11th, and she weighted 22 pounds 13.5 ounces, and was 29 inches long! She had a real growth spurt since her 4-month appointment and is still off the charts in both height and weight. Doc says Lucy is doing great and there are no concerns whatsoever. She's pretty aware of her movement and it's amazing to watch her move herself around - she has a combo of rolling, twisting and scooting (mostly backwards) that gets her wherever she wants to go. She gets up on her hands and knees and bounces sometimes, but is not crawling quite yet. I have seen her pull herself up to her knees on a full laundry basket...which I have to say kind of freaked me out the first time I saw it! She also goes crazy in the jumper and can really bounce herself up and down. She gets so excited!

She's eating well, as you might expect. She's still on the Stage 2 baby foods and has also been able to try yogurt and little bites of mashed potatoes, pancakes, and a few other things that we've been eating. Lucy doesn't quite have the pincer grasp down yet (forefinger and thumb), but she's learning, so the finger foods should follow soon. We've started a sippy cup and she's still figuring out that stuff comes out of it, and it's not just another thing to chew on.

No teeth poking through yet, though the doc said she can see them down beneath the gums. For what we lack in teeth we are making up for with hair! Lucy still doesn't have a lot of it, but it's enough to make a poor excuse for a mohawk in the bathtub, and it's enough that I need to brush it after a bath or it could get a little crazy. Along with her beautiful new hair is a beautiful smile that is very easy to come by and is often accompanied by giggles or a belly laugh (we never knew half of the things we did were so hilarious!) At times it even seems like she is trying to make us laugh by just acting silly...which nearly always works. I am convinced she has a special smile just for her daddy, too. She is loving all of her new interactive toys and gets a kick out of music and noises of all kinds, and will make her own noise if necessary by banging things together or offering her own shrieks and grunts. She is intrigued by games like peek-a-boo and "so big," although she's more of an excited observer at this point.

Part of me wants to just freeze her in time, right here...she is so interactive, so much fun, and so good-natured. But I guess a bigger part of me embraces the inevitable, and is so excited to watch her grow and see what she comes up with next.

Lucy's First Christmas

Although this Christmas didn't turn out to be quite what we expected due to the weather, it actually ended up being quite nice. We were able to make it out for church on Christmas Eve, which served as a reminder of the real reason for the season, and gave us a chance to sing lots of Christmas songs (as well as getting Lucy gussied up in her special dress). Otherwise we pretty much stayed warm and cozy in the house and celebrated Christmas with our little family. It was wonderful to have lots of one-on-one time with Lucy and Brandon. They both enjoyed opening their gifts on Christmas morning. I think the highlights for Brandon were a Hopkins High School sweatshirt and some new slippers (he's pretty easy to please!) Lucy enjoyed her big Elmo book, stacking cups, and princess blanket. We didn't get her too much this Christmas, because we knew she'd be showered with gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles. She didn't seem to mind. :)


All of the celebrations back in Iowa were postponed for the most part, so although we missed everyone we didn't really miss any family events. Hopefully if it works out for everyone, we'll be heading down to my parent's place this coming weekend to celebrate with them and resume the Christmas 2009 Tour. I can't wait for everyone to see how big Lucy is and how much she has changed, and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my nephews and enjoying the company of family. I hope everyone out there had a nice Christmas, even with all the snow!

Merry Christmas

To all our family, near and far. Thinking of you all!

Christmas 2009 Tour: Stopped

The tour has halted, because this is where we're coming from, and this is where we're going. When The Weatherman in his infinite wisdom says "treacherous" and "storm of the quarter century," that used to make me pause. With a baby, it makes me leery. But when Dad says, "I know you don't want to hear this, but..." that's when I listen (suck it, Weatherman).

So Christmas outside of our little family will have to be rescheduled, unless the wrath of Mother Nature turns out to be less wicked than predicted. But it looks like she's pretty ticked off.

Christmas 2009 Tour: Stop #1

The first stop on our family tour this year was Husband's family. We spent the afternoon/ evening at his parent's house lastnight and as expected, both kids were showered with gifts from Grandma and Grandpa, and aunties and uncles. Lucy liked playing with the paper, and a couple of gifts definitely caught her immediate attention. Although here you'll see all the piles of clothes and bags of toys behind her - all hers(!), and yet she's totally content playing with an empty box:

I wasn't able to take a lot of photos because I was helping Lucy open her gifts, but this is another favorite, with Auntie Marcey. The cute little headband is one of many that were made especially for Lucy by Grandma L.

Overall we had a great time and Lucy was such a good little girl throughout the whole loud crazy bundle of Christmas joy. She got a little overwhelmed a couple of times when we were opening gifts, but she quickly returned to her smiley self. We were amazed at how well she held up. Brandon had fun as well, and then was kept busy hauling everyone's loot out to their cars. We are headed to Iowa on Thursday to round out this year's Christmas Tour...a string of family celebrations that is sure to bring more fun!