the lucy project—3 years old

what can i say about three-year-old lucy? in a word, lucy is spunky. there is so much spunk, so much independence, so much sass that it oozes out when i give her a squeeze. hello kitty bows and sparkly shoes one day, demands to be batman (and NOT batgirl or batwoman) the next, she keeps life interesting and hones my diplomatic skills constantly. she will determinedly take a stand that is completely wrong and will defend it to the death, with no other evidence than "it is how i say it is!" but then there are times when she knows a losing battle, and will give in with a dramatic, "alriiiiiight..." you never know what you're going to get. never.

lucy can turn on her sweetness, particularly when dealing with her "babies", but she can also turn it off just as easily. she loves all her animals and dolls and takes care of them with lots of love and hugs (when she's not throwing them in the air or slamming them into the ground).
she loves to sing and dance and will make up songs and dance around in the most charming way. her version of "let it go" always makes me smile.
lucy's favorite foods are: pizza (with pepperoni), noodles that she can dip in sauce, cheesy tacos, carrots, and fruit. though, if you try to predict what she will or won't eat on any day, you will surely fail. when her plate is completely emptied without a battle, i feel as though i ought to buy a lottery ticket.
we are still trying to convince her to use the potty without success. i feel like she will do it in her own time, but in the meantime i am anxious to have it happen. it's the kind of thing that i think can only be successful if she's really on board, and lucy is rarely on board for the long haul, even when m&ms are involved.
no matter what she throws my way, i'm always glad we've got a lucy. she is a treasure.

the stats:

height - 37 inches (50th percentile)

weight - 27.19 lbs (15th percentile)

project lucy—12 months

things i want to remember about one-year-old lucy:
- she will eat a mountain of peas or green beans while waiting for dinner as if it was chocolate chips, or fishy crackers, or grapes. she is my all-star veggie eater and seems to be reinforcing sam's hypothesis that girls eat vegetables and boys eat sausage (except that she eats sausage too).
- she dances to everything (and nothing), and it's awesome. she will also sing if sam is singing, and sometimes for no reason at all.
- she loves stuffed animals, particularly her bear "ed" who gets lots of hugs and kisses on his fuzzy little head.
- she is currently obsessed with babies and loves to point out any "beebees" she sees (this includes sam's ironman action figure and a lego robot that sam made, and sometimes daddy).
- she also enjoys pointing out windows ("dow") and doors ("dow") as well as lights now.
- she also enjoys pointing out daddy (and grandpa).
- i could've sworn she said spongebob today when the tv was on.
- she likes to unload things (toys out of her basket or recycling out of the bin, it doesn't matter), and sometimes she even puts it back when she's done (or at least a little bit).
- she still puts all kinds of crazy stuff in her mouth, but i think she's getting a little better about it, at least, she pauses now if we say "no".
- in the last few weeks since she turned one she's been doing new things by leaps and bounds. she climbs stairs (and the step-stool) with ease and confidence (but she can't get down, so she'll sit and yell until someone comes to the rescue). she will shake her head yes, and make the sign for more, and "peas, peas" in response to my asking "yes, please?" it's kind of adorable.
- she definitely has opinions on things, and she will let us know if things are not happening in the way she wants them to happen (and loudly). 
- she is the perfect person to snuggle up with in the evening, and my favorite person to be out and about with as she is very easy going and enjoys being charming for others.
- and speaking of charming, she crawled up to me today, planted a kiss on my shoulder, and then gave me a mega-watt smile and a hug. she knows how to capture my heart, bigtime.

the lucy project—month 3

lucy at three months old:

• smiles a lot and likes to make gurgle-y "g" noises. she almost sounds like she's trying to say "girl" (as in "i'm the sweet girl!")
• is most fascinated by her hands, her feet, the "crinkle" frog, the taggie book, and her brother (the ultimate toy). she has also recently become very good at grabbing things she's interested in.
• can hop in the jumpster. it's not her favorite exactly, she'd much rather be held, but she'll tolerate it. particularly if sam is willing to bring her play food to snack on.
• is starting to humor me with the tummy-time business. she's still not keen on it (she'd much rather sit propped up in the boppy or in my lap), but she doesn't fuss nearly as quickly as she used to.
• is still a master of spit bubbles. sam was never this drooly. it's kind of cute and kind of gross.
• likes to stand up and show off her "tall baby" skills. she's getting so big!
• still has the squarshiest, kiss magnet cheeks ever, and softest fuzzies for noses.

when she's not crying or trying to cover me in spit-up (or worse), i feel like i'm the luckiest mom ever. (other times i'm just the second luckiest.)

halloween recap

our pumpkin (art directed by sam)

because our trick-or-treat got suspended until sunday, i never did get pictures of the kids dressed up on halloween (though sam was able to dress up and get treats at daycare that day!) i was actually glad that things were postponed until sunday because i basically would've missed the entire thing had it been held on wednesday (i don't arrive home until 7:15 or so on workdays and trick-or-treat only runs until 7:30 here). it would've also meant that mike would've been stuck at the door handing out candy and sam wouldn't have been able to really go out much at all. 
with trick-or-treat on sunday lucy and i were able to hand out candy and sam and mike were able to go door-to-door. apparently sam was all into it this year (i think this is the first year he really understood the whole "getting dressed up and getting candy" thing), and he had a great time. mike texted me as they went along and i was surprised at how far they'd gone in the cold. sam's costume was big enough that he could fit his sweatshirt underneath (though i guess with his hood up he looked a little more "ninja" and not so much jedi until mike had him get his lightsaber out).

sam, red-cheeked and happy, showing off his loot.

lucy wasn't exactly happy about her "snuggle time" being interrupted by all the kids coming to the door, but she was greeted with many smiles and compliments. several of the younger kids were so distracted by her cuteness that they seemed to forget what they were knocking on our door for. by the time sam and mike got back, the trick-or-treaters had disappeared and she was happily sleeping in my (then unoccupied) arms.

lucy tired out after all the excitement.

all-in-all i think this was the most excitement we've had over halloween thus far. i had originally hoped to do more as far as crafty things and decorations and such, but managing all that with an almost three month old (who always seemed to be ravenously hungry, wet, poopy, or generally grumpy when i had a list of things i wanted to get done) isn't as easy as i thought it would be. i suppose there's always next year.

lucy@ 2 months

things i love about lucy at 2 months old:

her bright smiles. they don't happen with great frequency yet, but when they do, the could light up a room. they sure light me up.

the sweet fuzzies on the top of her head. like sam, i love to touch her soft baby hairs (or stick my nose in them). they're darker than i remember sam's being, so it will be interesting to see what they look like after they've had a chance to grow in a bit more. and she's also got more of them than sam did at her age too.

her little coos. she doesn't talk all that much yet (mostly in the last week or so), but she always seems keen on telling me about stuff. she has the potential to be as much of a talker as her brother (and that's sayin' something, lemme tell ya).

even though she's 9lbs 8oz and 21 inches tall (according to her check-up this morning), she's still a tiny little bean. i love holding her and bouncing her (though more so at bedtime, and less when i need to get dinner made).

having a chance to dress a little girl. i wasn't sure i'd be keen on all that pink (still think it's a bit much), but i'm surely enjoying being able to grab a little dress to put on her. so cute! and mike lets me use the "pink flower" lotion on her (he highly objected to ANY lotion on sam. pink flowers or not, lotion was not to be put on the little man.)

in general i think lucy's got a pretty even temper. she'll yell if she's hungry or messy (sam couldn't have cared less, so this took us by surprise), she enjoys being held (yay for the sling and ergo!), but she definitely has plenty of times these days when she's fine to just hang out and relax (but not when i need to make dinner, of course). she cried less than a minute after her shots this morning and didn't even need to nurse to calm down. AND she's been known to just fall asleep on her own (sam rarely did this at this age), i'm loving it.

and just about everything else about lucy. naturally.

unpacking

we're home from oglebay with lots of unpacking to do. there are two very full laundry bags sitting downstairs waiting for my attention, and a sleepy girl is cooperating just enough to let me get this quick post up before i head down to take care of it.
lucy during a few of her (many) sleeping/feeding/burping episodes • sam goes mini-golfing with daddy and cousins • the good zoo train ride is a MUST • lucy and me on our final night in our cabin (fun fact: lucy has spent more nights in the cabin at oglebay than she has at home!)

i love lucy

me at 39 weeks

and introducing our precious little miss, lucille (lucy) rose

born—8/8/12 at 7:08am • weight—5lbs 15oz • height—18 inches

we're so glad that she made her way here safely and are enjoying every bit of her teeny, tininess.

making—mother's day tote

sam the ham

the artist at work

"hand painted" with love

the finished project

i thought we'd share a little project sam and i cooked up for gramma h for mother's day. i thought this tote bag would be the perfect showcase for one of sam's paintings. so we went to the craft store where sam picked out some paints, and after a little coaxing he got down to work. it didn't take long before his hands (and at least one ear) were covered in paint and he declared this work of art complete.

i think he did a rather nice job, but my favorite parts were definitely watching sam ham it up for the camera and declare "that was fun!" while i helped him scrub his hands (mostly) clean.

i hope gramma likes her tote (though i know she's got a plethora of bags, i also know that they do wear out after a while...)

happy mother's day, mom! i am more appreciative of all your amazing skills and patience every day, and i'm not sure how you managed to (more than) survive the four of us. one of these days i hope my kid(s) will think i'm as cool as i think you are. you rock!

best ever

there was a package waiting for us when we got home from the library/playground today. sam was sure it was a garbage truck, and was very keen to see what was inside. when i was done unpacking the flowers, he was still hoping that there would be something more and seemed a little disappointed that the box was empty. until i offered to give him the box, to which he said cheerfully, "there was a bewer box in the package!" and climbed right in.


i'm enjoying the lovely flowers from my sweet boys, but the best gift is a kid with a supersized imagination.

a post for auntie margy

a day or so after sam's second birthday party, we lost my aunt (my dad's sister). today i am drinking my coffee from one of her pretty cups and thinking about my memories of auntie margy:

- auntie liked to chat, and boy could she. if auntie called on the phone, you had to clear the next 30-90 minutes. she didn't call me all that often, but when she did it was a marathon of a talk (especially for me, as i tend to do anything in my power to avoid the phone).

- auntie enjoyed family traditions. she always brought breakfast on christmas (oh the strudel!), and potato salad for easter. i'll always remember having to find room in our little fridge for a very large container of potato salad.

- i remember auntie and her camera taking pictures. when i was little, her big camera with all its attachments and large flash seemed huge, and it made a huge impression on me (i've noticed that i'm now the aunt with the big camera chasing people around).

- auntie enjoyed having things be "just so" (i remember this about my grandma henderson as well—she always seemed a little frustrated when things weren't picture perfect, and i think auntie had a lot of that in her too). when i was younger i remember visiting and admiring her "purple bathroom" where everything was color coordinated (my favorite color at the time was purple). she also had a yellow bathroom and a "citrus" kitchen with shades of yellow, orange, and green—with coordinating appliances, no less.

- auntie enjoyed her nieces and nephews, and especially their children (her grand-nieces and grand-nephews). we had many a chat about how fascinating it was to watch us all growing, and i will never forget the famous "peek" episode that sam had with auntie last fall while visiting dad in the hospital. it was something that auntie particularly remembered about sam (and he remembered about her). in fact, during our last visit she recapped many of the stories she had collected about her surrogate grandchildren, and we talked about what kind of personality the newest addition (little alice, just brand new ten days before) would turn out to have.

i am remembering all these things and making a note to clear a space in my next life, because i'm sure that when i see auntie we will have a nice, long chat, and there will be a lot of catching up to do.

i forgot to mention

we successfully celebrated sam's second birthday last weekend. it was still pretty low-key (chili in crockpots, cherry-topped cheesecakes, and just a few festive decorations), and even so, i was still pretty stressed about pulling it all together (or as pulled together as i could manage). but sam had a good time, which in the end is all i'm really after.

since then, sam has been devoting a lot of time to making his new cars and trucks and books feel at home.

thanks to everyone who was able to come and be with us to celebrate the second anniversary of our little peanut. it makes a happy occasion just that much better.

sam at two

snapshots that i want to remember of sam at age two:

how he sings, and sings, and sings. how he wakes up and i can hear him in his bed singing "la la, elmo's world", or when he breaks into the "truck song" or "row, row, row your boat" or "itsy bitsy spider" at the drop of a hat.

how he loves to "wash hands" because it means a chance to stand at the sink and play in the water (and lick the soapy bubbles off his hands).

how when he gets called for dinner, he gives a big "OKAY!" yell before he heads up the stairs, and a big "YES!" if asked if he wants to help with the wash—the excitement is palpable.

how he asks if i'm "okay?" if he hears me drop something or make a loud noise, or says "bless you" when i blow my nose.

how he draws on his magna-doodle—slow and careful and deliberate, and then how it inevitably breaks into an all-out scribble. how he carefully puts the "orange pencil" back into it's spot, and how he says "bye drawing!" before erasing his picture.

i want to remember games of "want some?" when he fixes us drinks and cupcakes and birthday cakes and ice cream—all of which are the most delicious imaginary concoctions that you can imagine

i want to remember sitting down so sam can "fix it"—which means he will sit behind me and "fix" my hair for me

and speaking of fixing it, i love how he will change elmo's diaper and make sure that elmo gets his own snack

i want to remember how he dances to commercials, to songs on sesame street, and to music playing over the loud speakers at the store—this boy is not shy about showing off his moves, and i. love. it.

how, just recently, he's started to ask if he can color, and "mommy color too!"—why, certainly!

how he greets his garbage truck with a huge smile and a "garbage truuuuuuck!" like it's an old friend—which i guess it is—and how he still needs to have his little garbage truck in order to properly appreciate the big garbage trucks on trash day

how he will say "goodbye" or "sleep tight" as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him

how nothing is quite as awesome as a chocolate kiss after dinner, or m's with his peanuts at snacktime, or daddy coming home from work—complete with waves and a round of applause

and most of all, how every day is better with sam because he's amazing and fantastic, even on the days when he is more challenge than child

i love this boy to the stars and beyond.

my mother doesn't blog

we interrupt project week to bring you this special update:

my mother (despite much poking and prodding by her daughters), does not have a blog. so on her behalf i'm posting a couple of photos of sam's wonderful, gorgeous, fantastic "grandma quilt".

i thought other people ought to be ooo-ing and ahh-ing along with me. feel free to join in any time now.

we went by the house today to pick up dad/grandpa for a playdate at the park, and mom/grandma said we could take possession of the quilt with the stipulation that i take some good photographs. i took many.

now i just need to remember to burn them to a cd for her.

thanks grandma! it will be well-loved and well-used.

…and we're back!

it's always hard to leave the family and come home to reality again. we had such a good time visiting and playing and eating and cooking and swimming, i think i could've happily stayed another week or two.

i've still got lots of photos to go through, and am hoping to post a few more, but this was one of my favorites from the trip—sammy at the beach playing with the sand and rocks. i think he must've spent at least half an hour just sitting there putting handfuls of sand into the sifter and his bucket (and every once in a while, putting some in his mouth—yuck!)

party planning and a peanut

there's a little peanut here that will be turning 1 in less than a week. because we love this little peanut, we've decided to host a party in his honor. however, because i'm not my sister (as in, not a super-duper-party-planning-goddess and someone who enjoys getting some sleep), we're keeping everything super simple. i'm doing a little decorating, but not going nuts. the food will be easy-peasy so that we'll all have a chance to visit with the family (rather than bustling around the kitchen and making myself crazy(er)).

the thing i'm spending the most time on is the cake. well, not the cake as such. i decided to do an angelfood cake and make some yummy fruit toppings (for my fruit-lovin' boy). so i'm making some strawberry-rhubarb sauce, some raspberry sauce, and some yummy cooked peaches. i know this means no icing-covered-baby photos, but i'm willing to forgo those for something i hope will be much tastier. i hope it turns out alright.

stay tuned to find out how it goes (unless you're attending, in which case, we'll see you tomorrow!)

many thanks

there are so many things i am thankful for: my fabulous family (including all the ones that i acquired when i married mike), a house that i'm so happy to come home to, a job where i work with some of the nicest people i know, and the chance to spend a holiday eating delicious food with some of that wonderful family, are just a few of the leaves on my "thankfulness tree."
thanks to missy for the gift of the tree. i hope to make it a tradition to fill it up with leaves each year. what a great reminder to think about all the blessings i/we have received.
tomorrow we're off to columbus to visit mike's family, and extending this first thanksgiving for the boy (the biggest blessing of all).
incidentally, i was hoping to get everyone on my christmas list this boy-in-a-box. it's the coolest thing ever. but unfortunately, i haven't found another one quite like this one, and i'm just not ready to part with mine.

ps - sammy is thankful for puffs and pie and a box to play in.

missing mississippi

our trip to mississippi was definitely one to remember. seeing oscar, introducing sammy, talking and visiting until the wee hours...what a blast we had! not to mention the corn maze, the pig races, the hay ride, the pumpkin patch, the pecan walk...so much fun! it was hard to arrive home sunday night and be "just the two of us" again.

sammy and i are both looking forward to this christmas when we'll get to see the southern gang again. maybe next time sammy will be able to join in the running around, not just watching and smiling and squealing with delight as his cousin speeds by.

we miss you guys. thanks for having us, and we can't wait to return the favor!