Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the World!

 

A little bit of pre-Chrismas joy:

 

(She did beautifully earlier this morning:  Mary was going to have a "BABY!" named "JESUS" and Joseph led her on his "DONKEY!"  But then, as we retold it, she got a little possessive of the donkey. "MY donkey!")

 

 

 

 

advent

I've never celebrated advent before.  But I read about this tradition and thought it might be lovely.  I don't want busy-ness and pressure and material things to cloud my mind during this time of year.  I want to focus on what Christmas is about... Christ.

I want Christmas for Lucy to be special and sparkly and wonderful because of the wonder of a God who would become one of us to lead us to Him.    Not because of a make-believe benefactor (not matter how jolly).  I'm not anti-santa.  I'm not going to freak out if her sitter happens to have a 5 foot tall santa front and center in the living room.  (Which she does :) ).  But I want all this santa /gift stuff put in place.   A little entertainment.  Not the center of this special season.

My friend Bonnie shared this resource on her blog for an advent tree.  I printed it off and cut out the little ornaments and we've been reading stories and hanging ornaments every night. 

The stories are ones building up to Jesus' birth.  One thing we're doing to make it extra-special is to read the stories by candle-light.  She LOVES this!  Candles mean birthdays, so after we read, hang the ornament, and pray, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out the candle.  She sings SO enthusiastically and heartily.  It is precious! 

I secretly filmed us, because her singing is so adorable.  I smushed it into a video (I took out most of the actual story time, partly because I am rushed by a little lady who's ready to sing, and it almost didn't make sense that night as I tried to hurry through!  We'll work on content next year :)   Sometimes it's so fun we do it twice!  The part at the end is the second time through, when we're a little sleepy and a little silly.  It's been a really fun (cheap) and meaningful way to add to this Christmas season--I think this new tradition is a keeper!

 

favorites today...

"Ow!  My face hit me!"

" Ooooow!  My poopy hit me!"

"Poopy-ray, pees!"  (Chipotle, please)

"I baby-doll.  I baby-doll.  I baby-doll"  (Murmuring to herself in the back seat)

"Yay! John here!" (When a deliveryman knocke don the door)

"Halelula!"

counting, story-telling, spelling, what?

Lucy Joy!  You are taking off!  This has been a big week.  First of all, after struggling to get 1-2-3 in order, you just started counting to 8!  You've done it several times.  I was really surprised to hear it!  (You throw a five in after 8 and that loops you right back around to 6 and 7, but you'll get to 10 soon!)

On the way to Ms. Connie's the other day, you kept saying,
"Storytime?  Storytime, mama?  Okay. 
Once-pon-ti. (Once upon a time).
lawkejfoinsadlij (a little gibberish).
Theeeeee END!" 
I got about 12 stories that morning :)

You've enjoyed drawing lately.  When you're especially proud of your artwork, you say "Fri-fri ME!" so we put it up on the fridge.  You handed me a crayon and said, "Name, ME!" (so that I would write your name on it).  I started writing and said out loud, "L..."  YOU filled in with, "U...C....Y."  Nana and I looked at each other, pretty much flabbergasted.  You're spelling?!  That's just crazy, Lulu!

Lucy, you have been my big buddy lately.  As we talk through where we're headed, you ask me, "Mama play, too?" to make sure that we're sticking together (and I'm not just dropping you off).  As we "work" at the coffee table, coloring, drawing, and watching Puppy Mine YET again, you have been pulling up your little stool riiiight beside me and saying, "Side-t-side Mama."  Sometimes you lay down, and invite me, "Mama lay down side-t-side me!"  When I'm washing dishes, your favorite spot is on the counter next to the sink.  When I'm putting on make-up, you're lathering on the chapstick right by me.  When I'm headed to the potty, you joyfully shout, "I go too!"  When I walk in the door to Ms. Connies, I hear your running feet and, "MY mama!"  Tonight you said, "Tree!  I try!"  You pulled your little stool over to the light switch and lit up our tree.  You just beamed.  I just can't imagine a sweeter dallop of joy in my life than you are, Joy-Baby.  You are such a blessing from God!  You make Mama so happy.

what Lucy says

Here's a little of what Lucy is saying these days (in addition to the adorable John-namings):

• "Up ME, Mama!"  (With hands out to be lifted up)
• "I too, Mama."  (We do about everything together)
• "I try."  (Becoming very independent)
• "Tuck in me!"  (When our covers get a little tangly)
• "Puppy mine!"  (Requesting the song "Snuggle Puppy."  Every. 1.5. Seconds.)
• "I like-y too!"  (Her way of saying she likes something.  This is rare and has only described sweet potatoes and Uncle John's new haircut).
• "My milky fall down."  (It used to be just fall... now we say fall down).
• "______ hit me eye!"  (The start of a little tattling and a little fibbing).
• "Mama funny!"  "Nana silly!"  (This girl knows her stuff)
• "I stuck!" (When she or something she's playing with is stuck.  This sounds unfortunately/hilariously like "I suck!", so we may or may not try to get things stuck to hear it.)
• "Me, Mama!"  (Like, "look at ME, mama!")
• "Monkey snacks!"  (These are fruit snacks which sometimes feature Curious George.  They are the best thing of all time, and she requests them daily.)
• "Mirror!"  (This is dictated after we put in her hairbow every day.  She's got to check out the results of all our toils, and she LIKES what she sees :)  As Bonnie Meyers said, I think these Ethiopian sweeties have a little bit of the blood of the Queen of Sheeba in their veins!).
• "Dit up. Dit up.  Dit up."  (If I'm taking a little too long playing on the floor, she's all business.... Very serious and trying to help move the process along.)
• "Cookie Elmo John!"  (I know it's in the last post, but I hear this SO often.  She proudly proclaimed, "Cookie Elmo John!" to the people in line next to us for the nursery and to our guests the minute the came in the door.  It's a pretty big deal, people.)
• "I did it!"  (A nod to the many, many Dora episodes we've watched.  Accompanied with two fisted triumphant hand raise.)
• "More beans?  More?"  (Lots of play kitchen talk, and everything she serves up (and many things I serve up in the real kitchen) are "beans".  (Can you tell who's budget cooking?))
• "Hola!"  (Lucy is somewhat shy around new people, but she busts out with HOLA loud and clear.  And we've noticed a trend with her use of Spanish.  All people with long, black hair get "Hola!"s (Hispanics, Indian or Asian women, goth teenagers... They're all fair game!)
• I say, "Lucy, you make Mama..." and she replies "SO happy!" I just let that sentence hang one day and she chimed right in with EXACTLY what I was going to say :) Maybe she's heard it a few times...

All things John and wonderful

Lucy is just crazy about her Uncle John.  She asks if we're going to see him almost every day.  Recently, she began adding a "John" to everything she loves.  I think of it as almost adding a "Saint" to things.  Saint Theresa or John Elmo.  You know.

So, please allow me to introduce a few of Lucy's most favorite things, donned with the name of one of her most favorite people.  We have...

"Elmo John"



 

"Cookie Elmo John"

 

 

"Baby John"

 

 

"John Mommy"

 

And, 'tis the season for

"Baby Punky John"

 



 

This has been cracking us up!  She gave all these John names, and calls each thing this name EVERY SINGLE TIME.  We hear A LOT about "Cookie Elmo John".  I love that "Baby John" is a lovely black girl.  And I'm a liiiiiiittle insulted that John Mommy is supposed to be a grandma!  But I'm super happy that this girl loves her Uncle John.  He's SO good to both of us.  I may just start "John-naming" things, too.  So have a John-jolly day, full of sun-John-shine! 

PS.  My mom will be totally on board.  When she messed up my name, she called me "Macy" (our dog).  Later that week she messed up John's name.  What did she call him, you may ask?  "God." (It's true.)
 

Lucy's first year video

Prepare yourselves for some serious adorable-ness!  Lucy's recent birthday made me go sorting through all the lovely picture I have of this girl.  I made a little video of her first year (birth to 1) of my favorite pics and videos.  I set it to Snuggle Puppy (from Sandra Boynton's Philidelphia Chickens c.d.--which we (both) love!).  She LOVES this song, and it was THE song I'd sing in her ear to calm her down.  She still requests it sometimes.  Once I finish sorting through the birthday footage, I hope to have another video of her second year.  It was so fun to make (revisiting that tiny baby and our first adventures).  And Lucy has really enjoyed watching it.  She requested it twice this morning.  She smiles and laughs at herself.  The really cute part is that she is really watching others to see them watching (and enjoying) her in the video.  She caught Uncle John's eye one of the first times we watched it, and smiled back at him, and then pointed to the video (like, "Pay attention!")

 

Without further ado, here is the link to her first year video:

 

Lucy's first year

 

 

(It's also on the bar at the right, under her forever day video).

Lucy is 2!

Lucy Joy!  I can't tell you what a JOY you are to me!

I love you SO VERY MUCH!  You are a blessing from God, and I am so thankful for you!  I enjoyed today so much.  Just like I enjoy all my days with you, sweet girl.

Happy to Lucy!
                           (or, as you said all day)

                                          Happy to me!
 

snippits

Lucy Joy, you are keeping your mama busy!  So many things happen every day that I want to remember! 

Today we belly-laughed over a little sock malfunction at bedtime.  And you told me, "Mama, I likey too!" about our dinner (sweet potatos, pineapple, and ham). 

Nana and I were singing to you with all our hearts  in the car the other day, and you cut in with, "Stop.  Stop.  Stop!" 

You love your jacket and, when I said, "Here's Baby's jacket," meaning yours, you heard "baby jacket", and said in your high-pitched voice reserved for babies, "Aww!  A BA-BY jack jack!" and hugged it.  You still call it your baby jack jack.

Here are a few sweet moments from when before church last week:

You're feeding a picture of yourself as a baby.

On the go!  This is why I have to resort to video.  But I love it, actually, because it captures all of you!  (Except that awesome smell...)  Here you are chatting, but I love that I caught you saying Mom-mom and Lulu.  I hear those a lot :)

And here you are taking a book to your chair to do some reading.  I've written about this before, but you are all business sometimes.  You say, "Okay,  now...."  kind of like you're starting a meeting instead of just reading your spider book.

And finally, you're playing and singing with a favorite toy.  You sure are intent on clapping and hand motions at this stage!  You even throw in some words!  But my favorite part is an agreeable hug you give.  You're so sweet!

 

 

homesick

I had a dream a few nights ago.  I was 20 again and starting my semester in Mexico.  We fresh-faced students were at an orientation, eagerly awaiting our family placements.  All of a sudden, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.  Lucy!  Where was she?  What had I done with her?  Then I remembered, she's with my parents.  "She's fine," I told myself.  "She loves them and they're taking good care of her."  But I wasn't very happy about it, especially when I realized that this trip was 5 weeks long. 

Later that night, I was getting settled in in my new digs.  Anyone who has ever made a big move (to college, to a new place, especially overseas) will tell you that the first night is tough.  When it's getting dark, the new room seems totally unfamiliar, and the lights and shadows stand out to you because they're not the comfortable old ones you're used to.  It's not a great feeling, and I've had my share of very homesick first nights away from home.  But I've never felt as homesick as I felt in my dream for Lucy.  I just sat on my bed and realized that I COULD NOT stand to not tuck her in for five whole weeks!  I felt awful!  I started scheming to get home...

Then I woke up.  And, even though it was a dream, it felt SO real!  I had been so miserable!  I took a deep breath and smiled.  Whew!  The relief was palpable!  (And then maybe I ran across the house to disturb/check on my sweet sleeping baby).  All day yesterday I just felt so happy and thankful to have her near me!  It's kind of silly, but it was a good reminder in the midst of the too-many-bags-spilt-milk-my-shirt-is-on-inside-out reality of mine that the thing to focus on is gratitude for my blessings.

                                                         A cute little blessing, in particular.

 

talking and singing

By some miracle, we had a little time before church.  I am finding it impossible to get still shots of Lucy, but her growing communication skills make video so fun!

This is "Hi mom-mom!" AND an "I love you." (which is still pretty new and awfully sweet).

And these are a few of her favorite songs.  She sings, "Yes, Je (sus loves) ME!" and a few parts of Twinkle Twinkle.  My favorite thing, though, is her invitation at the end--"Mom, chair!" as she pats the rug beside her.  I've been getting those little invitations a lot, and they're hard to resist!

 

why L likes church

While walking in to church this morning:

Me: We're going to church this morning to learn more about Jesus.  Jesus loves us!

A sweet smile lights up her eyes.  I think, Ah.  She sure does love Jesus.

Lucy:  A SNA-ACK!!!!!

oh, summer

Arg!  The end of summer! It snuck up on us.  My plans to blog every few days obviously didn't pan out, so I'll have to remember bulleted style.

Lovely:

• Lucy hugging her baby, and patting the back of the baby's head with her hand (today).
• Lucy dancing for Nana and I.  Dancing free and happily, assured that we fully appreciated it, and feeling GOOD.  It just made me so happy.  Especially a move she invented which looked a lot like twirling high-speed bicept-curls. :)
• The La-la-las of Jesus loves me.
• How she smiles at herself in the mirror when she's all dressed up or sporting a new hair accessory or sunglasses.  She likes what she sees!  And so do I!
• Lucy's perch on John's foot.  So sweet.
• Flower-fly.  (what she calls flowers).  She points them out everywhere, reminding her (usually late, rushing) mama to appreciate the beauty God has surrounded us with.
• I've been asking Lucy to help mama by taking something to another room or putting something in the trash.  She's started volunteering, eagerly, "I hep!"  She saw my phone and rushed to put it in my purse--I hep.  She wanted to help me and was pleased to find a way to do so--so sweet!
• She prays.  I melt.
• Those little hands holding mine.  I can't get over it.
• She says, "I-ru-you" (I love you).
• She talks so sweetly to babies. The mere approach of a pumpkin seat elicits a high-pitched, "OOooooh! Baby! HI BABY!"  And usually some chuckling mention of the baby's toes. 
• She hides her eyes behind her hands and then lifts them up and says daintly, "Pize!"

Funny:

• I say "Hi, baby!" or "Okay, baby." and she says it back to me.
• Every time a monkey is mentioned, she says, "oo-ooo-oo" and does a wiggly-tickly monkey move.
• She gets on a "No way!" kick.  The answer to any question is No way!, regardless of her true feelings. No way, Mom!  Like, "You're crazy!"
• I hep!  Another way she tried to help me--I was using the "potty" and she rushed in, head down, hand outstretched with some toilet paper, saying, "I hep!"  If I hadn't stopped her, I think she would have actually gone in for the wipe!
• She thinks she's funny stuff when she leans forward at the table and then has to kind of peer up at you.  It's such a little thing, but those eyes twinkle!  She thinks she's being pret-ty cool.
• Usually, when playing any kind of chase game, she slows almost to a stop and cuts those eyes back, like, "Where are you?  Catch me already!"  Sometimes she actually puts it in reverse!  (She must know the ability level of her main chasers.)
• She loves to watch Uncle John train Macy (their dog).  He says, sternly, "Sit!" and then gives her a treat.  Lucy really got into the "Sit!" talk.  But hers came out sounding a little.... french!
• She got within an inch of sticking Pap's toothbrush in Macy's mouth.
• Okay, a little side-note about boobs.  Weeeell, I taught her the word boobs.  We're an all girl household.  It just came up in conversation.  Anyway, this may have been a mistake.  She called out this new word repeatedly at the pool when a woman got in who didn't have a lot covering hers.  Several mornings, when changing from pajama top to shirt, she'd locate hers.  "Boob.  Boob."  And then as I pulled her shirt over her head and down, she'd say cheerily, "Bye, boobs!"

Words:

• Lucy sings parts of songs.  If I leave off a word here or there of our favorites, she chimes right in with the right word (or a close approximation).  She does this with ABCs, Snugglepuppy, I'm Adopted, Deep and Wide, Jesus loves me, ALL the Dora songs, and itsy-bitsy spider.
• Hep!  Hep, Mom-mom!  Hep, pees.  I hear this a lot :)
• Longest sentence (I think):  Mom-mom, Iwa mo chicken, pees!  6 words--and polite!
• Counting... although we're not yet totally sequential, she counts things.  One.  Twooo.  Six.  Nine.  Five...
• She calls out for missing items as she searches for them, and if she can't find it, we get a "hmm".  For example:  "Milk?  Mii-illk?  Hmm."
• She is starting to be able to tell me what is happening when I'm not there.  She leaves church nursery earnestly telling me Snack!  Swimmy-swimmy-chomp. Ball!.  She told me on the way home from Nana's:  Tomato! You at a tomato? Yeah, mom!  Pap!  You ate a tomato with pap?  Lap! Lap!  Pap!  You at a tomato in pap's lap?  Yah! Yah!  And she woke up yesterday telling me about what Uncle John had taught her.  She said, "I say Happy to Nana"  You said Happy Birthday to Nana?  Yah!  Unca John, Unca John!  Uncle John taught you that? Yah mom!  This makes a mama happy!

Hair:

• Progress!  I finally realized (was told, thanks Angel!) that Lucy's tears were anger, not pain.   She doesn't want to have to sit still while I brush out her hair.  And so I pushed through the tears and detangled a bit every morning (or at least every other) and her hair has been looking so nice and healthy!  She hands me the comb if I forget, so I don't think she's too traumatized!  This was a major breakthrough, and I'm thankful for the peace of mind that her hair is healthy and it's not painful to keep it that way!

    In short, we didn't get a lot accomplished this summer.  My house did not get the deep spring cleaning I dreamed about.  The carpets were not shampooed.  I did not read the pile of books about Jesus and parenting that I want to read.  I did not practice Spanish, nor did I devote a day a week to school like I'd intended.  Somehow I'm still a bit more couch than 5K.

    So what did we do with this precious gift of time?  We read books and drew pictures and shopped and went to the zoo and story time and parks and ikea and looked at sweet babies and played with friends and got loved on by our sweet family.  We (ahem, both) took naps every day, and it was freakin' awesome.  We danced.  We sidled up.  We chatted.  We snuggled.  We swam and splashed and swang (swinged?).  We BE-ed together.                                  It was grand.

alligator purse

Lucy's new favorite spot.

She's crazy about her Uncle John, and she just perches on his foot and gazes up at him.

I. Love. Every. Bit.

ni-night

Lucy, you have been really enjoying playing ni-night.  We tuck babies in.  I tuck Lucy in.  Lucy tucks me in.  We gently say "ni-night" and give sweet kisses.  You fake snore, and it's so adorable I can hardly stand it!

I just tucked you in for real, and I have to say it's one of my favorite parts of the day!

After bath time, we lotion up with this thick, goopy lotion.  I rub in in and you get a little massage in the process.  I'm a little jealous :)   You jabber and talk to me, and make the next plans.  "Iwa passi."  Check.  "Iwa book."  You know the routine!  We put on your jammies and some delicious smelling hair creme and head over to our comfy chair for a book.  We're reading the Jesus Storybook Bible (for about the 4th time through) and we really love it.  "Who is this book about?" I ask you. "Shai-shu." You answer.  Jesus.  Tonight we read about David, who God used as part of his Secret Rescue Plan for us.

You seemed extra snuggly tonight, so we sang a song.  You still snuggled in with your sweet head on my chest, so I told you another wonderful story, the story of how God made our family.  I LOVE this story, and have told it to many people, but I realized that I hadn't told it to you, the star!  I told you about how God put us together and worked it all out and how perfect you were for me and how very very very thankful I was for you.  And I cried sweet happy tears because it's such a beautiful story, and you looked at me, puzzled, and patted my tears with your sweet little hands.

I love bedtime.

ballet

Some wonderful friends took us to Totter's Otterville, which has all these make-believe stations. Here is Lucy and her new buddy Keyana at the ballet station.

I think these preliminary dance moves show potential :)

 

I also love where she walks all stooped over at the end! She does that when approaching babies or puppies, usually accompanied by a squeal of delight. I love that little move!

imbalanced?

In honor of my 100th post, I wanted to do something special.  One blog featured a list of 100 facts about the author.  I'm not sure that any of you are just dying to see that happen, but I did like the list idea. 

Also, I fell down yesterday at Zumba.  All the way, sprawled in the floor, please-don't-sashay-on-me down.  Luckily, my face was so red already from working it that no one could see that I was embarrassed.  I fall down on a semi-regular basis, so I wasn't mortified, but it made me think about some really note-worthy falls in my past.  So, here you have it--my list.

Kristy's Top 10 Falls

10.  Falling down whilst standing still.  This has happened several times, once this past year at work.  Standing still... lump in the floor.  It happens quickly!

9. Falling over a curb.  I was days from leaving for my court date with Lucy.  I stuck something in my ear (DON'T do that!) and popped my eardrum.  Then I was panicked--could I fly with a ruptured ear drum?  I rushed to a clinic to check with the doctor about what I should do.  In my despair and haste, I tripped over a parking curb on the way in.  I skinned my knee.  There was blood.  By the time I was called back to see the nurse, I just kind of cried on her for a bit.  Then she cried with me (happy about my adoption) and then the doctor said it would all be fine.  And I went after my Lucy!

 8. Falling while rollerblading. In high school I dated my neighbor, and got very outdoorsy to spend time with him. He was chasing me on rollerblades, and I wiped out. I don't know how my hands missed the memo, but they didn't catch me at all. So I kind of caught myself with my face. I scraped the skin off of my chin, I was covered in grass clippings, and I literally had to go inside and brush the blacktop off of my front teeth. (How could he not be impressed with such moves?)

7. Falling wearing heelies. Yes, heelies. The shoes with a wheel in the heel that pre-adolescent boys sport? Yes, those. I had the brilliant idea that I could wear those out with John and then just hang onto his power wheelchair and he could pull me around. It would be so cool! Or would have been. Those things are a liiiiitle tricky, and there was definite falling down and a bit of being drug by the chair. So I gave up. I feel that heelies are totally under-utilized by adults.  And should come with directions.

6.  Falling off a motorcycle taxi in Thailand.  I fell right off the back, and got all scraped up, dirty, and burned by the muffler.  This was on my way the first time I was supposed to teach at the Well.  I walked in the door, determined to be tough, and crumpled at the kind concern they showed.  I kind of blubbered out, "I'm hurt," and they swarmed around me and took care of me.  (As usual, I was the one learning instead of teaching).

5.  Falling up onto a curb in Egypt.  This was a doozy.  I had to wear long (ankle-length) skirts and I was walking along this super crowded street and I my supervisor and I were the only Westerners in sight and were pretty much a spectacle to start with.  Then I thought I'd just "hop" up onto the sidewalk.  Well, whenever I undertake to "hop" it means trouble (like my mother).  So I hopped  and my feet got all tangled up in my long skirt and didn't make it back to the ground.  So I basically jumped up and hurled myself onto the sidewalk.  My supervisor was so nice, I had to just tell him, "Don't be so nice or I'll cry.  Kindly make fun of me!"

4. Falling on the deck of a pirate ship. I was on a day cruise during my Mexico semester and the waiters were all dressed as pirates. We were playing this game where when the announcer said a certain thing you danced, or leap-frogged, or jumped into his arms... He went faster and faster and I jumped into my trusty pirate's arms only to find he'd moved on to the next move... so I jumped up and landed flat on my back. Another "hurling myself"kind of situation. Oh dear.

3. Falling at the movies. This happened in high school, but it is so memorable because a very loud movie patron at the end of the row kindly shouted out "TIMBER" as I fell across several peoples' laps and spilled popcorn on those unfortunate enough to sit in front of me.

2. Falling in the redlight district. I fell on the uneven sidewalk in one of the bar areas we hung out in (for ministry, people). The kicker is that I didn't realize until I got home (nd my roommate laughed and possibly pointed) that I had split my pants. And I'd walked and ridden the skytrain and then walked some more to get home.

1. BKK pole dance? My number one fall was in Bangkok, and was in the few days after the runner up (redlight distrct/pants split fall). I was bummed about falling all the time and the sidewalks there are treacherous, and I was determined that I would look down at all times to keep an eye on the terrain and avoid future falls. I was walking along, eyes on the ground, when I walked full-force into a pole hanging from an awning. The round end of it hit me right betweent the eyes, and sent me sprawling backwards. I was crying and laughing and then crying some more because it hurt SO badly but it was SO funny! Susan was there and was trying to be sympathetic, but I'm sure it was a funny sight. Walking walking BAM!


Are these genes something I really want to pass on? And people wonder why I adopted! :)

P.S.  I've since counted and this isn't my 100th post.  Oops!

This is my Joy-Baby!

She is wearing a lovely dress that her uncle John got her--another joy in my life :)

I recently had a birthday (29 again, it seems...) and Lucy spent the night with Nana and Pap and Uncle John so I could have a lazy, sleep-in morning the next day.

Well, this sounds lovely, but it really surprised me how very much I missed this sweet girl.  Even though it was pretty late and she'd have been asleep if she was home, I missed knowing she was there.  The next morning, I did sleep in a bit, but I kept thinking about her and wondering what she was up to.  Had she slept well?  What was for breakfast?  What new thing was she trying to say?  I may have even called home several times to check on her.  And moved our supper meet-up and hand-over up to lunch.  My "chill out on my own" days are over, it seems, and I'm glad.  I missed my Lucy!

a horse!

changes

Was she ever this little? 

It seems hard to believe!

Today, so looked like such a big girl!  We even had a few puffs in her hair--she looked so cute.

a stepstool...

...or a cozy breakfast spot?  You decide!

Lucy talk!

• She calls berries "babies".  She points to her plate and says "Iwa mo babies!"
• She fills in gaps in our "snuggle puppy" song.  She fills in the ooooh and the kiss!
• She kissed the baby in the snuggle puppy book, and left a little yogurt on the page.  She said, really excitedly,  "Mom-mom!  Baby kiss da YOHg."  I don't know the exact wording, but she was trying to tell me exactly what was happening.
• She's "reading" another book... well, filling in gaps.  It goes like this (she says the bold parts)  A cow says MOO, a sheep says BAA, three singing pigs say La la la!  No no no no....
• She said from the back seat, "Mom-mom, I wa hep!"  She was trying to take her shoes off, and asked for help for the first time.
• I often hear on fake phone conversations, or even the other day from her baby monitor (she was waking up, and was by herself babbling).  She'll laugh a bit, and then say "Unca Jo-ohn!" Like she's talking to him and he's cracking her up and she's saying, "You're so funny!"
• For the moment, I am "mom-mom".  I think it's adorable.
• She loves to hold hands and pray before meals.  She holds that little hand out like an invitation and says "Iwa pay."  Melt my heart!
• Roll call:  Several times every day we say hi to, or pretend to be, special people in her life.  Most days, roll call consists of Unca John, Nana, Pap, Bonbon, Ah Ann, Urrron, Susan, Eo, and Ab.
• Potty?  She's pretty excited about the potty, and has said several times, "I wa potty".  So we hop on, but nothing has happened... yet.  I think she's telling me she's ready, but it seems pretty early to me!  (And I'm a little nervous--potty training?!  Am I ready for this?)

A book!

Lucy is definitely my daughter!  I love that she enjoys books already!

The 75 times or so we've read it have paid off!  She opened to the first page yesterday and "read":  Hi!  I dog.  I bes.

(Hi.  I'm dog.  I'm the best.)

I think to myself...

.... what a wonderful world!

I got a bowl out for her to play with, thinking she'd put things in and out of it.  I was a little surprised at what she put in it!  I had to get our newly invented game on camera.  She's a joy-baby!

happenings

I love this!  Lucy has been sleeping with her little hiney in the air-- so cute!

We have been busy!  A few new things:  Lucy is singing!  I'd love to get it on tape, but I wanted to record the memory so I don't forget.  She sings part of twinkle twinkle little star.  She sings "up a ba ba ba... high."  It is PRECIOUS!  She's also doing the motions to itsy bitsy spider by herself.  She really enjoys music, and requests several songs every day, especially hen we're in the car.

I am so thankful to have summers with my sweet girl.  We've really enjoyed it so far, and it's just begun!

sidetracked while shopping

A trip to TJ, one of our favorite places, got a little off track when we spotted...

THIS!

She looked so dang cute in it!  I managed a few pics, but she usually popped it right off.

After a while, she got a little burnt out on all the publicity and started to play it coy.

Finally it was all too much.  Paparazzi.



things I want to remember

There are so many things that happen every day that I just want to capture in a bubble in my mind so I can remember them.  I wish I had a superspy camera...  If I did, here are a few things I'd like to have caught TODAY:

• When I walk carrying Lucy, usually my left arm and her right arm are free... I swing my left arm while I walk, and she has started swinging her right one in solidarity.  I just giggle every time.
• In the cart at Target, she said, "I dopt phone!"  (I dropped the phone).  I looked, and she had dropped her play phone into the cart.  Putting together sentences--what a BIG GIRL!
• She LOVES babies... singing, rocking and feeding her babies is a big job every day.  Today I put a safety latch into the cart that had a tiny picture of a baby's face.  Lucy gently picked up this safety latch and rocked it while she sang iy a little lullaby.  Melt my heart--she's so sweet!
• Lucy lost a shoe in Target's parking lot.  I strapped her in and went back a few feet for it.  As I walked back to her open car door, the other shoe came flying out!  It was really funny to see this little white shoe rocket out the door!
• When she walks backwards, she really thinks she's pretty cool.  It's a slow little backwards shuffle, but with a lot of barely-pent-up excitement and pride.  Wide eyes looking all around to make sure someone is catching it.  Today she backed up trying to sit on a big ball.  It kept moving, so she kept backing.  By the end, we were both laughing so hard.  I started laughing at her, and then she thought that was SO funny :)

Life (which was already pretty great) is made so much sweeter by these little shared moments.  (And a lot more funny!)

at the park

Hello warmer weather!  I have an outdoorsy little girl on my hands. We've been enjoying a local park.  It's fun to watch her on the slide.  She's a little afraid every time.  But she takes a deep breath and goes for it.  What a brave girl!

easter fun

Easter was lovely!

Getting ready for Easter is so fun with a little girl!

Lucy was pretty pleased with her dress.  There were both twirling and flouncing Easter morning.

One of Lucy's favorite spots in the world.  In fact, she now refuses to ride in a shopping cart if Uncle John is around.  She much prefers her spot on his lap!

Bubbles are tremendous fun!

Easter is a beautiful reminder that Jesus solved our biggest problem.  Our sin problem.  How to get right with God.  Imagine if we had to try to figure this out on our own... the guilt, the heavy weight of uncertainty...  But we don't.  Jesus took it all on Him and made it right.  By his wounds we are healed.  Beautiful.  Thank you Lord!

happy forever day

my polite little cowgirl

she's SO cool

Lucy's awesome uncle John had to play this little game MANY times over the weekend.  Her reaction was always thrilled, scrunched-nose clapping :)

watch her go!

I've mentioned before that it's hard to capture this little girl on camera--she's very busy!

Mini hair update:  All's well! We're having tangle-free, tear-free bath times.  This little lady is even requesting "a bath", so I'm pretty excited that it's actually enjoyable now!

Lucy is becoming a little outdoors-y lately. Exploring nature is so fun!  (Excpet for touching grass with her hands. It's funny to watch her try to stand up without touching the grass with her hands).

Tissues are always a good time.  She really likes to get tissues and give everyone in range a swipe for good measure.

Most of my pictures from today were similar to these two.  Lucy on the go (and mama trying to catch up!)