25 Days of Christmas: Days 2 & 3

So, I've already failed on my 25 Days of Christmas Blog Posts, but not by far!  I can still catch up!!

 

Day 2:

 

Yesterday was Sunday, and I had big plans to start going back to church, and even try out the Methodist church again (since I miss traditional church), but got up and read facebook and read WAY too many posts about people having this awful stomach bug that's been going around.  I'm trying my darndest to stay away from it, and I just pray every day that Lucy doesn't catch it from daycare.  I hear it's AWFUL!

 

She slept in until almost 8:30!  I love weekends when she can sleep in, even though I still wake up early -- it's so nice! :)

 

Chris went with his mom to City Wholesale to pick up Big Mama's table and chairs that we used at Marshall Rd. and he brought them back here.  I helped him load them into the house and into the kitchen.  They look pretty good, not ideal, but decent enough.  I hate losing the open space that room provided, but we needed a table there, especially one that Lucy could bang up and us not feel like she was destroying money.  I love the meaning the table has, too though.  We all three sat around it last night and had stew meat for dinner.  It was our first family meal around a dinner table just the three of us.  As Chris & I ate, and Lucy banged her juice cup on the table, Chris smiled and said "Big Mama would be thrilled to know we were using this table and that she was having fun around it."  He is so right.

 

Lucy took an incredibly long nap yesterday -- nearly three hours!  Which was odd, especially for her having slept in... We got a lot done while she slept though.  I had bought a set of three bar stools (for $99!) at Bed, Bath, & Beyond a couple weeks ago and Chris decided to put them together.  No wonder they were only $99!!  They came in a bajillion pieces!!! He finally got the base of one put together, and when he brought it into the kitchen to see how it measured up in height, we noticed it had a terrible rock to it from the pieces being unbalanced in length... so we just packaged them back up.

 

Lucy finally woke up and we went over to visit MaMa & Pop.  It's so nice them being so close.  Lucy wasn't too keen on visiting, wanting to be by herself a lot and not being her usual sweet self.  She has learned how to make some pretty mean faces lately, and she was casting a lot of them at MaMa, although I don't think it was intentional...

 

We came home and played and went to bed.

 

Day 3:

 

Well, it was a typical Monday, starting off by running late!  Mondays are always the busiest mornings for me, because I have to make sure I have all of Lucy's stuff for daycare.  They send home her stuff on the weekends, so I wash it and bring it back on Mondays.  This includes her bookbag that has a change of clothes, boogie wipes, wipes, and diapers (which comes back and forth daily, because you never know when we might run over to Cindy & Smiley's or something...), her lovie, and her sleep mat (although they provide her with a mat and sheet at school, I still want to know, that I know, that I know, that I KNOW that she's sleeping on something clean.  Besides, it's super cute! :)  I take ALL of this, on top of my coffee & lunch, usually her jacket, and sometimes her quart of milk (Dr. Ivey recommends that she drink whole milk until she's at least 2 -- daycare only provides 1%, so I take a quart every couple of weeks).

 

Today was strangely warm for it to be December 3.  It was a high of 75.  So strange, but so appreciated!  I love living in the south!!

 

I had a typical day fighting off cooties, dousing myself in hand sanitizer at every thought of it, and trying to get things turned in on time. 

 

I was extremely late picking up Lucy because of a meeting I had after school.  Bummer. :(  I usually feed her a snack around 4:00 every afternoon.  By the time we got home (4:45) she was starving!

 

Chris came home from the gym with Wesley and they finished the steps.  They can't be walked on for at least 24 hours. Chris is bummed, because that meant he couldn't watch wrestling upstairs.  Because of our wood floors and how big our house is, we have to watch the tv on super low volume at night when Lucy's asleep.  Poor thing!

 

I finished up my research paper for grad school.  I only have one more small assignment to turn in by Thursday and I'll be done for this semester!!!  Then, I'll only have next semester (2 classes) and I'll have my Masters in Library Media!!! :)  Yay, me!

 

I suppose that's all. Until tomorrow... :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

I'm ashamed to look at this blog and see that it has been since the end of September since I've written, but that only means that we have been BUSY! 

 

It's the first day of December, meaning I'm going to kick of a 25 days of Christmas Blog Posts.  Mmmmhmm, to make up for lost time.  Ready, GO!

 

Lucy:

You are 16 months old!!  I know in just a blink of an eye, this blog will be saying "Lucy, you are 16 years old!!"  I'm not ready for that... 

 

You had your 15 month check-up back at the end of October, and you were 21 pounds!  Dr. Ivey said you had the vocabulary of a 2 year old!  You are saying so many words, your Daddy & I can't keep up!  You're not talking and putting together sentences yet, but you put a label on EVERYTHING and love to point out things to us.  You can make all kinds of animal noises (Cow -- moo, Duck -- "duck-duck", Dog -- haahaahaa, Lion -- ROAR!, Monkey -- Aah Aah, Goldfish -- *kissy noises*, Snake -- sssssss), you can even tell us what Santa says (Ho, Hoooooooo).  You're OBSESSED with the moon!  Every time we go somewhere at night, you point to and say "Moon!" over and over and over again until we get there.  The only time you'll stop saying it is if I sing "The Moon Song." 

 

I see the moon.

The moon sees me.

The moon sees the one,

that I want to see.

God bless the moon,

and God bless me,

and God bless the one I love.

 

You still LOVE Elmo and call him "Mel-Mo."  You've even figured out that the remote to the TV is used to turn your Elmo DVD on/off, and when you want to watch it, you'll go get it and point it to the TV. 

 

You love my phone, mostly to play Elmo games, but occasionally put it up to your ear like you're talking on it.  Instead of saying "hey" though, you always say "Bye!"

 

You love to give hugs and your favorite game to play at night is running back and forth between your Daddy & me giving the best Lucy-Goose hugs in the world!

 

Your teachers at daycare (Ms. Wendy & Ms. Morgan) say that you are very smart and attentive for your age!  You are one of the youngest, and are in a class of about 15 kids.  At circle time, they say that you and only a few others will sit the entire time, singing songs and participating in the movements.  You always clapped to "If you're happy and you know it," but now you'll point your little fingers to your cheeks at the right part.  It's the sweetest to know you're learning while at school!  Speaking of, you also have gotten so grown that when I drop you off, you turn around and tell me "Bye-Bye!" and wave, and then blow me a kiss!  It melts my heart every. single. time.

 

Bath time continues to be your favorite time of the day.  You have gotten to where you could stay in there forever if I would let you.  And sometimes I do.  Nothing brings me more joy than seeing you happy -- and that giggle, oh, it's what keeps my heart beating! 

 

You're still in love with reading!  This makes my teacher-heart so happy!  You have your favorites: Brown Bear, Peek-a-who, The wheels on the bus, My first 100 words, etc.,  You also love books that have things you can feel.  We've ordered you several here lately.

 

You do some really funny things that keep your Daddy & I laughing.  For instance, we've talked about when is the right time to have another baby.  The other day, you & I were playing in your playroom and were feeding your baby doll a bottle, you handed me the baby and I started to "rock, rock" the baby and sing the same songs that I sing to you at night.  You very quickly ripped the baby out of my arms and threw her behind you and didn't play with her again that day.  I suppose now is not the right time... :)

 

You have also started making a "mad face" when you don't get something you want.  Such as today, you were standing up in the fridge, looking for something to eat, and your Daddy moved you out of the way so he could shut the door.  You started walking in circles with a furrowed brow like you were so frustrated!

 

You are the joys of our hearts, sweet girl!  We love you!

 

 

Chris:

I never ever update on us, but one day when I look back, I want to know what we did, too!  So...

 

In case it ever changes, you go to work from 7:30-4:00 every day, and work out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 4:00-5:30 with Wesley.  This puts you getting home around 5:45.  I wish you got home earlier, but I know the gym makes you happy. :)

 

You've been working very hard at finishing the upstairs bonus room of our new house.  It's been a long process, one you hoped would be finished by your birthday, but will be relatively finished by Christmas.  At this point (Dec. 1, 2012), the main room up there is complete, minus office furniture, you had the closet finished with carpet, and you and Wesley installed shelves.  You spent about a week painting the new shelves, and you and I worked on putting in your ginormous collection of DVDS.  The bathroom remains unfinished for now, but today, you and Wesley also started the process of finishing the stairs.  Your dream space is slowly coming together, and you've done it all your way.  I am proud of you!

 

You and I are quite a pair!  We can get things done if we work together, and love to spend time together.  The time we get, just the two of us, is far and few between these days, but I cherish the sweet looks, kisses, and snuggles at night.  You are my better half, and I couldn't imagine being the wife to a better husband.  I don't tell you how much I appreciate you all the time, but I do so much!  You are a strong man, with big dreams for yourself and our family.  You work hard to provide for us, and never make us feel that we have to do without anything.  I love you so much, Christopher Michael! 

 

 

Me: 

I am teaching Kindergarten at Creekside Elementary.  I am loving my year, but wait on pins and needles for each break so that I can be a full-time Mom for Lucy!  I love my time with her, and it is more important to me than ANYTHING in this world!  

 

I am looking forward to Christmas, having spent more money this year than I should have, but I am so excited for Lucy's (first) Christmas.  It's really her second, but poor thing was sick with RSV last Christmas, and so we couldn't go anywhere, and she couldn't really enjoy the festivities of Christmas.

 

I want to start going to church again, now that Lucy has gotten a bit older.  I think that we will try the Methodist church some this season.  I miss traditional church.

 

I don't really know what to say about myself other than how much I love the life that I've been given.  I love my husband, my daughter, my house, my job, and my family.  I am so blessed!

Say What??!?

Oh my goodness!  

I have spoken recently about you growing up so fast, but I didn't mean for you to take it as a challenge, sweet girl!!

Miss Lucy, you are 14 months old and I guess you just decided that this would be the month that you would break free of your baby stage.  You are talking up a storm!  You have always loved to babble in babble-like sentences and a look of distinction like you know exactly what you're talking about, but literally you're vocabulary has exploded!

You now have a vocabulary of about 15 words (& I swear you're learning a new one every day it seems!)

They are:
Mama
Daddy
Teddy
Eye
Bye-bye
Hey
Duck
Book
Cracker
Juice
Uh-oh
Fish
Ball
Night-night
Snack
Noah (Noah Franklin is a little boy in your class.  You talk about him every day and call him "Wowah")

You can tell us what a dog says (well, you hassle), as well as a goldfish (lossy sounds)

You absolutely LOVE reading!  You will bring me book after book after book and
I read them to you every time!

You also decided that this fourteenth month of your life would be the month that you would try your hand (or your foot, rather) at walking! You've been taking steps here and there for a couple of weeks, but September 26, 2012 was the day you decided to really walk!  We woke up that morning and while getting you ready for daycare, you took 6 steps to your daddy.  That afternoon you took 6 more to Kim Harrison.  That evening, we went to see your MaMa and Pop and you took off!  You took several 10-12 step sets back and forth between your dady and I.  You were so excited about your accomplishment, you started trying to run, and would only make it one or two steps before you would fall down laughing!  

You also just got brave enough to climb up and slide down your plastic treehouse climber your daddy and I bought you.  You will sit up there, wait for someone to count and slide down -- then you'll just clap in excitement and pride!

We are so very, VERY proud of you sweet girl!

We love you so much!

Mama

Catching up! :)

Oh, Goose-Goose!

I am not going to write monthly-updates anymore, as I feel I have to cut the tie off somewhere (can you imagine -- when you're a teenager "Miss Lucy, you're 204 months old today!"  Ha!).  However, I do solemnly swear to update more often.  You are getting so much more active and interactive and just plain FUN!  I find myself missing you all day long.  I used to long for you all day at work, because I couldn't wait to come home and nuggle you, but since you're not a big nuggler anymore (just sometimes, and oh, how I treasure those sometimes), I find myself thinking about what all we're going to play when we get home. :)

For your birthday, I had several people ask "What can I get her for her birthday?  What does she want?" and you really didn't need anymore toys that played more music, or made more lights blink, but you do love to read, and I want to foster your love for reading, and so I told them books.  You received lots of books -- and really good ones, too!  We keep all of your big toys in a huge brown wicker toy box I got for the living room at Target, and all of your books in a small wicker basket beside it.  You'll go straight to the book box and pull out your favorites.  You seem to favor the smaller board books, because they're easier for you to handle.  You always want to read "The Wheels on the Bus," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," or "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."  We also still read four books every night before bedtime, too.  You just love to read and are so attentive!

This weekend, Memaw and Nathan came to spend the night.  You and Nathan acted like brother and sister.  At one point, we were reading books, and he wanted to be pesky and put his head in front of you so you couldn't see the book.  You promptly began to push his head out of the way with your finger.  When he didn't move, you tried head-butting him.  It took three tries, but he finally moved!

You crawl everywhere now, and are taking some steps -- but only when YOU want to.

I took you to the park today, and you had so much fun climbing and sliding and swinging -- it wore you out, too!  You came home and took a long nap, and were very cranky when you woke up.  Speaking of sleeping, you're getting harder to put down at night.  We're going to have to start just putting you to bed in your crib, and not waiting for you to fall asleep as I rock you, because you will rock for hours before you close your pretty eyes.  You really like your crib though, and have lots of little stuffed animals and special blankets that you treasure.  You have your purple mongey that Nathan picked out for you when you were still in my belly, the moose your Daddy & I bought for you in Ellijay, GA, the pink bunny your Daddy picked out for you when we found out you were a little girl, your lovey I had made for you, and your Teddy.  You love each one of them.  I also just put a pillow in your crib.  You start off on it, but are off of it by the morning.  I also just put your bumper pad back up in your crib, but weaved it in and out of the slats, because you keep sticking your feet and legs through the slats and wake up squawling!!!

You're standing up and walking the whole time during your bath -- makes it so much harder to bathe you!

At daycare, you're still in the Nursery because you're not walking... but there's a little boy, Connor, in there who can walk and likes to push you down -- most likely accidentally, as he's probably just trying to balance himself, but he also likes to pull your bows out of your hair.  We practice every morning on the way to school saying "No, No, Connor!  No, No!" 

You love The Fresh Beat Band's "Reach for the Sky" song -- we also listen to it on the way to school. 

You eat anything and everything now -- You do love lunchables and hot dogs (healthy, I know).

You love to go strolling, we have the perfect neighborhood for it, too!

Your Daddy & I love you to pieces! :)

Everytime I promise myself I'm going to post more often, I seem to post less often... :-/

I want to remember these days.  I want to remember the swelling my heart feels each day for Chris and for Lucy.  Those two... I could not imagine my life without them.  They are the reason I get up (and not just because he's snoring, or she's wide-awake at 6 a.m.), but they're the reason I am so tired, why I can't get my own lesson plans written (thanks, Kendall!), and why I don't always get to eat dinner every night at 6 (although they do!)

I love them so much and appreciate all the time I can get with them. 

I promise to post more this weekend.  For now, my computer's dying, and my head is wanting to crash on the pillow behind me..........

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Each month leaves just as quickly as it came, and I am in such shock every month when I write the words "This month, Miss Lucy, you are ____ years old."  However, I honestly cannot believe the words I am about to type....

Miss Lucy, you are ONE YEAR OLD!!!

This month, my sweet girl:

You are 18 1/2 pounds and about 28 inches long!  This puts you at about the 22nd percentil overall -- teeny, tiny little thing!

You are still in size 4 diapers (Parents Choice for the day, Pamper's Extra Protection at night)

You wear mostly 12 month size clothes, although in pants you are still probably 0-3 month (you wear mostly dresses though!)

You wear a coordinating hairbow everyday with every outfit -- even if you're just in your diaper! Ha!

You cruise anywhere you want to go in the house, as long as you can reach from one piece of furniture to another, or use someone's hand to help you out.

You love walking, holding onto someone's hands, but are getting better at balancing and can do it with just holding on to one hand.

Never crawled by your first birthday -- although, at the time I'm finally getting around to typing this, you finally crawled for the very first time at one year and a week!!  Your Daddy & I both witnessed it in our new bedroom of our new house!  Your Daddy & I never imagined we would have a baby that reached their first birthday not having ever crawled or walked!  That's okay, Miss Prissy Pants, I'd carry you forever if I had to! :)

This month...WE BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE! :)  It's in a much more desireable neighborhood, and will allow you to (hopefully) grow up playing with friends down the street.  It's much bigger than our old house, and has a lot more features that we needed and love such as: a pantry in our kitchen, granite countertops and real hardwood floors throughout the house, beautiful shag carpet in the bedrooms, separate shower/jetted tub in the master, high ceilings, playroom/office, and unfinished upstairs to make into whatever we want.  Although it will be your Daddy's office/game room initially, I'm sure you'll make it your bedroom one day! :)  I've worked hard to make your new room as similar to your old room as possible, not only because it was so darn cute to begin with, but so that it would be an easier transition for you, and hopefully feel like "home" for you a lot sooner! :)

I think your favorite part of the new house is the hardwood floors -- we will put you in your walker and you will go all the way through the living room, down the hall, into the kitchen, out the breakfast area, back into the living room, into and out of the playroom, back down the hall, and even sometimes can make it go over the carpet into our bedroom -- you are a professional! :)

You're saying "Mama" and "Dada" as well as "Bye" (every now and then), "Buh" for book, and have occasionally said "Uh-Oh!"  In fact, the other day you were walking around Christy & Korey Sutton's coffee table, and knocked your juice cup onto the floor and looked up and said "Uh-Oh!" It was perfect!  You will also hassle like a dog when you see Sunny, CiCi and Papa's dog.  We tried to teach you to say "Ooo-Ooo-Aaah-Aaah" like a monkey the other day because....

We took you to the Atlanta Zoo for the very first time on your birthday! :)  Your Daddy worked the Saturday before just so he could take your birthday off from work.  We let you eat breakfast and left around 9 in the morning.  We got there about 10:30 and left around 12:30. It was so hot, and most of the animals were laying in what little shade they could find, bless their hearts!  While you couldn't see much, you were able to see the elephants and some different birds and monkeys.  Although you won't remmber that trip, you took lots of cute pictures, and I know you really had fun! We even let you eat the greasy on-site cafe food -- yuck!  You also got a pretty sweet shirt as a souveneir! :)

You had your first (and I think last because I'm pretty sure you can only get it once) bout of Roseola.  You started running fever and having a bit of diarrhea for a few days.  I took you into Dr. Ivey to be sure it wasn't an ear infection and sure enough, he said you were fine and that it was probably just a cold.  After about 3 days though, your fever broke, and you broke out in a full-blown rash from head to toe!  It didn't bother you or itch, it just made you really irritable!  As I've said before, you're a pretty good baby, so when you're irritable it makes me crazy because I'm not used to you acting that way!

You love Yummo Yogo -- we have eaten there several times this summer.  It's such a cool refreshing treat in this hot summer heat!  You almost eat the whole cup by yourself, and sometimes cry when the bowl is empty -- ha! :)

You have 4 teeth now!!!  You have three on the bottom and one on top.  This makes it a whole lot easier to feed you more of a variety of foods. While you still eat your Gerber Pasta Pick-ups a lot, you are now eating some of what we eat for dinner, too!  You love to feed yourself, and are getting a lot better at chewing up big bites before swallowing :)

You love brushing your teeth, taking a bath, and washing your hands -- You're a very clean baby! :)

You can click your tongue, make a fun noise while running your tongue from side to side in your mouth, and smack your lips.

You love pretending to share food with your Daddy & I.  You will hold out your little hand like you have food between your pointer and thumb fingers and smack your lips until we reach down and pretend like we're eating whatever you're offering :) 

You're sweet at giving kisses, and sometimes use the opportunity to practice biting -- uh oh!

You watch "Elmo: Singing with the Stars" at most meals.  It's a video of short music segments with hit music stars singing with the Sesame Street crowd.  Your favorite is the one with Destiny's Child singing "I got a new way to walk."  In the lyrics, they say the words "walk, walk" and every time it comes to that part you hum in the same tune at the same time.  Now, even when we sit you down to eat, you'll hum that part just to let us know that you want to watch the DVD.

You can show us where your tummy is --you show us your tummy when we ask, and are getting to where you point to it when you're hungry. You also can show us where other people's eyes are ("Where are Mommy's eyes?  Where are Daddy's eyes?) but not yours for some reason -- ha!  I guess you're just smart enough not to poke your own self in the eye -- haha!

Lucy, this past year has gone way to fast but has been so much fun!  I think back to what my life was like a year ago, and it was so different!  I was a scared but confident first-time mom, just trying to figure out which way was your favorite way to be held, and thinking of new songs and traditions I wanted to start with you.  I've enjoyed every single last minute of your first year, from your first yawn to your latest smile.  I am so proud of the little girl you are becoming!  We get compliments all the time on how sweet you are, and how precious your smile is.  I beam from ear to ear every time someone says you look just like me, because I think you're beautiful -- and while I tell them "thank you" what I want to do is go off on a tangent telling them how much more beautiful you are on the inside!  You're so sweet the way you share, and the way you timidly smile when you hear a noise you like or touch something new for the first time.  There are so many things that I love about you: the way your nose wrinkles when you smile; the way you love to bounce; the plumpness of your feet, and the roundeness of your belly; the way you suck your thumb, and how much you love your lovie.  I could go on and on and this would be the post that never ended!  You are just the absolute light of our lives, Little Lucy!  The fun has only just begun...

With all of our love,

Mama & Daddy

11 Months Old

Sweetest Lucy,

You are ELEVEN months old!!

It's going by all too fast, doll baby...

This month, Miss Lucy:

You are probably still pretty steady at about 18 pounds.  We don't go back for an official doctor visit until next month, so we'll see then.

You are now in size 4 diapers -- Size 3's were fitting you just fine, except at night you kept wetting through them, so I bought you some 4's to wear at night (all Parent's Choice).  Believe it or not, you kept wetting through those, too!!  So when we ran out of the 3's, I just kept buying you the 4's to wear during the day and went and bought some Pamper's Goodnight's to wear at night -- you've only worn them once, but so far they worked! 

You are basically in size 12 month clothes -- since it's summer, you wear a lot of cute dresses (my favorite part of having a girl!).  It's a good thing to, though, because you can't fit into any shorts.  Bless your heart, you have your Daddy's hips and your Mama's hiney.  The only shorts I can find to fit you (and they're still too big!) are 0-3 months... bless it, baby!

You are insatiable these days!  It finally clicked with you about a month ago that you can eat finger foods and you're loving being able to feed yourself!  You still only have the two bottom teeth though (the one next to your bottom right looks like it wants to come in, but hasn't -- and still no top teeth!), so you eat Gerber's pasta pick-ups for lunch and dinner.  I cut them in half, to help your teeth out some, and they're pretty slimy so they can slide right down your throat if you didn't chew them up enough.  You also eat a helping of diced fruit at each meal, too.  You'll eat anything on your plate, but you do have your favorites that you always eat first.  For instance, for snack I give you Puff's and Fruit & Veggie melts.  You always eat all of your fruit & veggie melts before you eat your puff's.  Same with breakfast.  I've started giving you a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, a carton of mandarin oranges, some puffs, and some fruit and veggie melts.  You will eat all of the cheese first!  Cheese is my all-time favorite, too -- you must get that from me! 

You cruise around this house, going anywhere you want!  As long as you can safely reach from one piece of furniture to another, you will get where you want to go.  You still don't crawl, but you do a pretty impressive lean and stretch.  Then, if you still can't reach it, you must figure you didn't really want it anyways, because you just give up.

When I tell you "no," you turn around and blow your tongue at me.  I'm not sure that you're being ugly, because this is how you tell us no, like when you're done eating, or you don't want to do something (like change your clothes), you blow your tongue at us.  So, I think it's more or less you associating that I'm telling you "no" and you're associating that word with that action.  Does that make sense?

You love to play peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, & Stelly-O Johnson (with Daddy -- he holds you on his side and runs in really small steps singing this song, and it makes you bounce up and down and you just smile and laugh!).

Elmo is your favorite thing to watch on TV.  I bought you an Elmo DVD, and you watch it probably twice a day.  Your favorite is his bit with Adam Sandler.

You can stand alone by yourself for 6-7 seconds, when you want to.

You wave bye-bye when your Elmo DVD goes off, people leave, or you want to leave somewhere (you've been doing that for a while now), but you've just started actually saying "bye-bye" with it -- it's hit or miss.

You only have to wear your helmet at night now and in just 3 weeks, you'll have it off for good!!!

You are the most beautiful baby I've ever known.  I love you to my heart's greatest reaches.  You are so precious to me & your Daddy.

Love,

Your Mama