Only 3 Years?

Yesterday Joe and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, which feels like 30 to us!  Maybe because we have been dating/married for 6 years, or maybe because our lives have changed so much in just 3 years and the past 15 months has flown by quicker than any chapter in our lives.  But, it has been the most amazing 3 years and although I can't speak for Joe, this isn't anyone else I would rather have been through it all with.  Joe had tennis and when he got home we wanted to do something special so we decided to open a bottle of wine I had been saving since my trip to Italy back in 2006.  When I was opening it, Joe asked if it would even be okay to drink as we don't have a wine cellar and as I opened it, the cork just broke into a thousand pieces and fell in, and the wine didn't smell like wine.  So, maybe we should first invest in some sort of wine cellar/storage before pretending to collect vintage wines.

Keeping with a tradition we started on our first anniversary, we are heading to dinner at Roy's, which reminds us of our honeymoon in Hawaii, and I am sure we will have the "when are we going back to Hawaii?" discussion like always, and dessert at the Sofitel.  Happy Anniversary to us!!!

Also, overdue, we had a great Thanksgiving and a few pictures to share - we all noted how loud this year's Thanksgiving was.  Not sure if it was the Muskovich ladies all talking over one another or the girls all running around, or me constantly chasing Lucy saying "no" as she headed towards the stairs the entire evening.  But, we had a great dinner as always, thanks to my mom for all of her hard work (and Beth too) and my dad's hard work outdoors with the turkey fryer.  We missed Bill and Chris but know they were enjoying the Arizona weather :)

The rest of the weekend was super relaxing - having Joe home Wednesday through Sunday allowed us to get a million things off our to-do list, address our holiday cards, put up our very convenient and nice-looking fake tree (I got a bonus surprise this year when I realized the lights are already attached to the tree) and all our holiday decorations, took Lucy swimming, went to an indoor playspace and got nearly all of our holiday shopping done.  Sounds boring, but it was all exciting.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

The girls by the toy closet

                                        

The guys doing what they do best

The chef and the chef-wanna-be (Joe)

Enjoying their wine spritzers

Turkey Carving Watching

Lucy's favorite 4-legged-friend, Kramer

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

This photo has a lot of significance because it was the first time smiled on command!  It was so cute, she wasn't up for being posed and then I asked her to smile and she gave me one!!

Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!!!

Meet Maddux and Lucy updates

Just got home from a great day in Iowa, finally meeting Maddux (Ericka's cutie-pie son) this weekend!!!!  Of course Maddux was the best baby ever - and for one slight minute made me miss the teeny baby stage.  And, while we chatted and shopped, Lucy and daddy had a "day out" at the Children's Museum and lots of playing.  Sadly, it doesn't sound like she missed me much because I kept waiting for a call that she was crying for no reason - which I would happily assume meant she missed me - but I kept calling them and would just get a "got to go. We are busy!"  So, I guess she didn't notice I was gone.  But, at least they had fun.

A few pics of Maddux - a handsome 3 months old:

Hi world!

With mommy

Children's Museum (from daddy's phone):

And now onto the promised Lucy updates!

Lucy is now 14 months old and using one word to describe her - BUSY.  Her personality is spunky and she reminds me a lot of her cousin Caitlin in that she is independent, opinionated, social and behind that sweet smile is a little sassy attitude.  But, I had it all coming to me after my sweet, angelic teen years.  She is into exploring - from trying to climb into and out of the bath tub when I am not looking, into boxes, lockers at the gym, hanging onto the shelves in the fridge so she can get to her milks (kefir), and figuring out how to remove her pants, and last night, diaper, herself.  

We are always amazed at what she understands!! When we say "bath" she runs and starts getting her bath toys out, and if she sees a winter hat out, she knows to put it in the bin by the back door.  She knows some of her colors - and can find the "green ball" when we ask.  She is pointing a lot - at the cabinet when she wants a snack, at her toothbrush when she wants to brush her teeth, at the gate when she wants daddy :)  And, we know she understands "no" but still thinks our reaction is funny and likes to test us by going right back for more.  oh lord!

Outside of playing with her toys, of which her favorites are her stacking buckets, her ball/penguin shoot, her kangaroo shape sorter and recently her tea set, she loves to hide behind the curtains until I find her, having daddy chase her around the house, brushing her teeth, taking baths (until it is time to get out) and dancing when she hears music!  Oh, and playing with my iPhone. She thinks it is her phone. 

We don't have any new words - and strangely, Lucy has entered into a non-talking stage.  But, recently she started clucking which daddy taught her, and yesterday we took her to Macy's and she tried to say "ball" everytime we saw an ornament on the trees.  She also tries to say "K-K" when we say Caitlin.  So hopefully we will get some words soon.  

She is currently in two classes - Kindermusik, which I absolutely love, and a Creative Movement class at Bubbles.  I love both classes for different reasons - Kindermusik is a smaller group, where she has a lot of teacher interaction, and Creative Movement is bigger with some older kids so she gets to observe a lot (and burn A LOT of energy).  We are hoping to add in swimming over the winter once we get this one-nap-a-day routine down.  But, I am enjoying the not-so-packed schedule we are on this fall - giving us more time to just play, be together, and most importantly, get naps when they are needed.

Lucy is our little peanut, and we love her to pieces!!!  We love how she will run to us for a big hug at a random moment or will hug our legs when a stranger starts talking to her.  We love how she will sit in the back of the car and start giggling and how excited she gets to run to daddy when he gets home from work.  

A few random pictures....

Doing what she does best - emptying our cabinets

Trying out my new snowsuit. Now we just need some snow!

Hanging out with daddy

Bath time is the best!

Hiding spot discovered....

Our sweet girl

Long Overdue....

It is almost the weekend I am just getting around to updating from last weekend!! It was a busy one but thanks to Beth and Rob (and the girls) Lucy was having fun and and in good hands (some would argue better hands) while Joe and I had a busy weekend celebrating with our friends, and my parents, at our friends Amy and Joe's wedding!!! It was the most beautiful wedding and I swear I have never seen a dance floor as packed as Amy's.  It seems like every time we turned around two people were having a dance-off.  We had a great time and were so happy for Amy and Joe.  Unfortunately I don't have any actual wedding pics yet because I wasn't carrying my camera while carrying out my bridesmaid duties, but maybe I can get someone to steal some pics from Facebook for me?!  But, I do have some pre-wedding pics of the happy couple!!

Thanks Beth, Rob and the girls for taking such great care of Lucy for us! We had an even better weekend knowing she was at "Share Camp" as I had been calling her weekend away which seems to have helped with her possessive issues over her toys.  I figure we will also plan a weekend away once she is ready to potty train, lose her paci and probably all 4 years of high school if that is okay with them.

A lively breakfast

Three's a crowd in the tub

My personal favorite - Lucy's morning-after piggie-tail hair (following her first time in piggie tails which I am shocked she stood still for Beth to put in. The stinker won't even let me brush her hair!)

I have heard of kids not liking characters, but not sure why Lucy was so scared of this "Barbie" at my dad's work Barbie event (who by the way looks like Carrie Underwood).  And, I can't help but laugh at how it looks like she is wearing little knickers from the 1920s. 

MR. AND MRS. JOE VIRGIL

Practicing waiting for his bride - at the church Beth and Rob got married at! Brought back great memories!

A calm and cool Amy and Joe at the rehearsal dinner at Lou Malnati's

The lucky bridesmaids

My oldest friend - friends since 5th grade and tried to do the math but gave up

Nails and mimosas

Coming up:  An update on all things Lucy!!!! Check back after the weekend for a long-overdue update on Lucy's milestones, quirks, and random photos.  

 

Happy Birthday Miss Caitlin!!!

Happy Birthday Caitlin!!!

We can't believe you are already 2 years old!!!! This year you grew from a toddler to a little girl and it has been so fun to watch.  You are incredibly sweet, spunky and have the biggest personality.  We love you to pieces and hope you have the best 2nd birthday ever!!!!  

Turning 2 is fun!

Yesterday was Caitlin's 2nd bday party - and the little Elmo-ette will be going into the year ahead in style, and with plenty of toys to keep her busy until the next birthday party!!!  Caitlin was super cute and excited about so much at her special Elmo bday party - her Elmo cake, her Elmo balloon - but mostly her Elmo phone.  I hope she still likes Elmo in a few months :)  Not too many pics because once the party started I couldn't find my camera (big surprise!) but we had a great time!! Happy early bday Miss Caitlin!!!

This cake looks delicious!!

The countdown....

Admiring my Elmo balloon (trust me, it is up there)  - and wearing my new Elmo ribbon!

Checking out her new boat for bath time

Apparently a very interesting story....look at all the girls paying attention!

Joe and Kramer enjoying some football

The girls were trying to hold Lucy back for a photo but she was just running away so this is the best one I could get

Happy Birthday Caitlin!!!!

Halloween 2011

We had an amazing trip to Florida (minus the fact that we had to fly with a 14-month old both ways to get there. Like labor, I forgot about it 10 minutes after we got off the flight, but while in the midst of it, I used the words "never again and only child")  Oh, and the two cockroaches in our room.  Other than that - amazing!

We spent a lot of time relaxing and wanted the trip to be all about spending quality time with Lucy - so kept our time pretty unscheduled so that we could work around her naps and bedtime.  Our only real Disney thing was a trip to Epcot, the rest of the weekend we were just at the resort swimming, relaxing, and of course there was some running and spa time.  We were surprised how many things there are for little kids to do in Epcot when you are looking for it!! Lucy went on her favorite ride - Figment - three times and  it was cute because she was scared the first time it went "dark" but loved Figment and did her signature wave to him the entire time.  She also had a great time on the Nemo ride and LOVED all the fish, sharks, dolphins, manatees, and fun sea life she got to see after the ride.  Lucy also got to test out her Minnie costume and we learned that it is impossible to trick her into wearing headbands, clips with fuzzy ears attached to them, hats, etc.  I spent a lot of my time walking behind her trying to sneak the ears onto her.  The main reason for going in October was for the Food and Wine Festival and it was so much fun!!  We definitely could have done a little more eating and a lot more drinking - which I guess is why some people leave their kids at home for the Food and Wine Festival.  No surprise that Joe's favorite was the Belgium waffles and German sausage :)  Outside of our day at Epcot, we mostly relaxed, which is a new vacation thing for me - but it was great.

Every time we travel with Lucy, Joe and I make all these mental notes - like with all the crap we have to drag around for Lucy it probably isn't critical to bring our fancy camera that has a purse-size case, to pack more snacks than you think you will need for a flight because once she runs out of her favorite the sweet potato probably isn't going to go over well, and that the loudest possible sound machine is a huge necessity (which we thankfully had this time around). We also noted that Lucy isn't as adventurous as we have made her out to be.  That definitely was the case when we rented a surrey bike and strapped her into the front of it.  But, once she got over her anger at us for that, she did a lot of swimming at the pool and we had a fun night in Downtown Disney.

It was a fun Halloween weekend and our Minnie was such a sweet (although is getting a little sassy too) girl.  Both Joe and I tried to recall our favorite moments from the trip and it was the little things - like how she would point to the pool area every time we would walk out of our room as if we didn't remember the pool was outside, or how she would run through the pool sprinklers laughing :)  We can't wait to go back again soon.

Happy Halloween!!

Our ear-less Minnie heading to Epcot

Checking out the fish after Nemo

Our only family pic - really need to ask people more often but strangers always take unfocused pictures!

Lucy loved Figment and kissed his picture when we held her up :)

Hi Figment!!!!

Visiting Duffy the Disney Bear - still haven't figured out who this guy is but his picture line was much shorter than the princesses

Playing with Daddy - and for anyone wondering why most of the pics are with Joe and Lucy it is because she doesn't let me hold her when Joe is around.  So, to keep the peace I just carry all the bags, take pictures and try to fix her hair when she isn't looking

Making friends

Good thing we didn't invest in a bike seat for Lucy this summer

Swimming!

I found the best way to get Lucy to cuddle with me is to take her swimming. She sat with me for a good 30 minutes and we watched some way-too-over-excited tweens play "What's in Your Beach Bag" by the pool. Very entertaining. 

Toot Toot!

Joe and I reminisced about the days of reading on a flight

A pre-trip Grandma and Grandpa shot

A post trip Grammy shot (how cute!) - we did get a lot of use out of that outfit

Grammy is so funny!!!