Monday, March 19, 2012

Pics Continued

A few more pics from the last few weeks. Nothing all that eventful.  Most days are just Lucy and me hanging out and since she can't take pictures yet, they are almost always of her!  

Lucy LOVES her new preschool.  She always asks to "draw" and loves to paint.  (With her friend Grayson)

 Drawing some more "balls" at mommy's work

Lucy and her BFF Isla  

Sunnies at the zoo
  
With Grandma and Grandpa after a fun weekend at their house

Chatting with Grandpa

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Summer-ish in the City

The last few weeks have been as non-routine as it gets around here.  Between the amazing weather, leading to daily naps in the stroller because as much as I want Lucy to get some rest, I really like the hour or two of doing errands by foot, and condo showings, which I have realized it is just easiest to leave first thing in the morning to avoid disaster (little fingerprints on my perfectly clean fridge) - we haven't exactly kept to a routine.  But, I have found it is a pretty efficient and relaxing way for us to live.  And, Lucy and I are taking full advantage of the city - trying lots of new restaurants, visiting new parks, shopping on Michigan Avenue, and even going for a naptime run on the lakefront which officially made it the best day of my year to date.  Next up - taking Lucy with me to renew my passport.  I have been planning this "adventure" for a week and then I close my eyes and picture our "L" ride, a 2 hour line, Lucy asking for the only snack I don't happen to have in her enormous snack cooler, having to get out of line and her making me carry her the entire way home from Daley Plaza without a passport.  So, I will keep you posted on that trip.

Other than running around all day, eating on park benches and changing diapers in random places, Lucy started and ended Lil Kickers Soccer.  I ordered her first pair of Nikes, she looked so cute in her uniform, and then we got to class and it was just a complete bust.  Three 18 months old in an auditorium, separated from two older soccer classes with a little tube Lucy could jump over.  Well, Lucy just chased the balls in the older soccer classes, couldn't hear her "Coach Myra" over the other two classes and we spent 10 minutes stacking soccer cones.  I got her in the car and by the time we were home her registration was put on hold until she is old enough for the older group.  Regardless, she looked pretty darn cute in her uniform.



And, St. Patty's Day weekend was great.  On Friday we went out with our friends Amy and Joe.  On Saturday, we visited friends in the suburbs and Lucy to see some of her U of I legacy friends, and Sunday we did a family day at the zoo.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!! A few St. Patty's Day pics and I will post other random pics later this week!
Happy Day!!


My first trip to a McDonald's drive-thru for a Shamrock Shake!

 Lucy and her friend Tommy

 Lucy and baby Charlotte who really liked her shoes

A good day!



Sunday, March 4, 2012

Well, I think I must go back to the old blog format - weekly updates.  For starters, I went to log into the blog and went to the Wennerstrom blog instead.  Forgetting how to get to ours.  And, when I got to ours, I was like "wait....Lucy still had a paci last month? That seems like 3 months ago. I barely remember the paci."  So, the days are flying by too quickly and I can barely remember what happened yesterday.  In my life a month seems pretty short and nothing changes (my hair has looked the same for 10 years) but life is moving a little faster for little Lu and I will definitely forget most of it at the end of the month.  And, I just have too many photos for one month.  So, back to weekly or bi-weekly if I don't get my act together weekly.

Now that I have looked through our February photos and am all caught up on what we did, it was pretty busy!!!  You will notice we are paci-free in every photo.  We thought it would be a big ordeal and she would cry for days for it, but in reality, it took about 10 extra minutes to go down the first time and she never asked for it again :)  It is so great not having to worry about how many pacis I have packed for a trip, great not having her obsess over the pacis she wants out of my bag during one of her classes, and great with all the extra chatting we are getting these days.

We had a great Valentine's Day - although I can't remember what we did, I remember it being fun.  We went back and forth between getting her a "Rock and Roll" Elmo or a high chair for her baby dolls.  We went with Elmo and now she only plays with her baby dolls :)  So, I put Elmo away hoping it will become a hit the second time around.  We had music class and Grandma Chris came over to visit and Lucy got a new bowling set and book (and I got to celebrate with a new shirt and necklace, but I won't tell Joe his parents bought me a gift and not him....)  I am pretty sure we cooked in that night and we didn't go gifts for each other this year and really stuck to it for the first time.  (This past week Lucy got to celebrate Valentine's Day with my family and got the cutest pjs and a cute Bear that I think may have gone home with a cousin or my parents that day as we can't find him.)  And her Aunties both gave her cute gift bags full of fun things so she was pretty spoiled this year.

This month everyone is telling me how chatty Lucy is - and she is getting bossy!  She walks around the house pointing to places and says "momma" where she wants me to sit.  Sometimes it is in her crib. Every since I got in her crib in AZ to help her sleep, she likes when I get in.  Strange I know.  She is obsessed with her baby dolls, as well as her Sesame Street figures.  Her babies now get baths and they sit on her potty.  Lucy has been showing a lot of interest in her potty - and if she sits on it she gets a sticker so she usually sits and just says sticker then gets up.  But, she has a couple of times told me when she "went pott."  I got excited and thought she was understanding the purpose of the potty but a few days ago, she was getting ready for a bath and was standing next to it, when she started to poop. I tried to tell her to sit on the potty but she was just confused and kept going on the carpet.  I now fully know she thinks the potty is for dolls and Elmo.  Oh well!

Everything is "yep" these days.  Sometimes, she even says "yep, yep" and she says "thank you" (ge-ge?)  but we know she means thank you.  It is very sweet.  Sometimes we also get a "please" but not as regular as thank you.  We are also getting great on animal sounds, saying "choo-choo" and she points out everything - buses, dogs, squirrels, birds.  She knows a lot of words and is getting good at names.

We had a weight check this month and Lucy is 18 1/2 lbs, so still small but doing great on her own growth chart.  She is not eating a ton of new foods, but is doing good at getting a little milk at every meal and eats lots of healthy snacks - string cheese is a new favorite - so the doctor said she is perfectly fine.

One exciting update is that Lucy and I started a little mom/tot class at her preschool, where she will start next fall. I absolutely love the school, teachers and the moms I have met.  It helps that most of them I already knew from my work - including one of the teachers, since it is about 3 blocks from the school :)  The classroom is adorable and there are lots of "stations" for Lucy to explore.  Lucy does really well in the group which was a relief because when Lucy first met the Director of the Preschool, Lucy was in her "wild" phase and was running and falling into chairs, a total mess.  When I called to ask about admission the Director was like "oh, yes, Lucy...".  ha!! But, she is doing great and everyone seems to love her. And, I am pretty sure she will just run away from me come next fall, since this space and the teachers will be so familiar to her.  In addition, Lucy is in a preschool prep class at our music/class place - Bubbles.  Joe is taking her to her first class today (Saturday) and it is more of a school format so I am excited to hear how she does.  My favorite is the group snack time at her preschool classes - she is so funny sitting at a table eating a cup of Pirate Booty with her new friends.

Lots of exciting things going on - and I will go back to weekly updates so I don't miss too much.  Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!!!

Valentines Day 2012







Anyone who has spent time with Lucy knows she loves to line up her cups and pour water, crackers, whatever she can find into the other cups.  She is our budding scientist, taking after her daddy. 

We pour water

all day long

Vday gifts from Aunt Beth

 Proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - twin purses

A cute pic of Lucy on a rainy day


Lucy helping me get ready for a showing - this is her vaccuum because she just wants to use mine.  

Brusha-brusha with my new blinking toothbrush from Abigail and Caitlin - straight from Disney World. What a good souvey!

We took Lucy to Build-A-Bear one afternoon, and she made a Snoopy Dog whose ears flap! 


Lucy coloring at Wonder Works.  She is starting to get into crayons and paints

And checking out Legos..

A pic I took on my dad's birthday when she first woke up. My favorite moment of the day when I see her in her crib, all happy from a night of sleep. Could be longer, but we will take a full night :) 

With Aunt Beth