Big Headband June 2, 2007

Lucy doesn’t usually let me put hats or headbands on her head. She immediately pulls them off. But lately we’ve been playing a little game with her baseball hat (it’s real cute and tiny). She’ll put it on my head and laugh (”mommy’s hat!”) and then I’ll put it on her head (”Lucy’s hat!”)…okay…this is sounding real retarded. But it’s cute because she’ll leave the hat on her head for a while and just waddle around the house with it on.

So today I put one of my headbands on her, and she loved it. She tried to take it off a few times, but then decided she still wanted it on. I thought she looked real cute.

Fat guy in a litttttttle coaaaaat. I mean, small head with a big headbaaaand. (sorry)

Sick Baby May 12, 2007

It honestly seems that every two weeks, Lucy gets sick. I guess playing on the toys at the mall is her worst germ enemy. She woke up this morning acting really whiny. We gave her breakfast, and she was still whining. So we put her back to bed. She woke a few hours later bawling and her body was roasting hot. So I gave her some tylenol and basically we spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch together watching Baby Eintstein, taking naps (she took 4), watching more tv, drinking milk, and you know, not doing much of anything. She constantly wanted to be held, so it was nice having Casey here for a hand-off. Sick babies are definitely a family affair.

We all get to endure the fun. I guess this is just how life is with small children.
See if you can find Lucy among the messy front room (I guess I did get some laundry done today). She looks so old sitting up on the couch, watching TV. And here she is with dad. Chilling, watching Lord of the Rings. Hallelujah that she is now in bed.

Tub Time April 27, 2007

Lucy loves taking a bath. Since I don’t want to waste water filling up the whole bathtub, we have a little storage container that she bathes in. It’s just her size!
And to make the experience even less frills…we don’t have any real bath toys. Mostly she plays with household items and tupperware. In fact her favorite toys around the house are old Zone Bar boxes and empty Nestle Choc Chip bags (not that we’re going through bags of chocolate chips or anything).
So back to the tub…she loves playing with a Cool Whip lid, and last night I decided to stick it on her head. Normally she pulls things right off her head. But last night she let the lid just sit there, on her head, like a little hat. I thought, wow she doesn’t even know it’s there! So I ran to get my camera and of course it had fallen off by the time I got back. So I put it on again, and again she just let it sit there. I then thought, huh, I guess she likes it. So I snapped a photo, while she splashed away in the water. She definitely keeps me laughing.

Graduation Day for Lucy April 26, 2007

As many of you know, Lucy is int the lower percentile for weight. And at her gain-rate, we thought she’d be in her infant car seat till she was 18 months. The law in California states: 20 lbs AND 1 year old before the child can sit forward facing. At her 1 year mark, Lucy was still at 17 1/2 pounds. But it’s a been a couple months now….so…we got antsy and decided to weigh her ourselves, at the grocery store. Casey advised me to be as covert as possible, so no one in the produce dept would see what we were doing. Of course the minute we sat her on the scale, a couple nearby looked over and laughed and chatted. Oh well, we smiled and laughed back.
And the tipping point, folks: 19 lbs!
Woohoo!
We decided her weight was close enough (please don’t tell the authorities). So we bought her a forward facing carseat and she rode in it for the first time yesterday. I think she just gazed out the window for the first 10 minutes of our drive, loving the new view.

As luck would have it, however, our little bulimic daughter decided to gag herself on the drive home and now the seat is christened with her throw-up. We won’t show any pictures of that.
But overall, a good change. Our little girl is growing up!
Here she is in her new seat.

(p.s. her forehead bears the war wounds of walking. She fell on the cement this past weekend.)

Who does she look like? April 16, 2007

The never ending question…who does your daughter look like?
Being part of the family, it’s hard for me to tell. Some say Lucy looks like me. Some say she looks like Casey.
My mom told me that when Lucy smiles, she sees a glimpse of Linda Willard in her face…just that same cute Linda face. So who knows!
There are times, though, when I think she looks like Grandpa Bill. Maybe it’s cause they have the same hairline. But I think it’s something in their face…their smile? I guess only time will tell, as her little face grows up. But here are some pics, so you can decide!

EPILOGUE (to "Perfect Day") April 14, 2007

Well, spoke too soon.
Here’s what Lucy got into Saturday morning. Rice was everywhere.
I guess it’s time to lock the pantry doors.

Perfect Day April 14, 2007

Today was the perfect day.
Lucy ate 3 full meals of solid food (a first) and did it with a smile.
She played for hours on end while I cleaned the entire house.
She quieted down in the car when I sang my silly songs.
She played on the mall toys with the big kids and held her own.
She took a good nap.
She stayed up for Casey to get home and played with him for another hour.
She laughed when he threw pillows at her head.
She went to bed by 8pm and was out for the night.
If only every day could be this way…actually, they usually are.

Here’s another perfect day:

Easter Time April 9, 2007

After a great day at church, we headed down to Orange County to spend Easter evening with the Sumans. My mom made yummy pork ribs, we had fresh bread, and of course….we did a little easter egg hunt. Without 5 year old Jeremy there to lead the hunt, however, Lucy and Carter (2 yrs old) just sat there in the grass. They spent 10 minutes putting eggs in their baskets, then pulling them out. Put the eggs in, pull them out again. Well, at least that’s what Lucy wanted to do. I guess Carter finally got sick of it. And then Lucy cried. (That’s what you get for stealing some else’s loot!)
We had a real fun time. It’s great to have family living near by!

SLEEPIN-IN April 9, 2007

This morning Lucy slept-in till 11am! She hasn’t done that, well, ever.
It was great! I did check in on her once, to make sure she was breathing.
And I sure got a lot done this morning. Here’s what she looked like when she finally woke up:

The Hair IS growing April 5, 2007

I took a picture of Lucy in her highchair yesterday and realized….I had taken the SAME picture 6 months ago. Same shirt, same background. As you can tell, that short hair of hers IS growing.
Here’s Lucy at 8 months, and 14 months.

BABY STEPS March 28, 2007

She walked, by gollie, she walked!
Last night Lucy took about 5-6 funny steps all on her own!
Casey and I sat a few feet from each other and made her walk back and forth to us.
Yes, she was shaky, yes, she loved it, and yes….she looked retarded with her “doi doi doi” baby talk coming out at the same time. But it was retarded-cute! Is that possible? Perhaps.
As I say with every milestone: Our lives are changing.
Turn, and face the strain…ch ch chaaang-es.