The Four Month Cat Napper

It's hard to believe, but Lucy is 4 months old today. Luke continues to be heavy in our hearts as he would have been 18 months old on the 19th of August. It was also a year ago on the 19th that we shared the news that we were pregnant again. A couple of nights ago, Lucy fell asleep in my arms and took our breath away with her resemblance to Luke.

It has been a busy last month for Lucy, and she is growing and learning by leaps and bounds. As usual, I will give the updates in pictures.

Here we are on the shore of Lake Huron where we rented a house with my family to celebrate my parents 30th wedding anniversary. We were supposed to be there an entire week, but to make a long story short, we ended up heading home after only two nights because the septic field backed up! Everyone kept their humor about them, and it was definitely a bonding experience. Looking back now, it was pretty funny, but while in the thick of it with sewage coming up out of the toilets and shower drains and flooding the bathrooms it was pretty stinky and messy. In the picture above we are sitting by a fire we built on the beach our last night there. Lucy loved the sound of the waves, and slept really well while we were there. To make up for our shortened vacation, we headed to Shipshewana, Indiana where we toured an Amish settlement, ate extremely rich and delicious food and baked goods and bought six dining room table chairs that are currently being built by an Amish guy named Casper. I'll have to remember to post a picture of them when they arrive, as they are absolutely beautiful.

Lucy is many things and especially cute, but she is definitely NOT a sleeper. Here she is in her swing, fighting a much needed nap. We find she sleeps great in the car, but other than that will only take 15 minute cat naps throughout the day. This makes it seem like we are trying to settle a fussy and sleepy baby for most of the day. She can't stand to miss a thing, and if there is anything new or remotely interesting going on she will refuse to sleep. She is getting better about sleeping at night, but of course last night proved us wrong when she decided that she preferred to be wide awake from 1:30 a.m. until somewhere around 4:00 a.m. We are assuming she finally did fall asleep - all we know is that the last time either of us looked at the clock it read 3:58 a.m. She woke me up somewhere after that about 6:30 a.m. It's amazing to me that she seems to require less sleep than her parents. We should have known she didn't need much sleep when she was wide awake the first few days of her life. We kept looking on with pride - "Look how alert she is!" As if to say, wow, we must have something special here. Every other newborn we've seen sleeps the day away! Little did we know how in for it we were! But seriously, we wouldn't have her any other way.
Lucy still loves her bath and insists that we run the water while she is in the tub. We've tried turning off the water in an effort to conserve it once her tub is filled up, but she starts crying as soon as the water turns off. Being the push overs we are for our Little Lucy, we let it run and brace ourselves for the next water bill. Lately, her favorite part of bathtime is getting dried off. She smiles and smiles in her little duck towel and even enjoys it when I swab out her ears with a q-tip. She is a creature of habit already - she knows when it is bath night (every other night) and if we forget - look out! She will cry and cry until we remember. And if we don't bathe her in the exact same pattern as every other time, she will also protest. Again, we think it is adorable - hopefully this isn't a precursor to OCD or something like that!

Here is Lucy with her dolly named Brenda that Grandma Timmerman gave her. She loves to chew on Brenda, and pretty much loves to chew on anything she gets into her hands. We think she is teething, which could also explain some of the sleepless nights we have been having. She is getting really good at grasping objects and putting them in her mouth - her hand eye coordination is definitely progressing.I think this above picture speaks volumes. Currently her favorite book to chew on - I mean read - is "The Belly Button Book."

Lucy has gained a couple of nicknames in her short 4 months of life, our favorites being LuLu and Mumma's Littlest Baby. In the above picture, LuLu pauses before answering her father's question on how to factor a simple polynomial function.

Will goes back to work on Monday, and his girls are going to miss him.

3 Months Old Already!

Time is just flying by with Lucy! She is now 3 months old, and just this evening was trying really hard to roll over. She almost did it, but instead kept rotating around in a circle. Lucy is able to lay on her belly and hold her head up for 'tummy time' really well now too. It is amazing how strong she is getting and the difference even one day can make in her development. She still loves her bath, and is becoming more vocal with vowel sounds and what we call 'owl' sounds. We have been incredibly busy this month, and sometimes feel bad that she spends a good majority of her time it seems in her car seat as we drive here and there. We are hoping that August is a bit more laid back for us, and that we can continue to enjoy Lucy before Will has to go back to school.

Something amazing that gives us chills is Lucy's fascination of the picture of Luke we have sitting on our end table in the living room. The first time we caught her staring at it we couldn't break her gaze, it was so strong. We hope that Lucy knows who Luke is, and recognizes his face in the picture. I also like to think that Luke visits Lucy, and lets her know that she is safe with him watching over her. We would give anything to have both of our children in our arms right now. As we watch Lucy grow, we can't help but feel wistful that we missed the joy of seeing Luke achieve those same milestones. Bittersweet is the only way I know how to describe it. We still miss our little guy more than we know how to say. Lucy does keep us busy enough that we don't have as much time to dwell on our grief, but it is still there, a constant longing in our heart for the little boy we never got to see smile up at us. I remind myself that he is smiling down at us, but it just isn't the same.

Here are some updated pictures of Luke's little sister.

Lucy is starting to cuddle more.

Lucy in the car.

Lucy sitting up like a big girl! Lucy smiling!
Lucy doing 'tummy time'.Lucy and Grandpa.

Lucy is Two Months Old!

We are having a wonderful summer so far, and loving the fact that Will is home. I am so glad that Will is a teacher, and that we can build such great memories during our first summer with Lucy. Lucy loves the outdoors which we are happy about since we practically live outside as soon as the thermometer hits above 40 degrees. At our new home we are able to walk to pretty much anything including Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house so we try to walk whenever possible. The other day I could be seen walking home from the grocery store with a giant 20 roll package of Quilted Northern that happened to be on sale resting precariously atop the stroller. I have no shame! Although I will admit I had several panicked seconds when I realized the package wouldn't fit in the basket under the stroller.

As for the changes in Lucy since our last post - besides the fact that we can practically see her growing before our eyes, she is smiling more and starting to coo. It is adorable. It even melts our hearts at 3 in the morning. Speaking of 3 in the morning, Lucy is still quite the night owl, and our one complaint is the lack of sleep we get at night.

I've had several friends and family request more pictures of Lucy. Because I know that is really why you are here, I'll tell the rest of the updates with pictures of our little lady!

Lucy's Baptism was Sunday, June 14.

Great Grandpa knows how to make Lucy smile!

The Pope Himself came to Lucy's Baptism and gave her His Blessing!

Here she is sleeping...

And sleeping some more... did I mention that it is daytime?

Here she is cuddled in yet another laundry basket - clean of course!

It is actually night time here - past midnight though, and this is how she finally fell asleep.

She is holding her head up more, and able to sit for short periods of time.

Lucy loves to stand! Look at those droopy cheeks!
They are probably kissed a hundred times a day!

We Had No Idea

Lucy is 6 weeks old now, and is starting to show more of her personality to us. She loves her swing and sometimes will only go to sleep if the swing rocks her. She loves the sound of running water, getting her face washed and taking a bath. She likes it when I make up songs with her name in it, and sing them to her. She prefers to be held (unless of course she is in her swing!) and would rather be outside than inside. The last couple of weeks she has been starting to smile, and it just melts our hearts.

A couple of days ago we got out the video camera to record Lucy getting her face washed. It is so comical and cute - her head goes limp, her eyes kind of roll back in her head and you can hear her sigh loudly. Clearly she finds a warm wash cloth on her face very relaxing! It was then that I started going backwards on the camera and looking at old videos. The first video we ever took on that camera was still on there, and I had forgotten all about it - a year and a half later. It was the day of our baby shower for Luke back in January of 2008. Will's brother had given us the camera for our shower gift, and Will and I were back at home and testing it out. To see how happy we were made a lump catch in my throat. It was like looking at sweet innocence - we were so excited and carefree awaiting our baby Luke. We had no idea. We had no idea that our world was about to turn upside down, and that life would never be the same again.

Several people have asked Will and I if we appreciate Lucy more after what we went through with Luke. We had no idea how much our second child would turn our world upside down, and that life would never be the same again. But your life can change and be different in a positive way. I do miss eating dinner in peace with Will, sleeping through the night and being able to go wherever we want whenever we want without having to pack up half the house or be mindful of feeding schedules. But I would not go back or trade our new life for anything. We had no idea that we would be capable of such silly antics just to see a baby smile. We had no idea that our hearts could feel so much love and joy again. We had no idea how simple looks or a little yawn would remind us of her brother Luke. We had no idea how little sleep we could function on or how fast time goes by while holding a baby. We had no idea.

I guess life is like that. We really have no idea what is around the corner and I think that is a good thing. Will and I were able to enjoy our time with Luke without sadness. We are now able to enjoy parenthood with Lucy. And although we do not know what is around the next corner, we do know that with our Faith, family and friends we will be able to carry on through the joy and the tears.

Okay - here's what you are really looking for - pictures of Lucy!

An Update

I have been wanting to post for quite some time now, and share with you all the many photos we have of Lucy. Things have been busy to say the least - life with a newborn coupled with the fact that last weekend we moved. The best advice seasoned moms have given me is to sleep when Lucy sleeps. It is so hard to do though when boxes are stacked all around you. As my close friends and family know, I am a bit of a control freak and like to have everything organized around me. But, thanks to our friends and family the past couple of weeks, things are more organized than I would have thought. We've had delicious meals made for us, many hands - and trucks - that helped us move, and our parents and siblings who helped us unpack. Really, once we spent the first night in our new home, I felt like a recipient of an Extreme Home Makeover.

Our new home is in fact the home that Will's Dad grew up in, and has been in the Timmerman family for about sixty years - from the day the house was built. Some of you may remember that Will's Grandma Timmerman passed away after Christmas. Since then, her children and their spouses have been cleaning and fixing up her house in hopes of selling it. I know that Will's Dad has been over at her house almost every single day painting, cleaning and fixing along with several of his sisters. When Will and I sold our condo, and realized that we needed a place to live fast with little Lucy due any day, the Timmerman family offered us their mother's home until we were able to find a more permanent situation. We have been overwhelmed by their love and generosity - fresh paint and carpet was put in for us, curtains were hung and the place was cleaned till it shined for us to literally show up and move in. I can't imagine what we would have done without their help. Will and I feel like we don't deserve this, and are eternally grateful. And, how cool is it that Lucy's room is the very same room that her Grandpa grew up in?

Speaking of Lucy - she is doing great! She is steadily growing and even learning the difference between day and night. She is definitely her daddy's girl, and spends much of her awake time snuggled in Will's arms and gazing intently into his eyes. Will seems to know just what she wants. He can tell if she is too hot, tired, hungry or just in need of some love. We have decided that she has Grandpa Timmerman's ears but still don't know for sure who she looks like besides her brother Luke. Little Lucy is growing before our eyes, and peaks of personality are starting to show through.

Lucy's first outing was to the cemetery to visit her brother Luke. Below are pictures of her first outing, along with some stellar tulips that bloomed on Luke's grave and some great pictures of Lucy with each of her grandma's, her Godmother Auntie Jane, her dad, and of course, some pictures of just Lucy looking oh so cute. One of my favorites is of her curled up and napping on our bed.

Isn't she cute!?!

Lucy Anne Timmerman, Here at Last!

It is with great joy and pride that Will and I welcomed our second child, Lucy Anne Timmerman on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2009. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and is 20 1/4 inches long. She has dark hair like her mom, feet just like her dad's, and a nose and mouth just like her big brother Luke. Her birth was a beautiful experience and we couldn't help but feel Luke's presence with us. It is our belief that before Lucy's spirit came to earth to grow in my tummy and arrive in our arms, Luke told her to pick up where he left off and make his parents happy. Our hearts are experiencing happiness like we have never known and a longing that we are still learning to live with every day. We long to hold both of our children, but know that Luke is connected to us more than ever through his little sister Lucy. We came home today from the hospital and the world greeted Lucy in a green spring splendor - everything is in bloom for our little girl. When we walked up to our front door, we saw the eight yellow tulips and two new pink tulips - Luke's gift to Lucy.

Without further ado, here's a few pictures we'd like to share with you of our beautiful daughter.

Heaven Scent on Lucy's Due Date

Yes, it's Lucy's due date, and no, she is not here yet. Hopefully this isn't a sign that she is a procrastinator because Will and I are so opposite that! Either way, we are still trying to patiently wait for her, but it is getting difficult. We just can't wait to meet her. We feel like we have been waiting for the sun to shine for so long now, and once Lucy is here, oh how the sun will shine! In my last post I talked about the timing of things, and how God has a plan. Well, since that last post, things have begun lining up for Will and I, and I am much more at peace with our living situation and Lucy's arrival in the midst of it. To top off our feelings of peace, we walked outside this morning and the first of our tulips had bloomed. What made this significant for us, is that we have every color you could imagine ready to bloom, and it was only the yellow ones that bloomed today. Luke has always been tied to yellow tulips (they were the only flowers we had at his funeral, and on occasion, Will and I will catch 'whiffs' of yellow tulips out of the blue and we know that this is heaven's scent, sent to us by our son) and Will and I took that as a sign that Luke is with us, and is sending his love to help welcome his baby sister into the world. How fitting that Lucy should arrive at the same time our yellow tulips bloomed! Okay Lucy - you better hurry before the rain that is predicted in the forecast levels the yellow tulips!