Independence

Lucy's growing independence is the biggest change Will and I have watched during her 14th month of life. She is content to walk around the house and play on her own now, which generally consists of getting into the toilet, chasing after a ball and climbing the stairs. The stair climbing is her newest trick, and it is more nerve racking than her fascination with the toilet. She can follow simple directions and can retrieve something specific that we ask her. The other day I spotted a bug on the floor by Lucy's toys and left to get a kleenex to kill it with. When I got back the bug was gone. I asked Lucy if she saw the bug, and she got up from the floor where she was playing, walked over to a push toy of hers and pulled it away from the wall, then squatted down and pointed at the bug. Brilliant! The bug didn't stand a chance!

She also knows how to communicate her needs to us for the most part now, and when she wants to go outside will find her shoes and sunhat, bring them to the door and reach for the doorknob while yelling unintelligble words. Her words are getting better though. Now she will repeat anything we say, and new words include eyes, berries, bug, bike, and ball to name a few. She also will point to all of her body parts when asked - nose, ears, eyes, hair, belly, legs, toes, etc. Lucy loves school buses, and since we live close by to both the elemetery and high school, we see buses multiple times a day in the morning and afternoon. Every time a bus goes by we can hear it, and even if Lucy doesn't see the bus she will look at me, smile and then yell "BUS!" She loves shaking her head yes and no in response to questions too. She mostly shakes her head yes, especially if we are talking about something that involves her. Questions involving the park, visiting grandparents, playing with friends and if the food she is eating tastes good always invoke vigorous head nods.

There is really only one thing she shakes her head no at, and it drives me crazy which Lucy takes great pleasure in I think. She will continuously put her feet on the table during meals. We've tried lowering her chair, raising her chair, telling her no, distracting her - you name it but she always finds a way to get her foot back up on the table and then laugh and look me in the eye while she is doing it. At this point it is incredibly hard not to laugh or crack a smile, but on the other hand I don't think I am asking a lot to instill in her that feet do not belong on the table! I'm guessing us taking a picture of it probably wasn't the clearest message to send her either. Lucy loves the park. This past month she realized that the school playground that we take her to can be seen from the corner of our backyard, as it is only three houses away. She will stand at the corner of our yard, point and yell. Before school was out for the summer it was difficult to convince her to wait till evening to go to the playground when she could see and hear the school kids playing on it. Lucy has reached some sort of toddler paradise now though. Since school has been out for summer, we go to the park up to three times a day.

Her other playtime love is blowing bubbles. She has a specific spot that she demands to sit at (second step up on the front porch) and loves dipping the bubble wand into the bubbles and attempting to blow bubbles. She has yet to blow a bubble, but it doesn't seem to lessen her love of the activity.

Lucy seems to have hit a growth spurt this past month. She is now 2 inches taller than when we measured her on her first birthday. She also has eight confirmed teeth and is working on more. She has regressed a bit with her sleeping and also likes to get up anywhere between 5 and 6 in the morning and come into Will's and my room and yells 'hi'! Speaking of yelling, she has developed quite a range when it comes to screaming for fun or frustration.

Lucy loves to help Will and I with whatever activity we are trying to accomplish. If I am in the kitchen making a meal, she has to be right there with me - either hugging my leg or helping herself to whatever she can get into. I turned around once and found her in the fridge and was happy that she stayed there long enough for me to find my camera! Will thinks she stayed put because our house doesn't have air conditioning and it was someplace cool to sit.

She also has mastered the art of panhandling and will pester you until you break down and give her a piece of whatever you are cooking. This satisfies her until the piece of food you gave her is halfway to her stomach and she is at it again - yanking on your pant leg, reaching up towards the counter and gibbering at you like she hasn't eaten in days. We had a bit of anxiety for a couple of weeks when she one day decided that she wouldn't prefer to drink liquids anymore. I went to the local baby store and bought one of every kind of sippy cup they make in hopes of enticing her to drink. She liked one of the sippy cups that had a butterfly on it, but still wouldn't drink. Then we went out to eat one evening to celebrate Will's first day of summer vacation and low and behold - she drank the entire contents of a styrofoam cup with a straw in it! We took the cup with us and she drank from that for an entire week until my mom pointed out that they sell plastic cups with reusable straws. Needless to say, she is now happily drinking from her straw cups and Will and I no longer have to worry about dehydration.

She also is learning how to be quite handy watching and helping Will with all of his many summer projects around the house. It makes it hard for Will to get anything done, but look how cute she is with her daddy!

Lucy went on her first vacation of the summer to visit friends of ours who live in Chicago. She did great on the five hour car ride and looked oddly at us as Will and I sang along to the Sesame Street CD's we borrowed from the library. I never thought listening to Sesame Street CD's would be such a trip down memory lane, or more fun for Will and I than for Lucy. Some of our favorite songs include "I've Got a New Way to Walk", "Sing a Song", "Would You Like to Buy an O" and "Somebody Play with Me." Not to mention the entire CD devoted to Sesame Street Monsters. Once in Chicago, we had a wonderful and relaxing time. Our friends were oh so gracious with Lucy's less than desirable nighttime habits as well. Lucy loved playing with their cat Major, and got her first lesson in being gentle. Major was very tolerant and Lucy misses him now that we are back home.

Lucy also enjoyed the playground by our friend's house and the water fountain they had there as well.

Finally, Lucy enjoyed her very own ice cream cone for the first time in her life while in Chicago.

Moving and Sleeping

Lucy has had a big month! She is walking on her own now, and can get up from the floor all by herself and walk to wherever she would like. This is exciting and scary for Will and I as we are constantly catching our breath as we watch her 'almost' fall a hundred times a day. We also watch her 'actually' fall another hundred times a day too, so we are always on edge when Lucy is moving. It is so much fun though to watch the glee in her face as she experiences a freedom like she has never known before. Here is a sequence of pictures that I took to try and capture Lucy walking.

Lucy has finally outgrown her acid reflux! We are currently weaning her off of Prevacid, and shaking our heads in wonder at the dramatic change that has taken place in Lucy's sleeping patterns literally overnight. It is just like how the doctor said it would happen - once children with acid reflux start walking on their own, they outgrow the acid reflux. Amazing! We have found ourselves with so much more free time now that Lucy is sleeping through the night (!!!) and taking two solid naps a day. She even loves climbing up the stairs and climbing into bed - who would have ever thought! I had to edit down all of the pictures we have taken over the last month of her sleeping - that is how amazed we are. Sleeping is something we do not take for granted at our house!

We have spent the majority of our time - when not sleeping - playing outside. This month Lucy got to swing outside and bike all for the first time in her life. It has been so much fun!


Lucy still loves going for walks in her stroller. Here she is below with her daddy, dripping wet after getting caught in a rain storm on their walk. It doesn't look like they minded it!When not outside, Lucy's favorite pastime is still reading. She has a couple of favorite books including Frosty the Snowman from her Aunt Michele. Lucy doesn't care that it is 85 degrees out - Frosty is still as beloved now (if not more) than when it was cold outside.Lucy now has 7 teeth, and is currently working on her eighth. Her favorite word is still 'Hi' and she says it to just about everyone and anything. She is quite social. New words added to her vocabulary this past month include dinner, bus, book, bye bye and she also can now blow kisses. If Lucy were signing off for this post it would go something like this: "bye bye...**and then blow a very wet kiss**!

Hope-filled Mother's Day

Today I am missing my little guy. There is nothing like a day that celebrates motherhood to magnify the hole in my heart and the ache in my arms. Yes, this is the second year I celebrate with a babe on earth, and what a sweet babe she is. But a mother loves ALL of her children, and never forgets the ones that aren't here. And although I think about and miss Luke every single day, the ache is stronger and the emotions are sharper on days like today. I am grateful for the little guy who made me a mother first, and for that Luke will always hold that special place in my heart. My firstborn baby. Oh how I miss you on my third mother's day without you.

Today my thoughts have also been heavily focused on others who spend the day either with mixed emotions or just plain sadness. Those children on earth without mothers, no matter how old those children were when they lost their moms. Those mothers on earth without their children, no matter how young their children were when they lost them. And those women who long to be mothers but for reasons beyond their control cannot. A fellow blogger had a lot to say on grief related to motherhood right here that really made me think about others who may be having a hard time today as well: http://mollypiper.com/2010/05/brokenhearted-love-give-it-live-it/

Here is a picture of us at the cemetery this morning, visiting Luke's grave. I wish the morning sun revealed a fourth shadow.

And here is a picture of my sweet second born, and my reason to smile again on Mother's Day.
Yes, I think I understand why the cemetery's most busy day is Mother's Day. A mother's bond with her child is a bond that cannot be separated by death. So until we are all reunited with our mothers and children, it is my prayer that you had a hope-filled mother's day.

Happy First Birthday Lucy!

What a wonderful, fun, joy-filled, amazing, tiring, interesting and fast year it has been! Will and I can hardly believe that our little bean is a walking and talking one year old! Where did our baby go? Thankfully, she still has those squishy and kissable little cheeks and when she cries, her nose crinkles up the same way it did the moment she was born. I am feeling the adjectives tonight as I reflect on a year with Lucy, and I am so happy, grateful, and awed that our little girl celebrated her first birthday today.

This past month Lucy has been perfecting her stride. She scales the walls, furniture and loves to hold onto our fingers as she explores the world with her feet. She has even discovered how to lift her feet up to go up stairs. She has a fascination with doors and will spend long intervals opening and shutting them while she walks back and forth holding on.

Here she is taking Grandpa T for a stroll in our driveway.

She loves being outside and is upset if we can't go out because it is raining or dark. She has added the word "bye" to her language repertoire, and can now quack, moo and baa when she sees the appropriate animals. At our new house we have had the opportunity to see both ducks and sheep in our front yard and Lucy spotted them first and let us know we had visitors by the quacks and baas she was squealing. We have a pair of wooden birds on sticks outside of our backdoor that Lucy loves to hold onto and watch the wildlife around our house. Here she is below at her favorite post. We bought Lucy her very first pair of walking shoes which was a fun experience and a shocker - I had no idea that tiny shoes would cost more than the pair I was wearing! Lucy also had her very first cold this past month which lasted about one miserable week but left her no worse for the wear. She is working on two more top teeth to bring her teeth total to 4 going on 6 and is still trying to decide if she needs one nap or two these days.

Some of you may remember the yellow tulip connection we have with Luke and Lucy. A couple of weeks ago Will and I hired a local stained glass craftsman to build a pair of windows that we designed for our new house. The stained glass windows were installed last week, just in time for Lucy's birthday and are absolutely beautiful.

They are in east facing windows so in the morning prisms of color are splashed on the floor and Lucy is fascinated by them. We had a beautiful day for Lucy's first birthday. It was the kind of day where you couldn't help but notice that the days activities were going to be suspended in time forever in our memories. It was like the entire day had a golden haze around it as Will and I proudly watched our little girl on her birthday. The weather was perfect - sunny and not too cold or hot. We got up early this morning and brought Lucy down stairs to open her birthday presents. After playing a bit with them, we headed out to get some birthday portraits taken, then stopped by and paid a visit to our family chiropractor and then journeyed on to the zoo. It was the first time we had taken Lucy to the zoo, and since Will took the day off to spend with Lucy and I, it made for a great day. Here's pictures of our little birthday girl at the zoo, walking with her Dada.

Here is a family picture at the zoo's fountain.

Lucy had banana cupcakes for her birthday, and did a good job blowing AT the candle. After a couple of tries though, we helped her blow it out.

She ate every last crumb of that cupcake and very much enjoyed her first experience with sugar.We have already experienced Luke's first and second birthdays but today was different. There were no tears today, only smiles. While we still longed for Luke to spend his sister's birthday with us on earth, it was a happy day. We savored every moment and couldn't stop thinking about how different it is to celebrate a birthday with a child on earth. When I was pregnant with Luke I had bought him a set of circus finger puppets that I have been holding onto ever since. We thought Lucy's first birthday was the perfect time to pass those along to his baby sister. We finished off Lucy's birthday with her opening her present from her big brother in heaven. I just know Luke was there with us in spirit today, proud of his baby sister. Happy Birthday Sweet Lucy, we are so proud of you.

Lucy's First Easter

We celebrated Lucy's first Easter yesterday, and oh were we glad to spend it with her! Last Easter I was very pregnant with her, and I remember wishing with all my heart that we could have her in our arms for Easter. This year, I got my wish. I was overwhelmed with emotions yesterday - both joyful and sad. My entire being still aches to hold Luke and celebrate holidays with him AND Lucy. I choke up when I think about how much Lucy would have loved sharing the day with Luke and how her life would be so much better with him here. Heck, how all our lives would be better with Luke here. But that is not the way our journey lies. The path we are on is still a good one. We did experience joy yesterday, sharing our day with Lucy and I was overcome with happiness and gratitude more than I was with sadness. I am just so grateful and happy to have Lucy here in our arms, and also to have spent our first Easter in the house of our dreams. God has been so faithful to us on our journey and I can't explain just how overwhelming the feelings of being blessed was yesterday. The song that keeps running through my head is "Looks Like We Made It". We have come so far. Look at our beautiful daughter...

Yes, we have come so far.

We hope you all had a joy filled Easter too.

Eleven Months

Time is just flying by and Lucy seems to be more of a toddler than a baby these days. The biggest change this past month has been that Lucy is now walking while holding onto our hands. It is very exciting to watch and she is getting faster every day. Lucy can pull herself up on furniture now too, and can stand for short periods of time without holding on to anything. For the record, Will was watching Lucy as she practiced standing alone - on a window sill.Lucy just finished cutting her two top front teeth this week bringing her teeth total to four. She seems very proud of her efforts because every time she smiles now, she squints her eyes to make room for the giant grin that shows off her new pearly whites.

We were having quite a time getting Lucy to stay still for diaper changes. We finally found a trick that works - she will hold still as long as she gets to read a book while we change her diaper! I too enjoy a good bathroom read - like mother, like daughter!

Her love of reading extends to a love of paper. One of her favorite activities of the day is to help me open the mail. She likes to chew on the paper and especially likes the envelopes with the business window in them because they make a crinkley sound.

We've been trying to take walks every day now that the weather has warmed up a bit. It's still pretty cold though, so Lucy bears with us as we bundle her up because she loves to go for walks.

There is something about Lucy and Will in a turtleneck that makes them look so darn cute. The plant behind Lucy makes it look like she has more hair than her daddy! There is no doubt that Lucy is a daddy's girl, and becomes more of one every day. She misses him so much when he is at work and is so happy when he comes in the door.

Lucy's favorite word right now is "Hi" and she says it for everything from dawn to dusk and even in between dusk and dawn! It's hard not to smile even at 3 in the morning when a little voice is so energetically yelling "Hi!" She also will imitate sounds that we make from a dog barking to simple words like 'boo' and 'hug'. She also will clap her hands when you tell her to and jump up and down when you say the word 'jump'.

Ah, life with an almost one year old is going by too fast. Lucy does not like to be left alone for one minute which makes getting things like breakfast, lunch and dinner difficult, not to mention trying to pack up our house to move. That's right - we are moving again! We bought our dream house and will be moving in the next week. We are so excited and can hardly wait to start the next chapter of our life as a family. Here is our new house!

The next month will be bringing a lot of changes to our family - a new house, and a new one year old! Stay tuned!

Lucy at 10 Months

If it's possible, Lucy gets cuter with each passing month. This month was no exception as she continues to learn and grow. Her favorite pastime is still reading books with Will or I and the highlight for her is picking which book to read off of the bookshelf.

Her sense of humor continues to evolve and she finds it funny to open and close the book we are reading repeatedly while I either say "open, close" or "the end". The real trick is for her to see just how fast I can say these words without getting tongue tied. She finds this hilarious. She also is a fan of peek-a-boo, and this past month she learned how to do peek-a-boo to us. She puts her favorite blankie over her face, pauses for a couple of seconds while we wonder aloud "where's Lucy?", then pulls it down and giggles uncontrollably. The thing we find the funniest is that she is perfectly quiet while she is hiding under her blanket.

Lucy's vocabulary is also growing. In addition to her two favorite words of "Hi" and "Dada" usually used together, she also says "Bye", "Baby" and my favorite, "Mama." When she is really frustrated, she yells "MOM"! Someone advised me a while ago to never teach your child two things - how to say mom, and how to walk. So far I'm not regretting it. Ask me in 16 years though!

Speaking of walk - Lucy will take steps now while we hold her hands but she still does not like to crawl. She will do a backwards creep on her belly, but to move forward on her hands and knees is something she trys to avoid at all costs. Her preferred mode of transportation is mom or dad, while she reaches her arms towards the direction she would like to go. She did however enjoy being pulled in the sled a friend of mine let us borrow on a snow day this past month.

On the most recent snow day, Will built a snowman outside our front window that Lucy loves to look at and wave to while we sing "Frosty the Snowman". She also claps now when she is happy, excited and when I sing which is a great confidence booster for me - no one's ever clapped for my singing before! Will has also taught her how to give High Fives which is adorable. We're not quite sure who taught her this...

Lucy still enjoys mealtime and has been eating more and more table food. This past month we introduced eggs and citrus fruits which has been fun. Some of her favorite new foods include white chicken chili, cous cous, hummus, beef barley soup, chicken barley soup and 'french toast' which is really just bread and eggs fried together.

The biggest change we have noticed in Lucy this month though is her temper. She has begun throwing fits which we call the Dolphin because she will throw her head back and arch her back repeatedly if she doesn't get what she wants. It's funny but makes us nervous at the same time. Ten months seems so young to be so decided about what you do and do not want. I have a feeling that she is a very strong and determined little lady and Will and I are going to have to be extremely creative and stay on our toes with this one as the years go by! Here she's giving us a look that translates to "I dare you to take this remote control away from me!"

Finally, this past month Lucy got to celebrate her brother Luke's second birthday. Although it was a tough day for Will and I, Lucy did help us to feel like we were able to honor Luke with more family traditions. Thank you to all of our friends and family who supported us through this past month in your own special ways. It means more to us than we know how to say! I will sign off this post with one last picture - Lucy, dressed on Luke's birthday in a shirt given to Luke by Uncle Tim.