Monday, February 21, 2011

It's Stock Show Time

With Lucy really loving animals, and the ice and snow FINALLY melting away, I set out to take the kids to the Fort Worth Stock Show on its last open day. We went to the FFA Barn and saw pigs, goats, chickens, etc. and then went on to the petting zoo near the midway to get up close with more goats, bunnies, and even llamas. Ethan didn't want to come in at first--he's not that keen on animals. But then he saw the llamas in a pen, and decided it would be okay. Lucy didn't pet anything, but was completely unphased by goats coming right up to her. She just smiled.



One great perk to our admission to the stock show was free entry to the science museum, so we spent quite a bit of time in there, playing and exploring. Both kids found tons of fun things to get involved in. We probably need to renew our family membership.

Snow Days

So, in what is starting to be a bit of a trend here in Texas, we had some snow again this February. It really started out with a good layer of ice and freezing rain, then it stayed way below freezing for several days and then we got a few inches of snow on top. FUN! It kept most things closed for 4 days (not my office, luckily I could work from home), and parents everywhere were dying to get out of the house by the end of it. The rolling blackouts never hit us, so at least we didn't have to turn off the seemingly endless flow of videos. :-) Here is some video of Ethan and Lucy playing in the snow. Neither has boots, so I imagine their feet were cold, but no one complained, and they had a great time. It was a really dry snow, so no snowball fights or snowmen, but there was still fun to be had.



And some pictures!

Friday, February 18, 2011

YUM YUM YUM

Lucy has been a good eater since she started eating table food. But I finally caught some of it on video. She was really loving these leftovers.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Best Big Brother EVER

After his basketball game on Saturday, Ethan, without any discussion or urging or anything, took Lucy's hand and guided her through the crowd in the gym and then outside all the way to the car. It was SUPER precious. Lucy, of course, totally loved it.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Ethan's Class Christmas Performance

The parents of Ethan's kindergarten class were invited to a Christmas party last week and we got a performance by our kiddos as part of the package. They all did so well and were so excited, it was FUN!

Frosty the Snowman:


Feliz Navidad:

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas Card 2010

In His Name Religious Christmas Card
View the entire collection of cards.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Poor, Neglected Little Blog

Yeah, it's been nearly 2 months since I posted anything. But you saw what that last post was, right? Lucy walking? Pretty much explains why I haven't had time to post anything. :-) And I still don't have a bunch of time for a great post full of pictures and stuff. So, we'll have to settle for a quick top 10 list.

Top 10 Things Going on in Our House Right Now:

1. Lucy and Ethan bonding. Lucy is so enamored of her big brother. She loves to go in with me in the mornings to wake him up. She sits on his bed and pats him, sometimes laying her head on him and giggling. Sometimes I catch Ethan holding her hand across their car seats on the way to/from school.

2. Being a big kid. Lucy has been in the toddler room at school for a while now. She's getting better at taking one, long nap in the middle of the day and loves all the outside playtime and especially eating. That girl loves to eat.

3. Sight words. Ethan's kindergarten class has learned lots of sight words. Ethan likes to practice them at home and point them out when he sees them other places. Places he's called out "SIGHT WORD!!" include: church, TCU football games, numerous restaurants, and the grocery store.

4. Sleeping. Or not. Lucy still is not a good nighttime sleeper. Everyone just got done with a round of ear infections, so maybe we can work on that some more here soon. For the time being, she's up 3 or more times a night (and the time change just makes it ever so much better--NOT) and, like her brother at that age, much prefers Mommy in the middle of the night.

5. Signing and Such. Lucy has started to sign "more" in the last couple of weeks. She's also started blowing kisses (blew one this morning to Daddy, completely un-prompted), saying "uh oh" when things drop, and reaching for her crib when she's ready to be by herself at night. Not many actual words still, though I've heard things that might have been "more," "up," "ball," "door," and "hey daddy." (seriously, that last one, Rick and I both stopped and said, "it really sounded like she just said, "hey Daddy.")

6. Such opposites. Part of the amazing thing about having more than one kid, is seeing how different they can be. Lucy eats like crazy; Ethan is super picky. Ethan has always been cautious and careful; Lucy is a wild child, diving headfirst into whatever looks like fun. Ethan has always been cuddly; Lucy likes a few cuddles, but not for long, she's anxious to get moving again. Lucy puts dirt and other fun things in her mouth; Ethan would never even touch the sand for the longest time. I'm just loving watching them each develop their own personality.

7. Football, Football, Football. It's not ALL about the kids, right? We've been spending a lot of time at TCU football games together (Lucy loves it, Ethan is still not big on the noise), and if Mommy and Daddy have a few awake minutes to talk, it is probably about TCU football, the BCS, or some other subject related to those two. (I've started reading "Death to the BCS" and am really enjoying it. I looked at Ethan's journal in his kindergarten class and I'd say that 80% of what he draws each day is about a football game or something related to it (lots of "Frog Horns" in there).

8. Ethan and Miss Courtney. I think Ethan might have a little crush on his teacher. At the very least he really likes her as his teacher. He often wants to draw her a picture, or take her something that we've done at home to show her. This from a kid who rarely voluntarily picked up a crayon or marker 6 months ago. The refridgerator in his classroom was covered in pictures he had brought her.

9. I like to "Move It Move It." I think we knew pretty early on that Lucy was going to be a "large motor" kind of girl, but now we have no doubt. Lucy loves to move and play. She chases Ethan around the house, bangs on the glass door to go outside and play, thinks she can slide down our little twisty slide all by herself (she can't, not sitting anyway, on her tummy she's all good), turns herself around on our bed to go over the side "feet first" (we remind her a lot) despite the fact that it is a really long way down and she probably shouldn't do that on her own. Rick and I could barely keep up with her at the park, even with one of us manning each side of the little climber/slide. She and I took a class at The Little Gym one Saturday that included a little tumbling, lots of exploring on mats and tunnels, etc., balls, a parachute, and bubbles, and that is going to be her Christmas present: a whole semester of "Birds" classes. I'm really excited because I know she'll love it.

10. Love, Love, Love. There's a lot of love in this house. Lucy shows her love to all of us with hugs and sometimes big, open mouthed kisses (or blown ones). My heart melts to hear Ethan say, "I love you Lu Lu." each night, and Rick and I certainly love the both of them more and more every day!

I know, I said before no pictures. But I've gotten inspired, so here's a few recent ones. :-)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

One Step at a Time

So, here's how our week had been going:

Monday: Lucy is beginning the transition to the toddler room at school, first step, taking one nap a day, on a cot rather than a crib. This day, she slept only 30 minutes in the middle of the day, fell asleep on the way home, slept through dinner, woke up when getting moved to her crib, so she nursed and went right to bed, no bath, no dinner, no pjs. She was up a couple times in the night.

Tuesday: Again only 30 minutes of nap. Fell asleep on the way home, woke up a little while after getting home, but was SUPER fussy, so I wrestled her into pjs and again, straight to bed (she did manage to get some dinner in her at school at least. She was up several (like 4 or 5) times in the night.

Wednesday: Another 30 minute nap. Fell asleep on the way to Purple Cow for dinner, was woken up by wild children everywhere and wouldn't calm down. Rick took her home, bathed her (while screaming) and dealt with her fussiness until I could get home to nurse her and put her to bed. She slept until 4 am before waking to nurse at all.

Thursday: We think we might be really smart and leave her blanket with her at school (now she's allowed to have one, the infants are not) to help with nap. Her teachers must have been tired of this no sleeping too, because today she took 2 naps, about 45 minutes each. Not great, but much better. She ate like a crazy person both at school and again at home. And then, then, she showed us what (maybe) she's been working up to all week:



I also think I see a new tooth just breaking through up top, so that may have something to do with some of the sleeplessness too.

Somehow we knew that once she decided to do it she'd really be moving; she was just so steady cruising around. And sure enough, within an hour of taking her first 5 solo steps in a row, she was able to walk (though still arms out, legs wide, and a bit like a mummy) from one end of her room to the hallway. As if it wasn't hard enough to contain her already, I'm sure we're in for a whole new level of exercise around here.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Lucy is ONE!

Well, it hardly seems like it's been a month, much less a year, but here we are, at Lucy's first birthday.

Her 12 month stats:
Height: 30 1/4 inches (84th percentile)--I am doubting the nurse's measuring and think she's only 28 1/2 or so
Weight: 18 lbs. 4 ounces (9th percentile)
Head: 45 cm (47th percentile)

So, she's all over the map, but perfect just as she is! She's not quite walking yet, but is very, very close. We're sure that one moment we'll turn our back only to find that she's walked to the other end of the house when we turn around.

Lucy had a great first birthday party. We had lots of friends and family and it was Ladybug themed for our little ladybug. I made and decorated the cake (making Rick a very special ladybug cake for his birthday a week earlier as practice) and we got some cute cookies from J.Rae's bakery. We had a fun BBQ and the kids loved the ladybug pinata. Lucy was a real party animal and had a great time with all the people and fun, and she really loved her cake (see video below). She was in a great mood, even for a Friday evening party, so we're really thankful she was able to enjoy it.



Friday, September 10, 2010

Silly Songs

I have a lot of bloggin to catch up on, but for now I will leave you with just these two videos of some very silly songs that Ethan has brought home from Kindergarten. Enjoy!

Sunday Chicken



Months of the Year, Macarena Style