A busy weekend!

This was a big "grandparent" weekend for our little family! It was Laura (Lucy's Godmother) and J.R.'s wedding on Saturday night, August 19. It was beautiful! Because I was a bridesmaid, we went to the rehearsal and dinner on Friday night. Jeff's parents (Lucy's Grammy & Popi) came to watch her while we went. She went with them to the playground at Pierce School and then was a very good girl, going to to sleep without too much fuss. We had a lot of fun at the rehearsal dinner and knew that Lucy was in very capable hands!

On Saturday, Lucy and Jeff dropped me off at Laura's sister Sarah's house in the morning so that I could get ready with the bridal party. Lucy loved seeing her Auntie Laura on her wedding day! Lucy and Jeff then spent a few hours together at home before my parents (Lucy's Nonna and Nonno) arrived from New York for grandparent shift #2. They had a great time with her while Jeff and I had a blast at the wedding. They said she took a bit more time to settle for the night, but being the little champ she is, Lucy rose to the occassion and went to sleep like a good girl. It was wonderful for me to have two nights out without a single worry. Thanks so much to all the grandparents!!!

On Sunday Lucy and I headed to Cape Cod with my parents to see my grandparents (Lucy's Greatnana and Greatpoppa). We took her to Smuggler's Beach in South Yarmouth in the early evening and had a great time. She loved sitting in the sand, watching the ocean, and dipping her feet in the water! On Sunday we drove along Route 6A on our way back to Boston and stopped at the Matakeese Wharf restaurant for lunch with a view of the harbor. Lucy was very well-behaved -- I think she is really getting the hang of eating out and sitting in a high chair.

One big "skill" (if we can call it that!) that Lucy learned this weekend is blowing raspberries non-stop for about 20 minutes at a clip. She has known how to blow them for a while, but now they are very loud and she gets her whole face into it and KEEPS doing it. It is absolutely hysterical but also sounds really rude, which I guess just makes it all the more funny!

It was a busy weekend with lots of changes in her routine, but my little Lulabella did so well! We're planning on a nice quiet week ahead so that she gets back on schedule...before we blow it all to heck with our trip to Scotland! Only one week from now!

Trip to New York

We went to New York this past weekend. We left after Lucy went to bed on Friday night, which actually worked out pretty well because she slept the entire car ride. On Saturday we went to New Canaan, CT for a memorial service for Jeff's great aunt who passed away in April at the age of 95. Although it was a memorial service is was really a celebration of her life and family. Everyone was so happy to meet Lucy and she was very well behaved throughout the service and the reception that followed it at the Darien Country Club.

We got a real thrill on Saturday afternoon when Lucy really started laughing for the first time. We had heard lot of giggles from her before, but on Saturday we got full-on belly laughs. It happened when my mom pulled out one of those party blower things. Well Miss Lucy thought it was just the funniest thing ever! Jeff was so happy to hear his little girl laughing that I think he almost cried :)

On Saturday night we went out to Legal Sea Foods in White Plains with my parents. Jeff's parents couldn't make it because Julie was sick...we really missed her! Lucy was again very well-behaved, though it was a bit hard for her to sit still in such a busy restaurant. We have found that a spoon has huge entertainment value so we let her play with one until it fell (inevitably) on the floor.

Lucy also had a great time playing in her little pool at my parents' house. She didn't love getting into it at first but once she was in she really seemed to enjoy splashing in the water and chasing after her little blue lobster wind-up toy! As always it was a great visit and Lucy was so lucky to see 5 of her grandparents (including her Greatgrandma) this weekend. She can't wait to see her Greatnana and Greatpoppa next weekend on Cape Cod!

New camera

It was my birthday on Tuesday, and Jeff's was last Friday. We gave each other a joint gift this year -- a new digital camera. Our old one still worked fine but the shutter reaction time was pretty slow, we got lots of red eye, etc. We take SO many pictures these days that we figured a new camera would come in handy. Today I am posting a few pictures I took of Lucy with it. I think they are pretty good!

Lucy tried greenbeans tonight for the first time and she LOVED them. She ate them all and was still hungry so she also had some avocado. I am making all of her baby food (except the cereals, which we buy prepared from Earth's Best Organics brand). I am using all organic fruits and vegetables and I feel really good about what she is eating. I am sure that some days she'll eat all sorts of junk and it will break my heart (...something along the lines of "How can you eat THAT? After I made you organic babyfood from scratch!), but for now I am glad I am getting her off to a good start and teaching her to like good, fresh, healthy foods. Now I really look forward to introducing new foods to her "lineup." So far we have oatmeal and multigrain cereal as well as sweet potatoes, avocado and now green beans. I think on Monday (after the 4 day waiting period that is supposed to follow any new food introduction) I will let her have either her first fruit (I know, avocado is a fruit, but it doesn't taste like one!) or I will introduce yogurt. It will be fun to give her yogurt with yummy things like banana and pears mixed in! Now if only I could make my diet as healthy as hers...

My little shopper!

This photo is so cute, I just had to post it! Lucy had a lot of fun yesterday goofing around with my little white handbag. I think I'll be in for some real trouble when she starts asking for a credit card...at age 4!

Still no teeth!

Heatwave

The temperature in Boston is over 100 degrees today! Very hot and humid so we're at home with the air conditioners blaring. Lucy is in her doorway jumper right now and loving it. We actually don't have the air conditioner on here in the office -- don't want to blow the circuit -- but it's ok for a few minutes.

We ventured over to Healthworks today. It's a very nice all-women gym that I am thinking of joining. The best part is that they provide babysitting for only $12 for 2.5 hours! I had tried to do "stroller fit" class with Lucy when she was younger but found that it was not at all relaxing to work out with her in tow. So Healthworks seems perfect. I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then checked on her before doing some weights -- then checked on her again before hitting the sauna and shower. When I went to pick her up she was sleeping so I treated myself to a veggie sandwich from the cafe before I got her. It was so nice!!

Lucy added sweet potatoes to her diet last week. They did not go over as well as oatmeal, which she loves, but still she eats them and it makes me feel good that she is getting the vitamins (of course, she is getting plenty of them from breastmilk still, but I am glad she is learning to eat good food). We went to her 6-month doctor's appointment on Monday and she "checked out" perfectly :) She is 27.5 inches (90th pecentile for her age!!) and 16 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile). I am so happy to know that I am raising a happy and healthy baby. They don't come with instuction manuals so really you just hope the doctor doesn't take one look at your baby and say "oh no, you're doing it all wrong!!"

Up and down she is jumping right now...she loves it! She is also blowing noises -- she takes the back of her hand and puts in front of her mouth, then pats her fingers make a "wuh wuh wuh" sound. It looks very cute when she does it! She is also still very fond of blowing raspberries with her tongue (even though she has moved on to bigger and better things).

Time to go seek some air conditioning!!