Lucy's hair

What started as a bit of a little "tail" of hair at the base of Lucy's scalp has developed into a full-on baby mullet! I know I should cut it so that it looks more uniform in the back, but I am hesistant to cut off the hair she was born with. This may sound silly, but I am a very sentimental person. I know I will have to cut it eventually so I should just get it over with I suppose. Whenever the first haircut happens, I will take some pictures, save the hair, etc. so that it feels like a little milestone -- maybe that will make it easier on me.

One definite advantage of her longer locks is that I can give her cute hairstyles. I know that I will still be able to do this after the back is trimmed because we want to keep the top "as is" -- Jeff and I love her mop top and don't want to cut it off by any means. I am posting some pictures of Lucy's various hairdos as well as some shots of the baby mullet. What do people think? Leave it for now or cut it off? I really need some input!!

Finally, a tooth!

Lucy finally cut her first tooth on Oct. 17 -- two days shy of her 9 month "birthday." That makes her a pretty late teether! Of course, being the worry-wart that I am, I had come up with all sorts of things in my mind that could have been wrong with her as the reason for no teeth. Silly, I know! And the internet is VERY bad for situations like this because, well, there is just way too much information out there. Honestly, I looked up "late teething" and saw that it could occur in children with rickets -- so immediately I thought she must have rickets! Anyway in my heart I knew that she was ok and that she would teeth eventually but, still, worry I did! Now I am sure I am going to be in the realm of "be careful what you wish for" because I am sure we have some painful days ahead (and not just for her...she may bite me when she nurses!) I wish I had a picture of the tooth to post but she won't let me get anywhere near her mouth to take one...maybe I will get one soon!

Lucy's world

Here are a few pictures of Lucy's room!

The latest fall fashion...

Look at our silly girl...perhaps we can start a new trend in baby carriers!

Me and my Swiffers

Ok, time for a post that is not all about Lucy! Sadly, I recently realized that I own almost every product made by Swiffer. I think it's what they call the "Swiffer Family of Products." The only thing I am missing is the Swiffer CarpetFlick. I really should get that as well. Here are my Swiffer products, proudly pictured. From left to right:

Swiffer Sweeper (circa 1999 I think -- an antique Swiffer); the Swiffer Duster (just back from a mission to the ceiling fan in my bedroom -- it deserves the Medal of Honor); the Swiffer WetJet (I have cleaning solutions for both bathroom and hardwood floors); and the Swiffer Sweep+Vac.

I am sure that eventually I will discover that Swiffer is owned by a tobacco or fast food company and I will be forced to stop buying their products. Until that time, I clean blissfully unaware.

Lucy's baptism

Lucy was baptised last Sunday, September 17, at Grace Episcopal Church in Newton. It was a wonderful ceremony -- very spiritual and meaningful. Everyone at the church was so nice and welcoming to us and they loved meeting Lucy! She was a good girl for most of the service -- she started to cry when the baptism part of it began, of course! But she was just bored and the minute she spotted the other baby being baptised, she quieted down and started smiling :) She looked so beautiful in her long white dress and her hat. After the service, there was a little reception at the church (which is where everyone greeted her). It was so cute to see her crawling around on the floor (well, trying to crawl -- it was tough to do with the dress!) and playing with the children. After the church we came back to our place to have a little party. I kept it very small, with just our parents and Lucy's Godparents (my friend Laura and Jeff's brother Kevin, plus Laura's husband J.R.) in attendance. I changed her into a yellow dress with smocking -- there were duckies sewn into the smocking, which matched the ducky bracelet from her Grammy and Popi that she wore for the first time that day. I decorated the house with all yellow and pink flowers and even tied yellow gingham ribbons around the champagne flutes! I love doing things like that and it is all the more meaningful to do it for my daughter. We took lots of pictures, of course (and J.R. kindly got the whole thing on video). I am really glad we waited to baptise her at 8 months -- it wasn't intentional really, but it worked out so well because she was so alert and seemed to really enjoy her special day!

Lucy the World Traveler

Jeff, Lucy and I traveled to Scotland from August 29 - September 6! It was Lucy's first trip abroad and she did amazingly well. She slept on the plane almost the entire way over, which was a great relief to us. She even got a stamp in her adorable little passport - the first of many, we hope!

We spent the first two nights of the trip in Edinburgh, visiting sights such as Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Heritage Center, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It was my third visit to Edinburgh and it was so much fun to be there with Jeff and Lucy. It is beautiful there and just amazing to see the castle sitting up on top of a hill right in the middle of it all. Lucy seemed to have a lot of fun looking at the sites. She loves people-watching, so that made it easy! I had bought some new fall clothes for her and had a lot of fun dressing her up in them for our days out.

After our visit to Edinburgh, we headed about an hour north to Pertshire and the town of New Scone, where we had rented a cottage for 5 nights. It was a perfect "homebase" for us as we explored the breathtaking countryside. We took a bunch of daytrips but tried not to do anything too far because we wanted to limit Lucy's time in the car. Most of our trips were less than an hour's drive, which worked out very well because she generally slept on the way to and from our destinations but was awake while we were visiting the sights. Among other places, we visited Scone Palace, Stirling Castle, St. Andrews, and the Glenturret Distillery (Scotland's oldest). The scenery was gorgeous everywhere - rolling hills, mountains, rivers, and lots and lots of sheep!!! Lucy really loved seeing all the animals. In addition to all the cool places we visited, we really enjoyed spending time together in the cottage. It was so nice to get away and be together for a week, no matter where we were!

We all had such a great time that we are already thinking about where we'll go next summer...France? Italy? Scandanavia?

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!!

Nothing could be finer than Lucy in the Carolinas...

We took Lucy on her second plane trip this past week (unless you count the trips when I was pregnant -- in which case, she has already been to South Carolina, as well as Chicago and Orlando). We left last Wednesday and flew in the early early morning from Boston direct to Raleigh Durham, NC. Lucy slept almost the entire way and woke up as we were descending -- just in time to look out the window and see what was going on.

After picking up our rental car, we headed to the Duke campus to see whre Jeff had gone to college. It was so pretty to walk around there -- especially the chapel. Lucy loved it in there but started to get a bit "chatty" so we had to leave before we disturbed people taking a tour!

From Durham we drove to Fayetteville, NC to spend the night on our way to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a great stopping-off point and we had a very pleasant stay. The hotel staff was wild about Lucy and of course she made tons of friends with her smiles. On Saturday after breakfast we hit the road to Myrtle Beach. We arrived at our hotel, the Sea Island on the Beach, in the early afternoon. We changed into our bathing suits and hit the pool. Lucy loved it -- she seems to really enjoy swimming! We also went down to the beach for a bit and sat under an umbrella. I started to feel sick later in the afternoon (no, I am NOT pregnant!) so we headed back up to the room. Our room was really nice with a great view of the ocean and I wish I felt better so that I could have enjoyed it more. Oh, well. We were supposed to meet up for dinner with my friends Dana and Lou but I cancelled because Dana is expecting twins and I did not want to make her sick. We stayed in and ordered a pizza and I went to bed early.

The next day I felt MUCH better! We hit the beach and Lucy got her first feel of sand in her little fists. She really seemed to like playing with the sand and the shells but was rather terrified of the waves. She did very well at first but started to cry a lot when a big wave came along and spooked her. Poor baby! She seems so wise and alert and grown up that I have to remind myseld that she is only 6 months old!


After our time at the beach we packed up (yet again) and hit the road to Charleston. We surprised Jeff's family by showing up at his Aunt Rita's house a day ahead of schedule. It was so great for Lucy to meet her Great Aunt and they got along so well. Lucy quickly discovered how fun it was to crawl around on Rita's plush carpet -- much better than the hardwood at home. We spent the next two days exploring around Charleston. On Monday we went downtown and walked around the Market and the Battery. On Tuesday we took a walk at the beach on Isle of Palms and took a drive around Sullivan's Island to look at the pretty beachfront houses (maybe SOME day...). We flew home today (Wednesday) and again Lucy slept most of the way and woke up just at the end of the flight to look out the window. We only have a few more weeks until our Scotland trip and we hope that this positive travel experience is a preview of what is to come on our much bigger excursion!

Lucy is 6 months old

My baby girl turned 6 months old today! In some ways we can't believe that the time has gone by so quickly, and in other ways we can't believe that it's been ONLY 6 months. We really cannot remember life without her. What did we do with our time? Watch stupid reality tv??? I suppose that we were busy with the early part of our relationship, then our engagment and wedding planning, and then *poof* we were pregnant and planning for little miss's arrival. It's amazing how far we've come in the (just under) four years that Jeff and I have been together!

So, what is Lucy up to these days? She is certainly a very active, curious, and happy little girl! She is a huge smiler and makes new friends wherever we go, especially when I walk around with her in the Baby Bjorn and she is facing outward. She makes a really big hit when she is wearing her bright yellow "flap hat" (to protect from the sun) -- she looks so cute all tucked away under it. We just feel so very lucky and truly blessed to have such an amazing little ray of sunshine.

She has learned to be quite an efficient "creeper" and can really move across a room on her own. She pulls herself forward with her arms and uses her legs for some propulsion, but she still doesn't lift her tummy off the floor so for now it's a "creep" rather than a crawl. She does tuck her legs underneath her and tries to push off with them, but often this just results in her flipping over or looking like she is breakdancing :) She also is sitting up on her own, pretty much, though sometimes she tips over -- so I really need to be close by to "spot" her when she is sitting. It is very fun to watch her sit and play with a toy. When she does something like that it makes me realize how big she really is getting. Last night she was sitting in her "Bumbo" chair and had a rattle in her hand. She started shaking it and hitting it against the side of the chair -- to which Jeff and I responded by saying "Yay, yay, Lucy!' and clapping our hands. This really encouraged her to keep hitting the rattle, with a grin from ear to ear!

She started eating rice cereal about a week and a half ago and took to it very well. I was afraid that she would refuse food because she refused bottles -- just like I did when I was a baby, and I also refused food. But she really has taken to eating and it's a lot of fun for us to feed her. Tonight I gave her some oatmeal cereal for the first time and she seemed to like it even better than the rice. Pretty soon I will start to give her some veggies like sweet potatoes and avocado, but I am in no huge rush (especially because I know it will make the diapers smell pretty bad).

Last night she slept from 8pm until 5:30, which is the longest she has ever done. I think the food is really helping with her sleep. I still love that first feeding -- the one that used to be the middle of the night feeding. It is really "our time" and she eats so intensely and sweetly. It is the time of day I really feel the most needed by her and connected to her. My sweet baby girl! Happy 6 months!