2 years + 4 months!

Lucy's speech is getting more and more clear.  There are times when she gets so excited to talk that her sentences becomes a tangled mess of words and ideas.  It's one of the most endearing things she does right now.

I guess it seems like there are a lot of things at this age that both G and I adore about our tot.  Perhaps it's because we get more than 3 hours a sleep a night or because we all can communicate better with one another since the cognitive areas grow so much every day.

Impressionable Child "Rolling her back"

Lucy is... impressionable.  I had strained my back a month or so ago and spent a lot of time on the foam roller trying to get it back in shape.   So, naturally, she now uses the foam roller to help her "hurt" back.   I guess I need to get my act together so that my kid doesn't end up knowing how to use a foam roller by the age of 3.  Core conditioning here I come!

Becoming a steward of the lake.

We spent the July 4th holiday up at the lake.  G's brother and nephew came into town for a few days so it was sunshine and playtime for the cousins.  Lucy went fishing... a lot.  This might not be too surprising if you are reading this as she is at least half of G...but she loves being on the boat with a fishing rod in hand.  G is much more patient and under control than I am when it comes to having Lucy with a long fishing rod near the water.  She even learned how to jig.

Turtle Races 2016 - small turtles guarantee a loss!

One of the days the family was at the lake, we headed into town to participate in the Turtle Races.  G was sure to find the smallest turtle for our tiny tot to race in the contest.   Not surprisingly, the turtle did not win the race and therefore we didn't have to stick around for a few more hours to run in the other rounds.  Turtle races are always a fun time.  A lot of people from all around the state/country and tons of kids running around with unfettered excitement!

In the shortest summer of my life, I had to attend a super awesome culinary training in Mississippi for a week.   Because it was a week long and G still had to work, Lucy was able to stay with Grandma Lynn at the lake all week.  Despite all the rain, she had a blast.  She even missed us a little bit.  When we got home, she was not interested in straying too far from us.  It was insanely adorable, endearing and cute despite her alligator tears when she went with a friend to a swing set too far away from us.

All giggles at Grandma's despite illegal foot placement.

Rain, Rain went away and now it's...beach time!

Already more hip than her parents

2 Years + 3 months

We've got a quickly evolving independent lil' lady.  She is strong, brave, feisty, organized, focused and deeply concerned for those around her.  She is observant.  She is a hugger.

She has this fascination with the movie Frozen.  I'm not sure where she saw it first but she loves it. She loves Olaf and loves to sing to the soundtrack - "Summer", "Let it Go", & "Do you want to build a snowman?".   It's on repeat in my car every day to and from daycare unless she is in one of her moods.  Because of her love of Frozen, I had picked up a super cheap, valentine's clearance Olaf puzzle (33 cents!) at Target.  She loved it and we would do the same puzzle over and over again.  However, it was just made of cardboard and with toddler digits handling it....well, let's just say that it wasn't made to last.  I ended up finding a wood puzzle set that contained 7 different Frozen puzzles.  It was the jackpot of puzzles and she is a natural puzzler.  At first she needed a little guidance.  I put on my teacher hat and I spent some time modeling how I think about putting together a puzzle.  Now, she's pretty good at doing most of them alone....sometimes she'll ask for help.  Much like her Papa, Aunt Deb, and myself - she is a natural born puzzler.

If we thought her vocab really took off around 2 years old, Lucy has been putting together sentences like mad!  She has figured out the differences on how to use between you & me.  She's now remembering to always say "please, thank you and excuse me".  She also likes to tell us that "I tell Bob" (daycare provider) if anything happens.  That means, if she bumps her head, something breaks or she just isn't happy - that's who she plans to tell.  It's very endearing to think

She's all about that....BUCKLING.  If you have something that buckles, she's on her.  Her booster seat, her car seat, her BOB stroller, her pants.

She's all about independence.  She'd changed her own diaper if she could and takes ownership of putting on her clothes in the morning.  She's getting better but sometimes still loses her temper when frustrated.  I can't blame her.  As an adult, sometimes my patience eludes me too (hence where rollerderby came in handy).

She loves to go shopping....really anywhere. It's something she asks to do everyday.  I'm pretty sure it's because she likes to push the cart and help put things in the cart but either way, if we don't go she gets very upset and cries, cries, cries shouting "I want to shop!".  TROUBLE.

I have a lot of favorite things about this stage that I just adore but it's still her loud, belly laugh that I love the most.

Two Years Too Soon!

March 21, 2016

She's already two....seriously?!?!?!

Hello Vocabulary!
Fork  (though it sounds very much like some explitive)
Spoon
Cheese (she loves the frog)
Shirt
Shoes
Bus
Isaac
She points to the tackle box and says "Sharp" and then "Don't Touch"
I sick
Ice
Pappa.  Heart.
Pictures
Couch
Ice Water
Cheers!  (we got her a 2.5 oz Tervis cup)
She sings to "Do you want to build a snowman"

Loves
Kitties
Puppies
Cleaning, or helping with chores
Being an adult
Playing in her kitchen, preparing food for others
Airplanes
Trains
Busses
Basketball
Blocks
Showers & baths
Piggy back rides
BOOKS. BOOKS.  BOOKS.
Looking at pictures and video of our family while laying in bed or on the couch.

A few weeks ago we had our first (paid, non-family/friends) sitter come to the house.  It went great! The sitter taught her how to hop like a bunny and jump like a frog.  Lucy loved her.  Unfortunately, less than 15 minutes after we arrived home Lucy experienced her first vomiting spell.  It was awful. She was up 30 minutes after we got her (and the room) cleaned up vomiting again.  And then for a third time.  It was a SUPER long night.  She was quite a trooper considering how scared she was initially of throwing up.  :/  How awful.  Despite all of us having a lack of sleep, we rebounded well within a day or so and we back to her usual self.

Oh parenthood!  We knew this moment was coming but it doesn't make it any easier when it happens!

It's a Cowgirl Party!

I think of where I was two years ago and I was nearly ready to have a baby.  Now that baby is a mini-adult, functioning independently (as much as a toddler can).  She's singing to "Do You Want to be a Snowman" in the car on the way to and from work.  As I desperately hope for sunshine, warmth and spring to arrive, she's requesting winter songs (my kind of girl!).

Since the weather has been nicer, I've started to run again and that means Lucy gets the chance to experience the runs with me.  She calls our runs, "walks".  that's what she knows how to say.  She looks forward to our "walks" because she gets to see doggies, people and busses.  And gets a free ride in the sunshine.

The Inspiration (and also beer&soda labels)

As I was scouring the web for 2nd birthday party ideas for the past handful of months, I was trying to find something easy and fun, maybe even something we could use later for another party. Realistically she won't remember much, if not anything, about this party.  I know that.

The inspiration this year came from the professional photos we had taken this fall which highlighted a beautiful young toddler with a pension for blank stares.  Thus, a cowboy theme was born.

Inspiration: Lucy "Stoneface" Wilson, a sweetheart who will kill you with her stare.


But I haven't really taken the time since she has been born (other than her birthdays) to let my creative juices flow and actually make things.  So I made things.  I made banners and banners.  I made hand stamped sporks.  I made juice box covers and soda & beer labels.  I found mini cowboy hats (probably for a Barbie) for the cupcake toppers.  I made homemade chocolate cupcakes.  I had my dad make her a wooden pony & a lasso as a game. And, I made horse tails for Pin the Tail on the Horse game.

Lacking time to saw a "2", the chalkboard worked just as well. 

So many banners......

My favorite homemade chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Cowboys & Sheriffs

In case you needed a spork to tell you what to do.

Customized Juice Box Covers 

   

Birthday Girl's Chair!

Gift Boxes for the Friends! 

Our little cowgirl waiting for her friends to arrive!

The Birthday Girl on Grandpa's Horse! 

It started with a chilly, blanket of snow on the ground.  By the end of the day, it included an accidental wet bed from an overloaded evening diaper, a broken wine bottle in the driveway, a backed up standing pipe in the basement, a shattered wine glass in a lap, a spilled beer over carpet, and a mattress dribbled with cat pee and a carpet with puke.

Despite this insane list of unexpected surprises, that party was awesome!  We had a lot of our closest friends and immediate family here.  It was a sun-filled, beautiful day.  Lucy loved spending time with all of her friends that could come!  

Plus, she completely got to dig into her very own HUGE cupcake (something she definitely didn't do last year!).

23 months!

Since our last post, I've celebrated a birthday and we spent a couple weeks of our holiday break, visiting our families in Wisconsin and Northern MN.

Traveling with a little tot is always nerve-wracking...mostly for us, it's because we don't want our sleepless baby interrupting other people's schedules/rest.  But, Lucy was a pretty good trooper.  While she got used to sleeping in the same bed as us so we could keep her sleeping and not screaming, she was great during the day and the winter road conditions were ideal for the multi-city trip.  We found that Lucy does best with someone in the back seat to keep her company or feed her snacks so she stays happy.  Maybe snacks and movies are truly what keep kiddos in the car happy on long rides.

Lucy was more active this holiday than last.  She definitely liked opening presents - everyone's presents.  She's a great helper and was happy to boss people around to open their gifts!  She was excited to talk about Santa "ho ho ho" but not really keen on hanging out with the guy.


Key Phrases

• I want mo'ah (more)
• I pooped.
• I toot.
• I hide.
• Kitty.
• Sit, which sounds more like sh#t.
• Stairs.
• Poppa (grandpa)

Recent Highlights in Development Skills/Abilities:
In the last two weeks (22 1/2 months), her vocabulary is EXPLODING.  We knew she could comprehend and follow through with multi-step requests/directions but her vocabulary was so limited.  Likely, compared to other kiddos, she might still have a limited vocabulary (what do we know - she's our first?!?).  But, to us - she's starting to pull all of the concepts together.  It's nearly as though overnight, components in her brain just "clicked".  When we read books, we can ask her where (insert whatever is in the picture but not in the story) and she can point it out.  She has verbally identified multiple colors.  She has now added "water" to the mix of vocabulary (today 2/13).   She has gotten to the point of telling us where we can change her diaper (on her bedroom floor, our bedroom floor, etc).  She'll just go and lay down there and wait.  Unsurprisingly, she still dislikes the word 'no'.  We don't use it a lot but when we do, it's Tantrum Town.

New

"The Roper" (a.k.a Tickling)

She absolutely adores reading.  We read so many books.  We mostly read books when we wake up, before/after nap, on lazy weekend mornings and before bed every night.  While she loves many books, she has a certain affliction for the book G's grandma made him 35+ years ago.

Just yesterday (Feb.13th, 2016) she started to try to wink back to her daddy.  It was one of the most adorable and hilarious things I have witnessed yet.  She winces both of her eyes closed and sometimes get this sour look on her face while she does it.


Another favorite of ours is when she is wants to play hide and seek.  She insists "I hai-de" and then runs off in her waddling gallop to find her prime hiding spot.  This prime hiding spot is usually out in the wide open area of our king sized bed.  Sometimes, it's next to her crib.  And, just recently, she hid behind the couch cushions.  She has gotten more creative in her hiding and astronomically better at staying still and quiet while we look for her.  There are still times, however, where we can hear the excitable panting of pug....and then we realize it's just Lucy.

She still doesn't really sleep through the night.  Sometimes she still wakes up 30 minutes - 2 hours after we put her asleep and goes right back to bed.  Nearly every night she sleeps good once she's down but we still can't get her to sleep past 5:30 am and that's a good day!

She is way more independent.  She reads books by herself.  She sits in the chair near the fireplace, draped with a fleece blanket and reads magazines.  She plays with her dolls and loves taking everything out of the kitchen.

Telling Grandpa to brush Uncle's hair.  She's a pushy one.

She tries to emulate everything we do whether it's cleaning, putting lotion on our face or wearing a belt - she is all about doing whatever the adults are doing.  It's adorable and I love it, though sometimes when you are trying to leave to get out of the door in the morning, she insists on doing everything herself (mostly) and I'm sure this phase will only get stronger.

She still loves bath time but is at a point when she'll say 'no' to bath time every single night.  She's a fan of showers. Really, she's a fan of water....however and wherever she can be in it or play with it.

I love picking her up from daycare.  As soon as I open the door I can hear "momma?  momma?".  When I walk down the stairs, she gets this huge grin on her face and runs to me with open arms and wraps them around me for a squeeze.  In the past two weeks, she's MUCH more enjoyable to drive home in a car.  Previously, she'd just cry or scream the entire way home even if I had given her toys to play with.  I haven't done anything different these past two weeks, I think she just might be a.) getting to the car ride, or, b.) getting older.

An aspiring mini pilot like her Grandpa.

Life, since the last post, as had a dramatic change.  Lucy's beloved grandpa, Larry, passed away on Tuesday, January 5th.  While it wasn't unexpected, it was still surprising and nonetheless, devastating to all of us.  It's a deeply emotional process to go through but it's even more challenging to try to explain it to a small child that really doesn't get it.  When we arrived, she ran into the bedroom (as was her usual for the past 18 months) to find her grandpa in bed and when he wasn't there, she then checked the bathroom to see if he was there instead.  He wasn't.  G and I tried to do our best to explain to her that Papa now lived in her heart.  She'd point to her heart and say "Papa".

Before he passed, we made a family handprint together with both grandparents and Lucy.  When we got home, I mounted it above her dresser near where we change her diapers so she could see it every day.  She often asks to touch it and, depending on the day, may say "Papa" and point to her heart and then make the airplane sign with her hands.

We plan on doing the hand print thing with the other grandparents - just need to break it out at the next opportunity so the walls in her room can reflect all of her favorite people!

It's insane to think she will be two in a a month!  TWO.  DOS.  2.  I wonder what new things next month will bring!?!

18/19 months....going on 18 years

Tantrum Town

It's truly amazing how such a little creature can be so small and yet hold such a big personality.  Despite the times (or days) when she is deep into her toddlerhood of Tantrum Town - she is really one sweet little lady.

Highlights of the 18-19 month window include:

• Uses, with enthusiasm, the word "no"
• says "ya" a lot in response to questions
• is working towards clarity in saying "thank you" and "good job"
• "cheers" is one of her favorite things to do while drinking
• has keen hearing and often hears airplanes from inside the house
• insists on dressing herself
• insists upon assisting others
• LOVES to clean, sweep, dust
• is fascinated by dogs and cats
• is always 5 seconds late saying 'hello' or 'goodbye' to people
• operates an iPhone 6 better than most adults and is enamored with watching videos of herself and her family
• the tickle machine "the roper" is a huge hit (especially after we say "gentle")
• likes to potty train!
• Favorite song is "barbara ann" by the Beach Boys

October 7, 2016

Grant and I (thanks to Lynn & Larry) were able to enjoy over a week long vacation to Hawaii, sans our little one.  It was the longest amount of time that we had spent away from her since she was born and the longest amount of uninterrupted sleep and conversation time we've had in the past 19 months.  It was lovely.  However, we did miss seeing our little one and were able to sneak in FaceTime nearly everyday to say a quick 'hello'.

More important than our trip, though, is the fact that our little one was such a big helper at grandma and grandpa's house while we were away.  She'd bring grandpa his water, his napkin, pat him on the head when he coughed and cuddle when needed.  She was such a good mini-caretaker - it made up proud of her newly developed care and concern for helping those around her.

A couple months ago, I bought a potty seat with no immediate intentions of putting it to use.  It doubles as a step stool in our bathroom so it was just another permanent fixture in the room.  Lucy, at around 18 months decided she wanted to point to her diaper when she had to go or was wet.  She had/has no interest in not being clean.  So we've gone quite a few times...nothing that would constitute the official process has begun but we try a few times a day, sometimes with success.  However, she insists the other person also practices at the same time.  Whatever works.

I felt a proud mom moment when our daycare provider told us that Lucy knew how to decorate sugar cookies during halloween.  I haven't explicitly sat down to teach her that skill and I don't really think she totally gets it.  But she's seen me do it and clearly something stuck.  Maybe she's beginning her own version of the Betty Crocker dynasty right before our eyes.

She is also very, very particular.  She likes things the way she likes them.  She insists on putting specific cups, in specific locations....or having you put things in a specific location.  And, she is not a fan of when you fail to listen to her.

Barbara Ann, presented by Lucy Girl.

She loves to sing along with Barbara Ann.  Mostly she sings "Bah. Bah. Bah" over and over again.
Sometimes, if we are really lucky, we also get to see her dance.  Maybe it's head hanging, sometimes it's wobbling and other times it's bouncing.

Halloween 2016!

For Halloween, since Lucy hasn't made any requests yet she went as a fish.  Luckily I was able to use some of G's old fishing gear to go as a fisherlady.  G, went as Dracula.  Lucy had pink eye so we went to a handful of houses and then jogged on home.  She was pretty good at saying "trick or trick" thanks for Grandpa Jeff working on it with her!

We've started to build forts.  Pillow and blanket forts in the middle of the living room.  She loves them - for about 5 minutes until it's more fun to tear down our hard work.  But she's gotten better - I figure by the time she's 2, we will have developed a great system for creating masterpieces!  

18 months...going on 16 years.

I see I have two blog drafts sitting in my inbox that I still haven't posted.  One from Lucy's first birthday and another from 15 months.  Is this what parenthood will be like forever?  Even with summer break, I can't seem to finish a single blog post.  How sad and what a poor display of my ability to multi-task.

Lucy had her 18 month check-up today.  She is still a tall, lean cookie - measuring 33" in height and a "whopping" 23.7#.  I feel like she's gained so much weight but we aren't even up to 25# yet!  We will be moving into size 4 diapers, finally, to accommodate her growing tummy from all the food she eats.
She drinks like a camel and eats like a pig - all helping her grow tall like a weed.

Two weeks ago she solidified her ability to deliver the infamous toddler "oh oh".  Her mouth puckers like a fish prepping to kiss it's fisherman and she says it with such gusto, you think something might really be wrong.  Turns out, she's dramatic.  Between her "oh oh's" and temper tantrums, G & I have a constant smirk on our faces.  Sometimes we can't help but laugh - we try really hard to turn our cheeks so she can't seem our humor but I'm sure she sneaks a peek.

As much as we try to guide her up and down staircases, she snuck down a set on her own this week.  We were both very surprised she managed to do it all of her own and without bumps or bruises, because after all, she is our child.  It was the same day we went on our first Burley bike trailer ride.  We opted for starting short and going across the street to the cul-de-sac and back but she requested more and more.  We took her for a short 3 mile bike ride to the community center and back.  She LOVED it.  And, she even didn't mind her helmet once we were on the road.

This past month we also learned that small wee children have quite the reaction to a simple mosquito bite.  After 12 hours overnight, she looked like Sloth from The Goonies.  Luckily, she was still in good spirits despite her deformation.

Also, as of this week - she's solidified her ability to cover her eyes and say "boo".  Again, with her flare for the dramatic, it's quite the site to witness.

We've also been excited that Lucy has shown an interest in potting training.  She's tackled the #1 & #2 so far and indicates when she might want/need to do.

She's great at telling us exactly what she wants.  Whether it's water in her sippy cup or her specific water bottle - she lets us know.  That, or she has a temper tantrum.

I love this stage.  I love all the cuddles she still gives when she wakes up from her naps or is sleepy.  I love how energetic she is and wants to find new things to do.  I love she tries to tickle us until we giggle or climbs all over us like a jungle gym.  I love to watch her curiosity blossoms in this world.

I can't wait to see what else is in store for us!