Goofball

Lucy is hysterical. She loves being funny and quirky. She loves dress-up and she loves "doing the dishes".

Sunday

Today was an ok day. The photos make it look more fun then it actually was. Lucy and I were not having a good mom/daughter day. She was a little irritating to me and I think maybe I was a little boring to her. I tried to take photos of the fun times so I could blog about it after she went to bed, that way I could go to sleep with happy Lucy thoughts ...

We baked cupcakes (wish we could send some to Nancy and Makenna)

I told Lucy not to touch the lights on the decoration "just look at them" so here is her toddler way of circumventing the rules and regulations!

We decorated the pretty Christmas tree ...

Lucy washed the dishes ...

Saturday at the Zoo

This morning we went to the zoo with our friends Mel, Morgan, Andrea, Maia and Ben. We had a lot of fun. Lucy was more then willing to hold hands with Maya which made the whole event a lot less frustrating for me! Lucy sat so nice during the dolphin show. She was watching the show and participating. It's days like this that really prove how much she is growing up. She has these moments where she is rational and for a minute it's hard to believe that it's my kid applying little ideas like "delayed gratification" and "attention span" to everyday events. I love it. Tonight she ASKED to go to bed. What???? Well it might be because she woke up at 6:15 this morning and then took only an hour nap after running around at the zoo for three hours.

"Momma look it's a Ho!"

It took me by surprise the first couple times but now I get it. Honestly the very first time she said it I believe we were stopped on a corner where prostitution runs rampant and I was pretty upset over how she knew this term and to apply it. Then I saw the santa. Now she calls Christmas lights "ho ho lights" and will say "ho ho's coming". It's hard to stop her. I am starting to think about ho ho's a lot. Christmas is going to be so fun this year. After Thanksgiving, while Lucy napped my parents help me decorate the house (except the Christmas tree) so that Lucy could be greeted by lights and ho's upon waking. Her first words "Thank you momma, thank you grandpa, thank you grandma" ahhhhh Lucy you're too cute!

2 years ago

As I marvel at my big 2 1/2 year old girl I can't help but grieve a little about the baby she left behind. Each stage she enters becomes my new "favoritest" age (except the biting). Then I look back at her two years ago this week and think ... ohhh my little baby, I miss you. For my newer readers who haven't looked back on my aol blog (from when she was tiny) here is what you missed out on (and what I miss every now and then).

aMinaSooTah

Lucy learned to say Minnesota on her trip. It's very cute how she says it (very Minnesootan). We had a good and uneventful trip to Vegas. I was a bit nervous as Lucy is 2 and as previously mentioned is a very very textbook two year old. Our flights were also situated in a way that prevented normal naps from occuring on the days of travel, this was going to be a blessing or a very very bad curse.

Flight out: good. Lucy slept about 1 1/2 hour and was pretty agreeable for the 2nd half of the flight. Once we landed hunger and tiredness started getting the best of her, still she was patient about all the transferring, stroller, carseat, stroller, stroller stroller stroller, hotel room, stroller, highchair and then RUN RUN RUN.

First night: bad. bad beds. bad air conditioner. bad time change, baby up at 5 a.m.

In Vegas good. after breakfast (6:30 am) we called for our car rental and by 9ish were off to Red Rock Canyon. We were all in awe of the beauty of the desert. Lucy was fixated on sitting in the dirt and playing with rocks. Lucy napped in the car on the way back to Vegas. We swam and had a good time.

The other nights went better. Despite being "Circus Circus" hotel they surely didn't cator to families. They wanted to charge extra money for a pack-n-play so we created a nice bed for her on the floor and she slept well there. We had another desert run to the Valley of Fire State park and from there went back to Vegas via the Hoover dam. We were so remotely in the desert it was breathtaking and eirie (like snorkeling, that awesome yet slightly spooky feeling).

We ate dinner at Margaritaville restaurant and many weeks of preparing Lucy by teaching her a modified version of Margaritaville (no cussing) payed off as she sang and danced her way to Margaritaville stardom.

Lucy was the belle of downtown Las Vegas when she danced during the light show and then again on the street during a live band performance. She had a crowd around her watching and clapping. A little boy taught her to breakdance, ohhh I wish I had that on film it was so cute and she learned so fast.

Toward the end of the week Lucy started showing signs of petering out. She fell asleep during dinner (chicken in mouth, mid chew). Poor baby.

Ride home was a bit more tenacious as it took awhile to even take off. She did great though and stayed awake until 12:15 a.m. (Minneapolis time).

Glad to be home but I wouldn't mind making this an annual tradition!

We're baaacccckkkkk

Had time to do a quick montage (of course)! Will write about trip after a normal night of sleep. In short ... Lucy was a super great kid and travelled like a pro!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And we're outta here ...

Lucita and I are off on a weeklong vacation in Vegas baby. We will be off hiking in the parks during the day and hitting the buffets at night. Lucy is excited about swimming and tigers. I am excited about not having an entire house to pick up between the time Lucy goes to sleep and the wee morning hour she wakes up. Not working will also be a big plus ... oh and not cooking ... oh and not answering the phone ... and I refuse to listen to the news because Vegas is it's own separate world and I don't have to know what's happening.

Lucy Dancing

I just watched this and realized all of the spinning (dancing) might make some of you a little sick. Imagine this for an hour or more each afternoon!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oops She Did it Again ...

Well folks, Mel proves that you don't learn fast when you are the mother of a young child! Evidently the last time wasn't girly enough for her ... Sorry Morgan, please don't be scarred for life, I am just trying to bug yer momma (and grandma)!

Swimming Marvel

Well Lucy officially graduated to the next swimming level. She is not eligible for "Littles" classes yet because she is not three. She will be stuck in "Tots 3" for a couple of sessions. Come this summer she will be swimming without momma in the pool. Wow huh? I love the girl but I think I'll love her even more from the side of the pool in my dry clothes. After our naps (momma napped too) we called auntie Barb (great auntie Barb) and went to the park. Lucy and Barb had fun playing together and I just intevened when necessary. Lucy has entered a new stage. I call it "witch hours". If she would have started this sooner she would have had a different, more fitting Halloween costume. For a couple hours each day Lucy is completely witchy. She's talks back, is very demanding, rude and uncooperative. The witchiness turns on without warning and then after a loooonnnggg couple of hours my daughter comes back. I kinda hoped that daylight savings would have snapped her internal clock so her witchy hours would happen during daycare but I am afraid she saves those for me ... lovely.

grooooooovy baby

Nope this is not a costume. It's an actual outfit, discovered deep in the bowels of a century old building. It's been resurrected, recycled and reused. It's groovy.

Where's the trust???

Why is auntie Jen looking so nervous????