In honor of the Super Bowl, Lucy thought it to be a fun idea to have a couple of friends over. Their plan was to eat and run around being loud. The plan was executed to uncanny toddler precision. A few toy grabs, swats, and thrown playthings….a couple of timeouts for Lucy (and a couple more), and tons of cuteness. I managed to get a few pictures, but as usual, they don’t tell the whole story!
Being silly on a Saturday.
Having ‘bean tacos’ for lunch! Then, a nap before friends arrive. Lack of bib prompted change of party clothes.
Of course, the only way you’re going to get a picture of three active toddlers is when they’re eating or playing. Elefun was a big hit.
A pretty low key week around the house for us…which of course means that Lucy was very busy. Too busy to properly document. Here are some pictures from the past week.
She got some heart stickers for an upcoming Valentine’s Day project. Of course, it didn’t take long before the stickers started showing up in all sorts of odd places.
Breakfast is fun. It gives me a chance to finish getting ready for work, and I get to watch Lucy make a mess in a (somewhat) controlled area. Nowadays, she requires a “big girl bowl” for her cereal.
This one is fun. Hamming it up for the camera with her sunglasses on.
Lucy LOVES yogurt. Yogurt and fruit, she loves even more. I only wish I was able to snap the picture of her dipping her pizza in her yogurt. She only did that once.
Yesterday, after a short nap, I packed her up and took her to the family fun room at the Y. She loves the little tree fort/slide combo, and she was fascinated by all the bigger kids.
As mentioned before, Lucy will be getting a baby sibling in June. As of last week, we found out that it’s a girl! Lucy was very pleased, since she was adamant about having a baby sister. Unless something drastic comes up, she’ll be named Beatrice Ann. Take a look at baby Bea!
We thought that she looked a lot like Lucy already from comparing ultrasounds. Cute.
Since the last time we went to the Twin Cities for the weekend, Lucy’s been bugging us to go on a ‘trip’. She got her wish last weekend when all of us packed up and headed up for the Rock The Cradle kid’s event at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It was a really cool event, and though Lucy was pretty shy, she seemed to enjoy it. Here’s some photos.
At the hotel the night before.
At the event, Lucy was pretty nervous and shy, but she tried to have as much fun in the safety of our laps as she could.
We left after a little while, headed out of the metro area and stopped for lunch. Lucy’s favorite: Chipotle’s rice and beans. I knew an epic feeding was coming, so I got the camera out.
Sacked out after a long weekend:
Finally, I took a little video of Lucy in Chipotle. She gives a pretty interesting (but totally Lucy) answer when asked what she did on her trip.
Saturday was a big day for Lucy. She was going over to her friend Sam’s house for some afternoon sledding on what was to be a beautifully sunny winter day. Not only that, the kids were going to make pizzas! Lucy must have been excited, since she only had around a half hour nap. Still, she woke up happy and with all the pizza prep work done, we packed up and headed out.
Sam kindly loaned Lucy his 2T snowsuit (which fit her perfectly) and we hit the snow. It didn’t take long for the toddlers to realize it was more fun pulling their sleds than riding in them. They then decided to simply scamper around Barb and Sam’s spacious yard, stopping only to pick themselves up after a tumble. They chased each other, threw snow at each other, just having a good time outside. What was funny was that outside of Lucy’s pink gloves and boots, you couldn’t really tell them apart! After a while, they decided they were done, so we all headed inside.
While Lucy and Sam ran around and played, we got the pizza stuff ready for them. They had a blast topping their own pizzas, and they had fun eating them. After dinner, they both ran around and played, read books, did some pretend cooking, until those short naps started to catch up with them. We said goodnight to our wonderful hosts and headed home. Lucy enjoyed the stars on the way home, and she happily went right to sleep.
Here are some photos.
Having fun!
Imprompty snow fight!
Free-range snow kids.
Time to head in for some hot chocolate and pizza!
Winding down:
Thanks to Barb and Sam for having us over. It was great!
Oh, and TOMORROW we find out the gender of the new baby. I’ll keep you updated!
Most of you already know, but Lucy’s going to be a big sister! She seems pretty dead set on having a sister, but we won’t know for another month or so. Still, very exciting! Lucy’s definitely prime big sister material.
Not a lot of photos taken this week. Here are a couple of videos documenting Lucy’s cuteness. No, we don’t always have pajamas on. Just most of the time.
Lucy and her Princess Castle. They’re inseparable. The best part is watching her play on her own, doing role playing with the characters. Here, Lucy sets up a little dinner party featuring an unlikely main course.
Here’s another entry in the Lucy interview series. Those that are owned by toddlers know how difficult it can be to keep something like this going for more than a few seconds at a time, but I told her I’d let her play with the camera, so I got what I needed. As a side note, Lucy takes some pretty surreal photos.
As you probably know, Lucy turned 2 years old on New Year’s Day. Two years ago, Jamie and I were awake at the turn of the new year, with me pacing the hospital room with excitement and concern, and with Jamie feeling the kind of pain you don’t like to think about. Two minutes after the ball drops, Lucy entered this world. It has been an amazing two years, and every day we’re blown away by how sweet, lovely, smart, and fiery she is.
Of course, this New Year’s Eve, we were all in bed by 10. When we awoke, Lucy realized what day it was and spent most of the morning singing “Happy Birthday” to herself. She was wowed by her new baby care center that her Nana and Pops got her, and got new food and accessories for her awesome new kitchen. Lucy must have thought the baby care center and the kitchen are somewhat similar, since she calls the former her “baby kitchen”. She spent her birthday at home in her pajamas with her parents and her big sister, knowing that the next day would be her party. While she waited in anticipation, her parents double-timed it to make sure the preparations were made.
Saturday morning was the big morning! Lucy’s birthday party! The cakes were made and decorated, the brunch fare was in the oven, and the house was in a presentable state. Lucy got on her party clothes just as her friend Sam came to the door. The initial toddler shyness was there, and Lucy seemed to be taken aback by all this activity and presence in her house. One by one, her friends came bringing shiny wrapped boxes and bags. After a couple of minor incidents, she relaxed and started having a great time. Her friends brought her some wonderful gifts that she loves, and we served coffee, brunch, and eventually cake. The adults chatted while the kids played and sometimes tussled over toys. Within two and a half hours, it was all over, and Lucy was asleep in her crib….for about a half hour.
The rest of the weekend was taken up by Lucy’s great new toys, which seem to be much more fitting to her age and development. We watched a few times as she played happily by herself, talking to her toys and babies. Cute.
A quick run to the Childrens Museum on New Year’s Eve so Mom could get some work done.
Birthday cakes! My first attempt at decorating. They were fun, and Lucy seemed to enjoy them.
Party time!
Blowing out the candles.
Friends! Cake! Exciting! Julian and Sam.
Some more great party photos from Barb.
The next morning, with her new doll she named “Tiny Baby”.
Being silly and playing with her castle.
Thank you to everyone who came to Lucy’s party! You made her day very special.
Here’s a couple of videos from the weekend. The first one is Lucy playing with her princess castle, and the second one is her playing with her ‘baby kitchen’.
Here are some pictures from Christmas morning to go along with the video I posted the other day. Lucy loves her new toys and keeps asking “Where’s Santa?”.
As soon as I find my camera, I’ll work on putting some more pictures from this long weekend up.
The new kitchen is great! Of course, she went straight for the Magna Doodle.
Then the pizza.
This is SO MUCH FUN!! Then back to the pizza.
Rusie made her this adorable ballerina skirt.
Tending to her new bathtime baby
Having a lazy break with Mom on the couch. All this Christmas wears you out!
The morning after Christmas, eating pancakes at her new table.
Oh, and a quick video of Lucy singing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and other cute stuff.
Merry Christmas! Lucy was surprised and thrilled to see a great array of goodies waiting for her bright and early Christmas morning. Santa set up her new kitchen, table and chairs, and also some books, toys, and puzzles. The look on Lucy’s face was priceless, and thankfully we captured it. Take a look:
I’ll put up pictures and more videos shortly. We hope everyone is having a great holiday.
We had a very busy three day weekend these past few days. On Friday, we took off up to the Twin Cities to see our friends Eric and Kate and their new baby Chloe. We arrived at the hotel, and Lucy was in a real mood due to a short nap. A little swimming helped for a bit, and then we hopped the hotel shuttle over to the Mall Of America, which was probably not the best idea, but she loved the ice cream! She seemed very pleased to sleep in the big king size bed with Mom and Dad, though.
Saturday morning brought a different, sweeter Lucy back to us. We went down for the breakfast buffet, got ready, and headed over to see baby Chloe. She sure liked Lucy, and the feeling was mutual. Chloe’s already three months old, but it was amazing to me to hold her and see how tiny she was! It was actually a relief to hold this little thing instead of the moose that is Lucy. Lucy was very good in sharing her parents with her little friend. We stayed for lunch, then headed home. Once we were back in town, we picked up Molly and went and got some filets for dinner. We all had fun hanging out, and Lucy was relieved to be back in her crib.
Sunday morning was greeted with blueberry pancakes for the girls, then they all slipped out while I picked up the house a bit. After lunch, Lucy took her nap. Once she was awake, we got ourselves ready to head over to Sammy’s house for his 2nd birthday party. Lucy practiced her ‘happy birthday’s on the way there. The party was a blast and Lucy loved the yummy food and treats, as well as playing with her friends. We came home and got her in bed and she conked right out. Whew!
Eating ice cream and watching Spongebob from a safe distance.
Lucy meets (adorable) baby Chloe.
Sisters goofing off.
Happy birthday, Sam!!
So many toys…..
Arie!
Sam and Mom opening presents and blowing out the candle.
Cupcake time!
Stay tuned for exciting Christmas photo and video. Happy holidays!
Lucy’s really liking this Christmas thing! Jamie and I are excited to see her face on Christmas morning when she sees what Santa and her family brought her. Until then, it’s busy busy busy!
We’ve been mainly cooped up inside after getting a foot and a half of snow and single digit temperatures. Lucy’s sled it patiently waiting for her on the porch. Soon! Here are some pictures and videos of some Lucy antics.
Lucy helped decorate the tree! So far, she’s been pretty good with it, and we haven’t had to move anything out of her reach.
Lucy getting her weekly checkup, and it was also time for my booster shot!
Lucy and Mom spend a day home making holiday dough ornaments. Fun!
Then it was time to paint them. Lucy really enjoyed this part.
Lucy and I took off to the YMCA’s family room while Mom was out shopping. This is a great place to just let them run.
Here are a few short videos to go with the pics.
Going down the big slide at the YMCA.
Being very busy in the play kitchen at the Y.
Decorating the dough ornaments with mom, using GLITTER! Part 1:
