Pump Up the Volume

Lucy has really been getting her groove on this weekend. Anytime there's music (even if it's just us humming), she's likely to start bobbing around. She especially likes holding onto the edge of her crib - time to lower that mattress again! - and rocking out while we dance along with her. We'll try to post some video of this since it's really adorable.

Now that she can stand up to dance, Lucy has also discovered that her stereo has controls that she can touch. She's really good at turning the volume up.

Climbing Stuff

Lucy had her nine-month check-up last week (she's very healthy and still growing like a champ), and the doctor asked if she was pulling herself up to standing yet. I said not really - a few attempts, but nothing consistent. Lucy took that as a challenge! She worked on it for the rest of the day and through the weekend and now can stand up and pull herself up onto things like stairs and, strangely, boxes. Here she is perched atop an Amazon.com box. What a funny baby!

Mommy's out!

Barbara is out tonight - leaving Lucy and I to fend for ourselves.

Lucy claims the highlight of the evening was our adventure in Costco whereseemingly endless aisles of HDTV's had her cooing and drooling. She did mention that other highlights of the evening included eating turkey way too fast, laughing at Daddy's foot, and refusing to go to bed.

I did manage to get a little video in of our new "steal the sock" game (available in stores this holiday season).

Little Explorer

Lucy is getting into more and more things nowadays. She's still working on pulling herself up to standing (a kneeling stance is as far as she can get), but that doesn't keep her from crawling around (quickly!) and exploring things to her heart's content. She's not opening too many drawers yet, but we know it's just a matter of time.

Baby Friend

Lucy and her old friend Milo got to catch up this morning. There was some bouncing, some crawling, and some cuddling. It was all very cute.

Conquering Stairs

Full disclosure: this photo makes Lucy look a little bit fancier than she actually is. She did get to this position on her own, but couldn't sustain it for more than a second or two. Still, I'm convinced that most of her developmental advances are coming when she's motivated to get somewhere or do something that she's not capable of getting to or doing quite yet, and she's definitely getting curious about the stairs - especially when there's an exciting cardboard box sitting just out of reach.

Bath Time

Lucy has really gotten excited about her bath of late - it's a full-body splashing experience which is very cute to watch. Of course, we often need a towel ourselves after all is said and done, but we don't mind so much.


In other news, Lucy is starting to get some anxiety around strangers - even "strangers" she sees a fair amount. It's an important developmental stage, but one that takes a little more finesse on our part than watching her learn to crawl did.

On the Move

For those of you evidence-based folks out there, here's an action shot of Lucy crawling in our kitchen.

Happy (Belated) Halloween

We took Lucy to Pennsylvania last weekend for Jon and Amy's wedding, so we didn't get to welcome any trick or treaters up here, but that didn't mean that Lucy missed out on Halloween, because we brought her costume/pajamas with us. What a cute pumpkin:


She's gotten very fancy very quickly of late. She can point (see above), which is still a bit random, but adorable. She has 3.5 teeth (the .5th is just about to pop out). And she can crawl! Whoo! We have some baby-proofing to do...

Going Bananas

Lucy and Elliot went to the market recently, and Lucy discovered the joys of chewing on bananas. She's only got two teeth, but those gums sure are firm!

Bear in a Pumpkin Patch

I'm catching up on my blogging, so here's another post! We went out to Drumlin Farm today and Lucy got to wear her bear costume and frolick with pumpkins. It was all pretty adorable.

Gramps and Mimi Get Married

Lucy has been to her first wedding! We went up to Maine over Columbus Day weekend in order to attend my dad and Elaine's wedding. There were just a few of us who knew they were going to get married - the rest of the guests were told mere moments before it happened. While Lucy actually fell asleep before the ceremony itself, she was very excited to take part in the pre-wedding photos. We're very happy for the newlyweds.

She Kneels

Look what Lucy can do! We put her in her crib and stepped out of the room. Moments later, there was lots of laughter, and there was Lucy kneeling at and shaking the bars, and finding the whole thing hilarious. She liked it even more once she had an audience. Our first reaction was total glee, but our second was: how do we lower the crib mattress, again?


Lucy has sprouted her second tooth and is still very much enjoying chewing on things. She's also incredibly curious about her surroundings and motivated to begin crawling. It's just the mechanics that are standing in her way now. We sure enjoyed our freedom while it lasted.

Lucy Goes Shopping

Lucy can now sit in big-girl highchairs and the seats in supermarket carts like a champ. This makes life a lot easier for us, and she is having a blast with it too.

In other news, our little lady has a tooth! It's not easily photographed yet, but it's very sharp.

Harvest Festival Fun

We were out in the Berkshires over the weekend, and had a great afternoon at a local Harvest Festival yesterday afternoon. There was all sorts of fun stuff going on (mostly things that Lucy will appreciate in years to come), and it was a beautiful fall day. Here's a shot captured by one of our papa razzi:

And for those of you more interested in the festival, here's a shot of the professional (!) hoola-hooper we got to see. Considering I can't hula a hoop for more than one or two rounds, her skills were pretty incredible. In this shot she's hula-hooping while kneeling, but she got there and is about to get back up without interrupting her hula.

Happy New Year, Lucy!

Today was Lucy's first Rosh Hashannah. She got all dressed up, went to services and was very well behaved through it all. Of course, sitting in the back with all the other babies so she could be quickly and easily removed from the sanctuary did help...

Lucy was also fascinated by the tights she got to wear, so much so that she ended up getting sweet potato on them when she put her foot in her mouth during meal-time. Here she is with her Aunt Melissa (and Ema in the background) this afternoon.

Lots of Laughing

Lucy's been finding humor in lots of things lately: my tongue, Elliot's ear, her diaper changes. Life is full of smiles and laughter, which has been pretty fabulous for us. This shot of Shaheen hanging out with Lucy a little bit before bedtime (not Shaheen's) captures it nicely.

By the way, most of the recent photos have been from Elliot's Flickr stream, which he posts to almost every day and which usually features Lucy. So, thanks to Elliot for being so good about snapping these shots!

Eating with Uncle Henry

Henry came over for dinner tonight and helped Lucy enjoy hers. He was kind enough to feed her green beans, and while she gave him some dubious looks throughout the experience, she did work her way through the whole container. Elliot and I are making most of her food, which has been a lot of fun. Squash, nectarines, plums, bananas, zucchini...we're all about fruits and veggies, as is Lucy.

Lucy's Boyfriend's Back

Elliot and I went to a reunion of my mom's group this afternoon, and it was incredible to see how much all the babies have changed. Most of them have teeth (no, not Lucy yet), and older man Ben can crawl and pull himself up to standing. Very fancy. The most loyal of our readers may remember Ben as Lucy's first boyfriend back in March. It turns out they're still quite fond of each other. He was quite taken with her feet and she with his head. Yum!


It is so much fun to see her interact with other kids now - from eating them, to poking them, to just staring at them, her world has expanded so much and it's a total blast for us to watch. Here she is getting her flirt on in a slightly more appropriate way.

Thanks to Sylvia for the photos!

Lucy Learns to Type

At a recent trip to the doctor (all is well, but the little lady had a fever), Lucy got to play with the computer in the lobby. Nobody cared if she pounded on the keys or tried to eat the mouse, and Lucy loved the opportunity to do what she's seen both of her parents do on just a couple of occasions. Even though all she could access was a Dr. Seuss alphabet program and the system preferences, she seemed endlessly fascinated by the computer.

Lucy Loves Day Care

Here's a shot of Lucy this morning as we were dropping her off at day care.  She loves it!  From all the toys, to her wonderful teachers, to the myriad baby friends she's made there, it seems to be a great fit for her, and we're thrilled to have found a day care that works so well for all of us.

From now on, though, Elliot will be in charge of bringing Lucy there each day.  I'm going to work with my father in Boston and won't be making the trek out to the suburbs with Lucy and Daddy anymore.

Bath Time is... Fun!

We remember the days when we would rush through Lucy's bath to end the ordeal for her as quickly as possible.  Janie Auspitz suggested a wet washcloth on Lucy's belly, which was a huge help in those early weeks.  How far we've come!  Bathtime is now a blast, with lots of water splashing and playing around.  She even has some fun bath toys to play with.  Lucy's so busy, it's hard to snap a photo of her because she's moving around so much.

Sitting Up

While Elliot and I enjoyed a couple of weeks of relaxing vacation, Lucy worked very hard on her sitting skills.  What a pro she's become!  There are still eventual topples with every session, but she's gotten much better at supporting herself for long stretches at a time.  She'll need us to give her a hand to get there for the next 2-3 months, which is perfectly fine with us.

  

Next up: teeth and crawling!

Napping with Daddy

Of course, another Maine tradition is taking cat naps on the porch. Elliot and Lucy did a good job of filling the annual quota yesterday afternoon. Zzzzz....

Chillin' with Gramps

We're up in Maine for a few days and Lucy has gotten to spend some time on the porch with all of us, including my dad (aka Gramps). He was kind enough to let Lucy nibble on an index card for a few minutes, which was a very tasty treat. Eventually it got awfully soggy, though, and was taken away. Until next time...

Lucy Goes West!

Ok - so she only traveled to the Western part of the state. Nonetheless, we think she's a jetsetter. I mean, look at her! Here she is in her control room practicing for a future in air traffic control.



People tell us all the time that she's incredibly talented.
Thanks, Dad, for the photo.

Avocado

Having experimented with oatmeal already, Lucy's now moved on to fruits and veggies. Her first one? Mashed up avocado! It's been a huge hit, and you can see that she has also taken to grabbing the spoon and expediting the feeding process for herself.

Apologies for the lack of photo on this post before. Here she is in all her avocado-y glory.

License to Drive

Lucy and Elliot have started her driving lessons. Golf carts are easy since you don't need to worry about doors or gears, but Lucy's a bit concerned since she can't reach the pedals yet. Details...

Felix the Baby

We got to see Cat, a friend from Haverford, and her son Felix, who's 7 months old, this morning. It was really fun to see how much Felix can do (crawl, for instance) and realize how quickly Lucy will be doing the same. Both babies were full of smiles for each other, which was very cute.

Thanks to Stephanie for the photo

That's Not Lucy!

Yes, it's a rare departure from a Lucy photo, but this sculpture is a new addition to our walk up to campus - Wellesley's been putting it up for the past few days.

Of course, I do also have some shots of Lucy. She's been practicing sitting up, which is still a work in progress (and VERY hard to get a photo of when it's just the two of us). She usually starts out almost supporting herself on her own, but I think her facial expression here captures what hard work it is!

Ultimately, she winds up teetering over onto her side. Oh well!

Another Maryland Moment

While we were visiting my grandparents in Maryland, my Uncle Tom and cousin Katie came to say hello and meet Lucy. They brought Lucy a toy phone (delicious!) and exchanged some smiles with the little lady.

Thanks to Uncle Tom for the photo!

Pirate Lucy

Arr...matey! Aunt Melissa and Lucy played pirate while spending some time together last week. And then Lucy spat up all over Melissa's lap. What a good sport Aunt Melissa is!

Thanks to Stacy for the photo!

"What a Honey"

Lucy was, of course, quite popular with Grandma, Grandpa, and all of their friends, and it was summed up nicely by Grandpa's occasional refrain of "what a honey." She loved his gravelly voice (especially before his morning coffee) and his glasses, and I think he got a kick out of all her wiggling and smiling. Here they are hanging out in his living room and indulging me by posing for the photograph.

Jam!

It turns out that, in addition to water glasses and water bottles (which were a huge help during our travels through BWI and Logan, as well as on the planes), Lucy loves jam jars. While Grandpa tried to put some ginger preserves on his English muffin, Lucy got pretty excited about the jar itself, and the rest of us almost forgot that he was hoping to eat some of its contents.

First Trip to Maryland

Lucy and I got back from her first trip to Maryland last night. We went with my mom to visit my grandparents and got to spend some nice time hanging out. Here's the gang with a distracted Lucy after a yummy deli lunch.