So Many Parties

Lucy has attended had a string of parties recently. Earlier this week, while at home with a cough, she asked Elliot if he would take her to a party. It sure sounds like more fun than coughing to me!

The last party Lucy attended was on Boxing Day at my Uncles' house in Western Mass. We had a wonderful post-Christmas afternoon with them, replete with delicious food and a Yankee Swap.

The Chrises have a dog, Rufus, and Lucy was quite taken with his cage. It turns out that doggies' beds are fun places to hang out. We had a hard time getting Lucy out of it!


Eventually, she did escape, though.


A couple more parties to come over the weekend...

Holiday Review

Lucy got busy over the holidays!

We spent Thanksgiving in the Berkshires, and Elliot, Aunt Melissa, and I all ran in a road race on Thanksgiving day. I'm not prepared to share pictures of me at the end of my race, but here's a shot of Lucy and Eema training for a future year.


Lucy also got to visit some farm animals with the Rosenbergs. Animals seem to be growing on Lucy quite a lot. She saw alpacas, sheep, and lambs. Getting ready to leave the lambs, Lucy proudly exclaimed, "Bye-bye, bunnies!" Here she is taking in all the sheep.


We celebrated Hannukah at Eema and Saba's house, and Lucy continued to work on her sweet tooth with dessert.


Grammy and Uncle Henry came in for Christmas, and we got to do all sorts of fun things with them. Lucy really likes when people sing to her, so she sat down with Uncle Henry and asked him to sing every nursery rhyme in her book. It was a tall order, but it turns out that Uncle Henry is good at improvising.


Now, onto some video!

This clip is of her reading some books to herself. Sunrise, Sunset is a picture book adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song, which Lucy loves to have sung to her, and One Duck Stuck is a nice book that teaches kids about counting. I particularly enjoy the transitions between books.



Finally, here are Lucy's latest dance moves, including the frequent finale to any use of the camera.

5 Minutes in the Life of Lucy

It's not the most seminal work, but this is a typical Lucy vignette. It's pretty amazing how much ground she covers in 5 minutes: talking on the phone, shushing the dog, running through the kitchen, saying goodbye to Aunt Mel-Mel, opening and shutting the front door, chatting with me (did she say pajamas? we'll never know), and finally settling in for some end-of-the-day toy time.

Lucy the Fairy Witch

Lucy had a wonderful Halloween. Her friend April turned two and had a birthday party, allowing Lucy to dress up as a fairy witch and interact with lots of other little kids. Here's a shot of Lucy enjoying some solo play:


And in full hat regalia with her friend April, aka Barney.


We went back to our neighborhood and trick-or-treated at four neighbors' houses before going home and recovering from all the excitement.

A Big Girl Raincoat for a Big Girl

It has been cold and dreary here in Boston this week, and Elliot and Lucy have both been wearing their winter coats, while I have been clinging stubbornly to lighter layers and been cold all week as a result. So, what a cheery reminder of warmer weather when Lucy's new (to her) raincoat arrived in the mail from an eBay seller. It's a little big right now, but should be perfect come April showers. We showed her how to put her hand in the pockets, which was a big hit, and then she flashed Elliot this delightful face while he snapped a photo of her in her fancy new coat. She looks like such a big kid all of a sudden!

Foreshadowing?

We recently found ourselves in a Stellabella Toys, and felt obligated to purchase toys for Lucy. While shopping, Barbara discovered this set of dolls that has an uncanny resemblance to our family (sans son).

Foreshadowing?


Please note: we are NOT expecting. Not anything.

A Trip to the Ecotarium

On our way out to the Berkshires this weekend, we swung through the EcoTarium. It's a very nice museum outside of Worcester - part zoo and part science museum. Lucy watched a pair of ferrets sleeping, performed at the sound wall, pointed at a turtle, and got to sit on Elliot's shoulders and look at the polar bear.

Dancing with Lucy

Lucy has been showing a love of music by dancing for over a year, but we haven't been able to capture it as well as Eema did this past week when Lucy was at her house. There's a brief intermission when Lucy distracts herself by (possibly) drooling on her hand, but Eema gets her back on track and the dance moves resume to the exciting climax of the song.

Cameras and Mirrors

This is footage from early August, when we were still living at Wellesley College. I wanted to videotape Lucy at work, and you can see how good she is at combing the pony's mane and her own hair. She also is quite intent on feeding the pony and telling it how yummy the carrot and apple are. Eventually, though, she noticed what I was up to and got very curious about the camera. Indeed, I had to stop filming twice when she grabbed the camera. Once we added the mirror to the equation, things got very fun indeed.

An Adventure to Tumble Down Dick

Elliot and I took Lucy on her first rowboat ride today, and it had its ups and downs. The picture below is a not-particularly-happy Lucy who is no longer screaming in horror/terror at having been put in the boat (even in our arms!). Once the boat got underway, she was almost ok with it all, but the transitions in and out were very distressing to her.


We went all the way to Tumble Down Dick, which is a tiny island about a 2-minute rowboat ride from our house, and explored. Once Lucy had recovered from the ride over, she led Elliot up the path to the top of a small cliff on the island.


At the top of the cliff, we sat and watched the view, saying "bye-bye" to boats as they passed and just enjoying the scenery. As you can see from Lucy's face, it was very hard work.


Finally, Lucy practiced throwing rocks into/at the water before we had another traumatic ride to get back home. Once Lucy was back on dry land, I went to pump some water out of a sailboat, and I think she was almost as upset that I was still in the boat as she had been about being there herself.


The afternoon blueberry picking was, sadly, a bust. While there is usually a glut of blueberries here, the rainy summer has not treated the crop well this year and we barely managed to get enough to make a batch of muffins. Thankfully, there were just enough for Lucy to eat some and for me to do some baking.

Ferry Ride

Elliot, Lucy and I are up in Maine for a few days to enjoy the last gasps (already?!) of summer. We started walking to the Town Beach yesterday, but Lucy fell asleep within about 10 minutes so we turned back. We had more success at the public playground up the island, though that was so exhausting that Lucy took a second nap in the afternoon, which she rarely does these days.

Today we may go for a rowboat ride and pick some blueberries at the top of the driveway. In the meantime, here's a photo of Lucy and Elliot on the ferry on Monday. She wasn't particularly interested in posing for the camera, even though she has learned how to say "cheese."

More Swimming

Now that Lucy's broken the ice, she's a big fan of swimming. We're in the Berkshires this week and stopped to see the Uncles Chris on the way out. They have a pool and a dog named Rufus! What fun. So, Lucy put on her bathing suit and we took advantage of the gorgeous day.

Walking in Mommy's Shoes

Lucy has taken to putting on my shoes lately. Some are more forgiving than others. Yesterday, she slipped on a pair of clogs and, with a little help from Stephanie, managed to stumble around the living room. Flip-flops and other sandals have been less successful, but that doesn't stop Lucy from trying!

Day Care Triumphs

There's no picture, because Elliot and I weren't there, but Lucy's daily report from day care yesterday included the following:

We had a petting zoo come and they had bunnies, chickens, ducks and a goat - I pet them all! They had a black pony and I went on a ride though very hesitant.

Given Lucy's past performances with animals, we're very impressed that she pet all the animals and even rode the pony, though we sure wish we could have seen it with our own eyes.

Maryland Redux

Lucy, Grammy, and I went to Maryland for a few days to visit my grandparents. We made the same trip last year, but it was completely different with a 17-month-old than it was with a 5-month old.

Lucy loves riding on Grandpa's walker,

enjoyed some quality time with Grandma,

got to meet Aunt Pam (and see Uncle Tom again), did some shopping, and went swimming! She began her pool adventures with some trepidation, but by the end of the first swim, I couldn't keep her out of the pool:

97th Birthday Party

Lucy helped celebrate Granny B's 97th birthday over the weekend. We had a lovely time, complete with birthday cake and a brief spell of running away from everyone outside. Lucy exchanged some greetings with Granny B:



And some hesitant hellos with the ever-enthusiastic Rufus:

Cooling Off

Anyone on the East Coast knows that it hasn't been hot enough in temperature lately for anyone to need cooling off. We've finally had some sun this weekend, and it's been perfect - none of that characteristic heat and humidity we usually have in July. Just warm enough, slightly breezy, and gorgeous.

No, it's Lucy who has needed some emotional cooling off lately. She's reached an age where she needs to blow off some steam and will now usually have a temper tantrum at some point each day. Never, I'm told, at day care. Just with us.

She and I were up in Maine leading up to the 4th, and she had a moment one afternoon. As I gave her some space to calm down at one end of the porch, I did manage to capture the moment, which involved long minutes of staring and no desire for more direct interaction:


Eventually, she decided to show me her belly, which is when I knew she was starting to feel better.

Going for a Drive

Lucy has decided she's sick of being a passenger. We were heading out from Gramps and Mimi's house, and Lucy climbed right into the driver's seat, keys in hand. Just fifteen more years...

Baths are Coming Back

Our most loyal readers know that Lucy has had her ups and downs with bath-time. But that was over a year ago! She sailed along with some mild trepidation about the faucet, but general delight when it came to splashing, bath toys, and hanging out in her birthday suit.

Until she didn't. All of a sudden, Lucy was terrified (a la the farm animals). As soon as she knew what the plan was, she tried to run in the opposite direction, crawl out of the tub, and squirm (and scream) as much as possible. It was a torturous two-person operation that nobody enjoyed.

Slowly, we've been redefining bath time as something we can all enjoy again. It takes a lot longer, but Lucy is not running for the hills anymore. Today, she even played happily with water in Saba and Eema's kitchen sink:


It looks an awful lot like a bath to me...

Show Lucy the Money!

We have lots to report! Lucy has been on her first trip to California, replete with loads of great time with Grammy and Stephanie, In-N-Out burger ketchup (with some french fries), four hours of screaming on the flight out, and an earthquake. Elliot and I even ducked up to San Francisco for Matt and Marika's wedding, leaving Lucy to bond with Grammy for two nights. All in all, it was very nice.

Now, we're back in full swing at home. Lucy is walking up a storm and being very communicative about her wishes, wants, and dislikes. She likes bananas, exploring, and trash cans. She does not like hair accessories, elevated trash cans, or brushing her teeth.

Today, Lucy got some new sneakers with Eema and Saba. She also stole $20 from Saba and thought that was very funny:

Smiling About Crayons

I guess all it took was a jumbo crayon to capture Lucy's winning smile on (digital) film. Hooray!

Thanks to Eema for the photo

(Almost) Using a Spoon, plus Easter

Lucy loves feeding herself these days. For the most part, we're trying to give her as much finger food as possible, but one cannot live on finger food alone. So, Lucy has been learning how to use a spoon (our efforts to spoon-feed her are met with vigorous head shaking and a grabby hand). I think this photo nicely demonstrates the size of the challenge at hand. Yes, that's a dot of cottage cheese in her hair.


Here, also, are some belated Easter photos. The first is of Lucy with her second cousins, Lilly and Henry after their Easter Egg Hunt. The second gives the impression that Lucy was a knowing participant in said hunt. In fact, she had no idea what was going on, but really likes putting objects into containers, so once we located the eggs for her, she was a superstar.

Farm Animals are Terrifying

We took Lucy to see some baby animals at Hancock Shaker Village in the Berkshires yesterday. It was a beautiful day, a gorgeous setting, and the animals were adorable. At least, most of us thought they were. Lucy thought they were terrifying. We spent some time acclimating to the sheep to see if she could overcome her fears, but then one baaed loudly and Lucy erupted into tears again. Here she is in the interlude between tears, looking quite dubious:
We moved on to a room full of cows and piglets, which was even more horrifying. Cows are loud! The chicken coop? Also pretty scary, even when we discovered an egg that a chicken had laid.

Finally, we found a small building with an enclosed box of chicks. Chicks are quiet and Lucy thought they were somewhat interesting. Until she didn't. But we escaped tear-free.

She's a walking powerhouse

Our little lady has been walking tall for over a week, now. Perhaps "walking" is too generous - it is a bit more of a waddle. Regardless, she's able to get herself up to standing and is awfully proud. (we are too!)

Here's a video my mother shot today of Lucy's graceful falls upright walking.

Lucy Goes to the Playground and Other Stuff

Lots of catching up to do...

First, Lucy's hair is getting long! It's at its most comical when wet:


To be fair, we've still got a ways to go before people stop mistaking her for a boy when she's not wearing pink, but we're getting closer and she's definitely not bald anymore!

In other news, the weather is getting nicer, so Lucy, Eema, and I ventured out to the playground today to take advantage of the swings, slide, and sandbox. Lucy met a nice two-year-old who offered to share his shovel, but she thought sitting and staring was more appropriate.


It's been hard for us to catch Lucy smiling on camera - timing is everything. But she's been enjoying life (except for waking up in the mornings) a great deal. So, here's a shot of her on the changing table, pulling her socks off and finding the whole experience hilarious.


Finally, her walking continues to improve in leaps and bounds (not literally) and she will now walk across a room to one of us, collapsing in our arms with a huge grin and a hug. It's WONDERFUL!

Lucy Folds the Laundry

Lucy has taken to "helping" fold the laundry lately. It's lots of fun, though a little less efficient than when I fold it on my own. Here she is taking a break:


And then getting back to the task at hand....


Lucy decided that all of our clothes were best stored in the windowseat in Elliot's and my room. Not surprisingly, Elliot and I did not end up agreeing with her.

In other news, Lucy is starting to walk in earnest. She's still gaining confidence in her skills, but when she does succeed, she's very proud of herself and usually thinks it's all very funny.

Lucy's First Birthday

Yesterday was Lucy's first birthday! So, we had some of our friends and some of her friends over to celebrate. Here she is standing (with the chair for support) with the O'Donnell girls...


And eating cake with me....
And hanging out with Elliot...

What a great birthday!

Lucy Eats Cake

Meg Belanger and Kristi Jacobi are starting a joint venture to photograph babies destroying cakes. Sure - it sounds a bit odd - but it makes for some great pictures. Lucy was asked (politely) if she would volunteer to be the test subject for their respective websites. Not such a bad way to spend a Sunday...

And sorry for the terrible video quality - my camera isn't really meant to take video. In a few days, we'll post Meg's beautiful photos and some additional info. Right now - we need to peel Lucy off the ceiling from her sugar-high.

Visiting with Granny B

Lucy, my Uncle Chris, and I visited Granny B last weekend, and he took some lovely shots of the little lady. I particularly like this one, which makes it look like Lucy is kissing Granny B's finger. I suspect Lucy was actually trying to chew on it, but, really, why dwell on facts? It was a very nice visit, regardless.

Thanks to Uncle Chris for the photo.

Burn, Baby, Burn

For no good reason, I ordered 10 pounds of Atomic FireBalls. The bag is as large as Lucy.

Weeknight Relaxing

Weeknights are often fairly quiet for us - between getting dinner ready and catching up with Lucy, there's not much time for gallivanting. It's a change from our pre-Lucy life, but not a bad one at all. Here's a shot of Lucy and me in our hoodies tonight:

Up Close and Personal

We ventured out in the snow this morning to have breakfast with Rob and Shaheen, who took some cute shots of Lucy. She's really starting to show her personality these days, from a burgeoning love of music to her ongoing fondness for paper to a constant interest in exploring her surroundings. These photos give you a sense of what a person she's becoming.

Finally

It was really just a matter of time...

Catching Up

Whew! The holidays took us by storm - our apologies for the long delay between posts. We don't have many good shots of Lucy enjoying her first Hannukah or her first Christmas, but there is this cute shot of Lucy and her second cousin, Henry, on Christmas Eve. Henry was already in his pajamas, but Lucy was still enjoying life in her party dress.


We had a very nice visit with my mom, Grammy, over Christmas, and Lucy showed off some of her cheese-eating skills for the occasion.


Finally, Elliot and I spent last night in Providence, RI for a quick getaway for the two of us. We had a fantastic time ice skating, eating yummy food, and feeling somewhat astonished that we used to have time on our own all the time just 10 months ago. Meanwhile, Lucy got to hang out with Elliot's parents, Ema and Saba, who took this great photo of our little lady. We weren't even gone for 24 hours, but we're pretty sure she grew a whole lot while we were away.