Lucy Embraces Hair Accessories

Lucy went through a long spell where she didn't want anything in her hair: elastics, barrettes, headbands were all yanked out within seconds. But Grammy gave her some adorable pink flower barrettes for Christmas, and Lucy specifically asked to wear them to school this morning. Here she is sporting her purple "sparkle shirt" and the new barrettes:

Grammy and the Three Bears

What happened to November? It flew by! I had a weekend in Los Angeles visiting Stephanie, and then Elliot went to Nice, France for six days for work. Before we knew it, Thanksgiving had come and gone, and now it's going to be December in two days! Yikes. Did I mention that I'm almost seven months pregnant too? Time to start slowing down...

Grammy came out to stay with us during Elliot's trip to give me a hand and spend some quality time with Lucy. I'd get home every day to a very happy and enthusiastic Lucy - and even though she'd spent all day with Grammy already, there was usually a very loud request that Grammy read her a bedtime story, not Mommy. It was very sweet.

Grammy taught Lucy the Goldilocks story, with incredible props, and Saba caught it on film when he and Eema visited one afternoon. The video (below) is over 8 minutes long, so if you're not up for the whole thing, here's a nice photo capturing the scene:

And for you die-hard blog fans, here's the whole shebang, complete with a cameo of Eema's nail polish:

Thanks again to Grammy for coming to lend a helping hand during our busy November!!

"It's my leaf bed!"

Fallen leaves are a whole lot more fun when you are not required to rake the yard.

You're not the only one, Mommy.

So...THERE!

Pink Doggy

I never got around to posting this in late September - the second time Lucy's ever had her face painted. She requested to be a green dog, but the professional face painter suggested that the green paint tends to dye kids' faces. We took her advice and chose pink.

Honk! Festival

The Honk! Festival was in Somerville this weekend for its fifth annual weekend extravaganza, and we went in on Saturday to listen to the bands playing as well on Sunday for the parade. Here we are with Amy and her kids waiting for the parade to start:

The parade was almost an hour long and alternated between activist marching bands playing music and people marching on behalf of causes such as immigration rights, organic food (we were sitting in front of McDonald's, which drew some comments from the marchers), freeing Tibet, and many more. The costumes, music and passion of the parade were great, and while the issues were way over the kids' heads, the grown-ups were impressed by it all. Those of you on the West Coast, fear not, there is also a Honk! Fest West in Seattle.

P.S. Ever tried to get five kids to look at a camera at once? This was the best shot of several.

"Turtle" Targum

Our loyal readers may recall Elliot's post from last year about the doll set that seemed to represent our family, plus a younger brother for Lucy:

Well, come February 9, 2011 (plus or minus 2 weeks), Lucy will have a baby brother.

Lucy knows that I have a baby in my belly and has had a few cute moments of kissing my belly and talking to my belly. When we asked her what she would name the baby, she thought for a moment and decreed, "Turtle." So, Turtle is the working name for now, though we advised Lucy that we reserve the right to choose a different name once the baby's actually born.

I've been feeling great, just as I did with Lucy, and the baby is doing all the things he's supposed to be doing so far.

Oh, and for any of you who know Gramps (aka Philip or my dad) - he does NOT want to know the sex of the baby. So, please try to help us keep this secret from him if possible.

Lucy Screams for Ice Cream

Lucy has recently graduated to ice cream cones (as opposed to cups). She's still mastering the art of licking, as well as clean eating, but she sure did enjoy her chocolate ice cream.

We didn't let her finish the whole cone, but it was still an epic sugar high.

2008 / 2010

Is this really the same kid?!

End of Summer Recap

It's been a while, so I'm going to pack a fair amount into this post. First, Elliot finished up at Explo in early August, and we all moved happily back to Cambridge. We had a great time at Wellesley, enjoying the campus as always, but it's been great to be back in our own house again. Here's a shot of Lucy enjoying Lake Waban at Wellesley earlier in the summer:

It's hard to find that much grass in Cambridge!

Lucy developed an appreciation for Chinese restaurants this summer. The calls them calls "Shiny" restaurants (it took me a few days to figure out what she meant) and even came up with a song called Egg Drop Soup, with which she serenaded us one night in a plea for a trip to the local Shiny restaurant. Here is Lucy and Elliot at our favorite Chinese place in Wellesley (soon to be evicted/relocated to make way for a Whole Foods), as well as Lucy's fortune that evening, which I found very apt for a toddler:

We've since spent some time in the Berkshires with Eema, Saba, Aunt Melmel, and Grammy, which was lovely. This is a video of Lucy galloping on a horse at the playground, with fabulous sound effect support from Grammy:

Lucy and Elliot also got some good napping in. (Truth be told, I did some napping as well.):

On our way up to Islesboro, we went to Story Land in North Conway, NH. It's an amusement park for kids, and Lucy had a great time. She was particularly fond of the Old Woman Who Lives in the Shoe - they had an actual woman in the shoe that she could hang out with - but found Cinderella a little intimidating. Here is Lucy and Elliot in one of her favorite rides, the Wooden Shoe. You can see the tracks for the Polar Coaster in the background - Lucy was not up for the big roller coaster during our trip, but it was one of the few rides she didn't try.

After we'd had our fill at Story Land, we took Lucy mini golfing. She did very well for the first three holes (of eighteen) and then decided to mix things up in her own special way:

We ended our vacation in Islesboro, which is less documented by me. Elliot is working on a video montage of our time off, so stay tuned.

Summertime Adventures

Lucy and I have been busy! We went up to Maine for the 4th of July. Lucy was much less trepidatious about going in boats, though still not what I would call eager. Still, she got in her life jacket just fine and survived all of her boating experiences without tears. Here she is looking at Tumble Down Dick before we rowed over.

Uncle Henry came with us and showed Lucy how to skip rocks:

The next day, Uncle Henry went home, so we brought him to the mainland on Gramps' boat. Here is Lucy looking not-miserable with me:

Since Maine, Lucy has helped Elliot and me celebrate our birthdays in style. "It's my birthday?" "No, Lucy. It's Daddy's birthday." "It IS my birthday." February is a hard concept for a two-year-old to grasp in July.

Third Annual Trip to Maryland

Lucy, Henry and I met Grammy down in Maryland last weekend for a lovely visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Lucy did very well on the plane ride down - asking if she was safe as we took off and enjoying the individual TV that Jet Blue provided her. It was a relatively quick flight, but she's also at an age where we can talk about what's happening and help her manage some of the anxieties a new experience like this present.

The pool at my grandparents' place was a big feature again this year. Lucy showed her characteristic trepidation at first, but warmed up to it very well after a little while. By the end of her last dip, she was actually starting to paddle with her arms and kick with her legs. Here she is resting and taking in the surroundings:

All the swimming tired Lucy out so much that she fell asleep at lunch on Sunday. She literally couldn't keep her eyes open, and I was at a bit of loss until Grandma suggested that we let her sleep on the floor. So, with a napkin as a pillow, Lucy happily curled up in the corner of the dining room next to us and slept while the grown-ups enjoyed a tasty lunch at Londonderry.

That night for dinner, we went out to a Japanese steakhouse nearby with Uncle Tom and Aunt Pam who came up to see us while we were visiting. Lucy was NOT a fan of the flames that the exhibition-style cooking generated. She noticed it at other tables after we arrived and was ready to bolt once our chef started cooking for us. Fortunately, he was willing to forgo the flames once we realized that Lucy wasn't going to warm up to them and then we just enjoyed fancy knife skills and tasty food. For the next few days, though, Lucy kept reminding me: "No fire, Mommy. Tell the man no fire."

It was a wonderful trip - great to see so much family and enjoy some time relaxing with each other. Now we're back at Wellesley and enjoying seeing Elliot a little more now that Explo has gotten underway. Lucy and I will head up to Islesboro on Sunday to celebrate the 4th of July. She's expressing interest in going in the rowboat and exploring "the island." We'll see how it goes!

Adjusting to a Big Girl Bed

When we moved to Explo, we decided it was time for Lucy to start sleeping in a real bed - the pack and play is just a bit too flimsy for seven weeks of restless, toddler sleeping. We put an extra mattress on the floor next to her bed in case she rolls/falls/jumps off the big bed. Mostly, she's enjoyed jumping on the safety mattress.

Lucy's taken to the bed situation pretty well - she likes that Elliot and I can lay down next to her and enjoys rubbing our backs to help us go to bed too. I think this last detail bodes well for future shoulder massages, but I'm taking it one step at a time.

The other night, Lucy was especially quiet at bedtime - no fussing or asking for us to give her water, tuck her in, rub her back or any of the other standard delaying tactics. Nope, she just went straight to sleep. Except that when I went to check on her a couple of hours later, she was sleeping like this:

She woke up a couple of hours later, when we were asleep too, asking to get back into her bed, and Elliot was kind enough to oblige.

She also seems quite keen on taking the pillowcase off of the pillow, throwing it on the lower mattress and informing me that "it flell." I'm not sure that Lucy understands the difference between fall and throw quite yet....

An Action Packed Weekend

Elliot, Lucy and I moved out to Wellesley College for the summer this weekend. While Elliot was busy working, Lucy, Aunt Mel-Mel and I got settled into our new digs (a whole house!) in time to head over to our friend Zach's 1st birthday. Zach and his older sisters got a bouncy house, which was a total blast. Lucy took a little while to warm up to it, but then was almost impossible to drag out of it. Here's a quick video of her walking around and bouncing a bit.

Thanks to Nick Rosenberg for the video

The Proud Artist

Somehow Lucy ended up with a purple crayon during her nap today. I poked my head into her room to make sure she was sleeping and found a wide-awake little girl who had drawn on every surface she could reach: the walls, the walls between the slats of her crib, the ledge of her crib, the adjacent bookcase, the crib sheets, her pillow - all were covered in purple scribbles. Thank goodness Crayola is washable and everything came right off with some scrubbing.

Lucy, as you can see below, was very proud of herself. She realized something was up pretty quickly, though, and started asking Melissa and me: "It's not funny?" No, Lucy, it's not. Well, maybe a little cute in hindsight now that I know there was no irreparable damage done. Many thanks to Aunt Mel-Mel for help with the cleanup.

Now Lucy is sleeping soundly in my bed. Here's a short video of the snoring beauty:

It's Not Easy Being Two

Lucy's been having a lot of highs and lows lately. When she's in good spirits, she's a total delight. When she's not, it's more like this:

More Amusement Park Fun

Elliot loves amusement parks, so while I was hosting a baby shower yesterday, Elliot, Lucy and Eema went back to Canobie Lake Park for an afternoon of rides. Lucy was not a big fan of the flume, but she enjoyed just about everything else. Here she is on the teacups:

Lucy's first amusement park

Barbara was away all weekend, giving me the perfect excuse to plan a Lucy-centric weekend.

We went to the Big Apple Circus on Saturday afternoon. Lucy's never really been to a show or performance before, so I was surprised how well she behaved. Highlights of the circus, for Lucy, included the trained dogs ("they tickling the lady's leg?") and the colorfully-dressed trapeze artists ("is that a lady or is that a man?"). She was also really impressed that they had a purple light, and at times could turn off the house lights altogether. Now that is TALENT.

Sunday, Aunt Melmel, Lucy, and I headed up to Canobie Lake Park, a small amusement park 45 minutes from Boston. Readers of this blog know how terrified Lucy was of vehicles as mild as rowboats just a few months ago. Thus, it was a wonderful surprise to discover that Lucy loves "thrill rides." They told her she was too short for the log flume, but we did get to go on a small roller coaster. I don't have my own photo of the "Dragon Coaster" - but here's one from the web:

Lucy called it the "Crocodile Roller Coaster."

I left the camera at home, but my iPhone helped document a bunch of the highlights.

My favorite moment was when Lucy went on the Jungle Jump, a platform that rises high (sort of) in air, then drops suddenly. Lucy giggled all the way - she even took a cue from the older kids and thrust her hands in the air. (I find it especially amusing considering the terrified 8-year-old to her left).

Look below for a slide show of some of the horses, cars, boats, teacups, and other plastic vehicles she got to ride.

Bon Voyage, Daddy!

Elliot was in DC for a couple of days, and Lucy and I got to have some girl's time together. First, though, Lucy helped Elliot pack before he left:

Then Lucy and I went to stay with Gramps and Mimi in Dover (daycare drop-off is a lot easier for me from Dover than Cambridge), and Lucy got to take a bubble bath in Mimi's tub! Lucy's been less enthusiastic about baths lately, but she's a convert again after this:

Lucy has been a chatterbox lately. We got to hear an owl out in Dover, which prompted Lucy to ask at least a dozen times in a row: "Where the owl? Where he? Can we see him?" The answer was no, each time, which is why I have no picture to share.

Who, Me?

Lucy decided to strike this pose for me tonight while we were getting her ready for bed. She's starting to understand that if she poses, there will be a picture to look at, which feels like a major milestone to this blogger.

She Loves to Clean

Lucy and I are getting ready for the day. Just before I snapped this photo of her wiping the toilet (!) with a washcloth, she told me "Go, Mommy. I want to clean. Go to your room."

Now she's wiping down the walls. We really don't know where this fascination with cleaning came from.

Just a bit groggy

Lucy and I went to the aquarium on Saturday.
"What's your favorite animal, Lucy?"
"I like sarks."

3 minutes from home, waiting at a red light, I turned around to capture this series of shots:






She still took over an hour to finally go down for a nap.

Going for a Drive, Part 2

Lucy's interest in driving continues to develop. She can now climb from the back to the front seat and is working hard to learn the next steps in the process. We're keeping a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't present a threat to herself or others, but we're pretty sure she has a little ways to go before she reaches that point.

Little Ladies at a Little Table

Lucy and Charlotte got to hang out last week for Easter. Mimi put on a fabulous egg hunt, which culminated with sandwiches together. We were also lucky enough to have really warm weather, making their sleeveless dresses appropriate for the weather!

Afraid of the Rain

It's raining here again, and Lucy woke up in the middle of the night yesterday because the rain was so loud against the side of the house. It took Elliot (aka super Daddy) a little while in his sleepy stupor to figure out why Lucy was inconsolable, but he finally realized that she was afraid of the noise the rain was making. Once he explained to her that it was just the rain (she knows all about rain and loves her raincoat), she paused and then went back to sleep for the rest of the night.

No pictures of that moment, but here's a recent photo of Lucy, with her sunglasses, feeling sad about something. Life with a two-year-old is never dull...

Relaxing Time

We've been enjoying some unseasonably fabulous weather these past few days, and so Lucy and I spent a little time on our back porch yesterday after she woke up from her nap. Here she is, legs crossed, enjoying some applesauce.


And for those of you committed enough to watch a two minute video, this shows you the live action scene, complete with some solo time on the swinging furniture.

Belated Birthday Photos

We can't quite believe it, but Lucy is a 2-year-old. Indeed, she's been a 2-year-old for almost a month! Her personality shines through in new and different ways almost daily, and we're really having a blast with her - even if it can be pretty exhausting to keep up with her sometimes.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a party for her, complete with homemade farm cake (per Lucy's request). Here she is blowing out the candle with Elliot:

And then enjoying her sugar high:

Thanks to Saba for the photos!

Anthropomorphizing George

Lucy's been busy these past few weeks. She has a new friend in her jumbo Curious George (thanks, Gramps!). She likes to sit him in chairs, change his diaper, put him to bed under blankets, and generally drag him around. She had a little help getting George set up in her high chair, but was very pleased with the result, nonetheless.


You may also notice that she's not wearing pants, again. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and that phase seems to be passing, though has been replaced by a recent obsession with wearing tights. It's hard to keep track sometimes!

Fashionable Lucy

Blogger seems to be having some difficulty hosting videos right now, so I'll return to traditional photos for the timebeing. Lucy is more videogenic than photogenic these days, but I'm sure we can all muddle through.

We had a nice long weekend for President's Day this past weekend, but by the end of it we were all ready to get back to our normal routines of daycare and work.

Yesterday, Lucy demonstrated her strong independence through fashion. I had dressed her in a regular diaper, pants, socks, and a shirt, but while playing on her own in her room, she decided to change into a swim diaper (with some help) and then completely independently took off her pants and socks and put on...her sneakers. Here she is posing by the wall, though getting her to look at, much less smile for, the camera was not going to happen:


Please also note the diapers strewn around the floor - Lucy has been relocating things like diapers, trash cans and the laundry hamper in the background with great purpose lately. It's very cute, even if we seem to live in a constant state of clutter as a result.

Hanging Out in the Kitchen

We spent the beginning of last week skiing at Okemo with Gramps and Mimi. It was a fantastic trip, and I highly recommend Okemo to any families who ski - it really put Sunday River (our destination last year) to shame.

We came home early on Wednesday, leaving at 8am to beat the predicted storm, which turned out to be a total non-event here in Massachusetts. So, we had an afternoon at home, which was lovely and relaxing. Lucy and I spent some time hanging out in the kitchen and she decided it was time to eat some grapes. The following video shows you what ensued, and includes her current favorite declaration ("I did it!") a couple of times:



And for those of you with shorter attention spans, this 21 second clip embodies what life with an almost two-year-old Lucy is often like, complete with "I want" statements, "No, Mommy" and grabbing. I'm able to be philosophical enough about all this to find it somewhat cute:

Play Hard, Nap Hard

Lucy is living large these days - when she's awake, she's raring to go, but she still needs her afternoon nap in order to get through the rest of the day.

Video Difficulties

Apparently, many users are having difficulties with videos on the Blogspot blogs. Check back in a few days. (Apparently, Google is pretty good at working on internet stuff...)

Makin' Meatballs

My father shot this a few weeks ago, but it's definitely worth posting here.



Hungry?

A Foray into Sledding

Elliot bought Lucy a sled a couple of weeks ago and took her out in our (flat) back yard for a spin. She reacted much as she has to other new things (see farm animals, boating) and cried the entire time.

Still, when Lucy's friend Milo came over this afternoon, we figured we'd give it another try. First, Lucy pulled the empty sled, then Lucy and Elliot pulled Milo and his mom, Victoria, and finally, Lucy and Elliot rode the sled together...and she even said she liked it. I'm not sure we'll tackle any hills this season, but we were happy to see her getting more comfortable.

Say Cheese!

Lucy's friend April came over last weekend to play - April's about four months older than Lucy, which up until recently has been a fairly significant age difference. Things are evening out, though, and the two toddlers spent a couple of hours on Sunday chasing each other around our house. Towards the end of the mayhem, they decided to don their hats and say "cheese" for us doting parents. A couple of photos turned into this video instead:

Haircut

Lucy had her first haircut yesterday! Elliot took her to a kids' salon since we couldn't fathom holding Lucy still long enough ourselves. The seven minute cut consisted of four minutes of hysterics over the new experience (if you think about it, those chairs are pretty freaky) and three minutes of relative calm once the stylist worked her toddler-whispering magic. It all ended with a cute hair cut and a lollipop.

New Year's

We had a very nice New Year's. Lucy slept soundly through until 8am on the 1st and was a rock star for the rest of the day. We went to Aunt Mel-Mel's house for some homemade Challah:


Then, onto the O'Donnells to wish Nick a happy birthday and have some pizza in a big-girl chair:


And finally to Gramps and Mimi's for a nice family dinner:


Yesterday, we woke up to snow, and Lucy was brave enough to venture onto our back porch in her snow gear. It's still snowing a little bit now, so the thrill has passed for Elliot and me, but Lucy was pretty excited to help us shovel earlier today.