little lucille

The Girls

2012-01-29T08:21:00.003-06:00

We had a fun play date with the Woods last night. We had pizza then totally tore the playroom apart. The girls play pretty well together. Lucy has an issue pulling an "I'm 6 months older and going to boss you around" attitude. Hopefully this improves with time. The night was mostly filled with laughing and running in circles. If Audrey & Lucy had 3 foot long blond hair, they'd look like this. Quite a look, huh?

oh my...

2012-01-18T22:32:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure how it's possibly been so long since my last post! My apologies! And I don't have any pictures to offer either...don't be too disappointed - I promise to get some up yet this week! Until then, a here's a great conversation from tonight. Lucy requested to watch a cartoon so I hit the "on demand" button and a preview for The Hangover 2 came on while I was searching for Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Stu: "This is a REAL tattoo!"
Lucy: "I'm going to get a real tattoo"
Me: "Oh, really? Of what?"
Lucy (quickly responds): "Ariel.
Me: "You know, a real tattoo never comes off so it has to be something that you really, really love"
Lucy (pauses briefly to think): "It doesn't come off?"
Me: "Nope"
Lucy: "Ariel. Definitely"

Mini Me

2011-12-30T19:53:00.002-06:00

I knew I had seen that Christmas morning photo of Lucy somewhere before...

Pure Joy

2011-12-25T13:04:00.001-06:00

Airport Reunion

2011-12-22T21:32:00.003-06:00

Birthday Girl

2011-12-19T21:40:00.003-06:00

We're Off To See the Wizard...

2011-12-17T22:51:00.005-06:00

Lucy's very first "friend" birthday party was today and it was a total success! We had it at a gymnastics gym which was awesome. The teachers held a really great class and all the girls did so well. There were 9 little girls in attendance - lots of little friends from school. They were all so cute and well behaved! The most adorable part was when Lucy was opening gifts - as soon as a each gift was revealed they all shrieked like teenagers. All the parents were cracking up. Oh - and it was a wizard of oz party - rainbows and glitter and gymnastics, oh my!

Birthday Kick-Off

2011-12-16T22:05:00.003-06:00

Lucy kicked off her birthday weekend today with a day at the zoo with Daddy. She had fun, as always, and she told me her favorite animal was the reindeer and that one of them worked for Santa. Tonight we made cupcakes for her party. She is so good in the kitchen! She can crack eggs better than I can (see evidence below).

warming herself under the lights. such a weirdo.

cupcake pirate

mix, mix, mix

see? she takes after her great grandma jackie

i'm so excited to be four!

Ariel the Elf

2011-12-13T21:33:00.002-06:00

I've been pulling the "Santa's watching you" card recently. A few nights ago Lucy was being a pill while I was trying to get her out the door at Nana & Papa's house. I told her that when auntie Meredith was little she was very naughty before Christmas. Her ears perked up. I had her attention. I went on to explain that when Santa came auntie Kristin and I got toys and Meredith got a lump a coal. She asks what a lump of coal is. I explain it's like a big black rock. Her response? "Oh. I'd play catch with it". Little stinker. Oh, and I should mention that although Meredith was definitely a naughty child, she never received coal in her stocking.
Next tactic: Elf on the Shelf. This thing is cute in a really creepy way. After meeting Audrey's elf "Tom" last weekend we picked up one of our own. Lucy named him "Ariel" (surprisingly not Rapunzel). The story goes that the elf keeps an eye on you and then goes to the North Pole each night and reports to Santa regarding your behavior. It's so cute when she wonders what the elf told Santa - she totally believes. We do have an issue though. We seemed to have picked a mischievous elf. Here he is the other morning making sugar snow angels. Lucy threatened to report this poor behavior to Santa...

2011-12-04T22:02:00.002-06:00

Christmas is in full swing. I just gathered up twelve toy catalogs that were strewn around the house. Target is my arch nemesis. Lucy is the proud new owner of a red sweater with a big silver bow on it. And...the house smells like a pine tree. Oh, we also made cut-0ut cookies tonight. Lucy is WAY more into the fact that it's her birthday in 2 weeks than the whole Christmas thing but she did have fun doing some decorating. After hearing that Audrey had a special tree in her room, she had to have one too. And who can resist a baby pink tree? Not this mama. Here she is doing both trees. Those Wizard of Oz ornaments were from Grammy and are totally adorable and definitely her favorite. Have I mentioned she's Wizard of Oz obsessed right now? I had to refer to her as "Dorothy" for the majority of the weekend and I was either called "Toto" or "Munchkin". More Oz fun coming in the next couple weeks when this little lady turns FOUR!

"Mama! Snow!!!!!"

2011-11-19T15:33:00.004-06:00

To quote Lucy - "I can't believe it SNOWED!". I've been dreading this day but seeing her eyes light up at the sight of it was pretty cute. She couldn't stop giggling. And then it was straight to the closet for snowpants, boots, mittens and a hat. She couldn't get outside quickly enough. My enthusiasm level wasn't quite so high but once we got out it was super fun. Luckily, for those of us that aren't 3, it's going to melt pretty quickly. Whew.

Halloween Breakfast

2011-11-09T21:21:00.003-06:00

We found a creative way to use our Halloween candy: candy pancakes. To balance out the artificial colors we used organic whole wheat pancake mix. That makes this okay, right? We also ate them with a side of apples.

Lucy is getting really good in the kitchen. Most days, she would rather cook or bake than play so I'm trying to make a point of getting her in there as much as possible. Maybe we have a future chef on our hands? A candy pancake chef, of course.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:26:00.003-05:00

In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines...the youngest one, was Madeline!

Yes - we stuck with our "favorite book" theme this Halloween - although she knew exactly what she wanted to be. And I must say...she was pretty darn cute. She got several "best costume of the night" remarks while out (thanks for the costume, Nana!). And she was very charming - "trick or treat! thank you! au revoir!".

checking out her cousin's costumes on Nana's phone

Meet Wolf & Cheetah

2011-10-30T20:30:00.003-05:00

We took an impromptu trip to the zoo today with Shanna and Audrey. It was pretty hilarious because a lot of kids were dressed up - most of them as animals. There were a few parents dressed up too which Shanna and I thought was maybe a little weird...particularly the middle aged dude in the full size Care Bear costume. Creepy. Our poor kids did not have their costumes but we hit up the gift shop for these sweet masks. They were howling and growling for the rest of the day.

A Weekend Getaway

2011-10-24T20:07:00.004-05:00

Lucy spent this past weekend at Grammy & Papa's house - 3 whole nights! She had a load of fun. She said her favorite things were - 1. Practicing trick or treating and 2. Fishing ("but I didn't actually CATCH any fish"). And, I admit, it was really nice to have a little parenting break. And nothing feels as good as those little squeezes after a few days! We met halfway on Sunday for a swap and then I took her to the Nickelodeonland and the Mall of America (note: big mistake on a rainy afternoon). Here she is giving out big Lucy style hugs!

Rock Star

2011-10-16T21:35:00.002-05:00

Lucy was painting in her metallic leggings (sans shirt, of course) and I realized she looked like a mini front man of an 80's hair band. Right?

A Summery Fall

2011-10-06T21:19:00.003-05:00

We've had the best weather this week and have tried so spend our evenings outside (before it gets dark, anyway). On Wednesday I asked Lucy what she wanted to do and she said - "go on a picnic at Sibley Park and bring quarters to feed the goats and ducks". So off we went. After a great picnic with a few little friends we played and played until it was pitch dark. A totally perfect fall evening.

Alive!

2011-10-03T21:44:00.003-05:00

We're alive! Lucy had a fun weekend that I'll recap soon. In the meantime...here's what she's been up to lately. What? Once the apples are gone you can't let that caramel go to waste...

apple day

2011-09-17T22:26:00.004-05:00

I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

Rock Bend

2011-09-11T21:15:00.003-05:00

Another super gorgeous weekend. Lucy, my mom and I had a girls day out to the Rock Bend Folk Festival. It was a great day - fantastic weather, great music, yummy food and pink hair. What more could a girl ask for?

swaying to the tunes...

pink hair, pink hair, pink hair!

just a tiny snack for the drive home.

Almost Camping

2011-09-05T20:51:00.003-05:00

Lucy almost had her first campout tonight (in the backyard). She really liked all the camping activities - roasting hot dogs, having a bonfire, playing in the tent - but when the sun went down and it came time to think about actually sleeping outside, she was out. We'll try again another night. While she and Jason were camping, I was re-planting the window boxes with mums, grasses and kale. I usually don't do it so early but the weekend weather had me in the mood.

let's go fly a kite

2011-09-04T21:13:00.002-05:00

Super gorgeous day here today - totally perfect. Lucy and I went up to my parents house tonight for a fish fry and some fun outside. We ran around and around like crazy people - flew her new kite and wrestled in the grass. And here's a treat (for me at least). Photos of Lucy with me! My mom nabbed my camera...she has a good eye, don't you think?

Mini Shoot

2011-08-29T21:43:00.002-05:00

I've been doing some photo shoots recently for other kids but realized I never, ever take my own cutie out for the sole purpose of taking photos of her. So, tonight we dressed up (I compromised on the footwear) and headed out to the prairie. It lasted...maybe 15 minutes? We were the only humans there but there were about a thousand frogs. And I had flip flops on. So gross. We'll try again later this fall...but I did get a few shots of this bubble gum chewing three and a half year old. This first one was the first shot I took after asking - "smile, please!". That's my girl...

Lions and Tigers and Bears

2011-08-21T22:24:00.003-05:00

Oh my. Another weekend over. It was SUPER gorgeous here. Definitely the perfect summer weather. Lucy (requested name this weekend: Dorothy) and I decided to get out and enjoy it today and headed to the zoo. I knew it was be insanely busy but, with the exception of one overly aggressive goat, we managed to have tons of fun. We met my friend Katy, her husband Matt and "baby" Molly too. Lucy/Dorothy was such a trooper the whole day....I'm more and more impressed with her patience and ability to go with the flow during big days like this. I just really enjoyed hanging out with her - she's just plain fun. One thing that made me laugh more than anything today? Katy pointed out that Lucy runs like Phoebe. If you're a "Friends" fan, you'll get it. We were cracking up watching her arms flail in the air as she ran completely out of control. Poor kid. Guess she won't be a track star.

the bear says "GRRRRR".

Lucy's impression of her favorite zoo animal, the PINK flamingo. And check out those ruby slippers!

had to post this because it's DISGUSTING.

and had to post this because it's CUTE

and...the coolest baby on earth. check those shades! just like auntie Heidi!

the aggressive goat. two seconds after this picture was taken it lunged forward and bit the bar across the stroller - and held on. Lucy is no longer a fan of goats.

Cupcake Night

2011-08-16T21:16:00.004-05:00

Lucy and I made cupcakes tonight for baby's birthday. By the way - it's baby's birthday every other day but this is the first time we've made cupcakes for it. Usually we just wrap presents or have tea. It was a big night. Naturally, the cupcakes were pink and aside from the measuring, she did it all. Very messy and very fun. The funniest part? She stirred the frosting for the entire 18 minutes that the cupcakes baked. This is how it went: Stir, stir, stir. Lick with finger, then say "Hmm...not quite ready". Repeat. The kid likes sugar. A few notes about the pictures below - 1. Humidity does weird things to her hair 2. Yes, we bake without pants on. That's normal.

Catching Up

2011-08-14T08:58:00.002-05:00

Two weeks since my last post?! Ugh. In my defense, I sort of lost last week. Lucy spiked a fever last Friday which lasted FIVE days. It wasn't very much fun. Three doctor visits later she finally got an antibiotic. She had tonsillitis and pink eye on top of it. She seems to only get sick once or twice a year so I suppose we were due. She is SO sweet when she's not feeling well though....it's sort of adorable. No crankiness, just lots of "mommy, cuddle me". I had to go on a business trip during the week so she spent a couple days with Daddy recovering at Grammy & Papa's lake house. The sunshine and water did her good - she's back to her normal self this weekend! I've been neglecting my camera but am making a conscience effort to gets lots of shots as summer winds down (gulp). Here's a few shots from the Farmer's Market yesterday. That outfit was all her...the Alice in Wonderland socks really did it for me. So cute.

taking in the sights

enjoying a cotton candy cookie (pink, duh)

The Lucy Smith Interview

2011-07-31T19:50:00.002-05:00

I decided to interview Lucy tonight while we had dinner...

1. What is your favorite toy? Baby Katy and her new things (we went to the American Doll store today and got some things for Lucy's bitty baby).

2. How about your favorite animal? A pig because it's pink.

3. What's your favorite food? Ice Cream.

4. Okay, how about your favorite vegetable: Ice Cream! (sigh...)

5. What is your favorite thing to do on a stay-home day (weekend): Go to a carnival.

6. What's your favorite season? All of them. Because I like all of them. I like it when the leaves fall off their trees and we go trick or treating.

7. What's your favorite book? Madeline!

8. Favorite movie? Madeline!

9. What is your favorite place to visit? The zoo. Soon I'll go see the Eiffel Tower in Paris to see Madeline and to New York to find George and Annie but not Miss Hannegin.

10. What do you want to be went you grow up? A nurse. Because I like nurses. Actually, I'm going to be a mommy.

Little Fishy

2011-07-23T20:31:00.003-05:00

Lucy has been taking swimming lessons for the past 6 weeks. What an AMAZING difference I've seen in her! First, the lessons are really, really cool. They are through her daycare and the kids go twice a week. They are so cute! They have 2 on 1 instruction so they get lots of swimming time too. Lucy has become so much more comfortable in the water since starting. Even in the bathtub! Hair washing? No problem! And she'll jump right into the big pool (with a life jacket) and swim and swim and swim. We can't wait for the next session!

The Sun Will Come Out...Tomorrow!

2011-07-18T20:27:00.003-05:00

Lucy latest obsession? Annie. She's loved the movie for quite awhile. Then, back in May, Jason took her to the Children's Theater play and just a week or so ago, my mom and I took her to the play at the university here. Since then it's been all Annie all the time. She will actually act out scenes from the movie, she now refers to Jason as "Daddy Warbucks" and she'll sit in front of the CD player and sing along with the soundtrack forever! She's such a shy little thing but as she was walking down the corridor at the mall loudly singing, The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow I had to wonder if we have a little actress on our hands.

Fun Fun Fun

2011-07-11T11:56:00.003-05:00

And this sums up our Sunday evening...

choosing a ride

just like her daddy
she's thinking - "you're never going to get one of those rings on a bottle"

yes, that's ME! I know, amazing - I'm actually IN a picture.

Hot, Hot, Hot

2011-07-10T14:44:00.003-05:00

This sums up our Saturday afternoon....

2011-07-04T23:20:00.002-05:00

Happy 4th of July! It's late and I'm beat so this will be short. We had a great day - went to the parade with the Woods, hit up the pool and went to the neighbors this evening for a fun party. A very all-American day! The only pictures I have are from the parade where it was (as it is every year) HOT. Not a cloud in the sky - ugh. The girls had a great time though. Lucy waved at everyone in hopes of candy. She did really great sharing and didn't even ask to eat any until we got home. She was asleep but a bit before the fireworks started up tonight but I have a feeling she was okay with that!

Way Up North!

2011-06-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

Lucy took her first trip "up north" to my Grandparents house this past weekend. We were celebrating their 60th (!) wedding anniversary. It's a 8 hour drive up there and Lucy did so awesome! I was really nervous about the long haul! More pictures to come but here's some sneak peaks of Lucy and her bff Holden hanging on the farm. You can't really tell, but they are absolutely filthy.

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-06-19T21:20:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday night. We had a good weekend - just stayed home and had fun, which was perfect. On Saturday there was a parade down our street. I use term parade very lightly. We only knew it was going to happen because we got a letter in our mailbox saying that our street was going to be blocked off on Saturday morning for the Vietnam Veterans Parade. So, we hauled our chairs out on the curb to watch a whole bunch of flags, a few trucks and small pack of Veterans march down the street. It was mostly just the neighborhood that was there for it but it was sweet...all the Veterans had big smiles for Lucy. She was wondering where all the candy was, ha. Jason had to work today but we did see him early this morning and this evening. Lucy told him - "It can be Father's Day everyday!". It was very sweet!

watching the parade coming...

waiting for the parade...check out the (lack of) spectators...

my little goof. why wouldn't you want to wear goggles during snack time?

Speechless

2011-06-13T20:21:00.002-05:00

Have to write this story down. It's way too....gross.

Lucy had a mid-morning bath on Saturday. On the way up to get in she spotted a balloon she'd gotten at the grocery store the day before...and of course, there was a sucker attached to it. She asked to have it. Yes, it was 10 a.m. But the tub seems like a proper place for sucker. Easy clean up, right? So, I agreed. So there she is, in the tub when the following conversation goes down:

Lucy: Mommy? Can I dunk my sucker in the water?
Me: Um, no, please don't do that.
Lucy: Why?
Me: Lucy, think about what's in that bath water. Yucky.

So, she looks at me and gives me her little "I'm going to do the opposite of what you said" smile, dunks the sucker, takes a lick and says - "Mmmmmmm, Cherry Butt."

So very proud...

Welcome Errolyn Lurella!

2011-06-07T11:11:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to my cousin Nick and his wife Jenn on the birth of their new baby girl Errolyn Luella. Lucy and I headed up to Minneapolis with Nana & Papa yesterday to visit. She is one sweet and gorgeous little girl. And they are going to be wonderful parents. Strangely, Lucy wanted little to do with her. I think the hospital environment and the fact that the baby had recently been inside Jenn's tummy sort of tweaked her out. She liked watching from afar though. Congratulations Nick & Jenn. And welcome to the world, Errolyn!

Summer? Summer!

2011-05-31T22:21:00.002-05:00

Dare I say....summer is here? It sure feels like it. What a gorgeous evening! I wanted to plant some annuals and Lucy happily came out to help. She asked if she could bring her rocking chair out on the front step. How cute, right? She sat and rocked like a little old lady for quite a while...just watched cars and people walking by...it was so, so adorable. Okay, the no pants thing might be a little weird but still...I think she's pretty darn cute.

Can I have S'more?

2011-05-23T21:32:00.002-05:00

Nothing says summer like S'mores! I guess this must mean it's FINALLY here?! My favorite treat is now hers too. Every night it's "can we have a camp fire?" Now this is one happy face...

One Great Play Date

2011-05-09T21:21:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday we were invited to Lucy's daycare friend Avery's house for a playdate. It was actually our first "official" playdate with someone other than Audrey. Weird, I know! Avery's mom and I have gotten to know each other though through two years of morning drop-offs. They are a really sweet family and have a fantastic home! Another friend, Amelia and her family joined us too. The girls played so well together! There were lots and LOTS of fun toys. It helped that Saturday was SUCH a gorgeous day. The adults enjoyed margaritas while the kids played and played and played. A perfect afternoon!

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T08:59:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that it was just a week ago that we were gathering up Easter eggs and getting all dressed up for church. We had a really wonderful Easter. The weather was great, the jelly beans were plentiful but best of all, Lucy's cousins were here from New Hampshire. These 3 kids just adore each other. They hadn't seen one another since Christmas but it was like no time had passed at all. They have this bond that is so special...it's really cool. They got to stay at our house the night before Easter and it was really fun having a house full of kids hunting for eggs. After church we went to Nana & Papa's for a big Easter egg hunt in their yard. It was so great! There were plastic eggs (with jelly beans) and dyed (real) eggs hidden all over. The funniest thing was seeing Lucy run towards an egg, pick it up and hold it to her ear then shake it. When she realized it was a real egg she set it down and went right on her way. Like, "why would I want a REAL egg?!". What a goof.

Easter Sneak Peak

2011-04-24T23:21:00.003-05:00

Here's a sneak peak from Easter. Lucy's east coast cousins are in town! She is bursting with happiness. Or maybe it's the sugar? Aren't they the sweetest? I can't stop squeezing them!

I'm With Stupid

2011-04-16T19:52:00.002-05:00

I walked into the TV room tonight and Lucy says - "I turned off the TV. There was something stupid on." I sat down and had the "we don't say that word" chat. This is how it goes - Me: "Lucy, we don't say that word at our house, okay?" Lucy: "Yes we do. Daddy says it" Me (thinking): She's right...he DOES say that a lot. "Jason! Come in here, please!" Jason: "Yeah?" Me: "Lucy, tell Daddy what you said." Lucy: "Stupid" Me: "Yes, I said we don't say that word...do we?" Jason: "Hmmm. Depends. Lucy, how do you use that word? Can you use it in a sentence?" Lucy: "Hi, Stupid." I had to get up and leave the room and was laughing so hard. Best moment of my day. Totally hilarious. Jason pulled it together and stayed behind to continue the "talk".

Alive! We're Alive!

2011-04-14T21:43:00.002-05:00

Hello, hello! Yes, we are alive. Barely. Just kidding. Sort of. I was super sick last week - it was awful. Jason was out of town working days of it so my parents took Lucy for a couple nights. I don't know what I would have done without them. She would have had to fend for herself. Then Jason played super dad for a couple days. I was so thankful! I'm also thankful that Jason, Lucy and non of my co-workers got my sickness! I recovered just in time to go to Chicago for work on Monday and got back last night. While I was gone Jason's parents came and hung out with Lucy. She had so much fun with them! She developed quite a funny little attitude while I was gone too. She's been cracking me up since I got home. I'm really looking forward to the weekend so we can just hang out and relax. And I'll try to take some pictures! Sorry for the semi-boring post...just wanted to let you all know we're still around!

Tough Week, Good Weekend

2011-03-27T19:50:00.004-05:00

Hello from blog-land. Okay, first things first - what is with this weather?! Where is Spring? It's making me cranky. We played outside today in hat and mittens while avoiding the crunchy snow. Yuck. It'll end soon, right? Anyway, the bad first - Lucy had an ear infection this past week. I shouldn't complain - she hasn't been sick all winter aside from a little cold. She's such a sad little sick person though! She responded to antibiotics quickly though and is good to go now. And now the good - we had a fun weekend. I had a ladies night out on Friday night which was fun...maybe too much fun. On Saturday we went to the zoo. Jason recently bought a membership so we thought we'd take advantage. It was a little chilly and packed but we still had a good time. And today, we've just been hanging out...it's been nice! Here's Lucy with the sucker she HAD to have yesterday. Don't worry, she only made it through the first inch or so...

Stuck

2011-03-23T21:17:00.004-05:00

At the end of a long day I come home to this...

I open the door and Lucy runs to greet me.

Lucy: "Mommy! We almost ate dinner without you!"

Me: "Sorry baby, I was at work late!"

Lucy: "Why?"

Me: "I was stuck on the phone."

Lucy: "With glue?"

Doesn't get much better than that...

Family Weekend

2011-03-13T20:08:00.003-05:00

The three of us had some much needed family time together this weekend. Jason had been working non-stop for the past couple weeks so I urged (begged) him to take the weekend off. It was so nice to just all hang out together. Lucy was a total gem too. Really...she was pretty close to the perfect kid for the past two days - whew! We spent half the weekend catching up on normal weekend stuff - dusting, laundry, blah, blah and the other half having fun. We'd been meaning to take Lucy to the Children's Museum since the last time we went - when she was about 3 weeks old - so up to St. Paul we went. I knew it was going to be a zoo, and it was, but we still had fun. Lucy was a little overwhelmed with all the kids but by the end of the day she had really warmed up. We also hit up Mickey's Diner for lunch. I can't believe I'd never been there before! Lucy loved sitting up at the counter. We sat right in front of the cook which was super entertaining...I've never seen anything quite like it, actually. So, thank you weekend, you were good to us. See you in 5 days.

Spring Break!

2011-03-09T22:25:00.002-06:00

Lucy is on spring break from school this week. We're really lucky that my mom is in town and available to hang out with her when she has these weeks off. And boy, does Lucy love it. She told me today "I get FIVE stay home days with NANA!". So exciting for this little girl! Jason and I have been super busy too - he's been working a lot out of town and my job is really busy right now. I wish the three of us could jet away for some family time...preferrably somewhere warm. I'll settle for having us all under the same roof tomorrow night though. Oh, and here are some pictures with our very special guest, Kirby. He's her class "pet" and each kid gets to bring him home every few weeks. She just loves it. We had him last week and she said - "Mommy, can you take a picture of me and Kirby and hang it up on the blog?". Here they are!

Well Hello There

2011-02-27T18:56:00.003-06:00

Hello from the Smith house. We've had a busy, busy week and weekend. I traveled for work Wednesday through Friday and Jason was also out of town for work so Lucy got to spend two nights at Nana's house. I think they had fun together. I'm super lucky that I can go away for a couple nights and know that Lucy is totally happy and so well cared for. I know she loves it because she woke up in the middle of the night on Friday crying and said - "I want Nana!" It was very cute and only broke my heart a little bit. This weekend we've just been hanging out. Lucy isn't really napping on the weekends anymore which I actually really like. We can power through the whole day without having to worry about sticking to a nap schedule and then she crashes at 7:00 and sleeps for 12 or 13 hours. And she holds it together pretty well...as long as we keep her engaged in something she won't fall apart. She asked me twice this weekend where Spring is. She is so smart and even though it's cold and snowy she knows it's on it's way! So now it's Sunday night and we're gearing up for another busy week. I'll leave you with this conversation from the weekend...

Lucy: Mom, can I have a snack?

Me: Yes, you can have an apple or some carrots.
Lucy: Um, can I have some ice cream?

Me: No, you need to have something nutritious.

Lucy: But Mom! We just got that ice cream, it IS new.

Terrible Three

2011-02-19T21:45:00.005-06:00

Lucy was a super sweet 2 year old. The whole year I kept thinking - "Terrible twos? What's that?!" Well, folks, the terrible threes have hit with a vengeance. Don't get me wrong - Lucy is a pretty sweet kiddo but when she feels like being rotten, watch out. I can recall 3 full blown meltdowns since she's turned 3 - two of them were at Shanna's house (sorry, Shanna). She's whiny, whiny, whiny. We're working on using our "Lucy voice" or "sweet voice" and asking questions instead of making demands. Twice she has told me "I'm not in the mood" and today she said "You are not my friend." This is a phase, right?

Feels like Spring?

2011-02-12T19:26:00.003-06:00

What a beautiful day! If it was this nice every day I wouldn't mind winter so much. It was around 40 degrees and sunny so we spent a good portion of the afternoon outside. We broke out the sled, built a snow fort and scaled the 8 foot piles of snow all over the neighborhood. The fresh air must have done Lucy some good because I just looked over at the couch and she's passed out. We also made this little friend. Lucy named him Franklin. She looked out the window as the sun was setting and said "Franklin! Please don't melt while I'm sleeping, okay?"

Helper?

2011-02-10T20:49:00.003-06:00

Lucy likes helping with home improvement.

Also, letting a 3 year old help paint your bedroom is fun for about 3 minutes.

What's Cookin?

2011-02-05T20:14:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to get Lucy into the kitchen more when I'm cooking. She's actually a really great helper and I feel like she's learning a lot. She likes cracking eggs the most. This morning we were looking at Natalie & Harvey's blog and Lucy was inspired...she asked to make Valentines Day cookies. How could I resist?! We baked them and then had Audrey over to help frost. The girls had a ball. Audrey was probably more interested in eating them than frosting. And Lucy ate a spoonful of the sugar topping. It was basically controlled chaos. It was a super fun play date for the kids and moms! Thanks for coming over buddies!

waiting....

2011-01-31T19:30:00.002-06:00

Does anyone else feel like they spend mid-February through mid-March waiting for Spring? Even Lucy keeps asking if Spring is here yet. When is was super sunny the other morning she looked outside and said "what a beautiful day!" At least she's positive! Sometimes I feel like we are running out of indoor activities. We always seem to come up with something to keep ourselves entertained though. On Sunday night I cleaned out my closet and let Lucy play "princess dress-up" in my clothes. Then, she and Jason had a tea party. It was adorable. Her tea set is definitely one of her most loved gifts from the holidays/birthday. She likes to pretend it's somebody's birthday and throws a big celebration. I'm always amazed by her imagination!

Blog Party

2011-01-22T20:13:00.002-06:00

If you look over at the side of Lucy's blog you'll see links to a bunch of other ones. We've pretty much all followed each other's blogs since our kids were born and are all connected through someone in the group. We all got together today at Katie & Mikes house for a little party. It's the second time we've done it and it was definitely crazier than the first! There were TWELVE kids all together - Claire (4), Natalie (3 1/2), Quinn (3), Lucy (3), Audrey (2 1/2), Callum (2), Grace (1 1/2), Harvey (1 1/2), Sebastian (almost 1!), Kai (6 months), Vincent (5 months) and George (2 1/2 months). Oh, and there's Christine & Curt's little Clementine who is due this summer...we'll include him/her in the fun too :) I hope I got the ages about right! And yes, it was pure insanity but they played really well together and the babies were so sweet. I asked Lucy if she had fun today and she said yes because she got to play with a big girl (Claire) and got to see a tiny baby (George). She and Audrey were passed out within 5 minutes of leaving - they were so wiped out! I hope we can get together again this summer for a little outdoor fun. We're lucky to be included in such a great group! I missed photos of a few of the kids in all the chaos but here's a few that I got!

Lucy & Natalie

little George who just melted my heart!

Callum, who was the best behaved 2 year old boy I've ever met

(okay, minus that marker incident, but we won't talk about that).

Mr. Sebastian who is nearly one year old! And Clementine :)

Little Kai, who didn't make a peep the whole time

my little buddy Harvey. Such, a total sweetheart

Audrey passed out on the way home

Quote of the Week

2011-01-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

Lucy quote of the week

Scene: Lucy is playing with her crayons

Mom: Lucy, what's your favorite color there?

Lucy: Pink!

She hold up two pink crayons.

Lucy: See? I love hot pink AND I love cold pink.

One Big Weekend

2011-01-17T22:14:00.003-06:00

We had one big weekend. I didn't do a single load of laundry...no dusting, hardly any dishes. We just had fun. On Saturday my mom and I took a little road trip to Northfield for some lunch and shopping. It was nice to spend some time together without being interrupted every two seconds. And of course, we talked about Lucy most of the time. Isn't that the way it goes? When we got back my mom took Lucy to see Tangled (first time she sat through a whole movie!) and Jason and I went and saw True Grit. Afterwards we went furniture shopping, had dinner and then picked up our peanut. On Sunday we went to the Mall of America to celebrate Alex's 4th birthday. We had lunch and the Rainforest Cafe and then hit up Nickelodeon land. This was the perfect birthday for Alex who is the cutest and biggest ham you'll ever meet...he had a total ball. Lucy wasn't super psyched about the noise and commotion - she spent all of lunch with her hands over her ears and it took her quite awhile to warm up to the rides but she eventually did and loved it! Lucy had today off from daycare and had a fun day with Nana while Jason caught up on all the laundry we left on the floor all weekend. Tomorrow is back to reality for all of us!

Lucy & Nora

2011-01-04T21:53:00.003-06:00

Lucy just spent nearly two weeks following her cousin Nora around. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but barely. These two adore each other - the photos speak for themselves. They are a good pair because Nora loves to play the leader and Lucy will do anything she says. They headed back to New Hampshire this past weekend and we miss them. A lot. Lucy likes to ask when we can go on an airplane to visit them. Soon, I hope. I like this first picture especially because I can really see my sister Kristin in Nora and myself in Lucy.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T22:29:00.004-06:00

Better late than never, right? We are finally back to our normal routine and it feels pretty good. The "break" was nice but also a bit exhausting. Lucy didn't have daycare between Christmas & New Years so we juggled her back and forth and had some help from my mom so we both worked a little during the week. I also did the wedding flowers for my friend Sara who got married on New Years Day. It was a gorgeous wedding and a lot of fun. My basement it still full of leftover flowers and I should probably be down there right now cleaning up. Oh, well...it's much easier to just stay upstairs and ignore it. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of photos from Christmas...such a bummer! I started feeling icky when the kids were opening gifts and I can tell when it really hit me because the photos suddenly end. It was fun though - my sisters were home along with Nora and Pascal. It was pretty great, I miss them a lot. The kids are 3, 4 and 6 so we had a ball - such magical ages for Christmas. I did write down a few of my favorite Lucy memories the day after Christmas...so, I'll finally share them -

Lucy asking at 9 a.m on Christmas Eve if she could take a nap now so we could go to church.

The twinkle in her eyes when she put on her Christmas dress.

Exclaiming "Oh, I always wanted this!" when she opened her first gift, a Fur Real puppy dog (which I'm pretty sure she's never seen before).

Telling me on Christmas Eve that "Mommy, I'm excited for Santa but I'm also very worried. Will he come upstairs?"

When Lucy was opening her stocking she asked if Santa came in his sleigh. Jason said yes. She said "I flew is Santa's sleigh!" Jason said - "you did?!" She sighed and said - "I wish."

Lucy telling us all month - "First it's my birthday then it's baby Jesus' birthday!"

lucy meets her new turtle

one happy little dude

just a few gifts. it was ridiculous.

i love this photo!

santa baby

Smith Family Christmas

2010-12-28T22:35:00.006-06:00

Okay, catch up time! The weekend of Lucy's birthday we also celebrated Christmas with Jason's family. It was really busy and with Grammy, Papa Smith, Auntie Lora, Uncle Dave & Shefali and Austin, Alex & Alyssa all over to celebrate. We've never had so many house guests before and even though it was hectic, we had a ball. The kids are at fun ages and play really well together - especially Lucy and Alex (he's almost 4)...they are soooo cute together. The kids were excited all day to open presents and were so sweet and happy with each gift the received. Some good memories were definitely created!

A (sort of) Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T21:52:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We had an eventful Christmas in more ways than one. On Thursday we all gathered at my parents to celebrate Meredith's birthday and on the way back home Lucy got sick. I mean SICK. I learned there's not much worse than a bundled up kid and a car seat full of, uh, you know what. The poor kid. She was sick off and on for a few hours but slept if off overnight and was fine on Friday morning. A Christmas miracle! We got all dressed up and went to church then onto my parents for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration late in the afternoon. It was great - yummy food, excited kiddos and way too many gifts. Midway through gift opening though I started to feel sort of queasy and a little while later my dad was driving me home. Jason turned into super dad getting Lucy and a car full of gifts home then taking care of certain man in a red suit responsibilities. I was sick all night and into Christmas Day. I think the last time I felt that terrible was when I was pregnant. It was the kind of sick that makes you wonder what it feels like to be well. I think I felt equally sick and sad since I totally missed my favorite day of the year and my sisters were home. Jason and Lucy still went to my parents house which was good for both of us because I really just needed to rest. By the time they got home my queasiness and aches had suddenly lifted and I was able to put Lucy to bed, which was nice. Today though, the sickies hit Jason, though not as severely. And I had no energy so we just stayed home all day. All those new toys sure came in handy!
Even though it was a pretty icky Christmas I'm grateful that Lucy didn't seem too fazed by anything. I think we have hit the golden age for Christmas spirit...the next few years should all be so fun. It's totally magical for her! I'll post some happier Christmas thoughts and photos from all our celebrations throughout this week!

Three

2010-12-19T22:24:00.003-06:00

She's three....three! Wow. And what a weekend. It was a lot of fun but I'm totally wiped out. Do I really have to go to work tomorrow?! I'll post more pictures really soon (I have A LOT) but here are a couple of my favorites from Lucy's super pink 3rd birthday party.

Still Busy!

2010-12-16T22:07:00.002-06:00

Hello! Yes, we are still alive! Just busy, busy, busy. We successfully dug out from last weekend's blizzard then I left on Tuesday for a business trip to Boston and returned late on Wednesday. Now I'm feverishly attempting to get ready for a busy weekend as we celebrate Lucy's THRID (eek!) birthday and Christmas with Jason's family. It will be a great weekend...there's no snow in the forecast, right?! Sorry, no photos again but here's some cute "Lucy-isms" from the week. She cracks us up everyday.

Me - "Lucy, what are you going to ask Santa to bring you for Christmas?" Lucy - "Hmmm....Oh! I need a daddy for my baby."

Lucy has her doctor kit out and decides to take my temperature. She takes the thermometer out from under my arm and looks at it for a long time. I ask what my temperature is and she says "you're seven o'clock".

On Saturday morning we are all upstairs and Jason tells Lucy that he is running to the store and I tell her I'm going to jump in the shower quick. She stops and looks up at us and says - "that is not a good deal".

During the blizzard on Saturday afternoon Lucy walks over to the door and starts getting on her coat and says - "Come on, Mama, it's time for some fresh air".

Paging Nurse Smith

2010-12-07T22:25:00.005-06:00

First, I'm really sorry for the lack of posts recently! December is a crazy busy month for us (Christmas + Lucy's Birthday + Work & Travel) so I appreciate your low expectations in regards to frequent updates :)

No fun new photos but I think we know what Lucy is going to be when she grows up. Yes, I'm serious! We were visiting Gigi in the hospital over the weekend (she is fine) and when the nurse came in the room Lucy told her that she was going to be a nurse when she grew up. Oh really, I thought. But then I really thought about it and realized that if she was going to decide on a career today (yes, I know this is a ridiculous thought) nursing would be the perfect fit. She is the most loving and nurturing toddler! She's obsessed with her baby dolls and will spend all evening cuddling, changing and feeding them. Sometimes at dinner, she stops eating, gets off her chair and comes over to Jason or I to give us a kiss and say that she loves us. Besides her caring nature she is obsessed with broken bones. Weird, I know. At bedtime, instead of fairy tales she asks for stories about people breaking bones and having to go to the hospital. Serious. Many stories about you blog reader have been made up on the fly (Nana, Papa, Alyssa, Audrey, Sebastian, Baby George). Yeah, I know it's sort of weird but she's totally into ambulances and hospitals. And then tonight at bedtime she started showing us where her bones were - "my bones are hard in my body. See? Here and here and here and here". So Jason decided to give her a lesson on bones. She was totally into it - "Mama, do you have a scapula? I have two scapulas! This is my humerus! I have 206 bones!" If she does become a nurse this will make a nice story at her graduation :)

Gobble Gobble

2010-11-26T20:17:00.002-06:00

This year we went to Jason's sister Lora's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. The house was full and the kids had a ball. We had a lot of really great food - I'm still dreaming of the sweet potato cheesecake that Lora's sister-in-law Hilary made...yuuuuuum.

most memorable part of the day:

Austin got a big retainer-style contraption put on the roof of his mouth on Wednesday and he couldn't eat. So the uncles blended his meal. He ate most of it - yuck!

my favorite little dude, alex

"baby" alyssa and lucy

kids table aftermath

Thankful

2010-11-25T08:06:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Last night we were chatting with Lucy about what it means to be thankful and she amazed me by really understanding the concept right away. First she said she was thankful for "mama and dad" and gave us both hugs. Maybe the sweetest moment ever. Then we asked what else she was thankful for and that's when the fun began - "Dinosaurs....Nana! Sarah and Milk. Syrup. PASCAL and NOOOOOOOORA. And George." Glad this girl has her priorities straight.

Lucy's Baby

2010-11-18T22:10:00.002-06:00

Have I mentioned that Lucy is obsessed with babies? Real babies, pretend babies, whatever, she likes them. She's also become really interested in pregnancy and birth recently (nope, no announcements here, thank you). This morning I ran upstairs to get ready and when I came down here was Lucy...she had put a baby lamb stuffed animal in her pj's and told me she had a baby in her tummy. Then she told me she had to go to the hospital to have the baby. She even had a little waddle. And she pushed and the baby was "born". I'm not totally sure how she figured out the sequence and details but it sure was hilarious.

Besties

2010-11-14T13:43:00.003-06:00

Audrey came over to play this morning. Don't they just melt your heart?

Snow Everywhere!

2010-11-13T09:06:00.002-06:00

Lucy was waiting and waiting last night for the snow to start. She was sad when she went to bed last night and nothing had happened. Well, she sure wasn't disappointed this morning. "Mama! Snow on the trees! Snow on your CAR! Snow on my playground?! Oh my goodness!" She is ready to go out and play but I'm terrified considering their are tree branches snapping left and right. Really, I keep hearing them snap off! Kinda scary. Hopefully the power stays on - eek!

Two Funny Things

2010-11-10T20:03:00.004-06:00

We've been cracking up all night. First, Lucy got a new toy in the mail today. I don't usually just buy her toys for no reason but when I saw this, I knew I wanted to get it for her. It's the Fisher Price nativity set. She loves it and we had a nice talk about the real reason for Christmas. She is really into it. She knows Mary, Joseph, the Wisemen, the Angel and all the animals. And then there's her favorite - baby Genius. That's right, baby Genius. Not Jesus, Genius. I keep correcting her but she's not catching on...

Secondly, Jason told me a hilarious and slightly terrifying story about he and Lucy's day together. He's been working a lot lately but had the day off today so he kept Lucy home to hang out together. They went to the mall this morning and hit up the play area. Lucy had some change in her pocket that was bothering her so Jason told her to give it to him. She reached into her pocket and handed him the coins. She started to run away and then stopped, reached into her other pocket and said - "here Dad, you can have this too" and proceeded to hand him his wedding ring. Glad we can laugh about it...and I don't think Jason will be leaving his ring at Lucy level anymore...

Christmas Card Out-Takes

2010-11-09T21:30:00.004-06:00

This fall has been such a dream. It was something like 65 degrees all weekend?! So crazy and nice! We took advantage of the weather on Sunday and took Christmas Card photos. Well, we tried to take Christmas Card photos. I think these are the two best shots I got. Merry Christmas! Love, Lucy Monster.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T23:14:00.003-05:00

What a great Halloween! After a rough beginning of the weekend (more about that later), we had a really great day today. We went to MSU to a kids event this afternoon and Lucy had one eye on Stomper (the mascot) the whole time - she was so freaked out by him, she couldn't relax enough to have fun. Then we went to Nana and Papas where Lucy got a taste of trick or treating at some special houses. She thought it was okay but didn't want to wear her wings. By the time we got home at dusk, it was go time. She was INTO it. She would have gone on and on and on. I think she loved that it was dark and our neighborhood was flooded with kids. She also loved handing out candy to kids. It was so fun to see her having a ball. Oh, and by the way, she was LadyBug Girl. We continued with the "my favorite book" Halloween costume theme. If you don't have the LadyBug Girl books, I highly recommend them - they are adorable.

Lu and her special Hallween present from Nana & Papa

the loot

not shy at all!

I'm Just Pretending...

2010-10-27T21:38:00.003-05:00

Lucy is really into pretending lately. Pretending to cook, pretending to put dollies to bed, pretending to trick or treat (really, she's been knocking on every surface in the house then saying trick or treat, oh, thank you!). The other night we were folding laundry and Lucy decided her baby needed a change. She proceeded to pick two socks out of the laundry pile and put them on her hands and change the baby's diaper. I asked what she was doing and she said - "I needed gloves!" Duh, they put gloves on at her daycare when the change dirty diapers. When she was finished, she took the socks off and threw them in the garbage. "Mom, I'm only pretending!" she says. Ahhhh, gotta love it.

One Cranky Weekend

2010-10-25T22:24:00.003-05:00

I think Audrey passed her crabby pants onto Lucy this past weekend. She was a total monster! She was having some tummy issues and I know there were moments that she was really uncomfortable and was complaining that her tummy hurt so I did my best to be patient. We spent Saturday and Sunday at Jason's parents house in Wisconsin. We had a good time despite the rain and Lucy's mood. On Saturday we went to a great restaurant to celebrate Phil & Diane's retirement. It was a great place and the food was fantastic. On Sunday we got rained out at the pumpkin patch but the kids did a Halloween test run and went trick or treating at a neighbors house. They were all SO cute and Lucy is pretty stoked for this weekend now! Our normally shy girl isn't so shy when there is candy involved. We did get to stop at Jim's Apple Barn on the way home to pick up some pumpkins too. What a great place...Lucy was in heaven in the candy shop and picked out a fruit roll-up (of all things!). Luckily, Lucy is back to her usual happy self. She had good day at school today and we all had a fun night together. Whew.

Lucy and birdie having a staring contest

Our little ladybug

Alex doing some bird watching. He is the funniest 3 year old you will ever meet.

On a little walk...

"baby" Alyssa the lion - such a sweetie!

A Little Family Update

2010-10-17T20:21:00.004-05:00

Whew, I feel like I haven't been blogging very much lately - sorry. We've all been busy and when we're not busy, we're busy having fun and enjoying the totally gorgeous fall weather. Here's a little update on each of us -

Jason: To put in simply, Jason has been busy being an awesome Daddy and husband. He is so, so, so good with Lucy. He's patient and sweet with her but also won't put up with her attitude (usually!). Because his work schedule is random he has a lot of week days that he's home all day. Sometimes he takes Lucy to school anyway but on those days they sleep in together and then they go out for coffee before school where Lucy gets hot chocolate (but she calls it coffee) with whipped cream and sprinkles. Other days he just keeps her home with him to hang out. Sometimes they go to toddler-geared activities where I pictured him surrounded by stay at home moms. On the "husband" front, he's good too :) We're celebrating our 5th anniversary this week! In other Jason news he's been having fun taking care of his poison dart frogs and brewing beer. Lucy likes to help him take care of the frogs and I like to drink the beer.

Me: Work, Play, Photos and Sewing. That's what I've been up to! I'm starting a new position at work tomorrow. It's a long story but I'm staying with my parent company but I'll be employed by a new division which is located in Chicago. No, we're not moving to Chicago! I'll work from Mankato and most likely travel down there a few times a year. I'm not a big fan of traveling and have made it very clear to my new boss that family comes first. Luckily he has 2 kids and totally gets it. So, I'm excited for my new job! It's a really good fit for me and I think I'll like it! I've also been taking some photos...photos and Lucy and some of friends. I totally love it. There's no way I can get really into in while working full time and being a mom but for now it's a great hobby. Today I assisted my friend Jen (who's done many shoots with Lucy) on a couple sessions and I learned so much! I also started an etsy shop in August. For those of you that don't know what etsy is just go to etsy.com and check it out, it's an amazing community of artists and crafters that sell the things they make. My shop is named ninetoeleven (nine to eleven - because that's when I sew!) and I sell baby blankets and little quilts. I've had just the right amount of sales so far to keep me busy a couple nights a week and to keep it fun and not feeling like work.

Lucy: Hard to believe this little one is going on THREE. That's hard for me to say...three. So, for now, I'll continue to stick to "she's two and a half". :) She's just a big sweetie. Yes, she has an attitude from time to time but overall, she's a really, really great kid. I still don't think she's ever had an all out tantrum. When she gets frustrated or mad lately she lets out a short loud yell in whoever's direction is making her feel angry. Like - "AHH!" It's hard not to laugh, actually. She loves, loves, loves her dolls. She'd rather snuggle up with her dolls and a million blankets than play a game or puzzle or anything else. It fits her personality - such a little cuddle bug. She's very excited for Halloween and suuuper excited for her birthday. Hard to believe it's really in just a couple short months - eek!

One Sunny Autumn...

2010-10-11T21:39:00.003-05:00

What a gorgeous few days we've had here - wow! It was actually HOT today...and to think, a year ago there was snow on the ground. So crazy. We had a great weekend - my grandparents and Aunt Carla were in town and it was so nice to have them here. Lucy has re-named Carla "Auntie Fefe" and it seems to have stuck. Pretty cute. It was so beautiful outside tonight we stayed out until it was dark. Jason is having fun with his new leaf blower and created a giant leaf mountain in the backyard. Our sweet neighbor girls came over and boy, did they all have fun playing together. I look forward to her growing up with them - they are just the nicest kids! Fingers crossed that we have many more nights left like this before you-know-what decides to show up...

Hello Strangers!

2010-10-05T22:47:00.003-05:00

Well, hello there. Sorry it's been longer than usual since I last posted - we've been busy enjoying the fall weather! I love Fall - the crisp air, the sunny days....I don't look forward to what comes after Fall, but we won't talk about that. Last Saturday Jason and I went to the Twins game with my parents. It was wonderful! And I think it was really the first time the 4 of us had hung out together without Lucy - crazy, but one of us always has her (unless she's at daycare and we are at work!). Lucy stayed behind with her favorite teacher from daycare, Courtney. They went to the park, took a trip to the bookstore and Lucy took a nap for her like a little angel. I've now invited Courtney to return to our house each weekend at noon and every evening around 8:00. That little stinker! Anyway, the game was great - the stadium is amazing! Besides our fun weekend, we've been spending lots of time at the park and the backyard. Lucy has turned into quite the little tummy swinger. It's incredible how brave she's gotten since the beginning of the summer in regards to playground equipment. What a little nut....

Car Confusion

2010-09-26T20:04:00.003-05:00

My conversation with Lucy on the way home tonight. A car drives past us -

Lucy: Is that a police car?!

Me: Oh, no, it's not. It sort of looks like one with that light up sign on the roof, huh? It's actually called a taxi.

Lucy: What's that?

Me: A taxi brings people from place to place if they don't have a car to drive.

Lucy: Oh. He brings people pizza too?

So now Lucy knows three cars that have lights on the roof - police cars, taxis and the pizza man. Nice.

Girls Day Out

2010-09-25T22:24:00.002-05:00

Jason went to Virginia for the weekend to see his cousin Beth get married so Lucy and I had a girls day out today. We headed up to the cities and went to our friend's Emily & Ben's to celebrate their daughter Gabrielle's first birthday. She is so sweet! Lucy had fun with the rest of the Reitan kids too - Brayden, Brock, Rayna & Oliver. The Reitans are my oldest and some of my dearest friends and it's always wonderful to see them. After the party we headed up to see baby Molly. It had been a couple months and she has grown so much! Between a short nap and sugar high Lucy was a little cranky but we managed to have some fun. We tried to do a little photo shoot with Molly but she wasn't so happy either. After all that we were crazy enough to take them to Ikea - I know, what were we thinking?! Actually though, they did really, really well. Ate some meatballs, got some new toys and passed out for the night on the way home. And I think we're lucky we left when we did...they were closing off lanes on the highway because of flooding as we rolled into town. Holy rain!

bounce house! bounce house! bounce house!

swinging on the hammock

miss molly showing off her new tooth

cutie pie!

stop. taking. my. picture!

A Weekend Away!

2010-09-19T21:14:00.004-05:00

Jason and I spent our first (yes, FIRST!) weekend away from Lucy this weekend. We took a little road trip to Omaha to my friend Alyssa's wedding. It was so perfect - she looked just so, so, so beautiful! The ceremony was so personal and touching and the reception was not only totally gorgeous but SO MUCH FUN. I know Alyssa from my old job at Marshall Fields so we got to have a reunion with some old co-workers too. It made me miss them so much! While we were away, Lucy stayed with my mom and dad. I wasn't worried - particularly after she woke up on Saturday morning, crawled into bed with us and said "go to Nana and Papa's right now?!". Here are a few photos of their trip to the Apple Orchard. And yes, Lucy has now outdone me - she's ridden a horse, I still haven't!

Our Little Rock Star

2010-09-12T13:06:00.002-05:00

A Great Summer Ending

2010-09-06T22:54:00.004-05:00

We spent the weekend up north in Perham with my Dad's side of our family. It was wonderful...we hadn't been up there for way, way too long. My aunt Carla lives on a lake and I have the best memories of being there when I was a kid. The reason for the visit was to celebrate the college graduation of 3 of my cousins. It's funny, because I swear it was like, last summer that we were six years old and chasing chipmunks around the cabins. Lucy was most excited about seeing Holden - my cousins Erin's little guy. They are the same age and pretty cute together...I wish we lived closer. Here are a few photos from the day. Looking forward to doing this again soon...

Holden showing me his mud soup

my cousins Britta & Kori

Aunt Carla and my Mom

my puppy is so sad!

2010-09-01T20:19:00.004-05:00

Lucy learned about feelings the other day at school - her teachers said she was really, really into it. Ever since then she's been lugging around a little puppy stuffed animal and has been saying in the sweetest little voice - "oh, puppys so sad, he just so saaaaad. it's okay puppy, it's okay. shhhshhhshhh." Then she gets a little bottle for it to make it feel better. This morning Jason walked into her room and she was all cuddled into her chair with the puppy (and the bottle, of course) and she was reading to him. I'm wondering if puppy is ever going to cheer up?!

My Sisters

2010-08-25T22:20:00.004-05:00

Tonight I said good-bye to both my sisters. Kristin and the kids are headed back to New Hampshire tomorrow and Meredith and her boyfriend Cory are moving to Texas. They both leave in the morning; what a double blow! Ugh. We had a really fun night tonight though. The kind of love we share for each other isn't like any other kind...I know they'll always have my back no matter what. Yup, it's a pretty fierce sort of love.

Chop Chop

2010-08-24T20:04:00.003-05:00

Guess who got her curls cut off? Well, there's still some curls there, just less of them. Lucy's hair was getting so long in the back there were some days I was embarrassed to drop her off at daycare because she looked like a homeless toddler with a mullet. I like her new short look! Now that it's sort of all one length maybe we'll work on growing it into a little bob. Sigh...my baby girl is growing up....

The Smiths meet the Kasota Prairie

2010-08-22T22:14:00.005-05:00

One evening last week we went to the Kasota Prairie. It's only about 5 minutes from our house but we'd never been there. I wanted to take some cool photos of Lucy but she was totally uncooperative. She spend most of the time asking to be upside-down. It's really pretty though, we'll have to go back again sometime when she's a bit happier and it's maybe a little cooler...

Reunited and it feels so good...again!

2010-08-18T23:18:00.004-05:00

They're baaa-aaaaack! My sister, Pascal & Nora drove (yes, drove - STRAIGHT through!) from New Hampshire on Tuesday morning. We spent the evening with them along with my mom, Meredith, Gigi and my Great Aunt Dixie and Uncle Rolly. What a great night! Lucy absolutely loves her cousins. I think she idolizes Nora - she'll do anything she says and they play really nicely together. They just hang out and play and talk, talk, talk. I'm so excited they are here! What's especially fun is that Meredith is home too - it's not too often anymore that all 3 of us are together at once...I think it's time for some sisterly fun!

Vacation Recap #2 - How to Have Fun in the Outer Banks

2010-08-16T22:56:00.008-05:00

I'm behind on vacation recapping! This could be the last post and I'm tired, so it's going to be short. So, what did we do for fun? Our typical day went like this: Wake up to the sound of waves crashing in. Drink coffee (hot chocolate for Lucy). Go to the beach. Have lunch. Take a nap. Go to the pool. Go out for dinner. Have a beer (not Lucy). Go on a beach walk. Have a beer (again, not Lucy). Watch a movie and fall asleep. All in all, not bad. We ventured out to an aquarium one day and I did some shopping but other than that it was a pretty relaxing and uneventful week! Well, except for that night Phil set off the fire alarm and the entire complex was evacuated. Lucy blew the firemen kisses. Sorry, Phil, I couldn't resist. More photos...

Jason rented a surf board. For your information, it's harder than it looks.

Lucy would have played "wee" for hours and hours

morning coffee

Happy First Birthday Little Miss Alyssa!

2010-08-15T22:38:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to Lora & Will's (Lora is Jason's sister) new house in Sartell. They had a pig roast to celebrate the new house, Will's 30th birthday and Alyssa's 1st birthday. Lucy totally adores Alyssa and so do I...what a cutie pie! I've never seen a one year old dive into cake like she did - she was double fisting cupcakes while digging her toes in. Lucy watched the whole time like, "why in the world are these people allowing her to do this?!" Total confusion. My favorite thing about Alyssa is her crawl - butt straight up in the air!

Vacation Recap #1: Traveling with a Toddler

2010-08-09T22:21:00.003-05:00

I knew taking a major trip with Lucy wouldn't be easy. One of Jason's friends told him - "A vacation is for you and your spouse; you go on a trip with your family." This is sort of true - this vacation was hard work. But, it was also lots of fun and I'm really glad we did it. I was nervous about the actual getting there and getting home part. I was uber-organized. I had snacks, books, little wrapped gifts in case of meltdown, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, etc, etc. On the way there we left the house at noon and got into Norfolk around midnight. We didn't get to the hotel until after 1:00 a.m. Lucy rocked. She totally went with the flow and was a dream on the airplane. She enjoyed the water fountain and rainbow tunnel in the Detroit airport. She collapsed into bed was we got to Virginia and slept until nearly 10 the next morning.

On Sunday morning we caravaned down to the beach with Jason's parents. Have I mentioned how we ended up in the Outer Banks? Well, Jason was born in Virginia and his Dad's many, many siblings and their families live out there. Jason spent a lot of summers in the Outer Banks when he was growing up but hadn't been back there since I've known him. We shared a condo with Jason's parents and were also joined by his brother David and his girlfriend, Shafali for a couple nights. Papa Smith's brother Fred and his family and their (giant) entourage as well as two of his sisters and some of their families were also staying in the area. We hadn't seen any of them since our wedding so it was pretty awesome. I love their southern drawls and how they - "Ah Laaaud" (Oh, Lord!) and "Ha-day" (Heidi).

Back to the title of this post - Traveling with a Toddler. Lucy was not her normal happy-go-lucky self during this trip. I called her my cling-on because it was always - "mama do it" or "mama hold me" or "mama cuddle me". She was also a nuk addict. I did my best to be understanding and gave into her a lot more than I would have in normal day to day life! I figure from her perspective she was probably going - "um, why am I living on the beach and sharing a room with my mom and dad?! Also, why and Grammy and Papa living here? Where is Audrey? Oh, there's Uncle David...who's this girl? Why do we keep eating at restaurants? I want my toys." The change back to our normal little gal was apparent today and tonight she told me that she "like it at home, mama".

So, would I do it again? Yes, totally. I know this trip will be a fading memory for Lucy but it'll stick with us forever. And hopefully we'll be back again in a couple years!

Hoooooooommmmmme

2010-08-08T20:00:00.002-05:00

We are home - hooray! As much fun as vacation is it's always nice to get home, isn't it? We are exhausted after our 6 a.m. flight out of Norfolk this morning (left the Outer Banks at 2:30 - eek!). Lucy went to bed by 7 tonight and I'm right behind her. I'll do a couple more posts with fun details from our trip this week but for now, here are a few photos that sum it up!

Run Like the Birds!

2010-08-03T21:28:00.002-05:00

Hello from the Outer Banks! We're on vacation with (many members of) Jason's family and having a ball. I forgot my cord so can't upload any photos but promise to do it when we return. Our place is ON the beach. Like, I can hear the waves crashing in now with all the doors and windows shut. Ahhhh, love it. Lucy was pretty terrified of the ocean the first couple days. She preferred to stay way up on shore playing in the sand. We told her she "ran like the birds" (those little ones that run out for the tiny shrimp then back and forth, back and forth) from the waves as they raced in. She didn't find this amusing. Tonight, though, we went for a night-time walk as the sun was setting and boy, did she change her tune. We had to actually stop her from running full force into the waves. I think it was because it was low tide so the shore was much wider. I also "flew" her out over the waves which she loved. So, we'll see how she likes it tomorrow morning! Hopefully we can spend some time in the water instead of making sand castles for hours. She seems to be warming up to the idea of vacation too. She, like all toddlers, enjoys her routine so she's been a little off since she's been dragged across the country and is suddenly living on the beach and eating at weird times and staying up late...she's been pretty clingy to me but I'm hoping she let's loose. She probably will just in time to come home. Okay, exhausted...time for bed!

Lucy-ism

2010-07-30T22:44:00.002-05:00

I love the things that come out of Lucy's mouth lately. She's getting to that age where she's trying to kick her verbal skills up a notch but not getting everything quite right. I bought journal called "My Quoteable Kid" and I try to write the best ones down...if I don't do it right away I totally forget what she said even though they are usually so funny I don't think I ever will! Here's my favorite from today - we were packing (vacation this week!) and Lucy found a little tube of sunscreen. She was trying to get some out (she has a strange obsession with sunscreen) but the safety seal was on. I was pre-occupied and didn't want her getting into it anyway so I said, "Oh, it's just stuck. It must be broken". She looked at me very seriously and said "Maybe it just needs some batteries." Ah, love it.

Summer Fading

2010-07-28T23:19:00.002-05:00

I've been lazy about blogging lately. Sorry about that. We've been enjoying this weather while it lasts! Lucy has been spending a lot of time at the pool and at the park. I'll try to write a bit more soon but in the mean time I think this sums up how much Lucy is enjoying summer...

Snuggle Buggy

2010-07-22T12:02:00.003-05:00

Have I ever mentioned how much of a snuggle bug Lucy is? Well, she is and I love it. When she gets up in the morning she climbs into bed with us for a snuggle. During playtime it's pretty normal for her to get some blankets out and ask to be wrapped up like a burrito and snuggled. She also likes to do this to her baby dolls. I went on a business trip this week and when I went up to Nana & Papa's to get her she grabbed a blanket and asked to be cuddled. Such a sweetie pie! Here she is on the couch snuggling my childhood teddy bear who she has named teddy...adorable!

Kid Stuff

2010-07-13T19:22:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we did lots of fun kids stuff. Most notably a parade, a carnival and a birthday party. What more could a 2 year old ask for?! It was a lot of fun for us too. Saturday was the parade and carnival at North Mankato Fun Days. I used to look forward to Fun Days so much when I was a kid and it was fun to see Lucy enjoying it too! The parade was super - we got enough candy to last until Halloween (serously!) and used it as an incentive on Sunday to use the potty. It worked! 5 times in one morning - hooray! We also had Audrey's birthday party on Sunday which was awesome! Lucy's said her favorite party was "Audrey opened presents. I play with her dollhouse?" She also enjoyed seeing Audrey's cousin Sebastian and was making up all sorts of stories about him last night. So cute! Enjoy the photos!

Here's Lucy in the dress she got for using the potty. It had been sitting wrapped up in the bathroom since our (unsuccessful) potty party 2 weeks ago. It is a huge hit, she just loves it!

My Quiet House!

2010-07-07T23:00:00.004-05:00

On Monday, Jason and Lucy decided to take a little Daddy/Daughter road trip to Grammy & Papa's. I stayed behind since I had to work. It's never been so quiet in this house! I'm hardly ever all alone and I admit, it was kind of great to have a couple days to myself! I got so much done and got to eat cereal for dinner. They came back today and I was really, REALLY happy to see them again. It dawned on me that I'd never been away from Lucy for that long before! She survived just fine without me, that's for sure. They had A LOT of fun and Lucy had some time to really bond with Jason's parents which is awesome. She also got a bonus trip to the zoo today with uncle David - what a lucky duck!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:58:00.008-05:00

Happy Fourth of July! We had a fun day - parade with Nana, Papa and the Wood family followed by lunch with the Woods, a nice nap and then dinner and fun at Nana & Papa's with Gigi too. Whew. Lessons learned today - 1. Candy does not make a suitable breakfast. 2. Toddlers on a sugar high should not be brought to Applebees for lunch.

I like to think in this photo Audrey is speaking to the snotty much older child that was sitting next to her and Lucy and stealing their candy all morning and saying "COME ON, you big bully, knock it off!"

Little Miss Pink

2010-07-03T14:49:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned Lucy loves pink? This may be an understatement. She might be slightly obsessed. I blame myself. When she was a baby, I avoided anything pink. It's not that I didn't like it, I was just trying to balance out her wardrobe so she'd know there were other colors in the world besides pink. Clearly, this plan failed. If she ever has a choice about what color of something to choose it's always pink. Pink bowl, pink juice, pink shirt, pink towel, pink blanket, pink nuk, pink pajamas, pink socks, pink, pink, PINK! Oh, and this little pink cupcake...

Best Buds

2010-06-28T21:12:00.003-05:00

We had a perfect summer evening (okay, minus a bit of crabiness from a very over-tired child). It was so nice out we strolled down to the park after dinner and looked who surprised us - Miss Audrey Wood! These two were so excited to see each other, holy cow! They held hand going down the tandem slide, it was pretty darn cute.

Guess what I got?! Guess what I got?!

2010-06-26T21:43:00.001-05:00

I'll give you a clue...here's Lucy giving me the stink eye because she sick of me using it all day...