All Aboard for a Father's Day Picnic

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Dad! To celebrate we decided to keep the tradition going and took our third annual ride on the Wilmington & Western Rail Road. The weather today was perfect - on the cooler side, without too much humidity. We got great seats on car 603 and enjoyed the scenery on the way to the Mt. Cuba picnic grove. During our short stop, we ate a picnic lunch complete with sandwiches, chips and donut holes!

The ride back to the station was equally as nice. Lucy was a little nervous, but enjoyed herself anyway. The whistle did really scare her when we were back at the station checking out the locomotive. (It is really quite loud!)

Tonight we will have one of Daddy's favorites for dinner - chicken parm. I hope he enjoyed his day and his celebration with his two girls who couldn't have a more loving father!

Take Me out to the Ball Game!

Today we went to the Wilmington Blue Rocks game. It was wonderful weather for a baseball game - warm, but overcast, so the sun wasn't too hot. The Blue Rocks were playing the Potamac Nationals, and unfortunately, they lost 5-4.

Lucy was so excited about going to the game. We had a Family Fun pack, so we had great seats just six rows back right behind home plate. The deal came with dogs, drinks and 2 web kinz. Lucy loves her little kitty and decided to name him "Stripes." What I was most impressed with was how well Lulu did. She sat in her seat for the whole game (minus a trip to the rest room). She was attentive and asked questions about what was going on and what the players were doing. She clapped and cheered for the right team. Lucy was very clear that we wanted the Blue Rocks to win and that they were wearing the white & blue uniforms. She was a good little fan yelling yea at the right times and saying "Go Blue Rocks."

Following the game - yes, we stayed for the whole game - Lulu ran the based with Kenzie and a bunch of other fans. She looked so cute out there running as fast as she could, holding Kenzie's hand, as she went around the diamond. I, for one, am so happy that our little girl is looking like she will be a baseball fan. Go Lucy!

Patriotic Lucy

This has been a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. The weather was great all weekend, which we found pretty amusing since it seemed to rain most of the weekend when we used to go to the beach. Anyway, we enjoyed the sun and great breezes all weekend long. On Saturday we went to a party in the neighborhood at the Freehart's house. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was there - what fun! Lucy loved playing with the kids and was quite wet between the sprinkler and kiddie pool. She was still nervous about the bounce house, one of these days she will be excited about it.

On Sunday we headed over to Chrissie and Frank Davis' new house. Lucy was excited to see Aubrianna, but a little shy with all the new people there, so she spent most of the time with us. The kids all got to plant a flower in their own pot and take it home. It was a celebration for Aubrianna's birthday too - so there were plenty of games and fun treats for Lulu to enjoy.

Today was more low key. Much of the day was spent outside on the patio, which was nice and relaxing. Lucy played with her sandbox, her slide, her house and got wet in the kiddie pool. She was busy watering plants and hopping around her new hula hoops. What a fun day!

Here are a few pictures of Lucy donning her patriotic dresses to celebrate the day properly. Though she doesn't yet know the significance of the Memorial Day, she can still get in the spirit and pay homage to our flag in style!

All Treats for Cheerleader Lucy!

Lucy had a cheering good time her first real Halloween. We did dress Lucy up last year as a ladybug. It was warm, she was sick and she was not enthused (see flashback pictures at bottom of post). Luckily, this year went much better!

Lucy was a Pennsylvania State University cheerleader, and a fine one at that. She was excited to get ready for trick-or-treating and couldn't wait to get outside. Lucy thought it was great seeing all of her friends in the neighborhood all dressed up in their fun costumes.

She was a bit unsure at first, but seemed to get the hang of things fairly quickly. Lucy did a good job saying "trick-or-treat" at each house, and then thanking the treat-givers for helping her fill her treat bag. I was so proud of her. She wasn't shy at all and spoke to everyone.

I thought she would be tired after our circle and the next one over, but Lucy wanted to keep on going. It was all I could do to coax her back to the house because I was cold and I thought she had plenty of candy! I lured her home by reminding her that we didn't get a treat from Daddy yet... that did the trick (no pun intended).

Lucy was thrilled to pick a piece of candy for dessert, she chose a Reese's PB cup - what a smart choice! Lucy loved her treat and wanted more, but I told her she could have another one tomorrow and that seemed good enough. Instead, we watched some Curious George and had some milk after talking with Nana on Skype.

Brian joined in on the Halloween fun by dressing up too... You can see his costume below, I have not words...

A Happy Halloween was had by all, I hope yours was just as fun!

Lucy and Creatures of the Night

We went to the Delaware Museum of Natural History earlier today to see the new Nature Nook and the Bats and Other Creatures of the Night exhibit. Lucy got to make some crafts - a clothespin bat and a possum stick puppet. We all checked out the fun new things in the Nature Nook. Lucy sat in an Eagle's Nest with a momma and baby eagle. She got to pet a real live snake and turtle! They also have a cool cave that you can carry lanterns in as you enter. Lucy was a little nervous about this cave (as you can tell from the pictures). She didn't really want to join me, but we coaxed her into it. I thought it was cool though. Lucy also saw a hissing cockroach, small dragon, toad and a tarantula. Luckily, these were out of their cages for petting. What a fun outing for Halloween weekend!

Lucy Girl Tid-Bits

Lucy has a really cute and funny personality. She is vibrant and full of energy - and so much fun to watch! Lucy now understands a little about smiling for the camera. If the spirit moves her she will look at you when you are taking a picture and say "cheese." The end result is the, and I have no other word to describe it, cheesy grin you see in this picture. So funny.

As toddlers typically are (at least that is what I keep reading), Lucy is quite particular about things. She does not like it if Brian sits in my seat at the table, or vice-versa, and she is sure to remind us where we are supposed to sit... Momma's seat! Daddy sit right here, said while pointing to Brian's regular seat. Trying to explain that the chairs aren't really assigned is completely lost on a 22 month old...

One day when we were getting ready to leave the house, I told Lucy she was cute. Her response: Momma's cute too. So sweet!

Lucy has become quite talkative now that she has a sufficient vocabulary to share what she is thinking. She loves to say It's right there, we don't always know what it is, so this often results in a guessing game where we guess until we get it right. The other day when I picked Lucy up from school she used this famous line while pointing to her pocket. I assumed she was showing me her pocket and letting me know about "it." Ms. Debbie then mentioned (luckily!) that I should be careful with her shirt because of all the rocks in her pocket. I then peer into this little shirt pocket and find at least twenty little stones! Apparently, Lucy enjoys collecting rockies when the children are outside playing. We gave the stones back to Ms. Debbie for next time. Lucy seemed reasonable to Lucy.

As we leave Bright Horizons and on the way home I always ask Lucy about her day. I usually get vague answers or just yes and no responses. When I picked Lucy up from school today we had a real conversation! She was wearing a different shirt than this morning. I asked her what happened to her shirt. Her response: yogurt on shirt, lee lee shirt off. So I confirmed what I thought she was telling me - You got yogurt on your shirt and Miss LeeLee changed it? Yes, that was it. If there was any doubt remaining, it disappeared when I pulled the yogurt covered shirt out of the bag when we got home. I am so excited to have gotten such a great response to my question! Lucy sure has grown!

All the World is a Playground!

We are so lucky to have such a happy little girl in our lives! Lucy is full of smiles and squeals and she makes us laugh all the time. Some of the cute things Lucy has been up to include:

1. Lucy likes to re-arrange all of our small rugs. This includes the rugs at the front door and in the laundry room, as well as, the mat in front of our kitchen sink. Lucy will drag these rugs around and either bring all of them into the kitchen or trade their places. When she is finished she sits on one with a very satisfied look on her face. Sometimes she will even lay down and pretend to take a nap on one of the rugs.

2. Lucy is really starting to enjoy playing with her baby dolls. She will place them tummy side down on the steps in the hallway and pat them on the back saying "night night" to each of them. I'm not really sure why they sleep on the stairs, I guess they must remind Lucy of her toddler bed, or maybe she just doesn't know where else to put them.

3. Lucy is very brave. Miss Lily at school writes this on her report almost every Tuesday (sprinkler day). We see this all the time when Lucy is running around and playing. If she falls, she usually just gets up, brushes herself off and continues playing. What a little tomboy! Lucy loves slides, so we recently took her to the playground down the street. She enjoyed all the slides, and even went down a few that I was afraid might be too high. She didn't seem to mind one bit though. Lucy even tried out the balance beam with a little help from her Daddy. Here are some pictures of our playground fun. Enjoy!

Daddy Has Big Shoes to Fill!

Lucy loves shoes - what girl doesn't? She loves to wear her shoes and ours! Here she is sporting a pair of daddy's sneakers and shoes.

End of June Update a Little Late

Kenzie was with us for the first couple of weeks of her summer vacation. Lucy is always so happy when her sister is in the house. She gives Kenzie the biggest hugs and looks forward to her very special sister time.

Kenzie enjoyed Coach Tina Martin's basketball camp at UD the first week she was with us. She learned some great new moves and got a chance to perfect her game with help from Elena DelleDonne and the other lady hens.

Then Nana Jean came to visit for the week, which made things twice as much fun! We all enjoyed spending time with Nana Jean, especially Lucy. Lucy thought it was pretty neat to have her Nana here. On the way home from school she would start saying "Nana" a few miles from the house in anticipation getting home to have lots of fun. We spent some of our time just relaxing, but we also went to the Brandywine Zoo one day. We learned all about pollinators while we were there and Lucy made some very "buggy" crafts, including butterfly wings and antenna for her head. There are a few pictures below. I think Lucy really enjoyed all of the extra attention and was quite sad when Kenzie, and then Nana left the house.

In other news regarding that week, Kenzie (with Nana's help) cooked dinner for us almost every night that week! I must say she is becoming quite the chef. We had some very tasty meals including meatballs and spaghetti, tuna melts and taco pie. Kenzie also had Lucy's dinner ready when we walked in the door from school. She sure knows how to spoil a little girl! Kenzie also cleaned the house on her last day with us. It was so nice to come home to such a sparkling clean house - a real unexpected treat!

Those first couple weeks of the summer were such a great way to start enjoying the summer fun and we were all looking forward to Kenzie's return - especially her little sister!

Lucy watches as her butterfly wings,
which she colored, are put together to wear

Lucy is sporting her very fancy wings!

Every proper butterfly needs antenna to go with her wings.

Father's Day - Right on Track!

Kenzie, Lucy and I took Brian for a ride on the Wilmington & Western Railroad as part of our day of celebrating what a wonderful Dad Brian is. As you may recall, last year we also went for a train ride and had a bit of excitement when a few train cars derailed! Luckily, this year was drama free. We rode the train, had a picnic lunch at Mt. Cuba and then returned to the train station. Lucy enjoyed the ride, but was a little scared of the train whistle. Brian covered her little ears for her. Other Father's Day festivities included a special breakfast (courtesy of me!), special mainly because Brian typically cooks breakfast, so he got to just sit back and enjoy. We also went out for dinner to one of Brian's favorite local spots - Two Fat Guys. Unfortunately, Brian also got stuck working for a good portion of the day - Dad's just don't get a break!

Here are some pictures from our train adventure:

Festival Fun!

This past weekend we headed out for opening night of St. Anthony's famous Italian Festival. Going to the festival always reminds me of the years I lived in Trolley Square and went to the festival just about every one of the 8 fabulous nights to enjoy all the yummy food offerings. These days we generally only make it there one night, so we better make it good! Lucy is an avid people-watcher, so she loves places like a festival. We enjoyed the food and Kenzie and Brian got to go on some rides. Unfortunately, little Lucy was too short even for the kiddie rides! We didn't realize there weren't any rides for someone under 36 inches. Before heading back to the car, we stopped in the park though, and Lucy enjoyed the swing set. This was actually the first time she was happy when we put her in toddler swing - hurrah!

Kenzie and Brian waiting for rides to start... Lucy watched on with fascination!

Daddy and his girls

Love this picture of Kenzie!
Lucy is so sad because she is too short for all the rides :-(

Lucy did finally get to enjoy a ride - and it was Kenzie powered!