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!

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.

Spoon Feeding

Lucy is feeding herself with a spoon. Here she is eating some oatmeal with fruit puree. Although she has gotten quite a bit of cereal all over herself, I must say, she is really a very neat eater. Any cereal that didn't make it to her mouth is on her or the high chair, but no where else. We went straight to the tub after this meal!

Lip Smackin' Good

Lucy girl loves to eat! She seems to like almost everything we give to her, which is great. New foods Lucy has been enjoying include black beans, asparagus, tofu, some yummy sounding combos made by Plum Organics like pumpkin banana, apple carrot, etc. Lucy also enjoys all the yummy yo-baby yogurt flavors.

Lucy has started to really show her love of food by saying "Mmmm mmmm mmmm" when eating. It is so cute. Well, this morning Lucy's breakfast was oatmeal and strawberry mash. I sat Lucy in her high chair, got her bib on and lifted her bowl to begin feeding her. Before the food was even on the spoon, she started saying "Mmmm mmmm mmmm," in anticipation of having a yummy breakfast. After swallowing each bite, Lucy smacked her lips in delight. Our girl sure knows how to appreciate a yummy breakfast!

Sippy Cup Mess Up

Lucy is in the process of cutting two more teeth (she has one already). While this is very exciting, it is also so trying. Lucy has been a grumpier version of herself and we both feel bad for her and also feel frustrated because there isn't really too much we can do for her. She did really enjoy her first teething biscut yesterday though - it was really yummy and very messy! Last night, Lucy had a rough night. She had trouble falling asleep and kept waking up until around 1:45 when she finally fell asleep in her daddy's arms and then slept through the rest of the night. Poor girl!

In other news... Lucy has been drinking almost all of her formula out of the Nuk trainer sippy cups. They are a little more like a bottle than regular sippy cups and she seems to really enjoy them. Today was the first day we sent her to school with sippy cups - what an exciting step in her development. Well, things didn't go as well as hoped. Apparently, Lucy drank the first sippy cup without issue. When she was given the second cup (around lunchtime) she wasn't so happy, she rejected the cup, tossing it around and crying. After a nap they tried again with the same result, so only yogurt for lunch! Well, then Lucy's teacher decided to use the "back-up bottle" so she would eat. This worked without a hitch. Ms. Steph called to let me know, much to my surprise. Well, it turns out that Ms. Steph was having her lunch when the second cup was given to Lucy and the teacher in the room didn't realize there is a disk between the cup and the nipple, so little Lucy didn't want the cup because no matter how hard she tried, nothing would come out! Brian and I have both done this at home as well, but we figured it out. Sadly, when I gave Lucy a sippy cup for dinner she freaked out, she must have been thinking "oh no, I can't do this again!" With a little help from her momma she realized there was indeed formula in that cup and sucked it down in just minutes! We will try again tomorrow, but I am going to be sure to pack some back-ups so Lucy isn't traumatized two days in a row. Just what a teething girl needed...