Meeting Quinn...

Aunt Amy, Uncle Bill and Quinn are in town. Lucy, Kenzie and I went to visit them at Nana's today and to meet Quinn for the first time. What a cutie!! She has such a sweet smile and seems so tiny next to our very grown up Lucy girl. Lucy was interested in Quinn, and I think the feeling was mutual. They played footsie for a little while, Lucy reached out for Quinn a few times and once Quinn stuck her finger in Lucy's mouth! Silly girls... I didn't get any pictures of them together today because I always seemed to have a baby in my arms when they were both awake, or Lucy wasn't interested in photography. Hopefully I will do better when we see each other again on Saturday. For now, here is a picture of a sweet sleeping Quinn:

Nana Time!

Lucy (and all the rest of us too) had a great week with her Nana. She got to spend lots of time with Nana. I think Nana was very impressed with how much Lucy has grown and all she has learned to do! I already posted about our eventful train ride. During the week we spent most of the evenings just hanging out, just enjoying some good old family time. Lucy was home on Friday, we took her to Longwood to see the fountains and flowers. Brian and I went to a wedding on Saturday, so Lucy was home all day with Nana and Kenzie. It sounds like they had a great time!

Sunday was Double Nana Day! Lucy got to spend time with both Nana Jean and Nana Kathy.

Father's Day Derailed?

We had an eventful Father's Day this year! The morning began with a wonderful breakfast prepared by Kenzie for her dad.

Later, we headed out with Nana Jean to ride the Wilmington and Western Railroad. The train takes you on a 1/2 hour journey to the Mt. Cuba picnic grounds where we had a quick lunch, then got back on the train to return to Greenbank Station. The train rides through the Red Clay Creek area, passing parkland, homes, a covered bridge and crossing the creek in several places. It is a really nice ride. We did experience some excitement during the return trip though! 1/2 mile from Greenbank Station, the diesel engine and caboose derailed at Faulkand Road. Part of the road was blocked by the track hopping cars resulting in both police and New Journal presence. No one was hurt, but the train did stop abruptly. We had to wait for a Doodlebug to arrive to take us back to the station. Yes, I said a Doodlebug. What is a Doodlebug you ask... it is a car that was once an electric trolley car, now battery powered I guess. This Doodlebug can only transport 75 people at a time, so we had to wait patiently for our turn to ride back to the station. Lucy was such a good girl while we waited. All in all, I would say Lucy's first train ride was certainly an interesting one. Luckily, not even an off-track train could derail Brian's enjoyment on Father's Day.

Vacation Girl!

Hey there! I haven't blogged in a while because we were on vacation. Lucy, Brian and I went to Hilton Head for a little much needed R&R and what a time we had. Our little Lucy girl is definitely a vacation girl. She loved the pool and the beach and the Westin heavenly bed and all the time with her daddy and mommy. We loved it all too! Lucy was so so good during the VERY long car ride down to the end of South Carolina. We barely heard a peep out of her. What a girl. The trip home was a slightly different story, Lucy screamed for 85 miles. Approximately 10 miles in SC and 75 in NC. Apparently, she was a little upset we had left our own little paradise. Sorry, Lucy.

Back to the fun though, Lucy took to the pool like a duck to water. She loved it! She even practiced swimming by kicking her little legs in the water. Given the choice, Lucy would have been content to stay in the pool for hours. It was so much fun to see how she enjoyed the pool. The beach was a lot of fun too. Lucy thought the sand was really interesting, especially the way it moved around her feet as the waves came onto the shore and then went back out to sea. Lucy also liked going into the ocean with Daddy, but she didn't want to stay as long in the water there. Maybe because there was much more motion than in the pool.

This was a very different vacation than Brian and I have taken in the past. We talked to so many more people than ever before when we have been away. Lots of people stopped by to ask about Lucy and to tell us how cute she is, or to see if they could get a smile out of her - and most of them did! Lucy gives her smiles away so freely - she is so sweet. Even though this vacation was different, neither of us would trade one second of it (well maybe those 85 miles...) because we had so much fun with our Lucy girl! We can't wait for the next trip.

Here are some more pictures from our vacation:

In the pool with Mommy...

... and then with Daddy!

a full day of swimming sure does tucker out a little girl.
Good thing we had the heavenly bed when it was time for a nap!

watching the waves come in - the ocean is really neat!

Enjoying the beach :-)

Little Beach Bum!

What can I do with this shovel?

Our little cutie!

Lucy is wearing flip-flops just like Mommy's!

I LOVE the beach!

Fun in the Sun!

Okay, for this post I am going to let the pictures do the talking...

Lucy is having a blast riding on Daddy's shoulders at Kate & Bart's party!

Hanging out with Nana and having a great time!

This is Lucy's first time in her swimsuit and her pool.

I don't know if you can tell, but Lucy is splashing like crazy in this one - remember the bath post? She just loves kicking around in the water. I think she likes the pool, don't you?

Relaxing in the water and enjoying octopus

Eating, and wearing, carrots for the first time. Lucy is also trying to feed herself. Really, we just give her an empty spoon and then feed her with a different spoon, but she feels like she is doing it by herself. What a BIG girl!

Happy Half-Birthday!

Yesterday Lucy turned 6 months old! Our girl sure is growing up fast. We took Lucy for her 6 month doctor appointment on Wednesday. Her doctor described Lucy as "perfect," what more could a parent want to hear? Lucy is now 26" tall and weighs 16 lbs, 11 oz - so she has grown a lot! Both of these measurements fell into the 60s for percentile range (I can't remember exactly where), but her head circumference is in the 95 percentile!! Her dad likes to say it is because Lucy's head is so full of brains - I think she just inherited his big head :-)

Sitting, Standing and Eating Green Beans!

Lucy is doing so many new things! She is really working on sitting by herself both in school and at home. Lucy has always loved to stand, and now she can hold herself up if we stand her against the ottoman. She can hold herself this way for several minutes. Lucy also continues to make crawling motions when placed on her belly. She can scoot herself around in a circle or up when she is on her back by pushing off with her feet. Scooting is especially fun during a diaper change (well at least to Lucy).

Lucy has been eating cereal for a few weeks now. This weekend she was introduced to green beans and she really liked them. Once we finish the green beans we'll try out another veggie, maybe my favorite - peas!

Lucy loves to explore people's faces with her hands. She likes to put her hand on your mouth when you are talking to feel your lips move. She also follows us with her gaze everywhere we go. And, the most exciting thing for us - Lucy now reaches for us to hold her. She has always smiled when you come to her, but didn't used to reach out with excitement. We both love it!

Lucy likes green beans!