Girls Weekend

Lucy and I just enjoyed a fun-filled and productive girls weekend. Brian was in Dewey having a much-deserved great time with Jason. Lucy and I stayed local to enjoy some one-on-one time. We did a whole lot of cleaning on Saturday - especially in the kitchen. That might not sound like a lot of fun to you, but I sure was glad when I had a sparkling kitchen to show for it! Lucy had a great time, especially since she doesn't really know the difference between work and play. While I cleaned, Lucy used a clean dish towel to follow along after me and "dry" things. She spent a lot of time just rearranging her stool and moving it about from place to place. She seemed very proud of her efforts, and I was proud and thankful to have such a good girl helping me and making my work a breeze by being so well behaved.

We spent time outside playing with the kids and chatting with the neighbors - well Lucy playing, me chatting. Sunday we had lunch with Nana at Friendly's. Lucy loved the grilled cheese and, especially, the ice cream! Then we relaxed at Nana's for a while before heading home. Brian had returned and both Lucy and I were happy to see her daddy! We were glad he had a great time, but glad he was back too.

One cute thing Lucy was doing was putting her babies to bed on the steps. She spent a lot of time getting her one baby settled in, patting her back or tummy and telling her night, night. It was so cute. This picture is Lucy's baby sleeping in her "bed" on the stairs.

Family Time

We recently enjoyed a fun family weekend. Kenzie was with us, the weather was nice and we were able to just relax and enjoy our time together. We strolled around our favorite hang out spot - Longwood Gardens. It was a nice night to get out and walk. We ran into our friends Jenna & Jeff too, which made the trip extra nice.

We also stopped to get new shoes for Lucy. All of her size 5 shoes are "too tight" according to Lucy. She was walking right out of her size 6 shoes though. We had her measured, and 6 seems to be the right size. So we went with a cute pair of Nikes that lace, so Lucy cannot walk out of them. What a big girl Lucy is with her new size 6 shoes!

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!

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Lucy loves to be outside. She loves playing with the kids on our circle, having fun in her playhouse, sliding down her slide and just poking around outside. When we are inside Lucy is often asking if she can go outside. One of the great things about going outside, is that it is a great motivator for Lucy to do what she needs to do. For example, if she wants to go out to play with the kids after we get home from school, she is very cooperative with getting her diaper changed if she knows that will get her outside. She is also a good girl when it is time to put sunscreen on, she even helps apply the sunscreen. Lucy loves to smell flowers, run around and look for interesting things while she is in the backyard. Her are some pictures of her fun with the flowers, daddy's tomatoes and just enjoying the breeze. I hope you are enjoying the summer weather as much as our little Lucybug!

I Never Said I Could Carry a Tune!

So I have never been known for my singing voice. Actually, quite the opposite is true - I cannot carry a tune. I LOVE to sing in the car, sometimes a little too loud (when I am all alone). Over the years countless family members and friends have verified that I should not consider an American Idol try-out. I accept that I cannot sing, but I think I reached a new low when even my toddler didn't want to hear me sing!

A little background - I only know probably one lullaby and other kids songs aren't high on my list either, so I usually make songs up (with the exception of Old McDonald). My favorite made-up song is all for Lucy, it goes like this:

Lucy girl, Lucy girl

Lucy Lu

Lucy girl, Lucy girl

I love you

Every now and then I substitute I for we, momma, daddy or someone else. Lucy used to love this song and would get such a big smile on her face or squeal with delight when I would start singing. Well, I fear those days are over...

So, here's the story - the other day, on the way home from school, I was singing in the car. I broke into the Lucy girl song and Lucy screamed NOOOOOO from her car seat. Undeterred, I continued the song adding new verses. Well this didn't go well - No Momma! STOP! Please! How sad is that, my 20 month old is asking me to please stop singing... I couldn't help but crack up laughing, despite the realization that my singing has reached a new low. I stopped then, but plan to break into song on another ride home sometime soon...

Play Date with the Saxtons!

Lucy enjoyed a fun play date with Brianna, Shane and Trevor while Momma got to spend some quality time catching up with their mom, Marie! While I know Lucy has grown so much and changed in so many ways, you move so quickly with the changes when you see them everyday. I really enjoyed seeing all the changes in Marie's kids though - especially the boys since they learn and accomplish so much when they are so young!

Lucy was pretty excited about all the new and different toys she could check out and she really enjoyed playing in the backyard on the swing set and with the giant ball. She really had a blast! Here are a few pictures from our day:

Birthday Nana!

Today is Nana Kathy's birthday. We celebrated at Nana's house on Sunday. Lucy practiced saying Happy Birthday many times during the weekend, but could only seem to get Birthday Nana out... This morning we recorded a special message for Nana, and I just thought it was so cute that I had to share. Lucy wishes Nana a birthday but then goes on to say it is her birthday too... Where does she come up with this stuff? She cracks me up! So, here's to my mom and hoping she enjoyed her birthday today. We love you Nana!