2 + 2

It's been a long time, so I thought I'd post a few pictures to update everyone.

Lucia turned 2 last month!

We had a great time, a party at school, a party at home and a visit from Oma Lynda and Poppi Ed.

She's also become a midwife in training as we prepare for number 2, aka "Baby Sister".  She regularly measures my belly and listens for a heartbeat ("ba boom, ba boom...").  She gives her kisses and will tell anyone who asks that baby sister is "under mami's tummy".

She's getting ready in her own way, but I'm still curious to see how she reacts to another taking mami's and papi's time.  We'll keep you posted on baby sister's arrival. 

Santa Lucia Day

We started a new tradition today.

(say "cheese")

I figure that if we keep this up she'll be bringing us breakfast in bed.

Babies

Lucia is obsessed with them, she has been for months. She excitedly points out a baby anytime she spots a car seat or stroller. And to the delight of many strangers, she’s often carrying around a mini Corolle doll, her “baby”.

In September, Lucia and I were in Barnes and Noble and came across what would soon become her favorite book, Everywhere Babies. She loves this book. Whenever we read books it’s one of the first she asks to read. She has also identified people she knows in the book. Papa is on one page and Arianna and Russell (from daycare) can be found on another. And recently when we’ve reached the last page she’ll say the last line before I can read it out.

And her favorite song. Sigh. Elizabeth Mitchell’s “Who’s My Pretty Baby”, or “the baby song” as we know it. It really is a lovely song, but have to listen to it all the way to work and back, 30 minutes each way can get a little old. And now that Juan knows the song on the guitar, there’s no stopping her at home either.

With all of this obsession I knew she would love the movie “Babies” just as much as I did. It’s the only full length movie she’s sat through in fact. She was mesmerized.

So, I guess I should be relieved, because in just a few months (5 to be exact) we’ll be bringing home to Lucia a real live baby. We’ll see if the obsession can survive the truth of what it means to have a baby.

Happy Halloween 2011

She went as a monkey (although a couple people mistook her for a mouse, I see that too). Monkeys are only things next to babies that she seems to get excited about more than anything else. She has her "mono shoes" (monkey slippers), "mono pajamas", "mono shirt", and a "mono backpack", so it really was a no brainer.

Halloween is a full day for this little one. The daycare has a parade through my office building. As soon as she saw me she came running and guess who joined the parade. Then in the evening we passed out candy and then took her to two neighbors to trick or treat. She doesn't know what candy is, but she knew it was something good. We did manage to get her distracted enough to go to bed without eating any. Sooner or later, she'll find out. Right now she thinks her vitamins are a huge treat.

Happy Halloween everyone.

Happy Birthday Auntie Rachel

We miss you!

She runs.

I didn't realize she could run until I saw this picture from last weekend. Now all we need to do is keep up with her.

Happy Halloween

Whoooo, whooo....

First Hairdo

She looks like Pebbles from the Flintstones

6

I've been trying to get these pictures up for the last month!

Luci started eating solids at five and a half months. I was waiting until she turned six months, but when her bottles kept getting bigger and bigger I realized she was hungry.

She also got a little closer to crawling and she figured out that wherever she wanted to go she could roll there.

Making Music

5

Lucia's first swim. August 2010

She was a little tentative at first, as were we, but soon you could see she loved it.

4 months

Lucia was like a butterfly emerging from her cocoon this month.

(This butterfly was determined to get the nectar from these flowers on our front steps. Thanks Juan for getting these awesome pictures.)

Not only was she in the sling much less (although it is still a great place to take an on the go cat nap) she is really starting to have a personality.

She has favorite toys, Buzz Lightyear...

and her kitty.

She giggles.

"tope"

She makes us laugh.

She discovered her feet.

and they taste good.

And she grew.

This month she also had her first plane ride. OK, make that 4 in 2 days. She met her great Oma, her Uncles "Cereal" and Vic and Auntie Megs, and oldest cousin Sam in her first trip to California.

Look what we found in the garden

3 months

Weighing in at 13 pounds and 25 inches long.

There were lots of firsts and changes this past month...

At the beginning of the month she started to hold onto things if you gv them to her, now she's reaching and grabbing things pretty easily.

She met her Auntie Libby and cousin Vayda. What a great visit!!

(She was already crying, by the way.)

And she started day care. Which means, I went back to work. :( It's as everyone said, harder for mom. She is doing really well there.

And, she started drinking out of a bottle. This really was an accomplishment because she resisted it for weeks before we started day care and a little afterwards too (good thing I work next door!).

Other firsts...

finding her hands. Wow, they are fascinating.

sucking on just her thumb instead of the back of her hand, unless she's really hungry at which time she decides to eat her fist.

putting anything she can reach into her mouth.

rolling from her stomach to her back. Though not yet consistently.

Oh, and she "talks" all of the time!

Her cry changed too. When I'm not in the room I can't always tell if she's crying or laughing.

She sure is getting fun.