Pod life

I know I'm quite behind on posting, but much has been afoot. As of last Tuesday (one day after getting back from our super-fun trip to Chicago for wedding #2 of the month), we discovered that our new place won't be ready until August 9th (at the earliest), and that we would need to move out of our current place before the end of the month. So with the help of many friends and family, this past weekend we packed up all our possessions and moved them into a POD (portable on-demand storage) unit. We'll be camping out at our place until Monday, when we'll move over to my grandparents until the new house is ready.

This has all been pretty stressful and tiring, but we're hanging in there and are so grateful for all the friends and family who have been helping us out. Lucy has been weathering the chaos pretty well- she hung out a bunch in the baby bjorn and "helped" me pack by trying to grab anything within arm's reach. She took really long naps on both Saturday and Sunday so I was able to get a lot done, which was wonderful.

Stay tuned for pictures of moving and the pod, if not later this week then next week after we're settled at my grandparents!

New Tooth, New House!

It's been an exciting week in Lucy land. Last Tuesday, Matt was giving her his finger to suck on when she was crying and we discovered something sharp- Lucy's first tooth! It's the bottom front right tooth. Funnily enough, Lucy's cousin Sam got his first tooth when he was almost exactly the same age (apparently the timing for teething runs in families). Since then, Lucy has been munching on her fingers and drooling copiously, but doesn't seem too bothered by her teeth unless she's sleepy.

And now onto the second part of the blog title- we're moving! We're moving about 25 minutes outside of the city, to a new townhouse (there's a great story of God's provision behind this- email me if you want the full scoop). It has 2 bedrooms (Lucy will finally graduate from a nook to a real room!), a finished 3rd floor that we'll use for our office space, and a back deck that looks out over woods. It's also just 10 minutes away from my grandparents. We feel a bit sad about leaving behind the excitement of city life, but are looking forward to being out in nature and to having more space. The move is planned for the end of July- we'll aim to send out our new contact info around then.

Now onto our usual picture fest. Lucy is so much fun- she's been discovering new things every day; most recently she's found her feet. She now grabs on to them and rolls back and forth. She also likes to reach out and touch our faces. Here she is having her first ride in the baby swing.


Lucy in the Johnny Jumper (or Lucy Leaper) that we've set up. She likes standing up in it, and getting to constantly turn around and see new things.

Here she is making her new pterodactyl screech as we like to call it. Very cute- I'll try to get a video of it sometime.


We got to visit my aunt Lee in Concord, NH recently- so nice to see her after a few months, and for Lucy to spend more time with the great-aunt who played such a big role in bringing her into the world!



One more picture of our beautiful little miss sunshine.

And here's another video of Lucy giggling. This time it was me going "Hee, hee, hee" that she found hilarious. :)

Giggling games

Lucy and I have started playing a game I call "Mama's looking at me!!". I'll look around the room for a few seconds, and then will look back at Lucy and smile, and she starts giggling. We do it over and over, usually in the late afternoon, which seems to be her silly time. Here's a video from yesterday.

Celebrating Generations

It's been a full (pleasantly so) few weeks for us here. My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 14th! All the relatives got together for a wonderful party, and my mom came for a 5-day visit as well. It was so nice to see her again.

Here are some pictures from the party- the first 3 represent 4 generations of women.

Needless to say, Lucy was super cute in her party dress, and a big hit, especially with all my girl cousins.

Here are my grandparents in front of the Littleton Baptist Church where they got married in '58 and Matt and I got married in '04!

We also celebrated Matt's first father's day with Lucy.

One of our favorite new books is "You are my I love you." It's a series of phrases describing the parent-child relationship ("I am your parent, you are my child; I am your quiet, you are my wild...I am your wait, you are my wiggle." We've thought of a few more to add, like, "You are my alarm clock, I am your snooze" and "I am your stem, you are my flower." That second one describes the picture below (ie, with mom in green and Lucy in yellow/white).


Here is Lucy getting her first piano "lesson". :)


And our little grown-up baby sitting in her bumpo chair. (I think that's what it is called).
Although the picture above doesn't reflect it, Lucy is getting a lot more wiggly and active. She can hold onto blocks and toys for long chunks of time, often batting herself in the head with them accidently. She continues to get more and more alert and aware. She now stretches out her hand when I'm holding her and walking around the house, trying to touch whatever she can. She is such a delight, and is getting more fun every day!

The woodland creatures are no longer safe

So for most of Lucy's short life, her times on the changing table were pleasant and calm idles (she's always loved having her diaper changed), when she would flail her limbs gently and gaze up at the Winnie the Pooh mobile hanging overhead. At some point she started trying to touch the animals, but had so little control over her limbs that they just moved in the general direction of the creatures only to go somewhere else. Lucy eventually grew more adept at controlling her limbs, and could reach out to bat them, though most of the time she would miss. Then in these last weeks she has gotten really good at holding onto things and putting them in her mouth- blankets, shopping lists, my hair, washcloths. Still, the mobile was just a bit out of reach and usually turned peacefully in its little circle.

That was until this past week, when it became very clear to the Hundred-Acre-Woods critters that they were no longer safe. One morning, Lucy reached out and grabbed Eeyore down so she could suck on him, causing the whole contraption to shake and twist violently. Since then she's also gotten Pooh Bear a few times, and I'm sure Piglet is a little nervous that he'll be next. When she's not grabbing them down, she will sometimes hold her hand out steadily, her fingers just brushing the feet of the animals. She also talks to them, staring with great concentration at their little faces.

We're amazed at how much Lucy is growing- sometimes she wakes up in the morning and seems like a whole new baby! She is such a delight and is getting cuter every day. We'll try to post some pictures and another video soon, though my mom is visiting this next week so it may not be for a few days.

In Lucy news

Are you ready for the big (somewhat belated) news? Drumroll.....Lucy rolled over for the first time! It was the Saturday of memorial day weekend, and she rolled over 3 times from her tummy to her back. Since then she's rolled over a few more times (including once from her back to her tummy on a slightly inclined bed). We don't want to be too accomplishment-focused, but it's so fun to see her growing and developing.

She's getting more and more vocal. Sometimes now she just goes "ahhh" for a long time, as if she's testing out her vocal chords. She's also much happier with life in general, and doesn't fight sleep so much. She's a great sleeper- sleeps from about 8:30-6:30, just getting up once to eat.

Here she is in a onesie Matt's cousin Sarah gave her.

Lucy always enjoys going for walks, as do I. I'm so thankful that the weather is nicer now. Walking with Lucy is a bit like being a movie star (as I imagine it). Heads turn, people stare, everyone wants to talk with her (at least we don't have to battle paparazzi). It's fun how she brightens the days of people we see just by being who she is.

My grandparents have been coming to watch Lucy once a week while I work. We love seeing them, and are so glad Lucy is getting to know them from an early age. Here she is with my grandma.

A walk in the woods

Lucy went on her first hike over memorial day weekend. We headed to the trails by Walden pond with our good friends Susan and Brian on a beautiful summer day. Lucy seemed to really enjoy the hike- we were out there for at least 3 hours or so and she didn't fuss at all, just kept looking around and taking everything in. Here she is with Brian.


Our "chirpie birdie" as I call her. The group of us, about to head up a Steep (with a capital S) hill.

It was so green and lush- I love the New England woods. We got lost a few times (where are those breadcrumbs when you need them!?!) so our hike was extra long, but it was great exercise and so wonderful to be outdoors.