Thankful...

I went to a new church this morning. Jon stayed home with Lucy because she was having a hard time staying awake, and it would have been a screaming disaster by the first reading. After going to mass, I wish I would have brought them along. Today was all about being thankful for our families. I am thankful for my family everyday, but hearing the words and reading the scriptures just brought everything full circle for me today. I am thankful for my loving husband and my sassy, crazy daughter, Lucy. I am thankful for my new role as a wife and mother... the most rewarding "job" I've ever had. 

merry christmas!

Santa left a big present that needed some assembly. Thanks Santa! ;) Santa's helpers (Jon and I) worked on this after Lucy went to bed, so in the morning she wouldn't have to wait!

It's Christmas morning!!! Lucy was burning up the carpet trying to get over to the presents!

A kitchen???? AWESOME!!!!

She LOVES Christmas! 

almost, goose. almost.

It's almost Christmas!!!! We have a few presents under the tree already, and Lucy just loves to rearrange them. I think every present has a little rip in the paper. I can't wait until Christmas morning!!! Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!!!

9 month stats...

Lucy's appointment was at 3 this afternoon. We packed up the car and braved the snowy weather to see our friends Dr. Francke and Nurse Karen! Lucy didn't really like the first half of the appointment and cried (screamed) through the weighing/measuring portion. Even with all the tears, we were able to determine that Lucy is 19lbs, 10oz and 29.25 inches tall! She seems to have thinned out a bit from her last appointment...growing lengthwise, not widthwise. Dr. Francke said it wasn't anything to be concerned about. She is just long and lean. 

With the new measurements come a new carseat! Goose is a quarter inch too tall for her seat, so we will be purchasing a convertible seat in the very near future. Her infant carrier just isn't cuttin' it anymore. 

We left some holiday cheer (holiday pretzels and goodies) for our favorites at the clinic and then we were off! Tonight we loaded up in the neighbor's Expedition and went to a nearby park that was all decorated. The kids loved looking at all the lights! I had big plans to take a bunch of cool pictures, but forgot my camera.. darn it!

9 months old!

Lucy Beth is 9 whole months old today! Crazy!! We have her 9 month check up tomorrow at 3pm. I will update everyone with her stats then. I'm sure she's over 20lbs.... she is getting so big. 

anticipation.....

9 more days.....

big changes at our house!

Two major changes have happened at our house in the past seven(ish) days....

1. Lucy is consistantly going to bed at 7pm without any tears!

2. No more pacifiers!!!!!!! Hooray!!

She is becoming such a big girl! Can't believe she'll be one in three months. Time really does fly by.  

can i really say this???

Well it only took 8.5 months for Goose to figure out how to sleep through the NIGHT!!!! The past three nights have been a dream! Having her sleep for 7-9.5 hours before waking up is a dream. I don't know what changed with her, but I'm glad that we have had three GREAT nights in a row. Now if only I could go to sleep when she does! I've been enjoying quiet nights to myself, working on crafty Christmas presents and odds and ends. 

Because no post is complete without a picture... here's one from the other day. The hallway closet door was open and she found the bag of toliet paper. Cute, cute... 

monkey see....monkey do...

Our neighbors Tim and Sarah have a little boy named Coil. He is about 15 months. They spend quite a bit of time together because Sarah and I have become pretty good friends since we moved in. She is a stay at home mom as well, and keeps me company when Jon is away for his trips. 

Last Thursday, Sarah dropped off Coil at our house to play with Lucy while we ran to the library. Jon was in charge of two kids under two and did a great job. (I guess it's time we have another...;) While they were playing, Lucy picked up on one of Coil's funny faces. She thinks it is positively hilarious to scrunch up her little nose and breathe really fast. HA! She sounds like a little piggie or something! I've been trying to get a picture of this for the past week.. and finally had success today. Check out those two pearly whites!

snow day

This morning Jon and I took Lucy to the TrueValue to get a snow shovel. We are expected to get more than a foot in the next day or so, so we had to get some supplies. I've never been to a three story hardware store until today. It was so cool! The entire top level of the store was a Christmas wonderland. They probably had an ornament for every occasion, person, animal, etc. I stumbled upon this one for Lucy. It seemed to fit her mood the past couple days:

The Drama Queen snowman is displayed next to her hand/foot reindeer! I have them both marked on the back with a "Christmas 09" so we don't forget. 

We already have a couple inches on the ground, so Jon shoveled. I put on Lucy's new-to-her snowsuit (Thanks, Chris!) and headed out too. I hope it warms up just a little so she can actually play in it. 

busy weekend

On Saturday we traveled to Madison to see Jon's cousins, Bryan and Laura. They have two awesome boys, Wake and Hale. Every year they take a mini vacation to a water park. This year they brought their friends Jeanie and Reggie. They have two little girls. It was a fun day! Lucy did not really appreciate the baby pool and was much happier in the big kid pool... 

After a little bit of swimming, everyone headed back their rooms and got ready for dinner. The other couples and kids were just going to snack around, but Jon and I wanted to eat some real dinner. Bryan, Laura, Reggie, and Jeanie offered to take Lucy while we went to dinner. After a little hesitation, we decided that since they had collectively raised four children, Lucy would probably be okay with them for 45 minutes. We raced downstairs to the hotel restaurant, ate an uninterrupted meal, and came back upstairs to find a content little girl. It was so nice to have dinner with Jon. We haven't ever left Lucy with anyone else, so this was a real treat. Thanks, guys! 

Jeanie and Reggie's daughter, Kashes, was a big help with Lucy. Lucy just loved all of Kashes's pretty bracelets and her eyeglasses. I think they could have played all night if Lucy wasn't already without a quality nap for the day. We can't wait to make it out to Bryan and Laura's house sometime this summer so they can all play again! 

friday happenings

This morning I made waffles for Jon and Lucy! She really liked them and was content eating the pieces plain... until she was given a chunk dipped in a little bit of syrup. 

After breakfast and a quick nap, we all went into Jon's workplace to donate to their sponsored Christmas family. This year, the family that was chosen is expecting a little girl. We were able to donate a few sleepers that Goose grew out of too quickly (before I even knew they were too small and they weren't worn), some size 2 daipers, and a couple sample cans of formula we received in the mail. Our donation was added to the several boxes and bags in the office. It looks like the family will have a very nice Christmas! 

We made a quick stop at the grocery store with a very crabby/worn out Lucy and then headed home. It was a quick night when we got home. We did supper, bath, and books at a very fast pace so we could get her in bed. 

Tonight we read Christmas book #3, That's Not My Snowman! We read That's Not My Fairy, That's Not My Puppy, and That's Not My Bunny almost every day, so Lucy knew what was going on. She loved it! 

second book

Tonight we read the second book in the box. Last night's bedtime came before any books were read...so we had to skip a night. Tonight's book was really cute. It was about how snowmen celebrate Christmas together when everyone is sleeping snug in their beds. Lucy enjoyed it and even pointed to a few snowmen. Very fun! Can't wait til tomorrow's book! It's about a Christmas angel.... stay tuned.

Jon was very nice today and watched our neighbor's son while we went to the library without the kids. Coil (14 months) and Lucy were supposedly well behaved while we were away. I got a new book for Lucy and a couple sewing books. I am going to make Lucy some fun things for her room.

22 days until Christmas!!

**I didn't realize that she still had some food on her face from dinner until I uploaded the pictures and she was in bed. sorry.....**

Book 1!

Our first Christmas book! Bear Stays Up For Christmas!

holiday hustle

Tomorrow is Deceember 1st! We have officially 56 minutes left of November 2009! It's absolutely crazy how fast this year has gone. It really seems like it was yesterday we were  ringing in the new year... 

We took a family adventure to walmart today to get our Christmas decorations. We have snowflakes hanging from the deck, a candy cane sculpted around the beam, and four very bright LED snowflakes lining our porch. I'd say it's a success! While Jon was freezing his hands off outside, Lucy and I were putting window clings on the front window. I'll have to get a picture of that tomorrow. 

Our tree is also up and ready to go. Lucy was really only curious the first day and has since left it alone. Thank goodness! I thought I would have to say "No, Lucy!" at least a thousand times this holiday season. I can't wait to get some presents under the tree!

Tomorrow starts a favorite Christmas tradition of mine. I blogged about it last year ((here)). I am so excited to show Lucy the mouse tomorrow.. and even MORE excited to move it with her on the 2nd! 

The one thing I am most excited about is starting a new tradition with Lucy. My mom has handcrafted a very special holiday treat for us to enjoy each day until Christmas. Every night we will open up a beautifully embellished fabric pouch and read the enclosed Christmas book. I will take pictures tomorrow of Lucy with the books. They are an absolute treasure, and I have enjoyed planning the order in which she'll read them. Thanks, Mom. We love them!

Happy Holidays to everyone! 

tunnel time...

Christmas came early for Goose! She got a tunnel that attaches to a little tent! She loves her to crawl from one side of her tunnel to the other side, but never out of it. It's hilarious to hear her giggle and play in it. You can see the tunnel moving from side to side as her little body rips through it. I'll get video of her in action soon, but here is a quick snap shot.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

goose update!

This week we have been working hard on crying it out. As much as it totally stinks to hear her sad little voice say "maMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" for what seems like hours, it is getting better. She has been wearing herself out and sleeping in her crib for about 5 hours. Hopefully the length of time it takes to get her to sleep will shorten as we go.

Here is a cute picture I snapped this morning. Target had a sale on jammies! 2 pairs for $7.48! They look pretty comfy to me!

false alarm...

So after yet another rough night last night, we called Lucy's pediatrician this morning. I was thinking maybe she had an ear infection or something that was causing the fussiness and disrupted sleeping. They told us to bring her in this afternoon.

Karen, our favorite nurse, weighed her. She tops the scales at a whoppin' 19 lbs! We love Karen. She is just the best with Lucy and just cares so much. Dr. Frank came in and examined her. Everything checked out fine. No ear infection. Diagnosis: Sassy child/Teething.

uncle adam is back!

My little brother Adam is back from his deployment to Afghanistan! After a few days back in the states, he ventured up to our house to meet Lucy and visit us! Lucy and I waited allll day long for his arrival. When he walked through the door a HUGE smile flashed across Lucy's face! She had been skyping with Adam while he was away, so I'm sure it was a huge shock to see him standing in our living room!

We are glad to have you back in the states, Adam. We are very proud of you and love you very much! You are fantastic!

revisiting sleep...

After a very rough night of up/down/up/down/up/down, I am at the end of the rope with bedtime and our sleep schedule. I do not understand why she isn't sleeping through the night yet. A mean streak of jealousy rips through my body when I hear of another baby that is sleeping through the night. Why can't Lucy just do it?! 

I spoke with my neighbor Sarah today. Her son started sleeping an 8-10 hour stretch when he was six weeks old. I fought back my urge to "unfriend" her and asked for help. She suggested a calming cd during bedtime and letting her cry it out. So that is what we did. 

Jon is out of town, so Sarah and I took charge. I nursed Lucy for a little bit and put her in her crib when she was drowsy. I turned on the music and listened to her scream cry for 45 minutes. She fell asleep and I was so excited! Sarah and I celebrated with an MGD and carrot cake. Lucy slept for 2 hours in her crib by herself. 

After the 2 hours of peace and quiet, she was up and would not settle back down. I tried to soothe her but every time I would leave the room, she would stand in the corner of her crib and cry. Her body was literally shaking when I went in there to try to calm her down again. I just give up. She is currently sleeping soundly in our bed. So do I fight her all night long and make her sleep in her crib or do we actually get a little of sleep with her in the bed? 

I've read the books. I know the different methods. Ferberizing does not work on Lucy. The "No Cry Sleep Solution" does not work on Lucy. "Cry it out" does not work with this child. I am beginning to think that she is an exception to every rule. 

I'm really just writing to get this all out before I go to bed in hopes that I get more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep tonight. Please do not leave a comment if your child slept through the night (or even 3-4 hours in a row) at an early age. I simply can not take it!

Wishing everyone a quiet and peaceful night!

library fun!

Today Lucy and I went to the library with our neighbor Sarah and her little boy, Coil. Lucy had the time of her little life there! We read a lot of board books during our visit. They will be doing a toddler story time starting in January. Lucy and Coil are looking forward to it!

cracker, cracker..who's got the cracker?

Lucy can't seem to find her cracker... 

so big!

Yesterday Lucy was all about this hat. I tried to fit it over that big melon of hers, but it didn't quite work. Here's a comparison shot of Lucy's first day here and present. She's so big! I miss being able to swaddle her up tightly and that sweet little newborn smell... ahh, memories. 

birthday par-tay!

Today we celebrated my birthday! We had a few people over for dinner and cake. Our friends Paul and Jenne have a 15 month old and our other friends Tim and Sarah have a 14 month old. It was a busy night at our house! I think this picture captured the chaos well.... :) 

nature hike

Our car was in the shop today so we decided to take a Goose on a nature hike through the woods behind our house. We walked for a LONG time! I've taken her for walks in the Moby wrap before, but I'd only had her on the front. Today we got a wild hair and decided to strap her to my back. She tried to get out at first, but after she realized we were going on a walk, she calmed down. About half way through our excursion, she fell asleep and I started to really feel the burn. For some reason this child can gain what feels like an extra fifty pounds. She immediately gets so heavy when she falls into a deep sleep. I was struggling towards the end! Even though most of the leaves have already fallen it was still gorgeous outside. We're hoping to go again tomorrow!

crawling..crawling..crawling..

Before Lucy started to crawl, I never understood when other parents would say that their kids are "into everything" when they start crawling. Now that Lucy is mobile, I can fully appreciate the sentence, "My baby is INTO EVERYTHING!" She is so fast! One minute she's quietly playing on her blanket and the next she's chasing down Maggie's tennis ball in the kitchen.

Because she likes to explore, I have cleaned out the bottom of the television stand and made that her toy area. In the morning she crawls over to the cabinet and takes out all of her toys for the day. When the toys are out, she tries to find the dog's gross, drooled on, nasty toys. I'm not quite sure why she would prefer to play with Maggie's toys rather than her clean brightly colored toys.... hmmm

Here is a picture of Lucy's hang out. I've added some soft cozy blankets to her club house to make it more comfortable for her. After taking all of her toys out this morning, she must have been in need of a quick rest. :)

party in the high chair

I guess we should start strapping her in now.

cute new addition

We added a cute new element to our wardrobe today.... HAIRCLIPS! This momma is more than happy about it! :) 

my little helper

We've had a productive morning so far. Thanks to Lucy and her "helping" hands, I've managed to get laundry folded. She is into everything now that she has mastered forward propulsion (aka crawling). 

trick or treat!

Today was Halloween at our house. Our neighborhood trick-or-treats early. We had a pretty steady stream of goblins from about 2-3.. and then it tapered off. Lucy was a pumpkin this year, courtesy of her Grandma Seier. :) Here are a few pictures from our afternoon:
After Lucy goes to bed tonight, Jon and I are going to carve those pumpkins in the picture... :)

a special gift

My mom's dear friend Kathy Coleman sent this gorgeous quilt for Lucy. It was torture waiting for Lucy to wake up from her nap so I could show her. Thank you, Kathy. It is absolutely beautiful!

crawling...

Lucy is on the move. While I was folding laundry this morning, she was crawling/hopping behind the couch. She made her way over to me, stopped, and gave me this huge smile as if to say.."I was just over there!!!!! can you believe it?!"

I love this little girl... more than anything.

7th month celebration

Today Lucy turned 7 months. I can hardly believe those words are being said today. I hate to be so cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday we were holding her for the first time...

We took Lucy to the Concord Zoo today. It consisted of a bunch of farm animals eagerly following us around hoping we had food from the little vending machine. It was cute.

time out for a little blogging with integrity

This topic is not related to Lucy at all, but since I blog, I need to address this. Last night I ran across a fellow mom's blog detailing her horrific adventure through an Atlanta airport with her toddler son. She outlined her terrible experience with TSA with the final point being they took her son! While I was reading this, I was almost in tears thinking about how AWFUL it would be if I was separated from Lucy in an airport, what I would do in a situation like that, and how I would get my baby back! I was going through a range of emotions and ready to leave a comment on her blog expressing my deepest sympathies for her traumatic experience. Thankfully Lucy needed to eat and I was distracted (not an uncommon event at our house..)

I logged back on to the computer a couple hours later and googled "TSA took my son". My search brought up TSA's blog about the incident and released video surveillance of what had happened. It was absolutely NOTHING like her story and she was with her son the entire time. Her son was quietly sitting in his stroller keeping himself occupied while his mother was wanded. Really? Could this film be altered? I watched it another time, carefully watching the other passengers in the TSA line, looking for jerky movements that would indicate a slice in the footage. Nothing. It was real time.

This lady fabricated the entire story. I hope her blog is shut down. I hope she has a serious fine from TSA.

I have seriously enjoyed working on this blog for more than a year. The only thing I love more about my blog is having followers who I hope read and enjoy our adventures in raising a little firecracker named Lucy. I would never write any falsehoods to attract more followers or create some kind of charade that would conjure up sympathetic comments from people I do not know. I blog with integrity.

Another part of blogging with integrity is showing appreciation for work. It takes a lot of work to have a quality blog. Keeping it new and fresh, searching for new "widgets" and html codes, updating pictures, layouts, headers all takes time. If I "steal" a component from another blogger, I am sure to email them and let them know that I appreciate it. A simple little thank you for the work that went into it so I could borrow it for my page goes a long way.

The TSA incident lady just infuriates me. I will not link her to this post because I do not want to give her blog any more traffic by posting the link.

Thank you to all who read and follow my blog. I appreciate it and look forward to keeping you updated on our crazy life for many years to come. I'm also working on a new blog just for myself.. not about babies, but about mommyhood. Looking forward to giving you a glimpse through my eyes.

bathtime fun!

Lucy's favorite part of the day.... her BATH!!!

its going to be a loooong winter..

After Lucy went to bed last night, I started brainstorming about all the things I could get accomplished this winter while we are snowed in in the country. I've always loved crafts and working on projects with my mom. I unpacked my big box of yarn in the garage and started crocheting a hat for Lucy. It was my first attempt and a little saggy in the back, but I'm sure by the time spring comes (and the 100th hat), I'll be better at it. :)

My next project is going to be making baby leg warmers. Lucy H.A.T.E.S getting dressed, so maybe this will alleviate some of the crying in the morning. I'll post pictures as soon as they are done.

crying it out at bedtime

It's time to reevaluate Lucy's sleeping habits. They are horrible. I am exhausted, worn out, and look like I'm carrying too large carry-on bags under my eyes. They are black carry-on bags too... if I do not have have concealer on my face, I look like I have two black eyes.

Tonight we tried crying it out. I know I've visited this topic before, and I appreciate all the tips/tricks/advice that everyone has, but I have to post this for my own reflection. I hope to read this post in a couple weeks and realize that her waking up every 45 to 60 minutes throughout the night is a thing of the past.

Crying it out sucks. There is no other way to put it. It is probably the hardest thing I've had to do as a parent to date. I am still not 100% convinced that this is a good idea. Hearing her scream and cry for me literally makes me sick to my stomach and so anxious I could hyperventilate. Maybe it is the fact that she's our first child and we are cautious not to give her deep ingrained psychological problems.. maybe it's just that I hate to hear her cry.. maybe I am just spoiling her even more rotten by the day.

Tonight was our first night of trying this "behavioral sleep pattern." I'm not sure how it's going to go the rest of the week. Jon is out of town, and I don't know if I have the strength to sit on the couch and listen to my sweet baby's voice get scratchier by the second.

I wish babies were born with the ability to sleep 8-10 hours a night.

whoops..

A little pee never hurt anyone........ hahaha!
Looks like someone didn't get the diaper on fast enough!

portraits

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While we were visiting my mom, we got Lucy's 6 month pictures taken. They are all posted on facebook, but for those of you who missed them.. here are a couple. :)

Lucy Update

Lucy and I just got back from a week with my mom! We had a very fun time in Council Bluffs and Elgin, NE. We traveled to Elgin for a craft fair that my aunt organizes every year. It was a lot of fun seeing lots of cousins, aunts, and friends of my grandparents. Lucy was great the whole time (except for nights, but that's not unusual). She had a blast playing with everyone.

Leaving always makes me so sad. I miss my mom and family so much. There are so many things that Lucy does that I want to share with them. For now, we'll just skype, skype, skype. :)

Lucy is getting bigger and more confident in her moving abilities. She is a rolling machine! No crawling yet.. just scooting. It won't be long before she's taking off across the floor....

snack attack

Lucy loves to snack on these rice crackers called Mum Mums. She usually eats about half of it before she throws it at the dog. Maggie happily finishes her leftovers.

Some days I think that she's growing up way too fast. At her six month appointment she was 18lbs and 27 inches long. She'll be going to college before we know it! *sniff, sniff*

I captured "A Day in the Life of Goose" in an album on facebook. I'll be posting the pictures here too for those of you who are unable to access facebook.
Love you all!
Mary Alice and Lucy Beth

on a roll.......

5.5 months old!

Lucy is five and a half months old now. I never thought I'd say this, but where did the time go??? She is becoming more aware of what she can do and how strong her legs/arms are. She's a struggle to hold, that's for sure!

Today was a long day. For some reason Lucy was just miserable. She didn't have a fever or other signs of illness, but she was just grumpy. At this point, I'm not sure if it's teething because we've been blaming that for awhile now. Maybe it was just an off day... hoping tomorrow is better!

my little helper

Lucy has taken a strong interest in almost everything we do. Today was just one of those days. She wanted to be a part of everything. After reading several books and playing with every toy she has, I decided to take a mental break for myself and sew a little bit. Of course she wanted to help. If she could figure out how to thread her own needle, I'm sure she would be sewing right along with me!

Lucy's Trip to Seattle