goose...

Goose turns TWO very soon. I can't believe we are celebrating her second year of life in a few short days. Unreal!

There is not one thing about her that says "baby" anymore. She seems so grown up compared to Mally. From her vocabulary, to her dancing, to her singing.. she is just an all around smart kid.

Her big thing is negotiating right now. Today when I was trying to get her down for a nap, she asked me for everything she'd rather be doing than laying down. Our conversation went something like this:

"Umm.. watch Caillou?" no.
"Ummmm....Einsteins?" no.
"Umm...Candy canes?" no.
"Prepzils?" (pretzels) no.
"Hummus?" (the kid is obsessed) no.
"Umm.. Daddy at work?" uh huh.

She is also starting to pretend lately. She'll set up her Little People in a row and create little conversations between them. Most of it is jibberish, but I could listen to it all day. Yesterday I heard her telling her stuffed lion, Elvis, "daddy at work...frying air panes."

She loves her pockets!

Lucy stocked up at the Kohl's Black Friday sale this year! After yet another growth spurt, we needed to get our 20 month old some 3T clothing. All of her shirts were beginning to look like belly shirts, and her pants were high waters. We solved that little problem with some super cute clothes at a super great price! I love when we save more than we spend in a transaction... ahhh... such a good feeling!

Her favorite items we bought her her two hoodies. Jon showed her how to put her hands in her pockets, and that was all she wanted to do! It was so funny to see her walk around the house with her little hands tucked in her sweat shirt. I think we might need to run back and get the other two prints they had. I can already tell I'll be washing these constantly...

Lucy's vocabulary is exploding more and more every day. It's rarely quiet in this house, and I love it. She is linking words together to form 3-4 word sentences already! It's nice to be able to communicate with her a little bit more effectively.

Jon was home during the week of Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful week for sure! After being gone nearly all of the month, it was so refreshing to see his face every morning and every night. Lucy was loving every minute of having both of us home. Today is his first day back at work, and she keeps finding things that belong to Jon and putting them by the door to the garage for when he gets home. So far, her collection includes a baseball hat, one sneaker, and a dirty sock from the laundry.

While Jon was home, we were able to get so much done for Mally's arrival. I can comfortably say that if I went into labor right now (hopefully not until 12/20), we'd be ready to go!

temporary houseguest

Our good friend's dog Charlie is staying with us for six days. Lucy has taken quite a liking to this guy, and is rarely seen without him. It *almost* makes me want to have a dog again.

He is very sweet with Lucy and very tolerant of all of the fairy playing and block stacking that happens on his back. Today I caught her trying to count his teeth. I was pretty taken aback when I saw her little hands in his big mouth, but Charlie just licked her.

Everything is more interesting with him around. Meal times last longer because of all of the food throwing. She will feed him anything off of her plate followed by an enthusiastic "YUMMMMMMMMMMM!" when he eats it. The novelty of that has just not worn off! Bed times are hilarious. Charlie likes to law right by Lucy's crib. For close to an hour all I hear is, "Goooood boooooooooy..... Char yeee? Char yeee....." and on and on and on.

Tomorrow is our last full day with this gem of a canine. He will be missed! I think he will be on the play date rotation for quite some time.

she knows...

Lucy has this amazing ability to know when we have something to do. On a typical day at the Whittemore house her naps usually last 1-2 hours, but never any longer than that. On the days that we have to be somewhere in the afternoon, like to the airport to pick up Jon, she will take her sweet time waking up. She took a three hour nap during this picture shoot! I couldn't believe it! Stinker!

Update on the girls...

Lucy got a very special package in the mail last week! It was a package of goodies from her cousin Lizzie! There were several frilly dresses and a great mix of books and toys. We spent all afternoon ooooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the items. This dress was Lucy's favorite. She stood in front of the mirror and twirled for the better part of the afternoon. She is just the best!

She is getting quite the vocabulary. She will tell you what she wants and expects immediate gratification. Her latest words have been: "I know, I know" (when I tell her to be careful), and "MINE!!" The last word could have waited a few more months, but she picked up on that one right away.

Mallory is continuing to grow and grow. She is making herself known by more powerful kicks and punches. It still amazes me that there is another life inside of me. We have an appointment on Wednesday, and I'm eager to hear her little heart beat again and get a definite due date! According to my last ultrasound, I am around 20 weeks, and she'll be here around Christmas!

Rockin' the lake

Yesterday our friends, the Mutchelknaus's, invited us to a day on Rock Lake. We had so much fun. Lucy took to the water like it was nothing! Jon splashed around with her for nearly three hours while the baby and I rested in a shady spot. It was the perfect day. Now that we know there is such a clean lake close by, I think we will be regulars there until it freezes over this winter.

I have been having some anxiety over not feeling this baby as much as I did Lucy. When I was carrying Lucy, there would be days where I would be physically exhausted from all of her rolls, punches, and jabs. I know I'm only 19 weeks with this one, but I haven't been feeling regular movements yet. While we were at the lake yesterday, I felt at least three good rolls and a couple jabs. What a relief!

We have our ultrasound on Wednesday! We'll find out if we have a Henry or a ??? (girl's name is still TBD)

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hair management

Lucy's hair has always been an issue with me. I wanted it to grow as fast as possible so I could put it in little pigtails or ponies. The only part that was growing was the top half, and with two cowlicks positioned on either side of her forehead, it was just hard to manage. Jon and I are not a fan of the big oversized flowery head bands that seem to be all the rage right now. I've tried various barrettes with no luck. They just would not stay in place, and they were pulling her hair out when I would take them out. OUCH!  The other night, I put Lucy to bed promptly at 7, and got to work. By the way, how in the world would this be comfortable? I debated on moving her, but decided if she was in pain, she'd move herself. Silly girl.

I had picked up some snap barrettes at Sally's awhile ago, but did not have a chance to do anything with them. I pulled them out of the closet along with some scrap fabric. I came up with a simple solution. A fabric covered barrette with rolled fabric on the underside and a few French knots. They turned out really nice and the best part is - they stay in place!!! The hardest part was waiting for her to wake up the next morning to try them out on her sweet little head.

summer toes

Jon and I painted Lucy's toes this morning. It was so nice outside and if she was going to be barefoot, I wanted her to have pretty piggies. She sat pretty still, and then we read stories to give them a chance to dry. It worked out well!

This picture was taken after playing and walking through the grass, so her feet are pretty dirty. I was a little worried with how she would respond to grass, but she hasn't had a problem with it. She just loves to be outside. We had a few jail breaks this morning while the screen door was open. She made it out to the edge of the porch very quickly. She is such a speedy little toddler!

Kitty!!!

Lucy loves her kitties! Her version of the word kitty comes out "kkkkkkccchhhhhhh!", but we all know what she means. We got her the Planet Earth dvds for her birthday and today she made the noise when the pumas were on. Basically everything with four legs, a tail, and a slightly furry coat gets an enthusiastic point and a loud "kkkkkkccchhhhhhh!"

It was so nice today. We took Lucy on a stroll through the woods. She enjoyed the walk and had lots to say on the way. It was almost as if she was telling us how the world worked. It's pretty neat hearing it from her perspective.

We got four ghost shrimp for her little aquarium today. I let her name them, and they are all named "Up." It's pretty convenient since they all look alike.

Adios, Daddy-o!

This morning Jon left for the Bahamas. He's only going to be gone for the day, but Lucy had a hard time with him leaving. I think she's getting more aware of when the garage opens and the car starts. Poor thing. It took me awhile to get her calmed down for snack. It was so nice having him home consistantly for the past week. Making the transition back to having him gone is always a hard one.

Hopefully it will be a quiet day at our house. I am on a mission to reorganize and simplify our house! It is driving me nuts to have clutter behind ever closet door. I want to start with my sewing stuff, but I'm sure that will lead to more sewing and no organizing!
 




Our garden is really taking off. I snapped this shot this morning while Lucy was reading her books. These are the tomato plants! I can't wait to get these little guys in the dirt out back. We have two Topsy Turvy Tomato Hangers that I am so anxious to try. Salsa anyone??

finger painting

Lucy painted today. This is always quite the adventure because more of the paint ends up on her chair, tray, and self than on the actual paper. She loves it though, so I don't mind cleaning up her messes. 

Good thing her bath was right after these pictures were taken. The bathwater was a nice shade of green tonight. 

After we took the paper away from her, she protested a little. Her annoyed face is still cute. 

a silly little walker...

all you need is love... and a sucker..

Coil stopped by today to wish Lucy a Happy Valentine's Day! After exchanging little love notes, they enjoyed some valentine suckers. Lucy was more interested in his sweet little face....

After Coil's sucker was gone, he decided to go for Lucy's. Good thing she likes to share...

The reason why Lucy is semi-naked is because she was wearing a white embroidered dress for her special valentine, and I didn't want it to get slobbered on. As you can see by the last picture, there was quite a bit of drool between the two of them. A much needed bath was taken after Coil's departure!

i love lucy...

It's Lucy's first Valentine's Day! 

We celebrated with a Valentine breakfast at the local diner. Lucy loved all of the attention from the waiters, waitresses, and neighboring tables of guests. 

Big kisses from these cute little lips to yours! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

our morning...

We had a busy morning today! Lucy was up and at 'em at 5:25am ready to start her day. She made some breakfast in her kitchen. I politely "ate" what she made and then made both of us a nice breakfast in MY kitchen... 
Since our wake up time was so early and she refused to take a nap, story time at the library was definitely in question. This was the sour little expression on her face most of the morning. I was trying to get a picture of her outfit (Gymboree mega sale..$5!!!), but she just wasn't cooperating. This was the best shot I got. Notice the big girl shoes? They have sparkles!!!
A mini melt down and a couple of tears later, we were ready to get in the car to go the library! We rode with our friends Sarah and Coil! Lucy was telling Coil all about her morning on the way there. It's so cute to hear them babble.
There are no pictures of the actual story time because my camera was on the wrong setting and I was chasing around a 10 month old. That combination does not lead to great documentation. 

After the library, we took the kids to Culver's for lunch. Both of them were well behaved, so we got ice cream afterwards! Lucy had a couple little tastes of it, and she loved it! We're looking forward to next week's story time! Hopefully I'll get some pictures then!

i'm back!

My USB thingy and memory card have been lost ALL week, so I have not been able to take pictures or upload anything! What a long week! A big thanks to my mom for sending the tools to get this job done! :) 

Jon has been gone all week. Lucy and I have been busy being crafty! We made valentine votive candles, and finger painted valentines to send to our loves near and far. I've also been sewing a lot this week. 

It seems like Lucy grew a lot in the last couple weeks. Her top teeth are coming down and it's changing her whole face! She looks like such a big girl! I was being a mama-razzi during lunch and snapped quite a few pictures. Her hands look so big in this one! They are like toddler hands!!! 

first real cold...

Lucy has her first real cold. She is such a snotty, booger-y mess! It started last week and I think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that tomorrow when we wake up everyone will be healthy at our house.  The Hello Kitty cool mist humidifier has been Lucy's bff the past couple days... 

She hates to have her nose wiped, and throws a huge fit whenever we do. (tears, screaming, kicking.. the whole bit) Apparently she has no problem playing with them though... little stinker!

An update

I saw another tooth poke through Lucy's gums this morning! She has two teeth on the bottom and one of her top lateral incisors. Her two front teeth are not far behind. The poor girl's gums are so swollen. Hopefully they will pop soon. She has been so cranky and her sleeping habits are back to being horrible. We've tried a cold washcloth, baby orajel, tylenol, teething rings, etc. The only thing that would help at this point is for those dang teeth to pop through!

On a happier note, she is getting close to walking! She walks behind her push toy like a pro, but has not been brave enough to go it alone.  She is getting into everything as it is now, so I can't imagine how crazy it's going to be when she's completely mobile. 

Tomorrow I am signing her up for Toddler story time at a nearby library. Hard to believe she's old enough for that already! I can't wait for it. It just seems like yesterday I was counting down the days until she was born and now she's in a TODDLER story time! 

And because no post is complete without a picture, he's one I snapped today. She loves to play with my scarves. You can see her normally smiley face is not so smiley... darn teeth!

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!

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.....**