Wednesday, September 26, 2012

18 Months!

In honor of our 18 month old, I am keeping with tradition and sharing 18 things I love about you, Lucy:

1.  Your giggle.  It is absolutely infectious.  It is the biggest, heartiest giggle I know.
2.  Your dimple.  What can I say?  You take after Mommy with that cute smile, and having dimples is something I loved as a kid, so I'm thrilled that you have at least one!
3.  Your vocabulary.  I love how some days we have no idea what you're trying to tell us, and other days you will spit out words like "hot dog", or "crock pot", or "Super Why" as clear as a bell.
4.  Your love for books.  You are perfectly content sitting with a basket of books and reading them one by one.
5.  Your love for animal sounds.  You know them all without fail, and you will rattle them off like clockwork -woof woof, mow (meow, always said with a head tilt!), cack cack (quack), baa, moo, oink oink.
6.  Your love of sleep.  You will happily go down at night and sleep entirely through til morning when we wake you.  You sometimes still cry after you go down-it's just kind of your thing, but you can sleep like no other. 
7.  When your big sis gets a timeout, you always want to sit with her.  Sometimes you even beat her to her timeout spot on the rug because you know what she's supposed to do, and you just go there and sit and wait for her.
8.  Your love of food.  Oh. my.  You inhale, my dear.  Even Caroline knows to tell you not to "stuff it in."  Food is no match for you and at 18 months you're already 2 pounds heavier than your almost 3 year old counterpart!  Oh, and you snitch.  No matter if you're hungry or not, you will grab any remnants within reach off the table and help yourself!  We have to keep everything pushed back out of reach or it's free game!
9.  You climb.  High.  And you are fearless.  It's probably not my favorite quality, but it definitely is a big part of you right now!
10.  You love your animals.  Every time we get you from the crib you want to bring your toys with you.  You point to it and insist it comes along for the ride downstairs with you. 
11.  You think every time the phone rings that it's your Papa.  Even if you find something that resembles a phone, you'll put it to your ear and say Papa as if your'e talking to him. 
12.  You love your Daddy.  Every time he walks into the room you do a little happy dance and shout Dada.  It melts my heart every time.  And speaking of dancing - you wiggle side to side if you hear any music, and sometimes even when you don't!  You're a natural.
13.  You're smart.  You understand what we're saying most of the time.  When we tell you to put toys away, you immediately start cleaning up.  Gee, your big sis could take a lesson from you here!  If you see someone with their eyes closed, you will go shh shh with your finger at your mouth, and you will say bye bye when you know it's time to leave.
14.  If you find an empty lap, you'll hop on in and sit for a spell - usually with a book in tow.
15.  Your tummy. You love to pull up your clothes and pat it when we ask where your tummy is, and then you go around to everyone else and try to pull up their clothes to find their tummies too! And when you play on the floor you like to lay on your tummy. And in your crib, you prefer to sleep on your tummy. As round and cute as it is, it must be pretty comfy to lay on!
16. You love bathtime.  If I even mention the word, you pat your tummy, say "baff", and head upstairs. 
17.  Flirty eyes.  You have learned this one with perfection.  You put your entire chin down and look up and bat those baby blues.  You usually give us the cheesy face immediately before or after.  I guess we usually request them both, so you just naturally go ahead and do them together. 
18.  You are strong and determined, and you have incredible balance. I know there will be times we battle because of this, but I think it will get you pretty far in life. You don't let much get by you. Once you set your mind on something, you tackle it. I also think it helped you and I both get through your surgery at 3 months. I knew what a fighter you were - and look at you today. Wow. What a shining example of a girl who can do it all. We love you Lucy Bug. You brighten our world each day and what a gift you are to us. Happy 18 months. I can't believe you've grown so quickly.  You can slow down any time now.  Really, it's okay.  Take your time with this growing thing, Lucy.  Got it?? 

 



So I cheated a little and combined some of my list so it would all fit in 18 lines, but what can I say?  There's just so much I love about this little sunshine it's hard to put a limit on it! 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Heaven is a whole lot sweeter

I'm pretty sure that my mom and Rick's mom are exchanging some pretty funny stories right about now.  They never got to meet in real life, so they have plenty to catch up on.  We are blessed that both of them are no longer suffering on earth, and we are blessed that they were incredible mothers.  And their legacy lives on in those two beautiful babies of ours.  I know how proud they are of the family we have and I am blessed to have known them, for even a short time.

It's not a fun thing to tell a parent goodbye, especially when you're doing it twice in such a short time span.  But, we have our memories to cherish and to share with our girls, so that they get to know what great women have left us behind.   Carol Smith was a beautiful lady in every sense of the word, and there's no doubt in my mind that heaven is a prettier place today because of her. 

In time, I'm hoping Rick will be able to add his memories here so our girls can look back at them and learn about their Grandma as the loving and devoted person she was.  And Lori wrote the most beautiful poem - I want to add it to this page too.  She has a gift for the written word.  What a beautiful tribute she wrote to Carol today.  For now, farewell Carol.  We will see you again someday.  Just know how very much you are loved and missed by your family.  Wishing life had treated us all differently, but know that your beauty remains in all who love you here.    Give mom an extra hug for me - and let her know we think of her daily too - and while you're at it, tell her thanks.  She told me she liked my new artwork in the front room, and that she approved. And even though the cool crisp air of fall is outside, I think I need a bowl of ice cream right about now - just for you! 

Gotta Dance!

In the age of "Monkey See, Monkey Do", dancing is something we do well together.
And Lucy's favorite place to dance is on the fireplace tile - where she can stomp her feet and make a sound, and giggle!
It's kind of like their own little stage.
And sometimes, we don't even need an audience!
- or a sidekick! 

Peek a boo!

Look who I caught peeking at me through the barn!
Such concentration!
She had a ball playing with this - and it helps that she knows all her animal sounds. 
Future farmer?  Perhaps!  But either way, she's pretty cute!

A visit with the Smith's

It's been a tough week for the Smith family, so we decided a get together was in store.
And both of these girls can't get enough of their Aunt Lori!

And Brady is always a big hit.
Maybe that's because he enjoys rolling around on the floor!??



And Uncle Chuck bonded with Lucy right away.

Well, shucks..he's got the gift - both girls seem to feel right at home in his lap!
And what could be better than a six-pack pile up?  It was a great day with our family!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Pepsi, anyone??

Why, yes, I'll have a drink of that!
Not sure about that, Papa Smith!
Two can play at this game!
Yep, that's pretty much the face we got each time, but it didn't stop her from smiling, and going back for more!


Aunt Lori gets in on the action, too!  Looks like Papa has started something!

Clothes, clothes, clothes!

Can you find the people among this pile of clothes??
How about now? 
Aunt Wendy dropped of two huge bins of 3T and 4T clothes, and boy are we happy!
Nothing makes this girl happier than wearing "Ellie's or Hannah's or Leah's or Emma's" clothes! 
And this little one?  Well, she just appreciated a new climbing apparatus!
They had a ball just rolling in the new duds!  And I had my laundry pile ready to tackle!
Life is fun - especially when there are new clothes to play in!
My sweet, silly girls!

New wall art!

I'm giddy!
Now my front room doesn't feel like such an afterthought.  It finally feels like it's put together!
And I love my new frames.  It was a challenge to select the color, size, style, but I'm thrilled with the results!  You have to come see them in person to fully appreciate them.  It's my new favorite hangout spot. 

Sisters!

What could be cuter, than two little giggly girls?
Who love to make each other laugh?
They have a special little bond.
And I love how tickled they get with each other. 
Silly, goofy, raw, loving giggles!
Checking to see if she's still laughing?
What pure fun!

Did we make your day?  They sure made mine!