"I'm Gonna Beat You Up!"

Here is Lucy trying to feed me puffs. She thinks this is endlessly funny!

Lucy helping Mama test the lights for Christmas tree decorating!

So sparkly!

On Monday night, we all went to the tree lot to pick out the perfect tree! Lucy had had a very crabby day and was not into the whole thing, until we let her grab the branches.

Lucy tasting around for the perfect tree!

Our first real Christmas tree! (Yes honey, last year's counted, but it was only as tall as our 6 month old daughter.)

Lucy riding the mighty Fir!

Me, modeling the tree skirt.

Andrew trying to put the tree in the first stand...

Decorating!

It's so gorgeous!

Our beautiful star!

Lucy trying to grab an ornament. This lasted for 5 minutes and two "no nos." Now she doesn't even see it.

Happy Girl!

The finished tree, decorated in silver and gold! So pretty!

Today, Lucy and I are doing laundry. We spent the morning playing "I'm gonna beat you up!" Which involves Lucy lying on the floor and me yelling "I'm gonna beat you up with....kisses! I'm gonna beat you up with...nibbles! I'm gonna beat you up with...tickles!" and on and on. And she just lies there and screams with laughter while I proceed to "beat her up."

Now she is trying to nap and I really should be in the shower...hm.

Dear Lucy...

It's the last day of Thanksgiving weekend. Boy are we pooped! We had a wonderful week, and you loved Thanksgiving so much! You ate all sorts of new foods and had a great week.

I'm so thankful for you. I'm thankful that you're so healthy and vibrant. You have such a happy little smile and you love to sit in the middle of the living room and smile at everyone bustling around. My happiest moments these days are when your Daddy gets home from work and you sit in the living room and play, listening to us swap stories about our days. You adore your Daddy and always turn into a very smiley baby when he walks through the door, no matter what kind of day we had together. When we sit in the living room and talk, your little head goes back and forth, laughing along with us and paying very close attention.

You're SO CLOSE to crawling! You're army crawling now, and you pop up onto your knees and rock back and forth. Tomorrow we're going to put up the Christmas tree- I think that'll give you a reason to try even harder!

I can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas. I can't believe that at this time last year, we still didn't even know you were a girl! On this day one year ago, your Daddy felt you kick for the first time, and boy was he excited. This Wednesday will be one year from the day that we found out we were having a little girl. Your Daddy looked like he was going to pass out from happiness. He called every person he knew to tell them, "We're having a little girl!" You've been his little darling ever since. Did you know that before he leaves for work every morning, he goes into your room to see you catch your last few minutes of peaceful sleep? If you're awake when he leaves, he makes sure you're smiling when he leaves so that he can remember your crooked little grin all day long.

We love you so much! I love your soft baby skin and your "milk and puffs" smell when I nuzzle your neck. I know that these things will go away so soon, so I try to pick you up and snuggle you as much as I can. I can't believe that in a few years you'll trade your fat little baby belly for a regular tummy, and that you'll be wearing your pajamas in two pieces. It's not fair that my baby is growing so fast. Tonight you almost fell asleep on me- something you haven't done in months. I was so excited! Is this how every mommy feels, hoping to catch her baby doing that one thing, just one more time?

What am I thankful for this year? I'm thankful that my sweet little baby is still a sweet little baby, if only for a few more months. I'm trying to enjoy every minute-it's just going by too fast!

We love you, little Turkey!

Bad, bad blogger!

Thankfully, Thanksgiving is over! We had a GREAT weekend, but we're all pooped! Let's just say our very wonderful week ended in tears for Lucy, who was so wired and confused that she just had a little meltdown by the end of Saturday. Poor kid!

Let's see...On Wednesday, Andrew was off work, so we took the car to the shop and ran a few errands. We cleaned the house and got everything in order for our big Thanksgiving dinner! Kandi, her mama and Delilah came over to visit. Lucy didn't know what to think of Delilah!

In the end, she REALLY liked her!

The Merkel family showed up late Wednesday night, and we all got into bed to rest up for the big day!
On Thursday morning we were up nice and early, thanks to Miss Lucy's bright start. Mom and I cooked like crazy and the boys all went to LaVale to play football. It was a very nice and quiet house! We got a lot done, and everyone came back dirty and sore just in time to watch football. Kristy, Erik and Xander showed up as the game was starting and we got dinner on the table by 4! It was a delicious dinner, and it was so wonderful having it here! I had so much fun cooking, and it was so nice to see Andrew so thrilled to be at home for a holiday.
Lucy had her first Thanksgiving dinner! She had stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied carrots and pumpkin pie! Lucky girl! She loooooooved dinner!

On Friday, we spent the day relaxing and baking cinnamon popcorn for the cookie bake! Lucy had a nice quiet day around the house, eating puffs and watching the goings-on.

On Friday night, we all played hide and seek, which was hilarious because we could hide Paul in all sorts of small spaces.

And today was the 1st Annual Fabulous Holiday Cookie Bake! Lucy was decked out in her cookie gear and had lots of fun doing....Lucy things.

Nina made toffee! It was very good. She's brilliant.

Lucy and Lilly had fun rolling around on the floor, being silly cousins.

And Christian kept things under control....women!

We gave the camera to Paul for group pictures...he got half of us! He didn't get LB, Kristy and Nina in the picture, but I promise they were there!!

We had a great day. It was exhausting, but really fun!

All in all, it was a GREAT Thanksgiving. What am I thankful for? My wonderful friends and family, my wonderful husband, our perfect little Lucy, our warm and happy home and for our good health. I can't count the blessings! This is my best year ever.

Nice Weekend!

What a wonderfully relaxing weekend!

On Friday Night Suz and I went Thanksgiving dinner shopping and then came back here and made dinner. Kristy and Erik brought Xander over and he went to bed here while they went out. He slept like a baby! I'm glad they had the chance to go out!
Yesterday Lucy let us sleep in til 8:30! We all got up and had a very lazy morning around the house! Suz and Erin came over to visit and then we went shopping at Gabe's. Lucy took her nap in the car and we got home and had fish and pasta for dinner. I put Lucy down and Suz and I went to see "Abundance" at FSU. It was very good. A little kooky, but good. It was nice to get out! I came home and had a nice night with Andrew, who had been working on school and watching movies.
Today we're having another lazy morning around the house. Andrew and Lucy let me sleep in til 8:30! Yay! We're going to go to Mass at noon and then I'm going to organize the kitchen. Tonight Andrew and I are leaving the tyke at home and we're going to dinner and a movie. SO EXCITING. I'm pretty much counting the minutes!

"Mama? Are you out there?"

This is how I found Lucy in her crib. Her little head was going back and forth, so confused! When I picked up the blanket, she was just giggling away!

Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go!

Well, it's 7am and Miss Lucy is thumping around in her crib. She slept well last night, so we're gearing up for a big fun day of...playing? We have no plans, no money and no gas. Hm. I'm not sure what that leaves us with. We DO, however, have clean laundry. I guess we'll work on that for the morning!
I am hoping today will be as good as the past couple days. Lucy has been such a doll! So cheery and sweet. I think she knows Christmas is coming...
Today I'm going to make my Thanksgiving menu and shopping list. That includes a Walmart list...ugh. I gues Lu and I will do that on Friday. It's going to be a big shopping trip- I might even need to type my list! Oh my!
Well, I need to get Lucy out of her bed- I'm wondering if she put herself back to sleep...I haven't heard a peep out of her in almost 10 minutes.
I can't believe how fast she's growing. I just want to stop time and keep her 6 months old forever...they say it only gets worse.

Big Fun in Little Frostburg!

Well, Lucy is napping and I'm taking a little break before we have to go to the laundromat. I figured we only have three baskets right now and an entire day to kill, and I actually have cash today! (Well, now that I took Andrew's cash out of his wallet...) So we're going to get out and wash our clothes, make a trip to the PO and hang out while we get something done! Yesterday was very productive, so if all we do is fold laundry and play on the floor today, it'll be a good day.

I ordered our Christmas cards! They're sooooooo cute! I can't wait to send them! I made them on Shutterfly, and my total was outrageous- at 67 cents a card, I was really debating ordering them at all. But one of my friends on my mommy site reminded me about retailmenot.com, and it brought my grand total, including shipping, down to $20! Wow! I was so excited! I think I'll be using retailmenot a LOT this season!

We had a very nice weekend this past weekend! On Friday night we celebrated Lucy's Half-Birthday with a princess party!

LB and Suz came over, and LB brought Lucy a Roscoe the Round-Up Pup toy. She was so excited!

She also had her very first taste of birthday cake! She loved it!

Andrew and Suz had an incredibly fun time putting stickers on themselves while I made dinner.

I had an incredibly great time being gorgeous.

And winning our Half-Birthday-Lucy's-In-Bed-Poker-Night!

On Saturday morning, we piled into the car and drove to Baltimore for Christian's baptism. It was a beautiful event, and we didn't get a single picture because we're his godparents and we were up front! He was such a good boy! I'm very excited to have a godson, especially such a cute one!

On Saturday night we stayed at the Cooke House and had a nice time visiting and relaxing in the hot tub. On Sunday morning we went to church and then the entire family went to Bob Evans for breakfast! Lucy was hours past her nap, so we gave her a banana in her mesh feeder and she had a blast getting all slimey. She ate the whole thing!! Here she is looking under the table at me.

Lucy post-breakfast, covered in smooshed banana. We actually gave her a little mini-bath in the bathroom before we left! She was so sticky and gross!

Once we were in the car, Lucy crashed before we even left the parking lot. She was so full and exhausted that she slept for the ENTIRE trip home!

When we got home, Lucy was wide awake and ready to play! She and Daddy played under a blanket for quite awhile. She loves to have her head covered and listen to the house noise from under her blanket!

Lucy is 6 Months Old Today!

I can't believe how fast my sweet baby girl is growing! It seems like just yesterday that she was a complete stranger. She was a tiny little bundle of very scary baby, and look at her now!

Now she's sitting up, trying to crawl, laughing, grabbing toys, eating real food and jabbering away in Lucy-talk. She's such a sweet girl, and we're so blessed to have this sweet little girl in our lives! She really is proof that your children never actually "belong" to you. She has such big plans and so many ideas. I can't wait to see her put her life into action!

And big prayers today for Grandpa, who is having surgery! We'll be praying all day!

Lucy's Tent!!