Luci's Baptism Weekend

The Rosonke Family...Luci says come on Uncle Sunidh...hurry up & get on with it so you can be in our official family photos too!
The Pierse Family
Godmother Aunt Brooke & Godfather Uncle Keith

and Uncle Ben & Aunt Baylee...and finally...because Uncle Sunidh deserves an appearance on the blog...

This last weekend our Luci was baptized and we were VERY blessed with the arrival of almost all of the immediate/extended family for the event. All of Luci's grandparents, her Aunt Brooke & Uncle Sunidh, Uncle Ben & Aunt Baylee were here, as well as her Uncle Keith & Aunt Lee. We missed her Uncle Scott, Aunt Dana & Cousin Kylie! Luci is very blessed to have Aunt Brooke as her Godmother & Uncle Keith as her Godfather. Luci slept through almost the entire service and didn't even wake up as the water was poured on her head 3 times!

Everyone arrived on Friday and I think both Luci and I were very excited but a bit overwhelmed!! I have gotten very used to being Luci's primary care giver and it took both Luci & me a few days for me to learn to share....however by Sunday she (and I ;) would happily let anyone hold her. She did really well adapting to a house full of people who love her and this morning she kind of looked at me as if to say, "where did all of the fun people that love us go?" It was AMAZING to have everyone here & I'm not ashamed to admit there were a few tears shed after everyone had gone.

While the weekend was a bit crazy (I'm not great at cooking for 12), I've been doing some serious reflecting on childhood & family this week. I look back on my childhood so fondly now that it surprises me...growing up with Grandma & Grandpa Rosonke across the street & Grandma & Grandpa Halvorson just a few miles away was such a gift. I loved playing with my cousins all of the time and always having Grandmas & Grandpas around. I've not spent much time pondering my childhood over the years and now that I am, I'm just sort of amazed at all of the wonderful, warm fuzzy memories I have. Although I'll be the first to admit that I don't quite look back on adolescence & the teenage years with the same fondness...I just remember wanting to get the heck out of small town Iowa. And those years were fun too, but in a different way...those years were made special by all of my girlfriends. Childhood was made special by sisters & brother & cousins & grandparents. And now I'm longing for a similar childhood for Luci, although I know it is just not possible. Sure she'll have a sister &/or brother (God willing), but The Pierses aren't moving to New Hampton, and The Rosonkes aren't moving to Edinburgh, and this Pierse family isn't moving to either location. The chances of Brooke, Ben, Baylee & us living even within driving distance of one another is a long shot. So what can we do about this? Clay & I made a promise to each other that we'd take full advantage of the travel opportunities presented by his job. So while I might be a homebody, expect to see us hitting the road soon...

3 Months!

3 months...I'm a giant in my 9M pants and my 6-12M onesie!

My first time ever in a hood!! I smiled when the cool breeze blew across my face for the first time...move back up north mom & dad!!
3 months tummy time shot
3 months in the Bumbo!! Thanks for all of the heads up re: the Bumbo. We never leave her in it unattended, and certainly never put her in it on an elevated surface. We appreciate all of the concern!!

I'm behind on posts...

Here is one I started last week! It was called "New Toys"!

Well I finally understand how it can be SO easy & tempting to spoil your child with lots of toys. First of all, she's getting bored with the old ones. How do I know? Independent play was getting shorter & shorter...sitting and staring at the wall or looking at the duck just isn't keeping her occupied anymore. While I was getting my hair cut last week she had a blast playing with Clara's Felix the Firefly...per Amanda she was determined to get Mr. Felix up to her mouth. And I decided she might be tiring of the lovely bird, ladybug and duck which had been her whole toy world up until then. Well...I take that back. She also has cow & pig wrist rattles. But anyway, it made me realize she has very few toys. Given her constant desire to bring things up to her mouth with her new-found yet not 100% controlled hands, I decided it was time for some new motivation. She now owns a monkey with long legs for her to grab onto, and a monkey with big ears that have lots of rings & things to grab on. More to grab onto = easier trip to the mouth! She gets SO frustrated with her physical limitations...you can see and hear the frustration in her voice.

And to update...thanks to Aunt Brooke, Luci now has TONS of toys to keep her busy! She stares at her friend Mallory the Monkey for like 30 minutes!! Thanks Aunt Brooke!

From Frumpy to Fresh

Swinging that ladybug all over!
The furrowed brow...she doesn't love the camera. She really is a very smiley baby...I just never capture it on film!
Pondering her next move...
Going for the duck!
Here she's done with the duck & is about ready to cry...

Well today I'm sportin my new 'do...thus the title of this post...from frumpy to fresh. Sportin it at home for Luci only though, as we had near record temp's here today deep in the heart of Texas. Still in the mid 90's as we near the end of October...ick. I am in desperate need of a cool breeze! But, unlike my hair, I can't control the weather. So back to my hair. I chopped it all into a Katie Holmes-ish bob...and I love it!! Hopefully Clay will like it too...he's off acting as LCDR Pierse this week (soon to be just CDR Pierse ;) and won't be back until late Sunday. We miss him!!

Miss Luci hung out with our dear friends Amanda and Clara while I got my hair done yesterday...she did fine, but really made Amanda work for it. Sounds like the first hour she was pretty fussy & unhappy but then came around after a nap in Amanda's arms. Thanks again Amanda. For those of you who would like to check out the often talked about Lawrence Family here is their blog address: http://laurel-tree.blogspot.com/. Amanda was the original blogger...I'm just a copy cat!

Miss Luci is doing just fine at 12 weeks and 1 day. I wonder when I'll lose track of the weeks? She is getting SUPER strong, and for two days in a row now has kept her head level with her back while being pulled to the upright seated position. She's scootin all over the place on her back, but when on her tummy she still pretty content just to hang out. She spends much of her day batting at toys and picking them up, but only to drop them before they make it to her mouth. I have a feeling we'll be needing some mouth friendly toys very soon!

Scooter Luci

Happy in her chair

She is so funny with her lips...always making some goofy face!
Her Dr. Evil impersonation...
Talking to the bird!
This morning, bringing her mouth to the bird instead of the bird to the mouth!
Another funny face!!

My baby has learned to scoot! I noticed it a few nights ago as I was wrapping her in her the Amazing Miracle Blanket (which - btw - is STILL amazing!) and as I lifted her to tuck her little arms in she pushed off with her feet & scooted back 3 inches. She's done it each night since, and today she did it to express displeasure (it was accompanied with a low pitched groan/yell that started soft & got louder by the end of the scoot) while lying on the Amanda Blanket (the lovely blanket Amanda made for Luci...so many blankets they each need a name). She is quite an expressive little baby and I am pretty good at figuring out what she wants now - and if I can't I usually decide she doesn't know either and it therefore must be nap time!

She is getting really strong and can hold her head up for extended periods now...and even when she gets tired she doesn't want to stop trying. I used to put her on my legs at a 45 degree angle with my knees bent (using the ottoman) and chat her up, but now she REFUSES to just chill out...she tries to sit up every time! Today she did NOT want to be on her back on the Amanda Blanket...she wanted to sit up! So in the Bumbo Chair she went. She was good for 2 minutes and then the head started to slump, but oh no, she let me know she wasn't ready to give up yet when she screamed the minute I put her back down on the Amanda Blanket. Back in the Bumbo she went...happily!

She has definitely figured out she has a mouth and is discovering she controls her arms & hands & fingers. A few days ago she started to reach out & touch my arm while I change her diaper...at first I thought it was unintentional, but she's done it a few times since then...and it melts my heart! She reaches out to toys now too...kind of knocks them over & then looks at them some more. And if any make it near her mouth she tries to eat them...not by picking up the toy and bringing it to her mouth, but by trying to bring her mouth to the toy! She's figuring it out though...and it is SO fun to watch!!

I FINALLY am up for some physical exertion...we've been walkin fools the last few days. The weather has dried out a bit (as I told Clay...it feels like a Midwest summer day!), and while still hot (upper 80's) there is actually a hint of a breeze and the humidity is tolerable. I don't know if the change in the weather finally invigorated me or if my disgusting belly just finally started to get to me, but we've been walking between 3 and 5 miles a day since Wednesday. And as soon as Miss Luci wakes up we are walking to Kroger to buy some butter. I was pleasantly surprised to see rhubarb in the store earlier this week so I'm making a rhubarb crisp...the Lawrence Family has never had rhubarb...which is a terrible shame...so I'm changing that today!

Notes at almost 11 weeks

Eating her arm...who wants to roll over when there are arms to eat!
She does this goofy thing with her lower lip now...puffs it up as she's sucking on things...

Luci in her church dress waving hello to everyone! Well, our Lucipea has been to church twice now. The first week we sat in the cry room...which really was more like romper room. The parents in there really had no interest in teaching their children how to behave in church...kids were screaming & running amok! So now we sit in the back of the church in case we need to leave. This week she was very well behaved!!

Well there are lots of random notes I want to make again...so here goes...

-Her little hands are SUPER STINKY!! They were balled up in fists for the first 10 weeks or so, so naturally they need a bit of airing out. We have to work really hard during bath time to unclench the fist & clean out between the fingers!

-She likes bath time. I say, "doesn't that feel nice" or "splish splash you are takin a bath" over & over again. Clay likes to imitate me in a high pitched voice so I realize how silly I sound...but Luci likes it!

-Her finger nails grow like crazy - I'm clipping them every other day. But the toenails don't grow!?!?!? Haven't clipped them yet!

-She's fully in 3-6 month gear...no 3 month stuff for my 2.5 month old!

-She lost all of the hair on the top of her head (which was dark), and it is coming back in blond...but the back of her head still has the dark hair she had at birth.

-She is just a JOY in the morning. She wakes up & chats with her mobile friends for a half hour sometimes. We go in her room and she greets us with the most adorable grin that it makes the night waking bearable.

-She is learning to soothe herself back to sleep. We do really well at night...usually after the 3 or 4 or 5am feeding (different time every night) I wrap her back up in the Amazing Miracle Blanket, sing her an Iowa KKG song, and put her in her crib. Sometimes she's bright eyed, but she usually will drift back to sleep within 45 minutes. I usually sit with her for 5 minutes after she's back in the crib, replace the paci once or twice, and then I go back to bed & listen for her cries. Either I end up back in her room, or I wake up at 6 or 7 or 8 (again, different everyday) and think WOOHOOOO!

-She REALLY likes it when I sing...so much so that she has started to make little humming noises while I rock her if I haven't started to sing yet before a sleep time. Once I start she 'sings' with me for a bit...it is super cute. Her favorite song is this Iowa KKG song...I think because all of the words are long & drawn out & sound like her little hummms?

-She is not a very good napper in the afternoon & evening.

-She wakes up happy & gets progressively fussier as the day goes on (probably due to the lack of good naps?)

-We had the first public blowout diaper (we've had several at home) last Friday. I finally got up the confidence to lunch with some other SAHM's...and we went to Chili's of course because that is what we do here in the 'burbs...and as another woman went to hold Luci so I could finish eating I see poop drip out of her diaper as the woman is picking her up!!! So back in her car seat she went & we buzzed right home to take a bath. Fun times. Oh...and that morning when I counted on her taking a 45 minute nap (as she's done for EVERY nap before then, and EVERY nap since then), she took a 1 and 1/2 hour nap & I had to wake her up to go meet for lunch.

-We have to introduce new toys slowly...she met two new friends last week, a pig & a cow that rattle & attach to her wrist. She frowned & almost cried when we introduced her to them. This week she loves them & wants to eat them.

- She seems to have discovered her mouth...she eats anything that comes near her mouth...a wrist, a fist, Mom's arm, Mom's shoulder, Mom's shirt, her own onsie if she slumps down in her bouncy chair...you name it, she'll suck/drool on it if it is anywhere near her mouth!

-We are FINALLY making progress on her nursery! The bones have been there for quite some time, but now we have fun stuff on the walls. I'm going to stencil the 'night time' prayer over her crib...but a much friendlier version of the one that I still say! I say, "Now I lay me down to sleep, the Lord I pray my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take". Now this never ever bothered me as a child (or as an adult), but for some reason I don't want to talk about dying with my baby before bed. So we will say, "Now I lay me down to sleep, the Lord I pray my soul to keep, may angels watch me through the night, and wake me with the morning light".

-She's sort of on a nursing strike right now. She doesn't want to drink milk from the source...she much prefers a bottle. I think it is because of the more constant, predictable flow. I think I have a forceful let down and she's tired of it! Don't worry, she's still getting fed...I just pump more & give it to her in a bottle.

No interest in rolling over or napping...

Now that she can hold her head up sorta she ALWAYS wants it up. So we broke out the Bumbo chair & she likes it!
Talking to her friend the duck :)
Swaddled and ready for naptime...or at least an attempted naptime...
Luci with Grandma & Grandpa Pierse. They were here for 6 days and we loved it!
Luci with her mom & dad!

Well the roll over appears to have been a one time event...it hasn't been repeated since! Not only has she not done it again, she doesn't even push up over to the side anymore! Was it an accident or does she just not feel the need to repeat? Maybe she feels she's conquered the roll and is ready to move on to bigger & better activities? No clue.

She also has no interest in napping during the day. If we really wear her out (tummy time) then she'll go down...but only for 30 - 45 minutes. Most of the time you can set your watch to 45 minutes from when her eyes first close. So 3 (maybe 4 if all goes well) times a day I get 30 - 45 minute breaks...during which I shower, eat, email, get the mail, return phone calls, do laundry, or do dishes. Occasionally I read...usually while eating. The days when Clay are home are MUCH easier!