thirty one years

Luci has so many teeth coming in at once that she's always sticking that hand in her mouth & down her throat to the point that she starts gagging! Brave Grandma Pierse discovered molars coming in on both sides, on the top & on the bottom (Luci bites HARD). And she's also getting an incisor or canine tooth in on the bottom (can't remember which one).
The best toys are often not really toys at all....




Not Luci this time...but me! I turned 31 yesterday & it was a GREAT day. My sweet husband and his parents pampered me & catered to me ALL day. I did not touch ONE dirty dish! Maybe not even a clean dish! It's likely that not all of you can appreciate the significance of this...but for me it was a BIG BIG deal!

Grandma & Grandpa Pierse stayed with Luci while Clay & I went out for breakfast complete with a latte! After a fun playgroup Clay made lunch, and then his parents made the most delicious standing rib roast with twice baked potatoes, baby peas, sweet apples & home-made dinner rolls & bread for my birthday dinner. And then we had ice cream cake! And then they did ALL of the dishes!! It doesn't get any better than that!

My handsome husband bought me an attractive monogrammed tote bag (designed by me ;) so that I can keep the beach bag for the beach instead of dragging it along everywhere Luci goes, and then surprised me by dressing up our front porch with 3 gorgeous ferns. I've been pining for ferns to put on our front porch for about a year now, so it was a perfect gift. I'll be getting a pedicure here soon thanks to my fabulous in-laws, and my mom & dad got me a great piece of canvas art. And to make sure I had something to unwrap at dinner, my in-laws got me a few more 'bread & butter' items as they call them...a tea ball & a baster!


Birthday fun will continue on Thursday as my girlfriends & I take 2 on the birthday dinner. Our first try was interrupted by sweet baby Wally deciding he was ready to come out & play...and what a blessing that he'll hopefully be home with his mama today! I can't wait to meet this little fella!

Back from Tucson

Congratulations Aunt Brooke! We can't wait to meet Mug!

We headed to Tucson last Thursday to hang with Brooke & Sunidh before Brooke's baby shower on Saturday. We had a great time visiting with them, Grammy Rosonke & Aunt Baylee, as well as Sunidh's family. I'd love to post all of the photos from Brooke's shower, but she might not speak to me for months (if you know Brookie Nae you get this...) so instead I'll just post one with her in front of the most delicious cakes I've ever had.

Dad & Luci trying to climb the 'wall' of the parking lot! Tucson is a great city in late August/early September...maybe cuz it is monsoon season & it actually felt cooler than Houston. I left with a little crush on the Catalina Foothills area. I'm starting to detest Houston...or at least Houston summers.

And here are some other photos just cuz I think they are cute...last week we played with Clara and I tried really, really hard to get some good photos. Their little bodies just don't sit still for long!

thirteen months

thirteen months! literally jumping down off of the chair...
back up...

and not very happy about it (the photo before this & after are in sequence)...her mood changes quickly these days...& just like that, back to happy again cuz she's up to no good....

okay mom...I'm smiling...are we done yet?
sweet girl! running around her room!

the pea is 13 months old today. I almost forgot to mark the date with a photo shoot in the chair. That must mean our pea is growing up & I am becoming a typical mom.

Notes at 13 months...
-Anything remotely round is referred to as 'ball'. Grapes have been balls for about a week. Today at the grocery store the watermelons were 'balls'.
-Blueberries are still her favorite food.
-A snack can stop the worst of fits in a second. She loves her some snack.
-Cows & Dogs (and photos of them) are greeted with excitement and the same sound...it resembles "boooouuuuuuf."
-She now puts things into baskets almost as often as she dumps them out. Once she fills something she dumps it out, all over herself. The game ends with something being dumped out.
-She loves to dump water from a full pail onto her face in the bathtub. She usually then chokes & sputters and looks upset but seems to have no clue she caused the choking!
-She is pretty much done eating plain vegetables...it happened so fast! She loves all meat except pork (sorry Grandpa Rosonke). I think the pork has more to do with the texture than the taste. I'm certain she'd love ham, but we are holding out on it given the salt levels. Chicken is her favorite meat.
-She LOVES cheese.
-Usually takes 2 naps a day, one about 10a and one somewhere between 2p and 3p. She wakes anywhere from 6a to 8a, with 7a being a predictable average. We usually start the bedtime process around 7:15p or 7:30p.
-She LOVES to look at her books. Upside down or right side up...doesn't matter.
-Just in the last few days she's started to really hug & snuggle with her baby dolls & stuffed animals. She also cracks up when you put the baby doll's hat on, say, a bear.
-She pretend feeds her babydoll its little toy bottle.
-She tries to share her paci with me, Clay & the cats.
-MEHMO is a new favorite (Elmo). We now have cups with MEHMO on them and she's a big, big fan.
-She also really likes the little Iowa Hawkeye doll we have. GO HAWKS! She's not so into Bill the Goat. Maybe because GO GOAT or GO NAVAL ACADEMY just doesn't have the same ring to it. I'm pretty pleased with her choice, whatever the reason.
-She loves the cats more & more everyday. She definitely understands she is supposed to be gentle (and she knows what gentle means), but she's pushing Tallulah's limits. I feel like one of these days Tallulah will set some boundaries that I just can't..if you know what I mean. Today Tallulah was lying on her side & Luci was practically sitting on her stomach...gently tugging at her whiskers. After it became clear Luci was not going to ease up, Tallulah finally decided to move.
-She's figured out our little cardboard stair gate. She pushes it over & before you know it she is halfway up. Not cool.
-She says 'sshhhhh' in reference to shoes.
-She gave up the bottle pretty easily. We did it cold turkey & it was rough for really only a day or two.
-We are switching out formula for whole milk. We did NOT do this one cold turkey. At first she really wouldn't drink much whole milk, but by now she seems to be a big fan of both. We are going to use the formula until the cans we had on hand are gone.
-She's quickly becoming timid around people she doesn't know. Maybe her little spirit isn't as adventurous as we thought!
-That being said, she is still climbing anything & everything in sight. She pulled a couch cushion down from the sofa & used it to climb onto the ottoman last weekend. Her dad was watching her & he looked up & she was standing on the ottoman with her hands high up in the air...obviously delighted with herself.
-She really likes to dance. The head bang seems to have been forgotten in favor of turning in a circle.
-She's now sleeping with a blanket...no more sleep sack. I lost some sleep over this the first few nights.
-She's started to point at things, and pick up itty bitty pieces of paper, food & fuzz off of the carpet & bring it to me.
-She now pushes AND pulls things while walking...and can walk backwards.

PS. Amanda's birthing journey has started...please keep the entire Lawrence family in your prayers!

Happy Birthday Grandma Pierse!

Yesterday was Grandma Pierse's birthday! Luci says "Happy Birthday Grandma!" Can't wait to see you in a few weeks!! We hope the next year is just as fun as the last!

new favorite activities

One of her new favorite activities...I see somersaults happening any day now! Another new favorite is her belly. She LOVES to lift up her shirt & grab her belly. She also loves to lift up Mom's shirt...and Dad's shirt...fun times...
You can see the new favorite can be done in conjunction with the old stand-by activity....climbing in baskets...



We've made LOTS of progress on the playroom in the last 2 days. As you can see from the photos...toys have taken over our living space. A woman is picking up the daybed from the playroom tonight & then the room will be all Luci's! And hopefully Mom & Dad can have the living room back...

In other news, our first professional family photos will be taken Saturday morning. I'm excited, but a bit alarmed that I have yet to pick out an outfit! We were lucky enough to snag this very talented photographer so if the photos don't turn out we have no one to blame!

One for Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul

Luci's pseudo Aunt Jen & Uncle Paul bought Luci/Mama a great CD quite awhile ago - it is called Mary Had A Little Amp. Great CD. The fifth song is called Sing Along by Blue Man Group featuring Dave Matthews Band. Uncle Paul was a HUGE DMB fan back in the day. Maybe still is...I wish I still hung out with him enough to know...but that is a story for another day. Back to Luci.

#5 came on. She looked at me, promptly got up, walked over to the TV stand next to the speaker and proceeded to head bang. Yes folks, she is my child. Her first dance move was shaking the booty. The next move was going around in a circle. Now she's moved onto the head bang. She was banging that little head so hard she had to hang on to the TV stand so she wouldn't lose her balance. And then after that exhausting display of rhythm & taste she walked right over to her sippy cup & took a GIANT swig of milk...chugged for like 15 seconds. Then she threw her cup aside & while breathing heavily wiped her mouth....

And in my head I heard Uncle Paul say, "that's my girl!", and I imagined his huge grin.

I was devastated not to have captured it on video. And even more devastated that Luci doesn't know Uncle Paul & Aunt Jen. But that is more of that other story for another day.

I stand corrected...

Check out the comment on my 'some photos' post. The museum in our mall is NOT affiliated with the Houston Children's Museum. My apologies. Big brother really IS watching....

video: luci & tallulah

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pardon Tallulah's missing fur...she's a bit too chunky to care for all of herself so we had to get some tufts cut out...she's doing much better now :)

some photos

Here are some random photos from last week. Luci is getting in a mouthful of teeth & has been quite a little bear. Either that or the terrible twos have set in at not quite 13 months. Anytime things don't go quite her way she breaks down into a wriggling, screaming, whining, back arching mess. Ugh.

We checked out the Children's Museum (not the Houston Children's Museum, as previously posted) that is in our mall. Mom & Dad's big take-away? They never clean. Luci's big take-away? New things to climb on.We left the paci in so she'd keep random grubby toys in the mouth to a min. Hopefully this hat was safe... 'Patting' the cow...
Sportin a ribbon from her friend Rachel.
This is the crazy "I'm SO THIRSTY in the morning" look. Those PJ's used to be Aunt Baylee's...Grammy Rosonke made them a long, long time ago!
I also have a few videos I'm going to try to post!

booohooooo

I didn't make it to Chicago for the second time this month. First I missed Jen's baby shower. This time I missed Liz's bridal shower. Flying stand-by/non-reving (or, not flying) stinks.

I miss you my Chitown ladies. I miss you more than you know.

I'd never have believed you

a year ago today if you'd have told me the day would come when I'd have to force myself to put that sweet girl back into her crib after a bit of fussing at night. Our little lady likes to wait until bed to...shall we say...move her bowels ;) The poopy monster often wakes her up early from a nap, and at night if she cries & doesn't stop there is a good chance that the poopy monster came. The poopy monster came just now...and I could have rocked and snuggled with that baby for hours if she'd have let me. But alas...we did our job & she sleeps best in her crib.

Babydoll Stlella found a nice little basket to sleep in while Luci man-handled her stroller.
Her new thing is climbing into EVERYTHING she can. Here she is in what used to be a toilet paper holding basket from the bathroom...which became a babydoll crib...which became something to climb in.
She has my (or lack thereof) spatial awareness...she is trying to climb headfirst into the basket...cracked me up. She spent a good 4 minutes trying to get in this way.
This face is accompanied by her new whine/grunt requesting assistance...she is better at climbing in than getting out...
in yet another basket

Notable notes from yesterday...after 2 bites of yogurt from Grandma Pierse, Luci proclaimed "blueberry!". Sure enough...it was blueberry yogurt...and no, we didn't prompt her! Another interesting first...I noticed she had bad breath! I'm off to research toothbrushes & paste for one year olds now...

PS. Dear Aunt Brooke, I'm looking forward to returning the favor in a few months ;) I'm very excited to meet my little nephew!

the party

the plates...the cupcake tree 'cake'...the second attempt at frosting & cake...this time she ate almost the whole thing...

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playing with Dad in my new pool!My pool is super fun....I especially like to climb in & out of it!

We finally had Luci's first birthday party! Better late than never, right? Our friends Trina & Margeaux Kemmerly, the Lawrence Family and Grandma & Grandpa Pierse were all here to help us celebrate. Thanks for coming!

Luci was blessed with lots of new toys!! We now have lots of fun Gymboree toys at home (thanks Margeaux!), a beautiful baby doll named Stllella (per Clara) whose length is 'perfect' & weight is 'just right' per her birth certificate, a couple of baby bottles, a blanket & a stroller (thanks Clara!), a few new sweet dresses, a little wading pool & some pool toys (thanks Gma & Gpa P!), and shape & animal sorting barn (from Mom & Dad). Quite a bit of loot for a one year old! Not to mention the gifts she got on her actual birthday and in the mail from loving family & friends!

In other news, Wednesday was Luci's 12 month well baby check up. She weighs 21 lbs, 9.3 oz (50%), is 31.5 inches long (95%) and her little head is 18.25 inches (75%). During the visit we talked about getting rid of the bottles...so Wednesday was our baby's last day with them. She was VERY upset by about 10a on Thursday...promptly pushing away any & all sippy cups, or throwing them on the floor...as if to say "HEY MOM....YOU FORGOT SOMETHING! NO CUP! WHERE IS MY BOTTLE!??!?!?!" Poor thing. Naps were rough...she cried off & on for both naps for more than 30 minutes. Luckily my friend Holly came to the rescue by recommending a great 'transition' sippy that looks like of like the bottle and has a nice soft spout. When I finally handed Luci that cup at 3p she took a few giant gulps and I knew we were going to make it. And the cup is only $2.99 at Kroger! Sweet! Thanks Holly! She doesn't seem to miss the bottle anymore, but I am hoping she ups her intake here pretty soon. I think the first day she maybe had 6oz and yesterday maybe 8-10oz. Hopefully we'll soon get up to our doctor recommended amount of 16-20oz. I've been trying to make up for it by letting her eat lots of grilled cheese & yogurt...which just happen to be two of her favorites...so that works out well!

opening of gifts

videos from luci's birthday...ugh...excuse my voice - good heavens it hurts my ears.

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ahhh

lulu (yes, we do call her that occasionally...usually in response to mamamama I say lululululu) is sleeping (2hrs+ at the moment), i got some much needed work done, the kitchen is relatively clean, and dirty clothes are in the washing machine. clay went back to work today (it has been awhile) but I managed to get a good walk in before left. physical activity does wonders for my mind...it is just hard to convince myself that braving the 100 degree hot wet blanket that envelopes me the minute the door opens is worth it. but it is.

luci's b-day party is now schedule for Friday night, with just 2 families from the 'hood and maybe gma & gpa pierse. we are excited. photos to come, along with a better late than never installment of 'notes at X'.

i'm trying to decide if & how to prepare for edward. i mean, edouard. what the heck is up with that spelling. i'm thinking a bit of rain is really all we'll see, but of course the news is alarmist & is showing all of the emergency preparations we should be making. i'm thinking maybe i'll go get a loaf of bread & jug of water. we have peanut butter for me, and bananas for luci...so we should be set for at least a few days without power, right? ;) ha...who are we kidding...in houston without AC? yeah right...lulu & i will be on the first flight out of here to anywhere we can get to! sorry feline friends...we'll miss you!

luci has been paying so much attention to her airplane push toy she forgot about her other little push toy. it is smaller & easier for her to push with her feet...so far...only backwards...

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now that I finally figured out how to do this onetruemedia business (thanks laura!) i might go back & post some videos I had a hard time loading before...so after the riding video are two videos of luci's first bite of cake!

jumbled

opening a birthday present from the atkins clan last week...you can see her little eyes are still off here...her only remaining symptom is some seriously nasty poo.... this kid. she is in to EVERYTHING. stacking cups go where??? in the toilet???
her little face is pressed up against the stair railing...trying to reach my cell phone...
bathroom door closed? no problem! i'll bang the doors on dad's bookcase!

sit in my chair to watch barney*? heck no...i think i'll tip it over & climb on it...

posts are getting to be like projects these days...I start many but never finish them. although the posts (thankfully) are just started in my head, as opposed to in my house...where everyone who stops over can see my unfinished work. today on a walk i started about 4 insightful, cathartic posts...but somehow they just end up a jumbled mess, and by the time I sit down to post, I no longer have the energy to sort through them turn them into coherent paragraphs that people might want to read. so i'll make an outline instead...that is what i used to do back in the paper writing days...

-balance. how. can. i. do. it. i've never been good at balancing. but i need to get better. for myself, for Luci, for clay & for our marriage.

-self. who am i these days. who do i want to be?

-fit. i am not fit. i have a huge belly, and i am not pregnant. yet i look it. i do not feel good about this. see balance, self.

-i missed the baby shower of my oldest (going on 20 years!), dearest, bestest friend this weekend because flights were full. when i realized on friday morning it wasn't going to happen i literally sobbed. i knew not making it was a risk, and i thought i was okay with taking that risk. i talked to her about it beforehand...and we both decided it would be okay if i didn't make it. but i wasn't okay. i'm still not really okay. my only solace is that i've promised myself i'll drag luci with me if i have to in order to see her before this baby comes. and after.

-luci's not been to chicago (at least, not since she's been on the 'outside') and that really bothers me. but she loves the cubs...she claps whenever she hears clapping on tv...

*we don't really watch as much tv as it appears we do...but when the tv is on she actually holds still long enough for me to capture her with the camera!