Missing Dad

Spotting Dad and a much younger Luci... SO please to see Dad....
She'd be bashful, move away, and then move back to the photo & give it kisses.
Of course she wanted to pick it up & carry it around...because she wants to carry everything!

Both Luci & I are missing Clay. We get to email, but no phone conversations. Although I'm staying busy...as my fourth grade teacher would say, I'm running around like a 'chicken with its head cut off' trying to get us packed for the big 2.5 hour flight to Minneapolis & and then the 2.5 hour drive to Iowa. Not to mention the up to 6 days of stay at Grammy & Grampy's house! Wish me luck on first solo flight with Luci!

Have a great week everybody!

videos for Dad

Happy Belated 4th...

Luci's Dad is away with the Navy again...so we'll be sending him daily photos until Luci & I leave for Iowa (also known as the land without high speed Internet) on Wednesday. Clay will hopefully join us on Sunday in Iowa and then we'll all return home on Monday or Tuesday. Here are a few from today's photo shoot...she's looking for her dad in one of her photo books (she has 2 ;)

She first finds her friend Rachel & becomes distracted from the task at hand...which is to find Dad...


Success! Waving hello to Dad...

This is her "smile for Dad!" face... Clapping in response to my 'yay' response to her smile for Dad...

We had a fun & eventful 4th! We started the day early & hit our little downtown parade...Luci really enjoyed herself and had three big firsts...the parade itself being a first...where she clapped her hands all by herself (everyone was clapping lots), and sucked from a straw! Nothing like a Jamba Juice to motivate! She was so into the juice we had to take it away for fear she'd get brain freeze! It was very hot by 10a so we headed home...her little face gets very flushed very quickly in the heat.

After a big nap (for Luci) we hosted a BBQ for five other families...it was QUITE a day with 9 kiddos all under the age of 4 running around our house! Luci's toy airplane from Grammy Rosonke was the HIT of the party! Luci did great watching everybody play in her house with her toys; she really just took it all in. Clay did a great job grilling & everyone brought over yummy food. It was a great day!

*singing required

"Ouuuu, Ouuuuu"...I'm going to make the call (I know her dad disagrees) that 'out' was Luci's first word. She uses it multiple times a day as she heads to the door or the stroller with her shoes in hand. Yesterday I asked her if she wanted to go out and she smiled so big the paci fell right out of her mouth...and then the 'ou, ou, ou' began & she said it over & over until we were in the car. This morning we went 'ouu' to get the paper. See her fancy new shades? They are foam and attach in the back of her head with velcro. Of course she doesn't like to keep them on her eyes...
I finally got her to look at the camera by saying, "where is Dad? Say, Hi Dad!"

Thanks again Grandma & Grandpa Pierse! Miss you already! (you can see Luci wasn't really into the photo shoot) The perils of laundry day...needless to say, the hamper just VANISHED!?!?! from the living room over night!
Why sit in your chair when you can carry it?!?!?

1. Joining a sorority*

2. Motherhood*

*singing required

Twice in my life I've been surprised to learn that something I've signed up for requires some serious singing capability. Shortly after becoming a Kappa I realized that singing was a major requirement...I sang so many of those songs over & over that after I had Luci & needed/wanted to sing to her, I realized the only songs I could remember all of the words to were Kappa songs. Which brings me to the second * nobody told me about...motherhood. I guess everybody knows babies like lullabies...but I didn't realize I'd have to sing in front of other mommies if I wanted to socialize my child...Kindermusik (should've known by the title), Gymboree, birthday parties, and even Mommy & Me Swim at the Y all require mommies to sing! Loudly! In front of other mommies! Now I'm not the worst singer in the world, but I'm not too keen on my introduction to other mommies being dependent on my ability to sing 'I'm a Little Pancake' to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot, or 'The Babies on the Mat' to the tune of 'The Wheels on the Bus' (the babies on the mat go bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce bounce, bounce...you get it, right?). And the worst part is that the groups are small enough that you have to sing or they know you aren't, but when you do, everybody obviously can pick out each persons voice! A note to all of you first-time expectant moms...it might be a good time to brush up on your kiddo songs!

I signed Luci up for Gymboree, and we 'terminated' our Y membership. Luci did not do well at the Y child care (being in the throes of separation anxiety), and every time I picked her up her entire little face was purple (her tears turn her skin purple & blotchy) all the way down to her chin. I just don't need to work out there that badly (I'm devastated, can you tell? ;). We'll try again when she's 18 months I think. The 0-18mo. side of the child watch was always full of sad, sad kiddos, and the 18mo - 3yr side was always full of happy toddlers. So we'll try again later. In the meantime we'll go for walks & play at Gymboree - basically a class full of similarly aged kiddos all climbing on foam tumbling type mats that are set up in different configurations each week. This week there was a 'mat mountain' and of course Luci went right for it, and then decided she wanted to walk up instead of crawling like everybody else. She's nuts.

Luci's climbing is reaching new heights. I was sort of being a bad mama yesterday...I was in the living room with her, but I was focused on her little 1st birthday invites...I looked up...and she was literally STANDING on this box, sippy cup in hand! And she was SO clearly PROUD of herself! I very slowly & gingerly walked over there & snatched her right up. I knew if I got too rambunctious she'd try to 'get away' and fall & hurt herself. The box also VANISHED!?!?! over night. What are we going to do with this kid?!?!

Happy Belated Birthday Grandma Rosonke!!

Grandma Rosonke's birthday was last Thursday...and we wanted to give her a belated "Happy Birthday!!" shout out! We can't wait to see you next week!
Luci & her friend Rachel playing last week...
Clay doesn't love this photo...but I do :)

We had a great weekend in Milwaukee where a good friend of Clay's got married. It was a great get-away, and Luci had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa Pierse. Photos to come!

Eleven Months?!?!?!?!

Wow...one more month until the big 1st Birthday. man-o-man. Luci has 'developments' to report on every single day (I spare you all my daily recap of our genius...but Dad gets to hear about it every night when he's away). Here are just a few notes...

-She is imitating sounds now. She imitates out (ooowww) and up (uuuuhhh). If we blow on something, she makes the fffff sound that is similar to blowing.

-I think she may even have a few 'words'. Note that DH (dear husband) & I have different opinions on Luci's 'words'. She has said mamamama in context a few times in the last two days. If she hits a few more uses correctly, I might be convinced she knows I'll come runnin' when she says Mama. She uses the same squeal every time she sees the cats....so her squeal might mean cat. ;)

-She understands tons of things! She knows where the light is, what 'out' means (she goes to the door), what 'go get your shoes' means, what 'drink out of your cup' is, or 'where is your cup...go get your milk/water', walks to the door when I say "let's go out & get the mail" and responds mmmmm to "do you want some snack/breakfast/lunch/dinner ?"

-She either doesn't understand, or ignores, tons of things...a few that we repeat all day long come to mind..."are you all done?", "sit on your bottom please", "please don't put that in your mouth", "please don't throw your cup/food on the floor".

-Separation anxiety seems to be getting worse still. She cried for 30 minutes in the Y child care a week ago (they were supposed to come get me...and didn't...ugh), and cries if I get more than a few feet away from her in the presence of strangers. She is all right with people she knows well.

-We are working on weaning from the bottle. The 3rd bottle of the day has been replaced with 'milk in the cup'. It isn't going all that well, but we'll continue on nice & slowly.

-She's eating as much as I am practically...I think maybe because she's not getting as much for that third bottle/milk feeding. For lunch today she ate an entire Gardenburger, some peas, and a yogurt.

-She's getting very good at drinking water from her sippy.

-She's walking EVERYWHERE, and would climb the stairs over & over all day long if we let her.

-She went down the stairs backwards once (we've been working on this for weeks) at the Lawrence house (exact same floor plan & stairs), and was hilarious on the landing wiggling her foot back trying to find the next stair. Seriously cracked me up!

-She likes other babies...will wave at them & squeal at photos of them.

-She always has a huge grin for her big girl friend Clara.

-She likes dogs & cats.

-She starting to pick up on shapes...she can put balls & blocks into the correct holes in a few toys that we have. It seems to be specific to these toys at this point.

-She likes balls, and will play 'catch' with you if she's in the mood.

-She loves to look at books on her own, especially animal books. She often 'kisses' the people/animals on the pages. She loves books with flips & textures.

-She doesn't sit still for long anymore to have books read to her. Short & sweet & then she wants the book to look at on her own.

-Naps are less predictable...usually still 2 a day, usually one of them is for 2 hours and one is for an hour or so.

-She wakes fairly consistently around 7am, +/- 30 minutes.

-She LOVES the bath, and really likes to 'swim' at the pool.

-Her top gum is swollen, but we still only see two bottom teeth.

-She is in size 4 Pampers, but still has to use the sensitive newborn wipes.

-She is in size 12m-18m clothes.

-She still sleeps in a medium sleep sack.

-She's all about what I can only describe as perching on many a non-perchable surface (her toy airplane seat, the end tables, stairs)...to which the 'please sit on your bottom' comment has yet to be effective. We won't give up though!

-She loves the park & swings, and gets excited when it becomes clear we are getting in the car.

-She likes to dance (shakes her head & bounces). She does this same thing when you ask her to bounce or dance.

-She looks under furniture for toys now.

And a note about her mama...after all of that typing yesterday I may have reached a point of clarity (for today at least ;). I feel very blessed, and am truly grateful that I am able to stay home and be a mom; I am honored to be Luci's mom. Ultimately, at this point in my life I feel called to be a wife & a mother....a stay at home mother...to three children, to be exact...and to nurture a family full of kind, faithful & grateful hearts. It may be difficult...there are many things that might come more easily & that I might be better at, but my heart tells me this is the one worth working for.

projects

I'm doing my best to tidy up some unfinished projects around the house....and there are several! I FINALLY stenciled Luci's room...I bought the thing about 9 months ago!! 3 of the 4 lines look great, but I had 'practiced' with one of the lines and tried to wash the paint off of the stencil...and I think it took some of the adhesive off & let the paint bleed a bit more than the other lines did. Regardless, I think it is a sweet prayer and a nice addition to her room. I'm toying with the idea of painting some kind of frame on it...or using cheap molding to create a frame around it. It was super easy! I'm trying to figure out what else I can stencil now. I'd love to do a stencil in the kitchen up above the cabinets....but I'm not into country or cutesy stencils...no vines or berries for me (not that I'm judging...each to their own!) and I'm having a hard time committing to one.

Here are some photos of my work:

I also attempted to finish our new master bedroom color scheme by customizing my purchased curtain panels...but I'm not having much luck with Amanda's sewing machine...and since my track record with them stinks (I've broken 2 now)...I think I'll have to put it on hold until I figure out what I'm doing!!

Speaking of what I'm doing...I've been working a lot at Starbucks these days (not actually working there for Starbucks, but doing my financial analysis work there) and every time I see a man come in dressed in a suit or a woman all dressed up, I miss working...I miss the bond with my co-workers & the fulfilment & blatant rewards (promotion, respect, title, etc) that go along with being good at what you do. I want to say, "Hey, I'm a professional too!! Don't be fooled by my T-shirt! Look at my spreadsheet!"

I seem to be going through some sort of weird minor identity crisis right now. My eye has been twitching for days (only happens when I'm super stressed), I have a lot of nervous energy, I've been ridiculously scatterbrained, I'm being very critical of my dear husband (sorry babe), and I'm just generally a bit antsy. I think I'm getting more comfortable & confident in my role as Luci's Mama...and maybe I'm looking for more.?.? Maybe I need to hear her to say, "Mama...you are great. I'm so glad you are here with me & that you are my mama." (ps - Clara-bird...maybe you could have a talk with Luci next time you see her...I know you are great at giving positive feedback to your mama!) And I know I shouldn't need this...and her little smile does warm my heart...and I take great pride in her growing list of accomplishments.

Or maybe it is that my day is equally filled with the duties that go along with 'running the house.' Laundry, loading & unloading the dishwasher, cleaning her highchair, cleaning the floor, changing her all-too-often poopy crib sheet (this is surprisingly hard work), and keeping the clutter to a minimum (this one is especially hard for me). I take pride in the way I load the dishwasher...I keep the turned upside down plastics to a min, keep her spoons separate (so the rubber part stays in tact), treat all of Luci's food caked clothes...all of these things...I do as well as I can...yet I'm not progressing or getting a promotion or a raise or additional, more interesting challenges. Just the same thing, different day.

Professionally I've always been ready to take on more after getting comfortable in my assigned role...and it usually takes about a year so we are right on schedule. But here's the thing...I don't want to want more...I am thrilled to be Luci's Mama...I don't want to want to be anything else. Staying home with her fulfills me more deeply than work ever did, so I'm not really sure what this is all about. So no profound resolution here...just sort of thinking and typing...trying to figure out what is going on with me.

walking, snack & reflection

walking

When I ask her to go get her shoes, she does! Practicing eating with a spoon...after I've fed her all of the yogurt, of course.
Love the snack trap! We've got crazy drool again...but still only 2 teeth! More snack, please!
This is a glimpse of her 'dancing'. She likes to move her head from side to side & bounce!

Walking is now Luci's preferred mode of transportation...so I think it is official...she's walking. I've lost count of how many steps in a row, and although at times it looks like she's trying to catch her balance on a surfboard, I think I'll give in to what Clay has been claiming for weeks...she really is walking. It is kind of funny...he is always super ready to put a check in box for each milestone...and I somehow like to live in denial and say that she isn't quite there yet...that she is working on it, but just isn't quite there. We are also having this debate on her first word. He claims it was Dada...because one of the first consonant/vowel combos she started babbling was dadadaddada. I say that it isn't a word until she is using it discriminately in context. He says that because she knows he is Dada, that it was her first word. She does know he is Dada, and I am Mama, but she just doesn't fully connect that with what she is saying. She doesn't look at me & say Mama. But if you ask her where Mama is, she'll raise her hand & wave at me. So I don't know.

Regardless, I must concede a check in the walking box. She's done about 20 laps around the kitchen island, into the living room, around the sofa, and back into the kitchen. She's also discovered that cabinets open, so I've got another nap time project (child-proofing them).

Speaking of nap time, we might be checking the 1 nap per day box off soon. The last week or so she's taken 1 good nap, and 1 nap that entails hanging out in her crib for 1-2 hours, and sleeping about 45 minutes of that time. The last two days we've had activities in the morning, and each morning she's fallen asleep in the car for about 10 minutes, and that is the only AM nap she'll take. When we get home & into her crib she's wide awake & ready to go...so after 20 minutes or so I just let her get up. Yesterday she took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, but was kind of a fussy mess all day...so I'm not convinced she's ready to let go completely. Today we ate an early lunch & she went down for her nap around 12:15p (although I just heard her up & talking at 12:55p), so we'll see how the rest of the day goes. She seems young to be down to 1 nap already, but she's always been on the lighter end of the sleep needs spectrum. Truth be told, I'm hoping it is just a phase related to her new found skill of walking. I'm not ready for 1 nap yet.

This morning we went to a fun park to feed the ducks with her friends Clara, Rachel & Olivia. She was hot & sandy, but fell asleep about 2 minutes after getting in the car seat...yet she was up & at 'em before we even got into the house...waving to our cats. Yesterday we tried out Kindermusik in the morning. I think she's a bit too focused on her gross motor development right now for Kindermusik...we'll try again in 6 - 8 months. For now I think we are going to try Gymboree. It is SO hot here that we really can't spend more than 20-30 minutes outside before she is a red flushed face sweaty mess. And I'm a sweaty mess in about 10 minutes. Ick. So we are looking for some fun, physical things to do indoors...and we are hoping that Gymboree is the ticket. Although I think we'll try our free class at MyGym before making a decision. Luci's friend Margeaux is in both the Kindermusik & Gymboree classes we tried, and her friend Rachel is signing up as well! What a lucky little girl to have such good friends already!

what a week

Sweet Baby. She can put the block into the square mouth of this giraffe, and a ball into the round mouth of another crazy toy friend. Such talent!She is obsessed with getting a bunch of things in one hand...she'll spend 3 or 4 minutes getting lots of items in a one handed grip & then walks all around with them. The crazy way over her airplane...why walk around? She'd rather climb right over the top head first!!

I'm back. The travel was tough both there & back...I took the last flight out on Wednesday night because Thursday flights were full. I got into MSP about 1:15a & spent the night in a hotel. I did the same on Saturday night, catching the 5:30a flight back to Houston on Sunday. I was the last person on the airplane...another stand-by non-rev didn't make it...last I checked he was still up in the airport, waiting, on Sunday night. If I hadn't made it on that 5:30a Sunday flight I'd have been stuck until Tuesday...and I was missing that baby, so I'm awfully glad I'm here. She's worth getting up at 3:45a for any day ;)

Much progress to report on Mom & Dad's place. Between Dad, my cousin Jeremy, Uncle Pat, Mom, and Grandma & Grandpa Rosonke, they got all of the drywall ripped out of the 1st floor. It now resembles a roller rink with its cinder block walls and cement floor. Their house was definitely a giant mess, but they are so much luckier than so many other folks. Four feet of water in the first floor is so much better than water all of the way up to the roof. Baylee & I were crazy organizational freaks...we had about 50 Rubbermaid Totes labeled & stacked up. We spent 2 days sorting between garbage, keepsakes & 'tote-worthy' items, and goodwill. We pushed Mom (maybe a bit too far) about every item she wanted to keep. She did a great job letting go by choosing to honor memories, not things. We had lots of great food brought to the house & overall lots of people are helping & getting the job done.

random things I miss about the north...

1. my fam. i'm so jealous of people who can go hang with their parents when ever they want to. i miss my parents, my siblings, my grandma & my grandpas.

2. my friends. got to hang with my friend erin for a short bit on saturday. fun times.

3. the weather. i miss enjoying summer instead of dreading it. the sun was hot & the breeze was cool...how great is that?!?!?

4. midwest grass. it just begs for a picnic, right Bayl?

5. midwest hills & trees.

6. the way mosquitoes either don't exist, or don't bother me so much up there.

7. the sun staying out longer.

Once I'm up there, I realize I miss these things so much...I decided to tell Clay we had to move. Then on Sunday I saw that commuter non-rev guy get left behind at the airport...and I saw the stress in his face...and I knew there was no way I could ever ask Clay to move. And overall, I feel very blessed that if we are not up there, we are here.

Luci had a great time with Grandma Pierse - thanks again Grandma Pierse! Luci seems to have made more progress on her walking while I was gone, and Grandma Pierse's cooking seems to have turned her back onto food. She looks taller too...is that possible?

flood

My parent's home. That is the garage on the right hand side. And my cousin, Jeremy, with his boat.
This is a view of the highway that the house is on.

My parent's house in Iowa flooded on Sunday. The house is a split level with a finished basement; the basement is half underground & half above ground. At one point the water was over the basement kitchen counter...so even stuff they thought they had 'put up' was destroyed.

They've had lots of help so far, but there is still lots to do...so Baylee & I are headed up there on Thursday. Grandma Pierse is coming down to stay with Luci (thanks Grandma Pierse). As always, it is hard for me to leave Luci, but I keep thinking that one day if our home is ever flooded, I hope she'll come be with me. It is & always has been very hard for my mom to part with things that have some kind of memory from our childhood attached to them...so parting with so much destroyed family memorabilia is not going to be easy for her. No antsy for me this weekend...there will be plenty to do.

antsy

Ugh. It is Saturday afternoon, my baby is sleeping, and I'm antsy again. Lots of antsy lately. Maybe it is because my sweet husband is hanging out with all of our friends in downtown Chicago...for the second time in like 3 weeks...having a lovely lunch outside in Bucktown...how fun! I'm just a little bit jealous. Happy for him, but jealous...Luci & I had hoped to join him but the flight was full. Go figure. I'm sure they'll continue getting more & more full as Continental cuts flights...

So far I've tackled the living room curtain crisis, re-arranged the living room furniture (for the second time this week), and am thinking about adding drawer pulls to the kitchen drawers. I'm also trying to change up the colors in our master bedroom...to ink blue & green apple from just blue & white & brown. Fun times.

And right now I'm in the middle of catching up with Grey's Anatomy...my own little DVR marathon.

June is going to be rough...Clay is gone a lot...boo...lots of antsy.

On an upside, I'm going to start hitting the Y regularly. We went yesterday & Luci did really well. Our Mommy & Me swim class teacher was working in the child watch & she scooped Luci right up before she knew what happened. When I went back an hour later she was playing on the floor...and was fine until she saw me..then she burst into tears!! But I was able to hit 'abs & back' and boy am I feelin it today....

rough day

This is the face I saw ALL day today...and it is not a happy face... Later in the day...
A few days ago with Dad...she really, really hates the orange glow of the camera!
Eating salmon....happy girl!
Super happy! Salmon is SO yummy! Especially with peas!

Ugh....we had a rough day today. She woke up at 7a, ate a great breakfast, and then during playtime she fell over for no reason & hit her head...leading to the second goose egg in 2 days. Ugh. By 9a she was rubbing her eyes...so we went upstairs, read some books, and then she started squirming like loon! So I sang a song, hummed a song, and then proceeded to say Hail Mary's (usually her dad's trick). She continued to stand up & jump around her crib. So I left. And she cried...for 20 minutes. I went back in & rocked her...then put her back down...and she cried for another 20 minutes....we repeated this for 90 minutes!! At 10:26a I decided to brush my teeth (I wait until after my coffee to brush my teeth...gross, I know) and then go get her. And when I was done she was finally quiet. Poor baby...I felt terrible.

After that she just wasn't happy all day. We went to Walgreens just to get out of the house and buy some diaper cream, as she has the worst rash she's ever had. And she's been really wobbly lately for some reason...SO many bruises! I don't know what is going on with her...teeth maybe?

But she did something super cute in the bath that I want to remember...we were splashing & making waves & little bubbles with our hands...and she kept trying to grab the bubbles...and then she look in her little fist & there wouldn't be anything in there...and she'd look confused...then we'd do it all over again!

On a brighter note, I've finally found a few things she likes to eat. Meat & potatoes! She's a Midwestern girl at heart ;)! She loves hamburger (porcupine meatball anyone?), chicken breast, and her ultimate fav...canned red salmon! She LOVED the salmon! I also made a home-made mac-n-cheese with cauliflower...she was okay with it...but wasn't as impressed as I had hoped she'd be.

put the ball in the tree

sweet baby smile she doesn't like the orange light that glows on the camera...such funny faces!
Uncle Sunidh stopped in for a surprise visit courtesy of Continental...they wouldn't let him get on his flight to Brazil because his flight from Phoenix was late & they had already given away his seat...probably to folks like this Pierse family.... ;)

she is very eager to walk, but she lunges forward with her upper body & then ends up falling...but it doesn't deter her from trying again! you should see all of her poor little bruises!
another silly face

Luci put the ball in the tree on Saturday! The tree has a round hole...you put the ball in it...and then it has plates that the ball falls down onto & then spins around. On Saturday she put the ball in the hole in the tree all by herself! Like 10 times right before bed....and of course, she hasn't repeated it since. Here is a video of her putting the ball half way in & than taking it out again...probably because I was all up in her face with my camera!!