Halloween '09

Lucy had a good (but somewhat grumpy) Halloween. I'm still trying to figure out the exact equation, but there is definitely some sort of relationship between Lucy's excitement for an event, and the number of meltdowns she will have during said event. Multiplied exponentially by wearing a bonnet, apparently. But my goodness, she did look cute, even during the meltdowns. I wish there were some excuse for dressing her like this for the rest of November. Or possibly for every Halloween until she's 20.

Quick picture post

Some pictures from our trip to Idaho last weekend! (mostly to tide over the grandparents until our Thanksgiving trip).

Pumpkin Patch

On Friday we kicked October off to a good start by heading to a pumpkin patch. It was one of those awesome ones were you actually get to pick your pumpkin off the vine, and Lucy loved it. She is pretty pleased with the little half-ripe pumpkin she picked out, and has stopped just short of asking to sleep with it.

Olympic Peninsula

We took a trip with Sterling’s family to the Olympic Peninsula last week, and we had so much fun. Lucy was thrilled to be on another “a benture” (adventure), and she had a thoroughly fabulous time. I have literally 700 pictures from the trip, but here are some of Lucy’s (and my) favorite moments.

Our first stop was to the Olympic Game Farm, a must see for anyone in the Pacific Northwest (and, frankly, a must see for pretty much anyone, period). I thought Lucy’s head would explode from excitement every time she saw/fed a new animal.



The joy in this picture was inspired by these guys:


And this guy:


And him:


Lucy and Aunt Robin with a friendly sheep:



Lucy had a great time exploring the big trees that seem to be everywhere in the area, and it was even better that her cousins were all there too:



We also spend some time at the beach exploring tide pools, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lucy quite so engrossed and happy and just blissed out in general. She was wet from head to toe within minutes, and at one point I looked up and she was on all fours, sticking her head in one of the tide pools. Too bad I was too busy grabbing her to get a picture.












Happy, happy, happy.

Birthday self-portrait

Last year on my birthday, I took a picture of Lucy and I hanging out in the backyard, and I thought it would be a fun tradition to do every year. So today I attempted to take the birthday self portrait with Lucy. It's a bit more difficult with a two year old than it was with a one year old, (and lot more difficult when the remote for the camera is dead). So we have, instead, a series of pictures that all are a little lacking. Use your mental Photoshop, and I'm sure you can piece together a fabulous shot.

Here's the picture from last year...

And here are the shots from today...

And yes, Lucy has been wearing that top for the last three seasons. I highly recommend buying sweater dresses that can be used as tunic-y tops the next year. I'm pretty sure she'll be wearing it next year as well. This staggering amount of practicality on my part surely makes up for the shopping spree I went on for Lucy today, yes?

Turning Two

Lucy turned two on June 15th, to a lot less fanfare then when she turned one, due to the fact that we arrived in Washington the day before. So here I am, two months later, still recovering from the move, but finally ready to do her two year old post.

So far, I have to say, two is awesome. Lucy is a ridiculous amount of fun, and I love having her as my little buddy as I try and navigate our new town. Here are some facts about Lucy at age two:

Favorite things to do:
-Read. Or at least do a really good impression of reading by reciting most of her books from memory.
-Go for walks and hikes, preferably on Daddy's shoulders, so she can yell "giddy-up Daddy!"
-Anything outdoors.

Favorite foods:
-Green beans, blueberries, fruit snacks, Life cereal, tomatoes. Anything she can stuff in her mouth at the farmer's market.

Least favorite foods:
-She's not a big fan of meat, but she can be persuaded to eat pretty much anything.

Cool new skills:
-Counting to 10 and recognizing her numbers
-Saying and recognizing her ABC's
-Coming up with ridiculously complete sentences. The other morning she said "My daddy is going to get me the pink blanket". Just like that. Add to that the fact that she asked me for an iphone the other day, and I feel like I very nearly have a pre-teen on my hands.

As-of-yet unacquired skills:
-Jumping. She has some sort of mental block. Or she doesn't even realize she's not doing it. She will try all day, and never leaves the ground. I have to admit, it's way more entertaining this way. I'll have to post a video of her futile jumping efforts.

Preferred Expletive:
-"Shoot!" She has dabbled in a few more offensive terms (nooooo idea where she picked that up...) but thank goodness none of those stuck.

Most commonly heard phrase:
-"Lucy want _______". Con.stant.ly. I'm trying to teach her to say "May I have ______ please?", because I think if I hear that 4 billion times a day instead, my head will be a lot less likely to explode.

Oh, and the latest stats are 23 pounds and 35 inches tall. On the chart on both counts now. Go Lucy!

Cows!

We spent some time at my family's ranch in Idaho last week, and one of the biggest highlights for Lucy was petting (and riding) the super tame and gentle Jersey cows. Now that we're home, I don't think she is the least bit satisfied with boring old Henry the cat, who tends to run for it when she tries to climb on his back.

What we've been doing...

Picking blueberries.

Playing peekaboo.

Chasing seagulls.

Going hiking.

Being cute.

Being happy.

Arrival

We are officially in Washington, and the move is offically OVER. (If I can call it "over", when my garage is still occupied by packed boxes instead of cars. I think I totally can). There is a ton of updating to do, including a post on Lucy's birthday, but that can come later, mostly since I'm still a little bit in denial about my baby being two.

So, instead, here is a picture post from our first little adventure here in Washington. We took a trip around Hood River, Mt. Adams, and then in to Mt. Rainier National Park over the weekend. It was a lot of fun, and nice to get away from the unpacking that I have lost all motivation to continue. Lucy was a champ during all the hours in the car, and was adorably delighted with every little thing she saw on our hikes. Deer, elk, trees, pinecones, bumblebees, rocks, grass...all were equalling thrilling for our little nature girl.

And now for the countless pictures...mostly for family in Utah, who Lucy is missing in the worst way. (by the way, she really does own more than one set of clothes. Somehow these were all taken on the same day).

By the way, lets not discuss how grown up Lucy looks in these pictures. The little braids are killing me. It's like she's only moments away from her college applications or something. Sob.