Sunflower

Our backyard is a jungle. We back up to a park, so we can't touch the "natural" part.....which is mostly weeds! Yesterday among all the gunk, I noticed a giant sunflower. I never planted any seeds back there, so who knows where it came from. I saw it yesterday for the first time, so I have to think it's Katie showing her face.

Belle Haven

We were so excited that Friday was our first day as members of Belle Haven Country Club! We had lunch there Friday and Sunday visited the pool. Lucy had fun in the baby pool!

Katie

How have 5 years gone by without you? Every day with Lucy Katherine is a reminder of your funny personality and love for the world. This photo from my 25th b-day was one of our last times together. I was so thrilled she made the trip from Chicago to be with us all in DC. We will never ever forget anything about the amazing 23 years we had with you here in this life. Until next time......

Happy Birthday Pap!

Have a great day!!

I Want Out

Lucy spends a good part of her day trying to figure out how to escape the barricade in the back room. She likes to wedge herself into the corner behind the chair and peek at me on the other side. It is a fun game for her!

Sleeping Pose

This is how she sleeps. It is so hilarious because usually the higher she can jack her heiney up in the air the better. Also, she can untuck and sweep her arm out to the side to locate and pop Little Green (her paci) back in as needed.

Yes to DHA, no BPA

We have finally reached the point where Lucy will eat more than one jar of food per sitting! Today she mowed down two containers of mixed fruits w/oats/granola fortified with DHA. Sounds delicious, no? And yes, I know these kind are not organic (why the DHA but not organic? Who knows.) And they are in #7 plastic containers...but I've scoured the Internet enough to know that Gerber has repeatedly stated there is no BPA in them. The excitement of her actually eating this much was overwhelming! ALSO, we are so excited...Betsy is having a BOY! Another Allen cousin will be joining us in 4 months!! Betsy, I'm sure you never even thought about BPA or DHA. God knows I didn't before this kid was born!! And if you are wondering, the Gerber spoons have silicone tips so we are safe there. Until they decide silicone is bad too....

Tengo Ocho Meses

Lucy is 8 months old today! I know this pic is kind of lame but it's imposible to get her to sit still and smile for the camera bc all she wants to do is grab it or flip over, move, etc. Will figure out her stats this weekend.

Back Home

We are back home again for a while after what has been a whirlwind month of June. Lucy has gotten over the fever but now has sniffles and runny nose. We can't win!

Cousins!

Lucy and Nate were so cute together. If you needed to be reminded what a peanut Lucy is, here you go! Nate is a year and one day older than her.

DCL Posting

DCL..ol Deep Creek Lake. It's nice here! If you are looking for a BIG house to rent with family or friends it is perfect! The sun has been out and it's been nice and cool. Great news for Jud who is perpetually hot. Yesterday Lucy and Nate got to know each other a bit more and it was hilarious to see them together. He is 366 days older than her and about 20 lbs bigger and 10 inches taller. Lucy is still on a hunger strike since her fever of a few days ago. She's decided she doesn't need solid food since Weds. Whatever! Baby mum mums are all she'll take down. Jud and I had fun playing 9 holes of golf yesterday while Grammy watched Lucy. I need lessons--BAD! Only a week till we are in Belle Haven CC so Lucy might give those day care workers a try while I hang out with the pro and work on my swing. Home tomorrow!

Toothy

Lucy's first tooth is erupting and she is not too happy about it!!

Sickie

Poor Lucy got up from her nap at 5 pm yesterday and was burning up...she's still been feverish after some infant Tylenol and has had some messy diaper situations. Doc says she has a stomach bug and to top it off, her first tooth is popping through on the bottom! She is a mess of tears and boogers. Needless to say, we are postponing our drive to Deep Creek until she's a little bit more of her happy self :(

Off to the Lake

We are off to Deep Creek Lake, MD tomorow through the weekend. Mom and Doug have rented a house there and Katie, Scott and Nate are up there. Hopfully the rain will stay away. Will try to post from there....I think they have wireless internet there. What did we ever do without the INTERNET?? When we had a power outage for a few hours last night it felt like the dark ages with no 'puter!!

Barricade

Here is the barricade we've set up for Lucy so she can't get into the kitchen. It will only be days before she foils our set up. Also, playing games with Tupperware is always fun. I do dress my kid in cute clothes so please don't think she wears ghetto onesies all day long!! It still amazes me how tiny her little legs are and how she is literally about to stand up unassisted. We had a fun weekend at Jen's bocce tournament and visiting with mom and dad Allen. Even had an adult dinner with Geoff and Helen on Friday night! News alert: I think we can say Lucy sleeps through the night now. Almost a week straight of 7:30-4:30 or later! Just in time to go out of town again....I know we will be back to square one.

Happy Father's Day!

Here is Jud and Lucy on father's day morning. Lucy and I made him a BLT for breakfast, his favorite food. Complete with real mayo and cheese. A real heart attack on sourdough bread. All before 7 am of course!!

Friday the 13th

Here is how quickly we go from happy to sad. She is up..then down. Tears for a minute. Then it's back to business creeping from the chair to the stool to the ottoman. Again, and again and again.

Lucy's Obstacle Course

We have to set up the back room (now Lucy's playland) with a row of items so she can cruise from one thing to the next. She gets mad if she's upright with nowhere to go. At some point we may have 10 things in a row!! Here she's paging through (more like tearing apart) her Little Touch leap pad.

Pablo

For those of you who don't know, Lucy loves the Backyardigans show. That's the one show she's drawn to because it's got great singing and dancing. Don't worry. I don't plop her in front of the tube for hours. She gets bored after about 5 minutes. But Lauren got her this Pablo doll that sings and dances to the theme song and Lucy was a bit apprehensive at first. See furrowed brow. I mean when this doll that's about as big as you starts hooting and hollering and skating on his own, I imagine it's freaky to her!!

Fruity

Lucy loves fruit. Apples, blueberries, apricots, peaches, banannas, she loves them all. We use the fruit basket to teach her their names in English and Spanish. She won't touch veggies with a ten foot pole now. No clue what happened as she used to eat yams and such. I tried to sneak in a bite of turkey-veggie mix in between her sweet apple blueberry mush (her FAVORITE) and she made a face like she had been given poison! How do I get her to eat more than just yummy fruits??

Granny and Pa's New Florida House!

Here it is. It is so nice! That fence around the pool keeps the babies and dogs safe from the water. Note the big tree and waterview in the back. We hope the gators stay away!!

Andrea's House

We visited Andrea and John and Angie in St. Pete and had a fun breakfast. Their house is very cute and of course has a nice pool that their dog Riley likes to swim in!

Florida Wrap Up

We had a fun time and it's hard to believe it's hotter in DC than Florida! Doug and Judi bought a place in Lakewood Ranch, near Sarasota. It's new construction and so nice and clean and new. Pool, spa and lots of golf nearby. It will be great to have a warm and sunny place to go in the dead of winter. I have to admit plane flights with Lucy are getting more hectic. She used to nurse and sleep almost the entire way but those days are gone. Now it's hair pulling, back arching, screeching, biting my nose and climing "momma mountain." This is a move where she literally is like a koala climbing up the front of me, feet pressed into my stomach and hands climbing up my front and past my head. She is also now crawling for real, moving the hands and feet instead of just the flop she mastered a few weeks ago. She is working on kneeling down to get from standing back to the floor. Hopefully this will mean a few less falls! We are excited to be home and in our own beds!!

Thank You For Being A Friend

We are having a grand time here in hot and sunny Florida. It's hard for me to imagine living in a place this sunny and hot all the time! Granny and Pa have found a place they like and may be making an offer on it as I type. Lucy is napping (yay) and for the first time since we've been here has not put up a major fight to go down for pm nappy. I think I had an AHA moment and turned on her travel white noise machine. A must for all mommies to be (its called the SLEEP SHEEP:). Anyway looking at real estate is exhausting around here. I feel like all the houses look like the Golden Girls! ANYWAY it will be nice to come down here when it's cold and nasty up north. We are off to Siesta Key for dinner tonight.

Pretty in Blue

Lucy looks very cute in her sailor stripes. She also likes to chew on her high chair tray. Sometimes a lot more than actually eating! She has decided she hates all veggies and LOVES pears and blueberries. Oh and takes down 2 mum mums per meal. Hopefully granny can help us force feed her some green things in Florida.....

Ready for Florida!

Thanks to Grandma Lauren for my cute new suit and matching hat. Can you tell I LOVE having a girl to dress up??!! We leave Tuesday AM-Sunday PM to help Granny Judi and Pa Doug look for a winter home in Sarasota. I am psyched to have Granny babysitter so I can 1)read for more than 10 minutes without interruption or falling asleep, 2) see Sex and the City and 3)lay in the sun!