Lucy at 3...

THREE :: The good, the bad and the ugly {mostly good...and cute}.

Weight: 33.25 lbs (70%)
Height: 38.78" (81%)
BMI: 15.55 (47%)
Clothes: 3T
Shoes: 8/9

Great eater. Loves all things sweet. Josh and I always share our "high" and "low" of the day at dinner time. She has started answering the questions too and typically initiates the conversation. "Mom, what's your high?"

Sleep...oh sleep. This has been a rough area for the past 6 months. Mainly issues with getting out (and getting out and getting out) of her bed during the middle of the night. We won't let her sleep with us (nor will we sleep in her room) and we've have tried pretty much every tactic there is (except strapping her to her bed). Literally, we've tried everything. Everything. She use to sleep until 8am, but has been waking between 6:30/7am for months. I hear this is just a stage. It better be. She's a night owl like her daddy and would stay up until midnight if we let her. But we don't. She is usually in bed between 8/8:30pm. She still takes an afternoon nap, typically for 1.5-2 hours.

Potty trained (right before she turned 3). Still wears a pull-up at nap time and bed time, but she has started waking up dry most days. Buying diapers for only one child is amazing.

TV favorites: Curious George, Caillou, The Cat in The Hat, The Sound of Music, Cinderella, Mary Poppins, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Peter Pan.

Favorite books: Anything Dr. Seuss, Curious George or Disney Princess.

Favorite activities: Crafts, going on walks (riding one of her bikes/cars or pushing a stroller), playing dress-up, throwing/kicking balls, snacking, watching TV, playing on the iPad, going to the playground, preschool, playgroup, gymnastics, helping me cook, dancing, singing, checking the mail, reading books, pretending to be one of the Disney princesses, celebrating birthdays (especially her birthday)...I could go on and on.

"I can do it, because I'm a big girl." She says this about 100 times per day. She is my little helper...which I am very grateful for...most of the time. She loves to help me cook!

She recently started having opinions about what she wears. She use to never question what I put on her, but now it's a daily battle. She loves shoes. And dressing like a princess. If it can twirl, she LOVES it!

She tends to have arguments with herself (or her sister, even though her sister can't talk). This always amazes, humors and frustrates the junk out of me.

She has the most precious, raspy voice.

She LOVES (and I mean) LOVES her Daddy. I don't blame her.

She's a fantastic BIG sister and is very protective of June, especially when we're around other children. She really does care for and loves her sister well.

She loves preschool and has learned to warm quickly to new surroundings and people. Although she can be shy at first, she is very adaptable now. I think having a little sister has helped with this...and "growing up" a bit.

She has grown out of her sensory struggles as well. Loud noises can still bother her (especially if they surprise her), but nothing like they use to. We are very thankful for this!

She's a girl, and therefore DRAMATIC.

She's spirited. If you have a spirited chid, then you know what I mean. High, highs and low, lows.

She's a sweet friend and very concerned about her friends...she ofter asks what they are doing, eating, wearing, playing with, etc. while we are at home. She remembers her friends in her prayers too.

She's funny. And I think she's starting to get her daddy's humor, which is huge.

She likes routine and always wants to know what's next. She likes to be prepared. Shocking, I know.

She is a liar. And thankfully, not a very good one....yet. She needs Jesus people. Oh, how I pray that she realizes her desperate need for Jesus! Capture her heart, Lord.

For this mama, 3 is a humbling age to parent. It's a constant reminder of my need for Jesus...and that I am not perfect...and neither is Lucy. But, Jesus is. He has fashioned me to be Lucy's mom, and his grace and mercy abound. Thank you, Lord. THANK YOU!

Good gracious, how I love this child. What a miraculous gift Lucy is!

{I've been working on this post since Lucy turned 3 back in October. I'm sure I'll keep adding to it throughout the year!}

Lucy at 24 months...

Weight: 27.20 lbs (58%)

Height: 39.25" (100%)

Clothes: Size 24mo - 2 T

Shoes: Size 7-8

Diapers: Size 4

Sleep:  Lucy sleeps 11-12 hours at night (typically 8pm - 8am) and takes a 2-3 hour nap during the day (typically around 1:30/2pm).  She still sleeps in a sleep sack, with a sound machine and she hasn't attempted to climb out of her crib yet!  I don't think we're anywhere close to transitioning to a big girl bed and that is completely fine with me.  Our bed time and nap time routine consists of reading a couple of books and singing a few songs before I put her in her crib.  She always wants us to sing "Jesus Loves Me" before we leave the room and she typically talks/sings to herself for a bit before falling asleep.  She doesn't always wake up happy from naps, but her grouchiness is usually short lived and typically fixed with a good snack!  Our favorite thing is waking her up in the morning, because she always says the most random and funny things...you never know what will come out of her mouth!

Eating:  Lucy is still a great eater!  She'll eat just about anything...vegetables are hit or miss though.  Some of her favorites: fruit/veggie squeezies and smoothies, yogurt, cottage cheese, waffles, eggs, cereal, any kind of fruit, chicken nuggets, Morning Star nuggets and corn dogs, cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, pasta of any kind, chicken, turkey, hummus, edamame, canned green beans, corn, pizza, pretzels, gold fish, graham crackers and anything sweet (in moderation, of course!).  She LOVES milk....so much so that we've had to watch her intake lately.  We recently switched her from whole milk to 1% or 2%.

Communication:  Lucy is extremely verbal.  She can repeat anything we say and can easily speak in full sentences now.  It's so much fun having conversations with her!  Some of the things that come out of her mouth just crack us up....she learns new words everyday!  Josh and I have to really watch what we say and what we watch on TV, because she literally can repeat anything!!  She has recently started singing the words to songs too.  

Activities:  Lucy has improved so much over the past few months with self-play.  She plays great by herself now, especially when I'm feeding June.  Playing "momma" with her baby dolls is definitely her favorite activity.  She'll feed them, dress/undress them, put them to bed and push them in her stroller and shopping cart.  She likes playing in her little kitchen, play house and tent and playing pretend with all of her fake food.  She enjoys coloring, painting, chalk, play dough, stickers, puzzles, books, dress-up and playing with balls and blocks.  She loves to be outside, going on walks and playing at the playground.  She finally enjoys swinging again (she took about a year hiatus from the swing!) and she really likes slides.  She became quite the water baby over the summer and we'll start swim lessons hopefully in the spring or early summer.  She's also a big fan of music and dancing...especially with daddy!  She plays great with other kids and loves going to play group (so does mommy)!  Her favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Barney and Winnie the Pooh.

Potty Training: We haven't really started working on this, but she does let us know when she needs to or has gone poop and asks to have her diaper changed when she is done.  She has also started hiding or running into the other room when she is pooping.  We've asked her a few times if she wants to sit on the big girl potty and she said "NO, so we're not pushing potty training at all.  We'll start when she is good and ready, so hopefully it won't take long to conquer!  

Personality:  Overall, Lucy is a very happy and compliant girl!  She definitely will test her limits at times (and can throw a mean temper tantrum), but she is normally quick to follow instructions and do what we ask.  She is very loving/caring/friendly towards others and interacts well with children and adults.  She transitions so much quicker (and easier) now to new people and new places.  This year at school, she walks right into her classroom and hardly ever skips a beat when we say goodbye and leave the room.  This was definitely not the case last year! Her sensory issues have improved dramatically over the past 6 months, but loud noises and being startled still freak her out a bit.  Lucy can be flexible, but she if very much a routine kind-of girl.  She is one funny little lady...her laugh is infectious and her smile can light up any room!

18 Months...

Weight: 24 lbs. (58%)

Height: 34 in. (97%)

Head Circumference: 47.50 cm. (77%)

Hands down, fastest year and a half of my life. I can't believe my baby girl is 18 months old and in just 4 months, she'll be a big sister! Slow down time...slow down! Lucy's "spirited" personality has really evolved over the last month. We've had a rough few weeks with tantrums....tantrums...and more tantrums. She definitely has strong opinions...and she knows what she likes (and doesn't like). Which is not always a bad thing (at least I keep telling myself that!). We're really working with her on "trying" to control her emotions. She can get worked up over the silliest things. And she can turn those big crocodile tears on as quick as she can turn them off! We've learned that time out is not always the best option for her....sometimes she just needs some quiet time in her crib or a little spank on the hand or leg to get her attention. My patience has definitely been tested over the past month or so....but, I'm trying my best to love her through this phase...and embracing the personality that God perfectly designed her with. Lucy's vocabulary has really evolved over the past month....she knows so many words and each day she surprises me with new ones! She has started combining 2 or 3 words together....momma's keys, daddy's shoes, hi Chloe, etc. I love hearing her talk and learning to communicate with us. And after 6 WEEKS of battling bath time, she has finally come around and is enjoying her bath again! Wow, this was a battle. I'm so thankful that this phase is over (and I hope it doesn't come back for a very long time)! Over the past few days, Lucy has started saying "poop" right before she goes poop...hopefully this is a sign that potty training will be easy??!! I sure hope so! She is still a great eater (although we're struggling a bit with green veggies) and sleeper...12 hours at night (typically 8pm-8am) and a 2-3 hour nap during the day (typically 1pm-3/4pm). Lucy is wearing size 4 diapers, 18-24 months clothes and size 5 shoes. We love you Lucy girl...more than you will ever know. Happy 18 months precious one!!

17 months...

I've been HORRIBLE recently about taking pictures...totally not like me. So, this precious picture will certainly work for Lucy's 17th month post....It was taken 2 weeks ago (and she still looks the same)! I can't believe our little love bug is 17 months old...SLOW DOWN TIME. It really is hard to believe that Lucy has almost been in our lives for 1 1/2 years! I can't imagine our world without her in it...what did we use to do with all of our time?!

The biggest change/update is Lucy's nap schedule. A couple days before she turned 16 months, she dropped her morning nap, so she is now napping only once a day. Most days I'll get 2.5-3 hours out of her. She typically goes down around 1pm and wakes up around 4pm. It took several weeks for her to adjust, but I think we're finally there...thank goodness. About 2 weeks ago, she started waking up 1.5 hours into her nap and crying really hard (so I knew she was still tired). After a few days of this, I stopped going in her room and just let her cry it out. The first day she cried for about 15 minutes and then she finally went back to sleep and slept for another hour. Now if she wakes up during her nap, she'll cry very briefly and go back to sleep. Now that she is taking only one nap, she's going down at night around 7:45/8pm, which is nice. When she was napping twice a day, she usually went to bed around 8:30pm. She is still sleeping 12 hours at night. It's been an adjustment for me as well now that she is a once a day napper....I've had to rearrange our schedule some and make sure that we have a morning activity. It's nice that our schedule doesn't revolve around 2 naps a day anymore....but I'm still getting use to it. Some days 8am-1pm seems very long, but it's getting easier!

Lucy's vocabulary has really increased over the past month. She can repeat most words that we say (although it doesn't always sound the same)! Words that she knows and says regularly are...dada, momma (finally!) dog, doggie, duck, please, more, all done, eat, wa-wa (water), milk, snack, stuck, baby, book, walk, bye-bye, hi, no, up, help, outside, bubbles and blocks...I know there are more, but those are the main ones. I just love hearing her talk!

Lucy loves going for walks, playing outside, feeding the ducks, "reading" books, playing with Chloe, watching videos (her favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Baby Einstein's Baby MacDonald), Kindermusik, and play dates! Right now she doesn't like baths, taking medicine or getting dressed...we're pushing through and hoping these too will pass! :)

She is still a great eater (most days) and milk drinker. She weighs 24.5 lbs. Not sure on her height, but she's a tall one! We recently switched to size 4 diapers and she is wearing 18-24 month clothes.

Happy 17 months Lucy Kate!! We love you so much sweet girl!!

15 Months...

Can you believe it? I can't.

15 Month Stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz (50%)
Height: 31.75" (86%)
Head Circumference: 46.99 cm (80%)

We've had so much fun watching Lucy grow over the past few months. She has changed so much! She is officially running all over the place...in to everything...and wants to touch everything! She is very curious about her surroundings and is showing a lot more independence. She plays well by herself (especially in the mornings) and is very comfortable around people she is familiar with. It takes less and less time to warm up to new faces and places, which is so nice! Very rarely does she cry anymore when we drop her off at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays or at the nursery on Sundays. She babbles, squeals and "talks" all day long...it's very entertaining....but, she is not saying too many words yet. Words she can say are dog, duck, dada, mama, hi, up, uh oh, and milk. Her favorite word is dog...everything and everyone is a dog. We're working on that one. :) She loves to give hugs and kisses and has recently starting blowing kisses! Lucy loves to "help" me around the house with laundry, carrying things, cleaning up her toys, feeding the dogs and checking the mail. She's always carrying something whether is be her sippy cup, snack cup or baby dolls. She loves her baby dolls. She'll hold them, rock them, kiss them, pat them, feed them and make sure they have their paci. She's an organizer...shocker...she definitely gets that from me! One of her favorite activities when I'm cooking is taking food items out of the fridge one at a time and lining them up on the rug under the sink. She also likes to line up her baby dolls and teddy bears. That's my girl! She has also gotten so much better about getting dressed (it use to be a battle)....but, now she actually helps me dress her and she doesn't mind wearing jackets now!

Lucy is sleeping in a bit later now, which is nice. Most days she wakes up between 8 and 8:30am. She is still taking 2 1.5 hour naps....typically from 10:30am-noon and 3-4:30pm. Bedtime is between 8 and 8:30pm. She is wearing size 12 to 18 month clothes and size 3 diapers. She's still a great eater (all table foods) and drinker (completely transitioned to the sippy cup...no more bottles).

Happy 15 months baby girl! We love watching you grow and learn new things. You add so much JOY and laughter to our lives. Mommy and daddy love you so much....words will never be able to describe it. Don't ever forget that, sweet one.

13 months....

For the sake of fairness towards our future children, I'm not going to continue with Lucy's monthly updates. My goal is to do monthly posts for all the kiddos first year of life...they're time consuming, so I'm sure it will only get harder to achieve that goal as more babies come along. I don't want to hear 15-20 years from now, "mom, you did everything for Lucy and we got crap!" :) I will continue with shorter Lucy updates when I can, because I don't want to forget when the big milestones occurred...and let's be honest, this blog had turned into Lucy's baby book!

Over the past month, Lucy....

1) Has become a very confident walker....and in to EVERYTHING. I can't take my eyes off her! Her walk actually looks more like a march, but it's precious....and so what if she wants to be in the marching band when she's in high school. Whatever she does will be cool to me! :)

2) Is weaned from bottles. NO MORE CLEANING BOTTLES....Whoo hooo!!!! It took her about 4 weeks to completely wean, but now she is using sippy cups only and happy about it. I started dropping one bottle feeding at a time....first lunch, then dinner, then breakfast. Breakfast was the hardest. We had a few morning meltdowns, but they didn't last long. The transition from formula to whole milk was very easy for her. She didn't even notice.

3) Only has her paci in her crib now. This transition was pretty rough (because sister girl loves her paci), but all things considered, she really has done well with it. We had some MAJOR meltdowns at first (especially when she would see her paci in her crib if we were playing in her room). Now, when I wake her up, she knows to leave her paci in her crib. It's really cute....she'll just spit it right out. Every so often, she'll throw a little fit for her paci, so I'll put her in her crib and let her play in there for a little bit and when she wants out, the paci stays in her bed. I still keep an emergency paci in her diaper bag for times when it's necessary so other people don't go insane (like the church nursery).

We love you Lucy girl! You are our greatest joy and blessing from the Lord. Happy 13 months!!!

Here are a few pictures I snapped of Lucy Kate yesterday morning. She had a Thanksgiving feast at school!

Watch her grow!

10.18.10 | 9:43pm | 7lb 6oz | 19.25" long

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

12 Months...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY KATE!!!!!

How can our baby girl be one year old?! I feel like I blinked and a whole year has gone by. It really is crazy. But, what a year it has been! By far the best of my life. I have learned so much about myself and my new role as a mom, about Lucy, and most importantly about God and how good he really is. This year has blessed me (beyond belief), challenged me, stretched me and refined me like I never thought possible. Becoming a mom has truly been a joy and I am so thankful that God has given me this gift. Because it really is that....a gift. I am so thankful for our sweet Lucy and each day we have had with her. Thank you Jesus!

Official stats at 12 months:
Weight: 21 lbs, 11 oz (60%)
Height: 31" (90%)
Head Circumference: 45.72 cms (75%)

Lucy started walking this month, which was definitely at huge (and exciting) milestone for all of us! She is getting better and more confident each day with her walking. It really is so much fun to have her follow me around the house. She has also become so much better about not completely freaking out when she takes a tumble....thank goodness! When she really wants to get somewhere (fast), she drops to her knees and starts crawling or bear crawling if she is on the hard wood floor. She is a fast little crawler. You turn your head and she's gone! She is also into EVERYTHING these days....and I mean everything.

Her sleep schedule is still the same. Wake up between 7:30/8am. Morning nap starts around 10/10:30am and lasts for 1.5 hours. Afternoon nap starts around 2:30/3pm and lasts 1.5 hours. Bedtime around 8pm.

Lucy is still a great eater! We are working on dropping her afternoon feeding so she'll be down to 3 meals a day. She'll eat pretty much anything we put in front of her, which I'm so thankful for. We made the switch from formula to whole milk a few days ago and Lucy is a huge fan! We've slowly started weaning her from the bottle as well. She is definitely independent when it comes to eating. She does not want us feeding her....she wants to do it all herself! We've started practicing with a toddler fork with those foods that are hard to pick up like bananas and peaches.

It amazes me how much she is learning these days! Several examples...she knows that a bow goes in her hair (good girl!)...what a hair brush is used for...when we wake her up we'll say "put your paci in you bed" and she'll throw it in her crib...when we say "bear" she'll point to her big bear...thanks to the Peekaboo Barn app on my iPhone, she is learning her animals (she knows dog and duck)...she waves hello and goodbye....the list could go on! It's so much fun to see her little mind work! She is definitely strong willed and knows what she wants (and doesn't want!).

We're going through some major separation anxiety these days and if Josh and I are in the room, we're the only ones she wants. She'll cry when we leave her, but it's usually short lived. She does great in the nursery at church and at MOPS. She's also doing really well at pre-school on Tuesday and Thursdays when I'm at work. Lucy has adjusted wonderfully to our new schedule and I'm so proud of her for that! She is still a little hesitant in new places, but it's taking her less and less time to warm up to new people and surroundings.

She is still in size 3 diapers and wearing size 12-18 month clothes. She cut one more bottom tooth this month....so she now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom.

Happy 1st birthday precious one!! We love you so much!!

11 months...

Hello 11 months!!! How can it be?! This month was full of changes and a few rough days, but all in all it was another amazing month with our precious baby girl!

Lucy sleep schedule is still the same. Wake up between 7:30/7:45am. Morning nap from 10am-11:30am. Afternoon nap from 2:30pm-4pm. Down for bed at 8am. We are so thankful that she is a good sleeper!

She is still eating 4 times a day. Bottle/breakfast right when she wakes up, bottle/lunch after her morning nap, bottle/snack after her afternoon nap and dinner around 6:30/7pm, followed by a bottle right before bedtime. She drinks about 6oz of formula each time she gets a bottle. She will not take baby food anymore. This started about 3 weeks ago right after I just restocked our pantry with tons of baby food, of course! She is great at eating table food and she will eat just about anything we put in front of her. She is a pretty consistent eater, but some meals are better than others. She usually eats the most/best at dinner time. Blueberries, strawberries, grapes, bananas, cheese, green beans, turkey, chicken and black beans are some of her favorite foods. She moans when she is eating something she really likes...it's pretty funny! Sister girl likes her groceries!

Lucy cut 2 new teeth this month....1 on top and 1 on bottom. She now has 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom. She is wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

She is a fast little crawler now and can stand/balance on her own. She took her first steps on the evening of October 16th at G and Pops' house. She took 4 consecutive steps twice that evening. Granny and Grandad (Lucy's great grandparents) were there too....everyone when nuts when she did it! It was so much fun! I'm sure we'll have a walker soon! She loves to cruise along the couch and ottomans, push her walker around the house and she can walk pretty fast when we are holding her hands. Lucy LOVES when Josh and I play chase with her...it totally cracks her up and gets her so excited! Lucy does not like to fall. When she falls, she totally loses it...whether it hurt or not. I think it just scares her. So, because of this, she is very cautious and it can take her a little while to warm up to new surroundings. She is also still not a big fan of loud noises or loud people...again, she will lose it if something/someone is too loud for her sensitive little ears...for example, the eruption that occurred when she took her first steps!! :)

Lucy learned how to give five (albeit with closed hands) this month...it's too cute! She still waves and claps all of the time. The first thing she does when I wake her up in the morning is wave to Chloe and Kaci...she loves her puppy dogs! She also learned how to drink from a straw this month. She was quite proud of herself when she figured this out....and now all she wants to do is drink from my cup! Lucy can say: Hi, Uh Oh, Aggie, Dog, Ball, Dadda and Momma. When she wants something, she'll point to it and say ah, ah, ah. Lucy thoroughly enjoys opening and closing cabinet doors and drawers...I think it's time to finally get our house baby proofed!

Lucy's little personality has really started to come out! When she likes or doesn't like something, she will definitely let you know! Yikes...typical girl, I guess?! She can be shy/hesitant around new people, but eventually she will warm up to them. She is normally very happy, but we've had several rough days this month with small tantrums and moodiness. She also had a rough week or so with the hand, foot and mouth virus. I didn't realize she had this until I finally took her to the doctor a few weeks ago (because I was about to lose my mind) and found out she had painful ulcers in her mouth! Poor girl! And now we're dealing with allergies and a sinus infection. Hopefully we'll be back to normal soon!

Happy 11 months Lucy Kate! What an honor it is to be your mommy. You are my delight and fill my life with so much JOY! Know that you are deeply loved, sweet one! Let the 1st birthday party planning begin....

These monthly photo shoots are getting harder and harder now that Lucy is mobile!