*sigh*

These pictures from the weekend are so shocking to me - she looks so grownup. Like a little kid - little trace of baby. Oh how time passes...

Wasn't it just yesterday...

Some days

Some days are just like that...

You try to fill you cart with healthy things...
But really you just want to sit on the grocery store floor and eat some ice cream.

Birthday Party

Lucy spent her birthday morning opening lovely notes and presents from grandparents:

And then we went to Lucy's favorite restaurant, Por Que No. She loves their guacamole. I kid you not, four month old Lucy ate an entire serving of quacamole there, and it has been true love ever since. She invited her aunts and uncles and the dear Riley family:

Everyone thought it was a bit of a gloomy day to have a birthday but, for me, it was perfect. One year ago I looked out of a raindrop covered hospital window to a city covered with light grey clouds and listened to a new little life cry (when the sound was not drowned out by the ipod we shamefully used that first night to keep lucy sleeping).

My One Year Old - What I Know For Certain

Like meeting anyone, it is tricky to try and understand the intricacies and complexities of a person. This year I have had the luck of meeting and getting to know this cute little lady. But even after endless hours together, laughing and crying, eating and chilling, talking and watching, playing and sleeping, I'm still not sure I can perfectly sift through what is Lucyness, what is babyness and what is mom projectingness. Nevertheless, here is an attempt to share what I'm pretty sure I know for certain about The Lucy Girl.

She feels more confident and comfortable surrounded by other people. When isolated, her range of exploration shrinks to the few books or toys in front of her, but when others are around she moves freely about and seeks new stimuli. Along the same lines, she doesn't like to miss out on things. She will move to the center of any activity and rotate from person to person to stay involved. She has no signs of shyness and thrives in the spotlight. She likes physical touch but not if it feels confining. She likes her independence and while incredibly easy going and willing to try to new things, she knows what it is she likes and what she doesn't like. And if she doesn't like it she will politely but stubbornly refuse.

She is playful. Rarely does she fall into a serious contemplative mood, although it does happen. If she finds a way to make someone laugh she will keep that trick guarded in her repertoire. She is starting to manipulate those experiences on purpose, revealing a Lucy that is really quite funny. She has an easy smile. She is frequently so pleased with life that she will smile so hard she has to squint in order to keep her face unsquished.
And some fun facts about Lucy:

* She has six teeth (two of which my dear sister claims are bucked but I have a dentist neighbor willing to testify otherwise)

* She is walking

* She is pleased with me but she adores her dad (but seriously, who wouldn't, he's great)

*She is a text book babe (every single thing, since the day we conceived, that baby center says might happen this week, happens - they say she might start teething-she does, the say she might roll over-she does - always the exact same week, I kid you not)

* She snores and rolls all over during her sleep

* She still can't find her nose

*She can sign for "more" and "all done" and "milk" and "cat" and can say "this" and "hi" and "dad" and "mama" and "uh oh"

*she won't keep socks on (and shoes - forget about it)

*tired = grumpy

What a fun year getting to know this amazing girl!

Sitting Pretty

My grandma always worried that I sat funny on my legs growing up. I'm pretty sure it was such a source of worry that when I ended up a little pigeon toed (which didn't last), my odd sitting was to blame and doctors consulted. Well, over Christmas break, my grandma pointed out that Lucy sits in odd positions as well. And indeed, she does.

And in other news, she still attacks any plush item with a tight hug and slight sigh.

Normal Life

Getting back into our regular pattern is looking a little bit like this.

What do you mean grandpa is not here to hold me until I fall asleep? * What do you mean I can't have sweets? * What do you mean we will not be sleeping in the same room? * What do you mean the library is the most exciting place we will go to today? * Where are all my adoring fans? Two is just not enough! And sleeping will just not do!

Curtis' California Christmas

My aunt put together a lovely long weekend full of charming accommodations and fun activities for all of the relatives on my dad's side of the family.

We all stayed on the Queen Mary, which incidentally is the same ship that Mike's grandpa came home from WWII on.
This was Lucy's first time meeting her great-grandma Curtis, from whom she got her name.
Lucy also got to meet second cousins,
her great aunty Kay,
And great grandpa Curtis
It was fun to see everyone, but it was also a treat to hang out with the girls a bit.
Lucy was still not at the top of her game for this vacation but she did enjoy the horses and eating with her fingers during Medieval Times.
She did not like the ghosts and legends tour we took on the boat and yet touching sharks didn't scare her.
The whale watching tour was a little hit and miss. Lucy liked the water for the first hour but by the end we were all reeling with nausea. And yet the two of them are so cute together I can't help but post two pictures.
In the airport, Megan plays on Lucy's new found love of stuffed animals by testing how many she can hold to her chest at once.
It was a fun little trip and, barring the fact that either little miss Lucy or an unfortunate choice of food made me sick, will hold a lot of memories.

On eliciting adoration (Our Utah Trip)

I want to know what the secret is. She was a little grumpy and little sick, but Lucy still crawls through a world with faces like these looking at her:

In fact, she was so adored that I'm pretty sure she has forgotten how to walk. All she had to do was hold her hands up in the air and someone would swoop her up and take her anywhere she wanted to go. But on the flip side, she learned to do a little adoring of her own. When she sees a stuffed animal she will hold it tightly to her face and let out a little sigh.