Like Mother Like Great Granddaughter

Mom and me

Grandma and Mom

Mom and Me

Great Grandma, Grandma, and Mom

Mike's Mom and Mike

I was talking with my mom today, wishing her a happy mother's day, when I started to see that so many of the traits that make up Lucy have genesis with my mom. She embodies strength and independence and sensitivity and these are clearly traits that Lucy is developing. I wonder too about my mom's mom and how her own classiness and charm have seeped down to my daughter. She is lucky for that. My grandma is really something. And I am so proud that the capableness and wisdom and kindness from Mike's mom are also part of Lucy. I'm grateful today for a chain for women who have traits I feel so proud to see become part of my little girl. I'm grateful for a chain of women who made mothering a priority.

Easter

After a few practice sessions during the week, Lucy was a pro at finding eggs Easter morning:

Easter dinner at Katie's:

Run for Risa

Letting Lucy stretch her legs before the race.

It was mom's first 5k.

Katie taking it very serious.

Mom and Britt were so awesome to take Lucy with them so we could run a little faster.

My relationship with running has been incredibly dynamic and defining for me over the years. During my school years I used to run my required mile praying to find a dropped straw which was the marker for a lap completed. I hated the mile. Then in high school I got in better shape but I always turn red when I work out hard and felt embarrassed to run hard and suffer the red spots on my face during the next class period. In college I met one of those people who you feel like you have known forever and we started running together, gabbing and pushing each other. We ran 5ks. We were slow but we had fun. When I met Mike I was trying to get back in to shape and we got married and ran together at the gym. We each got up to 9 mile runs and it was a great part of our relationship. Then enters Lucy and I am so out of shape. But we are starting to feel committed again and even setting some big goals for running. This 5k was a fun tiny step on our pending running journey.

Fashion Missteps

My dear cute sister, after visiting for the weekend, finally got up the courage to ask why, when I have a closet full of cute kids clothing and darling hair clips, does Lucy always look a little mismatched and hooligany on my blog. Oh Megan! All I can say is just wait and you will understand. I, too, used to feel bad for moms with disheveled kids. . .

But I didn't realize that a courageous kid means crazy hair

And that husbands sometimes don't realize that pink and red don't really match

And fat baby feet means you wear Crocs every day if it means survival

And some children can find a dirt pile entertaining when nothing else will do

And teaching autonomy means mysterious dribbles down shirts

And adventure happen spontaneously with a kid, even if they are in their pjs already

And the cuter you do their hair at the start of the day, the more kinks from missing rubberbands at the end of the day

And strawberries really do taste better when devoured

And raindancing means wet pants

And finally, sometimes looking like daddy means sacrificing style.

These are the things you too will learn and, I'm afraid, love when you have one too...

Scout

Sometimes Nate and Kelly let us borrow their adorable Scout and we pretend for a weekend that we are a dog family. We love having her around but Lucy and Scout sure know how to get in trouble together. Evidenced by the blur, they get pretty excited to be around each other and Lucy forgets that she is a child and not a dog, racing Scout in games of fetch, eating off the ground, and licking everything around her. But what fun to have a dog around.

Our Driveway or Where We "Take Sun"

Dad and Megan Visit

It looks a little like Lucy and I sitting, staring at each other, twiddling our tumbs compared to all the fun she had with first Grandpa and Grandma Wecker and then Grandpa Curtis and Aunt Megan visiting!

My dad introduced us to the joys of electronic toys. I had a previous philosophy that toys shouldn't need batteries...but I take it all back. The little fish swims around the tub and I think I love it more than Lucy!

I wish I had a picture, but on the first night my dad got here he was still jet-lagged from Malaysia and instead of watching t.v. in the middle of the night he took his blanket and curled up on the floor of Lucy's room to watch her sleep. When I went to check on her in the morning I found them both sound asleep. So much for buying a house with a guest room!

Can you see the bear in the top of the tree? Don't worry if you can't, Lucy didn't catch on either.

Thanks to Megan prolific doting, Lucy has now forgotten how to walk and wants to be held all the time.

Lucy makes the bear noise. We love her animal sounds.

30 before 30

It is almost my half birthday on the road to turning 30. I thought about doing a bucket list but I actually feel quite satiated with the experiences I have already had. That said, I did come up with a few things it would be fun to work on before turning 30. One of those is taking 30 pictures with me in them. I hate being in pictures but I want Lucy to be able to look back at pictures and see how much I enjoyed being her mom...