Lucy's New Look

I was talking to my grandma a couple of days ago and she said, "I'm glad you had fun in Hawaii, but where are the pictures of Lucy?" :) So here is Lucy with the newest piece of her ever growing repertoire of funny faces.

Hawaii

I'm not sure a post without mention of Lucy will even upload so I better start by giving a nod to our cute babe and all the wonderful people who made it possible to create a post that doesn't contain Lucy! Lucy was in such brilliant hands that Mike and I were able to enjoy our week without a single worry, not to mention the fact that she got some quality play-dates. Hawaii kind of speaks for itself so I won't narrate each picture, but it should be said that we had a lovely time both exploring and relaxing. We are so grateful to Mike's parents for such a thoughtful tribute to Mike's hard word finishing his MBA while both working and starting a family. He did a brilliant job of it and this was a perfect way to celebrate. Thank you!

First Week of Summer Break or what katie and like to refer to as "Facil de Assemblar"

School is out and Lucy spent a day helping me organize my classroom...

We joke about how she will give her teachers a run for their money but she did great work while in the desk...

I will miss seeing her so excited at Tiny Tigers and then falling asleep the second I start the car to go home...

Then the fun started. I thought summer would include a lot of pajama wearing but Mike went out of town for work and I had the crazy idea of painting the house and finishing the yard and planting a garden while he was gone as a surprise. I recruited the generously eager Katie and we started taping to paint...

We did one window and broke down in laughter because it was very clear we had overestimated our capabilities. We couldn't even move the ladder to the full upright position. But as we were laughing on the front porch after spending a good hour taping one window, a friend of Mike's friend drove by and offered to paint for us at a very generous price. Done. Sold. We were so happy...

Then my wonderful mother-in-law flew in to help me plant a garden. It was a lot of fun dreaming of actually eating something I grow.

And we pruned and pulled roots (thanks Scott) and tilled and planted grass...

And where was Lucy during all the fun, you ask...

Naked in the water or the mud or the rocks...

Or getting over her mother-imposed fear of worms (I jumped while holding her when a friend pulled a worm from her garden and now lucy won't touch or even look at the things)

Katie bought her plastic bugs to cure her...

And relaxing with us when we finished all the work...

Mike came home last night and we celebrated his birthday outside in our new yard with wings and pizza. Mike works so hard all the time that it was fun to be able to lighten his load a little by taking care of the painting and yard. We love you mike.

Hyper-Focused

Lucy is frequently shifting from one thing to the next, but every once in a while she will get hyper-focused on one activity. Lately it has been the clips on carseats/strollers and chapstick/pen lids and my wedding ring.

The above scene occurs when you try to interrupt whatever she is trying to figure out.

17 Months

I have no words...both because I unable to express how much I adore this girl and because she is too busy chasing me around this little world of ours to think of what to write. So a few pictures to capture this age. Thanks to the Wecker women for the styling threads...

Happy Father's Day

It has been fun spending a morning trying to show Mike how much we love him.

We gave Mike a little free time, then when I told Lucy she could go see her dad, this was her reaction:

Lucy and Dad Mornings

At least once a week Mike and I will get settled in to bed and he will jump back up and declare that Lucy should come sleep with us. I'm pretty good at resisting his temptations to give up a night of restful sleep for a cute cuddle, but every once in a while I wake up to this...

I love how much Mike loves this little girl. He still can't get enough of spending time with her and they are so cute together. It is pretty clear she adores him too.

Wacky Wednesday

While it is true that you may not be able to tell a big difference between how we sometimes dress and today, it was indeed Wacky Wednesday at school. Lucy's teacher wore a princess dress and a hardhat with holiday jewelry. I think Lucy totally rocks the mismatched look!

First Dentist Visit

Lucy started getting teeth pretty early and, squirmy as she is, we wanted to be sure we were doing an okay job at brushing her teeth. Thus, the dentist. Lucy love the office and all the gadgets. She loved the dentist. But she did not love being forced to lie down. So, while somewhat traumatic, I would categorize it as an overall good experience.