oh my, summer, where have you gone?

my dear, neglected blog, we need to catch up!

So much has happened since I saw you last. I almost forgot my password to update you! yikes.

Soooo (drum roll please) here's what's been going on!

Lucy turned 2!





We celebrated at Independence Park on father's day (and the day of Lucy's actual birthday). It was a lovely day and the best part was seeing Lucy enjoy her day so much. She had been practicing blowing out her candles for weeks and when you asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she would reply "birthday cake". That's my girl.

Dena and Dave came for a visit all the way from Australia. It was great spending time with them! Lucy had so much fun playing with her aunt Dena and Uncle Dave while they stayed with us.




Unfortunately, we lost a family member. Meeka the cat had to be put to sleep. He developed a bad ear hemotoma and at his old age, the decision was made to not put him through surgery.



Mostly we've been spending our time trying to soak up as much of summer as we can. I know these long, hot days aren't going to last for long so we are making the best of them! We've been swimming as much as possible, going to the spray park, going on long walks at the park, avoiding our own yard because of the nasty mosquitos, but spending most of our days outside. I love summer and I can see that Lucy is a much happier little girl when we get to spend much of our time out in the fresh air.









And last of all, I got dreadlocks. I know, crazy, right? I will write more on that later. It's hard to get into the whole reason as to why I would want to stop combing my hair and have knots all over my head but I have my reasons which I will be happy to explain!

Dear Lucy

I am torn. I want to write every moment down that we are experiencing together. But we are so busy living that it's hard to find the time to sit down and write about it. You are changing so fast and every day is something new, something cute you are saying or doing and I don't want to forget even a single moment. But I'm not good at keeping track of it all. I savor these times with you. Spring finally came this week, the weather is beautiful and we have been outside almost every minute of it.

Here are a few tidbits from today...

Today was great. We spent all morning at the park with our moms and tot's group. You ran around without stopping for a full two hours. After a while you told me that you were hungry so we left to come home for lunch. You chatted about our time at the park while you were eating, remembering the baby ducks and the baby swans and the tractor. You have become such a great little talker. I love hearing you tell me what's on your mind. I love the way you pause between your thoughts and words like you're really concentrating on what you're trying to say. After your nap we went to another park to go for a jog in your stroller. You sang and talked the whole time. We came home to cook dinner, you played quietly and colored the whole time I was cooking. Your daddy got home just before we started to eat (which rarely happens). After dinner, you wanted to play outside so you helped your daddy take out the trash and water the new grass seeds he had planted. You ran as fast as you could down the driveway the whole time screaming "Lucy's running". Then you came back in and wanted to watch the movie Cars (again). So you cuddled up next to me and watched it for almost a whole 15 minutes. While you were sitting still I noticed that your head smelled like sunshine. I told your dad so he came over for a sniff and he thought it smelled exactly like sunshine.

You then asked to to to bed (I am fully aware how lucky I am that you love to sleep). I took you upstairs, you peed on the potty, brushed your teeth, and then daddy came up to say goodnight. You got really giggly and ran all around upstairs screaming and laughing and playing with your daddy. You laid right down and fell asleep but woke up a little later. I heard you on the monitor saying "Lucy need blanket" so I went up to help you. You had your favorite blanket but wanted another one so I put that one in there with you. Then you saw another blanket and said "and that one too. And pillows". So I put in the third blanket and found your pillows.

I love you more everyday, sweetiepie.

The Lesser Sex

Note to self: never google "the lesser sex". yikes.

It's hard being a woman at times. For example...Home Depot. Seriously, I have had so many bad experiences there as a woman that I've sworn off returning so many times.

But I found myself there again today. I needed 2x4's. Quite a lot of 2x4's. Among other things, but the wood was the only item that I needed help with. So I perused the lumber area. Searching for that orange vested person to help me out, feeling ignored and intimidated. Finally I found a young man to assist me. He seemed annoyed. He seemed like the type of person who was generally annoyed most of the time. Even with the attitude he was actually very helpful. He got my 2x4's, 4x4's and even took the time to cut seven of the 12 footers to help me out. So nice. So he annoyingly dragged my stuff to the counter and said "well, there you go". I think that was the first thing he said to me for the whole 30 minutes he had just spent with me.

I paid for my wood and then considered how difficult it was going to be for me to get that to my van. hmmm. So the annoyed-looking cashier, seeing the expression on my face, said she would call for someone to assist me. During my one hour (or longer) stay at home depot I heard over the speaker several times about what carts to use with what you are purchasing and then asking for assistance with getting heavy items to your car. Sounded nice. So I waited for my assistance. For another 30 minutes. Ms. Cashier Lady seemed to have forgotten that I was in need of assistance (even though I was blocking her checkout line and the exit door with my large amount of 2x4's). So I decided that I could do it myself. I'm a strong woman. I don't need any help from any man. ROAR.

I left my cart of wood and got pulled my van around to the contractor pickup. As soon as I started wheeling that heavy cart out the door I knew I was a bit over my head. I'm no weakling but, seriously, the cart was awkward and weighed like 500 pounds. But I was determined now. So I pushed on smashing into a few things as I went and pinning myself between the cart and the door on the way out. But I, of course, pretended that I knew exactly what I was doing. I got the cart to the van and started loading up the wood. I was about 2 boards in when I noticed someone watching me. Awkward. It was a man who had just finished loading up his giant truck with stuff. He walked over, didn't say a word and started putting the 2x4's in my van. I thanked him (really, SO nice). Then he said "where's your husband" in a way that made me feel like he though my husband was a total deadbeat, sitting at home on the couch, sending his wife out to pick up 500 lbs. of 2x4's all by her self. And on mother's day (**gasp**).! He said "It's Mother's Day, You should be at home relaxing or at the spa." hmmm. So I explained that my husband was at home working on a project that was totally my idea (painting our bedroom) while I went out to pick up wood for another project that was also all my idea (new chicken run).

This mother's day really was the best. I got to spend a lot of time with my little girl and my husband. I got to paint my bedroom (getting stuff done in the house ALWAYS makes me happy). I could have done without that trip to Home Depot BUT I have all the stuff I need to get my chicken run finished this week. Ah, the things that make me happy :)

Proud parenting moment #114

I can't believe I'm going to write a whole post on this topic. OH, the things that make me happy now that I'm a mom. But it is a BIG deal. Lucy pooped on the potty today! This girl has decided over the past couple of weeks to potty train herself (thank God because I sure as heck don't know what I'm doing). She's been telling me often that she needs to go pee, grabbing my hand and leading me to the toilet. So I put her on it, she does her business, gets very excited to wipe and flush, we wash hands and she gets her jelly bean. Sometime she even wants to try to go just to get a jelly bean. (I think I have a sugar addict on my hands).

Yesterday she had just peed, got her jelly bean, and asked to go again. I put her on there and she was crying, trying to push out a little pee and crying "JELLY BEAN". It was so sweet and pitiful all at once.

I wasn't sure if pooping on the potty would come very easy for her. She has a difficult time with it often, dealing with constipation issues since she was a teeny tiny baby. But today it just happened, she did it like she's been doing it for years. I was getting her ready for her nap and she told me she had to go poopy. So I asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty and she said "ok". We went in there, she sat down and just went. She was so excited to see it flush away. It is amazing to see her learn and grow up. It's also a little bittersweet. She's not a baby anymore.

Saturdays are for Pancakes

Lucy and her daddy have a started a saturday morning tradition. Pancakes. What's not to love? I get a yummy, carbified breakfast made for me and I get to watch these two enjoying their time together. Lucy is getting really good at mixing up the batter and telling daddy that when you see bubbles it's time to flip them. She is so excited to be able to help out. Of course she makes a huge mess but, you know what? It really doesn't matter. I'm not going to look back and remember how much pancake batter I had to scrape off of the floor. I'm going to remember these two. I'm going to remember these lazy saturday mornings when we have nothing to do but spend time together making pancakes.