Goodbye, old friend

We've had to say goodbye to [original] Buddy...

Buddy has been a very good sport but it turns out that even a soother such as himself has a breaking point and the poor fella was "dropped" one time too many...
He tried to hang in there but he's been selective about when he wants to produce the soothing sounds and suddenly goes silent without warning more often than not...we've changed his batteries many times but that's not enough...Buddy was a goner.
One necessary, late night trek to Target later and viola!  A brand new Buddy!

New Buddy is soft!!!!  We never realized how mangy old Buddy had become until we met his replacement!  We will try to be nicer to you, new pal! 
Thanks for your year of service, original Buddy!  We love you!

Lucy has been as crazy as ever lately and has been having lots of fun.
She went to babysitter Tammy's house for the last time on Friday and while she's sad not to see them regularly anymore, the next time she does see them, it will be to meet Tammy's new daughter (aka, Dominic's new baby sister)!!  We're very happy for the Casessa's and can't wait to meet their new little one!

One last adventure with Dominic and their friend Caden

Our little family went to Katie and Matt's rehearsal dinner on Thursday night at the  Behringer-Crawford Museum and our curious girl was in heaven!  When we walked in, there was a train display...I have been trying to teach her the sign for "train" for months now - ever since she got the alphabet train that she can ride on from Grandma & Grandpa Meyers for Christmas - but she's never humored me.  When we walked in and saw the train display, though, I looked at her and asked, "Lucy, can you say train?" and she did the sign right away!

An old pic of her with her train

We changed her into her pjs near the end of the night and she had her nighttime bottle there but she was loving life too much to calm herself down enough to sleep...she was exploring and we let her walk around to do so...she and daddy played around for the camera before we left:

We're all a little grouchy that the weather has taken a turn for the cold (and windy!) but lately we have had a lot of outdoor time!  She loves her swing set and enjoys "driving" her car and walking to the park...she also loves watching mommy blow bubbles!

Drinking and driving...

She got these sunglasses for her birthday from Christa and Claire bear and she actually keeps them on!!  For a little while, anyway...

She loves walking around in the backyard!

She knows she's cool!

She's been broadening her horizons ever so slightly when it comes to meal time...I had popcorn chicken the other night for dinner and she wanted to try some and was especially excited when I dipped it in ketchup!  She ate a ton of it!  And later that same week, she also tried and liked grilled chicken...this isn't to say she isn't still fickle at times because over the weekend she refused grilled chicken when it was offered by Grandma Terry (and then later in the weekend she did eat it when we gave it to her...)  But she's been very funny at meal times (except for when she's finished with something and starts throwing it overboard - VERY frustrating for this momma!)

Cheesing it up at Eric & Tracey's

She cracks herself up (us, too!) and knows this isn't the right way to use the fork, which is what makes her laugh so much...but I must say, she often eats better and is more adventurous with what she'll try if I stick it on a fork and let her do it herself...

On Saturday she kept pointing to the bananas on the counter and signing "more" so I peeled one and started cutting her little pieces...that wasn't exactly what she had in mind, though:

Mommy and daddy went to Katie and Matt's wedding on Friday night while Lucy played with Grandma Terry...

Lucy can say and sign the word "baby" and is obsessed with doing lots of both.  She has many baby dolls and carries them around, puts them in her car (in the trunk...yikes...) and in her car seat and she loves covering them with blankets...it's very sweet!  She hasn't said her original favorite words ("dog" and "duck") much lately, instead what we mostly hear out of her, in her sweet little voice: "Baby"

We're loving life!

Easter came

We colored Easter eggs at Great Granny's on Friday night with ABC and GranJan and Auntie...GranJan thought Lucy should be able to help but mommy decided Lucy could "help" by "coloring" her egg in a cup of water.  Good thing it was just water because Lucy girl emptied her cup moments after getting her hands on it...and she only broke one egg!  She had a good time being a big kid though!

On Saturday night, Dave and I colored eggs while Lucy supervised in her high chair over a plate of cheese, carrots and bread...she got an egg decorating kit in the mail with her Easter card from GranJan and I decorated a couple of eggs for her with stickers and wings and sat them on her tray...while I was getting ready to take the picture, she tore a wing off of one of them and stuck it in her mouth...she's a good helper!

Daddy got creative, as usual, and drew a bunny on his red egg!  Look real close! 

When we woke up on Sunday morning, the Easter bunny had come!

Soon it was time to fetch Great Grandma Herman for church...we had hoped Lucy might take a nap during church since it was about that time but Aunt Pam sat next to us and the contents of her purse were far too interesting!  Aunt Pam let Lucy play with her change purse (shakey, shakey!) and various other items!  Lucy was a pretty good girl and let me hold her during church and only squirmed to try to free herself a few times, and not until close to the end.  Daddy smelled something offending and sent us girls off to the ladies room about half way through but it was a false alarm...though Lucy enjoyed a few minutes of free time when I let her walk around a bit.  We even got to see another great grandmother - Great Granny Meyers - after church on the way to the car!

After church it was time for brunch at GranJan's and Lucy finally fell asleep...as we were pulling out of the parking lot after church!  Though it never works, daddy and I tried to keep Lucy asleep once we got there and quietly took her out of her carseat and put her into her stroller and walked down GranJan and Grandpa's long driveway...but at the end, she was wide awake and ready to party!

I made Lucy a plate - goetta, scrambled eggs, watermelon, cantaloupe and grapes.

She has tried a bite or two of goetta before but has never really eaten it and hadn't yet tried watermelon or cantaloupe.  She's tried scrambled eggs before but hasn't really eaten those, either...she does, however, eat grapes - frequently and in large quantities.

My little smartie managed to pick out all of the grapes and leave everything else on the tray...then looked up at me with those big blue eyes and signed "more."  Dr. D. said to keep trying new foods and foods she's previously declined but this girl knows what she likes and is becoming a bit picky!

Her favorites are bread, cheese, most fruits (favoring blueberries and grapes...not sure why she wouldn't have anything to do with the melons...), yogurt and all snacks (cookies, animal crackers, puffs, Cheerios).

By the time we left Grandpa and GranJan's house, Lucy was very tired again...she fell asleep in the car quickly so I drove around while she (and daddy!) got a good nap in.  We got to Great Grandpa and Great Granny's just in time for the egg hunt (and a few quick pics with mom and dad!)

I lost my favorite sunglasses a couple of weeks ago and Lucy used my last pair to break her fall while walking in the driveway the very next day so I needed a new pair...L helped me pick these out at TJ Maxx and I was walking up to my baby brother to ask him if he liked my new shades and before I could ask, he said, "Hey!  You look like Willie Wonka!"  What do you think of the new shades?



My family

Time for the egg hunt!  I'm telling you, my girl must have been an egg hunter in a previous life!  She knows exactly what to do!  This hunt was a bit more challenging that the one at the city building where it was just a big pile of eggs, but with a little coaching, she filled up her basket this time, too!

Isn't her Easter dress so pretty?!?  It was her birthday gift from my friend Gina at work.

 

Checking out the contents of the plastic eggs she found with Uncle Jason...some money (boring!!) and some iced animal crackers (yum!)  More, please!

Time to go inside for dinner (Lucy ate - surprise, surprise - cheese!  And bread and applesauce...she turned down offers of green beans and baked beans).  After dinner she was also offered a cake ball, which she crumbled, and various candies...she didn't really want much to do with any of the sweets.

While we were inside, it was also time to check out her Easter basket from Great Granny:

A cool new Minnie Mouse cup and some yummy honey bunnies (and chocolate bunnies!)

Back to the car for one more stop - at Grandma and Troy's house!

Violet must have told them what Lucy's favorite color is:

Believe it or not, when Lucy caught a glimpse of the yogurt melts and puffs, she just had to open them and snack away!

By the end of the night, she'd had way too many puffs and yogurt melts, and had sampled many kinds of candies at family members' urgings and I was holding her while we said our goodbyes...I handed her over to daddy and it turns out I did so just in the nick of time - she barfed on dad!  It was just a little bit and she didn't seem to realize she'd done it (though it was a bit stinky!) but we gave her a drink of water while Grandma cleaned daddy's shirt off...then it was finally time to say goodbye! 

I'd say a little bit of barf at the end of the night signifies a very happy Easter!

12 month stats

Lucy's 12 month appointment was today.  Some time before we left, though, she grabbed her giraffe backpack, waved goodbye to me, and headed for the door!

She did well at her appointment today, despite having her finger pricked for a lead test (didn't phase her one bit...the only thing that garnered much of a reaction was the bright orange band-aid on her finger...which she quickly removed.  The only trouble there was, the finger was still bleeding quite a bit so we had to track down another band-aid.  This one stayed on much longer but hours later, when she finally got it off, she tried to eat it...) and getting three shots in her arms.  Yes, three!  Two in one arm and one in the other.  She didn't cry after the first one, instead waiting until the nurse started the second one.  She mainly had her feelings hurt, I think, wondering why someone would do that to her and why we would let her...
Dr. D. says she looks great!

She now weighs 21.75 pounds, putting her in the 58th percentile.
She is 29 inches tall, which puts her at 41%.
She's got quite the large head on her!  It's in the 84th percentile at 18.3.

She now has 7 teeth (4 up top and 3 down below) and has mastered climbing the stairs!  She can go up them and has recently displayed that she knows how to come back down, too.
She loves being outside so we try to let her play out there as much as possible...in the wagon, in her new car, at the park, on her new swingset...sometimes when it's time to go somewhere and we carry her outside, she gets quite upset when she realizes she's being put in the car rather than let down to play outside...
We still need to get a baby swing for her swingset (though she's been on the big kid swing and has done pretty good) but she swings at the park and she knows to kick her legs to keep herself going!!  It's more of a wild leg flailing than a pump, but it's smart and it's cute and it's funny as heck!
She still signs "milk," "ball," "more," "eat," "all done," and "water" but has added a new one - "bath!"  We're working on "bird" now as she is absolutely fascinated by the birds she sees on our outside adventures.
As is normal with a beginer walker, Lucy's speech has slowed down.  She used to distincltly say the words "duck" and "dog" along with "mom" (and mama) and "dad" (and dada) but now her main word is "da."  She says it constantly.  Often it seems to mean "dog" as she chants "da!  da!" when we hear a neighborhood dog bark.  Dave thinks it also means "outside" because she'll go to the door and "da, da, da" while longingly looking out.
She has picked up a new word, though!  She says "baby" now as plain as day!
She's taking up waving and does so quite often...she waves constantly at Kroger to people who aren't looking but hasn't quite mastered waving on command yet ("wave bye bye, Lucy" will grant you a blank stare nine times out of ten).

We've begun the switch from breast milk to cow's milk and it seems it will be a slow go...I thought it was worth a try to go "cold turkey" to see what would happen.  So, what did happen?  I gave Lucy a sippy cup of Vitamin D milk last weekend.  She took one drink...let it roll out of her mouth and down to her chest...and she handed the cup back to me coupled with a dirty look...
Next I tried a half and half mixture, which was met with a similar reaction.  She finally agreed to 3oz of breast milk and 2oz of Vitamin D by the end of the week so we'll slowly get her there.  Lucy loves drinking water from her sippy cups and it doesn't really matter what cup it's from (she even likes drinking from mom's bottled water) - cups with a leak/spill preventer, cups without, cups with a straw...so we figured switching her from bottle to cup at milk time would be a non-issue.
WRONG.  It's an issue.  But we'll keep working on that one, too.


She recovered nicely from her shots and asked if we could go to the zoo, which we thought was a wonderful idea!

Her zoo hat from last year still fits!

Checking out some animals with dad!

Feeding some goats!

"I love the zoo!  I love being outside!  And I love my daddy!"

Yum!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...time to go home!