20 Month Update

Tomorrow Lucy is 20 months. I am not going to do a huge update because there is not that much to report. With that being said, she has started doing a few things that are amazing to us. She is OBSESSED with counting and the ABCs. She wants us to sing the ABCs all of the time and she loves for us to count out anything. She will count to three on her own, but most of the time she only says 1, 2 and then starts over. She can say A B C D E and she sings it exactly how we do. A lot of time she says 2 Bs instead of a C. She doesn't always say the letters in the right order, but she has done it many times. She has started wanting to sing the ABCs any time she sees printed words, which is obviously a lot. Then today, she seriously amazed us. Justin, Lucy, and I were all in the car on the way home from the grocery store. She was in the backseat singing the ABCs when I asked her how to spell her name. A little background - she always wants me to write out her name and talk about the letters when she is coloring, so she has heard me spell out her name a million times and has always been able to say the letters. Anyway, I asked her how you spell her name and then I said L. Once I said L, she said U pause (Justin and I cheered), then with no prompting, she said C Y. I am not kidding when I say our chins hit the floor. We were cheering and in normal Lucy style, she moved right on acting like she has always known how to spell her name. Isn't that crazy?? This obsession with letters and numbers has just come in the past few weeks. She does not seem to recognize specific letters, but she adores talking about them. Really cute!!

I painted Lucy's toenails today. She sat perfectly still and never messed with them as they dried. She had on the cutest pair of sandals today and I just figured they would be even cuter with painted toes. The adorable sandals are from Gap and the black shoes with white flowers are made by Wee Squeaks (for those who asked in the last post).




Aren't these pjs adorable? They are from Hanoi. Justin called them her Hugh Hefners. Funny.



I am going to take Lucy to get her hair trimmed this week. Nothing major, just a little trim. Here is how long her hair is now.




Thanks for the help with the blur of my pictures. I have been playing with the ISO and it is really helping. This picture kills me. I swear, this girl has serious attitude.

Favorites from the Weekend

This morning we went to our friend Louis' soccer game. They won and Louis scored a goal. It really was so cute to watch 4 and 5 year olds run around like crazy. Anna and Lucy ate snacks the whole game. It was cooler today than it has been in a while, but we had a great time. Here are some cute pictures from the game.

I absolutely love the look of this picture. I know her face is really bright, but I like that. I am trying to learn to play with the Photoshop Elements that I have. I have a lot to learn, but I really love to play with it. I am still really really wanting the real photoshop (hint, hint Justin!)



This afternoon Lucy had another 1st birthday party. We have had a 1st birthday party to attend the past three weekends. I didn't take any pictures at the party, but got these cute ones back at home.








I have a question for those of you who know anything about photography. When I set my camera on the no flash setting (which is my preference because the pictures look so much better), I often lose the crispness of the picture. They are more blurry, especially when you look closely. I don't like this. How do I make them crisp again and not blurry? Is it the lens? Or just my skills? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

Wouldn't It Be Nice........

if life was always this fun? This video is pretty cute. We have such a silly girl. Love her!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This is from Easter. I think she may have been on a sugar high. Yes, I am wearing her hair flower and yes, I am wearing Christmas sleep pants! She was laughing so hard.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

New Header and Babies!

Look at how adorable my new header is!! The photographer who has taken Lucy's pictures did it for me. Thanks Mika Beth! You rock. I love it. If you are ever in the Northwest Arkansas area and need a great photographer, Mika Beth is your girl. She blogs HERE. Check out her work.

Just in case you have not been crazy obsessed with Laurie's blog like most of us have been, go and tell her congrats on the birth of her daughter. Laurie was in labor for 4 days with no meds and was such a champ. Little miss belly baby (whose name we still don't know) decided to not cooperate and she ended up having a c-section. Honestly, Laurie, you are amazing!! Way to go!

And if you want to see one cute girl, go tell Karin congrats on FINALLY being united with her daughter. She has waited so long for this day. I am so happy for you. Miss Caroline is from Lucy's orphanage, so you know she holds a special place in my heart.

Happy Easter!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and that the bunny was good to everyone. We had a blast today. I wanted to get a picture of Lucy right when she woke up this morning. I got up earlier than normal to get ready for church before Lucy was up. I ended up having to wake up my sleepy head at 9 so that we could make it on time to the 10 am church service. I even took 3 pictures of her with the flash on and she didn't wake up. I had to touch her little face. She was so confused to wake up to me hovering over her crib.



We got Lucy fed and ready for church and out the door by 9:30. She did not enjoy the nursery today - it was pure chaos and she was not in her usual room. She was sitting happily with the group of kids while the teachers blew bubbles when we went to get her. She was not pleased with us that we had left her. We ate lunch at a fab restaurant with some friends and made it home in time to snap a few pictures before nap. She really looked so precious in her Easter dress.




I got my dress in HCMC while in Vietnam






After her nap, I had put out some eggs for her. She LOVES to gather eggs in her basket, so she was thrilled to see such fun ready for her. She gathered all of the eggs, and we took them inside to see what they contained. Most of them had little toys in them, some had play doh, and others had little snacks. She was just so pleased with all of her loot. When I was little, my mom would put out hundreds of eggs for my sisters and me - inside and outside. The house would be covered in jelly bean trails and our baskets would be full of goodies. It was so much fun. Lucy is still too young to enjoy it quite this much, but I promise to not let her down when she is a little older.








It looked like a tornado had blown through our kitchen


And finally, here are some cute pics from a 1st birthday party we went to yesterday for our neighbor's son.







I have some really cute videos that I will post later this week.

And the Fun Continues

I know I keep saying it, but Lucy is just at the best stage right now. She continues to be so happy and EASY to take care of. For now, she is almost tantrum free and so kind towards others, which has definitely not always been the case. I don't have to watch her every single move, but she wants me involved still. It is a great mix and gives me a little more freedom. LOVING IT! The other day I was cleaning up and Lucy was playing in her room. I thought it was too quiet and that she was probably up to no good. I went and peeked in her room and found her sitting in our rocking chair with a pile of books. She was reading each page and pointing out to herself all of the things that we talk about on each page. She saw me watching, gave me a big smile and a HI!, and then continued on with her business. It was precious. I think that the awesome weather has made her feel great. It certainly has made me happy. We are outside most of the day. I have run everyday since last Wednesday, and I feel so great. We are all just in a happy place right now. It feels great.

Yesterday, playgroup was at our house. Lucy absolutely recognizes all of her little friends and was SO excited to have them all on her own turf. She can say each of their names. She was running around squealing she was so excited each time a new friend arrived. She is really getting comfortable with the other moms, too. She lets them pick her up and play now, which is really fun for me. After nap, Anna came over for a few hours. We watched her while her mom did a few things. We went to the park for a long while, then came home and grilled. The girls had so much fun together and I must say, I really enjoyed having two girls around! Anna and Lucy were both covered from head to toe in sand. They played in the sand box after dinner for a long time. They ended up dumping sand on their heads!

Today, we dyed easter eggs with our friends - Mandy, Anna, and Louis. It was so much fun. I have really sweet memories of decorating eggs with my mom and sisters. So glad Lucy will some day have the same. Lucy decided to put her hands in the dye, and they turned completely orange and green. There was a big blue streak on her stomach and another one on her foot. When it didn't wash off with soap and water, I got a little concerned that she was going to be really colorful for a while, but it all washed off in the bath. It was so warm here today that she got to dye eggs outside with only a diaper on. Pure heaven for this girl. She has been outside so much the past couple of days that we have had to scrub extra hard in the bath at night. Her water has been really murky both days! After the eggs, I took Lucy with me to get a pedicure. As I have said before, the girls at the salon LOVE Lucy. They were so happy to see her and could not get over her green hand. She sat on my lap and ate a grilled cheese while I got my toes pretty again.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

We started off trying to use the egg dipper. It didn't last long.

Starting to get our hands in the dye.


A sample of the kids' hard work. Lucy was a little rough with several of the eggs and they got cracked. Oh well, Anna loved peeling the egg shell off.

Her hands are starting to turn colors.


Lucy's special egg

Very best buds!



She could not figure these colored hands out!



She looks so big to me (lengthwise) in these pictures.