beautiful spring day

Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to visit a playground.


Lucy loved running through the playground, swinging high up in the air, and playing on the bouncy-frog. After playing, we took a little walk along the river and "duck-hunted."

Really, we just looked for ducks – there were no guns involved.

sheepshearing festival revisited

We went to the Sheepshearing festival at Gore Place again this year. This time we rolled w/a much larger crew. Lucy met up with her cousins, Genna, and Vivi; as well as Max and Sebastian [and all their parents too]



Lucy really enjoyed watching the sheep shearing demonstrations, patting the bunnies, and she loved the big horses. She spent a bit of time listening to the the folk band that was playing some good ole Irish tunes. [Sebastian is still her favorite dance partner.]

Even though all the stuff was fun, I think everyone's favorite part was the kettle corn.

Happy Birthday, Sebastian!!

big sister practice

Lucy is going to be a big sister in October, so she has been practicing.

First, she "watched" Max while the adults were eating dinner. Then, she showed him the ropes around the microwave and puzzles.

A few days later, she went to visit baby Hannah while she was still brand new and in the hospital. She was very gentle with her and loved holding and feeding her.

I know Lucy will make a great big sister!

lucy and sebastian [bffs]

Lucy and Sebastian have had a lot of playtime together lately. First at Sebastian's house, then at Lucy's [where he stayed while his parents were out]. They were both showing off their dimples [though, Lucy's are not quite as obvious as Sebastian's].

If the pictures aren't cute enough, here's a little video of them in action [They had a great time playing with Lucy's vacuum cleaner and other toys while looping around the first floor, each at his/her own pace . . .

happy easter

We spent Easter at Lucy's Uncle Richard's house. Thankfully, this year, there were no bunny suits to be had. Just a pretty little dress that Lucy's Auntie Megan bought for her to wear.

Oh, and lots of candy-filled eggs to hunt. ["More eggs."]

another old friend

Lucy had a play-date with her friend, Gaby, today. Lucy had a great time filling Gaby's pockets with plastic cutlery and helping her "cook" in the microwave. Gaby was a good sport and went along with all of Lucy's antics.

Hopefully, we'll see Gaby again soon!

Lucy's and Gaby's Mommys have known each other since grammar school.

grampy's favorite

Lucy sings and dances w/Evelyn to one of Grampy's favorite songs . . .

terrible twos?

I don't think so . . .

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lucy Bee!

Yep, same shirt.

another successful party

Lucy celebrated her second birthday in style with her family. She enjoyed sitting with her cousins, at her little table, eating cupcakes and ice cream. A good time was had by all.

You may recognize the table as being the very same one enjoyed by her toys.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, . . .

What Do You See?


As read by Lucy.

while she sleeps

It appears Lucy's toys don't need her to have a good time. They had lots of fun playing with Lucy's Christmas presents, and even made themselves a nice snack.

let it snow

Merry Christmas!

We've had our first few snowfalls of the season. During this first one, Lucy was excited to put on her new snowgear and play outside. Thank you, GrandMa!

santa shy

Lucy hasn't made it to see a living Santa yet this year – after last year's fiasco, we are a little Santa-shy. [Can you blame us?]

To be honest, I see nothing wrong in telling Outside Plastic Santa what we want for Christmas – he's not scary . . . and has a North Pole connection, right?

cookies and milk

Lucy made her first trip to a family farm. My college roommate's family has a little "farm" with lots of cute animals. While we were there, Lucy fed cookies to Sylvester, the cow and Amma, the llama. We also saw another llama, a donkey [Marnie's donkey, if truth be told], some turkeys, chickens, roosters, ducks, and geese. Lucy had a great time seeing them all, but especially enjoyed meeting her new friend, Marnie.

Marnie introduced Lucy to all the animals and showed her some of the snowmen in her grandmother's collection. Lucy had a great time playing with Marnie and would follow her all around the house when she left the room.

Hope we get back to the farm and see Marnie again real soon!

come on, get happy

A number of years ago, I bought myself a Partridge Family Bus ornament that plays their theme song. While I always smiled whenever anyone hit the door to make it play, I now have a cute little image to associate with it and can chuckle too. Lucy loves dancing to it! Honestly, if we play it once, we play it fifteen times.

As you'll notice, she just recently discovered the joy of the sunglasses as well.

the irresistible power of jax

Well, it appears that we've had a little, unwanted guest running around the house. You'd think with 2 cats it would not be a problem, however . . . there was a mouse.

I had suspected it for a few days with the way the cats were running around like nut-cakes and Cleo constantly in pounce mode. [In my mind I chalked it up to chasing spiders, until . . . ] I saw a little mouse dart out from under the vanity and grab a Cheerio that Lucy had dropped a few minutes earlier.

That evening, Rob went out and picked up some live-catch traps. [To be honest, I wasn't really expecting it to work so quickly, especially w/all the dropped snacks around.] Anyhoo, he decided to set it up straight-away. The trap suggested using peanut butter. Since we had none, Rob said, "Let's try Jax – no one can resist Jax." [except maybe Richard, that is]. So he put one in [even though I tried to suggest waiting another day and getting the peanut butter].

Lo and behold, last night after a bit of a scuffle, the trap did what the cats could not – it caught the mouse. Actually, I think Mr. Red was a part of the scuffle. Perhaps it was part draw of the Jax and part fear of that big, red cat that got the mouse into the trap. Either way he was caught and set free this morning outdoors.

I've been watching MammaKitty hanging out near the release spot . . . Godspeed little mouse.

"people, let me tell you 'bout my best friend,

he's a one boy cuddly toy, my up, my down, my pride and joy." . . .

For whatever reason, Lucy has really taken to this plastic, light-up snowman [Sans the electrical parts, of course]. She lugs him everywhere, dresses him in her old clothes, and even insists on having him in her crib with her. [unFortunately, there is not enough room in her crib, so Plastic Snowman spends nap/bedtime on the stool next to her crib where she can still see him.]

If you were old enough in the '70s to remember The Courtship of Eddie's Father, you'll recognize the lyrics from "Best Friend", by Harry Nilsson

the snowman

I came across this little video I had taken the other day of Lucy and Plastic Snowman. Since I haven't posted any video in a while, I thought I'd share this one [pictures really don't show how much she enjoys Plastic Snowman.]

how lovely are thy branches

Once we finished the outside of the house, it was time to decorate the inside.

Lucy was a great asset picking out the tree, bringing it in, setting it in the stand, lighting it, and hanging the ornaments. [You'll notice she was careful not to over-exert herself while putting on the ornaments. Slow and steady, Lucy . . . ]

Lucy takes the tree care very seriously and has become the water nazi. It seems that she is determined that the tree not get thirsty. Twice a day, she grabs the measuring cup and announces, "water" at which time she brings the cup to the kitchen and stands next to the sink. She then follows Mommy to the tree and back to the faucet ensuring the tree is adequately watered.

Still looking good, Lucy.

deck the halls

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we can set our sights towards Christmas.

The weather was perfect for being outdoors, so we figured why not get it done? Lucy was very helpful putting up the outdoor decorations and lights. She even brought out her new best friend, Plastic Snowman, to help out as well.

Like how she put herself in the mix? Too bad we can't keep her out all the time — she really does tie it all together.