Lucy’s Blog

It’s been snowing! But we’re hopeful that spring is finally on it’s way.  I took these pictures about a month ago when we got enough snow for Shaun and Lu to sled in the backyard.

I also got some great videos around that time:

This one is a great capture of Lu’s personality right now. She is now talking a little bit better but this one is worth watching! She spells her name!

 

She loves to give Shaun "BIG Hugs" where she runs down the hall and crashes into his arms:

 

Here she is playing with her cousin Tessa in a tunnel that she had me make:

 

And the last video is of her this morning making Shaun and I eggs. She loves to help Mommy cook and is getting really good!

 

I’ve been playing with my camera more and have gotten some wonderful shots of her.  Here she is watching Super Why! (the only cartoon she watches).

This picture is not in focus but I love it:

Model Lu:

What’s life all about?

Airplane!

Hi Mama!

“Smile for Mommy”

“CHEESE!!!!”

Mmmmmm….cookie!

CHOCOLATE!

Lu is, as ever, so.much.fun.

Just this weekend, she declared “No more bipers!” She went all day yesterday (except rides in the car and nap) with no diaper and no accidents.  Today we had an accident of the number 2 variety (ick). Rather than insist on wearing a diaper after that she decided to not wear one-which is a really big deal for our little perfectionist (a trait we are trying to not encourage).

I think Shaun and I say at least once a day, “Lu-you are awesome.”  We love her so much and she gets more awesome every day.

We started the year off just getting home from visiting Cousin Tessa in the snow!

Lucy got a trim!

Had a school performance:

Discovered her love of bananas:

Mama’s underwear:

And artichokes!

And Mommy’s camera:

And she just looked cute!

We started February with a hike:

Started wearing headbands:

Ate more bananas:

We flew to Idaho for cousin Tessa’s birthday (and Mommy started getting some ideas):

In March, she got her first fat lip:

And got a cute Spring dress:

Took swim lessons:

Visited the beach:

Ate breakfast naked

Got some skinny jeans:

Went to the aquarium:

In April, we were back in Boise (wonder why?):

When we got back “home” Lu got her first bike:

In April, Lu also got a visit by many friends!

And then we dropped our bomb-we were moving!

Somewhere where there is a backyard!

In May, Lu went to her first Major League Baseball game:

She had her second school performance:

Watered our garden:

Got better at Legos:

Went to the zoo:

Discovered her style:

Then we went to LA to visit family:

And swim:

Saw one of her favorite people:

And was just plain cute:

In June, she played with her friend from Kansas:

And then WE MOVED!!!!

We had no furniture in July:

We hiked with Lala:

And Daddy:

We had a FUN fourth of July:

Hung out with Aunt Megan:

In August, we went to the fair!

In September, we went to Pennsylvania!

And DC!

When we got back, Lucy turned 2!

In October, we went to a pumpkin patch:

And picked out her pumpkin!

She worked on her style some mere!

She started at a new school:

And got a big girl bed!

And went trick or treating!

In November, we went to Mexico for Jake and Amy’s wedding!

Where there is junk food!

She discovered vaseline!

We had an awesome Thanksgiving:

Froze to death at a Christmas parade:

Then in December, we learned what snow really was!

And we cut down our Christmas tree!

And we visited Santa!

Finally we had Christmas!

Santa really did come!

Lucy says, “I NEED MORE SUGAR!!!!”

Then there was the ball pit!

 

We ended the year with Mr. Crab.

Yom!

It went much better than last year!

She needed Mommy with her but at least there were no tears shed.  What did she say she wanted from Santa?

“A cookie.”

Can do!

This weekend we started a new tradition-going out and finding our Christmas tree in the forest.  My sister and brother-in-law have done this for years and I knew that when we moved here that I wanted to get in on the tradition.

We drove up to McCall on Friday (it’s about a 2 hour drive) and then woke up on Saturday to go find our tree!  We bought our permit, rented our snow shoes, and set out to find the perfect tree.

It didn’t start off so well…

But it quickly turned around:

We hiked down hills with saws:

Staked out the perfect trees:

Got one! (We were on the lookout for four):

Got two! (Look at that stud):

Got three!

We still hadn’t found OUR perfect tree.  We went on the hunt and saw one on our way back, WAY down the hill.  Shaun got on the sled to get down to it and proclaimed that it was THE PERFECT tree.  He cut it down and got it back up the hill (with the help of my brother-in-law).

We were a happy family:

It’s the tree standing up behind us.  We stuck it in the snow and we’re below it.  It was still 10 feet and when we got it home we had to trim it down a bit.

Here she is on top of the car:

And outside our house:

That’s one beautiful tree!  Pretty trees that are under 12 feet are hard to find out in the forest.  They are few and far between.  We totally lucked out.

When we got home, we put the tree in the house (you should smell it in here!) and decorated with Christmas music going.  Lu LOVED it.  It was the first year that she’s really understood Christmas and got into it.  We had such a nice night. 

Shaun just came upstairs and proclaimed, “I love our tree.  This is the best Christmas yet!”

I think I need some more ornaments since I’ve never had a big tree before. My old tree topper also won’t work because it’s too skinny to fit on top of the tree.  Expect to see some improvements .

I agree with Shaun though, this IS the best Christmas yet!

We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend!  First the tractor came and go us:

We all got on and rode out to the patch!

They took us out to a real pumpkin field with pumpkins still attached to the vine. Lu and Daddy looked:

Uncle Willy and Tessa looked:

The girls looked:

Lucy found one!

And tried to pick it up.

“It’s STUCK Mama! IT’S STUCK!”

Tessa got one of a more manageable size.

While they got weighed, the girls played.

And afterwards we had really great Mexican food in Kuna! I got the Camarones Borrachos in a Molcajetes. YOM!

Lu liked it!

Our pumpkins are now safe and sound at home.

I have a bit of a pumpkin obsession and I’m only allowed to buy 1 pumpkin for each member of the family (pets don’t count) and I have to be able to carry them myself. (Shaun is SO MEAN-a girl wins one 125 pound pumpkin 6 years ago and never lives it down…) I’m happy with my purchase.  The 2 non-traditional looking pumpkins can be baked and eaten and are quite delicious. SCORE!

I also got some amazing local, raw, honey.  I can’t wait to break into that stuff! Have I mentioned lately that I love it here?!?!?!

Well, it’s official, she’s 2!  It was a very emotional day for me today which I wasn’t expecting.  I re-read her birth story this morning and was crying like a baby when Shaun woke up.  His comment?  “Women are so weird sometimes.”  Lu’s birth seems like yesterday AND like a lifetime ago.  I didn’t think it was possible but I love my little munchkin more today than I did 2 years ago. 

Lucy,

You are the light of my life.  You and your Daddy make me complete.  Everyday with you is more and more fun.  You are such a smart girl.  You can already count to 5 on your own and 10 with help.  You can draw circles and identify all sorts of different colors.  You claim that PINK is your favorite color when asked. And your favorite person is TESSA!  Every morning it’s one of the first things I hear and you talk about your cousin All.The.Time. You’re talking in 4 and 5 word sentences.  You’re calling food “Delicious”.  You’re using “I”, “My”, and “Mine” but I still get to hear you say things like “Lucy fix it.” and “Lucy buckle it.”  You’ve started to tell me stories about things that happened in the past.  You still like to tell the story of how you got 2 owies in Washington, DC.  “Mama, I fell.  Outside.  Big OWIE.”  You know the difference between big and little.  Today I told you that we’d take a shower for a “little longer” and you told me “BIG longer Mama.  BIG longer.”  You’re a total Virgo and I wouldn’t have you any other way!  We’re working on the bossy britches and you’re ability to strategize is already staggering.  I think I’m in some big trouble!  You used 2 chopsticks today to feed yourself and you climbed up to the big slide all by yourself.  You’re a thinker and a planner but you still giggle and have fun.  You are such a girlie girl and we don’t know where you get it!  You love jewelry, shoes, purses, bows, and pretty clothes.  Who knew that I’d have a kid who likes all these things?  It makes both your Mimi and your Gram VERY happy.  You’re a beautiful little girl whose smile lights up the room.  I love you so much and I can’t wait to see what the next year (and all the rest) has in store.  You make Mommy a better person.  Thank you.

You look 2 today!:

Playing at the park with your Cousin Tessa:

Going down the big girl slide all by yourself!

Tessa wonders where you went!

To the swings!

Seeing your presents!

Opening presents! And Tessa’s Belly!

Riding in your big present!

Opening your favorite thing:

Your very own purse!

You love your purse so much that you wore it until bedtime and were very sad when you couldn’t take it to bed.  Don’t worry Mommy promised you could have it as soon as you got up in the morning and she WILL follow through! 🙂

Seeing your cake for the first time:

 

Pure joy:

Blowing out the candle:

I love you little one!

Love,

Mommy

On August 29th (yes, almost a month ago) we went to the Idaho State Fair!  It was fun!

Why, hello mister!

Lissa and Tessa having a good time:

Lucy was a little timid at first but ended up LOVING it!

After washing our hands REALLY well, we went on a pony ride! Tessa’s always up for anything fun!

Here’s Lucy’s first time around:

And her second time:

And her third:

She LOVED it!!!

Let’s see, next up in my pictures is Shaun mowing the lawn with Lu on his back.  It was the day before we left for Pennsylvania and I had a late meeting.  Super Daddy!

Next up on the camera is Pennsylvania!  Shaun’s family lives North Eastern Pennsylvania.  The “big” cities around are Wilkes-Barre and Scranton (yes where The Office is based).  They live about 45 minutes from Wilkes-Barre, in the mountains by lots of lakes.

Here’s Lu at one of them-she played for over 2 hours with almost no interaction from us-she wanted nothing to do with us!  She just wanted to watch the older kids and play with their toys.  She’s getting so grown up!

“Eating” ice cream:

Here’s the lake:

That night we went go cart racing!  Here’s Great Grandma Titus, Gram (Shaun’s Mom), cousin Tyler, and Lu:

95 year old Grandma Titus and Lu:

The guys ready to race:

Aunt Kara and Lucy watching the race:

Yes, there really is a Day Care right next to the Go Cart race track!

Pop and Lucy playing:

We went to the beautiful town of Jim Thorpe:

Look familiar?

The next day we went to Knobles, a theme park where you don’t pay to get in and just pay for tickets.

Lu wasn’t so sure about the carousel:

Nor was Jenna.  Jenna’s Mom, Stephanie and I met when we were pregnant on Baby Center.  She lives near Shaun’s family and I am so happy that I got to see her and Jenna.  Lu is 4 days older than Jenna and Jenna is about a foot taller than Lu!

They had a blast at Knobles. Flying planes:

Going for boat rides:

Driving Cars:

Riding trains:

Flying in a Helicopter with Daddy:

Driving fire trucks!

Big cars with Daddy!

Here’s Stephanie, Lucy, and Jenna:

Knowbles (pronounced Keh-Nob-Els) was a blast!

The next day we went to Uncle Ricky and Aunt Kelly’s where Cousin Tyler showed Lu how to drive his gator!

She kind of got it:

Later on in the week, we went to Hershey to visit Shaun’s friend from High School-Claire and her husband Mike and son Max:

How cute are they?

We then drove to DC to visit our friends from when we used to live there-6 years ago!  I can’t believe it’s been six years!

We went to the National Arboretum:

Which had an amazing exhibit on bonsai trees:

 

 

Butterfly!

Feeding the koi:

At the Baltimore Children’s Museum:

BIG BUBBLE!

And I’ll end with a picture of my Mommy friends that I met up with in Baltimore (again from my Mommy board) Cole, Brya, Ryan, Matthew, Jesi, Me, and the back of Lu’s head.

Whew. Are you still with me?

I’ll be back tomorrow with pictures of the birthday girl.  She’s turning 2 tomorrow!

We moved!  Life has been crazy!  Hence 6 weeks of no posting-sorry about that!

There has been lots of cousin kissing:

.

Outside, eating on our deck:

Played with Auntie Megan:

Watched fireworks:

Had more picnics out on the patio:

Written on the sidewalk:

Had an empty house for 3 weeks (the movers were 2 weeks late!):

Walked the trails behind our house:

We’ve only gone out to dinner a few times since being here (vs. the few times a week in San Mateo):

Gone on lots of hikes:

Doesn’t Lucy have a hard life?

Lissa and Tessa:

We are having a blast here!  We love Boise and I think Lu loves it more.  She loves seeing Momma and Daddy so much AND she gets to see TESSA!!!!  Tessa is her very favorite person in whole wide world.  It is so amazing to see them play together and interact.  There is no doubt in my mind that we made the exact right decision in moving here.  I’ve never seen Lucy so happy.

Lucy has become quite the talker.  We’re getting some full sentences out of her and so many new words everyday.  She can now have pretty basic conversations on the phone.  Telling us “I love you!”.  Lu is also learning how to jump.  She likes to “Jump! Jump! Jump!”-she gets about half an inch off the ground but is has to be the cutest thing ever.  She has also learned how to put her shoes on.  She’s been taking them off for months but just this week, learned how to put them on.  She loves to pretend to “go nigh-nigh” in Mommy and Daddy’s bed.  She also knows yellow, pink, white, purple, blue, and red.  She can also count to five now and chimes in on the ABC’s quite often.  She doesn’t know all of her ABC’s but she does know quite a few.  She’s also started going down the big slides (with Mommy and Daddy of course).

I can’t believe that in a little over a month she’ll be 2.  Where has the time gone?

Lu has become quite the chatterbox and this past week she had 2 big milestones.  On Wednesday, I was talking to Shaun on the speaker phone and I said “Love you”. From the back seat, Lu says, “Love you!”  She’s said it about 20 times since then.  I LOVE IT.

This morning, I was getting ready and Lu and Daddy were playing.  I hear her say from the other room, “I got it off!”  Shaun yelled into me, “Did you hear that?  She said ‘I got it off!”  I’d say that’s her first real sentence that was formed correctly and that she hasn’t heard us say numerous times.  Smart girlie!!!

Lu’s Uncle Larry and Cousin Matt are here visiting and I will have a big post with pictures from that but in the meantime I have some pictures from earlier this week.

A friend from my Mommy board who lives in Kansas is in the area visiting her family.  We met up at the mall on Wednesday and had so much fun.

Mel and I met while pregnant on Baby Center and our group of girls always talked about Starbucks, Target, and Sonic Burger.  We just so happened to go to a mall that had a Target, a Starbucks and a Sonic Burger.  Kismet!

We met at Target, got some Starbucks, and then went and played.

Lu and Emme!

       

The four of us (kind of).  A better one of Emme:

A super silly one of Lu:

I finished the trip with a Cherry Limeade Slush.

I used to LOVE these things and I was so excited to have a splurge BUT this was utterly disgusting.  It was so sweet and just tasted of syrup.  I drank about a fourth of it and had to stop.

Oh well!

Can you believe that we move in a week?!?!?!

 

Another crazy busy week in the Titus Household!

The big bright spot is little miss Lu!  She is talking more and more and letting her preferences be KNOWN.  One area that she is VERY clear about is her wardrobe.  On Monday, I tried to put on her pink sneakers and she absolutely did NOT want those.  She wanted her red Chucks.  I also tried to put on her pink Paul Frank sweatshirt and she wanted the green one.  It all totally worked together but isn’t what I would put together.

She’s also been picking out shoes for Mommy.  She’ll pick out shoes the 100% go with my outfit but that I wouldn’t necessarily pick.   They’re always a little bit more colorful than I would put on but I ALWAYS wear the ones she picks out and she loves it. 

Yesterday, I picked out her pants and shirt with some white sandals and she was ADAMANT that she wear the Chucks again but this time she wanted the PINK sweatshirt.

Check her out (this is my new favorite picture):

There’s either a Sienna Miller or Nicole Richie picture out there on the interwebs that looks JUST like this.  I can’t find it though.

She’s got style!  Poor thing is stuck with un-stylish me!  Hopefully she’ll infuse some her style into Mommy.  I could use all the help I can get!

Saturday morning, Daddy got up with her and I hear “BUBBOES”  “BUBBOES”.  Daddy said, “Lu, bubbles are for outside, maybe Mama will take you to the park later and you can do bubbles.”

Her response?  “BUBBOES!” “BUBBOES!”

I walked out to this:

 

 

She got her bubboes!

Now, I bet you’re wondering what the first half of the title means.

Watch and see 🙂