10 months!

Phew! Now that I finally got up all of my posts about our vacation, I feel like I can post some new pictures and write about what Lucy is doing now. She is doing so many new things, it is hard to keep up. She loves her books, especially lift-the-flap or her touch and feel books. She helps to turn the pages and everything. Not surprisingly, she loves to dance anytime she hears any sort of music, including music from the stereo, music from a toy, or singing. She starts to bop her knees and bounce her legs. I think it is so amazing how children respond so instantly to music and Lucy is no exception. The second she hears some music she does a little shimmy. Lucy has begun to push around her toy bike or a laundry basket. She is going to be walking here before we are ready! She can stand on her own for several seconds now. She enjoys playing in her sensory bin, now filled with flax seed, splashing and kicking water is super fun, and she loves it when the dishwasher is opened. She has her 2 bottom teeth and her two front top teeth are coming in together, slowly but surely. She is so cute when I give her a toothbrush. She loves to make all kinds of sounds, mama, dada, spitting her tongue, repeating sounds we make, panting like a dog when she sees Gracie or the cats....she is so cute! She does seems to say mama and dada to us, and gets so excited when either of us gets home.

Right after we returned from our trip, we took another. Lucy had her 9 month doctors appointment, where she weighed in at 19 lb, 2 ft 5 in. Then we left for Seattle. Marc had a conference in Downtown Seattle, and I thought I would come up to see him and visit with my Aunt Dianne and Uncle Mike. Well, after the long road trip in the car, Lucy is not too fond of her car seat, and driving to Seattle with her by myself did not seem too fun. So we took the train! Marc was already up there. The train ride was great, it was nice to be able to walk around with her, and other passengers were very nice in helping me get off and on with all of our stuff. It was pouring when we got to Seattle, but I had a stroller cover and we walked to the hotel. Sounds crazy, but the walk felt great. My Aunt and Uncle were at the hotel waiting, and we took a rainy walk to Pike's Place Market and then back to the hotel for dinner. It was a nice visit, and special for Lucy to see her Great Aunt and be held by her. Then the next morning we woke up and traveled by train back to Portland, this time with Marc in tow. We will have to do it again sometime, but with a longer stay.

Well, Lucy is in the other room laughing at Gracie, so cute! Thanks for checking in! Love, Koree

California Trip Part IV

Our first stop on our way home was in Cabazon, Ca for lunch and to see the dinosaurs. Marc and I both remember these huge dinosaur statues from growing up. Lucy was not too interested, but I am sure if we visit them when she is older they will make a bigger impression on her. After lunch we stopped and visited some of Marc's family: Aunt Andi, Uncle Donnie and cousin Lisa. It is always so nice to stop and visit with them. I remember the first time I met them, hanging out in their living room. Now we are bringing our baby girl there to visit! That night we stayed at Lucy's Great Grandmother Marian's home. Lucy enjoyed her cat PC. Grandma made a great dinner (even if she didn't think so herself!) and though we were all tired, it was a nice evening. We wish we had had more time to spend there. Marc has always had a special relationship with his Grandma. The next night we made it to Davis, where we stayed with Brian and Tina, and their daughter Julieta. It was nice hanging out and playing with all of Julieta's toys. It was Lucy's first time on any type of riding toy, and she thought it was great. She also watched most everything Julieta was doing, taking notes! Brian and Tina were great hosts, and it was sad to leave, but Portland was awaiting and we hit the road. Our last night we stayed about three hours south of Portland, at the Seven Feather's resort and casino. Lucy was glad that we did not try and get all the way home that night.

Our trip was wonderful, filled with so many great memories. By the time we got home we had driven about 2600 miles...wow! Thanks to everyone for making space for us in your homes and lives as we took this journey. It was so nice to see all the folks that we saw. We love you all!

California Trip Part III - Phish Festival 8

Marc flew down to Southern California to meet up with us and head to a music event: Phish's Festival 8 in Indio. This was a three day Halloween festival, and it was so much fun! It was sad to say goodbye to Grandpa Dave and Grandma Pam, but being reunited with Marc felt wonderful. 10 days apart was too long! We rented a house which we shared with several friends. The house was an interesting place: there were several large wooden statues, interesting artwork, and two desert tortoises. The kids loved the statues and tortoises. The music was great, and Lucy was a champ at the two shows that she went to. On Halloween night Katie and Roman babysat. It was so nice to have them there, and getting more time to hang out together. Lucy loves them! Seeing old friends and catching up is always one of my favorite parts of going to shows. Lucy and Sasha were fast friends, and everyone was so great about keeping an eye on the kiddos. We also had Rose and Viola (who unfortunately got sick :( Rose was so cute with Lucy, hugging her and trying to dance with her. She was a cute Abbie Fairy on Halloween!

The music was great and I have included a video that our friend Kurt found online, so you can get an idea of what it was like. I don't know the people in the video, but I thought it was pretty cool. My Aunt Colleen commented on how it is neat that we all started going to these shows so long ago, and now here we are still going and taking our kids. Dancing and experiencing shows like these just feels so good, and perhaps Lucy will like different music as she gets older, but I hope that she finds something that she enjoys just as much.

Phish - Festival 8 from Michael Marantz on Vimeo.

California Trip Part II

Once we made it to Southern California, Lucy and I spent 5 nights with my parents. Here she met her Uncle Nick for the first time. Nick was so excited to meet Baby Lucy and was very sweet with her, video taping her, reading to her and playing with her. She loved him! We went to a surprise birthday party for my Aunt Terry the night we got there, and we all had to dress up and wear masks. It was a fun time and so good to see so much of the Karr Family, and introduce Lucy to them. I got to meet Katie's boyfriend Roman and his son Chris finally, and also met my brother's fiance Diana for the first time. They are getting married on Thanksgiving Day this year, and we are sad that we will not be able to be there. Everyone seems so happy! The next day we had a BBQ at my parents house where we saw lots of friends and family, and Lucy was the star attraction. It was so great to see everybody, but of course too short. Lucy met her Great Grandpa Si which was very special for me.

Going to So Cal means the beach! The day we went it was windy, but not too cold, and so fun to let Lucy play in the sand, with shells, and with some seaweed her Grandpa Dave found. We also visited a pumpkin "patch" in Elsinore. Lucy was not a fan of the scratchy straw bale I sat her on, but she looked so cute in her costume. Our visit at my parents went quickly and I wish Portland was not so far away. We are lucky to have such wonderful family.