She's One Year Old!

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Lucy is officially one year old now! Wow! As they all say, it is hard to believe that a year has gone by since she was born. Lucy is a happy little one year old girl. My parents came up for her birthday, and it was so nice to have them here for a week. We baked her a cake and blew up a bunch of balloons for the big day. She loved the balloons, and was not sure what to think about us singing "Happy Birthday." The cake was a big hit, and none of it ended up on the floor...she made sure it all ended up in her mouth! She opened her presents, and was given many wonderful things. It was a special, fun and relaxing day. Lucy is such a fun, easy-going child and we are so lucky to have her in our lives. Thanks to all of you for being there for us this past year!

She is now walking all of the time. She loves to go for walks in our backyard and check out all of the cool things on the ground. She is really understanding a lot, and lets us know her opinion throughout the day, by shaking her head no, or throwing a little tantrum! It is nice to be able to negotiate a little with her, and it is amazing to see what she understands. Never underestimate a "wobbler." The other day I asked her to point out eyes, ears and noses on her Peanuts dolls. She was able to do it! Last weekend we stayed out at the coast, and were even treated to some winter sunshine. If you look closely you will see Lucy's foot in the photo. She got up early this morning and was so sad to say goodbye to her Daddy. She did not want him to go. She loves him so much. :)

Rose and Robin had their baby boy, Baby Evan, on January 23. He is super cute and they are all so happy. Congrats!

Walking!

We have had a nice start to the new year. Marc's Dad Bob (GrandPappy Bob) came down for New Years and it was so nice to see him. We threw a party and had a great gathering of friends for the big night. 2010 is here, and it seems so hard to believe that 10 years have gone by since the Y2K scare. Marc and I went backpacking that year at Redwood Creek...it was fun not knowing if everything went haywire back in town! Of course, everything was fine. Lucy loves her GrandPappy Bob, and enjoyed spending time with him. He tickled her, played with her, and read to her. Marc and I are always to glad to have him for a visit. After New Years came the first of the 2010 colds, not far off of the heels of the Christmas cold. Ugh! And now Lucy is trying to recover from yet another cold!!! She has been napping since 9am and it is now almost 1pm. I know it comes with the territory, but it is sad and frustrating that the colds keep coming.

Developmentally, Lucy is getting much more confident with her walking. She can make it across the room! It is so cute to see. She still crawls most of the time, but is taking a lot of initiative and walking quite a bit. She has figured out how to blow the whistle my parents bought me many years ago, and she loves to work on her puzzles and her shape-sorters, and is even having some success! Maybe I have already written about it, but Lucy loves our hair. She finds a lot of comfort in holding a ponytail and running her fingers through it. Needless to say, this can hurt, and she has pulled a lot of hair out. I tried to offer her several alternatives, from a soft stuffed animal to a small cloth doll with yarn for hair. She did not like the suggestions, and would throw the toys anytime I offered them to her. So, one night I had the bright idea to get her her own hair! The next day I got her a Disney Barbie, and she LOVES her hair! It was instant attraction, thank goodness! She carries her hair (as I call the barbie) all over the house, holds it as she is falling asleep, and generally loves on it. Who knew that her first security object, besides Mom, Dad and Binky, would be a barbie? Whatever works! And my hair is pulled much less often!

Surprise Snow Storm!

Earlier this week Lucy and I went outside to play. She enjoys all of the tree dander that is in our yard, especially the branches and cones from our Doug Fir trees. She also likes to watch Gracie. It was so cold when we were outside playing, and about an hour later it started to snow. It was a total surprise for Portland...we got about 2 inches of nice, fluffy snow. I wrapped Lucy up into her snow outfit, which was hilarious! It was like the little kid in the Christmas Story movie...she could barely move and while we were inside she thought it was funny. Once we were outside, she was not sure how she felt about the snow. I was glad she got to experience it for the first time. Back inside, she climbed into the laundry basket, and was so proud of her accomplishment.

Happy New Years Eve! Grandpappy Bob is here and we are having a party tonight to ring in the new year. While 2009 had its ups and downs, it has been a most amazing year for us. Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have shown our family. May 2010 be awesome for everybody. Thanks for checking in! Love, Koree

Merry Christmas! Santa Lucy is tired!

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Christmas is here and it is so much fun to share this day with Lucy! We hope that everyone is having an enjoyable day. Lucy is getting over a cold, but for the most part she is feeling better. (If her eyes look funny in the pictures, that is why.) Last weekend we went to our friend Jen and Chris's house for an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. It was a good time, and Lucy looked so cute in her Santa Outfit! On Christmas Eve we went out to Rose and Robin's house for an excellent dinner of Prime Rib, and even better company. Lucy loved rolling around in the wrapping paper from the gift exchange. It was so cute and funny! This morning, Lucy had fun helping to unwrap her presents. I think her favorite things were all of the books that she received. Books rock! She has some great new clothes as well. :) Lucy is the best Christmas gift ever! I lust love her little hands, bright smile and friendly personality. She officially says "hi" now, from time to time. Merry Christmas to everyone! Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus! It is nice to be at home, but we miss our families, and we miss Aunt Chrinnie. Her memorial was last weekend and it was very hard. I still have a hard time believing she is gone. As the days get longer, rejoice in the light! Be sure to hug someone you love today.

Lucy Has a New Auntie!

Despite the sadness of Chrin's passing and the super cold weather that we have been experiencing (it's barely reached above 30 for a week!), life keeps chugging along. Lucy is getting very good at standing, waving bye-bye, using the sign for "dog" (she uses it for both the dog and cat at this point), pushing her toys, imitating us, and she knows who Mom and Dad are if you ask her. She is beginning to anticipate when Marc will be home from work, and she gets so excited when he gets home. She is getting more and more confident with her standing, and I think it will be very soon that I write about her first steps. She is such a pleasure to be around! Our dog Gracie is wonderful with her, so patient. Lucy is very into giving hugs right now, to both us and the dog.

Lucy took her first airplane ride with us up to Spokane, Wa and then we drove over to Cour de Alene, Idaho to visit with her GrandPappy Bob, Grandma Linda, Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Matt and best of all, her cousin Mason. She did great on the plane, sleeping mostly. Linda cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for us all, including Marc's cousin's Tayna and Lila and their families. It was nice to see everybody and spend time together. Marc went on a day quad riding trip with his Dad and Brother. They saw some nice sights and came back exhausted! We enjoy spending time with Marc's family. Also, my brother Nick got married on Thanksgiving Day, in Southern California, to Diana. Welcome to the family! We were sorry to miss the wedding.

We had a baby shower for my friend Rose last weekend. It was a fun time, and she is doing so well. She is a special friend of mine, and I feel so lucky to have her in my life. She is going to be a great Mother to a baby boy (who might be named Evan...) :)

We will miss you!

Marc's "Aunt" Chrin, whom he has known since he was a child, died early Friday morning from cancer. She was a fun-loving, happy woman and she will be missed. She helped Marc and I out so much over the years and taught us some important things about life. We love you, Chrin!