Loving life!

Lucy and Marc on the way to see Elmo.

Lucy loves Miles!

Getting cutting skills!

Uncle Dwight and Lucy. He found the surest way into her heart!

Our girl!

Grampy Dave with us at Latourell Falls

Cousin Kris at Latourell Falls

Auntie Maggie and Lucy trying to keep dry!

Silly Daddy!

Brain freeze! Lucy ate this down to the last bite. Thanks Kris, for her first ice cream cone. :)

One of the few rides Lucy could go on! She loved it.

A tree cave we found while hiking the other day.

Lucy and her good friend Maayan

Happy Girl!

We all had a great May. The April showers did bring May flowers, but they never left. We have had quite a bit of rain this month, but that's OK as I am coming closer to accepting Portland weather for what it is! Lucy loves to play outside no matter the weather. One fun thing we did was taking Lucy to see Sesame Street Live, to see Elmo in "real life." It was a toddler's dream come true. She was totally into it, as were most of the kids at the show. One little girl behind us screamed as each new character came out. It was fun for all of us!

My Dad, Uncle Dwight, Auntie Maggie and cousin Kris all came to town last week on a road trip. It was great having them, and showing them a couple of local highlights. The Gorge waterfalls were beautiful, even in the pouring rain. It is always nice to see them and take guests there. We also took the train to the first day of the Portland Rose Festival. It was still raining off and on, but we saw some music and rode some rides. Lucy is destined to be a daredevil and wanted to ride the adult rides. Alas, she was too small for several of the kiddy rides, much to her dismay. Tears occurred at being rejected. She did ride the carousel and wave to her fans, which was super fun for all of us. On the train ride home, we saw the fireworks over the river and it was a great ending to a jam-packed, memory filled day. It was great to have some Karr family here, thanks for coming!

She is really taking off verbally. When my Dad was here and teasing her, she said, "Grampy Dave funny!" It may seem simple, but her use of descriptive words was exciting to hear. She usually takes a while to warm up but then there is no stopping her. She loves to sing, Twinkle Twinkle, and other greatest hits. She can count into the teens.  Dance parties are still a favorite, and the other day when Marc asked what she wanted to do that day, she said 'concert." Yea! Today she got her first cut that really bled, and she was quite taken by it. I am sure that we will talk about it more in the days to come. :)

Our little hiker

Coloring Easter eggs with Stella

Bridal Veil Falls with Aunt Ronda

I was hoping she was asleep, but no!

Lucy and Evan

Silly Glasses!

Downtown Portland

The happy family!

Lucy loves her Auntie Tiffany!

Falls Creek Falls. This photo barely does its majesty justice.

Mommy's tulips, the only flowers in the yard Lucy isn't allowed to pick!

Nightgown!

Picnic time! Sunshine!

Our precious Lucy

In several of these photos you might see evidence of something that has been missing...the sunshine! While it still comes and goes (currently cloudy), we have had three days where it has hit 70 degrees. Yes, this is newsworthy, as this has been the coolest Spring on record up here. Lucy is a typical northwest kid, exclaiming "Bright!" whenever the sun hits her eyes. Then she asks for her sunglasses.  She loves her sunglasses, and keeps them on. It is the cutest thing.

Marc's Aunt Ronda came to visit in late April, and we all enjoyed seeing her. We took a hike to Bridal Veil Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. Lucy is quite the hiker. Last weekend we hiked out to Falls Creek Falls with our good friend Tiffany. It is on the Washington side of the river. It was amazing, the weather was gorgeous, and Lucy hiked a good part of the way. Earlier this week it was 70, so Lucy, Gracie and I hiked out to the Sandy river for a picnic. She walked most of the way...about 2 1/2 miles or so! She is my little hiker.

Lucy is growing bigger each day, and her vocabulary grows as well.  There are so many things that she can communicate with us now, and I love hearing her little voice. The other day we were working out in the garden, and she decided to spin around and around the yard with her arms out, singing ABCD HIJ NOW I KNOW MY ABCS. It was awesome! She even turned over an empty flower pot at one point to use as a drum.  She is still has her spunky moments, and it is nice being able to reason with her a little bit when she looses her temper. It doesn't always work, but such is the life of a two year old. She plays quite well independently, and loves to "pack" - putting books and toys into a bag. Her imaginative play is taking off and it is so fun to see.We love her oh-so-much and are so lucky to have her in our lives.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Two going on...teenager?

Hi Lucy!

She loves to put on Mommy and Daddy's shoes.

Using Gracie as a recliner while watching a TV show.

So cute! At her friend's birthday party.

Lucy put her eggs on her toast, yummy!

Beautiful girl

She worked hard to stack those cans. Yes, she has paint on her face!

Special girl

Good friends!

Lucy Kat!

 I have heard it said that once your child enters the teen years, you are reminded of some of their toddler behaviors. Well, Lucy has reminded me of a teen a few times lately. Swinging emotions, not sure what she wants, believing she is older than she really is, wanting to do everything herself, and my favorite, a new-found desire for privacy. "Mommy, go, go, Go! I privacy"  as she points to the door. She has had this request when she needs to go to the bathroom, but also when she is playing in her bedroom. The other night, I said something about her being my baby, and she said, "No, I big girl." The next morning as I helped her into her car seat she said, "No, I do it myself." Where did she learn all of these phrases? It was like she woke up one morning and decided that she was going to let me know unequivocally that she was a two-year old.  It is exciting to see her really beginning her journey towards independence. I know all too well that these years are going to pass quickly, and that this life that we have given her is hers! I better get used to that reality now.

Lucy still loves reading books, playing outdoors and artwork. She loves to go outside to look for worms. She thinks that they are crawling underground to go to sleep. Yesterday it was dry all day long (a small miracle, but don't worry it did not top 58 degrees), and when we were playing she took off her shoes to feel the grass under her feet. "Soft!" Our grass is full of spongy moss. She also loves TeeVee, as she would say it. She doesn't watch too much...but her favorites are Nemo and Elmo. Apparently she pointed to a copy of the movie Tangled and smiled, so Marc bought it for her. She has him figured out! She traded in all of her binky's for presents about a month ago and nap time has never been the same. I can really only get her to sleep in the car or stroller. That's ok. It was time to move on from the B!  We have been taking her on lots of walks and hikes lately. It is fun, and she does surprisingly well. It is such a privilege to be one of her parents. We love her so much and feel very blessed every day.

Winter is turning into Spring!

Lucy loves using the dust-buster to help with cleaning.

Marc helped Lucy when she wanted to put all of her hair clips in.

Lucy loves putting the animals and her dolls to "sleep." She covers them with some sort of blanket, gives them a pillow and says, "night-night." Looks like she is having more fun than Uliei!

Dolly Cindy all dressed up.

She also loves to put play-doh creations to sleep by covering them with a play-doh blanket.

 

 

The happy artist, all ready to paint!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome 2011

Lucy and Marc

Lucy and Grandma Linda

New Year's Eve!

It's sunny, but it was about 30 degrees...cold!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lucy!

My Dad, Uncle Mike, Aunt Dianne and Lucy in Seattle

Nice and clean!

A snowy hike in December

Lucy creating some artwork!

Smiley face!

Too cool with Grampie Dave in So Cal

Auntie Diana and doggy Hank...Lucy loved him!

Baking her birthday cake with Grammie Pam

Yea for Birthday's!

We love our Lucy

Grammie, Grampie and Lucy

Well, it has been a busy couple of months, to say the least.  We rung in the New Year with a party. Marc's Dad and Linda came down for the festivities from Idaho, and it was so nice to see them. Linda is cancer free and we are so happy about that! Grandma TuTu, Marc's Mom, left just after the new year and we were sad to see her go. Lucy had such a great time with her and continues to talk about TuTu. Actually, she talks about all kinds of people! Auntie Katie, Grammie Pam and Grampie Dave, Grandpappy Bobby, Cousin Mason, Rose, Robin and Evan...it is fun to see her learning who the people in her life are, and that she is thinking about them when they are not there.

My Grandpa Si died in mid January. He was 97 years old, and ready to reunite on the other side with my Grandma Esther, but it is hard to realize that they are both gone. Time keeps on going, and doesn't stop. Grandpa Si was always right there to help when you needed it, loyal and loving, and always making sure you had enough to eat. Lucy and I traveled down for his funeral. It was nice to see everybody.  A few days after getting back to Oregon, my Mom and Dad came up to celebrate Lucy's 2nd birthday! We had a pizza party with lots of friends. I know that Lucy had a great time. :) It is so hard to believe that she is 2. I feel like I have so much to get written down about my pregnancy with her and her birth. Those memories have not faded, but I fear that they will.  She is such a special person and we are so blessed to have been entrusted with her care.

Lately we have been enjoying getting to hear Lucy sing. She sings the ABC's to a point...ABCD and then from there it is all made up, and eventually she sings something that sounds like the ending. She also sings "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" She still loves to read books, do artwork and have dance parties. She will ask for dance parties by name, and her and I rock out to music. Yesterday she was paying close attention to my footwork and trying to figure out what I was doing. If you see her dancing, well, you have me to blame for any silly moves! :)  If she has pockets in her clothing she loves to put her hands in them.  She says 'Oooohhh" when she sees something that she really likes. She no longer is content to ride in a stroller, so she has been going on walks with us, up to 2 1/2 miles (with a little carrying)!  She knows that I am a nurse who works with kids that are sick. I'm sure that she doesn't really know what that means, and she even gave me a hard time when I went to work on Friday. I hope that she doesn't hold it against me! She still is a great eater!  We love her so much and are so lucky to have her in our lives! Thanks for checking in!