March Madness

Well, March has been going out with a bang. The past couple of weeks have had some fun times, with Lucy saying new words (that only a parent could understand!), going on long walks through our yard and a visit from GrandPappy Bob. The same time frame has also included all three of us being sick at different points, with a GI bug. Yuck-O! Poor Lucy got it first. It is so sad when she does not feel well. The pic of her crying is from when she was sick. She has recovered, and it doing great! Bob and I took her to an eye doctor appointment yesterday, and she doesn't need to have her eye surgery! Yea! The doc also thinks that we can reevaluate her vision in a few months and talk about glasses then.

Lucy got her first haircut over the weekend, and she looks so cute. She is definitely a little girl now, no longer a baby. I got her a little table and chairs, which is great. Soon she will no longer use the high chair. Lucy loves to color with crayons, and she also loves to read books. She will bring you book after book to read. For ages Lucy has liked to get as many things as possible in her hands. From socks, to crayons, food or flowers, she is often trying to carry more than she can. Right now she is playing with Gracie. GrandPappy Bob's visit was enjoyable and we were glad to have him. He loves Lucy so much, and she loves him.

Marc has some sad news. His cousin Brad and his wife Shannon are experiencing tragedy. Their 4 week old daughter Sienna died last Friday from complications related to meningitis. It is such a terrible thing and our hearts hurt for them. It is so hard to understand why these things happen. Please keep them, their son Evan, and the rest of the family in your thoughts.

Sweet Lucy

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I hope that everyone is doing well and loving life. Lucy is doing great, although she is getting over a double ear infection. She seems to be feeling much better than she did earlier in the week. It does seem as though it has been one cold after another for her, poor little girl! Despite her illness, she has been having fun and learning a lot. She has preferred to feed herself for some time now, and is getting more skilled with a fork and spoon. I think she looks so cute all messy, but Marc would disagree. He likes her face clean. She loves to eat most anything...I hope that she remains open to new foods as she gets older. Gracie and Uliei the cat are still her favorite playmates besides Mom and Dad. The other morning she was resting her head on Gracie, and it was so cute. The day I took Lucy to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection was also the day we had to take Uliei to the vet, as he has been sick as well. He was so scared that he snuggled up next to Lucy and stayed there. Neither of them felt very good. Lucy is walking everywhere and letting us know what she wants more and more. She brings us book after book, and seems to have favorites. It is so much fun to watch her grow! She isn't really a baby anymore. She loves to imitate us, either with sounds or hand games. She loves to stick her tongue out and in, out and in. Sometimes she says Mommy, and I think she knows what she means. The same goes for Daddy, and Hi. Out in public she is a little charmer, and just loves to look at people, and wave hello and smile. I like to think that she brightens a lot of people's day. We found out on Monday that she is going to need glasses. I took her to the eye doctor to get her tear duct evaluated, as she has had a clogged tear duct since she was born. The Dr. did a full exam and discovered she is nearsighted with an astigmatism. He is also concerned about her droopy left eye, and will be doing a test to rule out anything serious. I am hoping that everything is OK! Soon, you will begin to see pictures of her in glasses! I think she will look cute, and hopefully she wont destroy too many pairs over her childhood!

Thanks for checking in! Love, Koree

Spring has been in the air!

We have been enjoying some Spring like weather the past couple of weeks. There has been lots of sunshine, and a little rain mixed in. Lucy and I have been having fun playing outside, which is easier now that she can walk. She finds all sorts of treasures in our yard. Last week we went out to the farm to visit Rose and Baby Evan. Lucy got to check out the chickens! She was very cute when looking at Baby Evan. I think they will grow up friends.

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.