Lucy at six months

Lucy got to spend her six month birthday taking a little plane ride with me to go visit my sweet friend Christy. The plane ride there she was a champ! She smiled at everyone that would notice her, she nursed through take-off and landing and slept peacefully in between it all.

Then, for three days she got snuggled on by some of our favorite people in the world and enjoyed every minute of it! Luckily there was almost enough craziness in their home as their is in ours, so Lucy felt right at home among their three turkeys.

Some other firsts for Lucy - going to the movie theater (we were all dying to see Les Miserables and Lucy did awesome, sleeping through almost the entire movie! It was such a good movie, too!!), going out to eat, and chilling out at the salon while we got pedicures (no pedicure for Lucy, though... we'll wait a few more years for that!). She is such an easy-going, happy baby!

The plane ride home wasn't as smooth, but it wasn't terrible either. Lucy was extra tired and wasn't too much in the mood to be stuck anywhere for any length of time.

A couple of days after getting back home Lucy had her six month check-up, revealing more of the same healthy growth stats as we've seen from the beginning.

Current weight: 19 pounds 5 ounces (91st percentile)

Current length: 28 1/2 inches long (99th percentile)

She is growing up so fast. Rolling over to get across the room and back, practicing her push-ups, and starting to show some initial signs that crawling might be close around the corner. She has been sick the last little bit, so her sleeping habits have gotten terrible, but I'm not without hope that she'll bounce back into sleeping through the night again really soon. She is a sweetheart, loving us with her passionate face grabbing and pulling us closer for some slobbery kisses. We love her and love the soft and gentle side she brings out of the boys, too! They just adore her!

New Year, New Home

At the beginning of December we found out that our landlord sold the house we were living in and we were given 60 days to find a new home. It was a little stressful not knowing how it was all going to turn out, not knowing where and how and when we'd find a new home, but deep down Marc and I both felt a calm reassurance that everything would come together perfectly. And, it did... more perfectly than I could have imagined!

We looked at a couple of houses on the market and found a couple we were interested in. At closer look, we didn't like the location or the landscaping at one place. The other house was perfect for us, but we found out the owners weren't wanting to rent to pet owners. So our two cats eliminated us. At first, anyway.

When I felt like we were stuck without any further options and was starting to panic just a little, I posted on facebook to see if any of my local friends knew of any other homes we hadn't yet found. Turns out that a good friend of mine (since sixth grade) contacted me about her parents renting the home she grew up in... which just happened to be the very same home we had already inquired about and thought would be perfect for us. When I first called about it, I had no idea that her parents were still connected to it, since I knew they lived on the other side of town. So, after talking with my friend's dad on the phone and explaining our pet situation, they decided to make an exception on their no-pet-policy, just for us!

Unfortunately for them, their house had been left in pretty bad shape from the previous renters, so fortunately for us we moved into a home with brand new everything, a big kitchen, four bedrooms and a separate office space in the very spacious backyard for Marc. It is such a lovely home in a nice, quiet neighborhood.

(Ben playing in our backyard, in front of Daddy's office)

The day we moved in - New Year's Eve - our next door neighbors (who we hadn't even officially met yet) came over with a large pizza, plates, napkins, a plate of cookies, and a dispenser of soap. I'm not sure you can get a nicer, warmer welcome than that!

After a long day of moving in, and after getting the kids settled in bed, I spent a couple of hours cleaning at our old place (with the help of my dad - thank goodness!). It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to spend New Year's Eve, but I did manage to make it back home shortly after ten. Marc and I kicked our feet up and opened up a bottle of Martinelli's, taking turns drinking directly from the bottle. Not having glasses unpacked made the moment that much more memorable.

That first night in our new home, hearing the fireworks going off in the distance as I laid in bed, I couldn't help but feel like celebrating the chance to be in a new home at the beginning of a new year. Right away there was a comforting feeling that enveloped me about our new surroundings, which was quite the opposite feeling I'd had in our last home. There, I spent the first two months feeling regretful about our choice and had an unsettled feeling about our situation.

Here, it has felt like home from the first moment. If walls could talk, I love imagining the happy experiences the walls of this home would reveal from the years my good friend spent here with her happy family. And, I love adding our own happy memories to the good feeling that already exists. I get the feeling it's going to be a happy year ahead. And, I'm so grateful for how perfectly everything worked together for us.

Three Years!

The week after Christmas was one of the craziest we've had and it's taken me a few weeks to bounce back. I've got quite a lot to catch up on. A birthday, a house of sickies, a big move, and a new house to get settled into. All of that happened in less than a week. Then, there was the fun of unpacking, shopping for a washer and dryer, taking a much-needed trip to see a dear friend (just Lucy and me), and then another week of sickies. To say I'm tired is an understatement.

As much as I dislike doing big recaps, the next few posts will be exactly that, starting with Ben's big day. So, here we go...

Ben is THREE! The morning started with Marc taking Ben to the store to buy birthday doughnuts and balloons. He was so excited! Unfortunately around mid-morning, and just before his birth family arrived for his party, he started to act lethargic and clearly didn't feel well. He ended up cuddling up in Marc's lap during most of the party, eating a few bites of pizza here and there. He really perked up, though, when it was cake time.

About a month before his birthday I showed him pictures of a dozen or so different cake ideas and let him pick the one he wanted. Right away he picked the Dump Truck. I was convinced that in his usual toddler fashion he'd change his mind a dozen times before his birthday, so I asked him about every other day. But, he remained consistent in his response every single time.

The day before his birthday he hurt his wrist somehow - we think he must have sprained or twisted it. After looking at it really closely and determining that it wasn't a serious injury, we wrapped it up in an ace bandage, which he thought was pretty cool... but it was still so sad to watch the way he just let his arm hang limply to his side.

We were so happy to have Tracey join us for Ben's birthday again this year. She came with her mom and her daughter, Taylor. This was the first time for Ben to meet Taylor (besides just after he was born) and it was fun to watch them play and interact together. We also had my brother, Jamie, and his family in town and they were with us for Ben's party, too.

Soon after the party was over and everyone had left, we all crashed and slept the afternoon away. Ben ended up throwing up later in the day, reminiscent of how his first birthday ended... hopefully this won't become tradition. Poor kid.

Overall, it was a fun day and Ben seemed to enjoy having all the attention on him. He is such a sweet boy - so creative, so adventurous, so hilarious, so tender to the core. We love him more and more and more. It's impossible to even consider what our family would be like or what the dynamics would look like without him.