Oak Park

Now I know why Lucy's Aunt Hilary and Uncle Fred plan to call Oak Park home.  What a beautiful suburb of Chicago!  We went to go cheer Aunt Melissa on at her 10K Frank Lloyd Wright race.  It was a little gloomy at the start of the day, but perfect weather for her run.  She did better than last year's time! Lucy slept through it.

It ended up being a beautiful sunny day.  Oh how I love fall.  Love my little pumpkin more.

ChuckE Cheese Please (WARNING: Spoiler Alert)

Yes, Lucy is going to be a Ladybug for Halloween.  I'm hoping to get better pictures of her in her costume on Halloween, but this past weekend she had fun dressing up to go to ChuckE Cheese for what I'm sure is the first trip of many.  (At least they put hand sanitizer right at the entrance.)  She spent a lot of time in Auntie Jenny's arms :)

Here's a few pics of one overstimulating day.  Sweet Violet is below...she's just approximate 10 months older than Lucy and was so cute running around hugging her older brother!  She kept bringing Lucy toys too.  So sweet.  And here's a link to a video our friend Greg took.  Looks like the Dads had more fun than the kids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl-XcOgd-O4

Brown Eyed Girl

Pretty in Pink I suppose.  Here are a few shots of Lucy at approximately 8 1/2 months.

My Girls

I think they've been spending too much time together, because I think they are starting to look like each other.

Fun With Hats II

So before I took all of those cute DSLR pics of Lucy with all of her hats, I used the last of the battery on the video camera to get some live footage.  I thought it was worth revisiting this to watch her in action...because she is just so darn cute!  I had to edit out a lot to save space, but I love this memory.  She seems like such a girly-girl in this video.  Are we sure this is my baby?

My First Set of Wheels!

I can't believe we're at this stage already!  I'm not ready for her to grow up so fast!

Uncle Richie and Tita Meliza stopped by this past weekend and gave Lucy her very first walk along toy.  She loved the music it played!  But is walking really that far off?  I keep thinking I have months before I see her push this dinosaur along, but regardless it goes by in the blink of an eye.  My baby is growing up.

And here's Lucy showing off her skills with a sippy cup...

You're a chunk!

It took me 8 months to get my baby this chubby.  I'm just glad somebody noticed.

And Lucy found Great Grandpa's suspenders!  Lucy, I bet if you look in that shirt pocket you'll find a pocket watch too.  Just be careful, if you sit there too long you'll be commissioned for a back rub.

Beautiful Branson

Okay, so I love this next photo, and I'll tell you why.  For those of you who know Lucy's Daddy well, you're aware that he is always making an ugly face for the camera.  Very rarely do we get a regular smile.  But now look at these two goofballs.  How did this happen that Daddy is the only serious one?

We got to watch the MSU vs. UofM game together...a family divided.  Aunt Melissa routes for UofM!  She's outnumbered.

Grandpa's time share had a beautiful elevated tennis court.  If you look closely, you can see Jay practicing some serves.  He got the court all to himself that night.

On the way home, we stopped by Cracker Barrel for dinner!  Lucy's first time at a Cracker Barrel...I think she was overstimulated with all the stuff at the gift shop.

Card Sharks

Lucy, one day you'll learn this game.  It's sort of an Etherton staple.  Every time there is a family get together you can always find a few people playing Euchre.  And with any luck, you'll get Great Grandma to be your partner.  Don't let her fool you...She's a card shark, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her.  On this particular night, she won 3 games in a row I believe.  

Butterflies in Branson

We took another mini family vacation with Lucy!  She got to spend a long weekend with her Nana and Papa and Great Grandma and Grandpa, plus all of her cousins and Aunts & Uncles.  One highlight involved introducing Lucy to butterflies.  She got startled a few times when they would fly by her face, but she seemed more in awe than anything.

Mommy Wednesdays

Back in July of this year, I decided to go part time at work, dropping down to 4 days a week instead of 5 days (or a 32 hour employee instead of 40).  Best decision I ever made.  Now every Wednesday I get to watch my little girl go grow up.  I get to feed her lunch and see her face the first time she eats cheese.  I get to help her stand and encourage her to crawl on her own.  I get to help her experience the world first hand, and in this case watch her try to eat a pumpkin.  I took her to Didier Farm way up north to pick out pumpkins, look at the animals in the petting zoo, have a picnic lunch, and pick up some Pumpkin and Apple Cider Cinnamon donuts.

Decorations at Didier Farm

We met Brendan and his Mommy Kim again, and they live so close to the farm!  Lucy just loves to hang out with babies her own age.