Breakfast With Santa at Macy's on State Street

She sat on Santa's lap for the first time today.  She almost cried.  She ate french toast and fruit with her Mommy, Aunt Melissa, and Cousin Henry.  She made a mess.  She never cried though.  She was such a good girl today!  (She must know that's where Mommy used to work when she first moved to Chicago.)  She wore a red velour top and matching ivory pants with red "shoes" her Nana gave her.  She kept trying to eat Henry's crayons.  She was entertained by Henry.  She saw the Christmas windows at Macy's in the rain.  She entertained the children ahead of us in the line to see Santa.  She loved the little Christmas bear given to her for sitting on Santa's lap.  She probably didn't have nearly as much fun as Mommy.  She made Mommy so happy.  She was beautiful.

Mommy Television

Little do you know Lucy that Mommy's watching you while you sleep...or while you're supposed to be sleeping.

Now I know video monitors are overkill.  I've been made fun of for how obsessed I am at watching this little "TV".  Maybe it's because this is my first baby, but I only get one day...ONE day to spend alone with my baby a week.  The weekends are chock full of errands and obligations, with naps on the go.  So I take advantage of the time I get and watch her even when she's trying to fall asleep.  I wonder if she knows she's not alone.  I guess it's my way of being with her, even if she doesn't know it.

I sometimes think that people must assume that I watch a lot of TV on my one day off.  But when Lucy's awake I spend time feeding and nursing her, playing with her and teaching, photographing her, and today she had a bath.  When she's down for her morning nap I either shower or enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast and just relax...usually watching this monitor until she falls asleep.  The second nap I try to check email, clean up, maybe update this blog, and finish any other "to-dos".  And 50% of the time I'm usually trying to take Lucy somewhere fun: playdates, shopping, etc. which can eat up the whole day.  Next week Lucy has a professional photo shoot scheduled!  That should be fun.

Well, I'm rambling now (something I'm good at), but here's the result of that nap after Lucy played in her crib for half an hour...Lucy with her puppies.  I think my version of TV is much better.

Happy 4th Birthday Party Henry!

Ice cream cake in honor of Cousin Henry's 4th Birthday Party!  I can't believe he is turning 4 already.  He looks like such a big boy now.  I remember holding him for the first time just hours after he was born, when he opened his eyes and looked straight into mine.  It was that moment that sold me.  I needed a plan to "get me one of those"!  And then came Lucy.  

Henry's not my short, pudgy little old-soul of a nephew anymore.  He's turned into quite the big boy, lanky and still blonde, and more daring every day.  And Miles isn't too far behind him!  But he wasn't above giving Lucy a genuine kiss and hug as a thank-you for coming, and he still calls me Babe.  I hope that part of him never grows old.

December Playdate

Toys, toys, toys!  Lucy got to have a playdate again with her friend Brendan.  He and Mommy Kim invited us over to their house and were so sweet to share all of their toys with Lucy.  She stared at Brendan during lunch time (was too distracted to even eat!) and then had so much fun burning off energy in his playroom.  It was so cute to watch her explore and see her in new surroundings with toys galore.  She wasn't shy one bit!  I also scored a couple of cute photos with my baby girl...these are so few and far between for me to get the two of us captured together, so I just had to post both.

Turkey Throwdown 2010

Lucy refuses to eat fruit.  She lets it rest on her tongue, sways it around, and then spits it back out.  But what will she eat?  Turkey.  I swear my baby girl will eat nothing but turkey.  I think my child has found her favorite holiday.

We visited Nana and Papa for Thanksgiving day and had a blast competing against each other playing Nintendo Wii's Just Dance.

Papa found he scored more points by sitting down to play...Cheater :)

Lucy and Cousin Miles had more fun with the leftovers!

And what's in store for Lucy next?  Mommy's favorite time of year...Christmas!  It snowed the day after Thanksgiving this year so I ran her outside to see how she would react to her first official snow.  Yes, it snowed in February when she was born, but she probably couldn't even see it back then.  This time she watched with such curiosity.  They'll be plenty more where that came from I'm sure.

Destruction

Sorry Nana.  This hat got a lot of use, but it's slow demise may mean that Mommy has to put this hat away for good.  Sigh...it was my favorite.

Standing Tall

I love how the pink legwarmers elongate her legs.

Perfect for lounging and practicing our new skill...standing!  (Thanks Aunt Ang!)

Happy Birthday to Our Friend Brendan!

Lucy blew raspberries to help celebrate her friend Brendan's 1st birthday.  He looked so cute on his big day.  He's already had his first haircut!  He is such a big boy now, and it was sort of a wake-up call for me. Lucy's 1st birthday is just around the corner.  It's a couple of months away still, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas in between, these next months are going to fly by.  Baby, please don't grow up.  Not yet.

GiddyUp Daddy!

This moment almost made me cry!  Definitely Daddy's Girl.

From Tokyo

An outfit all the way from Tokyo.  Thanks Uncle Richie and Tita Meliza!

Crawling

Right after Lucy turned 9 months she must have decided she'd had enough of sitting and staring at the dog all day, so now she's after Roxy with a vengeance.  She's quite the pro at crawling now.  I put together this little montage of some of her first crawling episodes captured on film.  And these pictures I think are pretty indicative of what type of trouble we're in for now that she's mobile.  For starters, I can't leave the camera on the floor anymore.

And apparently we've started talking to tennis balls...

An Irish Jig at 9 Months

Lucy is 9 months old today.  She now has lived longer on "the outside" than in my belly.  I think of how she used to kick me and squirm about for this long and how fascinating it was back then, and now I'm so much more fascinated by all she's learned in the last 9 months.  I didn't KNOW the definition of squirmy until now!  Lucy can't sit still!  She is constantly trying to touch the dog, grab the dog bone, reach for your face and grab your lips, grab your drink (DRINK your drink!), pull your hair, and squeal with delight while doing it.  She is so funny sometimes.  Lately she has taken to sitting up in her crib when she's supposed to be going to sleep.  This is a new thing.  She has figured out how to get to a sitting position from laying down.  I think she's figured out how to use this as a mode of transportation too.  And she is thisclose to pulling herself up to standing.

She doesn't get the hiccups nearly as often now as compared to when she was on "the inside".  But oh how her personality is starting to come out.  Lucy, your name fits you.  You were wanted so very much.  So many nights I hoped and prayed for you.  I knew you were coming before the doctors did.  And I knew you were a girl.  I just knew.  Happy 9 months baby.  Dance an Irish Jig for Mommy.

Happy Halloween!

Baby "bed-head" is the best!  Lately Lucy's been waking up from her naps with some more unique hair-do's now that her hair is getting a bit longer.  Her Halloween costume covered up her pretty hair this year though.  Lucy the Ladybug seemed to enjoy trick-or-treating with her cousins, Fireman Henry and Miles the Monkey.  

My other baby is hiding behind the door!