Chrismukah Party

Little Lucy was a hit at the wonderful and scrumptious Chrismuka party hosted by our friends Craig and Laurie. She was having so much fun she didn't want to go to bed, so here she is wide awake at 10:00pm - she still had some smiling and snuggling to do, I guess...She even wore her Christmas outfit for us. Good choice, Lucy girl! Thanks to auntie Kristin for the outfit.
Here she is hanging out in her giraffe sleeper on a lazy Saturday morning. It is sometimes hard to remember in this holiday season that the most fun (and often the best memories) are spent just hanging out and goofing off.

Lucy Starts Solids

This is a picture of Lucy a couple of weeks ago when we got a new mini jogging stroller. Don't be misled by her look of utter joy with her new wheels. We are lucky if she makes it 10 minutes without fussing in her stroller. She much prefers to be carried by mom and dad. Isn't that just par for the course. You wait to buy a new stroller and then the kid doesn't even want to go in it. So we started Lucy on rice cereal and oatmeal. She isn't a big fan of either and typically most of the cereal ends up all over her face rather than in her mouth. However, she is getting better at eating. It was pretty funny to see her expression when we first gave her the cereal. She looked so confused.
I love this shot because it shows what a little half-pint she is. What a little munchkin in such a big highchair! The yellow booties were lovely crocheted by Grammy Pederson. Before Lucy was born Grammy was eagerly anticipating her arrival and decided to start creating something for her and by the morning she had crocheted this adorable little booties.

Lucy Visits Santa

We brought Lucy to visit Santa at his shack in downtown Baltimore. I think we were more excited about it than her, and she was more enthralled with the fuzzy Santa suit.

A Pederson tradition was to give Kim and Kristin a Christmas ornament every year. This year, Kim and I initiated the same tradition with Lucy, and here she is with her first ornament. Hopefully someday she will put this on her tree along the many she receives throughout her life.

Kristin's Preggers!!!

I am so excited to tell the world that Kristin and Eric are pregnant!! She is 14 weeks and her little sweetheart is now the size of a lemon. Don and I are just thrilled and can't wait for Lucy to have a little playmate that she can grow up and be best friends with. The pictures below are from mid-October when they told us they were expecting. They didn't want us to "officially" announce it until just recently. It was so cute how they told us. I am totally obsessed with these cupcakes that are from a place in Chicago called Sweet Mandie B's. For those of you that were at our Chicago shower, you were able to sample the heavenly decadence of a Sweet Mandie B cupcake. Anyways, when Kristin and Eric came for a visit in October she pulled out a dozen of these cupcakes. I was just overjoyed to indulge in this delicious desert. But then as I looked closer I saw there was a message written on the cupcakes...

How cute that they wrote Baby Flores, 6/08. I don't know what I was more excited for the news or to eat these cupcakes (I swear they put crack in those things).

Kristin wanted me to share my emotional response to her news...When she told me I obviously started crying not just because she was pregnant but because I was so happy for her to feel the joy of being a mom. The funny thing about being pregnant for the first time is that it is impossible to even imagine the depth of love and complete sense of joy that your new baby brings to your life. It is so exciting for me to think about how even though they are happy in their relationship now, the amount of happiness they are soon to experience far supersedes even their wildest imagination. God is so good!!

Guess who's 5 months old?

Lucy turned five months old on Wednesday. She weighs in at 13 lbs 3 oz and is 27 inches long (she is going to be a tall one). All her clothes are big in the waist, but significantly short in the length, which looks kind of funny. At five months some kids start sucking on their hand/thumb. Not our Lucy! She much prefers to be a toe sucker. She loves to suck on her toes so much that if I try to pull her leg away to change her diaper, she starts crying. Wouldn't it be nice to be this flexible as adults? The picture on the right was on Wednesday when we went with our friends Paula, Rob, and their son, Gibson, to a babies night at a local restaurant. It was a fun way to celebrate Lucy's 5 months in this world.

This past week she has started sticking her tongue out and she does it constantly. She is a sassy little girl already :)

Christmas Time is Here!

Last week we had a lot fun decorating for Christmas. I just love putting up Christmas decorations, which I am sure is something I get from my parents. Growing up my parents always were a little excessive with the whole decorating experience (well that is only if you consider having three Christmas trees and a gozillion wreaths excessive). My parents had this tradition of giving us an ornament every year that had a special significance for that specific year. For example, the year I "played" softball (insert "sat the bench" for "played"), they got me a softball glove ornament. When we went to Disney World it was a Minnie Mouse ornament to remember the trip. When my sister and I moved out of my parent's house we were able to take the ornaments with us for our own respective tress. I love pulling the ornaments out every year because it allows me to reminisce about different childhood memories. I just love this tradition and it is something that Don and I hope to pass on to Lucy as well. Don and I are so lucky to have been raised with a legacy of strong family traditions. They bring a festivity and a such sense of comfort to the Christmas season. Last Saturday night we had our friends Craig and Laurie over for a Christmas dinner. Kailey was decked out in her Christmas sweater.

Kailey, Payton, and Stella (Craig and Laurie's dog) all cuddled together on the couch! Payton and Stella are the best of buddies!!

Visit with Grand Rapids Friends

We stayed with our friends Priscilla and Dave and their two kids (Asher and Rowan) when we went to Grand Rapids over Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them and seeing their new house, which they just moved into 6 weeks ago. You couldn't even tell that they had just moved in-there wasn't even a box in sight!! It was great to visit with them and to see a glimpse of their life in Grand Rapids. Priscilla is one of my closest friends from college, and being with her always reminds me of why I like her so much. We always have great conversations, lots of laughs, and fun "hang-out" time. Dave and Priscilla were such gracious hosts and it was a real blessing to be able to visit with them.

One night we introduced Dave and Priscilla to Steve and Bek. I was so jealous to learn that they only live a couple of blocks from one another. I wish I lived in the neighborhood! Steve and Bek are our friends from Chicago, who just moved to Grand Rapids a year and half ago. It was great fun to see all the home renovations they have achieved in such a short amount of time. You can see from the picture above that Bek, me, and Priscilla were enjoying some beers and each other's company.
Here is a picture of Asher (Priscilla and Dave's son). Asher kept me laughing with his witty comments. One morning when I woke up, Asher said to me, "You know you have really been here a long time." Leave it to kids to speak the truth.

Rowan was very intent on using his veggies as a spoon to scoop out lots of dip.

This is a picture of Jack, who is Steve and Bek's oldest son. He looked so adorable in his coat, I just had to snap a picture.

Lucy looks so cute in Bek's arms. It is always such fun to see our Grand Rapids friends, but it is so sad to leave because I know I won't see them for awhile.

Turkey Day

Last Monday we drove to Grand Rapids to be with Don's family for Thanksgiving. We continued our tradition of spending Thanksgiving with Don's brother, Doug, his wife, Susie, and their two boys, Asher (7 months) and Lucas (3 years). This year though Don's sister, Jody, her husband, Trevor, and their kids Jude, Simone, and Johann flew in from Lynden, Washington. Also, Don's parents flew in from Lynden. The only Vander Griends that were missing were Don's sister, Leslie and her family. We definitely missed them and thought of them often. Things were pretty hectic with 6 kids, but in a fun, communal kind of way. It was really wonderful to connect with everyone. Here is Lucy pictured with her Uncle Doug. She was at her smiley best in her uncle's lap. Thanks to Vera and Beth for the adorable jumper. Lucy with her cousins, Jude and Simone. It was great to be able to see Don's sisters' kids because we don't see them that often, since they live on the opposite coast. Everyone has grown up so much. It is sad to think about big they will be the next time we see them :(

Lucy and her Dad at church Thanksgiving morning. Thanks to my dear friends Megan and Kathy for her adorable Thanksgiving dress.

Jody and Trevor made a wonderful feast for the family (with help from mom and Susie). Don made the turkey, which has become the Thanksgiving ritual. Don is very particular about his turkey and approaches it quite scientifically (big surprise:) His specialty gravy and turkey brining made for a scrumptious feast.

Lucy with her cousins, Asher, Lucas, Jude, Simone, and Johann. You have no idea how difficult it was to coordinate this picture. It was virtually impossible to find a time when all the kids were awake and not eatting.

Visit to Minneapolis-Part 2

After my time with Jenna I spent the weekend at my aunt's house. Unfortunately she was out of town, but my mom, dad, sister, brother in law, Lucy and I were able to stay at her house. We had a lot of fun connecting with our family that we haven't seen in a while. Here is Lucy with her Great Grandpa Irv (my father's father). Grandpa Irv had his cousin knit this beautiful dress for little Lucy. It fits her perfectly. (Bronwyn if you are reading this please show this entry to Grandpa if you get a chance:)

On Saturday we went to my cousin Gina's house for a lovely dinner. It was great to see their home and to introduce Lucy to the Pederson side of the family. I was able to see my cousins and my aunt and uncle who I haven't seen in a LONG time. Here is Lucy with Gina's daughters (Tovah and Kendra) and with Bronwyn's son, Deion.

My cousin Bronwyn with her nieces, Tovah and Kendra. It was so much fun visiting with everyone. We have to do it more often.

Here are Grammy and Lucy. Lucy sure was a hit at the party. What a big girl in her party dress!

Here is me with my cousins on the Pederson side. The only cousin that was missing was my cousin, Lisa, who lives in San Diego. What a good looking crew!

Mommy's Time Out

I forgot to put these pictures on the last post from my visit with Jenna. Jenna and I enjoyed a lovely bottle of wine one evening. We were drawn to the bottle for obvious reasons...

Jillian and Lucy chillin' in their cute legwarmers and knit hats. My friends Lisa and Monica made the hats. It is great to have such talented friends. Click on the Scheetz's link under blogroll to see Jenna's post with more fun details (and a silly video) of our time together.

Visit to Minneapolis-Part 1

Last week Lucy and I went to Minneapolis, which is why I have been out of touch with blogging lately. The first part of the week we visited with my dear friend Jenna (stay tuned for pictures from the later part of the trip when we visited with my extended family). Jenna has two boys, Avery (age 7) and Miles (age 5) and she had a baby girl, Jillian, just 4 days after I had Lucy. It was fun to be preggers with her and even more fun to hang out with our little girls together.

We did lots of fun stuff together. We went out for coffee, out for lunch, and visited a cute area in St. Paul. Jenna made yummy meals and also helped me sew. We made BFF onesies for Lucy and Jillian because we are hopeful that they will grow up to be the best of friends!!

Below is a picture of Miles and Lucy. Miles was just crazy about Lucy and was very sweet and tender towards her. He liked to give her kisses and he read her stories and wrote her notes. Miles said he liked Lucy because she was "small" and "had dark skin." I think it is pretty funny that he views Lucy as having dark skin.