Social Butterfly

The good news first...Lucy gained 1 pound in the last two weeks so now she is in the 25th percentile for weight! Yeah! Unfortunately the reason I know her weight is because we had to go back to the pediatrician's office because she had a mild fever. Turns out she has her first ear infection and a nasty cold. Shockingly she is still all smiles and only slightly fussy. I am such a crab when I am sick, so I am not quite sure where she gets this pleasant disposition from. It is pretty funny when she tries to coo because she is so hoarse from her cold that she sounds like a 75-year old smoker with emphysema. Below are more pictures from our time in Chicago.

Here is Emily and Lucy pictured at Emily's daughter, Eleanor's, first birthday party. I love spending time with my social work buddy Emily. She challenges me by bringing up interesting topics of discussion and she has been a great support in my role as a new parent. She is one of those people I could talk to for hours and we would never run out of things to say.

Our wide-eyed girl

Eleanor and Lucy hanging out. Don't you just love Lucy's open mouth gappers look?

It's a Boy!

Here is my sister two weekends ago at 20 weeks pregnant. Lucy and I were in Chicago for my sister's sonogram appointment where we found out that I am going to have a little nephew! Doesn't she look so cute preggers! I am thrilled to see my sister bigger than I am for the first time in my life.

Here is Uncle Eric feeding Lucy carrots. She is such a fan of her veggies!

We met Kristin and Eric at the hospital after their sonogram appointment. My sister broke the news by saying, "I am going to be having a little Mama's boy." Then afterwards we headed out to do some shopping for little boy clothes.

Afterwards we went out for lunch to Grand Luxe Cafe on Michigan Ave. Grandma and Lucy got some good one on one time. Grandma was nice enough to entertain Lucy so I could get a moment to eat my meal. It was a great weekend, although we missed having Don around to share in the moment.

Little Screamers

Funny Face

Lucy's Uncle and Auntie (Eric and Kristin) have a cool feature on their Mac computer where you can take distorted and funny pictures. We couldn't resist putting Lucy up to the camera, and what we got was quite strange.

Our adorable little Lucy!

6.5 month Stats

Weight: 14 lbs 3 oz (20th percentile)

Height: 26.5 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 41.5 (25th percentile)

New Interests: Loves to play in her exersaucer and her Johnny Jump Up.

New Oral Fixation: Anything and everything she puts her hands on goes in her mouth

New Food: Just started pears yesterday

New Expressions: Squeals in delight more as compared to before when she did more of the "silent" laugh

New Tendency: We are starting to see signs of separation anxiety as she sometimes cries when mom leaves the room

Big Girl Sitting Up

Lucy has been sitting up now for several weeks. She tends to get bored lying down and much prefers the view from a seated position. I think she feels very proud of herself and has this expression on her face as if to say "look at what I can do!"
I am so used to seeing her lying down in her crib, it still kind of weirds me out to see this little person peaking out behind the bars of her crib. I keep thinking to myself, "Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to be lying down?" I can't believe how fast she is growing! She does still topple over on occasion. It is hard to refrain from laughing when she loses her balance...
This picture was taken the day she started sitting up on her own. I think she was surprised at how she could balance without assistance. What a big girl!

Having Trouble Moving on From Christmas

OK so I promise that this will be the last post from Christmas. We just had so many fun pictures that I couldn't help myself. Also I have a little trouble letting go of the holidays. My Aunt Nancy gave Lucy this outfit which is too cute!

My Grandpa and Aunt Nancy came to Chicago for a couple days for a visit before Christmas. Lucy had fun snuggling in her pjs with her Great Grandpa!

Kristin and Lucy when we went out to dinner with my cousins who came to visit from Minneapolis.

Lucy and I went out to lunch with Mary and Cindy. It was fun to introduce Lucy to Cindy who is one of my friends from high school. Oh the stories she could tell Lucy of her mother during her "glory" days.

Christmas Moments

Here is Lucy "opening" (i.e. posing) with one of her presents. We had so much fun in Chicago with my family over the holidays. Lucy is at the age where she is so much more interactive. She changed so much just in the time that we were in Chicago. It is so incredible to see how her personality continues to evolve.
Speaking of personality...check out how excited Lucy was to play in her learning table that Grammy and Puppy got her for Christmas. She is so proud of herself when presses a button and lights and sound go off. Seeing how she gets a kick out of the simple things in life has been a powerful reminder for me not to miss opportunities to find the joy in the seemingly mundane.
Don and Lucy posing near the Christmas tree. Don is always able to get the biggest smiles out of Lucy. It makes me kind of jealous actually. She is already turning into a total daddy's girl.

Lucy and I on Christmas Eve.

Thanks Jenna for the shoes to match her Christmas dress! Lucy posing with the girls...

How Many X-mas Outfits Can One Little Girl Have?

We sure had fun dressing up Lucy in all her Christmas outfits. Here she is surrounded by her Christmas presents in her dress from Aunt Jody. She is fascinated by bright colors and crinkling sounds, so she was just the right age to get into the whole opening of presents.Lucy loves to play "big girl standing up" with her dad (and her Uncle Eric, and her Aunt Kristin, and anyone else that is so inclined to play it with her).
Even when she is just chilling out doing some tummy time, she has to be styling with a Christmas bow to match her outfit.

Lucy loved wearing her red Christmas sweater and hat from Aunt Leslie. She was a trooper hanging out in her stroller during our last minute Christmas shopping.

Lucy perched on her big present from Grammy and Puppy.

I insisted that Lucy be allowed to open all her presents, rather than us doing it for her. Thus, it took us 4 days to get through them all since her naps, feeding, etc. kept distracting her from the task at hand. It was a lot of work to open all those gifts!