Zoo Boo

Last weekend we went to the Maryland Zoo for the annual Zoo Boo. Lucy went trick or treating and got lots of yummy treats for her mom and dad. Lucy walked through a hay maze, posed for some cute photo ops and encountered her first clown and first carousel ride. It sure was a fun day. Happy Halloween everybody!

Ah-Mee

Last week my mom was in town for a visit. Grammy had fun teaching Lucy new tricks, reading to her, putting her to bed at night, and doing bath time. My mom worked all week to teach Lucy how to say "Grammy," but it seems to be a challenging word for her. Finally by the end of their time together, she was saying "ah-mee" (close enough). Also, my mom was nice enough to watch Lucy so that Don and I could go out to dinner. Free babysitting-yeah! I think the highlight though was having my mom join us at our weekly Music Together Class followed by an outing of swimming at our gym. Grammy was even nice enough to make Lucy some fall themed bows, which I am sure will make an appearance in an upcoming post. Lucy is doing a lot of repeating back of words that she hears us saying so I had to provide an update on some of her recent phrases/words: pumpkin, stop and go (which she likes to yell out while I am driving), squash, "get the noodle" (referring to the foam noodle at the pool), bus stop (which she learned today at daycare), socks, poopies, shoes, bow, diaper, pretzel, blankie, thank you, up the stairs, down please, allll dooonnee (dragged out just like so)

Harbor Fest

I forgot to blog an outing that we had a couple of weekends ago to Harbor Fest. There were lots of fun activities for families, such as a petting zoo, pumpkins, fresh flowers and a produce stand. It was a lovely day, but Lucy was pretty tired and cranky so I don't think she had that much fun. This was right around the time we were transitioning her from two naps a day to one a day so we had several over-tired days. But now she has adjusted to the one nap a day schedule and usually sleeps from between 2-3 hours which is awesome. Hopefully she keeps it up! Anyways we couldn't get a pumpkin shot of her where she wasn't crying, so this is the best we could manage.
We met some friends there as well. Above is Gibson posing with a big kid sized pumpkin. Lucy wasn't quite sure what she thought of the animals at the petting zoo.

After a nap, we decided to make some pumpkin muffins. We discovered that Lucy loves canned pumpkin, which made me very happy because I am always looking for ways to increase her intake of veggies.

She was a big help when it came to "cleaning" the spatula!

Weekend with Mama

This weekend Don was out of town, so it was just Lucy and I hanging out together. We had a fun filled, jam packed girl's weekend. However, the weekend didn't start out very great as about three hours after Don left I locked Lucy and I out of the house. I had that sinking filling in the pit of my stomach after I closed my front door and realized that my keys were sitting in my entryway. Thankfully our friends Katie and Chris helped us out and after much effort Chris was able to bust into a partially open window (thanks to Don for forgetting to fully close the window). On Friday we went to another pumpkin farm with Lucy's playgroup, which is where the majority of the pictures below are from. On Saturday we went to Port Discovery with my friend, Erika, and her daughter, Sophia. We then grabbed some lunch in the Inner Harbor. We were so busy having fun that I forgot to snap some pictures. Lucy was so tuckered out after a morning of exploration at the museum that she took a 3 hour and 10 minute nap! Too bad my husband wasn't around so that we could hung out during her nap. On Sunday Lucy and I hit the farmer's market for some seasonal veggies and then went to brunch with Laurie at Miss Shirley's. We went to Miss Shirley's at Laurie's suggestion and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I can't believe I have never been to this wonderful establishment before. I can't wait to go back! I accidentally erased the pictures on my camera of Laurie and Lucy at brunch, but you can see from the picture below that Lucy was all bundled up as we sat outside waiting for a table. Yes, it is finally that time of year where we had to bust out the fall coats this weekend. Randi and Lily enjoying the hayride at the pumpkin farm.
Our playgroup had a blast at Weber's Farm. There was a petting zoo and plenty of room for the kids to run around.
Maria (the bumble bee) and Lucy (the pig) were decked out in their Halloween costumes.
Lily is always willing to stop and pose for a photo. Lucy on the other hand doesn't want to be bothered with pictures these days.
Grady's feet couldn't reach the petals of the tractor, but he sure enjoyed being pushed around. Isn't this little kid sized tractor adorable?
The ladies decided to chill and take a little breather after all their romping around.
Plan on seeing a lot of pictures of Lucy in her costume in upcoming posts. I want to get as much mileage out of it as possible.
It wouldn't be a trip to the pumpkin farm without the classic photo amongst pumpkins.

Have you ever seen a cuter bumble bee in your life?

Apple Picking

We continue to enjoy lots of fun fall activities. Last weekend we went to Baugher's Farm which had awesome child friendly activities. It was about a 45 minute drive with picturesque views of the leaves changing colors. At the farm we enjoyed looking at the pumpkins, going apple picking, and seeing animals. Lucy particularly enjoyed the petting zoo. In the picture below she was quacking at the goat. She seems to think that all animals say either "quack" or "meow" or "woof." But her favorite sound is "quack," so lately whenever she sees a bird or hears an animal sound she quacks in response.
I felt so bad for this goat. He was sitting facing the wall. It was as if he was totally done with all the children trying to pet him. Poor little goat, he was so over stimulated. Lucy was decked out in her Halloween tights.
Of course we had to do a shot of her sitting on the pumpkins.

The highlight for me was going apple picking. Lucy wasn't really into picking the apples, but she was insistent about carrying her own little carton around. She carried that carton the entire time. She kept putting apples in the carton and then it would become too heavy for her to carry. So then she would hold the apples so she could carry an empty container around. Who needs toys? All this kid needs is an empty box.

By the end of the day Lucy was saying "apple." We ended up picking 25 lbs of apples for $16. I plan on making apple pies, apple crisps, and maybe even some applesauce if we have enough. Anyone know of a healthy applesauce recipe (for Lucy) that is low sugar?

I kept trying to get a good shot of her and she was looking at me like, "Would you quit interrupting me, I am working here."

Spaghetti

Lucy had her first taste of spaghetti tonight. Naturally, she made a huge mess of herself and the 5 foot radius around her. Then I remembered this old picture we had of Kim having spaghetti when she was a baby .

Pretty uncanny how similar they look!

Lego

For those of you who knew me as a kid, I was a Lego fanatic. Thus, I was pleased to hear my daughter say the word "Lego" this morning. Of course, I rewarded her by giving her the big bag of duplo's she loves to play with.

My next word to teach her: "chrysanthemum"

Robin Red Nose

While attending a local kids consignment sale, Lucy did a face plant on the asphault while I turned away to help someone locate a restroom. 15 seconds later, we have Ms. Red Nose. I hope my little girl is not as accident prone as I was as a kid. They knew me by name (Don) at the local emergency center.









By reading our blog, you may wonder if we have forgotten about our two dogs, Payton and Kailey. We indeed have not, and here is a picture of Payton's new favorite spot. Not only does she get some good food surprises, but she gets banana cleaned off her back periodically as well.

Fall in Chicago

Last weekend we went to Chicago for our friends, Lisa and Ryan's wedding. We also got a chance to see my family. One of the highlights of the weekend was our trip to the pumpkin patch which I used to go to all the time growing up. It was way more fun with Lucy and Milo though.
You would not even believe all the crazy antics it took to get these two little munchkins to actually look towards the camera. Every time we would get Milo in a good position, Lucy would walk away. I can't even imagine the spectacle we made of ourselves trying to get this shot.


























Kristin and I also got a chance to visit with my friend, Emily and her daughter, Eleanor. We went to lunch at this great place called Cafe Currio where the kids could play while we ate. What a great concept!

The picture below is of Lucy playing in the play room that my mom made for her. My mom converted a crawl space into a playroom and decked it out with great fabrics that she constructed into fun cushions for Lucy to bounce around on.

Lisa and Ryan's wedding was located in the heart of the Wrigleyville. We looked like such tourists taking pictures near Wrigley Field. I am not feeling very supportive of the Cubs these days since they are down 2-0 in the playoffs, bummer!
Lisa was a beautiful bride. The ceremony was so meaningful and the reception was very intimate. We really enjoyed celebrating with them.