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Saturday, December 28, 2013

8 Months

Lucy is 8 months old today! I know I always say this, but I can't believe how quickly time has passed. It seems like yesterday that we were waiting for her to arrive. This time last year, I was still pregnant.



{Lucy meeting Santa for the first time...}

At eight months...

-  Lucy has one tooth and another one coming in. 

- She has been eating all sorts of new foods, including oatmeal, peas, chicken, and applesauce. She has even tried French fries. 

- Lucy can sit up and support herself. She has even started crawling, although she can only crawl backwards.

- Lucy can stand up if she is holding onto something. She can't pull up on her own, and she isn't walking yet. She can take her time with that :)

- She talks quite a lot, mostly gibberish, but she has been known to say "Mama" and "Baba" - which we think means "Papa". 


I am so thankful that Lucy is healthy and growing. She is such a joyful little girl, which seems appropriate as her name means "light". She brings light with her wherever she goes!


Happy 8 Months, Lucy! Your mama and papa love you! 




Friday, December 27, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Angert Family Christmas

This morning, we celebrated Lucy's first "Christmas" together. We will be in Georgia visiting family for Christmas, but we wanted to have a little celebration with just the three of us before we go. This past week has been jam-packed with parties; I think we've had something to attend literally every night this week. It was nice to slow down and enjoy a quiet morning together. After M and I had coffee (essential), we let Lucy tear into her stocking and other presents. Of course, she was more interested in the wrapping than any of the presents. Typical.


Once we took all the wrapping and ribbons away, I think she was very intrigued by all of her presents. Thank you family and friends who sent her gifts! So many beautiful things that M and I will enjoy playing with as well :)


Sleep Struggles

Friends, sorry for the lack of posts lately. As you can probably imagine, our lives have been a touch busy. M finished his first semester of seminary (yay!), and we are looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas with Lucy! Also, on Thursday, M and I celebrated our fourth anniversary! 

I have been hesitant to post about this, but I think it's important to present an honest picture of our family life on this blog. Part of that means sharing the not-so-glamorous things...


For the past couple of weeks, Lucy has been having a hard time falling asleep at night. We put her down in her crib at bedtime (8 p.m.), and she immediately starts screaming. I mean, she has an incredible lung capacity. She can scream for hours. The only thing that helps her to calm down is to be held and / or fed. As you can imagine, we have been confused, frustrated, and exhausted. 

As I mentioned in this post, we read a couple different books about sleep training. I don't want to imply that these books and the principles they teach are wrong; in fact, some of the principles we learned from these books have been very helpful. But the more M and I have discussed the concept of  "sleep scheduling", the more we have realized that we wanted Lucy to adhere to a certain schedule more for our own convenience than for her own well-being. 

One of the things about parenting is that you have to constantly re-evaluate. What worked for Lucy when she was three months old doesn't apply any more. As she grows and changes, we have to learn to be flexible too. This means letting go of our desire for control and order, and accepting that Lucy is her own little person. She struggles just like the rest of us. And while a little structure is good and beneficial for all of us, it can easily become an idol of control.

We don't really know what is causing her wakefulness. It could be that she is in the process of cutting her first tooth (which she is). It could be that, as she grows more socially aware, she is having a little separation anxiety. Or it could be a combination of many different factors. Either way, Lucy is an incredible little baby, and we feel so blessed to be her parents. Sleep or no sleep.

Family, are you sure you want us to come visit for Christmas? :)


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Lucy's Christmas List

We are so excited to celebrate Lucy's first Christmas this year. As first-time parents, we have to decide how we want to handle presents. We decided to stick with the old rule of three: something to read, something to wear, and something to play with. Since I can't afford gold, and I have no idea where to purchase frankincense and myrrh (maybe Ikea?), I think we'll stick to a book, an outfit, and a toy.

I know family members would like to know what Lucy wants for Christmas, so I asked her. This is what she told me:


Something to Read


{any of the BabyLit books}


Something to Wear






Something to Play With

{Plan Toy Stacking Ring}







She would also settle for world peace. 


Christmas Tree Hunting

This past weekend, we went searching for a Christmas tree. In past years, we have gone up into the mountains to cut a tree down ourselves. But seeing as how temperatures have been below freezing for the past several days, we didn't think this would be the best idea.

So, we went to our local plant nursery to find a tree. Bonus: They had reindeer. 




And the finished product...



{Lucy is mesmerized by the tree!}




Tuesday, December 3, 2013

7 Months





Lucy at 7 months...

- It is getting more difficult to take her picture because she is always moving. Most of the time, my pictures of her turn out like the photo above. Blurry.
- She can sit up by herself!
- She has enough hair for a {tiny} pony tail.
- She is extremely vocal, and she has started repeating some of the sounds we make to her. Mostly "Mamamamama" or "Bababababa". We think she is trying to say "Mama" and "Papa" :)
- She does not like to go to bed. At all.
- She still hates banana.


Saturday, November 30, 2013

A Mississippi Thanksgiving

This year, we were in Mississippi with my parents for Thanksgiving. Here's how we spent the holiday...

Lucy got to spend some quality time with her Lynnie.

Greenery for the table fresh-picked from the yard... I love the South.

The feast. 


On the menu this year...

Simon and Garfunkel Smoked Chicken*
Creamed potatoes
Sweet potato souffle
Cranberry chutney
Green beans
Fresh rolls
Corn bread and sausage dressing
Almond pumpkin pie
Bourbon pecan pie

*Seasoned with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

Today, we went to the zoo...









Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Christmas Card Shoot

A couple of weeks ago, our friend Libby took some beautiful photos of Lucy girl for our Christmas card. There are so many great pictures that it is almost impossible to pick just one. Here are some of my favorite photos from the shoot...









**Photo Credit Libby Newell Photography**







Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Solids Update


Well, we can all relax. Lucy is, in fact, my daughter. She loves food. I am relieved. 

Over the past couple of weeks, we have introduced pear, sweet potato, and apple. She loves them all. She seems to prefer purees to bigger pieces, unless she is eating bread. Yes, we fed her bread. We gave her a baguette at Panera, and it was her favorite thing ever. Told you she's my daughter :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Our Blizzard-y Weekend

This past weekend, we were up in the mountains. It was beautiful. But then, there was a blizzard. And the power went out. And there was no heat. And we have an almost-seven-month-old baby...

{the beautiful sunrise... before the blizzard started}

I wish I could tell you that we chopped up the furniture into firewood and stayed warm and cozy together all weekend, just like the pioneers would have done. But that is not what happened. We stuck it out like brave soldiers, running on zero sleep, trying to make the best of it. But it was miserable. That's about as generous an adjective as I can use. 

{our "selfy", sitting in front of the fire}


Moving on, I am so excited to give you a little "preview" of Lucy's photo shoot with our friend, Libby. You should look at all the lovely work on her website, but especially her photos of our Lucy girl. I can't wait to show you more :) Thanks again, Libby!!!



Thursday, November 14, 2013

New Toy






Lucy is obsessed with cups. Since she can't be trusted with our coffee mugs or wine glasses, we got her some fun cups of her own while we were at Ikea yesterday. Obviously, these are a big hit!