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Thursday, May 29, 2014

13 Months

I debated whether to continue with Lucy's monthly updates now that she is 1... But then I remembered that she is the reason all of you read this blog, and so I thought I better keep it up! :)


Since the weather has been so warm, Lucy enjoys going commando... no diaper.



As you can see, she has quite a few teeth.

At 13 months...

- Lucy is not walking on her own yet, but she can stand on her own for a few seconds at a time. 
- Sadly (for me, at least), Lucy seems to be weening herself off of breast milk. She has started to nurse only at bedtime, and I have a feeling that it won't last much longer. It is breaking my heart, but I am so thankful that she is eating so well on her own.
- She loves to read more than anything else in the world. Sometimes, I find her sitting on the floor of her room, "reading" her books.
- She is completely obsessed with Sesame Street, especially Elmo. I don't know what it is about that guy. 


We love our Lucy girl so much!  

Friday, May 23, 2014

Mother's Day Festivities

We didn't get to celebrate Mother's Day this year because it fell right in the middle of M's finals. At my dear husband's insistence, we celebrated today, starting with a wonderful hike up to the reservoir...









Afterwards, M and Lucy dropped me off at a nail salon for a manicure / pedicure, and then we went out for frozen yogurt. When we got back to the car, I found a bouquet of peonies waiting for me. 

Needless to say, I feel very spoiled. But, if I'm being honest, the best part of all is spending time with the ones I love. It almost feels silly being pampered for what I consider the greatest gift in the entire world - being a mama and a wife. I feel like a queen. 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Summer

M is finally finished with school for the year, which means that he is officially on summer vacation! I have never been so excited for summer to arrive. So far, for the most part, we have all been catching up on sleep. But we have also been enjoying plenty of time outdoors...




Colorado summers, when they finally arrive, are the absolute best. Definitely worth the wait! 


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Lucy Crawls... For Real


Well... It took a year, but Lucy is crawling all over the place. Her favorite destination is the dogs' water bowl. She makes a bee-line for it every single day. She thinks it's her own personal splashing pool. 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

News

Now that everything's official, I can announce that we will be moving to Denver this summer! Most of you already know, or might have heard it through the grapevine, and the rumors are indeed true. M will not have to commute any more for school, which is a huge relief to all of us! We will miss Fort Collins terribly. It has been our home for almost four years now, and I could not have chosen a better place for us to begin our family. As sad as we are to leave, we know that living in Denver will be the best thing for us, as M finishes up the next three years of seminary.


The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. M has finals (today is his last day of school for the year! Yippee!), and we have been frantically trying to find a place to live in Denver that fits our needs and our budget. Trying to find a home on Craigslist is an incredibly soul-crushing experience. You find a place that you fall in love with, and then it doesn't work out. The budget you come up with in your head vs. the reality of living costs in a city... Extremely depressing. And what are the chances of finding a place that fits all of your needs, and your budget, and your time frame? Needless to say, there were days when I thought we would never find a place to live.

But then, I found it. The house itself is perfect. The neighborhood is almost exactly where we wanted to be. The price is expensive, but still within our revised expectations of what a 2-bedroom in the heart of the city would cost. I sent M an email with pictures of the house, and I'm pretty sure the subject line said something along the lines of, "This is our house."

{Please disregard that giant sun thing, and the watering can o' flowers.}

I thought there was no way in a billion years we would get it. The house is actually priced relatively low for the location (which is within walking distance of major Denver attractions, such as the football stadium... I don't care for pro football, but if there is a Celine Dion concert, I can walk to it!) Even though M had to study for finals, we made an appointment to see the place and drove down to Denver last Saturday. We were competing with 13 other people, and even when we seemed to hit it off with the landlords, I was determined not to get my hopes up. 

But somehow, probably because we brought Lucy, they picked us! We move in on June 14th. One month from yesterday. And, as much as the thought of packing and moving with a one-year-old stresses me out, I am so relieved that we have found the right house for our family to spend the next three years!

I can't wait to paint that brick and lighten the place up.


The kitchen is nothing spectacular, but look at that exposed ceiling!!!

View from the living room to the back bedrooms.

Also, imagine how dramatically different it will look without that red. I want to open a paint can right now!

The floors, except for the kitchen area - which is tile, are a polished concrete. Normally, I don't know how I feel about that, but I actually think it looks really good in the space. And the dogs won't be able to ruin it.

Hallway to the bathroom and bedrooms...

I don't love that the washer and drier are visible from the hallway, but I love that our house has a washer and  drier. You wouldn't believe how many places we looked at that had a communal laundry room in the basement!

Tiny bathroom, but it works.

Bedroom 1... Again, those ceilings!


Bedroom 2... Sorry for the poor quality of the photos!

Every room has one of those brick walls. I will have a lot of painting to do.

This house doesn't really have a yard, but there is a front, private courtyard area - fenced in - and a back outdoor space - also fenced in. Both bedrooms have access to the back outdoor space. This worries me slightly with Lucy being the escape artist that she is, but we have talked about installing some sort of alarm system. Fortunately, the fence surrounding the back outdoor space is pretty high. The space isn't very big, but there might be enough room for a sand box :)


Most of the other houses we looked at were ranch-style with small windows and choppy layouts. They were pretty out-dated, and many of them had carpet. When I saw this house, I was immediately drawn to the lines and the openness of it. Plus, the house is super low-maintenance; I won't have to worry about spills or even potty-training accidents. And the neighborhood seems fantastic. They are building a brand new library around the corner, and we will be a couple blocks from the Light Rail, Denver's public transportation. There are parks close by, and the Aquarium and the Children's Museum are right down the street. I am so excited to go exploring. 

And, of course, we welcome visitors! :)

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day

I know that Mother's Day is bittersweet for many, but I wanted to take this opportunity to honor the mothers in my life. I feel incredibly humbled to know you, and the fierceness of a mother's love for her children is one of the most powerful things I have ever encountered. Thank you for being a shining example for me, as I embark on my own journey into motherhood. I love you more than I could possibly express in words.




Also, Lucy would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to her Lynnie and her Grandiva :)



Monday, May 5, 2014

Lucy's First Birthday Party

Here is a little peek of Lucy's birthday party...










I think it was a success! :)


Yesterday, we discovered that Lucy has pink eye. Just after we recovered from last week's illness! I guess she is building one healthy immune system. 

Thursday, May 1, 2014

One of Those Days

Today is one of those days. Everyone has them. And now that Lucy is napping, and I am eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and M is sending me Youtube videos of hamsters eating tiny burritos, I feel like I can laugh about it. 


This morning, we woke up to find that Lucy had thrown up all over her crib. It must not have bothered her too much, because we never heard a peep out of her all night. M had to leave early this morning for class, so I cleaned up the throw up and tossed Lucy's sheets and pajamas into the wash. No big deal. 

I decided to try feeding her a little breakfast. She seemed to be feeling better. We had a lovely, carefree hour or so. Lucy had some cereal and banana. I had coffee. It was a pretty typical morning.  

After breakfast, I decided to give Lucy a bath. I had just finished bathing her, when she pooped in the tub.

Immediately, I yanked her out of the tub and dealt with the "situation". I got her dressed and let her play in the living room while I finished cleaning the tub and transferring her bed sheets from the washing machine to the drier. Just as I sat down on the couch, Lucy began throwing up - projectile vomiting - everything she ate for breakfast.

Another load of laundry. Another bath.

When I finally settled Lucy down with her water cup and Sesame Street, I found the dog in the living room. After eating Lucy's throw up, she decided to chew up Lucy's toys.

Tearful phone call to M, who had to leave class to answer. He told me to take a deep breath, that he would call the doctor and make sure that Lucy didn't have some sort of African Jungle Virus. I climb into my bed with Lucy and watch Sesame Street with her. M calls back and says that the doctor says that Lucy is fine, to keep giving her fluids, to monitor her temperature. She does not have an African Jungle Virus.

Finally, Lucy falls asleep, and I transfer her to her crib, turn on her noise maker, and back out of the room.

This is the part when I would usually pour myself a glass of wine, but it is only noon.

{Just because.}