Life Through a Lens... (The kind that you turn)

I’ve had a whole week off of work… A WHOLE WEEK! (Well minus the four hours that I went in today... There was a slight metallurgy issue and my metallurgist is in California, therefore I had to go in and you know, do as a metallurgist does).

Anyhow, back to my original point, I’ve already had a whole week off of work, and I don’t have to go back until Wednesday (unlessI have to do more metallurgist shenanigans on Monday. Hopefully, by switching from Silicon Carbide to Ferrosilicon, our sulfur in the holding furnace is less than 0.015% and I can just keep enjoying this time off).

Oh yeah, my point. I’ve had a week off, and my dad received a new camera for Christmas, therefore, by the laws of hand-me-downs, I’ve been using his old camera. So, here I give you, my week through the lens of a D90 (with a few iphoners mixed in).

Does taking photos of birds with a lens that you have to turn put me into the "photographer" category, or is it like saying I'm a "runner" because I ran 2 miles on a fancy treadmill?

The week started with Lucy staying home from daycare on Friday. “Staying home” = “Getting to spend the day at Nana and Papa’s”. I worry that if I keep sending Lucy to Nana and Papa’s whenever she’s sick, that she’s going to catch on and start faking a fever. Do babies know how to fake a fever? Can I fever be faked? Hmmm… Well, while playing hooky, Papa Ring taught Lucy how to make a motor boat type sound. I’ll have kyle post a video of it, but I’m sure you can probably hear it through this photo:

Now, when Lucy disagrees with something, or is bored, she busts out this new sound. Nice.



I recieved a nice Starbucks gift card, so we made a few trips to my favorite locale

We spent a few days with the Kelly and Ring families. Lucy has two "uncle David's". So we've been trying to come up with a new name for Kyle's brother. So far, nothing has stuck, so he's still "uncle David" for now.

Lucy with Uncle X

 We did get a chance to see my parents for a day.

Lucy loves her Papa

Lucy had to get the second half of her flu shot and has been running a fever ever since. All that she's wanted to do is snuggle and sleep. So here's Lucy and I the last two days:

 

The fever has made her a bit cranky, we've had a few of these moments:



This is Lucy's "Mom, I'm mad, please put down the camera and pick me up" face.

 Overall, she's still a fairly happy baby...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 Oh, and Kyle got Lasik. So he's been rocking these new shades all day:

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Lucy visited Santa for the first time in her life:

She wasn't too sure at first...

Santa was a little worried that Lucy was going to cry....

 

But Kyle gave her a pep talk and put her on Santa's lap. Then the photographer said "Smile!" And Lucy started smiling and laughing... Maybe modeling is in her future??



Funniest dog on earth

Reggie is a very silly dog. Everything he does is funny. If you don't believe me, just watch these two short videos. But make sure you have your volume up so you can hear what Lucy has to say about it!

Dear Lucy – 7 months

Dear Lucy,

 

You are the most amazing 7 month old ever. You make me feel so loved. When you see me, you smile. When I make a funny face, you laugh. When you’re sad or upset, you can be comforted just by me picking you up and holding you. I’ve never felt so important in my life.

 

You are up on all fours, and you’ve started crawling… backwards. You love to eat, especially at 3AM! All of the teachers at Day Care think that you’re just the cutest thing. They love when I put your hair in pig tails.

 

You are a very happy baby. And when you are upset, your dad and I stop whatever we’re doing to comfort you and make you happy. You really got lucky on having such an awesome dad. You don’t have any teeth yet, but I can tell that they’re on the way. Anything you see, you put straight into your mouth. You insist on eating paper. I have learned to tell the clerk to just hand you the receipt.

 

I love watching you watch your dad and Reggie. You’re learning how to do things on your own. Every day you grow a little more (both physically and mentally). I can see you trying to figure things out. I can tell that you’re already very smart. I love you more and more every day. I’m excited to continue to watch you grow!

 

I’ll always love you anyway,

 

Your momma

 

 

Tis the season...

We had a nice Thanksgiving with Kyle's extended family. On Saturday/Sunday we hung out with my parents. My dad took photos so we could order some Christmas cards. I must say, getting a baby AND two dogs to all look at the camera at the same time can be a bit trying. I was quite disappointed when I would find a stunning photo of myself, only to notice that Kyle's looking down fixing Lucy's coat, Lucy is trying to grab Reggie, Savannah's sticking out her tongue and Reggie is licking his butt. But hey, at least I look good, right?

After a lot of back and forth, we picked out a photo for our first family Christmas card. We went with a photo without Reggie or Savannah. Though Lucy looks excellent in every photo, we chose one based on how Lucy looks, not momma. (It's ok, I know that everyone will be paying more attention to her anyway). So where's the picture, you ask?

You'll just have to wait... it's coming soon to a mailbox near you!

Mom of the Year (Not)

Report (by the time we get home)

I admit it, I will not be in the running for 2012 "mom of the year".  (or chef of the year - see below)

Lucy's preschool sends out daily reports for each child. Everyday on our way out, I hand Lucy her report, and then I let Lucy eat the report. It usually looks like this:

Happy Baby!

Speaking of eating, Kyle and I tried something new. Top Chef, Ring edition. I read about the idea on an investing/saving blog. We had a near empty fridge (and pantry), and didn't want to spend $ on take out. So, we put Lucy in her exersaucer, and let the games begin. We scramble around the kitchen and in our "quickfire setup" we each present what we have created. Here were our results:

My dish: A play on potato egg salad. I used canned potatoes, french onion spices, egg, and brocolli mixed with mayo. This was served with a side of green beans, frozen corn with cream of celery.
Kyle's dish: Olive oil coated pasta, topped with a baked then seared tilapia. This was served with a side of tomato basil soup with meatballs.

Yummm :)

Busy Week

We had Lucy's 6 month check up on Tuesday!

I remember her "first" 6-month check up. Oh has time flown. Lucy weighed 17.1 pounds and measured 24.5 inches. Her is how she measured up:

Lucy and daddy (pre shots)

Height: 23rd percentile
Weight: 74th percentile
Head Size: 97th percentile

Well, it's a good thing she has all of that hair to cover up her oversized dome :)

Lucy and I with our "Voted" stickers

 

After her checkup we all went and voted. Kyle and I usually vote the same and have very similar political stances. Luckily Lucy agreed with my choices (since she went with me to fill out my ballot).

Dear Lucy - 6 Months

Dear Lucy,
 
Today you are 6 months old!  I am not sure exactly where the time went.  We have loved every minute that we’ve spent with you over your first half-year (even the rare times you get upset!).  Know always that your Mom and Dad love you so, so much.

You’ve had another eventful and busy past month.  You took your first airplane flight.  Mom and Nuna took you to Boston to see your Auntie Chris and Uncle Kevin for Auntie Chris’s birthday.  They were very excited to see you.  Your Uncle Kevin had not met you before.  Uncle Kevin’s parents drove down to see you, and of course, loved you too!  Momma and Nuna said that you did great on the plane and slept most of the way, just like you were a pro at traveling.

You’ve been able to see your grandparents a lot in the past month.  They all jump at the chance to get to watch you for a day or night, and get to spend time with you.  Papa Ring likes to take you with him in the mornings for coffee.  Nana and Nuna both love taking care of you and talking to you.  You have become quite the little talker (we haven’t made out any words yet), and we think Nana and Nuna are a big reason why!  I know Papa Bielick wishes he could see you more (he is working in Pennsylvania), but he did get to hang out with you recently for his birthday.  Plus, I haven’t even mentioned all your other relatives who love when they get to see you.  You were able to see a lot of people at your Aunt Kelly’s baby shower last weekend.  And you even Face-timed on the phone with your Great Aunties the other day!

While I am guessing that your first word will be “Momma” or “Daddy” (fingers crossed!) or “Doggy”, I wouldn’t be too surprised if your first word is “Jump.”  You love to jump! You are always interested in bouncing up and down any way you can.  We have heard that you love a certain jumping toy at your school.  Your favorite teacher, Miss Julie, told me one day that you played (well, jumped) in that toy for 45 minutes.  She said she would normally never keep you in a toy for that long, but you were having so much fun and she didn’t have the heart to lift you out of it!

You are growing and getting more advanced all the time.  You love playing in saucers.  Nana and Nuna each bought one for their houses when they saw how much you like it.  You know how to press the buttons to make music play and turn the knobs and shake the little rattles.  You look very hard at work sometimes.  Much to our fear, there are already times when you are eager to escape our arms and go play.  We knew this day would come but didn’t think it would come so soon!  Luckily for us, there are still plenty of times when you like being held or like cuddling.  You are not crawling yet, but you can definitely scoot and roll your way across (and off) a blanket.  Your Momma has been helping you practice sitting up on your own too.  You are also starting to eat more baby food.  I think your favorites so far are sweet potatoes or mangos.  It is definitely more fun for you when you can grab the spoon yourself, or use your hand and shovel the food in!

I hope one day you enjoy reading this note even half as much as I enjoyed writing it.  Your Mom and I are so proud and thankful for you that it is tough to even put into words.

Love always,

Your Dad

 

 

 

 

Our little pumpkin

Halloween

A few years ago, Kyle and I had a heart to heart. We discussed a feeling that we both harbored... We both grossly dislike dressing up for Halloween. So every mid-October, Kyle will ask me "So, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

My reply "NOTHING! You?"

"Nothing!"

We don't hate Halloween. We're not the grinch of October 31st. I actually enjoy buying nice candy for the trick-o-treaters (I strive to have the best candy on the block, but no chocolate, of course). I loved picking out my costume as a child. But it's just different as an adult.

As Halloween approaches this year, I've been asked "so what is Lucy going to be for Halloween?" My response, "nothing, just like her momma and daddy". I promise that once she's  old enough to walk and eat candy, I'll buy her what ever Halloween costume that she wants (though, I'm not designing a Totoro costume. Nor am I sewing anything extravagent). And I'll let her daddy walk her around the neighborhood, while I stay at home and take pride handing out my super-sized super ropes (Hey, I've gotta look out for all of the other non-chocolate eaters out there!)

So don't be disappointed if you check in on November first and there aren't any pictures of Lucy as a Lion or Duck.

Pretty sure these costume's win David the title of "Dad of the Century"

Alles Geburtstag Auntie Chris! (and Yoshi too!)

My little sister is a year older.
She spent her birthday like this:

Auntie Chris and her bday cake

 The rest of our trip to Boston was a lot of fun. Christine and Kevin are excellent hosts. Kev is a great cook!

We had dinner with Christine's residency friends.

Sooooo stinking cute!

Lucy got to meet Kevin's parents.

Lucy with Aunt Bahbra :)

When we got back to Indiana, we went over to my parents and celebrated Yoshi's 3rd birthday... It feels like just yesterday that he turned two. Remember this?

Here are some photos from Yoshi's birthday:

I love Yoshi as big as the biggest rainbow.

 

I love this photo:

Nuna and her grandbabies

A few more photos from our trip to Boston: