Dear Nolan & Audrey - 5 months

Dear Nolan & Audrey,

Your mama is tired, exhausted, and barely keeping things together. I'll do better next month.

I'll always love you anyway,

Your mama

Gymnast

Preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics has begun.  For the past few months, Lucy has been going to parent/tot gymnastics class once a week.  She has been getting very good at it and so much more confident in all the different moves they do.  If you ask her, she'll be happy to show you her forward rolls, headstands, jumps, or butterfly sits.

 

(Unless you have uneven bars in your house, she probably won't be able to show you the moves pictured above.)

Hey, nice outfit!

Happy Sunday funday!

Nolan's first haircut!

Nolan had his first haircut this weekend! (Daddy still won't let me cut Lucy's hair). Nolan was starting to look a bit homeless.
Before:


After:



Such a handsome fellow. Looking dapper in his new do! (I'm not sure what "dapper" means, but for some reason that's the word I came up with)...

May 5th Birthdays

Lucy and her Aunt Kelly share May 5th as a birthday.  Sunday we went over to Kelly and Jason's house for a birthday cookout.  Lucy had a great time playing with her cousins.  Then she helped Aunt Kelly blow out the candles and open presents.  Ben and Jacob were happy to help with the presents, too!

 

Yesterday, on her birthday, Michelle and I both took the day off work.  We had a photographer take some family pictures of us in the morning, then we headed to the zoo in the afternoon.  Nana and Papa joined us.

 
 

After the zoo, we returned home for presents and cake (Elmo cake, of course!).







Lucy, your Mama and I were so happy watching how much fun you had on your birthday.  You are an absolutely amazing girl.  It is hard to believe that you are already 2 years old!  You are a smart, compassionate, beautiful, happy little girl.  Thank you for bringing so much joy to our family.

Kyle / Daddy

Dear Lucy - 2 years

Dear Lucy,

Thank you for filling the best two years of my life with all
of your smiles, laughs, and love. You have changed me for the better. You make
me want to be selfless. You give my life more meaning than I ever knew possible.

Every day (I haven’t missed one yet) I tell you that you are going to “Great Things”.  I tell you that you are going to:

Treat others with respect

Love yourself

And stand up for what is right

And together we say that “, Lucy Ring is going to do Great Things.”

It doesn’t matter if you can run the fastest, spell the longest word, or get into the most prestigious colleges. What is most important to your daddy and I, is that you have self confidence and treat others with respect. And you do every single day. You have become such a sweetheart. When daddy puts you to bed at night, your first instinct is to remind him that Nolan and Audrey will both need a bottle. You are always so concerned about your brother and sister. If Nolan is crying, you run to get him his blankie. If Audrey is sad you'll say ", no cry Audrey". You want everyone to be happy. 

You love to make your mama and daddy happy too. You are such a good listener. We don't have to discipline you. You like to follow the rules, and you are proud of yourself when you do the right thing. You make great choices, and when you stray off, we can usually bribe you with chocolate. 

You amaze me with how quickly you learn new things.  You know all of your alphabet (both upper case and lowercase) and you can even spell your name (though you still refer to yourself as "Nini"). You pick up on everything that your daddy and I say. We've resorted to spelling words, in hopes that we can sneak something by you, but nope; You know that I-P-A-D spells iPad and E-L-M-O spells Elmo. Your favorite letter is “W”, and you like to turn “W’s” upside down to make them into a “M for Mama”. Your laugh makes me smile (even your fake laugh). You are so loved. You are the center of your daddy's world. You guys love to play. And when you have your choice of mama or daddy, you almost always choose daddy (unless you're hurt, then you usually choose mama). You spend a lot of time with your Nana and Papa. You and Nana spend every Thursday and Friday together. When we asked you what you wanted to do for your birthday, your immediate response was ", Nana home?!?" You have learned to play well with your cousins Jacob and Ben. You love to follow around Frannie and laugh at Yoshi (especially his funny faces). Your Nuna likes to sing you "this old man" and your Papa Bielick makes you laugh when he face times you on your iPad. 

You love your family so much. You have such a good heart and you make me so proud every day. I think that you inherited your daddy’s kindness, and my determination. I have a feeling that combination will help you achieve Great Things.

I’m excited to see what this next year brings.

I’ll always love you anyway,

Your mama

Weekend fun - Lucy and Mama edition

Dear Nolan - 4 Months

Dear Nolan,

You are now 4 months old. Now would be a good time for you
to start sleeping for more than 90 minutes at a time. You love to talk, and you
have the cutest little coos and gaahs. Lately they’ve been accompanied by a
string of drool. You have found your hands, and love to chew on them.

You are a big eater. You eat at least every 2-3 hours. You
get very upset if you’re hungry and someone is not immediately there to feed
you. You are a chunky, smelly, baby with a little bald spot in the back.
Somehow, the camera never picks that up. You can be crying and screaming and
have just spit up everywhere, and I’ll take out my camera, and you immediately
stop and give me a grin. It’s actually kind of amazing how well you photograph.

Daddy has been staying home with you and Audrey on Fridays.
I asked him how you two were doing on a Friday morning, and he said “, Pretty
good. Audrey fell asleep this morning cuddling Nolan, but I had to break them
up because he kept trying to eat her head.”

You are truly a mama’s boy. Secretly, I’m kind of enjoying
it. It often causes me to walk around work like a zombie due to the lack of
sleep. But your cuddles and giggles make it all worth it. You are the happiest
baby ever (as long as you’re being held with a full tummy). I love you so much.

I’ll always love you anyway,

Your mama

Dear Audrey - 4 Months

Dear Audrey,

Wow. You are already 4 months old. You are still an over achiever and continue to sleep through the night. You try to make things as easy on your mama and daddy as possible. Sometimes you’ll be upset, and if we can’t get to you right away, you’ll just fall asleep. At your 4 month checkup we asked the doctor if there is a point that a baby could sleep too much.
Luckily, no; God must’ve just wanted to give us an easy baby.

You are rolling over and passing every milestone. You love
to suck on your fingers and haven’t used your paci for over a month. You have the most beautiful brown eyes and you like to watch your brother and sister. Lucy loves to share her blocks (legos) with you. Usually she gives you all the
people and she keeps all of the animals. You don’t seem to mind.

You enjoy taking warm baths and being outside. I love just
holding you on my side, as you hold your head up so well. Often times, you’ll
“help” me unload the dishwasher, change over the laundry or vacuum. You are
already becoming my little helper. You are very special to me and I love you
very much.

I’ll always love you anyway,

Your mama

Happy Birthday Nana!

After spending thurs/fri with her Nana each week, I ask Lucy if she's "nana's little buddy". Her response is "Nini (Lucy) Nana Yil ('lil) Buddy".

Lucy has been practicing her "happy birthday nana" song for about a month and we finally get to sing it! (She ran a test run last week for auntie T's bday).

So Happy Birthday Nana! You are very loved.

Love, Mama, Dada, No-no, Audrey, and your Yil' Buddy

Lucy's Busy Day at the Zoo

This afternoon we loaded up (which takes us a while) and went to the zoo.  Lucy had so much fun.  She kept running around saying, "Ni-ni (Lucy) more animals."  She let us know the names of all the animals and what letter each animal's name starts with.  Today's favorites included the penguins, polar bear, monkeys, elephants, and rhino.

The highlights were getting to feed a carrot to a giraffe and seeing a tiger way up close!

As you can imagine, it wore her out!  (Not pictured, Nolan and Audrey enjoyed sleeping in the stroller.)