Wordless Wednesday

- Posted from my iPhone

A & B

Kyle's sister, Kelly, is pregnant... with twins... both boys! 

Making their appearance this December will be little A & B. 

I'm excited that little Lucy will have two more cousins. 

I'm not sure how parents manage multiples (one "easy" baby is tough), but if anyone can figure it out and be amazing parents, it'll be Kelly and Jason. If I were a kid all over again, I'd want them as my mom and dad!

Congrats Kelly and Jason!

Hanging out at the Kelly Bar in Killarney,Ireland during the Kerry-Cork game

Who wouldn't love these two as your parents?!?

Happy 31st Birthday...

Happy Birthday Todd. I couldn't have picked a better person to name my daughter after. I hope someday she'll share your love of life and ability to make any situation fun. I'll have a drink for you dear friend. We miss you.

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted from my iPhone

Dear Lucy - 3 Months

Dear Lucy,

Yesterday you turned 3 Months old!  We are simply in awe of the way you grow up every day.  You continue to get more and more beautiful.  You are such a happy, sweet, wonderful baby.

Over the past month, you have started really following everything with your eyes.  You love watching the mobile above your crib and the one above sleeper... and any ceiling fan, which you think is just a big mobile to giggle at!  Of course, your favorite is your Glow-worm toy.  The way your face lights up in reaction to the doll's face lighting up is amazing.  We cannot help but have a huge smile spread across our faces when watching how excited you get.

You have started to recognize people's faces.  You definitely know your Mama and your Daddy now.  The way you smile when you see us absolutely melts our hearts.  I think you also know recognize your Nuna and your Nana at first sight.

Your Mama had to go back to work right after you turned 2 months old (which she wasn't very happy about!).  Your Nuna came over almost every morning for the first couple weeks to watch you while we were at work.  You liked the routine of seeing Nuna every day.  She liked to work with you on standing up.  So, if you have strong leg muscles when you get older, you can thank her.  She tells you that she's getting you in training so that you can work out with Daddy!

Right when you were getting used to the new routine, we mixed it up on you.  Nana came over to watch you for several days.  The first morning you weren't very happy because you were used to having Nuna watch you.  You have become accustomed to Nana now too.  You (and Mama) stayed at Nana and Papa's house last week.  They both love sitting with you on the front porch, which is a good place to take you since you love being outside.

You had a lot of "firsts" in the past month.  You had your first road trip when you went with your Mama and Nuna to Chicago, where you got to meet your Auntie Chris, as well as a lot of your Mama's friends and family.  You had your first trip to the zoo.  Your cousins Franny and Yoshi went too.  You had your first sleepover without Mama or Daddy.  You stayed at Nana and Papa's house, and we weren't sure what to do without you here!  You also had your first trip to the lake.  You went on a boat ride and met a lot of Daddy's family.  That's a lot of excitement in a month!

You are so very special to your Mom and I.  We cannot picture our life before you entered it, and we don't want to.  We love you.  We always will.

Love,

Your Dad

Lake Trip

My Loves

Long deep breath....

We made it.

Last night we returned from a weekend vacation. We went here:

Location: Indiana/Michigan Border

We decided to bring the pups with us... Traveling long distances with a baby and two dogs? It was a little crazy at times. Other than Savannah's minor accident on the way there, the trip was a success. A huge thanks to Dick and Patty for letting this mess stay at their lake cottage.

Reggie and Savannah enjoying the lake wind in their ears

Reggie went for his first swim. He wasn't ready to jump in again afterwards, but liked to stand at the front of the boat and intently watch all of the kids swimming. He has a bright future as a life guard. (Possible role in Air-Bud 18, Lake Adventures??)

Reggie swimming at the sand bar with Jason and I

Lucy went for her first boat ride, but her momma wasn't quite ready to put her in the water yet.  We bundled her up in a crazy-big life vest. The poor thing. I realize they're made to save her life in the event of an accident, but seriously, this thing was twice her size. She was a good sport, considering the ridiculousness of the situation.

Kyle's Uncle Tom and Aunt Deb hosted an awesome party. We celebrated 3 and 8's birthdays.

8 (Auntie Em) and 3 (Jay) with their birthday cake. And, no, I don't think the Irish-flag icing colors just happened by coincidence.

 

We drank a few cocktails and ate a delicious meal. We played Bags (I lost due to a lucky streak by Joe C.), we visited, and laid in the hammock. And Lucy was able to meet even more of her awesome family.

 

Awesome family

More  family awesomeness

I really love Kyle's family. They're all just such nice and fun people. Both of our families are filled with kind supportive people. Not to mention very drama-free. It was a great weekend spent with great company.

I think Reg and I could get used to the "Lake Life"

P.S. It is EXTREMELY hard for me to type "Michigan". I constantly type M-I-C-H-E ... Silly brain, constantly trying to type Michelle.

Baby Free

Kyle and I have been baby free for over 24 hours.

Lucy stayed over at her nana and papas last night. Kyle took me out to for nice dinner. We realized that it had been well over a year since the last time we went out for dinner and each had a glass of wine :)

We watched an hour of uninterrupted TV (with another glass of wine).

We slept in a pitch black room (usually we have to leave the closet light on, so we can check on Lucy during the night). I slept very soundly, until I had to wake up and pump. 

Luckily, I have a technologically savvy mother in law who keeps me posted through picture mail... Lucy's last 24 hours has looked something like this:

Though the calmness was a nice break, I'm anxious to see and hold my little girl again.

Steam Rolled Thumper and Reggie’s Birthday

About 30 seconds out of my driveway this morning I ran over a bunny. This wasn’t one of those ugly gray colored bunnies either. This one was light brown and had a perfectly white tail. I saw the bunny in the other lane. As I was admiring its beauty, it decided to hop underneath my front left tire.

Dead bunny was much better looking than this guy

I heard a pop, and then in my side-view mirror I saw fluff. Darn. Poor guy. Worst part of the story? I have to pass its mangled fluffy carcass whenever I go to or from my house. What a way to start my morning!

Reggie’s birthday was on Monday. Happy 2^nd birthday Reg!

Reggie checking out his present

In lieu of a bunch of stuffed toys (that within hours would look similar to the bunny after it met my Xterra this morning), we bought him just one toy.  *Side note: are we the only family out there that buys their pets birthday presents? My parents looked at us like we were crazies. Anyhow, that one toy was… A WALKY DOG! Yep, while trying to save money for a new house, we splurged $47.72 on a baton with a bungee cord that attaches to your bike.

Below is a video of Reggie and I strolling down the street. Things were going well until the neighbors unleashed Yorkie made an appearance. Though you can't see it in the video, everything went fine and Reggie just kept jogging along side the bike.

* Also, please forgive my pajama pants; I am still too large to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans and am in denial that I may never will fit into them again.

 

Lucy's First Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday, my mom and I took Lucy, Franny and Yosh to the Zoo.

Lucy all buckled up

Kyle met us there in the afternoon. It was a good, yet tiring trip... At one point my mom said "this is similar to what it'd be like to have 3 kids". It definitely made the idea of just one more appealing :)

First zoo trip

We saw the lions, elephants and zebras. The kids seemed to have a good time, though Lucy slept through most of it.

Nuna and her two very good listeners. (Seriously, these kids are SO well behaved!)

The funniest part of the trip was at breakfast before we left. 

Scene: Franny and Yoshi sitting at the table eating their cereal. I'm packing up Lucy's milk for our trip.

Franny: Auntie Chel, What does momma milk (breast milk) taste like?

Me: I don't know Franny, you've had it more recently than I have.

Franny: I know, I just don't remember.

Franny: Yoshi, do you remember what momma milk tastes like?

Yosh: Uh huh

Franny: Does it taste good?

Yosh: Uh huh

Franny: What does it taste like?

Yosh: JELLY BEANS!!

So there you have it folks. Breast milk tastes like Jelly Beans. I just hope that it's not like those icky black licorice jelly beans!