Thankful

My "I am thankful for..." list is long.  Long, long, long.  It begins with our family and friends, includes our health and our home and goes all the way down to a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning.  I can get myself pretty worked up when I stop and consider all that we have to be thankful for so this is the part where YOU become thankful because I'm sparing you by not listing each and every little thing.  You're welcome. 

We were fortunate enough to attend three Thanksgiving celebrations and although this makes for the kind of weekend where you need a weekend when it's all over, we had a great time and were constantly reminded how long that list of ours really is. 

Instead of droning on with all the details of what we ate and where we went, I've included two short videos from the weekend that make me laugh.  Entertainment at its best: dominoes, sock monkey jack-in-the box and a really excited little girl!

Weekend in a Nutshell

It literally happened overnight. 

Saturday was sunny, breezy and nearly 70 degrees outside; we strolled downtown, popping in and out of stores - Lucy LOVES The Toy Store! - and made our final destination the Brewery where we had a mid-afternoon beer and some appetizers.

When we woke up Sunday morning the sun had gone missing, my face was numb for the first 10 minutes of my run, temperatures had plummeted into the 30s and they didn't make it out of the 40s all day long.  Our time outdoors was limited which I HATE, but we braved the cold for a little bit of fun and it was totally worth it! 

This kid kills me.  I'm officially mush. 

12 Month Stats

Height: 29.75 inches (69th percentile)
Weight: 22 pounds, 12 ounces (76th percentile)
Head Circ: 18.25 inches (83rd percentile)

No offense Lucy, but I would have guessed you were heavier than that!  My lower back and upper arms think differently...  The pediatrician said you are progressing wonderfully and that he could tell by watching you for just a few minutes that it is a "joy" to be your parent.  He's right on the money.

Party #2

The second celebration was aimed more toward our friends and their kiddos having a good time, and I think we hit the mark! Let's just say there was a smorgasbord of food and a full keg when the party started and by the time the last guest left the keg had been drained and only 11 of the 48 cupcakes I made lived to tell the tale.  But for nearly TWELVE HOURS we had a steady flow of friends in and out the door and up and down the stairs; changing table upstairs, football games on in the basement, food on the main level, keg outside – that’s what I call a party! 

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but I guess I was busy having fun and that trumped playing Ansel Adams.  With that said, here's the very abbreviated recap.

The party favors:

12 months of Lucy (the picture is crap but it was ohsocute in person):

Months 6 & 7 up close:

Facts about Lucy were pasted all over our house - - here are just a few:

Pretzel sticks.  Cute, delish and gets the party started every time!

  
Smash cake for the Birthday girl!

Al loving the pigs in a blanket; Lucy loving Al: 

Sam, Grace and Lucy playing, playing, playing:

The intial bite:

The look of intensity:

The licking of the lips:

The adorable cake-smeared Birthday Girl:

I would be remiss not to include a picture of the beer pong table in action.  Yes, at a one year old's birthday party - hey, we were celebrating that WE survived this year too!!!

Party #1

In attempt to simplify Lucy’s birthday celebration I ended up creating more work for myself and somehow justified that two separate parties were not only an option, but necessary.  I have an amazing ability to complicate the uncomplicated.  BUT, after having done it all, I would do it again exactly the same way, no question!

We officially celebrated Lucy's birthday twice.

On her actual birthday we had all of her grandparents and great-grandparents over to our house for cake and champagne. I know, my grandpa told me he was pretty sure there wasn't champagne at his first birthday but he made the error of pointing out that he couldn't actually remember his first birthday so I had to point out that maybe there WAS champagne and he just doesn't remember it.  MAYBE. 

This night was very special.  Lucy has SIX, count 'em, SIX great-grandparents and they all live within about 30 minutes of our house; they also were all able to come to the party and now I can't picture it any other way. We sang "Happy Birthday," we ate cake, we opened an embarrassing number of presents on Lucy's behalf and it all felt warm and cozy on the inside while it was cold and rainy outside.   

The cake:

The YIKESWATCHTHEFLAME blowing out the candle moment:

Fun Great-Grandpa:

SUUUUUUUUGGGGGGAAAAAAARRRRRR:

The whole crew; and yes the champagne toast was really just a ploy so we could tell all of them how much we love them and how we know we are so very lucky to have them:

Happy Birthday!

Lucy,

I’ve started this letter 365 times.  That’s right.  I have written this letter over and over in my head almost every day since you were born.  Sometimes it is funny, sometimes I’m a blubbering mess and sometimes I don’t know where to begin.  So I’ve decided to be a little funny, a little nostalgic and begin at the beginning.

Your dad’s birthday is the day before yours.  He turned 30 the year you arrived and instead of chicken and noodles at his mom’s house to celebrate, he got a whale of a wife groaning through contractions and a late night turned into a very early morning at the hospital; I can assure you, he’s never been so happy to give up his favorite meal.  You missed arriving on November 1 by two hours and forty-one minutes.  This is neat for a lot of reasons but it is particularly special because your dad’s mom was in labor with him on November 1, 30 years before your arrival, and your dad’s great-granny Dillon was born 80 years before THAT on the very same day.  You are a part of something very special.  But then, as you would have it, you decided to make November 2 all your own.  And that was the beginning of you being you.

I was SHOCKED to find out that you were a girl.  I always thought I would be the mother of three boys; I grew up with two brothers, your dad is one of three boys, and to be honest, I’m better at hiking, camping and rough-housing than I am at shopping, curling my hair and wearing heels.  So, as the nurses were taking bets on whether we would need our boy name or our girl name (both were finalized when we were at the hospital), I was in disbelief when it was announced that you were a girl.  I had a daughter.  My vision of three boys playing in the mud quickly vanished and I knew it had happened exactly as it was supposed to. 

You – being a girl – were the most unanticipated, best surprise of my whole life.     

Since you decided that 2:41 AM on November 2 was to be when you introduced yourself to the world, your Dad and I were awake for a solid 36 hours before we got any rest.  If you ever doubt how loved you are, STOP.  STOP RIGHT THERE.  Because within an hour of your arrival, you were greeted by my parents, your dad’s mom, your uncle Greg, and the flow of friends and family through the door didn’t stop all day, and really has yet to stop a whole year later.  You were hugged and kissed and swaddled and ogled over nonstop.  It was the wildest, most surreal, truest display of love I’ve ever been a part of. 

This past year you have taught me so much; but mostly, that we’re lucky as hell.  Not only did you show up healthy as can be and cuter than a button, you have always been a ridiculously good baby.  To the point where I told the pediatrician I might end up being one of those crazy ladies with 50 babies because I was enjoying you so much; he looked me square in the eyes and said, “whoooooa, NO.  If you get one this good, you stop right there.  Probably won’t happen again.”  And although it is yet to be seen, having another child that sleeps through the night at about six weeks, who eats and eats and EATS from the very beginning and who has a demeanor so calm and cool we can confirm any paternity speculation because OHDEARGOD this has to be your father’s kid who is so laid back, I’m not sure your future sibling (NOTHING IN THE WORKS HERE!) will make our lives this easy.  Your demeanor is carefree and blissful 99.9% of the time; really, you are so darn calm about everything.  I think “man, its a little cold outside.”  You don’t mind.  I think “gosh that noise was  loud.”  You just wheel your head around and take a peek.  You DO, however, scream when you aren’t being fed fast enough and if you are getting drowsy and Buckley knocks you over while you are tooling around, it is as if the world has ended.  You pause, and then WAIL to your hearts delight followed by quickly popping your thumb in your mouth while either throwing yourself on the floor (I can’t even imagine what this will be like when you are two) or nestling into the nearest comforting chest.     

You have been walking since about 11 months and a week and you currently believe the staircase is your playground as you experiment going up AND down.  You have 10 confirmed teeth and a few other molars poking through.  You have a language of your own, but the words that translate to English are: dog, mama, dada, bubbles, baby, apple, owl, bear, hi and bye-bye.  You love watching the world go by and you seem to jump right in seamlessly, it’s like it was waiting for you.  And now you are not only here, but you have arrived. 

For the first time in my life, everything makes sense; becoming a mother has made me feel like I know what I’m doing.  I see the world more clearly, somehow more carefully yet more carefree at the same time.  I guess once you think you have everything, you know what you stand to lose; which is an awesomely scary but amazing place to be.    

You have made our life so unbelievably full.  I love you more than I ever knew possible. 

Happy Birthday to you!

Mama