Apple

I'm not very good at announcing to-the-minute official milestones.  I know, poor Lucy.  Her lame Mom didn't have an airplane write FIRST STEP! in the sky when she began toddling around like a drunken sailor.  Instead of stressing over documenting exactly what happens when, I would rather just enjoy the milestones and bask in the progress and the learning that is taking place.  Lazy?  Maybe.  A lot of fun to jump right in and play rather than eagerly waiting with the video camera set on record and baby book open, pen in hand?  Absolutely!

However, this feels as if it needs official documentation.  If I had to declare a first REAL word for Lucy, as in a word she says correctly, a word where she not only says it but actually identifies with the object, a word that we didn't say over and over forcing it to stick in her little brain ("PLEASE say Mama," "PLEASE say Mama"...), it would definitely have to be APPLE.  A-PULLLLLL, to be more precise.  She has been saying it for months now - and adding to her vocabulary daily (sorry, I can't help myself - my kid is a genius!!!) but it is still the first thing she points out when she walks into a kitchen and spots a Golden Delicious hanging out in a fruit bowl and the word she falls back on when I encourage her to pronounce words that are far too big for this stage. 

ME: "Lucy, can you say bronchitis and pneumonia?  As in, your dad had bronchitis and pneumonia last week." 

Silence. 

And yes, a true story. 

LUCY: "A-pull."

So, when I saw this overpriced shirt (pictured below while we were enjoying lunch with Uncle Tyson over Christmas) at an adorable store downtown, for my own pleasure and sappy moment of "awwww, so cute!" I swooped it up and she found it under the tree this Christmas.  I'm sure you can imagine her overwhelming excitement.  Apparently wrapping paper that can be torn to shreds is far more exciting. 

Anyway, the shirt looks adorable on her and will forever remind me of this wonderful stage that has now OFFICIALLY been documented.  A-PULLLLLLL.  

NYC

Paul and I took a trip to New York City in early December for our wedding anniversary and to put it simply, we had a really, REALLY wonderful time.  To mention everything that we did, saw and experienced is near impossible so here's a brief list of some of the highlights:

• Brooklyn Bridge
• The Highline
• Empire State Building (late at night when the city was all lit up!)
• Rockefeller Center - Christmas tree!
• Times Square
• Washington Square Park
• private tour of the World Trade Center
• 9/11 Memorial
• The Book of Mormon on Broadway
• The Central Park Boathouse
• SHOPPING!!
• delicious food, a few restaurants include: momofuku noodle bar, Caracas Arepa Bar, Num Pang, Bell Book & Candle
• spent time with some of our wonderful friends

Photographic evidence of a great trip (with help from Katy and Blake!) is below.  I have to say that I feel like we are missing pictures of so many of the fun things we did - but as Paul so wisely pointed out, we were busy experiencing instead of pulling out the camera at every turn.  So, here's what we caught, the rest will forever be in our memories:

Everyone should be so lucky to have a welcome sign like this on the door when they arrive in NY!

The  Trash Bar!

Brooklyn Bridge:

The Highline:

The obligatory shot in Times Square:

The tree at Rockefeller Center:

Views from 1 WTC:

9/11 Memorial:

Empire State Building:

After waiting too long for an overpriced beer at the Central Park Boathouse...we got goofy:

Central Park:

What she said.

Traditions

It is my duty as Lucy's mother and as my Mom's daughter to force traditions upon my family.  I apologize for putting them through these activities, but lucky for me Paul is nice enough to entertain my insistence and Lucy doesn't get a choice.  I am hopeful that someday, after the phase where she hates all of this and resents me for it, she will love and appreciate these traditions too.  

Cutting down a Christmas tree every is a tradition I LOVE and will never let go of.  I know it is cheaper, easier and faster to head to the nearest grocery store where they are selling trees in the parking lot, and you can get a really beautiful Fraser Fir and often times a portion of the proceeds go to a good cause, and yada, yada, yada.  I don't care.  I love the fresh air and the crisp smell of the tree farm, Paul lying on the ground while we wait in anticipation for the tree to fall, the warm barn with apple cider and cheap chocolate cookie sandwiches that awaits you after you've made the all-important decision of selecting the perfect tree; these memories mean so much to me and they signal that Christmas is really coming. 

This year Lucy fell fast asleep in the car right as we were pulling up to the tree farm, she slept through me getting her out of the car seat very ungracefully, she slept through the bumpy hayrack ride out to the field where we were going to choose our tree from and after carrying her 25 pound body around while we hemmed and hawwed over trees, she finally woke up and was ready to join the fun. 

Although this year's trip was much less eventful than last year's trip - - I should document that story here at some point - - it was equally as awesome.  A little girl and her dog walking around a Christmas Tree Farm is a really good time.   

You can pick your friends.

And you can pick your nose. 

But you can't pick your friend's nose. 

LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCY.

Of course technically Paul isn't her friend; he's her dad.  And she didn't really pick him, she just got stuck with him (couldn't have been luckier).  But she is definitely, definitely picking his nose.  And I would love to report that this was the first time she's been a part of such shenanigans...but not even close.  That would be a lie a thousand times over.  She does this quite frequently, to both of us.  Last weekend she put her finger so far up Paul's nose, he bled.  Really. 

So maybe the whole friend-nose-picking theory is shot because indeed, she picks any nose that tickles her fancy.  I guess we'll just have to hope that by the time she's genuinely picking her friends, she will have accepted this truth and can keep her fingers to herself.