I've failed to officially mention it here (this is just the beginning of the second one getting screwed, right?), but in case you didn't know...
I now look something like this:
And no, I didn't just overindulge over the holidays.
Sometime in February (no reason to rush into reporting this...I'm ONLY 38 weeks pregnant) we will be adding another little GIRL to our family. Paul is outnumbered to an intimidating degree and we are all over the moon with excitement.
A few conversations that have happened in our house over the last week:
"I love you to the moon."
I put Lucy to bed 90% of the time. She likes for Paul to give her a bath - I think he's much more creative with water activities - and for me to put her to bed. She even told me a few weeks ago that I was "good at reading" so I think she enjoys my dramatic story-reading skills and also to snuggle with me as she drifts off to Lalaland. When she's approaching sleep and our stories, conversations, or song-singing are ending, I try not to engage her in anything that will keep her wheels turning as I want her to focus on nothing but sleep. I always say the same things and she typically repeats what I say and that's how we bid the day adieu. A few nights ago, she threw me for a loop...
ME: I love you.
Lucy: I love you.
ME: I love you SO much.
Lucy: I love you SO much.
ME: I love you to the MOON!
Lucy: I was anticipating hearing this phrase repeated back to me when she says, "I love you to the puzzle."
ME: I hesitate to respond as I would like to think she's close to falling asleep, but I just can't help myself. "What? What did you say?"
Lucy: I love you to the puzzle.
ME: Huh? What puzzle?
Lucy: My Elmo puzzle. I love you to the puzzle.
And if you knew how much she loved her Elmo puzzle, you would know this is proof that this kid truly loves me. All the way to the puzzle.
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"Bacon."
Lucy has been a good sleeper since day one. We have been so spoiled with the amount of sleep she lets us have, and on some occassions she takes her sleeping to the next level and Paul and I are both, showered, dressed, fed and ready to leave for work and she's...still sleeping. This particular morning, she was indulging in sleep and at 8 AM Paul and I finally decided it was time she get up. We both went in her room to wake her up.
Paul: Lucy, Good Morning!
ME: Hi Lucy, it's time to wake up.
Paul: Rubbing her back. "Lucy it's time to get ready for school."
ME: Lucy, it's time to have breakfast and greet the day!
As we are prompting her to get up she is doing her best to ignore us completely; sucking her thumb, pretending not to wake up, turning to face the wall so that we will HOPEFULLY quit bothering her and she can go back to sleep.
Paul: Lucy, we have to get dressed so you can go to school and see your friends! It's going to be so much fun.
Anne: Lucy, Dada already made breakfast for you, you need to get up while it's still hot.
Paul: Lucy, I have scrambled eggs and milk waiting downstairs for you.
She stirs, the mention of food gets her attention.
Paul: Lucy, your eggs are getting cold, we need to go have breakfast.
Lucy: She pops her head up, hair in her face, but eyes suddenly wide open. "Dada, you make bacon?"
...That's my girl!
December was mostly a blur. A really fun blur, but it went by fast and little was documented. There are a few holiday traditions we didn't neglect in all of the hustle and bustle.
We bought a tree. And, no. Not from a parking lot. I feel it is my duty as a parent to drag my family out to a Christmas Tree Farm and make this the proper production it needs to be. We picked out a beautiful Austrian Pine and it was an unusual experience seeing as it was 70 degrees outside. But, once Paul got the tree inside and all lit up, it started to feel like Christmas might actually come. Lucy "helped" (I use that term very loosely here) decorate the tree. We lost five or six ornaments in the process, but hey, we instilled a valuable lesson about what happens when we mess with ornaments that are breakable. Whenever Lucy would see the tree after that she would point to an ornament and emphatically remark, "Don't touch!"
We also saw Santa. I wasn't exactly sure how Lucy would react to him, but she was actually pretty calm (not a state of mind this child often wears). I walked up there with her when her name was called and she was hesitant but didn't freak out (always a plus when there's a room full of people witnessing an activity like this). She certainly wasn't racing to sit on his lap - and I didn't force the issue - but she stared at him intently, and blurted an appropriately timed "Thank you" and "Merry Christmas" with just a little prompting. Of course once he made his big exit she talked nonstop about wanting to "go see Santa!" and then she talked about it the whole way home, and once she woke up from her nap, and before dinner, and the next day, and...
Lucy's pals Grace and Sam got up to see the big guy too!
And then there was Christmas Eve and several Christmases. All of them were wonderful. We are fortunate in more ways than I can count and this time of year, more than ever, I'm reminded of that.
Last Saturday, Lucy and Paul were downstairs in the kitchen and I could only hear parts of this conversation, but once Paul filled me in on the whole thing, I decided it was too awesome not to repeat.
Lucy and Paul are in the kitchen getting her bag ready for us to leave the house. The ice machine kicks on making a noise...
Lucy: Dada. What's that noise?
Paul: It's the ice machine in the freezer.
He picks her up, opens the freezer and gives her a brief lesson about ice makers.
Paul: The water comes in, it gets really cold so it freezes, then the ice machine spits out ice cubes. It's amazing.
Lucy: PAUSES... Dada, I want some more amazing.
Paul laughs, then carries on with another story, summing it up with, "Isn't that amazing?"
Lucy: PAUSES... Dada, I want some more amazing.
Fast forward about 15 minutes later; we were driving out to the farm for our last and final Christmas celebration of 2012 (yes, a week into 2013). We approached the lake and started driving over the dam. Paul points out to Lucy that the water in some places is frozen, and while gazing out the window, without missing a beat she said, "Dada, that's amaaaaaaaazing."
This, among the millions of other moments we parents get to see through the innocent eyes of our children, makes me wish we all spent a little more time in Lucy's world where all the little things in life really are amaaaaaaazing.
The close of 2012 brought beautiful snow our way, and we had the good fortune of well-timed days off so we could stay home and play in it. It was gorgeous and peaceful and everything snow is supposed to be, and the even better part: Lucy loved it. Until she fell in it hands first, after taking her gloves off. Then, she wasn't the biggest fan. So, we retreated inside, built a fire, snuggled up on the couch and played with puzzles. Both activities make me happier than a pig in shit.
