Bath!

Or as Lucy says: "BATHCSH!"  She has added some sort of German/Italian dialect which I actually think makes the word harder to say.  Regardless, here are a few shots of Lucy in the bathhsch.  It's one of her favorite places to play; turning those little toes to prunes is a regular occurrence. 

My apologies, Wal-Mart patrons

My Little Brother

He turns 25 on Wednesday; but to me, Sam will always be my baby brother. 

He flew home this past weekend to be here for a buddy who unexpectedly lost his father.  He attended all the necessary funeral-related events - and then some - and we felt lucky to steal a few hours of his time before he headed back to his life in Chicago. 

Without being too much of a sap, I'm so proud of the man my brother has become.  Both of them, actually.  But specifically watching Sam be there for his friend, when his friend needed him more than he ever has in the history of their friendship, speaks volumes about the person he is today.   Every now and then it still catches me off guard when my little brothers aren't the little brothers I remember harassing all those years ago.  Somehow over the last 24 years and 363 days Sam has evolved from a knobby-kneed little boy with white blond hair and pink pouty lips into a handsome man with the same full pouty lips; of course IIIIIII didn't get those genes. 

Saying I am sad that Sam was home for the weekend in lieu of Kevin's dad's passing is a huge understatement.  But saying I am happy and thankful for the six hours we got to spend with him might be an even bigger understatement.  We kind of like you, Uncle Sam!

She follows the light from the flashlight.  I'm not sure it's her brightest move...but as you can imagine, the adults find it more than mildly entertaining. 

"Buh-buh.  Buh-buh."  If you hear these words out of Lucy's mouth as she's bee lining in your direction pointing at your navel, either suck-in that gut or secure your shirt into your pants so she can't get to your BELLY BUTTON.  "Buh-buh.  Buh-buh, " is fair warning she's coming at ya - and as you can see here Dad and Sam were her latest victims. 

Lucy was playing with my grandpa, her great-grandpa, on the other side of the room and when Sam picked "Where's Spot?" up off the floor and recited the name of the book out loud, Lucy ran across the room, sat on Sam's chest and started flipping the pages.  He had no choice in the matter and although she was making it fairly difficult to read to her, he pulled it off.  Oh, and they did indeed find Spot.  Whew!

fifteen months

Here's how she's measurin' up:

Height: 31 inches (69th percentile) - - for evidence of this, see below.
Weight: 24 pounds (70th percentile)
Head Circ: 18.5 inches (81st percentile)

And a few recent pictures because I just can't help myself.   

Days Go By: 1-31 of 366

Here is the beginning of the pic-a-day challenge.  Due to 2012 being a leap year, there will be 366 action-packed pictures to complete this project; assuming I've counted right and that the calendar does not fail me (you know, like if the Mayans really DO have a little surprise in store for us...).  Oh and if you aren't prepared for at least half of these pictures to be of Lucy, well, you're probably going to be disappointed. 

Here.  Goes.  Nuthin'.

1.1.12

1.2.12

1.3.12 1.4.12 1.5.12 1.6.12 1.7.12 1.8.12 1.9.12 1.10.12 1.11.12 1.12.12 1.13.12 1.14.12 1.15.12 1.16.12 1.17.12 1.18.12 1.19.12 1.20.12 1.21.12 1.22.12 1.23.12 1.24.12 1.25.12 1.26.12 1.27.12 1.28.12 1.29.12 1.30.12 1.31.12

This is a test.

If you don't think this game looks like your particular brand of vodka, then don't come over.  No seriously, we play this game almost every single night at our house until one of us wears out (and by one of us, I mean either Paul or me...). 

You have to be on point and paying attention or she'll get you.

"Rose." 

"Sunflower." 

"Rose." 

"Sunflower."

"Ro--Tomato!" 

Wait, who is supposed to be teaching who here?!  Parent Training 101 - Instructor: Lucy Dillon.

And so it goes

It’s been an interesting week around here to say the least.  The spectrum of emotions has been all over the place ranging from debilitating sadness all the way to momentous happiness and we are now lurking somewhere in the middle trying to comprehend a new normal. 

A week ago one of Paul’s lifelong friends, Marc, watched his dad tragically and unexpectedly pass away before his very eyes.  Bill had gone in for what everyone assumed would be a routine knee surgery.  The short story is, he never came home from the hospital.  It’s sad beyond words; and confusing and maddening and unfair and sobering, and more.  We are still trying to understand it all.

Two days later our friends Nick and Lauren had an early surprise and welcomed Hudson Robert to the world!  We trucked Lucy up to the hospital and watched these new parents gush over their brand new baby boy, and experience emotion so raw and so new and so wonderful, it was overwhelming.  As new parents they both had smiles plastered from ear to ear.  Lucy carried her puffs around the room inspecting every object she could get her hands on, and every now and then she would stop and point and say, “baby.”

What has been glaringly apparent is that life-changing events evoke togetherness.  I’ve seen people I haven’t seen in years; people who have come home to celebrate the ending of a life as well as the beginning of a new one.  It feels very human in the ultimate sense of the word.  As the world is changing and spiraling in directions that are uncertain, it seems that the important things in life still bring people together, to be present when it’s needed most.

In an even stranger turn of events, Hudson happened to be born on what should have been Bill's 62nd Birthday.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  A funny way of knocking us outside ourselves in order to see the bigger picture?  I’d like to think so.

I guess that’s one of the peculiar things about life.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our day to day hoopla that we don’t stop and see all that we have; we don’t acknowledge the fragileness and uncertainty that life is full of because it’s too much to think about.  At the funeral Bill was quoted by several people as always saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.  And it’s all small stuff.”  That’s really resonating around here right now.  The piles of laundry waiting to be washed, the scurrying around in the morning to make it somewhere on time, the floors that for some reason aren’t sweeping themselves…  It’s all small stuff.

But the big stuff is the stuff we have to focus on, because it is good.  Awesomely good.  Sometimes it just takes something we can’t wrap our heads around to make us realign our priorities and focus on that big stuff.

Bill will be missed by many, that is for sure; and Hudson is a welcome reminder of all that is good in the world.  Both of these families are looking at the world in a whole new light this week.  The best news is that they are surrounded by people who love and care for them and who are remembering this week, more than any other week, that the big stuff is what matters most.