25

Josh is the best husband ever and planned a 2 week getaway to CA for my birthday. I turned 25, twenty-five! this month. We packed our bags and flew to the sunny state to enjoy some much needed time away from the smoggy cold that Utah provides this time of year. It was a glorious 2 weeks. We took daily walks around my parents amazing neighborhood, went to the pool, shopped, ate, played with friends, did yoga, went to San Diego, and enjoyed family time. It was perfect.

On the first of our many lake-side strolls. I'm excited to take Lucy out to feed the ducks one day. I know she's going to love exploring in my parents backyard.

For my birthday we went to Americana for a day of food, shopping, and the farmer's market. That evening we had some family and friends over for a BBQ. The weather was spectacular and we enjoyed every second of it.

Lucy enjoyed not being crammed into long sleeves and coats every day. We think she looked pretty cute in her sun dresses and rompers (thank you Eloise for this yellow number!).

Some randoms: Lucy woke up with a complete mowhawk one morning. Luke and Lucy- best friends. Reese was much more excited about Lucy this time around. She made sure she had her paci in at all times. We gave Lucy a sippy cup for the first time.

We were able to meet my sweet Aunt Pam for lunch in Pasadena one afternoon. It was lovely. I love and miss her. She is hot and I hope I look half as good as her when I'm in my 50s.

That afternoon we took Lu to the pool. She loved it as I knew she would. Her legs were going crazy under water and she splashed around. She is so fun and I can't wait to play outside with her every day this summer.

We left Lucy with my parents for a couple of days for a weekend away in San Diego. I cried handing her over to my mom and teared up throughout the first day away from her. I felt so confused and anxious not having her with me. I missed nursing her and wanted to cuddle and love on her. It was good to spend time alone with Josh though. We ate at the most amazing restaurants ever, had massages, shopped, and enjoyed the perfect weather. We were going to go to the beach and go on a boat ride but everything was closed due to the tsunami. So, our plans changed and we made the best of the situation. We enjoyed being together- our loved ones were all safe and sound and that's all that mattered.

Lucy enjoyed plenty of cuddle time with my family. I know she was loved and taken care of which I am very thankful for. I missed her so much and was so happy to be with her again. Unfortunately, I got mastitis (most likely) from not nursing her for 2.5 days and only pumping during that time. This is the 3rd time I've had it since she was born and it sucked every bit as bad as the other 2 times.

We had a little dessert party on our last night in town with some family and friends. It was lovely seeing and catching up with everyone. I miss all of my CA friends. Lucy had some play time with her little friends too.

Our trip was perfect. It made me want to move, even more, to CA. Maybe one day- maybe not. For now, we will enjoy our pretty house in UT and the seasons we have here (minus winter).

Thank you Joshy for my birthday trip. It was perfect. You are the best and I love you.

Lucy is Six Months Old!

My sweet little Lucy is 6 months old today. How is that possible? Wasn't I just pregnant, and dying for her to come out? Well as baffled as I am, I am completely grateful for and pleased with these past 6 months. They have been more amazing than I ever dreamed. Lucy has been the single greatest blessing in mine and Josh's lives. We put her to bed at the end of every day and stand outside of her room amazed at what we have created. We then proceed to talk about her until we fall asleep ourselves. She consumes our lives in the best way possible. She is our little angel baby. We couldn't enjoy being parents more than we do. She makes it easy. We are so very blessed.

Lucy had her six month well-check this morning. Her doctor commented that she has never seen a smilier or happier baby than Lucy. Lucy is growing great, she's tiny, but right on track. Her stats are as follows:

13 lbs. 11 oz. (10%)
25.75 inches long (52%)
15.9 inch head circumference (6%)

She is our tiny little flower but she is as healthy as can be. We love her so.

Here are L's 6 month mobile uploads:

Some things to know about Lucy at this age/some of my favorite things about Lucy are:

• She really is as happy as all her pictures make her seem. She smiles ALL DAY long. Even when she gets fussy right before bed, she smiles through it- it's hilarious.
• She giggles and coos to herself for up to a half hour when she wakes up in the morning before she's ready to get out of her crib.
• She is so very social. Everywhere we go, everyone loves her! She is very engaging. She makes eye contact with total strangers then flashes her amazing, gummy smile and giggles at them. This will go on for minutes and minutes with anyone that looks her way. Everyone tells me she makes their day. She has no social anxiety, that's for sure. If you look her way, you are her new best friend. She turns heads all the time because she will just sit in her stroller, smiling. She's so freaking cute.
  
• She loves playing with Josh. She thinks he is hilarious!
• She can finally roll over from tummy to back! This was something I was quite excited about because she would get so frustrated when she would roll onto her belly and get stuck. I would have to go roll her over every few minutes. This went on for 2 months! Last week she finally figured it out and she's so much happier playing on her own now. We worked with her, and tried everything to get her to do it on her own, and it finally happened last week.
• She is close to sitting up on her own. She can do it for a little while and then collapses. I think within a week or so she'll be a sitting queen.
• She loves to stand with the support of furniture or our hands.
• Lucy loves going out to run errands. She loves being in her stroller and looking around. She is very inquisitive and loves to explore. I think Whole Foods is her favorite place to go.
  
• She started making a very high pitched excited squeak in the past couple of weeks.
  
• She is busy most of the time but will still stop to cuddle with us, which we LOVE. She has been extra cuddly the past few days and I have enjoyed every second of it.
• She still sleeps 10 hours at night, and naps 9 hours a day. That is about to change though. I think we're both ready for her to be awake more. I think we'll go down to 6 hours of napping a day.
• She loves me and I think it's the best thing in the world. She kisses me, and cuddles me, and loves to nurse. I love being her mom. I know one day she won't love me as much, and she will get embarrassed by me and I can't stand the thought. I always want her to want me and need me like she does now. Taking care of her has been the most fulfilling thing I've done in my life.
• Her favorite foods are mango, avocado, and butternut squash. I make all her baby food and she has only had breast milk to drink.
• She still loves her paci. She can find it and put it in herself now.
• She has become a thumb sucker this past month! I think it's so cute. She doesn't do it enough that it will be a hard habit to break when the time comes. I think the bink will give us more problems in that department.
• She clasps her hands, and raises her eyebrows when she talks to you. It's the cutest and sweetest thing in the entire world.
• She still loves to be swaddled, which is a problem because it's time to do away with it (says Josh).
  

Lucy has been such an pure source of joy for us. She is our best little friend. I don't know what we did before her. She really is the happiest and easiest baby I have every known. We are so lucky to have her as our own. We couldn't love her more. Happy half-birthday Sunshine!

Our snowed-in weekend at the cabin

So, I have failed at updating our blog once a week, so I have a lot of catching up to do. What else is new? We have been so busy lately, we spent a long weekend at the cabin, and 2 weeks in California. Lucy has been a champ through it all and is truly an angel baby.

The weekend we spent at the cabin with my family was a little crazy! We got snowed in and lost power for a day or so. The plows couldn't get to our driveway until a day after the crazy storm so we were trapped at the cabin, which isn't such a bad place to be stuck. With the power out, Lucy had to wear a hat inside and was swaddled pretty much all day. She didn't seem to notice and enjoyed the extra cuddle time. We went snow shoeing a couple of times, sat in the hot tub, did puzzles, watched movies, and enjoyed being together.

We are lucky to have such a beautiful place to visit. This is our driveway, my dad trying to make some progress on the cars before the plow could get to us, and the view from the front door.

The mountain of snow in front of the cabin, after the cars had been moved.

Our first snow shoe adventure was at night. We bundled Lucy up in her snow gear, and loaded her in our pack. She loved it! She was cooing and singing to herself the whole time. She is such a good sport and loves to be outside.

She also LOVES the hot tub. She looked pretty darn cute in her bathing suit if I do say so, myself.

Staying warm with the power being out. We can't even use our fireplace when the power goes out so blankets and clothes kept the wee one warm all day.

Lucy loves her mini recliner.