7 months plus

As I am writing this as my sister-in-law is having contractions and might be giving me a new niece or nephew anytime soon! It is exciting to think about a new person entering our lives - and Lucy is getting her first cousin younger than her (that I know of - Cody's family is HUGE!). It is weird to think that a little over 7 months ago, I was in Tina's position... wondering whether or not I would have a boy or a girl, if he/she was healthy, and had 10 toes - hey, I got 2 out of 3! Lucy was the perfect gift. She is definitely a diva, and she gets that from me :) But we wouldn't have it any other way.

The silent reflux, which we thought was over, is far from not. We weaned her medicine from twice a day to once a day since she was 6 months old... and then we went cold turkey for one whole day. Talk about nightmare! That's why she's been fussy for the past month - tummy troubles. So, back on the meds we go, and I'm okay with that. As long as she is feeling great, we will do medicine until the cows come home -- which you never know when that will be here in M-town.

Sharing some adorable family pictures over the past few weeks, including the Sacred Heart Parish picnic, and Lucy's first encounter with the Claus. It's been a fun ride.



Here is the grandparents with all the grandchildren -- my side of the family. Isn't my tree awesome?!?!

My adorable family - even Cody.
My three super cute nieces!


And crazy Sammy posing for the camera.

Not quite sure what to think about the big guy....

Lucy telling Santa that Mommy wants a smaller waistline for Christmas... I don't think Santa quite understands...

Time is Flying By

Bye Bye Miracle Blanket. We loved you so, but alas, your time is up. Hooray for swaddleless-tummy sleeping!



The month of October was one big ol' One-Act-Play-Blur! Life was pretty hectic around the Klement household until play competition was over, and Lucy adjusted quite nicely. Now it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us. I am, however, looking forward to the highly anticipated 5-day Thanksgiving break :) A definite perk to the educational system. Of course, as soon as that is over with, we have UIL competition and midterms beckoning prior to the even more anticipatory 2 week Christmas Break - I can hear the angels singing now!! I feel like a kid counting days until Santa comes - my present officially comes December 18th at 1:00pm!!

We had Lucy's sweet webbed baby toes x-rayed last week(the 2nd and 3rd toe on her right foot). We found out there is no bone fusion, so the surgery would be entirely cosmetic. I used to be extremely pro-sugery, but the more I think about it, I would not be setting the best example for my daughter. What I mean is, what kind of parent would I be by "fixing" my daughter's natural beauty at such an early age. It won't impede her walking, and it is hardly noticeable. Heck, we didn't even notice it until she was 3 days old. The more research I do, the more fun facts I find out about people with webbed toes. Apparently it is very common in the celebrity world - there have even been scientific studies linking syndactyly to fame and fortune! It is also known as "twin toes", which I think is an ironically adorable name. I feel that this feature is really a blessing in disguise. It will make Lucy a strong and unique individual with a special gift from God. We have a surgery date set, but you can pretty much guess the direction we are heading towards - and no, this was not anything driven by my husband (who is leaving the decision up to me)... it's just how I feel. Who am I to deprive my daughter of her God-given beauty and individuality? I know kids can be cruel, but this Mommy fully intends to raise her daughter to overcome adversity. My momma raised me right (when all those kids made fun of my weight), and I am a better person because of it. Hmm, guess I just made up my mind!

On another note, we took Lucy to Bowie Trade Days last weekend, and she loved it. They have tons of animals (chickens, rabbits, pigs, etc.), but she loved all the puppies everywhere. It was her first real time to ride in the "big girl" part of the stroller, and she loved officially seeing the world, not riding on top of it. This might end up being a monthly occurrence, because Mommy loves to shop, and it is a quick 20-minute away adventure. See you again on December 13th, Bowie!

Shopping with Grandma Charlotte and Daddy at Bowie Trade Days
"Daddy! You promised Mommy we could get a puppy my size!"

Happy Halloween!

This outfit lasted 5 minutes, before we threw up all over it. It was worth it -- how cute is she?!?!

Now Back to your Regularly Scheduled Programming

Mommy and Me!


Wow! I am incredibly bad at this blogging thing. My last post was September 20th, and here we sit at the halfway point of October. I know time flies, but this is ridiculous. Of course, it doesn't help that work is on warp speed right now. Things will slow down for that after the first week of December, which I am sure will be about the time Lucy starts crawling, and she is taking off faster than I can keep up. Sheesh! I have 100% completely given up on my other blog. Maybe when I am old and gray I will have time for that.... scratch that - by that point in life I better be traveling. I'll call you and tell you about those adventures instead of typing it into cyberspace. I can keep up (*hopefully*) with a phone call - and heck, by that time we won't have cell phones anymore and most likely telekenesis will be the new phone forward fashion.

On to little miss squiggles.

We just got over our first double ear infection. It sounds worse that it is/was. She is a trooper - never complained. We brought her in to see Dr. Adams b/c she was extremely congested, and we were worried about her breathing. Totally the right thing to do (see the ped.) b/c it turns out she had been exposed to swine flu at day care. But, she tested free of the pig, and now, after some wonderful antibiotics, we are back to giggling and playing like normal.

I was so excited when I got home from work today with Lucy, b/c when I went to get her out of the car, I realized she put her pacifier in her mouth all by herself!! Of course, when I tried to get her to do it again, I failed - but hey, it's progress! Also *knock on wood* it seems we are over the middle-of-the-night-american-idol-auditions. Instead, her new thing to do while sleeping is wake up totally turned around facing the wrong direction. I want to know how she can move around so much and still stay asleep - it baffles me. Then again, her daddy is a pro at sleeping through anything, so maybe she received his talent there.

Other than that, things are moving right along. She wants to kinda crawl - she's getting there. She's still babbling away like crazy (a talent inherited from her mamma and grandmas), and laughing more than ever. It's an extremely fun stage right now! My favorite part? Seeing those arms reach for my face and give me a big ol' kiss! Priceless!
Lucy and Great Grandma Sandmann




My little Pumpkin!


Lucy's first Halloween party! The pumpkin and Nurse Grandma (or apparently, a stripper, as some people thought... )



According to my mommy, you have to exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle!

Playdate with the Cousins!

Today (and this weekend in general) was a fun day for Lucy. She got to spend time with her some of her aunts and uncles (Julie, Tina, Chris, Kenneth, and Keith) and many of her crazy cousins (Abby, Luke, Emma, Sammy and Sabrina). Sacred Heart had a picnic in the park with tons of free festivities for kids. There were 4 bounce house/obstacle courses for all ages, a HUGE train giving rides, face painting, cotton candy, snow cones, kettle corn, bingo games, clowns with prizes, and a balloon maker - ALL FREE! So all the family came out and we spent 3 hours down in the park enjoying the weather, food, and family.

Playing in our Bumbo seat before Sabrina comes to play....




And promptly takes it over....


Sammy loving every millisecond of the train ride. I think he invited all these random kids back to the house.



Sabrina didn't want to get out of her very first "bouncy bouncy."




Sara "Star" clown. She gave out cool toys like stencils, balls, and yo-yo's... which Sammy will eventually master.
Emma and I stood patiently in line for 30 minutes to get a butterfly hat. Then part of it popped. Sigh.... Sammy got an orange dinosaur and Julie, I mean "Sabrina" got a mermaid (which was a little disturbing of you ask me. Very adult-ish mermaid... Chris liked her).


Then it was time to try bananas in the new highchair. They smell disgusting, but I guess they are good b/c she ate them in record time! ... and now a video for Grandma and Grandpa - Lucy misses you!

fruit, fun, and other random things

Uncle John, a twin (I so can't tell if it is Izzie or Maddie in this pic), and Mommy all feeding Lucy together.


So apparently the new funny is the word "anyways" - which, by the way, isn't really a word. But it doesn't matter in Lucy's world; it is the definition of hysterical. She was giggling up a storm when Daddy was saying 'anyways' over and over again. He is kinda funny looking, so maybe that was it. I am sure tomorrow it won't be cool anymore, and we will have to, yet again, figure out the 'in' thing.

I am very excited about the exersaucer score today! Our town has a community-wide garage sale once a year, and you would think Disney World was free to the public by the amount of people who come to shop! It is insanity, but nevertheless, super fun. "Anyways", Cody, Grandma Charlotte, Lucy and I set out on a quest to find a walker/exersaucer for less than the $100 that stores want. I walked away with an amazing one for $25, and it has all the bells and whistles. Charlotte also scored one, and a cute musical chair, for a grand total of $20.50. I am sure we could have found more things, but it was rainy, cold, and Cody is cheap ;) Lucy likes her new digs, so all is well with the world.

We also started solid foods this week - Pears and Peaches in addition to the oatmeal. She adores Peaches. Sidebar: Wasn't there a song in like 1995 called Peaches? I think it was alternative? Hubby thinks I am nuts, but I know it exists. Millions of Peaches, Peaches for free... I digress.

Oh, and this is the new highchair we have yet to use. It is super fashionable, though, so it looks cute in the kitchen :) Lucy likes it, she is just too small. Which is more than I can say for the bumbo seat - her adorable chunky legs *which she totally got from me* get stuck! Poor girl... we shall introduce her to Mommy's favorite sport of walking early in life. She doesn't need to get Mommy's chubby butt as well...


...and here is her adorableness captured in video... right after she stopped her hyena-like laugh. She is so aware of the camera...

She Wears High Heels....

And now it is time for a fall fashion show, brought to you by little miss Lucy! Enjoy


This is baby Arturo fashion wear, brought to you by Kendall McLeod, one of my students. This was the nickname Lucy had in 7th grade last year, before we knew her gender. 7th graders are strange. Apparently her sibling will be named Keokyo Kiwi?


Daddy's little college football companion. Sigh.

Go Lindsay Knights! *She will be a DANCER, not a cheerleader, just to clarify.



This is an outfit passed down. I believe both my sister and I wore it when were little. Isn't she a precious thing!?!

Still a little big, but maybe will be the perfect Valentine's outfit? Another one of Mommy's old outfits. Previously as seen on Sabrina, I believe.