Curious little monkey

Thank you, Jesus. We managed to survive our first year of life without any trips to the hospital, major illnesses, scary falls, or injured body parts. We have a very happy and healthy infant on our hands and in light of some recent tragedies involving babies that our friends knew, this family is feeling so blessed for the sweet life of our little one.

Lucy had her big 12-month pediatric check-up on Monday, and all went really well (other than the hysterical screaming and crying at receiving immunizations shots, that is). However, it does seems like her weight has finally caught up with her height, and that she still has a watermelon head! The new stats are as follows:

~weight: 23.7 lbs (75th percentile)
~ length: 29 in (50th percentile)
~ head circumference: 18.5 in (90th percentile)

Some of our new tricks include ~ pulling up and climbing on everything in sight, blowing kisses, hugging and rocking baby dolls/stuffed animals, saying "mama" and "ball" and "oh" (when she 'accidentally' drops something on the floor), and pointing at pictures in board books. Lucy is definitely not into being held or rocked for any extended period time right now -- she needs to be down on the floor to go, go, go... and put inappropriate things in her mouth! Let's just say that Mommy has been getting a good workout chasing her around recently.

P.S. Would you just look at those precious fingers and toes? Seriously.

Geaux Tigers

2009 College World Series Champions

What a great season ending game!!! I kept falling asleep after LSU pulled way ahead in the sixth inning, but would stir every now and then to ask Andrew if we were still winning. So much fun to watch with my former college baseball playing hubby, even though he's the first to admit that he's not a big Tigers fan. Maybe their win will help LSU recoup the crazy cash they spent on the new baseball stadium this year, and will make people in my building stop wearing purple and gold to work! :)

Dear Lucy

1 day

9 weeks

6 months

9 months


1 year

Happy 1st Birthday, my sweet baby girl! We prayed long and hard for the blessing of a child in our lives, and boy were our prayers ever answered. :)

I will never forget the moment that you entered our lives on Sunday, June 22, 2008, at 4:32 pm at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge in a cold labor and delivery room. I had been in labor with you for a very, very long time and your Daddy and I were both so exhausted. We were a bundle of nerves -- scared about what lied ahead, but so excited to finally meet you. And all of a sudden, in the middle of all of the noise and chaos, we heard you cry out for your first breath. I swear it was as if time stood still for a moment and it was only us in this room full of people. Your Daddy and I were both tearing up from that sweet sound -- we locked eyes and smiled and knew that our lives were irrevocably changed and that nothing would ever, ever be the same. Things swung into full gear after that with a whole swarm of people cleaning and measuring you and Daddy in the thick of things trying to take pictures, but as long as I live I will never forget that tender moment when we recognized, "she's here!". You were perfect.

We had debated about what to name you for months while feeling you kick and squirm around inside me, and we finally settled on Lucy. Lucy is a Powers family name, and I'm sure you will learn all about the dynamic personality and antics of Aunt Lucy as you grow up. But what really sold me on your name is its meaning -- "one who brings light." After getting to know you this past year, I could not possibly think of a better description for you. Your smile lights up an entire room and you have brought so much light and joy to the lives of everyone you encounter. I wake up every morning eager to lift you out of your crib and snuggle your warm, sleepy body and look forward to rocking you to sleep every evening. The silly things you do make us laugh daily and we have marveled at the development of your sweet personality over the last 12 months. You have grown so much physically, mentally, and emotionally and it has been a miracle to watch.

You have taught us to love unconditionally, and for this lesson I am forever grateful. We are honored to know you and are privileged to be your parents. Lucille Catherine Powers, you have completely invaded our hearts and we can't imagine life without you!!!

DaDa

Andrew and I started dating (for the first time) when I was 20 years old; we took a break for a while and then reconnected, and we've now been married for over five years. I have known him well for a really long time, but nothing prepared me for the way my heart would expand to the brink of explosion while watching him interact with our daughter. "Interact" is not really a strong enough verb -- he installs new floors in her nursery, prepares her meals, bathes her, reads her stories, makes her laugh when she is upset, and kisses boo boos when she falls. He wraps her up for naps, plays her sweet lullabies on his guitar, fetches her pacifier, changes her diapers, and pushes her swing. He loves her so completely. And I love him even more deeply for this.

The demands of parenthood are incredibly tremendous to say the very least, but Andrew has risen to the occasion with a joyful heart, a wonderful sense of humor, and unbridled enthusiasm. I am SO proud of him and all of the ways he has grown this year as "we" became three. It is clear how much affection Lucy holds for her DaDa and it is equally clear to anyone that watches them together how blessed she is to have such a lovely man for her daddy.

Happy Father's Day to all the men striving daily to become better people for the benefit of their children. We appreciate all that you do!

Sniff

Apparently Evie's predilection for sniffing behinds is no longer limited to just the canine species. Good to know. Gives the phrase "cover your butt" a whole new meaning, no?

DIY Weekend

Now that Andrew's out of school for the summer, we (well, mostly he) can finally get back to some of the home improvement projects we started on way back before our new addition came along and took what we used to call "free time on the weekends" hostage! The decor of our house when we bought it could best be decribed as "70s lounge" and we've had to overhaul pretty much everything, and I do mean everything, to bring it into the current century.

This is our hall/guest bathroom which started out featuring carpeted floors, dark brown cabinets and closet doors with brass hardware, a globe light fixture hanging from a dual chain system (don't worry you'll get a picture of it soon!), bronze towel racks, wallpaper with grape clusters on it, and a broken vent/light system. Most of those atrocities were taken care of already, but we left the floors for last.

We pulled up the carpet (who puts carpet in a bathroom???) this weekend and headed to Home Depot...

Andrew then measured out the space and cut the tiles, and arranged them and these cute borders in the space while I tried to keep a very curious and crawling Lucy from getting into the mortar while it set...


And finally he filled it in with grout and stained it to match the older (and therefore darker) grout lines. Doesn't it look great? I am a fortunate lady because he is so incredibly skilled at this kind of stuff. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories about our (Andrew's) DIY summer projects!

Bed head

Good morning!