Hanging with Mr. Cooper

Lucy's been having a lot of fun with her sweet friend Cooper lately! We went over to Cooper's house a few weekends ago to have a mini-swim party in the James' backyard, and Cooper and his momma Jessi came over to our house last week to play. Jessi and I have been friends for about 10 years now, and it is such a delightful experience to see our little ones enjoying each other's company.

Let's just say that Lucy is a bit more vocal and aggressive than Cooper -- he seems to alternate between being thrilled with her presence and not quite knowing what to think about this rambunctious little girl. It's so cute to watch them play together, even if most of it is spent with them hanging out side by side playing on different toys (in what's called "parallel play"). I can't wait for the day when they actually want to play together without reservation. :)

Splish, splash

Lucy got a fun splash mat as a birthday gift from the Pudwills, and we put it to good use during an especially hot evening after work last week. We set it up in the front yard underneath the beach umbrella while Andrew and I sat in our camp chairs -- it was quite the [white trash] sight and we got lots of honks and waves from the neighbors. :)

Lucy went to town trying to "catch" the water squirts in her hands and scoop it up into her bucket. So cute.

Ella watched all of the crazy goings on from the safety of the window sill inside the house.

Lucy eventually got tired of being confined to her mini-water palace and decided it would be more exciting to chase Evie around the front yard (which was now resembling more of a swamp) in nothing but her swim diaper. Evie didn't seem to want to cooperate, but it was funny to see Lucy try! Check out how fasting she's crawling these days.

P.S. Sorry for all the noise -- the neighbors were mowing their yard!

Life's a beach

We haven't really had the opportunity to take a proper extended vacation this summer, but with the realization that Andrew's about to head back to work looming in our heads, we decided to pack up and head to the beach for a couple of days. Beach umbrella, folding chairs, baby beach tent, books, ice chests, outdoor blanket, and sand toys in hand, we made our way to Orange Beach, AL for what turned out to be a really nice and relaxing time.

It was Lucy's first time to experience sand and the ocean. She took to the scene with a good dose of curiosity (notice the "tasting the sand" picture above) that soon led to a whole new level of enthusiasm for playing outside. The weather was beautiful (temperature managed to stay below 90 degrees), the water was deliciously cold, and the waves were perfect. Lucy loved riding the waves in her baby float, looking for shells (which she also put in her mouth) along the water's edge, and digging in the sand with the shovel. I think we have a beach baby in the making!

My favorite part of the trip? My sweet husband took Lucy inside for her nap and left me all alone in my beach chair under the umbrella while listening to the surf to read and take a nap UNINTERRUPTED FOR 2.5 HOURS. Pure bliss... I wish we'd had a longer stay for the chance to truly unwind, but I think I might have finally convinced Andrew that the beach really isn't completely terrible so hopefully we'll do it again next year.

Walk this way

Lucy's inching closer and closer to walking on her own, and to this end she is:
1. pulling up on everything and everyone (she loves to grab onto our shins and start climbing),
2. taking pigeon-toed steps forward while you hold onto her hands, and
3. pushing her weight against inanimate objects while standing.

These objects include, but are not limited to, a laundry basket full of toys, the cribs at daycare (they have casters on them), and this super cute baby doll stroller that Honey gave her as an early birthday present. Check out our moves below.



I love that she had to stop (twice!) to turn the tunes on before she could continue strutting her stuff in this second one. What can I say, the girl loves her music. I also love the "smile" on Evie's face as she watches her little buddy waddle around like a drunken sailor!

Because "quick" just wouldn't fit

It has recently come to my attention that several people (especially my sister and husband) get a pretty good kick out of my annoyance with grammatical errors on signs and the intentional misspellings of business names. In fact, I would say that it ranks at the top of my pet peeve list, along with the god-awful gagging noise Andrew makes as he finishes brushing his teeth. It's unbelievably loud and disgusting, but I digress...

I just cannot seem to wrap my mind around why a business would want to be called "Kountry Kabin". The last time I checked the letters "c" and "k" make exactly the same sound when used in this instance, correct? And the ABSOLUTE WORST transgression of this sort is when a day care or preschool intentionally engages in this backwards behavior (e.g., Kidz World). If you think I will pay money to send my child to receive an education at your ignorant establishment, you have another thing coming mister!

Don't get me wrong -- I love a clever business name (such as Sew Cute) and will tolerate an abbreviation when the apostrophe is correctly placed (Bet'R Grocery Store), but throw an errant "k" or "z" in the mix (Kutterz Kabin -- a real hair salon in Bossier City) and you are likely to send me right over the edge. Just ask anyone who's been unlucky enough to spend a considerable amount of time in the car with me. :)

Baby chow

Our curious crawler caught in the act just as she was about to put some of Evie's supper in her mouth. We are understandbly hearing the word "no" a whole lot around the Powers household these days...

Belated birthday

I know, I know, I am slacker mommy of the year for taking so long to post these pictures from Lucy's 1st birthday party, but... let's just say that it has been one crazy busy summer. So without any further delay -- here's our little cupcake in all of her shining birthday glory. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Honey's helper

We got to break up our trip back home by stopping in at Honey's cute house in Natchitoches for a deliciously southern Sunday lunch. While Honey prepared meat pies and crawfish pies (yum!), fresh corn, tomatoes, and fried okra, Lucy made herself at home chasing the dogs around and getting into everything in sight -- like this feather duster! Once she found it, she sat on the wood floors and just started swishing it around without any of us showing her what it was for or how to use it. She's a smarty pants, that one (or... at the very least, she has a bright future in cleaning other people's homes ahead of her!). She scooted all around the living room floor with it; I'm assuming she was so fascinated because of the pretty rainbow colors, but hey -- whatever keeps a baby happy and occupied, right?

Now if I can just teach her to run the vacuum cleaner and push a broom in our house...

It's Independence Day

After spending several days in Tyler, TX with the extended Owen clan, we were grateful to have some quiet time alone to relax on the 4th of July in Shreveport. We had a yummy late lunch at Superior Grill and then headed out to the Glen to surprise Pop with a visit.

Lucy had a great time showing off her superior crawling skills by getting into all of Pop's stuff and blowing kisses to the "baby" in his hallway mirror!

Then we headed over to the Kings Highway "duck park" for Lucy's first duck feeding experience. All went well as long as Andrew (notice the clean shaven face, people!) threw the bread into the water at a safe distance...

But then we managed to attract a web-footed friend who got a little too close and quacked a little too loud for her liking.

Lucy decided she was done with those stupid ducks!

But it was nothing that a quick push on the swings couldn't cure. :)

We thought about catching the downtown fireworks, but were just too tired, so we setlled for an Icee (Ben's snowcone stand was closed) and some Johnny's pizza and called it a day. Happy 4th!

Mammaw

Mammaw & Lucy, Christmas 2008

My grandmother, Clara Anglin Owen (aka "Mammaw"), passed away on June 30th unexpectedly from a sudden heart attack. She was the backbone of the Owen family for many, many years and being without her has posed a bit of a shock to us all. She and my grandfather have been married for 57 years, and he is struggling to find his footing without her. Please pray for him and for my family.

She had been stressed lately by caring for multiple family members and was so upset that she and my grandfather would unable to come to Lucy's birthday party. She sent Lucy the sweetest card with a beautiful outfit and matching hair bow in the mail, and I called to thank her and to catch up in what turned out to be a few days before she died. I will forever be grateful for that phone call in the middle of a harried working mommy weekday. I remember getting home and telling Andrew that I'd never heard her that down and upset before, and that I was really worried about her. It turned out that her heart must have been too tired to go on in this world and that she was simply being called home to rest.

Mammaw was literally the most kind and positive person I have ever known. During the funeral service, person after person spoke to her generous spirit and her overflowing servant's heart and how she was constantly praying for the needs of others (especially her family) over her concerns. In my mind, she was the perfect example of the "what would Jesus do" philosophy -- she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it, forgive easily after being wronged, look always for the good in others, turn the other cheek, rebuke gossip... the list could go on and on forever. She embodied the fruit of the Spirit wholeheartedly and lived her life as a wonderful example of a woman desiring to know God. I am so blessed to have had her example in my life and I know she is know resting peacefully with the One who gave her to us for a brief time.

Mammaw was a fantastic grandmother -- eager to take a drive for an Icee, to play you in a game of checkers, or to make you your favorite meal (mine was cream of chicken soup with rice). She was really funny and loved to laugh and was brimming with talent. I have many fond memories of hearing her sing and watching her play the accordion growing up, and she's the one who taught me to play the piano. She had a passionate love of reading (which she thankfully passed along to me) and for the written word. I believe I've received more handwritten cards and letters from her than anyone else in my lifetime, and they always came at just the right time when I needed extra encouragement to get through a particularly tough time. Words just cannot express how much her unconditional love and warm countenance meant to my life, and she will be so incredibly missed.