Flashes before your eyes

Birth day

1 year

2 years

Dear Lucy,
Happy, happy birthday sweet baby girl!  This new year of your life has brought about an incredible amount of change as you have developed and grown.  It's been amazing to see you morph into a little person with a big personality.  You went from crawling to walking to running and jumping, from saying just a few words to forming complete sentences ("Baby is sleepy" and "I eat cheese, mama" are some of your current favorites), from being fed to feeding yourself using utensils and drinking from a sippy cup, from holding balls to throwing and kicking them...  all in the span of just 12 months.  You love to laugh, sing and dance, swing, play with Evie and chase Ella, rock baby dolls, read books, talk on the computer with Aunt Michelle and Aunt Katie, blow bubbles, make animal noises, avoid taking naps, watch Curious George and Elmo, and swim and splash around in the water. 

You might be small, but your enthusiasm and passion for life is oversized and you are an absolute joy to be around.  You pout with determination, but love fiercely and deeply.  And you continue to teach me and your Daddy about the true meaning of unconditional love.  We can't wait to see what the next year of your life has in store as you continue the remarkable journey from baby girl to big sister.  I have a pretty good feeling that "Hadda" will spend the rest of her life looking up to you.  :)

XOXO,
Mama

Ode to Dada

The transformation I have witnessed in my husband during the last two years of fatherhood has been nothing short of amazing.  I've seen his face fill with abundant joy, his heart swell with love and pride, and his entire life take on deeper meaning and purpose.  He completely delights in Lucy's company and it's obvious to anyone observing them that the feeling is exceedingly mutual.  He is anxiously awaiting the new addition to our family, and I've been sharing with the squirming baby girl in utero how lucky she is to already be loved by such a wonderful Daddy.

So three cheers for the Dada who...

is always there to share in celebrating the most special days,

paints rooms a delicious shade of Baby Girl pink (and installs floors and crown molding, and puts together beds and dressers, and installs kitchen cooktops and tile backsplashes...),

sets up afternoon play sessions in the backyard baby pool,

tickles little girls until they squeal with excitement and can hardly breathe,

is victorious at the mini-golf course while recreating our very first date,

instills a healthy appreciation of a variety of musical instruments,

loves to fish and to be in the great outdoors,

lifts babies onto his shoulders and makes them feel larger than life,

participates in swim lessons even though he generally hates going to the pool,

picks up flowers for his pregnant wife while grocery shopping,

and teaches burgeoning chefs how to cook.

We are truly blessed beyond measure to call this Renaissance man our husband and father.  Happy Father's Day!!!

They say it's your birthday

The party continues! We took cupcakes and snacks up to Lucy's daycare center one day this week to share a good time with her little friends. And after their little fingers were drenched in chocolate icing and they had made a complete and total mess of themselves, Dada busted out his guitar to sing some kiddie songs (those early days as an elementary school teacher really come in handy nowadays).

The kids loved the entertainment and danced around like crazy fools, applauding like mad at the end. I'm pretty sure it was the best standing ovation that Andrew's ever gotten. :)  Lucy loves her friends at "school" and was pretty excited to have this sweet time with them!

I'm two!!! Sharing Elmo cupcake fun with friends Christopher, Sarah, and Eli.

Camryn, Patrick (Pa Pa), and Harper dig in!

Jamming out to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with Mr. Andrew

Lucy's new favorite song ~ E-I-E-I-O!

The eye of the tiger

The princess has really gotten into naming animals and the sounds that accompany them lately (especially monkeys due to a strong love for Curious George), so we headed out for a day at the Baton Rouge Zoo a few weekends ago.

We started out with a ride on the (lame) choo choo train,

And then went to catch the daily elephant show... right before the sky completey fell out.  We were getting absolutely soaked, so we ran over to the brand new "Realm of the Tiger" exhibit to take cover.

 

We saw the monkeys showing off and then decided to hide inside of the tiger cage.  When you climb far enough into it, a loud growling sound goes off.  It scares the mess out of kids and makes parents laugh hysterically at the result.

One of the tigers ventured right over to Lucy and his face was just a couple of inches away from hers with nothing but a glass panel separating the two.  I thought she would be scared, but instead she put her hands up on the glass, roared, and then said, "I touch it, Momma."  Her lack of fear can be just a tiny bit disconcerting at times!

We got a family pass to the zoo this year, so we're looking forward to going back once the heat, rain, and humidity finally pass through town -- which will most likely be in October.  :)

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I may have the world's curliest head of hair now, but as a child my hair was severely straight and long.  Pigtails and french braids were staples of my mom's hair-styling repertoire.  So even though Lucy's hair has steadily gotten longer and more unruly over the last couple of months, I just couldn't bring myself to get it cut.  It was just so shiny and sweet with the most beautiful, soft flowing curls on the end that I didn't want to disappear.  But once it hit a daily 90 degrees here and we were blow-drying every night before bed/waking up with a huge rats nest of tangles in the morning, I submitted to the siren call of the summer 'do.

Here we are before,

during,

and after.

Given her recent propensity for toddler tantrums and disagreeing with pretty much everything ("No, mama, no!" is a new favorite phrase), I expected tears during Lucy's first haircut and was fully prepared with bribes.  But she sat quietly the entire time (I think sitting in the airplane chair and getting to watch a puppy movie may have helped) and instead I was the one who cried because my baby morphed into a big girl right before my very eyes.  The new bob has served two purposes -- it suits her feisty little personality just perfectly and it has helped me realize that I have to learn to let her grow up.  Just a little bit.

A very merry un-birthday

Since baby sister's birth day is fast impending upon Lucy's birthday, we decided to start celebrating our big girl turning 2 a little bit early!  While in Shreveport for Aunt Katie's graduation party, we gathered together with family and a few friends to wish Lucy a very merry "unbirthday", complete with Johnny's pizza, ice cream, and an adorable Elmo cake from Julie Ann's.  She absolutely loved her new pink tricycle (with a basket in front for baby to ride) and My Little Pony baby, but I think the balloons captivated her attention more than any of the presents!

I wasn't completely sure that she knew what was going on, so while changing her diaper in the middle of the festivities I said, "Isn't this fun?  It's a birthday party just for Lucy!"  She smiled widely and clapped her hands while exclaiming "Yeah!!!"  It's a memory I'll never forget.  Thanks to the Powers clan for making such a special day happen for our precious girl.