happy dance

I would love to put up a video of Lucy's new dance moves. They are very similar to what I would call my happy dance. It is swaying using only her arms. Although today and yesterday I did see her tap her feet a few times. This week did bring to pass moments when a happy dance would be appropriate. First and foremost, I got a teaching position at VMI. I will be teaching physics, 2 sections and their corresponding labs. It is here in Lexington, part-time and quite ideal for our current situation. 

And today Jimmy talked to the lady he will be working with in Keene. It also sounds ideal for Jimmy's interests. It is a mediation firm that deals mostly with family related cases, but has the potential to start a restorative justice program. We feel very blessed to have all of these opportunities that merit the Lucy happy dance. 

Lucy is just Lucy, which is pretty awesome. She does the happy dance everyday which means she must feel pretty blessed. She is standing unassisted more frequently and we saw her attempt a step the other day, but it was pretty unsure. Her separation anxiety is still in full force, and mostly involves me never leaving the room. She knows she has to cherish all of our time together.  

Why don't we cherish a picture or two. 

Look Ma, no hands!!

really ants?!

Jimmy reminded me that we have actually been back from Spring break more than a week. Really? I kind of feel like it was still last week. Then I remember how I taught last week, and I got ready for the Regional science fair last week. It went well, in case you were wondering. And even if you don't care, some of the middle school projects that I judged were insane. I can only imagine the type of science fair projects Lucy will be doing when she is in school. She might be sequencing DNA or building rockets ships using hydrogen fuel. You know...baby stuff!

Lately I am realizing one of my weird OCD tendencies. Well, I am not really sure if it is OCD. Anyways, I hate ants, but not in the "I am terrified of ants" sort of way. I just hate that they are in our apartment. It makes me feel dirty, and itchy. And truth be told sometimes I don't shower as frequently as I would like, but I would like to think that I am not a total slob. These ants, they make me feel downright yucky. Last semester we told our landlord about it, because it was out of control. Ant trails all over the kitchen, gross. They had a pest guy come by and in the end the wood paneling around of kitchen window was replaced because there was so much water damage it was attracting them. It helped, and the problem we have now is not extreme. In fact it would be manageable if I didn't hate ants so much. But I see them every where, in the bathroom, under our clothes that are waiting to be washed, in Lucy's room and today they seemed to be coming out of my computer. Not huge amounts but enough to make me itch for the a few hours. Gah! Writing about it makes me itch. So, I think tomorrow I am going to send a message to our landlord and ask her to have this pest guy come over again. See if he can do something to find out where they are coming from and how to get rid of them. I don't like them evading my space. I am normally a bug friendly kind of person.

Moving on...

In current events related to Lucy, well, she is trying to stand by herself these days. Her best friend from church started to walk, and I pretty sure Lucy likes to copy her. It was pretty hilarious this Sunday when her friend walked in the door and Lucy started clapping for her. I think she would have done a standing applause, but like I said she is still working on it. However after seeing her friend walk she tried to stand while moving multiple times during Sunday School and started falling more than she ever did before. I imagine she was thinking "thanks for showing how to walk best buddy, I think I will try it now. You tell me if I am doing it right." They do seem to communicate quite well  because apparently they are both waking up at 5 am. Is this how it is going to work when she is older? Making plans with all her friends and not letting me know about it? Not cool Lucy, not cool. Good thing you are so ridiculously cute. 

 Do you see the mischievous wheels turning?

How it goes

Spring break is over...boo!


So we are back into the groove of life. I even had a the "unique" chance of talking to the insurance company without crying afterwards. I count that a victory, though they didn't help very much. Moving on...

Lucy has decided that she only wants to be held by Jimmy or me. Separation anxiety has hit with a vengeance. It is not a lot of fun, mostly because I can't leave the room without her whining or downright throwing a tantrum. I know it will pass, but seriously, I haven't been able to get anything done. In fact once Lucy went to bed, I started doing everything I wanted to do today, laundry, dishes, vacuuming the floor, etc... I kind of go crazy when I have a free minute. However, she has become a fantastic snuggler, which is something she wasn't in her younger months. Silver lining, I say. Silver lining...

In other news, daylight savings (for the first time EVER!) was a welcome blessing. Lucy slept in until 7:30 am. Yes people, this child went to bed at 7:00 pm and slept until 7:30 am.  It. Was. Awesome! In fact I was able to go for a run, and get back before she woke up. Fantastic.

I will end with a cute story about Lucy and her bestest buddy. Yesterday at Church, Lucy, who has been absolutely clingy, saw her best bud and was more excited to see her than sit with me. She started flinging her arms and panting. I put her down on the ground (we had to  go out during Sunday School -- because she was too loud) and she crawled full tilt towards her and her buddy toward her. It was a precious moment. It makes me kind of sad that they won't grow up together--But that my friends is how it goes. 

DC adventure

This week is spring break. Hooray! Yesterday we went to DC for the day. It was a nice trip if we ignore the part where we couldn't find parking when we first got into DC. But honestly once we all fumed a little bit, and got out of the car and made it to the metro, life was good.

We went to the Tortilla Cafe, the Botanical Gardens, and the Air and Space museum. It was a nice trip, but we won't be going back for a little while. We have to wait a little while so we forget how much we hate that awful traffic. In the meantime enjoy some photos of the day.

I am smiling for you...

Lucy is starting to pose for the camera. It is funny. Today I went to take her picture and she actually stayed in this position for a few second while I took 3 or 4 shots. It made me chuckle audibly.

Then later that day we had a play date and Lucy was so excited she practically smothered her little friend. She was dancing, and waving her arms, and smiling and fake laughing. And she continued being miss personality when we skyped with my parents. She babbled on and on about this and that and hardly let me do any talking. She even showed off her new found ability to clap. She is not a quiet one this little girl Lucy.

Birthday boy

Happy Birthday to this handsome guy!

Lucy in motion

I am not even sure how to start this post. Some days I am not witty, let's face it, most days I am not witty.

So here is the low down. Lucy had her 9 month appointment today. Apparently crawling and standing up on everything really burns calories. Lucy has barely gained a pound since her 6 month appointment, but she is still getting taller. I guess I already knew that. All her pants still fit her around the waste, but have become shorts. 

So the stats are:

Weight: 16 lbs 9 oz (15th percentile) Height: 27.5 inches (55th percentile) Petite little lady...

We have now met all the pediatricians in the office. They all seem quite nice. Lucy is a funny little bug. While the doctor was examining her, her head was on my lap and her lower body on the doctor's. It seemed that she found her happy place. She went limp and almost completely went to sleep. I guess it helped that the appointment was during her normal nap time. This was after she freaked out when I changed her diaper on the normal exam table. I guess she remembers where they give her shots.

Enjoy a picture or two (or three) of the cuteness...