Cousins

This trip to Spokane was very monumental because Lucy got to meet Her Aunt Renee and only cousin Dominic. Of course we took lots of pictures, as well as professional family photos with the whole Pendergrass Family.
After a fun family photo session we took our own matching pictures on our adventure to Coeur D' Alene. I love this shot of the gals!

Lucy and Aunt Renee
Cute Cousins!
Both looking out the window, enthralled with a street basketball game going on.
I love Dominic. What an adorable little guy!

Crazy Traveling!

We planned our big long trip to Spokane, starting last week and lasting two weeks, however Lucy and I took a little vacation from our vacation this weekend and flew back to Salt Lake just for the weekend so that we could attend my Grandpa Russell's Funeral. And then we will be heading back for the rest of our vacation. The amount of traveling back and forth from SLC to Spokane, to SLC to Spokane and then back to SLC in just two weeks just seems comical to me, but it was worth it to be there for the beautiful service and to see cousins and family that I haven't seen for 15 years!


I have sooooo much to tell and so little time, as I am due back at the airport again soon. I will definitely be telling about our adventures in Spokane with Nana and Papa, as well as a little more detail on the trip back to Salt Lake, but for now I will just leave it at this: Lucy is a well seasoned airplane baby now that we will spend every weekend traveling 3 weeks in a row! Most of this weekend was spent in Logan, however we made a short stop home today and to my surprise my yard looked more beautiful than ever! The Tulips finally blossomed so I thought I would share my joy with you!

After a long, long winter....

SPRING IS REALLY HERE!

2nd Cousin Photo Shoot

While we were in Logan two weeks ago for My Grandpa Russell's Funeral, April 26 to be exact, we had some very rare and special moments. There were so many cousins there I hadn't seen in years and all of them are married now, with children I have never met! I was soooooo excited to reunite with all the cousins on the Poppleton side of the family. We took some really cute shots of all my Grandma Anna's Great Grandchildren born in 2007 (of course, 2 of them weren't there, but it was still pretty rare to get these 5 together). Can you believe she had 7 new great grandbabies in 2007! What a great posterity.

Anyway you got a love a shot of a bunch of babies!Here are the 2007 Grandbabies:
LucyPendergrass, Landon Olsen, Ann Rae Fisher, Logan Merrill, and Nathaniel Winkler
What a good looking bunch!

And here is More 2nd cousins (Very far from being all!) (Morgan, Jason, Lucy, Anna, Logan, Kameron and Nathaniel)


This picture was too funny not to include. Check out those kissing cousins!

Anna and Lucy are just about the same age and were being really cute together!

Sweet side shot!

And of course, Lucy, getting malled by Landon. And where was her mother...

Taking a picture of it! She must have a really great Mom!

More Cousins

I had too many great pictures of Cousins to put them all in one post!


I absolutely love this picture of cousins. It just shows the joy of family. (Lucy and her 2nd cousin Breanne, with my first cousins Aubrey and Sarah)


After a long day I caught these 2 sleeping. Nathan Poppleton (who is now in the MTC) and little Anna Fisher.

Uncle Dale, Cousin Sarah, Me and Lucy

This is my cousin Joseph holding Lucy. He is handicapped and the most happy, wonderful boy you will ever meet. He really helps you remember what is important in life!

Joseph took this picture and it turned out great. Way to go Joe!


This may seem like a random picture, but it is important because it is the first picture Lucy took. Aubrey helped her push the button! Yeah Lucy! A photographer in the making!

Grandpa's Funeral

April 26, 2008

Grandpa Russell's Funeral was a very touching and spiritual moment I am so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of. It was worth the crazy travelling (As mentioned before, We were in Spokane visiting and I flew back to Utah for the funeral and then back to Spokane for the duration of our vacation and then back to Utah, which becomes crazier when you add that I did it by myself with a baby and many layovers)!

At the end of the Service at the church my Grandma Anna stepped up and said that she wanted to bear her testimony even though she wasn't in the Program. She knew that there would never be such a great opportunity with all of her children there and many of her grandkids and great grandkids. What an inspiring and spiritual lady with the ability to listen to the Lord whenever she is prompted. My favorite part of her testimony was ( very paraphrased) "Don't feel sorry for Grandpa or me. He has moved on and is happy. We are sealed for time and all eternity and will be together again. Just do what you need to so that you can come to the Celestial Kingdom and be part of our great family forever." She has such a great optimism and love of the gospel and I am honored to be part of her posterity.

Here is a picture of Grandma Anna so you can visualize the wonderful woman I'm talking about. (Taken by my Uncle John Poppleton)


My Father sang "Danny Boy" at the grave, which I have known he would sing at my Grandpa's Funeral for many years. It was very touching to watch it actually happen and know that it was exactly what my Grandpa wanted.
I thought this was a very touching scene of my Father and His Brothers with their arms around each other.
I was touched by my Mother and Father, still holding hands as they walk.

Grandpa's Nephew's Son in Law holding Lucy at the viewing with the most classic look of displeasure imaginable. My uncle Johnny took this picture, meanwhile I was waiting to swoop in right after the photo. And then... One of my favorite moments happened: Lucy reached her arms out to me and called "Mama." She has mumbled it in passing before, but this was the first time she just looked at me and really meant that she needed me! It felt great after all these months of hearing "DADA." Since then she has began using it regularly when she wants me, which is very very precious to me.

One last touching memory I wanted to share: We visited my Grandpa for the last time during General Conference. When we were saying our goodbyes Grandpa was waving bye at Lucy and she waived Bye Bye (for the first time) to him. It took her another few weeks before ever doing it for anyone else. It was almost as if she was waiving goodbye because she knew she wouldn't see him again for a long time. That last conversation I had with my Grandpa was about him being so old and Lucy being so young and the circle of life. Grandpa's time is gone, but now it is our time. We must do everything that we can to live the best life possible. Love people, Serve people and treasure every the special moments as they come.

Grandpa Bob

Aside from the Funeral, Lucy had a fun short opportunity to hang with Grandpa Bob.
If that face doesn't show shear bliss, what does?


They sure had a lot of fun together, despite the minor tradgedies that occurred at church...
This car was parked outside my Grandma's church. My Dad decided to put Lucy in it, which was very cute. I guess she seemed like she had a handle on things and he started chatting with someone. When I walked out Lucy had took a nose dive and her head was in the grass and her feet were straight up in the air, slightly braced against the car. You will be happy to know that the victim only sustained minor injuries and after a short crying bout seems to be doing fine.

Aunt Gumba (we call my sister Sierra, Gumba) and Lucy on a beautiful day!

Lucy loved this baby swing at the guest cottage we were staying at! This picture makes her look so old, hardly a baby anymore! She sure is growing up fast!

Manito Park

The first week we were in Spokane (a few weeks ago) we went to Manito Park to play with the ducks and see the beautiful gardens. I was sad because nothing was blooming yet, however we did find the greenhouse and had a lot of fun in there! We got some interesting pictures because the camera fogged up, but it kind of gave them an artistic feel. In fact this is where I first started wanting to become a photographer. I realized how much I loved taking random pictures of flowers, while David was wondering if I would ever turn off the camera and just enjoy the scenary! The other problem with being a photographer is i also love the spotlight and always want to be in the pictures... so I don't know how we will work that out! Anyway, if you are ever in Spokane it is a beautiful place and worth a little trip!
Foggy camera lens creating an interesting and somewhat artistic effect.


Still a little foggy, but wearing off. I am proud of these two artistic baby hand shots.


I can't decide which one I like better. This one is so vibrant, but the other is so majestic!


These were my favorite flower. They are called lollipop flowers (And that is exactly what Lucy wanted to do with them !)


These are just the most gorgeous flowers ever.

This is just a cute shot of Lucy and Dave to show off how incredible the greenhouse was.


I guess I have never really been in a greenhouse before, but it sure seemed incredibly beautiful and majestic to me. I felt like I was living in Fern Gully or Fablehaven or something...and fairies would pop out any moment!


My other favorite flower...the Kaphir Lily.


...and i couldn't leave out the awesome duck pond...except, Lucy hated it! When I took her close to the ducks and scared them all, she just started crying. I was very shocked by her response. I think it was too close to nap time, because a week later I showed her more ducks and she was very interested and didn't cry. I was very glad for this reassurance because one of my favorite things to do is scare birds and I didn't know what I was going to do if my child would never want to do it with me!

We are Famous!

The picture at the top of this page with me and David old fashion style, we took on our Honeymoon when we were in Leavenworth, a little Bavarian town in the mountains a few hours from Spokane. That was almost 3 years ago and I haven't thought too much about it since. Recently, someone that knows David's family went to Leavenworth and happened to go in the studio and saw that this picture was now one of the huge blown up portraits on the wall. I guess we were always meant to be famous! I was really excited to hear this because I love being creative with pictures and thought of doing this pose instead of your classic straight face, stand by each other and wear old fashioned clothes. I guess the people at the studio appreciated our lively approach to old fashioned pictures! When I was a kid, I always wanted to be one of the pictures on the wall at studios and wondered how they were chosen. Of course, I also wanted to be a movie star, on the cover of magazines modeling, and basically anything else that everybody would see! Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that my dreams finally came true and I am the star of something (even if it is just a tiny studio in a tiny town!). Hopefully, someday we can go back to the studio and claim our fame!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Yesterday Lucy started clapping on command. I asked her "Lucy can you clap for Lani?" and she did it. I didn't even clap to show her what I was talking about. Thinking it was just a coincidence, I asked her again and it worked. After trying it multiple times on multiple people that evening, I concluded that she knows what is going on and definitely knows what "clap" means! She is just loving the attention she gets from it!

Here are the highlights of the video we did of Lucy last week:

Watch Lucy Learn to Clap:



Ever seen the lizards that run on water? We think Lucy takes a close second!
Don't Miss Lucy's Lizard Run:



Find out who wins the battle in "Lucy v.s. The Bug":



You just have to Love David's commentary on that one or maybe I just love it because I'm in love with the guy!

Check back soon for exclusive pictures of David's Rebel Facial Hair!

What Spice are you?

I got this fun personality test from Renee's blog. (Thanks Renee!) I thought it was fun. Here were my results: You Are Cumin

You are warm, unique, and pretty dominant. It's also pretty likely that you smoke or like fire. You are energetic and intense. You definitely stimulate people.

What Spice Are You?

I was happy to be Cumin because it is one of my favorite spices (other than cinnamon) and I put it in everything! Except, I definitely don't smoke! Whatever! I thought this was cute! Try it out if you have a minute! It is a very quick one, only about 5 questions. If you do try it, please leave a comment telling me what you were. I am very curious to hear what all of you are!

Pool Adventures

First off, I just thought I would mention...It is April 15th! Yeah! In my family this is pretty much another holiday! My Dad being a CPA, we always looked forward to this day (well really the day after I guess) with much anticipation. Starting in January Dad gets busy and that last month pretty much feels like he is on a business trip with the amount of time we see him. Although, I don't live at home anymore and fully experience this, I still can't help being happy about it. So, I will shout to my family, and all of you, but especially my wonderful and extremely hard working father: HAPPY APRIL 15th!!!!!

And now on to more Pendergrass adventures! On Saturday we went Yard Saling! Yeah! That is one of our favorite past times! It made me feel like summer is here! We got some great exercise equipment for David's Home Studio we are hoping to create. We calculated some of the money we saved and it was a lot! We got a set of weights for $5 that would cost over $40 dollars in the store! After our yard sale adventures, I was in the mood to buy (which is a very rare occurence!) It was warm out and having read that it would be 80 degrees on Monday, I really wanted a little baby pool! So we got one at K-mart! Check out the fun we had!Lucy and Aunt Lani (she was just getting ready to head to the pool herself), getting ready for fun, while David blows up the pool and I fill it with water.



I test the water , as our neighbor kids see us in the backyard and begin to congregate. They can never resist the Pendergrass activities. In their eyes we are just big kids with a baby. Sometimes they come over and ask where David is. When I tell them he is at work they usually say something like "our Dad is at work" and then look at me like "oh yeah, David is an adult, huh?" They were so excited about putting Lucy in the pool! They kept saying "I have just gotta see this!" By time we were ready to put Lucy in the water, we had five little ones around chanting "Lucy, Lucy." I love how uninhibited children are. I always wonder at what point they stop just running out to meet new people and adventures and think, "I can't talk to those people. I don't know them." Although every now and then I crave a private moment in my backyard, I really find the children in our neighborhood refreshing and there love for Lucy always touches me. Earlier Monday they brought there friend over and knocked on my door just to introduce him to Lucy. You have to love that!

Lucy is feeling rather unsure about things...


We test the water and...
Mom! Get me out of this stupid thing!


Okay, so it was a good idea and we had a lot of fun getting ready, but when it came down to it, this was not Lucy's ideal afternoon. I really can't blame the poor girl. What Mom would fill the pool up with freezing hose water and then expect her baby to like it. I think I have to give props to Lucy for even testing it out and waiting about 15 seconds before crying. It looks like next time I will be carrying warm buckets of water from the bath tub to the baby pool!

Of course her fun Daddy was able to cheer her up after her freezing experience.


Clapping for joy on what felt like a good summer day!

One Squash, Two Squash, Red Squash, Blue Squash

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS TOO MUCH MOM DOTING ON CHILD! DO NOT READ FURTHER IF OBSESSED MOTHERS DRIVE YOU NUTS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


That being said: Our life has changed dramatically this week. Not only did Lucy start eating really messy food on Friday, she started rolling a few times in a row on Saturday and by Sunday, I watched her roll from the dining room to the other side of the living room and then get stuck at the couch. This means more baths and baby-proofing is going on at the Pendergrass Home!

Friday we fed Lucy Squash for the first time. This was her first real food other than yucky baby cereal. She liked it a lot better, but still wouldn't open up unless she got to hold the spoon!

What a mess I thought...Until the second time we fed her squash...


And she got it in her eyebrows, eyelashes, nose and now I can't tell if it is earwax or squash in her ears! (This picture makes me think of the little girl who had a littl curl right in the middle of her forehead, except Lucy's is more like a jagged little kink than a curl!) Lucy just thinks eating is a game and that she is supposed to keep her mouth closed while trying to attack what Mom is about to put in her mouth. Something I read said that sometimes it helps them to eat their food if you put a little dab on the tray and let them play with it. That way it is not so foreign when you put it in their mouth. When I told David that was why she was such a mess he asked "Who came up with that advice...Carpet Cleaners!"

So that means more baths for the both of us! She is so squirmy I find it easier to just get in with her, with my splash guard shower cap of course!

I love this close up of her. I thought it was such a sweet look, until you look up close and can still see orange tinted eyebrows and nose from the squash!


Happy Clean baby with a cute new "do" that Grandma Jen did!


Pensive little Lucy...She is probably just dreaming of her next squash experience or maybe she is wondering why we always make weird noises and hold the camera in her face!


Lucy just giving Grandma the look over!


Grandma Jen took Lucy shopping for groceries on Tuesday, so that I could go do some errands. This was Lucy's first outing without her Mom! It felt very weird and good at the same time! Someone at the store thought Grandma was Lucy's Mom and there was no way Grandma was going to correct her! What a wonderful and youthful Grandma! Way to go Mom!

CALLING ALL LUCY FANS: Lucy fans stay tuned for a good helping of what Lucy is like these days:

Well, Lucy has developed quite a few skills this week! Every time I turn around I think "When did she learn that!" I mentioned earlier that on Sunday she rolled across the whole room and that is all she has wanted to do since! I am still getting used to leaving the room and coming back with her somewhere else far away! She is starting to scoot on her tummy a little. She gets to her tummy sometimes and then turns around directions and then keeps rolling.

She has also gotten really good at using her sippy cup. I still let her have lots of drinks from regular cups when I am there to help. She REALLY LOVES WATER! She gets sooooo excited when she hears the fridge pouring out water noise. Even when I ask if she wants water she starts wiggling excitedly! Although I am so proud of Lucy for really knowing who she is and what she wants, sometimes I wish she wasn't so particular. She won't drink milk from her sippy cup, only water or juice. She knows that cups are not where the milk is supposed to come from and so whithersoever I goest, Lucy shall go also!


Other skills Lucy has developed this week include waving "bye bye" and clapping. Sometimes she waves bye bye, sometimes she doesn't. I was thrilled when she waved bye bye to her Great Grandpa Russell this weekend! Usually if we start clapping Lucy will clap also. It is so fun to play copy cat! She has also gotten really good at walking while holding our hands. This morning she just wanted to walk really fast back and forth across the room a million times! Her finger dexterity is improving as well. She picked up a cheerio (from my breakfast) with her thumb and finger. It took her a lot of work to do it! She kept grabbing the cheerio in her whole hand and then it would disappear in her hand and she would have to drop it and try again, but I was very proud when she finally got it in her fingers.

The last important milestone to document is Lucy's sign language. I started teaching Lucy the sign for milk when she was about 5 1/2 months old. Although there were times I thought she was doing the sign a few weeks ago, we finally got a good solid confirmation that she knows what she is doing. The other morning while playing with her Daddy she started to get fussy. David didn't know what was wrong until he looked at her hand motioning vigorously for milk. When he brought her to me, she definitely did want milk! We were so excited and proud of her! It was nice to know that my efforts were actually working and not just silly motions that I do all day long!

Anyway, If you read this whole post...Kudos to you! Now you know the lowdown on Lucy!