Wedgies

The topic is Wedgies...is that even how you spell wedgie? Probably not in the dictionary... anyway, Lucy sure keeps life interesting!

The other night I was snuggling her before bed, that special time when she asks me deep questions about life.

She gets all profound on me and asks "Mom why do we get wedgies?"

While I am floundering for an answer about the size of our underwear and how far we pull them up Lucy continues: "Because I always get a lot of wedgies"

We took her underwear shopping the next week. Apparently it was time for the next size!

Why do I have a Part?

While doing Lucy's hair the other morning I said "Hold still, let me do your part."

As I started to concentrate with the comb in my hand, Lucy asks me "Why do we have this thing on our head?" She pointed to the the line where her hair parts.

"A part?" I questioned for clarification.

"Yeah, Why do we have a part?"

"I really don't know sweetie, it just is something on our head." I answer very non creatively.

Lucy responds "Maybe Heavenly Father knows. We should ask him. Can I ask him today or do I have to wait until I go to heaven?"

Oh Lucy! I sure will miss these conversations we have someday, just trying to figure out every detail of the world.

Some words from Lucy

Watching conference with Lucy was really sweet. We didn't make her sit there, she just played in the room while we watched. During Elder Nelson's talk he said "precious boys and girls" immediately after Lucy perked up and said in a little elated voice

"Precious!! I am precious."

I sure wish everyone felt like that! We spend so much time telling ourselves why we aren't of worth and doubting the prophets words when it comes to how precious we are to our Heavenly Father. We should be more like children and exclaim with joy that we know we are precious!

As Elder Nelson continued his talk he also said the word "light" and Lucy repeated "Light. I am light!" I have told her that her name means "light" and that she is a "light" many times. She was so excited.

He then mentioned the song title "I am a Child of God" once again Lucy piped in with her excited spirit "I am a child of God!"

I wonder if my 3 year old felt the spirit stronger during Elder Nelson's talk than most adults. She didn't need to understand every detail, she got the message. We have to spend hours and hours listening to the prophets and apostles trying to absorb the spirit, but I guess she is already a lot closer to the spirit.

This week I have been trying to teach her the importance of Easter. We have been discussing things Jesus did. Tonight I explained how Jesus taught in parables and then shared the parable of the Ten Virgins. After the parable I started to explain that it was about how Jesus will come to Earth again. I told her

"You know how weddings are so exciting? The wedding they are talking about is Jesus coming again."

Lucy got a really excited look on her face because she loves weddings and the topic of marriage. Then she pointed to Jesus in the picture of the second coming and said "Look Mom, it is a wedding because Jesus is wearing white, just like a married girl. And he has long hair like one too!!!" Then she exclaimed "I love Jesus!" and started kissing the picture.

Okay, that wasn't exactly what I meant about Jesus' coming being like a wedding, but I am sure the Lord has a sense of humor!

Smiles!!!

I finally caught some good smiles on camera yesterday. I got some on video a few weeks ago, but haven't really tried that hard with the still camera because the lighting isn't very good at our house and I don't stalk Levi with the camera like I did with Lucy...ha ha!

He sure is a smiley guy! He started smiling at 3 weeks and I'm not talking one measley smile. He was smiling all the time, right up at you. Now he smiles and babbles with you. I think he will be quite a social guy, although he is very independent. Sometimes he starts crying because he wants to be put down. Lucy never did this and it has come as quite a shock. I got in the habit of carrying Lucy everywhere, because she pretty much cried if I put her down. Levi just gets annoyed because I tend to carry him, then he stops fussing when he can wiggle on the ground. Wow! That's cool!


Lucy thinks it is hilarious to take pictures with her tongue sticking out. I guess Levi does too!



Yesterday I was struggling to get Lucy to take a nap. I finally said "Where do you want to sleep?" She answered "Right here" then I responded "Okay, then lay down" and she did! I was laying down on the bed and the next thing I knew I woke up an hour and a half later and she was asleep on the ground. She is always full of surprises!


Lucy Moment: At church on Sunday the topic in Sacrament meeting was Reverence. I was asking Lucy about it and then reminded her that while we fold our arms we also think of Jesus. Then I asked her "What are you thinking about Jesus?"

She answered "I think I will share my toys with him. Where is he? I don't see him." As she looked around the congregation for him.

Now that is true devotion right there! Hey, sharing toys is big in the life of a three year old! I love her!

The First Week

First, Here are some pictures:

Bringing Levi home on Wednesday night, September 15


Lucy welcoming her brother home


Me and my kids (I love saying "the kids")


I think they are going to be best of friends



Our first family car ride to the Pediatrician on Thursday Morning, September 16.


Lucy finds her own Boppy!! Funny Girl!


Levi's first tummy time! (I think it made his umbilical cord bleed a little, so we will wait a few days to try again)


Lucy is trying out Levi's bathtub. She is enjoying all the fun new baby things around!!


The first week has gone by in a flash! Surprisingly, I have loved it. With Lucy it was a really hard and shocking adjustment for me, but this time I love it. Maybe it is because Dave didn't even let me change one diaper until he was 4 days old (he is the best father there ever was!), or that I already know how to breastfeed, or perhaps it is because Levi just came home from the hospital sleeping at night. I kid you not, I don't know how it happened (okay, actually I prayed a lot for it while I was pregnant), but Friday night he slept 4 hours, woke up and ate and went right back to sleep for 3 more. Saturday he is increased to 5 hours, quick feed, back to sleep for 3. Sunday night was 6 hours (from 11:00p.m. to 5:00 a.m.), quick feed and awoke again at 8:00 a.m. Last night (Monday night) 7 hours!!! He went to sleep at 12:00 p.m. and woke up at 7:00 a.m., quick feed and back to sleep until 10:00 a.m.!!! Hallelujah!!!! With Lucy I am pretty sure I didn't want to have any more children after the first week of newborn care, but this time I am so happy, I am already ready to have another one! (Okay, not quite yet!)

My Favorite moments this week:

Watching Lucy hold her brother and kiss him softly and then rub her cheek on his head. She is so good at calming him. She even started calmly singing "I am a Child of God" to him when he was fussing. He stopped fussing and it was a very sweet moment!

Every morning when Lucy wakes up she wants to come see "her baby" and give him a kiss.

Levi spit up and Dave called out to me because he needed a burp rag, "He's spitting..." Lucy then asked inquisitively "Does he need a time out?" So funny! (She went through a little spitting phase and got time outs for it).

Answering Lucy's questions about birth. She asked how the baby got out. I told her he came out my bottom and responded "That's silly!" and hasn't asked again.

Telling Lucy stories about me and my little brother Brian and what we would do together. Lucy seemed kind of annoyed that she couldn't play with the baby yet, so I told her first they have to grow and then they will be lots of fun. I told her all the adventures I went on with my little brother and she loved it. Now she asks all the time "Can you tell me about your little brother, Brian."

Lucy found a neck pillow and used it as a boppy to feed her baby doll! Hilarious!

When Levi cries Lucy consoles him by saying: "It's okay little man." I guess she must have heard me saying that.

Lucy keeps asking if she can have some milk (as in breastmilk). I told her "Sure, you can try baby milk," but then she chickens out and says "That milk is for babies, not older sisters." I am so glad she came to that conclusion on her own without me forcing the issue or letting her try any.

Last night Lucy was helping me burp Levi, and he burped while she was patting. She was so proud. It was precious.

Levi had a weight check on Monday and was 9 lbs 5 oz. Yay he gained 5 oz! I am so proud he is on his way to becoming a big and tall athlete!

Yay! His umbilical cord fell off just a few minutes ago! (11:00 a.m. September 21)

I love being a Mom of two!

Hopefully it is really Labor Day!

I just realized that I never posted any pregnancy shots this entire pregnancy, so now that I am due in 2 days and in honor of Labor Day (Ha ha) I better do it quick! Just took these a few minutes ago(well Dave did, not me). I am really sticking it out in this one, so I figured I better include one with normal posture, too...
I really meant to post a few shots along the way...let's face it I will probably always be a procrastinator. A few minutes ago I got a strong contraction and what did I think about... oh no I never took any real pregnancy pictures or posted them, quick Dave get the camera...you would think I would be more worried because I haven't even packed a hospital bag yet! As if Labor wouldn't be exciting enough if you were prepared...

The funny thing is my water broke at 11:50 p.m. on Labor day three years ago. I was sooooo excited. I had been hoping to go into Labor on Labor day all day and had finally given up. Let's see if we can make this Labor on Labor Day # 2!

HAPPY LABOR DAY from your friend who hopes she is in Labor!

Cooking at its best!

Yesterday I was making biscuits (what a good homemaker huh? At least I cook every once in a blue moon!) I had just started measuring the flour, when I got a phone call and then had to take one of my hundred trips to the bathroom. When I returned, Lucy had climbed up on the counter (surprisingly, this is the first time she has done that. She is a pro on the playground, slides down the poles and everything, but I guess she just never thought about doing that at home. Lucky me!). She was just sitting there, concentrating, measuring the flour in the measuring cup and pouring it into the bowl. She had emptied almost the entire flour bag into the bowl.

She was concentrating and then looked up when she realized I was watching her and said "I am helping cook!"

What a sweet little helper! She just melted me. I let her help with the rest of the biscuits, even though it takes twice as long and makes a big mess in the kitchen and on me and her.

She loved kneading the dough and rolling it out. She mentioned that I was like Snow White, when I pulled out the rolling pin. She said she rolled for the dwarfs. I can't even remember if she does that or if Lucy made that up. She is getting quite an imagination these days. In fact, this morning we pretended to make about 10 birthday cakes for me, her and all of her toys and sang each one Happy Birthday at her request. When we ran out of toys to make cakes and sing to, I was thinking "What a relief," but then Lucy suggested we make a cake and sing to the pillow as well. I realized there would never be an end. She would probably keep finding things to make cakes for, so I distracted her with a book.

I think cooking is Lucy's favorite activity right now, which is great because it makes me like cooking a lot more. In the past I haven't really enjoyed cooking, but watching her light up while she helps make things is worth it. She is great at cracking eggs and rarely gets any shells in the bowl, which shocks me every time. I mean, I still get shells in the bowl! She loves to pour everything into the bowl and stir it and takes her jobs seriously.

She is so much fun these days, I am kind of worried about adding to the family and throwing off the happy balance we have come to, but I know we will love it too!

Toilet Training at its Best!

So I started toilet training Lucy when she turned two. She got it down pretty fast, because she really wanted to wear princess panties, but I still had to take her every two hours or else she would tell me she needed to go without enough time to make it to the toilet. Gratefully, she started mastering the control needed to actually tell me and then make it to the toilet. I have only cleaned up one accident since being in our new house and we moved in at the beginning of April. The only problem now is, she has gotten a little too independent and doesn't see the need to even tell me she has to go anymore, hence the hilarious story I am about to tell.

So, on Tuesday I was sitting out on the big grassy area with a few ladies from the ward and all our kids were running around playing together. They were pretty far away, but we could still see them. I glance out to check on Lucy and notice she has taken her panties and shorts off and is squatting in the grass. Too late the damage is done! Little nature woman just decided to take care of everything all on her own like a big girl. I just started cracking up and went over to remind her to put her clothes back on.

I didn't even know what to say to her. I was so proud she didn't have an accident, because we were pretty far from a bathroom and I don't know if we would have gotten there in time even if she did come tell me. But it's not like you can praise your kid for peeing in front of a bunch of people in a public area either. I ended up just saying "I'm so glad you didn't go in your panties" and left it at that. I laughed for a good ten minutes. I love being a Mom! Kids are just so unpredictable and spontaneous. They are so untouched by the rules of society and I just love it.

Now, my biggest problem is she did a repeat on Friday. After walking with my friends, I let Lucy run around at the end of the walk. There are some little bushes and trails. I was caught up talking, until Lucy came over with her panties in her hands and said "I did tinkles all by myself."

Uh oh! Let's not start a habit! Wish me Luck on the next phase of my potty training adventure!

Lucy Conversations

This is embarrassing, but funny.

The other night I was complaining to Dave. I started whining and fake crying.

Then Lucy scolded me from across the room "Mommy Behave"

Dave and I both looked at each other and tried really hard not to laugh. We both knew she was right.

She totally caught me modeling terrible behavior when I thought she wasn't listening.
It was really sober to hear my two year old tell me that. I was kind of acting like a two-year old.

I can never let my guard down these days or else my two-year old Mommy will let me know about it!

Lucy Quotes about Jesus

Last week me and Heidi and Lucy were eating breakfast at the table. Lucy was talking and I responded

"Really?" One of my typical little kid responses when I really don't know what else to say.

Then Lucy asks "What does 'really' mean?"

I proceeded to explain "Well, it means it's not fake. Some things are fake and some things are real. Real things are actually here and fake things aren't really here. When I say 'really' I am asking if what you said is real." Realizing that it is impossible to explain what "really" means to a two year old, and hoping I didn't totally confuse her.

Then Lucy states very matter of factly: "Jesus is Fake"

I am thinking, you are way too young to be questioning these things and I answer her "No, Jesus is real sweety."

And then she points up at the statue of Jesus and says "Jesus is Fake"

I laughed a little when I realized what she was talking about "Oh, yeah that Jesus is fake. Very good Lucy. That is a fake Jesus to remind us of the real Jesus. Jesus really came to earth and now he lives in heaven"

Now I am assuming she gets the whole thing.

She then exclaims "Funny Jesus!" Laughs a lot and then "Funny Girls!" And then she goes into a little laughing fit.

I am still laughing in my head thinking about her saying "Funny Jesus" like he was really hilarious.

I am sure He was probably laughing too!

Do you think Jesus has a sense of humor?

It's kind of hard to imagine, but he probably does.

My apologies for the false info

Just wanted to let you know that you were given false information. I posted on Saturday that I had gotten a bee sting on my foot and it hardly hurt.

I spoke too soon. It did swell up a little later and by Sunday I was noticeably hobbling.

Today wasn't so bad, just serious itching.

I had no idea that bee stings got worse with time.

Dave said he knew that would be the case all along, but didn't want to burst my bubble on the way home from the beach when I kept going on about how quickly my bee sting healed.

I'm sure it will be fine in just a day or two, but I didn't want you to go on believing in my miraculous bee recovery story!

Have a fun day!

Funny Hair

Lucy always asks me to do "Funny Hair" when she is in the bath. I took this picture about a month ago, and in those couple of weeks her hair has already grown too long to do this with! I still pretend to do it anyway, but I am really glad I got a picture while I still could.

Oh, now I strangely miss our old pink bathtub. It was so fifties, which was exactly how the entire neighborhood felt. Everyone knew everyone. You waved and talked with your neighbors as they walk by. There is no place like Provo and especially the quaint little neighborhood we lived in.

Goodbye baths in the pink bathtub. We miss you.

Word to the Wise

Don't sautee dehydrated onions, even if you don't have fresh onions on hand the and recipe says to first cook onions in a pan of oil.

Just add them later, or else they will burn and you will have to start over.

Been there, done that!

Surprisingly, my second attempt to cook chicken curry with deydrated onions worked! All I had to do was wait until the simmering phase!

"When at first you don't succeed, try try again."

Thank you for teaching me that saying mom. Your family enjoyed dinner last night because of it!

Nana & Sleeping Beauty

September 5

I never finished blogging about Lucy after her Birthday party, so here it is! After Lucy woke up from her much needed nap, we went to go see the movie "Up," but it was sold out, so we went to a nearby park and played until dark (as you can see in the pictures!) Lucy had a ball playing with Nana.


One game we played was "Wake the Princess" where Lucy pretends she is sleeping beauty and then we wake her up with a kiss. Since that sounds like such an exciting game, I will brake it down into action shots for you!

The Sleep



The Kiss



The Awakening



Pretty Amazing how that works, huh? Okay, okay, but you gotta admit, it's cute!

The next day after church we had an adorable little photo shoot, since I don't have nearly enough pictures of these two!


Let's get them a little closer together...perfect!


They are both so beautiful and look so much a like (of course everyone at church was surprised when I said she was Dave's Mom and not mine)


Oh, I love when kids do sweet cheeks!


And the sweetest little kisses!



Lucy on her new bike! (That is not very new now, but was only one day new when we took this picture, even though it was second hand to begin with!)


Alas, Nana couldn't stay with us forever and this is such a sweet goodbye picture at the airport I had to close with it!

Thank you so much for coming Lisa! We had so much fun with you and miss you a lot!

A Very Tired Little One

August 30 - Sunday

Lucy refused her nap. We got home from church past nap time and she was just too worked up to relax when I laid her down. Oh well, we'll just skip the nap today and put her to bed early. Around 5:30 p.m. I went to make her dinner in the kitchen. She climbed into her high chair anticipating food and began to squawk for food. I quickly graced the table with some grapes to tide her over. She went very quiet. I assumed the grapes were just occupying her mouth, while I continued preparing her a meal. It only took me 5 minutes to whip something up, but she was fast asleep at the table when I came in with her dinner. Not much of her head was even on the table, I don't know how it was balancing. Not very many grapes were eaten. Poor sleep deprived child!
I remember probably over a year ago now, seeing a picture like this of Blake McCoy, sleeping in his high chair. I thought to myself "Wow! That is so amazing that he can sleep anywhere when he is tired. Lucy would never do that. She always has to have everything perfect." I am happy to report that when Lucy is tired enough, even she will sleep.



Since this day, 2 weeks ago, we have discovered the wonders of putting Lucy to sleep in her stroller. She was really fighting naps and having a hard time relaxing. Now we just take her on a 5 minute stroller walk at nap time and she is out in no time. We walked home from church today and she went out without a fight, something that was rare for a Sunday after her schedule has been thrown off (we also had a breakthrough today as far as Nursery goes! She has struggled to go by herself ever since we moved, but she went in and was fine all two hours today. Woo Hoo!)

I only wished we had discovered this stroller trick earlier. I have spent hours with her reading stories and trying anything at nap time to get her to sleep. It usually took me anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half to get her to sleep. Bedtime was usually quick, but naps were really ridiculous. Thank you stroller and thank you David for figuring out that this worked while I was gone at Education Week!

Dryer

Lucy has finally discovered the wonders of the dryer!

Bubbles

As I was refilling the soap dispenser, I poured way too much in the bottle and let the excess run into the sink...and I will just let the pictures do the rest of the talking!
I should mention that when Lucy says "bubble" it is one of my favorite words. She has perfect pronunciation and also calls her burps "bubbles" as well. I taught her that just because I wanted to hear her say the word more, silly, I know.
Don't even try to claim that you have never made faces in the mirror before...we've all done it! Just FYI, this next group of pictures was entirely unsolicited by me. I was just standing back and capturing the moment...enjoy!

Practice your kissing, why not??...

Lucy Pendergrass, you are much too young to be practicing your make out skills!!!

And I was left with one very soaked, yet very happy kid!

All Grown Up

I can hardly walk in these heels, I don't know how she manages!

Owies

Yesterday, while we were out and about, Lucy started pointing and exclaiming "owie." I didn't catch her drift at first, but then realized she was talking about the cars. "Oh Wonderful!" I thought! I was very excited Lucy was starting to put two and two together and remember what we had told her about cars being "owie." I had high hopes this would help her be more careful about going in the street. Lucy then proceeded to go and kiss about 3 different cars.

Okay, so I gave Lucy a little too much credit for understanding that the cars were "owie"... but nonetheless, it was very sweet of her to the give the cars kisses because they had "owies." What a caring and good natured little girl. Sometimes I wish I could freeze her at this stage forever, but I guess that isn't what this life is about. I'll just have to keep working on enjoying the moment!

I LOVE CHURCH!

Church today was pretty funny:

1) Lucy yelled the f-word really loudly during the closing prayer of Sacrament meeting. Oh Happy Day! The good thing: my worst nightmare was finally fulfilled, so now I can stop worrying so much! It's weird, but when the worst thing you can think of actually happens it is kind of relieving.

2) When Dave dropped Lucy off at nursery he found and caught a real lizard and showed it to all the kids. I never imagined that happening at church! Guess the window had been open.

A side note: Lucy loves Nursery! She has been going for about a month now and couldn't be happier about the whole experience. She runs in there without so much as a thought about Mom and Dad. Usually she freaks whenever I leave, so I can't quite figure it out, but I'm definitely not complaining!

3) I teach CTR 5 and during the closing prayer the little girl prayed "Thank You Jesus for protecting us from the Holy Ghost." It took everything I had not to bust up laughing! What a funny little girl.

What can I say... I love church!