Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to open up one gift per kiddo. I keep wondering how many years it's going to take them to realize it's always Christmas p.j.'s! Landen or Lily asked me a day or two ahead of time if that's what it would be, but convinced themself it could be something more fun! I figure next year, they'll definitely be onto my game. Lucy is an awfully sweet addition to this year's picture, don'tcha think?

I had to include the picture of the maddness that ensued after my initial picture of the sweet, smiling, orderly children. Lucy's expression is PRICELESS.

More to come. :)

Multiple uses for a bumbo seat

The first choice is the obvious...sit an adorable baby in it. She's such a happy little thing... Or of course, you can put it on your head, along with some silly, lensless glasses and and a wooden ducky whistle to complete the look.

Merry Christmas from the Hay family

4 month old Lucy Lu

Wow...it's actually pushing five months that Lucy has been with us...in 1 hour 46 minutes, in fact. This time, five months ago, I believe I had just been admitted as a patient, to the hospital, and was getting all ready to meet our little punkin...she's just getting so big...so fast...I find myself mourning each milestone, rather than celebrating. How wrong is that??? For example, "Oh no, this will be the last time we have a four month old in our home!!!!" I know, how silly is that? I just want to slow her down...a little bit. I might try the ole brick trick...see how that works out for us.

At any rate, she's a beautiful baby who we, as a family, are so blessed to have been chosen to call Lucy Lu our daughter, sister, baby...

This little piggy ate roastbeef...

Ahhhhhhh, only four days before I return to work, and leave my little porkchop to fend for herself with Daddy-o. I'm certain they'll get on swimmingly...surely, I'll live to tell about it, too.

So, I began reflecting on the past 9 weeks and 5 days. I look at little Lucy, and can't help but notice she's finally gettin' the chunk on. Just look at that round face. And she's got a little roll on her leg. Much of the beginning of our little life together was spent worrying about how long it was taking her to get that chunk on. It took her four weeks to get back to birth weight...yeah, they tell you that should happen by two weeks. Then, the lazy little thing...sleep seemed better than getting the chunk on. But that did no good when it was time to plop the porkchop on the scales.

To say we endured a breastfeeding nightmare...yeah, I think that's fair. Our regimen took an hour to complete...we nursed, then supplemented, then pumped, then washed pump parts, then got ready for the next feeding. Take that, times about 8-10 times a day...yeah, I think that qualifies as nightmarish. But, we kept on keeping on, and, we made it. Today, when Lucy hopped on those scales, and we saw the numbers 10 pounds 9-2 ounces...we high fived and Porkchop celebrated with another 3.5 ounce milk shake. Today, Lucy whispered to me, "Mommy, we did it." I heard it...I really did!

So, it was a long haul, but I do believe we've arrived. We've arrived at our goal of having a happy, healthy, porkchop of a baby. It made our crazy beginnings definitely worth it...just in time for Mommy to return to work. Yep, Luce and Daddy-o will get on just fine, I just know it. And I will survive, too, I just know it.

Little Miss Lucy is 2 months

Wow, wow, wow...Lucy is 2 months old, already. In some respects, it seems like she's been around, forever. In others, it seems like just yesterday we were meeting her at 1:09 a.m., among many friends. Either way, the girl has grown! Given her laziness initially, and the fact that she chose sleep over eating, I think she's put the chunk on, nicely.
And, she's learned to smile since her 1 month pictures. I think she does it rather well...surely, she's advanced.

These pictures are a sequence of her getting more and more excited. I.heart.her.

I realize there is some blur to this one, but she was flailing everything that was flailable...again, heart her.

We fell in love from moment one...but we keep falling in love again and again. We love you Lucy. :)