My Little Sunshine :)

It's been a while since my last Lucy update---so here's what my girlie has been up to this month! It seems like a lot! But that's what I get for waiting a while between posts.

As much as I would like to stop time and keep Lucy a little baby forever, it's not working. In just a week she'll be 10 months old! Which means her 1st birthday is only 2 months away! I am a little sad that she will never be teeny tiny again. She is becoming more independent every day. But this stage is super fun. Her little (actually her BIG) personality is shining through more each day and she never ceases to just crack me up! 

Lucy always wants to be standing now. She pulls herself up on everything! It doesn't matter what it is. A wall, a couch, a table, a chair, a person. She even tries to "pull up" on short things which leaves her stuck in a bent over position. :) She has started "cruising" as she's standing up--moving from one side of the coffee table to the other. Walking is not far away! I don't think I'm ready for this. :) 

Her little brain is constantly at work too! She loves to point at things and waits for me to tell her what they are. She discovered our fish the other day and now asks to see "thshh, thshh." She really likes to watch him swim around. She's talking a lot more! She says "hi" very well now and "thank you" which sounds like "cheech ooh." And she has added to her animal sound repertoire. Lucy just loves animals! If you ask her she can make the sounds of the tiger, elephant, puppy, monkey, cow and lizard (which is sticking out your tongue back and forth). I will have to add the video of this soon.....but I'm having technical difficulties getting my video camera to upload it's info! 

Lucy has started to "share" things. She will offer me her binky or soggy food. Mmm. :) Sometimes she will offer you food and just as she's about to put in in your mouth, she will yank it away and eat it herself. Then she will laugh like, "ha, I gotcha." We did not teach her this! Like I said, HUGE personality. (As you will see from the pictures below.) She's also started shaking her head yes or no. It's nice to be able to ask her a question and she can answer! Not so nice when I'm trying to feed her veggies and she shuts her mouth and shakes her head no. She even likes veggies. I think she just enjoys saying no. Great. :)

Lucy loves playing. Balls are a new favorite toy. Mr. Potato head parts are fun too. We like to be silly.

Lucy also loves Momo's puppy, TJ. She says his name...."Jee Jay." She is getting to be more brave around him. He's still a little scary, but she'll go over to pet him now. She always has to keep her eye on him!

Other favorite activities are playing the piano and Daddy's guitar. Future musician? I hope!

I love this girlie so much and I am so thankful God have her to us! I never get tired of squeezing her and kissing her and snuggling her! She's my little sunshine. :) 

Lucy and Tigers and Polar Bears...Oh My!

Labor day weekend= zoo weekend for the Wilson's. We took Lucy to a local petting zoo/farmstead and the Kansas City zoo. We had tons of fun. Lucy is getting to the age where she LOVES the animals. We have animal flash cards at home which are some of her favorite things to "play" with. We look through them and I make the animal noises. She loves it. And she has started making some of the noises too. 

She's best at the cow. :) Here's a video showing off her "mooing" skills.

Anyway, we took Lucy to the zoo at the beginning of the summer and she wasn't too excited about it. She liked the walk but I don't think she really understood that we were there to see animals. :) What a difference 3 months can make! This time she was so into the animals! It was fun for me to see her recognize certain ones from her flash cards. 

I just love watching her little face light up.

Saturday we went to Deanna Rose Farmstead. 

Lucy loved the farm animals. Obviously the cows were one of the highlights of our trip.

Lucy mooed at them. So proud of my smart girl! 

Here's mommy and Lucy mooing at the cow. 

It was a beautiful day and we loved walking around the gardens.

I can't get enough of this sweet baby girl!

I think there are many more trips to Deanna Rose in our future. :)

Here's Lucy and Daddy checking out the cows.

On Labor Day my parents took us all to the Kansas City Zoo. It was another beautiful day and we had such a great time! Highlight of our trip was seeing the newest addition to the zoo: Nikita the Polar Bear! 

He is definitely the coolest thing at the zoo. I could have watched him all day! 

Lucy was really interested in him too. She watched him swim in the water and do flips for everyone watching. 

Her eyes got so big every time she saw him. I can't wait to take her back!

We have to wear our zebra bow when we go to the zoo. :) 

She's so goofy.

Tigers are super cool and very intriguing---as you can see by Lucy's face. 

I think she recognized the elephants from her flash cards. 

She laughed at the noises we were making at least. 

Walking the KC Zoo makes you thirsty.

Anyway, here we are on the Kangaroo rock. 

We always took our picture here when we were kids. 

So there you have it. Lucy and Tigers and Polar Bears.....oh my. :)

Sweet Friendship

God has so graciously blessed me with such wonderful friends! When I was about 13 or 14 my parents prayed for godly friends to come into my life. He sent many friends over my high school years, but two very special ones--Lauren and Christine. Over the many years and miles that have separated us, we've always remained close. I love these girls so much and I am so thankful for them! 

We've been through a lot together. We had high school sleepovers and ice cream parties. Then Lauren and I kept Christine sane and gave her some much needed breaks during dental hygiene school. :) We all encouraged each other and shared memories when we would come back on break during college. Lauren and I both lived in Greenville, SC after we got married. We shared weekly Starbucks dates on her lunch hour. I miss those! Now she lives in Indiana. Christine and I both live in Kansas City now and get together as often as we can. It's always fun when Lauren comes back to visit and we can spend time together again!

Here we are Christmas of '07.....

We've enjoyed the excitement of being in each others weddings.....

Here we are at mine.....

And Lauren's....

And Christine's....(Disclaimer--I was 7 months pregnant in Christine's wedding if I seem a little large in these photos.) =)

Every time we're all together we try to get a picture! Here we are in August '09. Lucy's in there too. :) 

Recently we've all enjoyed becoming Mommies!

April '10--Lauren and Emmy, Me and Lucy

3 babies in 1 year! It's exciting to be entering into this new stage of life with my best friends! 

Aunt Tali meeting baby Cade:

Aunt Tali meeting baby Emmy:

Lucy meeting Emmy:

Lucy meeting Cade:

The 3 babies all together!

This precious picture is of all of us with our sweet babies! I love these girls and am so thankful for the children God has given us. I can't wait for the years of friendship and memories ahead!

Tali and Lucy (9 months), Lauren and Emmy (2 months), Christine and Cade (10 days).

New Toys

Over the last month or so I've noticed Lucy's interest in her toys changing a little. Teethers, rattles and stuffed animals that once were favorites don't seem as fun anymore. 

Lucy-- 4 months

I guess this is a good thing--she's developing and getting oh so smart. She needs toys that will stimulate her brain and encourage learning! SO, I asked around for ideas on some "next step" toys and was given some great ideas. Hopefully this will help other mommies who's kiddos are entering this stage or will be soon! Lucy is having lots of fun with her new toys!

Here are my observations: 

Item #1: Baby Pop Up (We were given this when Lucy was born---so glad!)

Who doesn't love these? They've been around for years. I like that Lucy has to figure out how each button works to open the compartments. She's only mastered 2 buttons---the ones you push and pull. But I'm sure she'll figure out the others in no time! And right now closing the compartments is WAY more fun than opening them. :) She loves when I open them all up for her. Her face lights up and she quickly closes them all again.

Item #2: Fisher Price Stacker

LOVE this one! The reasons:

#1--It's old school. I had one. A toy that is still around after all those years must be good!

#2--A friend of mine suggested stacking cups. I figured this was in the "stacking" family.

#3--It was the cheapest toy at Target.

Item #3: Activity Cube.

Thanks to my mom for buying Lucy this new toy! It plays music, lights up and has lots of fun things on it. It will grow with her too. She has a lot of fun exploring everything on this new toy!

Item #4: Touch and Feel Animal Flash Cards

These are Lucy's favorite. I keep them on the coffee table shelf so she can reach them. She thinks it's so fun to pull them all down and make a huge mess. But then she'll choose one of the cards and study it intently. She uses her little index finger to touch the "touch and feel" parts. I try to pay attention to the card she's holding at any given time and say the name of the animal and the sound it makes. Lucy is really starting to understand certain ones. Mainly the puppy, kitten, cow, and pig. :) We went to the pet store the other day to see the puppies and kittens. She definitely recognized them! I even think she recognized the bunnies from her flash cards. :) These cards also come in colors, shapes, numbers, etc. You can find them at Barnes and Noble (probably other places too---but that's where I got ours).

I'm also planning on getting Lucy a music kit with a drum, tambourine, clackers, shakers, maracas, etc. She was playing with some egg shakers the other day at a friend's house and loved them! They're only a couple of bucks and the music store. We're going out to get some soon!

Just a little bit of what Lucy is up to. Hopefully it's a help for some moms who will be needing good toy ideas. We are having a blast playing every day!