No pictures :(

Happy Monday, Everyone! That's right, I have no new pictures to post here. I do know that people did take pictures of Lucy last week, so if Auntie Darla or Grandpa Paul want to send any this way, I will post them! Last week we were living over at Paul and Vicky's while our hardwood flooring was being installed so things were a bit unorganized for us for a while. We have one more overnight stay and then the flooring will be finished, yay!

Let's see, a recap since the last post. Lucy went to a new daycare last Wednesday, a friend in Eagan right by where I work, Dawn, who also watches 16-month-old twins and has 4 children of her own! Lucy was just in awe of all the other small people around her and had a blast. I honestly have never seen a smile so big on her face as when these little people would come up to her and touch her! Afterwards we went to Grandma Duffy's for a visit with grandma, aunti Shannon, and aunti Darla and uncle Wes.

Thursday early morning, Troy, Vicky and Paul left for Lake Benton and Lucy and I stayed behind. On Saturday we went up to Albertville Outlets shopping with my mom in the morning, then continued north to Sauk Centre for my great Aunt Sarah's 60th birthday party. A lot of relatives that Lucy hadn't met yet were there. Of course I forgot the camera! Lucy hung out with Uncle Richard (my mom's brother) almost the entire time. We got back to Baldwin at night and daddy was home to greet us!

Yesterday was major kitchen cleaning from all the dust that had gathered in/on/around our cabinets and anything that was in/on/around the cabinets from the floor installation. Eric and Paul helped Troy bring our appliances back in to the kitchen and now we can cook again. I will admit, it was kind of nice to be eating at Chef Paul's last week!

Today Lucy and Nana went for a playdate over to Hope Heutmaker's grandparents' home. There's something about child interaction that we as adults just cannot provide! I have been showing Lucy baby ASL signs all along hoping one day I'll see it returned ("mama" in particular), but maybe she'll also pick some signs up from Hope?

We are looking forward to Lucy's 1st Halloween this week. I will upload some pictures of that for sure. And then it will be November and our calendar is filled with hunting, showers, The Lion King, and holidays! Normally an early bird shopper, I haven't started Christmas shopping yet!

Until next time....

Sicky Poo and other things

I thought I would post before we move out of the house for the week. It is Sunday night and the floors will start being installed tomorrow at 7 am. We will be staying at Troy's parents' house for the week while they're sanding and polying the floors, can't wait for this part to be done and get to cleaning all the dust out of the house!

This weekend was my third annual Women of Faith conference at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. The theme this year was "Amazing Freedom" and it was fabulous! I'm so glad I continue to go to these, the speakers are hilarious, there's lots of laughing and crying and singing and it's a chance to connect with other women. During our breaks we talk about our own faith journeys and feel comfortable agreeing and disagreeing with each other. I am thankful for these women who share my beliefs and aren't afraid or embarrassed to talk about the One who got us all here.

My favorite topic of the weekend was by the last speaker, Luci Swindoll, and the point was "Show up, Shut up, and Let go". Referring to how we often whine about this or that - not wanting to go to a family function because someone annoying will be there, or not wanting to go into work because every day you deal with stupid customers, or wasting so much energy trying to make sure everything is perfect and thinking that noone appreciates it - just show up, shut up and let go! Everything we do, good and bad, is in preparation for what's to come.

Anyway, it's an amazing experience this conference. I wouldn't go year after year if it wasn't, and if you're reading this and want to go next year, do it!

Saturday evening my parents and sister came over to watch Lucy while Troy and I went over to our friends, the Nadeau's, for game night. This morning we went to early service and coffee, Troy mowed in the break from the rain, had lunch at Nana and Papa's, packed for our week away, Lucy napped in our bed and I napped in Lucy's room (huh?), we played for a bit and now Lucy has been bathed and in bed.

oh! I can't forget Lucy's First Sickness! As you read, Thursday she went in for her shots, one of them being the flu shot. That evening she got fussy and hot and had a fever of 102.2 and then barfed all over herself and mommy :( So we were up every few hours to take temps and give more Tylenol thru Thursday and all of Friday, with her temp fluctuating between 100 and 102. It was just the saddest thing I've ever seen because she was "sleeping" in her crib and whimpering at the same time. But it left as quickly as it came and she felt better at midnight Friday so much that she didn't want to go back to sleep til 3 am! We are glad that she is all better, but it allowed for some cuddly quiet time with mommy on Friday.

Everyone have a great week! Uncle Mark is coming home (www.caringbridge.org/visit/MarkFearing) and friend Tiff is bringing home baby Livia after a long wait (liviagrossbauer.blogspot.com).

Who's a big girl?

Lucy had her 6-month check-up today, accompanied with 4 shots :( This time two nurses came in to do them so they could each do one thigh at the same time while her mother lovingly looked her daughter in the eye and she looked back screaming "whyeeeee????" But we survived. I hate to tell her we have to go back in a month for another flu shot!

Her stats are:

Weight: 16lbs. 2.5 oz. (50th percentile)

Height: 28" long (95th percentile)

Head circumference: 44 cm (80th percentile)

She's gained 2.5 lbs and 2 inches since her 4-month appointment. What do percentiles mean? For weight she is right around the middle in that 50% of kids weigh less than her at 6 months of age and 50% of kids weigh more than her at 6 months of age. For height, she's tall, 5% of kids are taller than her at this age and 95% are shorter. Who cares, right? Doctor said she's doing great, reaching all those milestones and very strong!

Happy Birthday!

Lucy is 6 months old today. We did the monthly tradition of taking her photo next to "big sheep". Since it is October, she is decked out in her Halloween gear.

It's been hectic here at the house. We are in full demolition mode. Troy has been ripping out tile and carpet upstairs for the past week. The tile was quite a doozy and has left a lovely film of dust on everything and everyone. Although I hate living in chaos, it will be worth it in a few weeks when the new hardwood floors are in and the granite countertops have been put in. Since we can't find anything around here, we were treated to a wonderful steak and potato dinner a la Paul and Vicky tonight.

Lucy has been sleeping through the night for a good week now. What does that mean? She goes down around 8 and wakes up anywhere from 5:30-7am. Oh, and last night from 1-2am. But it's exciting. Now, that doesn't mean WE sleep through the night. No, my internal clock still gets me up just to make sure she's still sleeping. She'll have her 6-month appointment next week and we'll find out how big she's gotten.

October is a busy month with home renovations, hunting for Troy, and the annual Women of Faith conference for me next weekend! This will be my third year attending and it's always a good time.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season and staying healthy!

Happy Anniversary!

It's our 2nd wedding anniversary today. To celebrate, on Saturday Troy and I headed up to Bayfield, WI. Originally we were going to go on a trip along the St. Croix south to see the fall colors, but they weren't really in bloom yet. Then we decided to go up to Duluth, but at the last moment looked at a map and decided to head up to Bayfield, WI to see the Apostle Islands. Uncle Eric watched Lucy for the day and they had all sorts of fun decorating the church and going to the coffee shop!

We departed early Saturday morning and headed north along Hwy 63 and 53. Stopped for a quick breakfast in Spooner, then to an art fair in Cable, however it started to rain so we got in the truck and headed north. We got to Bayfield around 11:30 and walked through the shops in town, where I found a woodcarved Santa (I collect them and try to get one every year). We had lunch at the "Pier Plaza" before heading out to the orchards.

Our first orchard was Erickson Orchard & Country Store, where we sampled and purchased some fresh apple donuts...mmmm! Then we headed over to Hauser's Superior View Farm & Bayfield Winery. We took some pictures of the Superior view from the top of the barn, and then went down to sample thier various wines. We picked up a few bottles of their Cranberry apple wine to enjoy at home.

We decided to drive a bit along the peninsula to see if we could get a view of the Apostle Islands (the only island you can really see from Bayfield is the very large Madelaine Island). However, the majority of the peninsula is indian reservation. As you can see from the photos below, quite a different way of living from what we're used to!

Because we're old farts, Lisa got a headache and Troy's back was hurtin', so we headed home to Baldwin, where Paul made some wonderful homemade pizzas for dinner!

And yesterday was the big Vikings-Packers game. Troy and Lucy were dressed the part but we lost anyway, oh well!