Living, Loving, Learning

My sweet little doll. Lucy is at such a fantastic age right now. She is all smiles and gigles and cuddles. She just started thinking peek-a-boo was a fun game this week - it brings lots of easy giggles for me. She also has mastered rolling the other way - back to belly, this week. She is scootin' all over her crib and playmat. Also, a tragic development, at least where Papa is concerned....Lucy has started to cry when she sees me leaving the room (even if Papa is holding her) and abruptly stops when I come back. Big week for our little one.

In an effort to expand my palate to include seafood, (I know I should have done this at 22 not 32!) Bruce has been putting some different items on the grill. My new favorite is tuna steaks. We just tried this AWESOME salsa - totally fresh and delicious. My favorite part is the use of mint. So many recipes put cilantro in any time they want an herby kick so it was cool to see something different. Also, in this climate of mango salsa mania it was great to use oranges. It was easy peasy to make, took very little time and added such great flavor and color to a summer time dish. (Sorry for the blurry photo - low light I guess.)

This afternoon Griffin and I were watching a kids show together. They were interviewing children, asking them what their favorite word was. They were answering things like peanut ("cause I love peanut butter") and teacher ("cause I love school"). I asked Griff what his favorite word was and without hesitation he answered "Recycling". It made me so happy, I got tears in my eyes.

So, our week in Michigan.... The first whole day we spent there, we hung out with the Moms and my sister Sarah and her hubs Leo. Such sweet relaxing time! We were excited to find out that it also happened to be the week of the Great Lakes Folk Festival...talk about bees to honey. Bruce and I took the kids into E. Lansing and parked a couple miles away and rode the bus into the festival. Baby's first bus ride! We were lucky to catch the Crooked Road Revue set, and old timey band we all enjoyed. We picked that particular week to go to MI because our dearest friends, the Marinos , daughter Jessica was having her HUGE graduation party that Saturday. They had given us the date over a year ago so there was no chance we would miss her big day!! We were so happy to be there to celebrate her and as an added bonus TONS of our friends were there too. It was so good to connect with y'all again, if only for a few hours! The next day we headed out to visit with our friends Kassi and Joe ...

Lucy tried rice cereal for the first time on Wednesday. At first, she was NOT impressed...nursing is sooo much easier after all. She has steadily gotten a little better each try. It won't be long until I am pureeing up huge batches of green beans and squash!! We saw the Dr. this week. She told us Lucy looked super healthy except for this terrible heat rash she has developed. It started on Sunday and has gotten worse as the week has gone on. Now I just try to keep her cool and comfortable. Lucy is still in the 50% for weight but has jumped up to the 95% for height and head size. Bruce found the head size figure totally disturbing, protesting that HIS baby does NOT have a big noggin. I keep trying to tell him it's a good sign that she has a big brain. And, she is totally teething....she is a gnawing on my hand, soaking her top with drool kind of mess. The rash and the teething together have made for some rough nights. I am averaging about four hours of sleep a ...

My baby boy started school today. Sure doesn't look like a baby anymore, does he? Such a beautiful little boy. When I left him at pre-school, he was happily playing in the "tool" center....not so happy when I pulled him away for a goodbye kiss. I had to run to the car, as the tears started flowing. I know I've done terrific work with him and he is so so ready for this next challenge, but I am giving myself the space I need to feel this. I feel sad that he will be experiencing "firsts" with other people, I feel sad for me, I will miss his tender heart, easy smile and funny jokes in the morning. I feel excited, for all he will learn, all the new friends he will make, all the adventures he will go on. I feel happy for the quiet alone time I will be able to have with Lucy (and maybe sneak in a trip to the gym a couple days a week!!). And...after all people, we are only talking about 3 hrs. 3 days a week this year!!!

Griffin, MSU children's garden

MSU children's garden

Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea Recipe can be found here . The color, the light minty flavor, what is not to love? Well, I guess what not to love is the tough time I had finding hibiscus tea bags. I finally found some at a health food store in E. Lansing, Food For Living. I have not checked a Whole Foods but I suspect they may also carry it. I love this drink so much that I've just gone ahead and ordered two pounds of hibiscus tea in bulk - so if you come by I will definitely brew you up a pitcher. Delicious!

Playing knights with Big Brother

The last of the East Lansing photos...just in time for us to travel back up there. That's right folks, we are headed back to Michigan for one more week of friends and family time. Griffin will start pre-school the Tuesday after we get back so this really is the last HooRa for the summer of '08. Blogging will be sketchy next week, but y'all know I will squeeze in a post if I can. Take care friends!

She is in there somewhere! We are currently working on getting her to sleep in her own bed now. It is tough work for this sleep deprived Mama. I just haven't been sleeping well with her in our bed. I always slept very light but now she is like sleeping with a baby koala. All squishy and warm and sweet but those hands and feet!!! All night she is pawing and clawing at me, like she is looking for fur to latch onto. I keep her nails trimmed, but still after hours of this my skin gets terribly irritated and I know she must not be sleeping well either. So far, she is doing OK in her crib, waking up twice a night to nurse. I think we are on the verge of success.

128 miquito bites in a half hour! Of course, not once did he mention to Papa (who he was outside with) "hey man, I 'm getting swarmed over here." I think I went through a half a tube of anti-itch ointment and he was awesome at leaving them alone. They were pretty much gone 2 days later, but damn, it is BUGGY down here.

So, firstly, I have to brag on my sister, Jessica a bit. Look at this gorgeous quilt she made for Lucy. She even embroidered the names and birth dates for all the "Christinas" that we have info. about. What a sweet, sweet treasure to gift my daughter with. It is almost to special to use, but what a shame that would be if Lucy never cuddled up with it! I am so thankful to all the women that took their time and put their hearts into handmade gifts for Griffin and now Lucy. Jessica has really been an inspiration to me in recent months. With her encouragement, I have been getting back into creating - something that is so vitally important for my soul. I always feel truly me, truly happy in my skin when I am using my hands to create something. The quilt block club has been so fun. The themes have been interesting and the monthly commitment forces me to take the time that I might otherwise miss. I don't think I have posted any of my squares since March - here is what I've d...