Living, Loving, Learning

Happy Halloween from my pirate and his pet parrot! Arrrrgggghhhhh!

The last one I will put up from the summer...Lucy in her quilt. It is crazy to remember how much more hair she had then than now!

Jessica just sent me some pictures she took in July and there are a few that are so cute I just have to share them. Griffin and Alethia after swimming.

This weeks Lucy "grew her first tooth" as Griffin told us. It has come through the gums but is not high enough to get a photo of...maybe next week. She also tried pears and sweet potatoes for the first time - both she loved. And the grossest thing she learned this week - to blow rasperries....when she has food in her mouth. More than one time this week my shirt was splattered with peas or green beans!

Awhile back I mentioned that Griffin and Bruce were building a sandbox. Well, somewhere in between when the tree fell on the house and now, it got finished. This is how Griffin spends every afternoon, soaking up the last warm rays for a while. I can see it from the kitchen window and I love watching him. He spends up to an hour out there by himself just quietly playing and them comes in the house SUPER relaxed. Mom and Dikke....I can see sand therapy at work! He was able to choose that paint color...orange of course, the brightest sample he could find at Lowes!

My sister Jessica and her husband Anthony had their second child this morning. Masami Samuel Vincent Amor was born at 6:00 AM German time this morning. From the moment she woke up with contractions until she had Masami, only 4 hours passed - that boy was ready! He is 8 lbs, 5 oz. 20 3/4" and totally perfect in every way. Mama and baby are doing well, and comfortably recovering. In equally exciting baby news, my cousin Elisabeth and her husband Jason also gave birth to a healthy baby boy this week, Matthew. We send out our thoughts of quick healing, strong bonding and peaceful moments to these sweet little boys and their parents. Welcome to the world....it is a better place with you in it!

We were lucky enough to be able to spend Saturday afternoon at Bravard Vineyards , here in western Kentucky. It was a gorgeous fall day with temperatures in the 60's and a bright blue sky. Janet Bravard, vineyard owner, is also a member of the Pennyrile Herb Club and she had invited the club to hold it's Oct. meeting during her harvest celebration in the vineyard. There was live music playing all day and tables set up in a little meadow and spread throughout the vineyard for picnicking. They even had a poetry reading happening in another part of the vineyard. Their tasting room was open so you could choose and purchase a favorite wine that they would open so you could enjoy it right there with your picnic. Our group did our usual potluck and then I gave a presentation about cinnamon to the group. Thanks to Sara and Leo living in the huge cinnamon producing country of Sri Lanka, they and the Moms were able to provide me with tons of material to give a very interesting presentat...

Lucy is working on sitting! She is almost there, a think in another week she will be there. We introduced green beans this week and she loved them lots. Her giggle is becoming louder and sounds EXACTLY like her brother... the two of them laughing together brings tears to my eyes every time.

We had a really fun time in Knoxville visiting with my father's side of the family. Griffin has an extreme fondness for Grandpa and was in heaven playing with him. My Dad kept a bin of his toys from childhood and I don't know whether he or Griffin has the better time pulling them out. Although Lucy is most definitely a Mama's girl, she enjoyed plenty of moments with her grandparents. She is especially into touching faces right now and I think everyone took their turn being pawed. She also finally decided she liked peas after 10 nights in a row of having them, so her meal times went more smoothly. We all took a trip to the Knoxville zoo together on Saturday - what a pretty place. They have really preserved the feel of being in the TN woods. A great place to spend an afternoon. Griffin even got to ride a camel. We keep exposing him to these somewhat silly experiences in hopes of wetting his appetite for greater adventures someday. Riding a camel 2 minutes in zoo ...

Lucy with her Great-Grandmother and Great Grandaddy Huggins.

Just popping in to let you know we are all alive down here. Lucy has continued to be ill - I even took her to the Dr. on Monday morning because of a high fever. Doc said she looked great and to just let the fever run it's course. She figures Lucy is just continuing to fight off little bugs and her immune system will be the better for it. Lucy has finally started feeling better this morning but it has been a hard week of crying and sleeplessness. I think the stress helped along a nightmare sinus headache that had been terrible for me the past two days, but I also am feeling much better this morning (amazing because I got up with Lucy 5 times last night!!) Griffin and Bruce have both been well and had awesome attitudes of cheerfulness and helpfulness during this hard week. I even got to sneak out for a haircut last night...Yeah Me! Other than that we have just been overindulging ourselves on MSNBC and watching all the debates with bated breath. What an challenging and exciti...

We went to the absolute cutest pumpkin patch over the weekend. Hollywood set designers could not have done a better job - piles of beautiful pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes, an adorable pond with ducks and willow trees, a campfire (they even sold hot dogs and smores makings) and plenty of beautifully decorated little nooks to take a rest and enjoy some fresh cider. We had a great time walking through the corn maze although much of the corn had been blown over by Ike. Griffin's favorite part was playing in the hay fort with a bunch of other kids. Bruce and Lucy both enjoyed the 20 minute hayride that took you meandering through the hills to the pumpkin patch where everyone was able to pick a pumpkin straight off the vine. My favorite part was the gorgeous field of sunflowers that were absolutely teeming with butterflies and honeybees....and a few cutie patoooties! It was an idyllic Saturday afternoon that I will never forget. My perfect day.

Griffin scored his first goal ever this morning! AND, in fact, he scored a second one in the same game. His team lost 5-2, but for him, it was the best game ever!

Bouncy Baby! Interestingly, Lucy is not nearly as excited about the jumper as Griffin was. I guess that is because she is so darn cuddly...she would much prefer to be held. She sees it for what it is, a diversion so I can quickly get a few things done. She has had an awesome eating week. She had carrots and peas for the first time. Loved carrots, not as crazy about the peas. I wonder, I love squash and carrots and hate peas. Is she becoming familiar with some flavors through breast milk that is warming her up for real food? I also found this product called Baby Mum Mum . She is crazy for these little rice rusks. Basically they are just hardened up rice cereal that dissolve in her mouth...and hands. They make meal times so much easier with her. Sunshine knows where her bread is buttered. We could see the excitement in her eye when we brought the high chair down from the attic!!