The Importance of The Blankie

Lucy has a blanket:

When she was about 8 months old, it became apparent that this blanket was The Blankie.

So for her first birthday, she got these:

Blankie #2:


Blankie #3:


Blankie #4:



You may think that all these blankets look the same.

They're not.

Today The Blankie got washed. And I get the Worst Mom Ever award for forgetting to forward the laundry before bedtime. You would have thought that we were skinning Lucy alive if you had heard the screams that ensued when we tried to put her to bed without Blankie.

Blankie #2, which Lucy sleeps with every night was unacceptable.

Blankie #3, which Lucy will happily sleep with in the car was unacceptable.

And Blankie #4, which gets carried around the house all day was also unacceptable.

With each blanket offering the screams got louder.

So Lucy stayed up half an hour past bedtime, waiting for The Blankie to get out of the dryer. She is now happily asleep with a slightly damp blanket. But that's okay, because it is The Blankie.

Best Toy EVER.

One day we went to PetSmart to buy dog food. Lucy was being whiny so we bought a feather-on-a-stick cat toy. 

Best.Toy.Ever.

It entertains the stupid cat. (Not hard, a lot entertains her).

It entertains the mature cat.

It entertains Lucy.

And it even entertains Tommy.

Diaper Dilemma

Today Tommy went up a size in diapers.

He now wears Size 1 diapers. The Size 1 diapers we bought happen to be the same make and model as Lucy's diapers - Pampers BabyDry. This means they're the same color as Lucy's diapers.

Lucy thought they were HER diapers. And she was Very Upset at having to share them. VERY. UPSET.

First, there were tears.

She flung herself on the floor and moaned "diiii-paaa" over and over again.

When I asked her what was wrong, she grabbed the diaper off Tommy and ran away with it. I put another one on him and she tried to take that one too.

Then she took the entire bag of diapers.

She threw them around the living room:

 And the kitchen:

And the den (where she "hid" the bag):

To make matters worse, Tommy was having a pooping day today.

So we repeated the drama every hour.

In the interest of family harmony, Tommy may be switching back to Pampers Swaddlers again. 

Phew!

Leaving the house with Lucy is an event.

I put her shoes on. Which required some discussion.

Sneakers or shiny black shoes or pink cowboy boots?

Brown ballet flats shouldn't be worn to play in the mud. No Lucy, shiny black shoes do not match your brown corduroy pants. You need to wear socks with your pink cowboy boots. Lucy, where are your socks?

Once we dealt with the shoes, I had to put her coat on. Which took time because Lucy wanted to do it herself. So I chased her around the house while she wore her coat like a superman cape and then dealt with the tantrum when I made her wear it correctly.

Then I had to get Tommy ready to go. While I put him in the carrier, the coat turned back into a superman cape.

Finally it was time to go.

As I put my hand on the door, Lucy got this panicked look on her face. She went running back into the house.

"Lucy what's wrong?"

She responded with incomprehensible whines and started looking around the room.

"Lucy what are you looking for? Can I help you?"

Then her face lit up, she charged across the room, grabbed her purse, and said "Phew!!"

Heaven forbid we leave the house without Lucy's purse.

How To Make a Baby Sleep

There is one member of our house who doesn't sleep:

We shush.

We rock.

We swaddle.

We walk.

We swing.

He just eats....and eats....and eats....and eats...

But then I just put him down for a second so I could get Lucy to bed....

Out like a light!

This kid is totally sleeping in the laundry basket every night now if that's what it takes!

No Hats!

Tonight when I served Lucy her dinner, she responded with "Hot?"

"Yes, Lucy, it's hot. Blow on it."

Except that Lucy wasn't saying "hot." She was saying "Hat."

Big difference. Especially when she promptly responded to my affirmative by dumping her dinner (leftover chicken and dumplings) on her highchair tray and putting her bowl on her head.

I realized my error and corrected it. "No Lucy, not a hat!!" I took her bowl away.

Lucy looked at the pile of chicken and dumplings on her tray. She stuck her spoon in and took a bite. I decided to choose my battles on this one. Who needs a bowl? At least she was using the spoon! Then her face lit up. "HAT!" she exclaimed. And a big spoonful of chicken and dumplings landed on her head.

Apparently chicken and dumplings is as dangerous as spaghetti. Next time I'll feed her naked.

One Month Old!

Tommy is one month old already! When did that happen?

Having a newborn in the house makes me appreciate the little things in life.

Like five hours straight of sleep last night. Wahoo!

At one month old, Tommy can:

• Lift his head. He can't hold it steady yet, but he does a good job of bobbing it up and down on his own. 
• Smile. Well sort of. He's smiled a grand total of four times so far.
• Sleep for 5 hours straight. A vast improvement over 30 minutes. 
• Poop. He's quite good at this. 
• Focus his eyes. It makes him look perpetually startled as he tries to take everything in. 
• Eat. He's a champ at eating.  
• Hoot. When he gets really excited.

And now I'm off to bed to see if that five hours of sleep was just a fluke!

Things to Remember

Yesterday, I established that a baby boy can projectile poop approximately the same distance that a baby girl can projectile pee (about three feet).

Today I established that Tommy can also projectile vomit that far.

And that Lucy can fling spaghetti sauce that far.

The moral of all this is that you shouldn't wear white delicate fabrics within three feet of a baby.

After all that, and approximately three hours of sleep last night, Tommy smiled at me for the first time. And Lucy brought me a "bouquet" of "flowers" (heads off of dandelions). These are the moments that I'll remember.

An Early Lucy Smile (I don't have photos of Tommy's smile yet)

My Children are Perfect...Except When They're Not

If I ask you what you think of my kids, the correct answer is that they are perfect. They are beautiful and wonderful and smart and any other complimentary things you want to say about them.

However, if you ask me to describe my children, I might use less flattering terms.

For example, Tommy looked like a beet red, grumpy old man when he was born. I compared him to a squishy, angry lawn gnome.

Tommy's Lawn Gnome Face

Lucy has very expressive eyebrows. So does Achmed the Dead Terrorist. I may have drawn a comparison between my daughter and a skeleton puppet.

If you don't know who Achmed is, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/user/jeffdunham?blend=2&ob=4#p/u/0/XhVpoRaTdj0


I've also called Tommy "Squishy" and Lucy "Lucifer" and I'll call either one of them "Stinky" or "Stinks" if justified. But of course, it's all said with love.

Hot!!

Hot food? What is that?

Not something I've had in a while. According to Lucy, all food is "hot" though, and it must be blown on before it can be eaten. Sometimes she blows so enthusiastically it lands on the floor. And sometimes the food never seems to cool off enough...such as carrots, or fish. Or at least, that is Lucy's explanation for why she didn't eat dinner, but still needs a cookie.

Lucy applies this concept in other areas of her life now too. Earlier Peter was making lunch and explained that the stove was hot. So Lucy obligingly blew on it for Peter. Unfortunately, the stove remained hot, and Lucy had to be evicted from the kitchen.

I, unfortunately, forgot to apply this concept to MY life yesterday. Peter held the baby during dinner so I could eat a hot meal, and I got so excited I popped the first bite in my mouth without blowing on it first. HOT!!

This is how to blow on hot food, stoves, etc.

Lucy says "Hi!"

A lot.

Very LOUDLY.

"HI!!!"

Uh Oh!

Peter was upstairs giving Lucy a bath. All was quiet.

Then Lucy starts wailing. Peter came flying down the stairs like the devil was chasing him.

What's wrong?!

Who is hurt?!

What happened?!

No diapers. And he discovered this fact AFTER Lucy was naked.

Peter was lucky. He made it back upstairs and got a diaper on her without mishap.

A couple months ago, I was not so lucky. I made it back upstairs just in time for Lucy to look at me and pee on the floor. You win some, you lose some.

Pocket Litter

You know you're a parent when you stick your hand in your pocket and find a burp cloth, a crayon, and yogurt raisins...but no keys.

Lucy, where did you put my keys?

Dinner Disagreement

Last night we had fish sticks for dinner. Lucy did not approve. She expressed this disapproval by dumping her dinner over her head and wearing her bowl like a hat.

In our house "HAT!!" is used the same way "Yuck!" is used by normal toddlers.

Fashion fixated diva?

Welcome to The Lucy Show

This is Lucy.


Lucy is the center of the universe. Well she was.

Two weeks ago, Mom and Dad brought this home:



His name is Tommy.




Lucy was not impressed.