Fireworks

Last night Lucy and I went with a couple of friends to hear the St. Louis Symphony on Art Hill. It was a very enjoyable evening with beautiful weather and a nice little picnic. After the symphony, there was a small fireworks show. This was very memorable for me because it was at this fireworks show last year that I first felt Lucy kick. Every time a big boom would go off, I could feel a little flutter of movement. This was the first time that Lucy saw fireworks from the outside, and she was very entranced. One of my favorite things about parenting is seeing things through a baby's eyes... fireworks are pretty enthralling! Our friend Brie caught a few pictures of Lucy watching in amazement/fright.

Lucy was very sociable, bouncy and happy during the symphony, and as predicted she crashed pretty hard on the way home. I thought it was too cute that she fell asleep firmly biting her new favorite toy, the glowworm (he plays "Lullabye" and blinks red, kind of like an airport tower).

Sister Nina!

About a year ago, my best friend from high school Nina entered a religious order named The Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary based in Miami, Florida. They are a beautiful order that is attracting a lot of young women (if you want to read more about the order you can go to their website http://www.piercedhearts.org/). Their formation program is pretty strict though, so when Nina left we had no idea when we would ever see each other again, and while anyone can write Nina letters, she only has a phone call home to family about every other week. I've missed her a lot this past year when so much has gone on in my life (and in her life too!). Well, God worked some stuff out and we got to see her! A few of the sisters moved to Peoria last year (this is their first convent outside of the Motherhouse) and took over running an existing retreat house there. The Bishop of Peoria was so thrilled with the sisters and their ministry that they decided to rename the retreat house and have a special re-dedication ceremony putting the retreat house in their care... and the Bishop also offered to fly all of their sisters in Miami up for the occasion!

So James, Lucy and I roadtripped to Peoria on Monday night and made it just in time for an evening mass and Cenacle (a prayer service that the sisters do regularly in Miami). We stayed overnight and the next day attended the outdoor dedication mass and celebration. It was so wonderful to see Nina. She seems so happy and at home with the sisters, and there is a peace about her that I've never seen before. She was so excited to meet Lucy. She told me that she has prayed for her every day, even while I was pregnant. I sent her an ultrasound picture, and she said she took it in the chapel everyday and prayed for her to be happy and healthy. No wonder Lucy is such a good baby!

Lucy has been teething quite badly lately and so everything ends up in her mouth, including Nina's cross! Lucy just kept looking at me like, "Mom, this is what I'm talking about... that plastic fish teether is nothing compared to this!" Nina was happy to let her chew on it.

All of the sisters loved seeing Lucy and would just come up to me and hold out their arms for her. This is Sr. Laura snuggling Lucy.

After a wonderful visit, it was hard to say goodbye. We finally got in the car and headed home. Lucy was more than happy to take a turn driving.

Lucy was also very happy to be an honorary grill master at Steak N Shake.

In other news: We're taking a shrt break on the solid food. Lucy had her 6 month pediatrician visit and had to get an oral vaccine, which was apparently very yucky. Every time the nurse would squeeze a little bit in her mouth, Lucy would screw up her face and kick her legs and punch her arms in disgust. The nurse said that while some baby's cry, she had never seen a baby be so dramatic before. And now, whenever we feed Lucy solid food, she has the same reaction, so we're giving it a rest for a while.

We're in a bit of a busy season here. James is not only in the middle of fall outreach on campus, but he is also doing two parish talks back to back! He is re-appealing to his original two parishes, so this past weekend we were at St. Elizabeth of Hungary and this weekend we will be at St. Justin the Martyr. Without going into all the details of how much work and energy goes into a parish talk, I will just say that it is a lot. Say some prayers for us, if you will!

And just in case you haven't had your fill of cute Lucy pictures, here are a few more:

Super Gigantic Woohoo Post!

It's been a while. A lot has happened. Here come a lot of pictures...

playing airplane

Lucy reading Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?

Lucy has discovered this little mirror and sometimes peers quietly into it

I call this toy her desk, because most of the time when I set her down in it, she begins playing very industriously and seriously as though it is her job. I guess it kind of is!

She is a happy little worker.

She is learning to crawl. She can spin around on her belly quite adeptly, but can't really propel herself forward yet, though she tries with all her might. She thinks she is hot stuff anyway.


She loves, loves, loves the Jolly Jumper.



Besides jumping, Lucy's favorite pastime in the Jolly Jumper is reaching for this box of graham crackers. She has never had a graham cracker, she just wants the box. Twice she's gotten the plastic bowls that are next to it, but those are not what she wants. She just starts reaching for the graham crackers again. She is very determined and calculating about this, and will sometimes keep at it for a half hour at a time. We need to baby-proof pronto.

Lucy turned six months and I made her, um, I mean us some cupcakes. The middle outside cupcakes are my sorry attempt at icing geese (Lucy goose).

Aunt Debbie came to visit from Michigan and brought her dogs. Lucy is meeting Millie here.

Aunt Debbie and Owen being buds.

Trying to get a shot of all of us.

Lucy reaching for the beer much to Jeremy's delight.

Jolly Jumping on a chilly morning while I do dishes.

Little hoodlum.

Lucy things feet are the most fascinating things she's ever seen in her little life. Maybe we need to get out more. Anyway, we spend many hours contorting around doing ridiculous things involving feet being near her just to hear that wonderfully deep belly laugh.

Mom, Lucy and I went to the Festival of Nations. We drank a tasty young coconut from the Thai food booth after enjoying some Ethiopian food.


We packed a picnic to enjoy in the park. Unfortunately we realized when we got there that the bread was moldy. So, the ducks had lunch instead.

Goofy face.


I couldn't quite catch James and Lucy smiling at the same time. James would make a noise to make Lucy smile, but then she would stop smiling. So, here is Lucy smiling.

And here is James smiling.

The following pictures are from Lucy's first taste of solid food (if you can call mashed banana "solid").

"Wait, that is not what a finger tastes like..."

Delicious!

Overall, a very happy experience.

James and I finished off the rest of the banana with a few additions (there is a pile of ice cream under all that chocolate sauce and bananas).

Other news: Lucy is working on sitting up, and can do it if she wants to, but is not really interested in doing so very often. She doesn't really want to sit still, she wants to get places (like I said, we need to babyproof).

James has started work back on campus and the year is off to a good start. We've enjoyed connecting with the students again, and meeting new freshmen. We're excited for the year to come!