Lots of news!

So, I started this post over a month ago, and was interrupted several times, and then I accidentally deleted all of the text that went along with it. So now you get the abridged version, which is what you probably wanted anyway!

Since I last blogged, we had another power outage lasting a couple of days and also included about 10-15 minutes of gushing water coming underneath our front door. Thankfully nothing was damaged (except perhaps my sanity).

James started school at the beginning of September, and so far he's really enjoying it. September has been phenomenally busy because one of his classes is happening completely in September. So, basically one semester's worth of classes/reading is crammed into one month (along with all of the other regular classes, plus his work). We're a little exhausted and very happy to see October on the horizon. Besides an enormous amount of reading, he's really enjoyed classes. He even got to go to a conference that his school held, which was also really good.

And grand finale, I got a job! I watch a little boy named Jack, who is almost a year old. He is very sweet, and his parents are also very friendly and laid-back. Lucy and Jack have become good friends, and I think Lucy really enjoys the interaction. We pretty much spend all day ever day playing at the park, listening to music/dancing, reading books, and terrorizing Jack's cat (who semi-enjoys the attention). It's a very wonderful fit for me, and I feel so lucky to have found it!

Now for some pictures. First off, Lucy's grandma Stanley made her a very cute outfit for her birthday, and it just recently began to fit her. She loves wearing it as it has Elmo on it. Here she is modeling it on a Lucy-paced walk. I try to let her lead our walks: stopping to pick up rocks, feel some grass, or call out to a squirrel. She thoroughly enjoys it and it helps me work on my patience : )

Lucy always, always has to go over this speed bump at least twice, and she always walks on the line.

For some reason, Lucy gets a really bad rash on her face every time she eats spaghetti (one of her favorite foods, besides beans, cheese and grapes). Thus, spaghetti night is usually bath night too, because I just feel so bad for her puffy little red face!

Lucy has been playing with a lot of not-toys lately. She was recently occupied with a potato for hours, throwing it and calling it a ball. She will bring socks to me (any socks, hers, mine or James'), and whisper "Suk, suk" until I put them on her hands so she can run around with them. We call it "Sock Hand" and treat it as a Superhero/Archvillian, depending on her mood. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of that, but I do have a picture of the following: Lucy with a cardboard that was around some new tupperware on her head.

We recently purchased a potty chair, but so far this is the only action it has seen.

Lucy's language has really been taking off lately. Her favorite sound seems to be "k", as here are some of her favorite words: park, walk, cracker, cookie (as in Cookie Monster, and cookie), milk, "sick" which is music, book, back (as in "Daddy will be back" and "my coat protects my back"), kitty which is pronounced "kitt-eh," sock, blanket (sometimes "banke" and sometimes "book-aye"), and that's about all I can think of though I know there is more. Another one of her favorite works is "bot," as in "Can I have a bite of that?" It's amazing to think that about six months ago she could only say mama, dada and hi. Sign language has also been so helpful to us. We don't do it terribly often, but it is so helpful with things that she needs to express but doesn't have the language for. The one we used most is "all done." It helped us avoid a lot of screaming. I recently taught her the sign for "please" and she picked that one up very quickly and uses it appropriately. It's great!

That's all the news here. I hope to take more pictures soon once September ends. Hope your autumn is off to a good start!