Halloween

My mom came for Halloween! It was wonderful to spend time with her. Sadly, Lucy got a horrible cough the second day she was here. She was pretty miserable, which limited our options for the rest of the weekend. But, we of course, still managed to have a good time. The day before Lucy got sick, we made a trip to IKEA. My mom, the HGTV queen, had never been. So we righted that great wrong. Lucy enjoyed the slide in the children's section, as well as all the Lucy-sized tables and chairs.

Lucy has been playing with this balloon for the past three weeks. We keep thinking she's going to pop it and traumatize herself, but so far, so good. Which reminds me of a funny Lucy story. Lucy is terrified of the vacuum. I almost always have to hold her while I vacuum, otherwise she will cry in fright. One day I was preparing to vacuum and talking to her about how it's not scary, it can't hurt us, etc etc. Lucy stood a couple feet away from the vacuum nervously as I went to plug it in. Sadly, the vacuum has somehow been turned on, so as soon as I plugged it in, it whirred to life and scared Lucy to death. I'm pretty sure I'll be pay for that therapy session! So much for the non-scary vacuum!

Have I mentioned how talented my mom is? Lucy loves cats, and is very good at meowing, so I decided a kitty would be a great Halloween costume for her this year. So, my mom came prepared with a plain grey sweat suit, felt for a tail, paint, and a little stocking cap. And then she went to town and made a little grey tabby cat costume, which Lucy was very excited about.

A quick peak in the mirror convinced her to keep her hat on and we were off to trick-or-treat.

II'd say Lucy's first trick-or-treating adventure was a big success. Although she cannot yet say "Trick or treat" she did tell every single person that gave her candy "bye" in a very cheerful and sweet voice. I think she had a great time watching all of the other kids, and the novelty of taking a walk in the dark.

Her favorite part was dumping out the loot at the end. The thing she was most excited about was a Clifford juice box. Fine with me! Grandma, Mommy and Daddy snacked on the rest. I love being a mom...

Lucy was also very interested in some playdough that someone gave out. So far, she does not yet know that it comes out of the little tub. I'd like to keep it that was for just a little bit longer!

In other news, Lucy has learned to say "thank you" and loves to say it. When we go to the grocery store, she tells the cashier "Hi! Hi! Hello!" until they acknowledge her. Then she says "Thank you" to both the cashier and the bagger until we start walking away, when she repeats "Bye! BYE!" until we are out the door. She is quite the social one sometimes.

One last Lucy story that I have to write down to make sure I remember it. When we pray before meals, she bows her head and puts her hands over her eyes (but peaks out at us between her fingers). She then attempts the Sign of the Cross, which is very similar to the sign language for please (a rubbing motion across the chest). And finally, she claps for herself and sometimes says "Amen!" It's all very sweet and makes us laugh every time.