A Look at Lucy - 5 months

This past month has been a sickness marathon.  Three weeks, two doctor visits, one chest X-ray, and a round of antibiotics later, our girl is finally well!  Not that she is much of a complainer even when she is sick, she is SUPER fun now that she is all better.  

She's turned on the smiles and will even smile for a camera now.

We've tried cereal with a spoon for the first time this month.  She's still trying to figure out how to work her tongue.  It's a messy process figuring out how to eat solid foods. 

The official 5-month photos and stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 14 oz.

Length: 27 inches

6 ounce bottles every 3-4 hours 

She can reach and grab anything she wants.

Smiling, and now laughing, in full swing.

She's sitting by herself most of the time.

Crawling position, yep.  Forward motion, nope.  

She wakes up smiling and "singing" even when she's sick.

My favorite part about this picture is those feet.

My girl is destined to be a yoga star or something.  The soles of her feet stay together like magnets at all times and in all positions.  I think it's pretty cute.

See what I mean with the feet?

And how cute are those zebra print baby leg warmers?

Anyone care to guess who gave her those???

Lulu is just days away from crawling.  I am expecting it anytime.  She can get up on her knees and rock back and forth, but she hasn't taken the first forward motion yet.  She's on the move all the time trying to keep up with her big brother.  

Sam really wants her to start crawling too.  

He's been trying to "show" her how to do it several times.  

Slow down time!  How did we get here so fast?!

The bigger the bow...

...the better the mommy, right?!

Boys are all I really know.  My sister has boys.  My cousins have boys.  We just do boys in my family...until now.  Sometimes I still can't believe we have a baby girl in our family.  I gotta say though, this girl gig is pretty great!  The clothes.  The shoes.  The headbands and bows.  So fun!

In fact, Lucy and I attended our very first bow party this weekend.  This reformed "boy mom" was in unfamiliar territory, but we sure had a great time.  All the mommas were picking out bows to match their girl's outfits.  Before it was all said and done, Lucy and I left with a bow in just about every color of the rainbow and headbands to match.  

Now, to model a few of our (bigger) selections.

              

A Recovering Martha

To say that work is a real challenge for me this year is an understatement.  It's hard.  Really hard.  Not just for me, but for everyone at our school.  We are all working longer, harder, and with much higher stress levels than ever before.  I love what I do and the people I work with and the students I serve, but, boy oh boy, do I need the weekends to decompress.  I could easily bring home enough work to keep me busy all weekend long and still not be caught up...but I don't.  

A dear friend of mine talked me off a ledge a few weeks ago and reminded me of the story in the Bible about Mary and Martha.  Jesus was passing through their town, and the two sisters invited him to join them for dinner.  Mary sat at the feet of her Lord and listened to his every word, focusing on nothing but him.  Martha was distracted with dinner and dishes and hostess duties.  Martha soon became frustrated with her sister and finally blurted out, "Lord don't you see me doing all the work?!  Can't you ask her to help me?" But Jesus replied, "Mary has made the right choice, and you have been distracted by other (less important) things." 

Me and ol' Martha got few things in common...

So, I'm learning to be more like Mary.  I'm learning to realize God is right here in front of me, in the slobbery smile of my baby girl and the contagious giggle of my funny two-year old.  He is there when we read books (over and over) before bedtime or have staring contests over a nighttime bottle.  The joy of the Lord is in my husband's excitement as we load up as a family to look for deer and turkey on the farm.  These times are priceless and fleeting.  I'm learning to savor these moments we spend together as a family.  I'm focusing on my priorities.  The paperwork can wait.  

And you know what, being "Mary" is great!  I still get bouts of anxiety when I see the laundry piles and scattered toys all over the house and unwashed dishes in the sink.  I still stress over how much I need to get done at work.  But, I am prayerfully and consciously trying to focus on what is most important...moments like these:

Sam's Baby

Long before Lucy was ever born, even before we knew we were having a girl, Sam found this baby doll at my mom's house and called her "Lucy."  For a rough and tumble boy, he was very attached to this baby and even asked Nani if we could bring her home with us.  Fast forward a few months, and we thought it was pretty cute that Sam had his Lucy, and we were expecting ours.  

Now that the real Lucy is here, Sam likes to take care of his baby when I'm taking care of mine.  If I'm feeding my Lucy, Sam is feeding his Lucy.  When my Lucy needs a nap, Sam's Lucy needs a nap.  When my Lucy is playing in the floor with toys, his Lucy needs some toys to play with too.  He's quite the little caregiver these days.  It's truly a blessing how wonderful Sam is with both his Lucys.