Welcome to the world Harper Mary!!!

Harper Mary Jefferies was born on Tuesday, May 13 at 11:04pm. After 8 hours of labor, she came into the world weighing 6lbs 9 oz with a perfectly round little head full of the funniest hair. Her eyes are a deep blue although we haven't seen them much (she slept 13 hours straight on Wed!) Her hair is a light brown with lots of golden blonde highlights, it swirls around her head and is pretty long. I think she resembles Lucy at this age, but she seems to look a bit more like Ian than Lu did. We are all doing well and have brought Harper home and are excited to show her off to the world. Lucy is very concerned with making sure she has clean diapers, showing Harper her toys and touching her at every opportunity. Here are some photos. I'm off to bed before the little night owl wakes up, more reports to come very soon...

Lucy meets Harper

Lucy came in to the hospital so full of energy and excitement. This is some of her initial reaction to meeting her little sister. Believe me, the excitement has still not ended. She loves Harper, even if sharing her parents is a bit of a challenge right now.

Obama!

I was watching a few minutes of the news yesterday when Lucy walked into the room. Hillary Clinton was on the screen and Lucy said, "Where's Obama?" Sure enough, he flashed up on the screen and she was happy. I guess she has made her decision as to whom she is supporting. At present she has just brought out her president flash cards. It still makes me laugh when she yells, "Reagan!" or "Nixon!" or "Mary Todd!" I think she has the political bug already.

Happy Mother's Day!

I woke this morning with nobody but Reggie in the house. There was clear evidence that breakfast was going to be made at home and that Ian and Lucy had gone out on what we like to call "a secret mission" (always a present buying outing). They returned with balloon, tulips and roses in hand and Lucy yelling "Happy Mother's Day!" Not a bad way to start the day at all. Then they made pancakes and bacon and Lucy painted LaLa's new imaginary friend (who, by the way is named "Human") a card to give to her family for mother's day. Throughout the week Lucy has also presented me with a thumprinted clay pot, a card, a painting and a whole lot of chocolate kisses to mark Mother's Day. I'm not sure she understands the fuss, but she is always willing to give me presents!

The one not showing up, Little Sister. I have endured 3 nights now of false labor. I'm not even getting out of bed for it anymore. It starts up, lasts for hours with contractions about 10 minutes apart and then just fizzles out. The first night it lasted for 10 hours! We were all set to go to the hospital when the doctor said to wait. Shortly after they stopped. No fun. Yesterday marked 5 days before my due date, Lucy came 5 days early. Today is Mother's Day, maybe she'll come today. Tomorrow is Monday the 12th- Lucy was born on Monday the 12th. After tomorrow, I will start to lose patience. I really don't want to go to the doctor for just another check up!

Birthday party, tutus and Derby

We kicked off Derby Day with a birthday party for both Asher and Aurelia. The party was at the BV playground so Lucy got lots of swing and slide time, lots of fun in the sun and all the pizza that little tummy can hold (while also holding 2 juice boxes!) She was so funny because the night before she started planning her outfit- I have to say this is a first other than for school nights. She decided that she needed to wear a tutu and make-up. We left it at that and thought she probably wouldn't remember this morning. Wrong. She had all of her dress up clothes out bright and early and I had to contain her at just a tutu. At one time, she wanted to wear a tutu, her ladybug costume, boots, a tiara and take a princess wand. We compromised on a dress, pink tutu and her pink Chuck Taylors (very Punky Brewster!) Then it was time for the glitter. And boy, did we glitter. She glittered every inch of her body and about half of mine. Everybody we came into contact with over the course of the day was wearing some of her glitter within minutes. When I asked Lucy if she was a ballerina, a fairy or a princess she said, "I'm just a girl who likes tutus."

After a nap we made a collage of horse pictures from magazines and talked about the Kentucky Derby. We then headed out for some fun with friends in the front yard. No worries, Christian blasted us with "My Old Kentucky Home" from inside his house so we did not miss the tribute to our own Kentucky home. Then we watched the Derby with Ronin's family where Lucy yelled "Go horsies, go!" and cheered for the girl horse, who, of course came in second. She was so worried and beside herself when she overheard that the girl horse was hurt. We didn't have the heart to tell her anything other than the fact that the horse was no longer hurting. The good news, I hit the exacta, so Momma will have new clothes after this baby decides to make her appearance- yippee! Thanks Big Brown and Eight Belles! We finished the night with a pop-up book from Grandpa and Bon Bon about the Kentucky Derby. She will have rosy dreams tonight (she loved the idea of the horse getting covered in roses!)

It's 9:21pm. Having lots of Braxton-Hicks. No sign of Little Sister yet. Sorry Derby-baby fans, this filly looks to be staying in place for the time being.

May 2008 Our favorite Lucyisms

backmoley"- or guacamole. She likes it with "quesadillas" which is anything in a tortilla, including plain tortillas, tacos or quesadillas.
"Noonyuls"- or noodles. Lucy asks for "noonyuls" for every lunch and dinner. Sometimes she wants them with "pasta" or pesto and sometimes with "red sauce" or marinara.
"George Washington Monument"- In Lucy's world, everything with Washington or George Washington is now George Washington Monument. For instance, we live near the George Washington Monument Parkway. The first president of the US was the George Washington Monument, etc.
"Hockey"- Lucy has a love for this sport, but it is also the word she uses for jockey. She is in love with the Kentucky Derby and gets on her rocking horse to ride in her version of the race as a "hockey". And by the way, "hockeys" wear different colored hats.
"Bessert"- Lucy's way of saying dessert. We hear "what is for bessert?" about a hundred times each night at dinner.
"Camote" this is Lucy's word for remote. You can correct her a zillion times, she will say it correctly and then immediately resort back to saying "here is the camote, can I watch Mickey Mouse?"

Lucy's big day

We went into DC yesterday to see the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum and to have lunch with Ian. Well, the butterflies were being swarmed by school groups so we dropped in on the dinosaurs and then hopped on a train to see Ian at the National Building Museum. We had a nice lunch and then Lucy and I had the entire run of the Building Zone to ourselves so she thoroughly enjoyed being able to dominate all the tools she wanted. Of course, her favorite part is always riding the Metro.

We finished the day with 31 cent night at Baskin Robbins where they were raising money for firefighters. Lucy was able to sit on the truck twice and loved all the buttons and pretending to drive although she kept telling me that "it wasn't going to move".

Glitter Girl

Lucy recieved a new make up kit from the Easter Bunny at Pops and Grandma' s house. This one takes the make up to another level. Why? Because their is glitter. Lucy was so thrilled with the glittery lipstick and lipgloss and then the glittery nail polish that she couldn't quit squealing. The kicker, the powder which is also glittery. Our carpet will never be the same! Ian got home that night and both Lucy and I were glimmering from head to toe. The pictures would only pick up some of the glitter- trust me, she is shimmering all over!

Diapering La La

La La is definitely the baby of choice these days. As Lucy says, "she's my best friend!" La La can use the potty, but Lucy still spends 99% of her time diapering La La (or having Ian and I diaper her). The rest of the time is spent giving La La "applesauce" or bottles. She also likes to pretend that GaGa is picking La La up to go somewhere and Lucy has to get the diaper bag and La La all ready.

Ice Cream Social

Lucy's school had a fundraiser for their Relay for Life Team last night. You could go and buy ice cream with all the toppings and the kids had free face painting, balloons, tattoos, etc. In addition, each class focused on a type of art or artist and each child made a matted piece of artwork that was "up for auction". Lucy's was a piece made out of dipping koosh balls into different colors of paint and rolling them on paper. She was very proud to show me. She also loved the ice cream- what's not to love about vanilla with sprinkles, cherries, and m&ms?

When asked what she wanted painted on her face, she thought about it for a solid couple of minutes and then said, " A star. A black star." She definitely stood out among all the girls who had rainbows, colorful flowers, and big pink hearts painted on their faces!

Ian didn't make it to the party- he had Lasik done on Thursday morning and his eyes were still recovering. Fortunately, they are feeling better and his vision is all but perfect already!

Teddy Bear Picnic

We met up with some of our Old Town playgroup friends today at a park down near the Potomac. We had a teddy bear picnic. Lucy chose to take her hot pink tea set, her two Care Bears and enough food to feed an army of hungry children. She played in the sandbox, on the slides and had all the boys chasing her to grab the football she was holding hostage. They might tackle harder than she can, but, boy oh boy, she is so much faster than they are- quick little feet!

Over the past few days Lucy has become so mommy-minded. She calls me to do everything for her and doesn't mind having Ian around, in fact wants him around, but I am the one she wants to do everything for her. She butters me up by saying things like "Momma, you are so beautiful, your eyes are so beautiful and your face is so beautiful". Then she climbs on me like I'm a jungle gym. She was sliding down the slide today and said, "Here I come sliding. And I love you!" Maybe she senses that our whole world is going to be changing very soon.

Caterpillars are here!

Bon Bon and Grandpa gave Lucy a butterfly house for Easter and we have been waiting for our caterpillars to arrive. Well, they did today to much fanfare. Actually, we got them in the mail and as soon as Lucy saw the box, she shook it. Needless to say, that isn't what you are suppose to do to your new pets, but the excitement just took over. They were fine and they are now living in her butterfly house. She went out tonight and picked all sorts of leaves for them and was so excited to watch them move about. She also counted them about a zillion times. For the record, there are 5.

Unfortunately, the caterpillars did not come with instructions. Let's just hope that we can keep them alive until the turn into butterflies. I might be sending Ian out into the backyard with a net to capture some for a switcheroo.

Contractions galore

So I had contractions for nearly 11 hours the other night. Most were not painful but they did get a bit mroe painful towards the end. I guess she's getting ready. She keeps me up half the night and I am now averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep a day. I also can't stop cleaning! It's ridiculous. Oh well, it's helping keep all the pollen at bay that seems to sweep through our area like the plague this time of year.

In the meantime, Lucy can hardly wait to welcome the baby. She asks about her all the time, she is making plans for taking her swimming, to the playground, sharing her toys, taking baths with her, reading her books, showing her how to cook and she really can't wait to "hold her, and kiss her and give her lots and lots of hugs." She runs up and kisses my belly many, many times a day and loves when the baby gets hiccups and she can feel them.

So now we wait...

Baby Shower

Our neighborhood playgroup friends hosted a shower in Little Sister's honor on Sat, April 19. Everyone was so generous with their gifts of little pink clothes, Buy Buy Baby gift certificates (to help us buy our double stroller), stuffed animals, picture frames, wash cloths and all sorts of baby care items. It's crazy to think that at this point when we were expecting Lucy, we didn't know anyone in the area, now we have friends that are here to support us every step of the way. One of the nicest parts of the shower was a coupon book that the group put together full of offers for dinners, Lucy playdates, ice cream treats, walking buddies, etc. Can't wait to cash them in!

We only have 3.5 weeks to go until Little Sister is due- of course that could mean only about a week and a half. We are ready- car seats are in their new places, baby clothes are washed, food is frozen in the freezer for fast meals, and Lucy is antsy beyond belief. She is so excited and ready to welcome the new baby. She is going to be a great big sister!

Splash Party

We invited some friends over to enjoy the super-warm weather on Friday. Lucy loved filling the buckets with the super cold water from the hose and washing her dishes, watering the plants and grass and playing with her friends- Asher, Andrew, Aurelia and Baby Quinn. Well, she didn't really play with Quinn, but she was smitten with Quinn who is just 4 weeks old. Lucy really wanted to take care of her and shower her with affection. She rocked her in her seat, she tried to calm her when she cried, she offered her her paci and then when Lucy's attention wasn't being directed toward Quinn, she was rocking and taking care of La La. You would've thought that Lucy had been living with a new baby in the house for months- she really knows what to do and how to behave! She was so proud that she was able to help.

Painting

Lucy's special projects are a little different these days. She used to want me to more or less lead the way with everything. Now, she really wants to do things on her own, but with me sitting there so that she can tell me what to do- poor Little Sister, she will always be the one getting instruction if this keeps up! Here is Lucy "glitter painting". It's one of her favorites. She loves to take the tops off, squeeze the tubes, spread the paint and then top the tubes again- it is very ritualistic and a very serious endeavor.