The Baby Jail...

So even though Lucy isn't walking yet (so very close) she sure can move (like greased lightening), and with our 2 dogs and 2 cats and the fact that she can pull those "babyproof" socket plugs right out in a millisecond we recently invested in a "baby jail". I actually have no idea what this contraption is actually called, because all I've ever referred to it as is "the baby jail", but it looks like several baby gates all attached to one another and it is wonderful.



Esthetically, well, we're not exactly looking like the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog at the moment but, hey, she's happy. We basically turn our family room into a enclosed baby playground with a huge quilt on the floor and toys everywhere, all safety contained within the baby jail. Here Lucy isn't tempted by the seemingly delicious dog beds, seriously every time she would be on the floor she would crawl directly to the (disgusting-even-though-I-wash-them-weekly) dog beds and immediately put her wide open mouth on them. Ew. She would also make a beeline for the electrical outlets (covers-shmovers), the sharp edged brick fireplace or the mean cat...so basically anything that would cause her harm...like a moth to the flame... This "baby jail" has worked wonders.


Every day when I come home from work we spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours playing happily within the (safe) confines of the baby jail. Sometimes this involves throwing our toys over the side with gleeful shrieking ensuing and sometimes it involves sitting quietly with Mama and reading a book, it is great fun for all and I don't have to worry about her trying to tip over the bookcase or getting into the trash under the sink. I'm also looking forward to using it in the yard which I will hopefully get into this year (as opposed to last year when it was a hot mess). I'm hoping to plop her down in the shade of one of our trees with a bunch of toys and books and actually make our garden look halfway decent this year, hurray!




$50 is a small price to pay for piece of mind.

"A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves yet just when you open your mouth she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes. A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot." - Alan Beck

Updated! Lucy's First Birthday in Pictures...

Our darling girl is one whole year old today. Has it really been one year since I held that tiny baby in my arms only minutes after she was born? Did the hospital really send us home with that sweet baby? I mean, did they know that I honestly knew next to nothing about babies? Honestly, it boggles the mind. And yet here we are, a year later...old pros with one another. We must have learned so fast, although I don't remember the learning part and I cannot, for the life of me, remember not knowing how to be a mother.

How fast this year has flown by. Excuse me, can we just slow down time? Just a little? My tiny infant is now bordering on toddlerdom. How can something be so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time? :: sigh ::

We had a little party for Lucy today to celebrate. Pretty simple really -- the lovely "1st Birthday Dress" her cousins wore on their birthdays, dollar store decorations, Rob-made-from-scratch Birthday Cake and ice cream. Add in friends, family and a gaggle of babies and voila! a wonderful birthday afternoon.

Without further adieu-- Lucy's Birthday In Pictures:

"Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight..."
-Hazelmarie Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

A Not So Merry Christmas...

So as much as I love Christmas and as excited as I was for Lucy's Very First Christmas it turns out that she wasn't in pain from teething over Christmas but from a raging ear infection (possibly brought on by her giant front teeth that have now emerged in all of their glory). Poor baby was absolutely miserable Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We took her to a new, local Pediatric Urgent Care on Saturday to fell like the WORST.MOTHER.EVER when it is not, in fact, those giant chompers but instead a terrible ear infection. First Christmas + First Ear Infection = Sad Baby. I will say though that the Pediatric Urgent Care was amazing. We were literally in and out in 15 minutes as opposed to the hours that we would have spent in a regular urgent care. If you're in the Portland area I would keep this place in mind if you have a sick child over the weekend or on a holiday, they are truly amazing!

So now that her antibiotics and ear drops have kicked in Miss Lucy is feeling much better I am enjoying my second week off from work immensely. Honestly, if only I could get paid to stay home with her. It would be a dream. However, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Rob is going back to school to finish his bachelor's degree starting in January so it looks like I'll be the primary breadwinner for, well, a couple years at least (he's contemplating law school, so I'm seeing us living on canned beans for at least a couple of years). I'm glad for him that he is going to get his degree, I'm just sad for me because over the last couple months I feel like I'm helplessly watching Lucy's babyhood slipping away at a rapid pace. It is just so sad. I truly do feel like I'm missing out on so much. I'm thankful for a steady job, but it breaks my heart that it means less time with my family.

Anyways, enough whining for today... I want to share some pictures of our Christmas Day. It wasn't the best one, because Lucy really felt terrible, but we still had a nice morning of exchanging gifts with my mom and had a really lovely dinner made by Rob. He even did all the (millions of) dishes so my sad baby could snuggle with me on the couch after dinner. He's a saint I swear!

Our Christmas Day 2009:




The table all set for Christmas breakfast,







She's an old pro at this pony riding business,


Lou the cocker, enjoying the excitement,




We may not have gone crazy with gifts but Lucy's Nan Nan (my mom) and Nonnie and Pop (Rob's Parents) went NUTS! This is probably half of her "loot",


Rob with this puzzle stocking stuffer thing I got him, that literally took him two minutes to figure out. Why is he so damn smart?




My mom, "Nan Nan", all excited about the albums I made her of all my childhood pictures that she's kept in a box for the last 29 years,









The Christmas Dinner Table,


So that's it! Hope everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas, please share if you feel like it. I love hearing about Christmas, even when it is over. More to come later this week since I'm OFF WORK, yahoo!

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
Our troubles will be out of sight."
-Judy Garland