3 months

Our girl is three months old today. As someone pointed out recently, her "fourth trimester" has come to an end. My mom used to say that three months is a magical age, when babies have unfurled from their newborn cocoon and they start interacting with the outside world. Lucy is certainly unfurling these days. She's our bright eyed girl, and her smile lights up her whole face.
She's more independent every day, and now with better eyesight, she stares curiously at the world around her. She can roll over from back to front, and once she gets her arms free she likes being on her belly. Sometimes she ends up off her mat, on the bare floor, with dog hair stuck to her cheek, but she happily sticks her thumb in her mouth and hangs out, dog hair and all. She's a thumb sucker, this one.

Lucy is a sweet, cuddly girl. She loves to curl up on my shoulder and she will hang out like that for as long as my arms will hold her. She has started cooing and singing, and has a sort of half-laugh that cracks me up every time.

Sometimes I still can't believe she's here. She has changed our lives so profoundly, and yet, she also fits into our family's rhythm in a way that doesn't feel disruptive. After just three months none of us can imagine life without Lucy. When we were still on the fence about having a third child, someone told me that their third brought their family together in a way they would never have expected. This has certainly been true for us. Liam and Milo have never expressed resentment or reluctance about her. Liam will hoist her up onto his shoulder and walk around the house like a pro. Milo loves to make her smile - he makes faces at her endlessly, trying to elicit a grin. They both ask me when they get home from school, "how's Lucy?" and want an update on how she spent her day. Mostly sleeping, I tell them. My girl's a good sleeper.

seven

Milo celebrated seven years on the planet on October 23rd.

Milo has been exploring his limits lately. He's a curious and dedicated student. Schoolwork is generally a breeze for him - he loves math and reading, but spelling has challenged him this year. He meets the challenge head-on, tackling his spelling words each evening with gusto. He's a hard worker, conscientious about getting his work done - whether it's spelling, piano, or a soccer drill. Milo has a mischievous sense of humor, and has been trying out different ways to be funny. Sometimes his attempts at humor generate a laugh only from himself, but other times he hits the mark and cracks up an entire room. He is known among his friends as a stickler for justice, always working to remedy an unfair situation (real and perceived). He is kind and generous, usually willing to give up his turn or his treat for someone else.

Milo is a sweet big brother to Lucy, even though she has displaced him as the "baby" of our family. He loves to make her smile, and tries in vain to distract her in the car, refusing to be dissuaded by her wailing.

This will be the year he becomes a big kid. Until now he has been the little brother - tagging along with Liam's friends, playing Liam's games. But I can see him coming into his own these days, with his own interests and his own rules. Happy Birthday Milo -we love you!

Family party....

Jess and Mark. Milo was surprised to learn recently that these two are not actually related to him. They gave Milo a fish for his birthday. Milo named the fish World War Two. I have no idea why.

Liam and the grandmas (JP and Gramma G.)

The M quilt. I made an L quilt for Liam for his seventh birthday, so this year Milo got one too.

Gramma G.'s infamous angel food cake, with seven candles.

this family is for Obama!

I am voting tonight for Barack Obama. Among myriad other reasons, I am voting for Obama because I believe he will work to make this country a better place for my three beautiful children. Two of my dearest friends made Obama Flags with their children this month, with the intent of "the wind taking our wishes for a new and hopeful president out in to the abyss to meet up with all the other wishes and prayers for Obama to be the next leader of our country." Although I'd love to, we don't quite have the wherewithal to make our own, so instead I put these locally-made Obama Man shirts on my kids today and sent them out in the world as my own wishes and prayers.

VOTE!

breckenridge

Joel and Lucy and I just returned from 5 days in Breckenridge, Colorado. PK had it's fall retreat there, so we made a vacation of it and stayed a few extra days with some friends. Our girl is a fabulous air traveler and charmed all the grumpy old men in first class (turns out it pays to travel for a living). Joel got some quality time with her while I was in meetings (I came home more than once to Joel swaying in front of the TV with Lucy sleeping in the bjorn). She slept better at 9,600 feet than either of her sea-level dwelling parents, and only fussed a little on our Saturday hike up Buffalo Mountain.

The ladies: Leslie, Kirsten, Rhonda, Melissa and Lucy

Shades facilitated a nap on our way up the mountain.

Ryan told me what all these mountains are, but I forgot. (Was too focused on not falling over the cliff with the bjorn making me front-heavy.) After the hike we had a lovely dinner at the Dam Brewery, took hits from the oxygen machine in the condo, and played Taboo while slowly giving in to the odd combination of altitude and wine....

sink bath

Bathing in the sink is a favorite passtime. Joel discovered this solution when he was hanging out with an inconsolable Lucy on a recent evening, and now it's just fun to stick her in there.

cousins

Sylvia (almost 2) and Lucy got to know each other the other night when Sylvia and Kitty visited from Portland.

Two girls!

sidelines

I warned Lucy last weekend that she'll be spending some considerable time in her early years, sitting on the sidelines of various sporting events. I'm sure she'll be glad when she gets to don her own pair of cleats and join the fray. On Saturday Liam and Milo had back to back soccer games, and in typical Eugene fashion the day started out cold and cloudy, but by the end of the second game the sun was shining. Everyone sitting on the sidelines was shedding fleece layers and sunburning our noses because who thinks about sunscreen on a cold October morning?

Sleepy pumpkin.
Joel and Lucy coached Milo's game together.
Cheering for Milo.
Milo and Miles - best friends and self proclaimed U-8 stars. This is their third year of playing together. They are formidable on the field, and as sweet as honey off the field. (Not so good at keeping the juice in the juicebox though...)

blue lucile

Lucy slept in her carseat today all the way home from Junction City (took the kids to Lone Pine Farm on their day off from school). I had actually forgotten how nice it can be to take a drive without the sounds of a screaming baby, but rather some good music and the chatter of little boys in the backseat.

three wheels

Lucy still hates the car. HATES the car. It has gotten pretty bad in the last week - to the point that she just has to touch her carseat and her little face will screw up into an expression of utter misery. The girl has excellent stamina - she can scream for an entire day of errands. Thanks to Lucy, my carpool is pretty unpopular.

Given the car situation, I had some trepidations about trying out the baby jogger. But the ergo and the bjorn are starting to make my back tired, so I bravely stuck her in the jogger seat, strapped her up, and off we went. And it was fabulous. Not a peep out of my girl for an entire hour. Through the little window on the canopy I watched her watch the world go by. What a relief.

Another quick word about the baby jogger. This late model jogger was purchased for Liam, nine years ago. It has been a loyal member of our family for all these years. It has been on numerous runs, weekly trips to the farmer's market, and has proven itself on many a trail. Most recently the purple jogger has lived with some good friends of ours, one of whom is an ultramarathoner, so you can imagine how many miles have been put on these wheels. Pushed by L.T., this jogger was the first one to cross the finish line in the Butte to Butte last year. I hope our purple friend enjoyed her moment of glory, because it will be the first and last time that happens!

Wow

This post is for anyone who has lived in Eugene and/or attended a show at the infamous Wow Hall, and/or dislikes drumming as much as I do. Joel's office party was held at the Wow Hall last weekend, and Lucy and I made a guest appearance. This is us, nursing in the office.

And this is my favorite warning sign in Eugene.