Silly Songs with Lucy

(read in your head using your deepest and cheesiest announcer voice) 
Introducing the new hit album - Silly Songs with Lucy: volume 1

 Tracks include all-time classics like
1. Snowman
2. Daddy comes home
3. Jingle Bells (a year round favorite)
4. Man or Muppet
5. I Am a Child of God
6. Open Shut Them
7. Baby Bumblebee

And now it's better than ever with songs sung to baby sister --- "Rockabye don't you cry", "Lullaby" and "We Will Rock You ...Baby"

And if that's not enough - it also includes an all new Lucy original:

"Mommy and Daddy"

And a song featuring Luke on vocals
"Follow the Prophet"

A bonus track of recently discovered "winter Lucy" (7 months ago) dancing to "Tonka to the rescue" is also available on this one time offer.  So act now!  All you have to do is press play (which will automatically send Lucy $99.99...jk man).  Hurry, this offer will not last. 

Memorial Day

I love this note from Sarah.  My mom found it and brought it out to me.  I wrote her a letter today too but it wasn't quite as awesome as hers.  Same idea though.

Disc Golf Mania / J&R's visit

My husband has a problem.  A disc golf addiction.  He knew it had become a problem when he was doing it alone.  So, I called for an intervention.  Jake rushed out to be with Joey but then he too succumbed to the power of disc golf.  Rebekah and I didn't see much of these brohahas and we knew they were up to no good - making back alley deals with the likes of disc daniel.  We tallied up the number of holes that Jake and Joey played together during Jake's 5 day visit.  Yeah, it was over two hundred!  Oh, the life of a disc golf widow.
I did follow them on one of their expeditions.  A family event in Shelby Forrest.  Rebekah played (and was really good) but I mostly just hiked around with Luke and Lucy and played light saber fighting and hide and seek.

Their trip was primarily disc golf - but we also did a little ...

picnicking

 park playing

 baby lovin

and video gaming

So, Jake and Rebekah really do have a knack for connecting with kids.  Rebekah was so helpful with Maryanne.  She loves, loves, loves babies and they love her.  And Jake played with Luke and Lucy and gave them lots of attention.  I loved it. He had some manly bonding time with Luke - punching lessons etc.  At one point he said something about being a "wuss" and Luke was really interested in what that meant and became very determined not be one.  So, cool Uncle Jake could get him to eat anything and do anything to prove he was "tough".   Jake had him eat a slice of tomato (which he hates) and he was so proud of him.  He told us that even though he didn't like it - he just muscled through it and swallowed it.   Jake wanted to show us how tough our kid was so he had him eat another one.  And turns out - he is pretty dang tough ---

turtley

We found a new friend on road and he looked like he really wanted to hang out with us for the day

(i think he looks like master oogway from kung fu panda - he probably gets that a lot.)

so we took him disc golfing with us 

and let him watch a few movies

and just hung out with him

Until we had to say good-bye and send him back to his family.  We miss you turtley.  (so aptly named by Luke. Come to think of it, he WAS kinda turtley)

2 months

2 months

Maryanne turned 2 months on the 14th and her stats came in as  11 lbs 10 oz (75%) and 23 inches long (75%) and HC 39 (50%). It's strange to witness the growth of newborns.  Imagine if we grew 3 inches and doubled our weight in 2 months.  That is some pretty serious growing.

I thought it would be fun to go back and see what the other kids were at 2 months:
Luke - 13 lbs 12 oz (80%), 24 3/4 inches (95%)  I wish I had his head circumference cause the kid's got a large noggin.  But I know it was always in the 100th percentile.
Lucy Kate - 13 lbs 12 oz ((95%) 23 inches (75%) HC 40 (75%)

Wow!  I never knew that Luke and Lucy were the exact same weight at 2 months! Only Luke was almost 2 inches longer. Lucy man, what a chubbers.  She was such a champion nurser.

So here are more pictures of maryannie
  7 weeks....

first smile  - May 6th

I'm seeing a little of Meredith in her. (double cousin).  Edith?

Ok, so this kid is a tricky one.  She is hard to feed because she wiggles and pulls and wrestles.  And she acts like she's always hungry.  We feed her so much!  She also spits up a lot.  It's been stressful to try to figure it out.  She really loves her dad.  I think she's smiled for him a dozen times or more and only twice for me.  She seems like a sober youth.  I think she's got tummy troubles though and possibly reflux - so perhaps she will get happier when she grows out of that.  (and we just got some reflux medicine which will hopefully help)  But when she is feeling good - she is so calm and wide-eyed, taking in the world around her.  She might be an old soul who just quietly figures everything out.  She likes to be held - which is new for us.  Luke liked when we just left him alone and couldn't really fall asleep when we were holding him.  Maryanne loves to be held - awake or asleep. 

quilt from my cool cool friend Liz

5 weeks...

One Month  4/14/12

 4 weeks ...

 this was her first bath.  She was so relaxed and peaceful.  Look how she just sprawled out and she really seemed to enjoy herself.  nice arm span huh?

3 weeks...

We are sure loving this baby.   Although Joey and I are in a constant state of exhaustion.  We basically put all the kids to bed and go to bed ourselves like real fuddy duddies.  But there seems to be hope for better sleeping as she is starting to sleep longer and follow a schedule.  Even when I have the hardest days when I get absolutely nothing done or feel my life is so out of control - I just think to myself - hey, I'm holding a baby.  MY baby.  That is a glorious thing.  So, I am trying hard to not care if anything gets done and just enjoy this sweet baby in the midst of all my chaos. 

Happy Mother's Day