Zoo Time

On an unexpectedly cooler than normal day (which means it was less than ninety degrees!) this summer, we took a last minute trip to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. Luci loved visiting with the animals and always made sure to say 'hi' and 'bye' to each of them. Her favorite (that day, it frequently changes) was the sea lion - so she left the Zoo with a small stuffed sea lion that she now sleeps with. We had so much fun that we decided to get a membership so we can access the zoo and any of the 3 NC aquariums this year an unlimited amount of times.

Summertime and the living is easy - unless you have a 2 yr old ;)

It's been stifling hot this summer. But we're still having fun trying to stay cool.

Luci's verbal skills continue to amaze us. She can say her ABCs and count from 1 to 11. (From 11 she continues on to 13, 17 and 18 - random). She repeats back practically everything we say. This morning she said to Kai 'hey goose, you need to get up right now'. I'm learning to watch my mouth. She is also turning quite bossy in her old age - she likes to tell mommy, daddy and Jack where we can sit - when we can go downstairs or upstairs and when it's time for us to go to bed. Poor Jack gets the worst of it. But he's a trooper.

She loves learning about animals and playing with her baby dolls. And she really really loves the pool - she likes to go down the slide and jump in from the side - she loves it so much that she cries every time we leave.

She's transitioned well to her new 2 yr old classroom - but is still having difficulty sleeping. When she gets overtired she repeats the word 'no' and waves her arms out in front of her for 20 minutes straight - no exaggeration. She's a little bit nuts. Just like the rest of us.

Here are some recent pictures of Ms. Luciana and family:

cooling off by eating some mystery blueberry watergate salad that daddy made

sitting next to her new easel courtesy of Mimi & Poppy in her new gorgeous rocking chair that Captain made her for her birthday

posing in her bathing suit, jellies and hat (we're painting our kitchen)

chatting with Paw-Paw on the computer during her birthday

Climbing the rock wall at Museum of Life & Sciences

building blocks

at the Durham Bulls game

Mimi, Mommy and Looch showing off our Durham Bulls hats with Poppy and Kai at the Durham Bulls Ballpark

eating birthday cupcake and ice cream

At Kerr Lake, Luci shows off her paddling skills

Mimi, Luci and Daddy at the lake on July 4th

Luci giving herself a manicure in her new bathrobe from Mimi.

Lucy in her new play house (purchased off of Craigslist) - a gift from Mommy & Daddy for her 2nd birthday.

Chilling poolside.

A Star is Born

We took Luci to Portrait Innovations today for her 2nd 'professional' photo shoot. She really hammed it up - in between takes she kept running into the dressing room and posing in front of the mirror. She did a great job taking direction from the photographer. We were pretty amazed considering she's been a bit of terror as of late. We transitioned her out of her crib recently and she's been having difficulty napping - nap time now equates with time to trash her room. Hopefully she'll adjust soon and we'll all get more sleep.

TWO!

Little Luci has hit the big 2.

She's had a jam-packed 4-day weekend of activities to celebrate - pictures will be posted shortly.

But for now, we'd like to wish our little girl a very happy birthday. We love you more than we thought was possible. Happy Birthday Sweet Luciana!

happy father's day

lucy at tobay beach with daddy and poppy

lucy playing 'sticks' with paw-paw

popsicle time with Daddy

Lucy and Daddy - Father's Day 2010

Luciana is so lucky to have such a wonderful father. I always knew Kai would make a fantastic husband and someday a great daddy - but his patience, sense of humor and playfulness have put him in the running for Father of the Year. Lucy is a daddy's girl through & through and although it would be easy to get jealous of their relationship, instead I've learned to celebrate their special bond and be thankful that my daughter has such an attentive and loving father.

Lucy is so blessed to also have 2 wonderful grandfathers who love to spend time with her and show her the ways of the world.

happy father's day :)

the beauty of ocracoke

the family spent a long Easter weekend on the lovely island of Ocracoke.

we all had an incredible time - Lucy spent many hours happily running on the beach, picking up shells, examining each grain of sand & playing in the surf.

Good Day Sunshine

Lucy putting her baby & herself 'night night' under the living room rug

Ahoy!

Making mud pies = making a major mess

Lucy loves to push George, her baby or Elmo in a stroller. She needs to have her purse with her when she does this.

Now that the weather has (finally!) turned into those gorgeous, sunny days that NC is famous for, Luciana has been spending most of her time outside. A couple of weeks ago, we bought a canoe and took it out on Jordan Lake for the first maiden voyage of the SS Monast. We look forward to many more boat rides this Spring & Summer. We also took a long bike ride this past weekend on the American Tobacco Trail, with a pit stop at a playground. But probably Lucy's favorite thing of all is to play with dirt - she loves getting filthy!