What's New in June

Lucia has done a lot this month. See what's new in June....

No, that's not a baby toupee. Lucia has managed to rub a big bald spot into the back of her head. Now her swirly is just a half-swirly.She's decided that laying down all the time is a real drag and that "standing" allows a better view of the world.

Tummy time is always better shared with a friend...

Things are becoming more interesting...

Hands are for doing lots of things...

...like grabbing...

...and chewing...

Visits with grandmas...

Of course, lots of laughs were had...

And finally, Mom turned 30 this month. She bought a van. She is now officially old...

Baby Bottle Drama

Starting at about 6 weeks of age, Lucia has refused to take a bottle. She would rather scream and starve than drink from one. Mom could never leave the house for more than an hour and half. Since she would have to go back to work for a couple of weeks starting June 2, we were worried. We spent a small fortune trying different types of bottles and worked with her to take one several times a day for over a month.
Turned out that Grand Aunt Carol finally coaxed Lucia into taking a bottle while Mom was away for an entire day to work at a pet event just days before starting back at work. She poked several extra holes in the Playtex bottle, sat Lucia in the bouncy seat on "vibrate", had Ben dangle toys and turn on the hair dryer as distraction, and shoved the nipple into her mouth. Success! 3 ounces in! It's still not a smooth road but Mom is happily back at work.

She's 3 Months!

Here is Lucia's 3-month picture with Rowlf.

Road Trip #4

Lucia has been keeping her parents busy...and vice-versa. She has done a lot over the past several weeks and it's been hard to keep up with the postings. Here is what she has been doing!

We took another week-long road trip to Chicago to visit with Grandma Roxana and Grandpa John around Memorial Day. She watched the Preakness horse race with Grandpa John. It looks like her grandfather is priming Lucia to beg for a pony sometime in the near future. ...and setting her up for TV addiction...

Uncle JR helped with tummy time...

...and showed Lucia how to grab onto her toys.

She visited with friend, Max, who tried some moves on Lucia. She made it clear she was a daddy's girl, though (see bib).

Grandma Roxana taught her some songs and rhymes in Spanish.

Lucia took her first Metra ride to the city to see Grand Auntie Lynn and Uncle Jim's apartment in the Loop.

Nice view!

On the way home, Lucia practiced copying her mom's facial expressions.

Later in the week as an extra Mother's Day event, we took a brunch cruise on the boat The Odyssey on Lake Michigan with Lucia's grandparents, great grandmother, uncle, and aunt. Lucia had a sailor suit just for the occassion.

On Memorial Day, Lucia went with Grandpa John to the big Memorial Day parade in Elmhurst. There, they ran into Catherine's cousin Lynn and her kids Kevin, Matthew, Jack, and Annie. She was quite taken with all the kids.

Sit, Stay, Roll Over

Lucia has had the "stay" mastered for a while now. On Mother's Day, Lucia gave her mom a special gift. She rolled over for the first time. Now the only thing left is learning "sit"!

First Mother's Day

Lucia wished her mom, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers all a happy mother's day by phone and in person. She met her great grandmother Betty for the first time on Saturday.

A Chair of One's Own

Lucia got her own chair! Now she can join us at the table during dinner. She loves to watch us munch. When she gets bored, her chair came with a tray toy for her to look at. Fancy!

Smiley Band-Aids

Lucia had her two month doctor visit for a check-up and immunizations. Doctor says she is healthy and looking great. She weighed in at 13 lbs (93rd percentile) and is a full two feet in length (95th percentile). Apparently, a baby as long as Lucia is generally pretty lanky. Not Lucia! She makes sure to eat every two hours to keep herself proprotionate. Her mom can hardly keep up.

Lucia then got three immunization shots. One second before she got poked she was smiling and laughing, the next 30 seconds we had a screaming, red faced baby, and the following 30 seconds Lucia calmed down and had forgotten what had happened. Fancy children's bandaids must be hard to come by these days. Lucia got three beige circular bandaids with penned on smiley faces. I can't imagine who they must be paying in the back to draw all the little smiley faces on little round bandaids. At least they're trying to make the kids feel better...?

Sweet Rides

Lucia may not have a Ferrari, but she does have some fabulous rides at home that keep her happy. She is a fan of the Fisher Price models. She has a new 2008 swing and got a slick deal on a used 2007 bouncy seat complete with rattlely giraffes. Sweet...!

Descubri las Manos

On Cinco de Mayo, Lucia discovered her hands! Que chula!