Lots of updates...

First, we are LIVING in our house...and we LOVE it! We moved in exactly three weeks ago and it has been chaos since then. In typical Lindsay style (add to that the nesting instinct), every box is unpacked and we are all settled in. I would post before and after pictures, but I forgot to take before pictures...so mad at myself.

Claire Ann Hardaway will be here on February 16th, if not before. Yes, that is two days from now and I am getting very anxious. Can't believe we will have a 19 month old and a newborn in a little over 48 hours. Yikes! We are so excited to meet baby Claire and kiss her sweet face! Please say a prayer for Lucy as she adjusts to not being the one and only...

Lucy is SO fun right now! Naughty at times, but still fun. She says a new word daily and attempts to repeat everything she hears. She no longer walks places, but instead runs. She has a sense of humor and can always make us laugh. Lucy has really bonded with Lady over the past few weeks and will NOT leave her alone. She rides her like a horse, chases her around the house, plays tug-o-war with her and thinks Lady's bed is also her bed. She loves to put on music and have a dance party. She is very attached to her 'loveys'...small blankets with an animal head on one corner. She will eat just about anything, except for meat...unless it is a chicken nugget. She loves to climb...makes me so nervous. If you point to my stomach, she will say "Claire." So cute! And of course she still LOVES Elmo!

Lucy's Christmas morning Santa surprises...

 

She was so excited...

...and of course immediately grabbed the yellow puppy!

Pre-tear duct surgery...notice her yucky left eye...

Room service in bed... 

On December 29th, Lucy finally had her tear duct probed after dealing with it for 18 months. It was successful and we haven't had an issue since! Waiting to be taken back...

These two loved to sit in Lollie's chair together...with lots of blankets of course! 

Sweet sleeper!

I will try to post pictures of sweet Claire before she is 6 months old, but no promises! :)

Thank goodness for OnStar...

Trying to get out the door and to the gym in the mornings is always crazy, but this past Monday was especially chaotic. We finally got out the door, Lucy was buckled in her car seat, all of our gear (including my cell phone) was thrown in the front seat, the car was started...I then realized I had forgotten something in the house. Without even thinking I got out of the car and shut the door...then half way to the house I realized I didn't have my car keys with me, which meant I didn't have a house key...run back to the car to find all of the doors LOCKED. A mother's nightmare? Yes! Lucy is locked in a running car that has my cell phone and all of my keys in it. I frantically start knocking on neighbors' doors and finally find someone home...and of course by now I am in tears and hysterics. Thankfully, she is a sweet mother of four children and was very understanding. I borrowed her cell phone and called OnStar, who had the doors unlocked within two minutes of me dialing the number. I was in tears through the whole ordeal and kept telling Lucy everything was okay. Lucy on the other hand, was screaming 'Elmo' at the top of her lungs, while pointing at the ceiling where the DVD player is located and looking at me around her car seat like, 'lady, get in this car and turn on Elmo!' 

Needless to say, I am a HUGE advocate of Onstar now...worth every penny of the annual fee! 

Lucy the Watermelon

Lucy was a watermelon for Halloween and a very cute one I might add. :) We attended the St. John's carnival the weekend before Halloween. She was a little young for the activities, but she loved eating pizza and admiring the armadillos (she called them dogs).

Lucy and her buddy, Max

Halloween night we trick or treated at all of our Abilene grandparents' houses. Lucy had a ball and of course loved the sweet treats that were offered to her every few minutes.

She ended the evening with a homemade cupcake from Aunt JoJo...

Happy Halloween (very late) from this watermelon head!

16 months!

Lucy is 16 months old...just can't believe it! I only thought she was busy four months ago...I now know the true definition of a busy toddler. The girl is busy and has an opinion, but is oh so fun! A few things I want to remember about Lucy right now...

She doesn't stop moving unless she is sleeping...you will not find this girl sitting, playing with toys...rather you will find her running from room to room, getting into anything that is not a toddler toy...

She attempts to repeat every word she hears. A few words that are clear now are: momma, dada, ball, elmo, aqua, mas, snack, bite, night night, Lady, dog, cat, Ollie, book, thank you, bye bye, hi, Max, milk, walk, diaper, poo-poo, duck, nana (banana).

She has a sweet tooth, just like her daddy! She of course loves sweet treats, but will eat any kind of fruit. And follows every bite with "Mmmmm!"

She is a complete ham...she will do anything to make everyone laugh! I am trying to catch her best ham antic on video, because words do not do it justice...once I do, it will be posted.

Still sleeps like a champ...some mornings I have to wake her up! Lucy, please rub off on your little sister.

She loves animals...especially dogs. So thankful for sweet Lady, who allows Lucy to do anything to her...climb, pull, tug, push, play in her food, take her toys...

She loves to play outside.

She loves to read books before bed time and always wants to sleep with one or two books in her crib.

Still doesn't like to cuddle. Baby #2, please cuddle with momma.

She loves Elmo, but will not sit still to watch it at home. The only time she watches Elmo is while strapped into her car seat. 

Speaking of Elmo on the car DVD player, Lucy now insists on watching it EVERY time we are in the car. She also thinks any car without a DVD player is defective...I know I created a monster when it comes to the DVD player, but at the time I just wanted to survive those long and numerous drives back and forth to Austin. Oops... 

At her 15 month appointment she weighed 22 lbs 6 oz. (40th percentile), 32" tall (80th percentile) and of course her head was in the 100th percentile.

I mentioned she loves sweet treats...especially a sprinkle donut from her dada on Saturday mornings...

First zoo trip...she liked watching Jay feed the giraffes, but wasn't about to put her hands out there for those long tongues!

Yes, we are still alive!

Hello there blog, it has been forever. The past two months have been very busy, but a good, productive kind of busy.  At the end of August, we moved from Austin (in with my mom...THANK YOU, mom) and started the Abilene house remodel. Two months later...all of our belongings remain in storage and we are still in the middle of remodeling. Remodeling, we have discovered, is a process, but the house is looking so good and we know we will be pleased once it is all finished. Jay is still working in Austin Monday - Friday and we are counting down the days until that is OVER. Hate having him gone all week! We have LOVED being back in Abilene with family and friends...and also love the no traffic, less hassle, slower pace of life a small town offers.

Lucy has gone from a baby to a toddler over the past three months. In typical toddler style, she is walking everywhere, into everything, throws a good tantrum now and then, talks all of the time and has developed her own personality. I promise to give a full update on her with some pictures in another post!

Lucy's second big announcement...she is going to have a little...

SISTER!!!!

Our sweet friends, Diane and Josh, threw us a gender reveal party. It was so much fun! The instructions were to wear pink if you thought girl, blue if you thought boy. Lucy and I wore pink and Jay wore blue. We loved seeing what color everyone wore...as you can see most thought it was a girl. Lucy smashed a cake to reveal that it was PINK inside. We are very excited for baby girl #2! She doesn't have a name yet, but we have narrowed it down to a few favorites. Baby girl #2 is healthy and growing as expected! And is much more active than her sister was in utero....

This girl loves sugar, just like her daddy!

More updates and pictures to come! 

Party!

These are REALLY late! Fun pictures from Lucy's birthday party at Lake Delafosse! 

Lucy's making her big announcement...

Jewelry Fun

Lucy discovered my box of necklaces during the move...

Think her Daddy is in trouble in a few years?!