Pompa

Pompa has come and gone and with him the last of my help (sob, sigh). Really, I can't tell you how great it was to have my dad here. Will had a ball with him, but I think my dad may have had more fun. My dad said several times that this was his best Christmas ever--just to be with Will and have Will be his little pal. Every little boy needs a Pompa to pal around with.

Pompa spoiled us--he cooked dinner (impressive!), he played and played with Will, took Will to and from preschool, took Will out to lunch to get his favorite--chicken nuggets, helped with Lucy, kept me company and introduced Will to "Belle" the elf. Will literally cried the whole day Pompa left, saying, "I'm so sad. I miss my Pompa." For so many reasons I'm so grateful to have had another baby, but a big one was all the good, fun, one-on-one time Will got to have with all his grandparents. I may just have to have another baby just for all the visits!

We love you, Pompa! Can't wait to see you again.

Blessed

We blessed our baby girl on Sunday, December 11, 2011. Lucy was 8.5 weeks old and decked in a darling dress, courtesy of my sister.

And Pompa (my dad) came all the out for the big day and we were so blessed to have him! Isn't he a cute Pompa?

Pompa with my two kids (Josh always says, "Isn't that fun to say--kids??")

And our two kids. Too bad Lucy's having a hard time there.


Clearly, Will is still learning how to hold her.

Our sweet Lu Lu (Will always calls her Luce). We are so blessed to have you here finally. I'm far too lazy to figure out how to flip that photo.

Our little family. (Too bad no one told me that I'm busting out of my sweater. Oh well. Maybe some day I'll be back to my pre-pregnancy form. Until then, I think I need to avoid anything with buttons since they clearly can't close!)

How Do Dinosaurs Decorate for Christmas?

Do they stand on their heads?

Do they water the tree, cute as can be?

Do they stand at the tree, paws to their head?

Do they hang the stockings with care?

Do they shout, "Hooray, it's Christmas!"?

Do they love their little sisters?

Why yes, this dinsadaur does. Merry, merry Christmas little dinsadaur.

Frosty the Finger-Pickin' Snowman

Guess which child is mine?

That's right--the one who, at his preschool performance debut, picked his nose for all the world to see. I couldn't be more proud.

Really, though, his preschool program was darling. If you couldn't guess, Will is Frosty the Snowman and below they are singing the "thumpity-thump-thump" part, while placing their hands on their knees and bouncing up and down.

And Santa was there and Will was jazzed about that.

Will, you make one fine Frosty, if I do say so myself.

Somebody's Tired....

. . . and it's not just me. The other night at dinner, Josh was holding Lucy and she just fell asleep like this:

It was too cute (and unfortunately, too rare) so we had to snap a photo.

A Mother's Sacrifice

The last few days Lucy has been having some terrible, painful gas (pleasant topic, I know)--waking her up from every sleep period. One night, in tears of exasperation and exhaustion, I decided I better go off dairy since that seemed to be the common instigator of said gas (plus, it was a problem for Will, too, when he was a baby). Two days off the dairy and sure enough, Lucy is already doing better. Then yesterday at a Relief Society function, I enjoyed my fair share of some homemade bread sticks, only to discover they had been slathered in butter. Sure enough, that night Lucy was up again with gas. So no dairy for me for a few weeks, which is a tragedy at this time of year. Everything worth eating has dairy, especially at Christmas time. All my favorite treats--mint M&Ms, mint hot chocolate, candy cane Hershey's kisses, any and ALL cookies, cheese balls, etc., etc., etc., are off limits. And let me tell you, abstaining is no easy task. One day, when longing to grab a handful of mint M &M's, it occurred to me--a mother's role requires much sacrifice. I sacrificed so much to even get this sweet baby here--endless doctor's appointments, innumerable shots, invasive procedures. Then I sacrificed my body for nine months to carry the babe, suffering weight gain, indigestion, and the like. Then I sacrificed again, delivering her, without an epidural. Then I sacrificed again, recovering from a bad tear and then, of course, there is the sacrifice that is nursing--oh the pain and the indignity. And let's not even talk about the sacrifice of sleep. Oh, how I miss sleep. But when it's all said and done, those sacrifices are all worth it and I'd do it again for our Lucy Lu. But take away my mint M&M's, my Candy Cane Hershey kisses, my mint hot chocolate? That's where I draw the line.

All Smiles

Lucy's smiling! And what a cute smile she has. She is happiest when in the bath (sooooooooo not like Will. He hated baths for the first few months of his life), so we snapped some photos of her smile sans clothes. And the photos beneath are of some of her first smiles at around 6 weeks. I may be just a tad bit biased, but I think she is a doll.