1/2 year

Lucy is now 1/2 a year old.  The days are going by so quickly.  She is sitting up now fairly well on her own.

She is eating veggies like a champ. Fruits on the other hand she does not care for.  We have attempted banana, apples and pears so far. All of which she pushed back out and gave us a face such as:

I've got pears on reserve in the freezer for when she decides that fruits are no longer yucky. In a few days I'll give another fruit a go.  Any suggestions?

She continues to do very well during the day at the sitter's.  She gets to spend the day with her cousin which I think is pretty special.  I can already see a bond forming between them.  Going to work is becoming a little more difficult for me at times.  There are days when I just want to stay home and play. My evening are soooo short.  Lucy does not nap much during the day so by around 6:30 at night she is pretty much spent and wants to nurse and go to sleep.  Until recently she has been pretty much sleeping through the night.  Sleeping through the night in Lucy terms is until around 5:30.  This past week she has been waking up sometime in the middle of the night wanting to eat.  I'm guessing it has something to do with a growth spurt.  Hopefully she will get over that soon!  All that to say that I do not have much time to spend with her in the evenings and that makes me sad. There have been a few mornings that I shed a few tears before I left for work. It's hard leaving her, but it makes me feel better when I take her the sitter's and she smiles and reaches for her.  I know she is in excellent hands and is happy.

We are still cloth diapering full time. I love it. I do a load of diapers every other day. 

She is primarily wearing size 3-6 month. There are still a few 0-3 in her closet that fit but they really should be packed away because they are summery.  Last week I got all of the next size up clothing washed. It's fun to go through all the clothes and make new outfits.  Then there are the shoes.  Oh, for the love of cute little tiny pink shoes. Help me. I see an addiction coming on.

Lucy does really well when we are out and about. This past Saturday the girls in my family went on our annual outing for my grandma's birthday. Every November for over 20 years we have been getting together.  We go somewhere different every year.  We have shopped the various malls from St. Louis to Chicago.  Several years ago we took the train to Chicago and stayed the weekend.  It was an adventure to say the least.  It is always a great time full of laughs.  The past couple of years we have scaled down the shopping and just gone to eat at different tea rooms.  It was so neat to be able to bring my daughter along for the first time.  Here is a picture of our group this year. Mindi, my sister-in-law, is the only one missing out of it because she was taking it. 

It is so incredible to watch the bond between Lucy and her dad develop. Tommy has been around more now that he is not working midnights and is enjoying having more time to spend with her. 

It has been an incredible 6 months.  Tonight when I was laying her down I paused to look in the mirror while she was still in my arms.  It is just so much to take in that she is mine and only 6 months ago she was brand new to this world.  How did I get so lucky?  There are still a lot of days that my heart is heavy for the baby that I lost.  It is something that I have not talked much about. I thought that having Lucy in my life would make the loss easier.  It has but at the same time it is almost more difficult.  I can't really put it into words right now and I don't want to bring down this post.  God has blessed us so much over the 6 months and I can't wait to see what the next 6 brings.  Excuse me now, I must go take a peek at my sweet little girl....