Martin Family Reunion 2012

We just returned home on Wednesday from our Martin family reunion and that in and of itself makes me feel behind on blogging simply because there is so much I want to blog about to remember from this trip! Not mention that between me and my three sister-in-laws, we have close to 2,000 pictures that I have to now sort through... it was a miracle that all of us remembered our cameras AND took them out and used them frequently. :)

Anyway, we had so much fun but I just realized that Lucy has been sleeping for THREE hours already without a peep (amazing!) and I haven't even gone to bed yet. And when Lucy is sleeping at night, I should most definitely be sleeping as well. I will have to get to the details later... and goodnight.

Rice Cereal

We gave Lucy rice cereal for the first time yesterday and let's just say she was more interested in eating her bib than the rice cereal. I think the problem is that she HATES formula and I made the cereal with formula because I was too lazy to pump and was hoping the formula would be heavier in her belly (an obvious attempt to make her sleep better). Today, I made the cereal with water instead and she ate it all up at two different times and seemed to be pretty happy with herself for doing it (which may also have been because I was clapping and cheering with every bite)! Also, she mimics anything Ryan and I do with our mouths so I got down to her level and made chewing-type motions with every bite. Lo and behold, she copied me and chewed/swallowed! Let's hope this helps keep her a little more full and helps her sleep better at night (if that was/is even the problem).

Bling, Bling

We took Lucy to get her ears pierced at the new City Creek Center when we were in Salt Lake on Tuesday (March 27th). She did so well and only cried for about 30 seconds total and then was happy again. I hated having to hold her how they make you (one arm around her body to pin her arms down, and one arm pinning her forehead to me), but then I remembered that this was nothing in comparison to her getting shots and we even walk away with something to show! :) Here's the progression, thanks to Ryan's ipad since I forgot my camera.

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

4 Months

Lucy turned 4 months old on March 16th, but I was busy packing and getting ready for our trip that we were leaving for on the 17th. Now I can't really remember as many specifics as I'd hoped from month 4, but I'll give it what I can.

I remember someone at church a few weeks ago asking me how old Lucy was and when I told her that she was 3 months old, she gasped and said, "oh my gosh! 3 months already?! Hasn't that just flown by so fast?!" I just quickly agreed for the time being but what was really going through my head was "no, actually. This has been the longest three months of my entire life and I don't think they could have gone any slower." Yeah, it was a pretty rough transition for me. Now with that great attitude (sarcasm), I must admit that this fourth month I would have been able to truly agree with the lady at church. It has been so much fun to have a baby that seems a little happier each day and that has not had any health issues impeding that happiness. At 4 months this is what's going on (that I can remember):

• Lucy must have something in her mouth all the time! More specifically, two or three of her fingers are what usually bolt to her mouth anytime her pacifier is not in or falls out. Occasionally she will attempt to shove her whole fist in her mouth at once (and is pretty close to successful).
• She loved the rings we have hanging in her car seat and will hold on to them anytime she is in it and always falls asleep holding them.
• Still having sleeping issues (she can't sleep swaddled and can't sleep unswaddled. It's a lose/lose situation). Yeah, we just don't sleep around here. At ALL. And I've tried EVERYTHING. Holy moly I might die of sleep deprivation any day now. Moving on...
• She giggles more and more everyday and has started "talking" like crazy. I absolutely love hearing her cute little voice.
• Food intolerances are for sure over, besides chocolate (dang!), and some food I have to avoid for her reflux (citrus, spicy, and anything with citric acid).
• I've been trying to read books to her for a while, unsuccessfully, but just recently she has started to pay attention to the pages and laugh at my crazy voices/fluctuations that are necessary to keep her attention during said book reading. I think I would be embarrassed to read that way in front of any other human being, but if it makes Lucy happy.... :)

This is Lucy at 4 months and 1 day on her first flight ever, which went amazing, but more on that later. (Also, ignore the fact that I look nasty, please).

Warm and sunny

We've had a few warmer days lately but they have either come with rain and/or wind, so it's been hard to go out and enjoy it. Today was finally warm and sunny and though it was still somewhat windy, it was manageable. We had to get out and enjoy a walk. Also, a few days ago I took Lucy to the park in our development with a couple of friends who live here as well. She went on the swings for the first time and loved it! That day was a bit windy though and Lucy couldn't quite figure out how to breathe in it, so we didn't last long. Anyway, this has definitely given us spring fever and we can't wait for spring and summer!

Two things about this picture. First of all, no one needs to worry because I fully sanitized Lucy and her pacifier as soon as she was done. Surprisingly she did not try to suck on her hand or the swing. Also, I realize she looks a little homely with no shoes on, but she didn't have any shoes because she has always been covered up in her car seat if we've gone out (besides church, which is a different story).

I realized halfway through that it was much too hot to be wearing a sweatshirt.

Our walk was about an hour long, and this was what Lucy looked like for about 50 minutes of that... holding onto the ring with those two little fingers...

Bring on the 70 degree weather this week! Yay!

Good morning!

Lucy has finally been going to bed and waking up at the same times each day and night. Now that's not to say that she's sleeping during all of those hours, because she's most definitely not. But it sure makes it a lot easier to know how much longer I have until I have to admit that it's really time to get up out of bed and go get my baby who is making noises in her crib. The awesome part about this is that she's been waking up HAPPY! I hear her little coos and squeals and go in and get Lucy out of bed. A couple of days ago, I found that Lucy had scooted all the way from one end of the crib to the other and one of her many blankets had fallen over top of her head and she was gripping the crib with her hands. It was pretty funny when I found her like this and she had such a proud look on her face and greeted me with a big smile.

Who wants a free gift card?

I have a promo code for $20 at Shutterfly.com (goes towards anything, except shipping). It expires in twelve days on March 22, 2012 and I won't use it by then. Whoever wants it can have the promo code. Let me know if you want it.

A few randoms

Lucy rolled over yesterday for the first time! She was kind of going with the momentum and rolled straight from her back to her tummy and over again onto her back. ha! She rolled from her tummy to her back again today. I tried to get her to do it for the camera, but she got stuck and then got really mad.

Ready for our trip to California...

BYU's newest fan.. can't you tell? :) We're training her young. The BYU fight song is sung to her daily, including the "rah rah rah's."

I joined Lucy in sleep very quickly after this. I just started an attempt at sleep training last night and was woken up about every 30 minutes. Unfortunately, all day today she's been teething like crazy and has been super cranky and only took one nap for 35 minutes. That could be either really good or really bad for tonight.