Lucy Goes to Iowa

Unfortunately we found out last week that Lucy's Great Grandma Koberg passed away.  We had planned to go visit the first weekend in May so that Lucy could meet her, but were not able to get there in time.  The weekend was very special.  Sunday was the visitation in Durant, IA which is where Grandpa Koberg grew up.  The viewing lasted several hours and it was amazing to see how many came out to visit. Her Great Grandmother was an incredible lady and many cared about her. Lucy got to meet many her Grandpa's friends from high school, family, etc.

Great Grandma Koberg had 13 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren.  Lucy was the youngest great grandchild there.  Cousins Kevin and Joy were there with their daughter Ava who is just a month older than Lucy. It was the first time we met both Joy and Ava, and it was so fun to have the little girls together!

We are sad that Great Grandma Koberg did not have a chance to meet Lucy, but thankful that we could all be together and everyone could meet Lucy.

It was a lot of travel and flying but Lucy held up well.  It was our first trip in a hotel room with Lucy. She is a bit of a noisy sleeper so we wore ear plugs, and it all worked out well :-)  Lucy got a lot less sleep than she was used to but she was such a trooper.  

 

On the plane, Lucy was crawling all over and wanting to put everything in her mouth.  So it was not a huge surprise when we found out that Lucy got pink eye on Sunday afternoon.  Thankfully cousin Clay is a doctor and he was able to call in a prescription for Lucy right away.  Within a couple hours of her showing symptoms we had a prescription in our hands.  Lucy was feeling much better by morning. Thank goodness for doctors in the family!

Below is a picture of Lucy in her first ride in the big girl stroller.  We were at the airport in Minneapolis and she seemed to really like the new ride!

Lucy taking a nap with her daddy.  You can see her eye is not feeling well :-(

 

On the flight home, Uncle Matt was able to find a seat next to us.  He was very excited to have such a cute airplane buddy.  This was Lucy's second flight and she did pretty well!

Lucy's Meets the Easter Bunny!

This Easter Sunday was a busy and exciting day.  We started off the day with brunch at Sahalee Country Club with Grandma and Grandpa Koberg and Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristina.  This year Sahalee hosted a petting zoo and Easter egg hunt. They even had an Easter bunny!  Uncle Matt was very excited to spend time with Lucy and took her to meet the Easter bunny and visit the petting zoo on his own.  We weren't sure how she would react to all of this, but Lucy did great.  She is very interested in touching everything and wanting to put it in her mouth. So she couldnt wait to get her hands on the Easter bunny as well as the pet bunnies at the petting zoo.

 

 

At Grammie and Grandad Hiemstra's Lucy got to get outside and hunt for eggs with her daddy.  She found a few and was again very excited to get them in her mouth :-)  Aunt Sarah, Aunt Rebekah and cousins Zoe, Oliver, Avery and Elliot were there to join in the fun.  Aunt Rebekah even made a special appearance as the Easter bunny!

PEPS

When Lucy was just 4 weeks old, we attended our first PEPS meeting.  Today was our last "official" meeting which was very sad. Fortunately, we have made many good friends and will continue to meet each week even without our "leader." 

Our friends from PEPS include Karen Okerlund and Lyla, Arty Christiano and Callie, Janine Warner and Micah, Jenny Thuene and Drew, Kristin McNamara and Drew, Melinda Anderson and Max, Lianne Yvkoff and Eden, LuAnn Chai and Audrey, and Pinda Bazley and Ellie.

We have created so many great memories. With Christmas parties, Baby Yoga, Mom's Night Out, etc.  We've talked about everything from sleep and feeding to nutrition, relationships, emotional intelligence and going back to work. 

Lucy is on the move!

Lucy started rolling over the day before I went back to work.  I am so thankful she chose the day before I went to work in January so that I could see it.  Going back to work that first day was very hard, and it would have been pretty traumatic to have missed this very exciting milestone while I was gone! 

Just a few weeks later, Lucy was on the move again.  She has started scooting her way over towards her favorite tummy time toy...the happy apple.  Lucy is also rolling all around the floor.  At our Peps meeting last week she was rolling back and forth bumping into many of her friends.  She is so active and full of life. Lucy never fails to impress all those around her with her strong motor skills. Time to buy some baby gates!

Baxter likes having a new friend to play with!

 

Lucy and her "Happy Apple"

 

Sometimes she wears herself out and takes a break to just relax and enjoy sucking her thumb :-)

 

Lucy Turn's 4 Months Old

Lucy turned 4 months old today. It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up! She once again was off the charts with her height (26 3/4 tall) and in the 95th %ile in weight (16lb 4oz).  Lucy was particularly struck by nurse Mimi while we were there.  Everytime Mimi entered the room Lucy started to giggle uncontrollably.  Such a cute moment!

We continue to be in awe of her very sweet temperament.  We take Lucy with us lots of places (church, dinner, gym, barre classes, to buy a new car!) and everywhere we go, people comment on what a calm and "chill" baby we have.  They often comment on how relaxed I seem as a mom and I reply, that it is only because she is so easy and great! 

Lucy continues to sleep 13 hours a night.  We have a special night time routine whihc includes the bath (Lucy's favorite time of day), baby massage, and rocking and nursing.  By the time we are done she is ready for bed and goes down easily. We are so thankful that she loves to sleep and enjoy spying on her in the monitor.  She is often found on her stomach, side or sucking her thumb. 

Lucy has also started to become more interested in Baxter.  She watches him as he runs around the room and reaches out to grab him when he is close by.  Baxter loves Lucy and is always wanting to give her kisses and get close by. 

Her favorite toys are Sophie the Giraffe and an adorable purple puppy named Violet which we programed to know her name, favorite food, color, animal and songs.  She is rolling all over the place and loves to put everything she can in her mouth.  We often read books together "Goodnight Moon" and "Rainbow Fish" are two of our favorites.

 

 

 

 

Trip to the ER

Its Super Bowl Sunday morning and Paul calls to let me know that he has taken an elbow to the face during a basketball game and that he needs to go to the Emergency Room. Paul heads home and I get Lucy ready so that we can all head to the ER. Thankfully our first trip since Lucy has been born (we have been there several times before with Paul :) was not for her.

A few hours and several stitches later, Paul is all fixed up and we are on our way to Sarah's house for a Super Bowl party. Lucy got her dad a get well balloon which I think really helped lift his spirits :)

Fun in the sun!

Our week in Arizona at Grandma and Grandpa Koberg's was a lot of fun.  After the longest summer of sun we had seen in a long time, the weather turned the day Lucy was born.  This was Lucy's first taste of some Vitamin D and she loved it!  Most importantly, this trip allowed Lucy a chance to wear some of her very cute summer clothes that she grew into several months too early :-) 

 

 

Lucy and Grandpa had a great time in AZ.  They got some quality tummy and play time in.

 

 

Lucy Earns Her Wings

Lucy took her first flight on our trip down to Arizona to visit her Grandma and Grandpa Koberg.  Before the flight, I received lots of great advice from friends about how to fly with children. I was feeling pretty confident that things were going to go well.  Lucy afterall, is a very relaxed and happy baby. She does exceptionally well in restaurants, church and other busy situations.  Boy, were we in for a surprise. 

Paul had a first class seat so Lucy and mommy sat back in coach.  Our seat was moved at the last minute to a middle seat between two men.  This was a problem because I had planned to nurse her during take off and landing, but could not do this with two men on either side!  Her dad had offered to come back and join us back in coach but being stubborn, I insisted that he enjoy his first class seat. Well about 20 minutes into the flight, I was certainly regretting that decision!  We took off at 7pm which was Lucy's bedtime.  We thought this would be great because she would fall right asleep. Unfortunately, Lucy couldnt get comfortable. Instead of sleeping, she became overly tired and very upset.  Lucy cried for about 1 1/2 of the 2 1/2 hour flight.  We had to nurse in the bathroom, and stood at the back of the plane trying to get Lucy to calm down. The men we were seated next to were very nice about the situation even though I am sure they were frustrated.  I had offered to buy them a drink but then realized that Paul had my purse up in first class.  They insisted that they wouldnt have let me buy anyways, and even offered to buy me a drink!  Finally, we landed at 11:30pm and were just thankful that we didnt have to get back on the plane for another week.

A week later, I was pretty nervous for the trip home. Fortunately, this flight went much better!  Paul was sitting with us back in coach, and Lucy enjoyed sleeping in his nice long legs.  She slept most of the flight home and woke only once to surprise us with a blowout diaper.  While this resulted in a wardrobe change at the back of the plane, all in all the flight was a success.  Now we will have to see how she does on her next flight to Hawaii for Thanksgiving!

Lucy Laughs

 

The holidays have passed and Lucy and I have been enjoying some downtime at home. Life was busy in December and we decided to spend some days at home just playing and trying out some new toys like her exer-saucer and bumbo. I was feeling kind of silly and gave Lucy a brzrt as my family calls them, and Lucy began to laugh out loud. At first I thought she was going to cry. She started to make some grunting noises and then she smiled. It was this amazing belly laugh that I couldnt believe I was hearing! Truly one of the best sounds a mother can ever hear! She is growing so fast, and it is great to see her personality begin to develop.

 

 

 

 

Who is this toddler in my 4 month old's pack n play?!