Lucy Jane's Vacation!

Tuesday morning, Rich and I got up and got the car loaded with all of Lucy Jane and Luke's things to spend the week with Josh and Tee Tee!  Of course, this would be the morning I had to wake her up at 9:30 so that we could leave!  We had a 3 hour drive to OKC, and I knew we had to make a Sonic stop before we could get out of town! Lucy Jane starts saying "chicken" when she sees Sonic! haha  She got french toast and milk and I had a Diet Dr. Pepper! Lucy Jane, all her baby dolls, and Luke were now ready to go!   

We got to OKC and had a quick lunch and I was back on the road!  I drove straight back home so that Rich and I could leave for our trip!  Haley said Lucy Jane started calling her, "Momma" as soon as I left!  So glad to know that she was missing me! haha 

The first picture is of Lucy Jane eating dinner the first night!  Notice Luke isn't too far behind!  Haley took Lucy Jane to play with Paisley at Chic fil a!  Lucy Jane loves to climb up to the top and slide down by herself!  Such a big girl! 

I think Lucy Jane had a great time with Josh and Haley!  She loves spending time with them! 

Breakfast in the bathtub?!  Sure, why not!!!

Wearing Josh's nametag!  He ordered her and Luke both one with their names on it! What a great Uncle!

She loves her Tee Tee!

Haley wasn't feeling well and so there was a change in plans on Thursday.  Rich's mom and dad were kind enough to drive to OKC and pick up Lucy Jane!  They drove back with Lucy Jane, all her babies, Luke, and Banner their dog.  Can you even imagine!!!  Lucy Jane is obsessed with dogs, so I am sure it made the ride entertaining! 



Lucy Jane spent Thursday night and Friday night with Mamaw and Papa.  Everytime I called to check on her she was busy as can be and I could hear her laughing!  Between having 2 dogs and 1 cat, Lucy Jane was in heaven! 

My mom picked up Lucy Jane Saturday morning!  I am so thankful for a family that all worked together to help us be able to have a few days together!  Lucy Jane loves spending time with Bubba and Nana!  Mom texted me a picture as soon as she got to her house! I was a little OCD with the checking on my baby!  She was having popcorn chicken from McDonalds, and she looked pretty content! 



They spent some time playing dress up that afternoon, too!  Lucy Jane loves to dress herself!  The funny thing is none of these clothes fit her anymore!  She didn't seem to mind!  Nana also painted her toenails hot pink!  Ooooo...pitty (pretty) as she says! 

I sure did miss my baby girl while I was gone!  We have had such a great Monday being back together!  I will post pictures from today later!  Time for the Bachelor and bed! :)  Again, so thankful for family that was so willing to help out with Lucy Jane because they know how important "married time" is too!  Rich and I love you guys! 

The Windy City

We had the opportunity to visit Chicago for a couple of days this past week!  What a wonderful time away and time of relaxing!  I didn't realize I was so up for a break until we finally left!  My sister said that she would keep Lucy Jane for the week so on Tuesday I drove her to Oklahome City, drove home, and Rich and I got in the car and headed out for our trip! We stopped half way and stayed the night in a 'lovely' hotel! ha We got up the next morning and finished our drive! 

Rich only got one speeding ticket on our way there! ha  The speed limit is 65 on the interestates in Illinois!  His excuse was he was used to 75!  Driving into the city was crazy! The traffic was insane!  So glad we don't live in a big city! We saw the President's airplane as we were driving into town.  He was there for a convention! 

We walked around the Navy Pier and walked around looking at everything and decided to take a Cab downtown to look around.  We ended up meeting a super nice family that lived on Michigan Avenue.  (Crazy if you ask me)  The Mom was a lawyer and the dad an Architect.  They had a 3 year old little girl.  They were in walking distance to their jobs and their daughters school.  It was so neat to see how other people live their life!  They highly reccomended that we try out the John Hancock building for the view and the dinner.  Our view from the top of the John Hancock center was amazing! 

On Thursday, Rich had meetings in a small town outside of Chicago!  He had about a 2 hour commute.  I was left to walk around, enjoy the snow and QUIET of the city, and shop!  I had the best day all by myself!  It was the most peaceful day of walking around shopping and enjoying the beautiful snow! I decided to be random and book a hair appointment to go brunette instead of blonde!  (If you are wondering why my hair is different colors in the pictures!)  I love to be spontaneous...hoping it grows on me! haha   I could never live in the hustle and bustle of the city, but it is such a nice place to visit! 





We had the sweetest bellman who helped us when we first go to the hotel!  He spoke Russian and taught me how to say, "I love you".  He was such a neat guy!  He shared his unique story with us about how he and his family ended up in the United States.  His wife also worked for the hotel where we stayed! I highly reccomend staying here if you are ever in Chicago!  It is within walking distance from anything you could want to do for the most part!  Anyway...his wife brought us a tray of sparkling waters and chocolates because she said her husband told her we were nice people!  How sweet, right?! 

By Friday afternoon, I was having major Lucy Jane withdrawls!  After having a bawl fest for a bit, Rich agreed to leave a day early even though we couldn't get our money back!  He knew this momma needed to see her baby girl!  We wanted to do something fun and different our last night!  I had gotten a massage that afternoon and the girl told us about an Improv show at a local theater.  Rich looked it up and we booked our show!  It was kind of like the show Who's Line Is It Anyway?  Before the show, we shopped and ate dinner at a Mexican place! 



We woke up Saturday morning and drove home!  It was a great time of relaxing and spending quality time together!  It is so easy to lose focus on your spouse when you have a child.  I thoroughly enjoyed our getaway.  Such great memories!  

Making Memories!

"Maybe one day they'll reach back in their file, and pull out that old memory and think of me and smile..." :) 

Okay, I'm a little cheesy when it comes to some things....and being sentimental is one of them! I like everything to have an "aww" feeling or mean something!  Creating memories with Lucy Jane is something that is very important to me! I know she won't really remember much of what we do now...ok in reality probably none of it...but I do believe that the love, attention, and quality time that you give a child in the early years instills a sense of safety and creates who they become in their older years! 

Today was such a good Saturday!  Usually Rich has some sort of work to do but today he was home!  It was so nice!  My mom and dad came up and hung out and played with Lucy Jane! She sure misses seeing them and is always so excited when they get to play with her!  I think Mom and Dad spent 2 hours in the floor just playing whatever she wanted to play!  (She might be a little spoiled) 

After they left we all took good naps!  Always nice after a good play time! Rich was itching to get out of the house and do something!  We needed to look for a couple things for a trip coming up, so we decided to run to Academy!  I can always find something in Academy!  Rich let Lucy Jane ride at the bottom of the shopping cart throughout the store which she thought was sooo cool! 

She also go to take a run on the elliptical machine with daddy! She thought that was the coolest thing ever!  Mini-melt down when it was time to walk away! 

We decided to go to Chic-fil-a afterwards and let Lucy Jane play (to wind down before bedtime) :)  It is across the parking lot! Daddy let her help drive....shh!  Don't tell on us! 

She had to get the music going....(It's Barney) haha

She made a few friends in Chic Fil A....imagine that right?!  She played so hard and had so much fun!  Rich and I have decided that next time we go out with friends and kids...we are going to Chic Fil A!  We could actually have a conversation! :) 

Lucy Jane's litte friend was very mothering! So thankful Lucy Jane was patient for the most part!  My strong-willed, sweet :), VERY independent child isn't much on others 'mothering' her!  She likes to be boss! haha 

I sure love creating sweet memories with Lucy Jane!  Slow down, enjoy life, take time to do things that are most important!  Everything else can wait!  (still learning this)  

Our Tuesday!

Well, my day started at 6 a.m. with my sweet little munchkin!  This girl usually sleeps until 8:30 or later....so it was a little early for the both of us!  BUT for some reason, I was ready to get up once I got her out of her crib and heard her giggles!  She was so happy and ready to play!  We made breakfast, drank chocholate milk, and played with Luke! 

  When we first painted our house, our living room was grey! We had a decorating plan that was going to need it to be white.  The sweet painters happily came back and painted white.  The lovely (nicest word I can think of) Hanks store up here...didn't get our order after 3 months....soooo our decor changed! We finally got our shutters in for our windows! Yay, I know the neighbors are thrilled! :)  I HIGHLY recommend 'Parsons Blinds' if you ever need blinds or shutters! The were wonderful!  The white shutters looked dumb up against a white wall though.....SO our sweet painters came back today and painted my wall grey for me!  Sooo happy! 3rd times a charm right?!

Later in the day, I snuck out to run an errand and use my giftcard for a manicure/pedicure that I got for Christmas.  I had found a lamp at Whimsy Whoo that I loved, but the base was gold and I needed silver.  After thinking on it for a few days, I realized I had a can of silver spray paint!  It is drying in the garage! :)  Can't wait to add it to my living room! 

BEFORE

AFTER

Looking forward to a p.j. day tomorrow with my baby....and cleaning this house! 

Lunch Date with My Baby!

I woke up Saturday feeling so yucky and had a little girl that was full of energy!  I knew there was NO WAY that I could stay in the house until nap time and not go crazy! I had the great idea to take Lucy Jane to lunch. Just me and her.  (Insane, I know)  Rich and I have a hard enough time taking her out to eat with the both of us!  I had a talk with her in the car and said, "Lucy Jane, Mommy wants to take you to eat lunch and I want you to act like a big girl! We will have lots of fun!"  I am sure she heard every word and understood just what I meant!  The talk  may have been more for me than her!

I love to eat at McCallisters; Rich doesn't like their food!  So.....I saw a perfect opportunity to go there since it was just me and LJ right?! :)  Kid friendly environment, kid friendly food, and a big cold Diet Dr. Pepper with good ice and a reusable cup for home! Off we went!  

We walked in and I was carrying Lucy Jane, her diaper bag, my keys, her nite-nite (blanket- which happens to be a really soft crib sheet that she is in love with at the moment, so you can imagine how big it is...and yes it had to go in the restaurant, and puppy) I ordered our food, shifted everything around and paid the server, then wondered how in the world I would add 2 drinks to the mix to get to our booth.  I put Lucy Jane down and told her to walk beside me!  She DID!!!! Hallelujah!  She stopped along the way and grabbed a booster seat (on her own) and carried it (by herself) to the booth!  Way to be a helper Lucy Jane!!!


She sat in her booster seat and ate an entire grilled cheese and my pickle!  She got up occasionally to look at herself in the mirror but would sit right back down and keep eating! I felt like I was having lunch with a buddy...my very favorite buddy, instead of a baby! (bittersweet)  She is growing up.  


I hope this was the first of many more Mommy/Lucy Jane dates! I want to be the one that she wants to spend her time with!  I sure do love my little buddy!  And yes, we both took long naps when we got home! Mission Accomplished!  

That night we had to have a cookie from the mall!  We were both rested and needed some sugar! :)