more of the same cuteness

Plus a bonus, rarely seen moment of the munchkin at rest. (I somehow managed to wake up before her yesterday.)

We had a visit this weekend with Lucia's auntie Dinah and uncle Derek.

Dinah was able to use her photographic skillz to capture some of Lucia's favorite recent maneuvers...like the open mouthed kiss
...and the need to be constantly standing up!

Sooo popular!

Brunching with the ladies
At the revolution cafe with Ta Wei
Making a house call with the Baron after his knee surgery (These two always manage to dress alike lately. Pure coincidence? Or are they secretly planning it?)

snacks

Lucia has started to be able to feed herself a little bit. Just wee bits of cooked veggies, freeze dried fruit, and cheerios. She hardly ever gags herself anymore... well almost. And don't worry, if any pieces fall on the floor Niko will make sure it's tidied right up in a jif.

Physical Activity!

In the last week Lucia learned to crawl, transition from crawling to sitting and vice versa and stand up. Busy week! All these achievements can be attributed to the fact that she is full of raw focus and determination, as you can see.

True Democracy

Here is Lucia on her first trip to the poling place. A proud moment and great responsibility indeed.
What do you think she'd vote for?
You guessed it...doughnuts!

Cold Symptoms and some much needed rest

As you can see, Lucia, like most everyone we know, has been suffering an unpleasant cold but despite this I am happy to announce that she has been sleeping better the past week or 2. It's still not the enviable scenario that some of my mom friends report of disappearing into her room not to be heard from until morning but just a couple of wakings in the night is a major improvement for us, and enough to but me in an absurdly good mood! I'm not sure if it's the strict routine or what, (here you can see Lucia engaging in the important ritual of the bedtime story) but I may have finally landed on some thing that works. Or maybe she's just growing up a tiny bit...

RockinOut

With the aquisition of her new red ukilele Lucia has really been able to take her music to the next level. You may recall from some posts back that she is working on a unique "sound" with her voice and I can assure you her instrumentation is no less experimental.

Ridin' Bart. (she's bored already.)

Hangin' with big girl Mila.

Gettin' mad at Eric's antics.

Grandpa and Uncle Lou

This one kind of showcases the two little choppers that have finally come in.

Brukty, Nutso, Naked

Incidentally Brukty and Shane will be having their own little bundle of joy right around the time of Lu's first birthday - hooray!

But mama, I'm not sleepy!

Up until 4 months of age Lucia was a great sleeper. When other parents would ask me if I was getting any sleep I'd say, "Yeah, I don't know what everyone's talking about. This is totally manageable." Sure, she'd wake up once or twice in the night but just for a quick snack then back off to sleep until around 9 a.m.
Well for the past 3 months it has been getting more and more difficult to get her to sleep. She now wakes up once every 1 to 3 hours, or around six times a night. This really wears a mama out! I've been researching all sorts of techniques to get your baby to sleep through the night but to no avail. She has already gotten her teeth and moved into her own room, both of which I thought might help her settle down. If anyone has any advice, I'd love it. I'm at the end of my rope here!

Swinging, Pooping and Feeling Weary

Happy Happy 2008!

Love, Lucia & Gaby

Making Music

Oh dear she's inherited her mom's singing voice

Opening Presents

We had a very fun Christmas. Had about 17 people over for a feast on Tuesday and opened lots of presents too. Lucia got lots of great gifts from friends and family. She says to say thanks, the wrapping paper tasted delicious!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!!