Happy Birthday TWO you...

I really can't remember what life was like two years ago BL (before Lucia), but I'm pretty sure it didn't involve a tutu cake. Yes, that was the theme of Luce's second birthday -- tutus (Mama Mer is a slave to puns). Somewhere along the line of planning this party, I guess we thought it would be a good idea to host 11 children and their parents at our place. What exactly were we thinking?! While it was a grand affair, we couldn't have possibly pulled it off without the help of Uncle Tony and Aunt Tammie (entertain Luce while we make a tutu cake!), Mimi (we forgot the cups!), Nonne (crockpot of meatballs and eggrolls!), Auntie Cathy (who has frosting equipment?!?) and anyone else I'm forgetting... thanks for keeping us somewhat sane. It's going to take awhile for Mamas to recover from this one... of course until we fly to Seattle next week!

Oh. My. Goodness.*

So thanks to our unofficial team photographer (thanks Amy!) Luce was captured in all her muddy glory the other day at my football game. I wish you all could have seen her, she was as happy as a pig in... mud. Besides splashing around in filth, Luce also enjoys one of the art world's best media - - playdoh. Mama Mer is an expert playdoh maker (ask her for the recipe!) and the family spends hours (literally) of fun attempting to make all sorts of things.
Current random acts of Lucia cuteness:
- Daylight savings is wreaking havoc on our household. Luce has been getting up between 5-5:30 every morning. That is NOT time to wake up. The other morning I went in to get her and thought bringing her back into our bed would be relaxing. Boy was I wrong. The second I put her on my pillow she thew a royal hissy fit, shoving poor Meredith screaming, "Nooooo! Mama Mer out of bed! Nooo Mama Mer!" Finally I said, Lucia do you want Mama Mer to go sleep in Mimi's bed (our guest room)? She replied with an emphatic, "YESSSS!" So off went dejected, pregnant, sleepless Mama Mer. Lucia was then silent as a mouse. Not a pleasant way to start your day.
- Mama Mer overheard this snippet of Lucia's interpretation of motherhood when Luce was carrying around her baby doll: "I rock the baby. I'm baby's mama. We gonna go watch some football." How GREAT is that?
-* This is Luce's phrase of the month. Said with dramatic pauses in between each word: Oh_my_goodness. It is impossibly cute.

And the Winner Is...

Change.
Well done America, well done.

Le Trick, Le Treat, Le Puff, Le Pant...

Our little Pepe Le Pew had a delightfully llllong Halloween. Ellen's House kicked things off with a party last Saturday where Luce got to experience the joy of asking strangers to give her stuff for free. Then today I trotted her out to Mama Mer's office during lunch to show off her costume some more, and finally since Halloween actually falls on a Friday... Luce got the double feature trick or treat AND Friday night pizza party at the Dogwood. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to park myself on the couch and sink into a sugar coma.

Look Ma, No Hands!

For your collective amusement, I thought I'd brake the "no pictures of Fran rule" and present you with this little gem. Nonne has been itching to see Mama Fran play this thing they call flag football. As you can tell, it is quite a hoot and I wind up face down in the ground... a lot. My little fan club (Nonne, Luce and Mama Mer) were very popular at the game since they came with eggrolls (as mentioned in several past posts) and buckeyes (a.k.a. the best cookies ever). Of course Lucia loved, loved, loved hanging out with Nonne and Mamas very much enjoyed watching the Red Sox with her over a glass(es) of wine (hey, remember when the Red Sox were in the playoffs?).
Current random acts of Luce cuteness:
- When she doesn't like something, she now says, "I don't like that game." For example, when protesting a diaper change, she'll cry and say, "I don't like that game!" or when we say, Lucia it's time for a tubby... "Noooo, I don't like that game!" Where do you think she got the idea that everything is a game?? Hmm.
- She's very much into playing dress up. Of course, Luce's moms are lame and only have a pile of hats and scarves for such activity. Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind.

I Don't Feel A Day Over 46...

Thanks to all for the birthday well wishes! We had a fantastic weekend (thanks again for getting lost Columbus) puttering around the house and we even made it to a farm - two farms actually (Mer is standing over my shoulder and just corrected me). Our first farm trip was just to the local city farm around the corner from our house to pick out some pumpkins. Luce really got into the spirit of pumpkin picking and it was hard to leave.
****Breaking News From Tubby Town*****
Somebody has been shaving in front of my child and *it is not* me. Embarrassing detail perhaps but hey this is cold hard journalism. I have just returned from the tub front and had to report this news. So I get up there and run Luce's bath, she walks in and spies the Venus razor and makes a grab for it. I quickly pop the blade off, she takes the handle, proceeds to lift up her pant leg and begins to mock shave her legs. Then whilst in the tub she said, "shaving my legs is fun." WHAT?!?! Meredith claims innocence, so that leaves either Mimi or Ellen. Now, I doubt on Wednesdays Mimi and Luce sit around shaving legs... and Ellen has her hands full with 4 other kids, so that can't be it either. I am at a loss. Maybe Elmo had a shaving episode recently. Gah.
Where was I... oh yes, farms. After our pumpkin picking trip, we were fully prepared to take on the real deal. With Mimi in tow, we headed out to this place for a day of apple picking fun. Ok, so we didn't wind up with a single apple... but we did run into a large contingent of Mer's relatives which was far better than a piece of fruit. Lucia loved all the attention and had a grand ole time doing all sorts of things . Not a bad way to spend my birthday if I do say so myself. Finally, this gem was shot on the way home from the farm. The file is too big for Google (something they can't do??), so here it is for all the world to see.

Babies, Birthdays and Brides... Oh My!

The Mothers Goose have soooo many updates this week... I don't even know where to begin. To conserve space, I think I'll try this entry old-school telegram style.

Lucia has a new cousin STOP.

Lucia will soon have a new sibling STOP.

Auntie Jo Jo and Uncle Brett came for a visit STOP.

We ate cake for my pre-birthday celebration STOP.

Lucia had the first dance at Auntie Ashee's wedding STOP.

There are more pictures form Auntie Jo Jo's (and Auntie Mia too!) visit to come... but I was getting behind in the posts, and well, now I have to go watch the Red Sox so I'm out of time. Go Sox! Go Pats! Go Home Palin! (sorry, couldn't resist).