Lucy meets friends & family in California

Lucy on the plane! First time
Four Generations
Lucy and Grandma Marian
Lucy with cousins Phoebe & Emma
So cool with Dad's sunglasses!
We had a great time last week visiting friends & family in California! We packed a lot into 4 and a half days! We stayed with my brother Mark and his wife Lisa at their new house in Pacifica which is gorgeous! We managed very well checking in all of our luggage curbside and getting through security without much trouble at all. Lucy did great on the airplane, she didn't fuss a bit. The flights were nice, short and on-time which made everything go really smoothly. There were extra seats on both flights so we were able to have an entire row to ourselves and Lucy could sit in her car seat in her own seat on the plane! That was really nice.



We loved spending time with my family, Chris' family and our friends. We were really sad to have to leave and it always makes us wish that we lived there, but we do love our Portland home and our friends here too. We had great weather every single day...it was clear blue skies and warm...it was great to wear flip flops!



Some highlights of the trip were Lucy meeting her older cousins Phoebe and Emma, seeing how great Lisa is looking at 8 months pregnant and getting to see baby Tessa's room and their new house, visiting with Grandpa Andy and my great Aunt Louise (who will turn 95 next month!), spending time with Chris' family in Petaluma--we went out to lunch with Chris' dad, Peggy and Chris' Grandma Mary, and so we got pictures of 4 generations together which was very neat. Chris's Grandma lit up when she saw Lucy which was really neat to see. Other highlights were visiting Chris' mom and Jim at the hospital...they were both thrilled to see Lucy and Marian seems to be doing really well considering everything that's going on! The nurses and staff at the hospital couldn't get enough of Lucy too. People kept coming in the room to check her out. It was sweet. More highlights were of course the baby shower Saturday and getting to spend time with Grandma Emily, and Chris, Mark and my dad enjoyed going to a Giants game while we were at the shower. We had a great time Saturday night at Auntie Gina's house, where they hosted a great BBQ with several friends from college. Then we got to spend Sunday morning with my sister Kristi and her beautiful girls Phoebe and Emma and also my mom and Bob before we flew home that night. All in all, it was a fabulous trip and I really hope we get to do it again soon!!



This week has been really busy for me...today is my only day off. One of the dentists at our practice left, so it's now only myself and the owner of the practice...so I may be picking up an extra day here and there until we find another dentist, so it looks like it might be a little busy for awhile. I'm looking forward to going to mom/baby group this afternoon with Lucy and just hanging out!



Yesterday was Lucy's four month check-up. Dr. Ericksen thinks she's doing really well...she's tracking right along on the growth curves...she's still at 95% for length and head circumference and a little above 50% for weight. Her four month stats were:

height: 26.25"; weight: 13 lb. 15 oz.; head: 43.3 cm

She got 4 shots, only screamed for a few seconds and then settled right down.

As of Monday, we've officially moved her into her own room into her crib. She seems to be doing well with that and I'm now only feeding her one time in the middle of the night. She will wake up and cry a little bit at other times but she seems to settle down quickly which is great. Hopefully the good nights will continue. I think her shots made her tired because this morning after I fed her around 6:30, she fell back to sleep until 10:20! So unusual for her, but it was nice for me. I got to sleep in a little bit too and then got up and got some things done around the house.



One last bit of great news...I passed my board exam! The certificate was in my mailbox when we got home Sunday night. I was so excited!!

Leaving for SF tomorrow!

We are all very excited to be leaving for the Bay Area tomorrow to visit friends & family and to go to Lisa's baby shower! We are a little nervous about packing everything up and remembering everything we need to bring for little Lucy, but I'm sure it will go fine.

We had a scary thing happen this weekend with Lucy...we gave her a little formula right before bed after her normal feeding just to see if having a little extra in her tummy would help her sleep...she didn't take much of it at all, so we put her to bed. She fell asleep, but about 15 minutes later I heard her making little noises in her bassinet. When I went in to check on her, she had thrown up a lot all over herself and her bassinet. We immediately went to start the bath and get her changed, and when I took off her sleeper, there were bright red hives everywhere the vomit had touched her skin! I was so scared...we called the pediatrician, and by the time he called us back we had already finished the bath, and gotten her dressed and she was doing much better...the hives were down and her skin was much less red. So it looks like she has an allergy to probably the cow milk protein in the regular formula. We're going to hold off on any formula now and just talk more to her pediatrician next week at her four month check-up. But it looks like she'll need to be on a hypoallergenic formula when we get to that point...

But she's such a little trooper...when all this was happening, she never even really cried! I don't know if the hives just weren't itchy or what, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. She's such a good baby :)

Here are a couple cute pictures of her admiring herself in the mirror above the swing.

We're looking forward to seeing some of you in a few days!

Please Pray...

We just found out last night that Chris' mom wasn't feeling well last week, she went in to her doctor, and they found that the leukemia has returned. She's starting chemotherapy today and will be having another transplant in 30 days. She had been doing really well and all signs at her 1 year check-up had shown that she was 100% donor cells and that the leukemia was gone, so needless to say, we're all very shocked and upset by this. Please pray that she would have very little side effects from the chemotherapy and that the transplant would go really smoothly and that she would recover completely. We believe that she will! She's very strong and has already overcome so much battling this leukemia in the past. Please also keep our family in your prayers...stepdad Jim, Aunt Helen, Chris & Kevin as this is especially tough on them too. We are glad we will be in California this week so we can visit and see how she is doing.

Almost 4 months old!

Lucy on Easter


Lucy & Daisy...so tired

In a few days, Lucy will be 4 months old! Can't believe how fast the time is going...



We enjoyed spending several days with Chris' Dad Bob and Peggy...they loved getting to know her, and she loved them! Saturday, we went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR, about an hour from our house. It has an IMAX theater and a huge museum that is home to the Spruce Goose. It was really cool. Lucy did great, we just put her in the Bjorn and cruised around. Lucy's first trip to a museum, and also her first movie! (an IMAX movie called Fighter Pilot)



Chris' 32nd birthday was yesterday. We celebrated with his dad and Peggy Monday night before they left...I made little chocolate lava cakes and we opened gifts. Chris got some nice gifts...tools, a webcam, and I got him a 29 gallon aquarium so he can do a salt water fish tank like he had before we moved to the East Coast. He also got some cash so we can go buy the fish and things to set up the aquarium, and Mark and Lisa are treating him to a baseball game when we are down in California next week! All in all, he made out really well and had a fun birthday.



We had a nice, relaxing Easter. Saturday night before Easter, we went over to Chris' Aunt Helen's house and did Easter eggs and had some pizza. On Easter, we went to church and out to eat and had a relaxing day. Lucy looked adorable in her little yellow Easter dress.



Those are the highlights from the last couple of weeks...life seems so busy. Even on my days off, there are a million errands to do and things to get done besides just enjoying that time with Lucy. Today, we're looking forward to getting our grocery shopping done and going to the Mom's group and Gymboree tonight! I did join a gym a couple of weeks ago, so I've been trying to get there a couple times a week too. I worked out last night and I am sore! That tells you how out of shape I am!



We're really looking forward to seeing many of you next week in California...should be a lot of fun! We're a little nervous and flying with Lucy for the first time and trying to figure out how to bring all that we need, but I'm sure it will be fine.



We hope everyone has a great week!