Sweet Lucy Sleeps

Lucy - 12 month photo shoot

Need a little recent Lucy eye-candy?  Head over to Kendall Price Photography's blog to check out some highlights from Lucy's recent portrait session.

The AFTER after party

The after-party celebrating Paige's graduation was followed by the after-after-party.  After putting Lucy (and David) to bed I met back up with Paige and her friends at her friend Katie's house, where they were continuing to celebrate.  The unbridled joy of the late-night dance party is one of the hallmarks of the American college (social) experience (okay maybe of your entire 20's ... I really miss it!) and I was delighted to witness Paige and her friends having such a good time.  I had a good time too, taught them about monster ballad interpretive dancing and was amused that her friends were shocked that I'm an actual grown up, with a job, husband and baby, and not approximately Paige's age.  Ha! I'll go ahead and take it as a compliment.

Paige Graduates from University of Oregon!

In June, as part of our week long Northwest Tour, we attended Paige's college graduation in Eugene, Oregon.  Paige graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish.  We're so proud of Paige and can't wait to see what endeavors she tackles next. 

It was our first time in Eugene.  Eugene was very pretty and we had a great time seeing some of Paige's favorite places (McMinamins, the Excelsior, Glenwood), seeing where she lives (her room was decorated very nice but it has literally been months since the front yard grass was trimmed ... ah, college), meeting more of her friends and visiting with the ones we already knew. After the graduation ceremonies we celebrated Paige and her friend Katie at a fun party at Katie's house.

Another highlight of the weekend for me was the wonderful family dinner (plus Paige's dear roomie, Natalie) we had the the Excelsior during which Lucy managed to dump a full glass of ice water in David's lap and also reached across the table, grabbed his filet mignon right from his plate and started chowing down.  Have a couple of glasses of wine and a baby at a fancy restaurant is a great source of entertainment. 

Here are some fun photos from the weekend.

Main graduation ceremony.

Outside the psych clinic, where Paige worked many long hours helping with research.

Psychology department graduation ceremony.

Lucy astride a lion at the SAE house (David was an SAE at Nevada)

Paige and Katie. 

Lucy and Daddy play during the party

So proud of Paige and enjoying the after party.

All smiles from my proud father!

Lucy really liked this very realistic toy truck.  It had a trailer and horses as well, which she also found amusing.

Attack of the giant baby!

One of the first times Lucy stood up on her own.

 

Baby tricks - walking!

Lucy started walking on July 2, 2011.  She had taken little half steps before but the walking really started last week when we were at the O'Mara's Tahoe condo for the long holiday weekend.  Here is a little video (shot on July 11, 2011) of her new skills:

Lucy-Rex

When Lucy was a wee-unborn baby we called her "T-Rex" and then "She-Rex" when we learned she was a girl.  The origin of this fetus-nickname was a conversation we had before we even learned that Lucy was on the way.  It went something like this:

CMO: [Acquaintances] named their baby [silly name]. 
DCO: That kid is probably going to get [his/her] a** kicked.
CMO: That's why we're going to name our baby something fierce, like T-Rex.
DCO: Yeah, our baby will be pretty bad-a**.

Yes, Lucy's fetus name stemmed from a petty conversation making fun of the name some perfectly nice people gave to their offspring.  When we found out we were expecting, "T-Rex" was the perfect fetus name and we referred to her by that name so much that our family and friends also started to use it, or some variant.  Our little niece, Abby, even included "T-Rex" in her nightly prayers and when asked what we should name the baby she looked confused and her serious answer was, "T-Rex."  Plus, at a certain stage, an unborn baby even looks like a T-Rex.  When we got a good peak at her during the 12 week ultra-sound she looked like a little dinosaur (short limbs and all).  Lucy's unborn-nickname resulted in a certain affection for dinosaur-themed things and she received as gifts some dinosaur books and, of course, the roaring dinosaur that David used to "inspire" me during labor.

All of that is by way of back story to the adorable birthday card Lucy received from her Uncle Kyle and his fiancee, Alyson.  Alyson is a talented artist and graphic designer (see her Etsy shop, Bristle & Snap, and her website).  Isn't this adorable?

Kyle-Rex and Lucy-Rex.  (This is a photo of the card itself, posted on our fridge.) 

Abby's High School Graduation

My youngest sister, Abby, graduated from Reno High School on June 10, 2011.  Abby really excelled at Reno High, finishing second in her large class.  She also was very involved with the leadership program, serving as the Student Body Vice President and taking leadership roles at various leadership conferences.  She was also a member of the Varsity Tennis team, a member of the National Honor Society and performed in the spring production of Bye Bye Birdie (her stage debut, though David and I have long urged her to take up acting).  We are very proud of her and although we will REALLY miss her we know she has many exciting adventures ahead of her as she heads to the University of Texas in the fall.  Here are some pics post-graduation and also some of her fun backyard grad-party a couple of days before.

Congratulations, Abby!

With her proud parents

Mary Jo, Abby, Anthony

Abby and Mary Jo

Abby, Shelbi, Mary Jo

Shelbi and Abby

Shelbi, Mara, Abby

Mara and Abby

David, Abby, Courtney, Lucy

Abby and a gaggle of her fans

Lucy and Daddy

Reevi serves up some sandwiches to hungry teenagers

Mara, Shelbi and Abby (Abby did not want to have her photo taken)

An Abby shrine