A New Semester!

It's August, and that means a new semester, and that means college students need books, which means we are in Birmingham! For those who don't know, Mark works for a textbook company, started by one of his best friends. The two of them run the company, so he splits his weeks between working in Birmingham and working from home. Well August is CRAZY, so Mark is here basically the entire month, so Lucy and I have been traveling back and forth the past few days to spend a little time with him. Jonathan and Meredith are being so gracious and letting us stay in their apartment so we get some much needed privacy and family time.

Lucy and I have just been hanging out and enjoying a break from the every day routine. She is doing SO much right now. She is completely on whole milk now, and I was surprised at how quickly and easily she made the change. None of that slow transition stuff....I'm a cold turkey kinda mama, so one day I said, ok Lucy, we're switching to whole milk! And we haven't looked back since. I fear we will have to do the same with the bottles very soon...

As a newborn, Lucy was NOT cuddly, and really preferred to be left alone and do her own thing. I think Mark's overwhelming affection towards her has finally paid off, because she has turned into the sweetest, most affectionate little thing! She kisses everything and everyone multiple times, and loves to snuggle with me after she wakes up from naps. Our discipline has been paying off as well, because her hitting phase is pretty much over. And on the rare occasion she does hit out of anger, she quickly lowers her head in shame and then tries to kiss whoever the victim was to make up for her outburst. You would think that disciplining a one year old seems a little strict, but trust me, spend one hour with Lucy and you will see that she is no ordinary one year old. She girl has spunk, attitude, and is way too smart for her own good. We love it though, and I'm really learning how to best respond her to. She is VERY stubborn and strong willed like me, but also extremely sensitive, like Mark. This makes it difficult for me, since I don't easily get my feelings hurt, and she does. We're working on it. More so me than her :)

She is SO ridiculously close to walking I can't stand it! I know she'll do it in her own time though, and I'll probably wish back these days of crawling and no shoes. She's getting really good at pointing to objects she knows, even if she can't say the actual word yet. I'll ask her to find the pig, and she does. She's also in a very "mommy" phase right now. Not so much separation anxiety really, she just prefers me, especially at certain times of the day, like when she's sleepy or if she's fallen and hurt herself. Which brings me to...please don't think I beat my child, but since she's walking on/around/under/over EVERYTHING, she falls...A LOT. Therefore, bumps, bruises, and scratches naturally occur. I tend to just let it happen, because that's the only way she'll learn. The other day she was standing holding onto the kitchen chair, which my purse was hanging on, and it just couldn't hold both weights, so it fell down right on top of her. She hit the back of her head on the floor, and the chair was pinned on top of her face. She rolled over, and while crawling off said, "uh-oh"....and that was that. She's a toughy.

I've left my camera back at home....so no pictures for now. Just thought I'd give you a little glimpse into our lives today.