My trip to Whistler

OK, so I went to Whistler a few weeks ago and haven't told you all about it yet. Sorry about that, but I've been busy getting ready for Santa to bring me tons of toys. The plan was for Grandma, Grandpa, Mama and I to drive up to Whistler to visit Auntie Sue and play all day in the snow. That's not how it happened though. First of all, Auntie Sue was down on Vancouver in the hospital, so we only got to stop by to see her for a few minutes. That made me really sad that she wasn't on vacation with us. After we visited her we went up to the condo all by ourselves. It was really pretty, and I was really excited to be out of the car. All the snow I was supposed to play in was actually rain though. That part was also sad. We all ended up having a lot of fun though. I even got to go in the hot tub because it wasn't really very warm and Mama thought it would be OK. It was fun and the bubbles were really interesting. We did a lot of shopping (for me!) and walking around. We also went on what was supposed to be a sleigh ride, but ended up being a wagon ride because there wasn't much snow. I really liked the horses and even got to ride up front with the people who were driving for us. It was so exciting. I think that my favorite part of the whole trip was the fireplace though. It was so pretty and I loved looking at the flames dancing around. Overall it was a really fun trip, but we were all really worried about Auntie Sue. Luckily, after a bunch of time in the hospital and a bunch of work by her doctors, she's back home now. I got to go visit her at her house last weekend. It was really fun and I liked watching it start to snow from her balcony. Between then and now it has been so cold it's driving me crazy. Mama and I haven't really been doing very much because she doesn't want to drive anywhere. We've been going on walks around our apartment though and I think the snow is really weird. It's cold and wet and I don't really like it. The only place we have really been going has been to swimming lessons. I was the only one there for the last two weeks, and I really liked that. I started kicking really hard and moving my hands around in the water like I'm really swimming. Mama won't let go of me to swim on my own though. I guess she doesn't trust me. Maybe it's because I kept trying to put my face under the water and getting it up my nose. The best part of swimming was flirting with the lifeguards. They're pretty cute and I like to make them smile. Don't tell my Daddy though or he'll be mad at me.

As far as learning new stuff, I'm still working on getting better at standing on my own. I haven't taken any steps yet, but I'm working on it. I'm not really crawling yet, but I am flailing around to get myself where I'm going. I'm pretty efficient about it even if it's not very graceful. I've started talking a lot more, but I mostly just say "Da Da Da" over and over again. Daddy thinks I'm saying DaDa, but I'm not sure if I am or not. I like that it makes him happy though.

Be sure to check out my new pictures on my picture website athenaluccio.myphotoalbum.com

November Update

Hi everyone. I know it's only been a few weeks since I posted last, but a whole bunch of new things are going on with me and I wanted to fill you in. I have officially decided that crawling is for suckers. My new plan is to roll onto my belly and cry until someone (usually Daddy) either picks me up to move me or brings me what I want. If you think about it, crawling is rather stupid anyhow. It's a slow and inefficient way of getting around the world. Who wants to coordinate all four limbs to move anyhow? That's why walking is the way to go. Sadly, I can't do it quite yet though. I found out that the first step to learning how to walk is to learn how to stand up all by myself. I've been holding myself up at a footstool for quite some time now, but recently I started pushing myself back off of it and balancing on my teeny-tiny feet for a few seconds before crashing down either back onto the footstool or onto my butt (Did you know that if you stick it out while you're falling you don't hit your head on the floor? Pretty cool huh?). I'm getting really good at it. Today Mama was helping me to get balanced, then letting go of me to see how long I could stand. I did it for 10 whole seconds before I fell. She was very excited and proud of me. I'm also working on pulling myself from sitting to standing on a footstool or the side of the bathtub while I'm waiting for Mama to fill the bathtub. I've only done it a few times because usually my feet get all tangled up underneath my butt and I can't quite get them set up right.

I still don't have any teeth yet, but my mouth has been hurting a lot lately so I'm hoping they come in soon. I can't take much more of this. I think it's driving my Mama and Daddy crazy too. They don't seem to enjoy me waking them up every two or three hours to cry about how much it hurts, but I really need to them to help me so they'll just have to deal with it. l

A few days ago I got to meet a new family member because Daddy's Grandma Pat came to visit for Thanksgiving. She's really nice and bought me this awesome hat that glows in the dark. She didn't know that it did that, but I think that it is absolutely fantastic. Mama and Daddy like it too because if we go on nighttime walks they can see my head bobbing around in the stroller even if it's dark. I'll get to see her again on Thanksgiving, which apparently consists of everyone eating a lot of food together. I'm hoping that Mama will give me some mashed potatoes, and maybe even a little bit of pumpkin pie. They're just about the right consistency for me, and they're delicious. I'll let you know how it turns out.

After that Mama, Grandma Diane, Grandpa Dean and I are going on a vacation. Daddy has to work so he won't be able to come with us, which makes me really sad. We're going to go up to Whistler to stay at Great-Auntie Sue's place up there. From what I hear it's going to be cold and snowy outside, but we'll have a nice warm place to sleep. I've never been out of the country so I am really excited about that. I really wanted to get a passport, but Mama says she'll just bring my birth certificate with us so I don't need one. We might even get to go on a sleigh ride while we're up there which I think sounds really fun. I might sleep through it though. We'll have to wait and see. I'll make sure to have Mama take a lot of pictures so I can put them up here for you all to see.

More new stuff I can do

First of all I will tell you all about my visit from Auntie Jenn last week. She (like Mama) is currently not working (stupid economy), so she decided to come visit me for five whole days. The day that she was coming in on the train I went to a playdate with some other kids my Mama met through some group. None of us are crawling yet, so we didn't do very much together, but our Mama's got to spend time talking to each other. Then Mama and I went to pick up Auntie Jenn way down in Seattle. We did lots of stuff together over the next few days and I smiled at Auntie Jenn every time I saw her. I really like her. We went to wander around stores a lot while she was here and it looked like her and Mama had a great time. I even got to try on her glasses and high heel shoes. I was pretty fancy. On Halloween we waited patiently for Daddy to get home from work, then we went out to show off my pea pod costume. We only got to go to one house because I was really crabby and all of Mama and Daddy's friends were out doing fun grown-up stuff. I had fun though. I saw lots of other kids out in their costumes and can't wait until next year when I can walk around in my costume and wear something really cool like a zombie princess costume.

After Halloween Auntie Jenn had to leave and I was really sad that she couldn't stay here forever. I still look for her every morning when Mama and Daddy come in to wake me up. Speaking of waking up, I am really proud of myself that I have been sleeping all night (11 hours!) by myself in my crib with only fussing once (but when Mama or Daddy comes in to show me they're still here I go right back to sleep). I've also been taking all of my naps in my crib just like a big girl. Aren't you all proud of me? I've also been working more on learning how to crawl. So far I can get up on my hands and knees, then move my legs forward like real crawling, but then I fall on my face and do it again. I move forward like this, but it's really slow. I'm much faster at crawling backwards. Plus I can wedge myself under various things and it makes Mama laugh. I've started trying to pull myself up to stand on my legs, but I'm not very good at it yet. This morning at story time Mama helped me put my legs in the right place so I could pull myself up on the basket of books. It's really low though so I just stood there with my butt stuck up in the air and Mama supporting me so I didn't fall. It was really exciting, but Mama says I cheated because she helped me so much. I'll do it on my own soon I'm sure. I think I might just skip right over crawling and go straight to walking and/or running. I still don't have any teeth, but they still hurt my mouth. Mama and Daddy are starting to think that I have invisible teeth, but I think they're crazy. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Next week I'm going to go down to Grandma and Grandpa's to stay for two days to see my cousin Henry and my friend Ruby June. It should prove to be quite exciting.

What an exciting month!

Yet again, I'm sorry I took so long to write more on here, but I'm awfully busy for a little girl and it's hard to find time to tell you all what's going on. I have already done so much stuff in October so far, and it's not even over. Just a few weeks ago my Mama and Daddy took me up to the Pumpkin Patch to pick my very first Halloween pumpkin. It was dirty, chaotic, and fantastic. I had a great time looking at all of the pumpkins and even sitting on one of them. When we had all chosen our pumpkins I got to ride in wheelbarrow with all of them....OK, so I didn't ride in there, but I got to sit in there. It was weird, and I couldn't figure out why the stems were all prickly. The next week we all went over to my Mimi's house (that's grandma Michelle, for those of you who aren't paying attention) to carve them. Mama and Daddy carved theirs out, but they decided that it wouldn't be safe for me to use a knife, so I got to paint mine. I hated it. I really wanted to carve it out to look like a ghost, but they wouldn't let me. To make matters worse they stripped me down to my diaper in front of my uncle Jared and made me sit on the table to paint it. Then they gave me a bath and I cried during that too. It was very traumatic. I'm going to call my therapist tomorrow. A few days after that my Grandma came to visit Mama and me, and we got to go to storytime at the library for the very first time. It was amazing. There were all these other babies there who looked a lot like me, but most of them were more mobile and talkative. We got to sing a lot of fun songs and dance around in the library, so I loved it. Mama said that she'd take me twice each week to do storytime at two libraries close to my house. I'm super excited. We also went to see the YMCA to see where Mama and I are going to do our swimming lessons in a few weeks. It sound like Mama's also going to let me go play with some other babies in a big play room while she works out or sits in a sauna. I'm kinda glad she's doing it. I need some time away from my Mama to play with other kids. It's pretty darn exciting.

The most exciting thing so far this month just happened yesterday though. I was over at my Mimi's house for dinner (after a disasterous lunch at my Aunt Emily and Uncle Chad's house) and I was playing on the floor with the doggies and Uncle Jared. Now I should tell you that at home we have nice cushy carpet on our floors, but Mimi has pretty wood on her floors. I got a little bit too excited and tried to reach forward for something and fell on my face. I hurt my lip and started bleeding everywhere. Daddy freaked out, and Mama tried really hard to stay calm but I wouldn't let them see in my mouth because it hurt and I was scared so they were really worried about me. My mouth bled for a long time, but then it stopped. Mama and Daddy looked in my mouth and they think I just cut my lip so I will be just fine. The only bad thing is that now my lip is all swollen up and puffy. I look pretty weird. It was really scary, but I'm just fine now so don't worry about me. Halloween's coming up pretty soon and my Auntie Jenn is coming to visit me on Wednesday so my exciting month isn't even over yet. I can't wait!

You missed me didn't you?

I know it's been a really long time since I posted anything on here, so I thought I'd fill you all in on what's been going on with me. The day after my fantastic boat ride I woke up with a pretty high fever and Mama and Daddy ended up taking me in to the Doctor. She checked me out and told them to give me some tylenol so I wasn't uncomfortable, and to come back in two days if I was still sick. I laid around for two days and didn't feel any better (except from the tylenol). Mama and Daddy were all pretty scared, and Daddy even called my Doctor one night because my fever was 103.7 (which is extremely high for such a little baby). Mama and I went in to see the Doctor again on Tuesday, and she did a few tests on me and told us that I had some sort of infection, but she wasn't sure what kind. She told Mama to take me down to Children's Hospital for them to check me out. Daddy joined us at the hospital, since he was working down in Tacoma that day. They checked me out and discovered that I had a really bad bladder infection (they found this out using something called a catheter, which I never ever want to see again in my life). They gave me some antibiotics and sent Mama and Daddy on their way. It took a few days for me to feel all the way better (mostly because I got an infection from the antibiotics so I had to get some special cream to put on twice a day). The worst part of this whole ordeal? I was supposed to go to a concert on Tuesday with Mama, Daddy, Mimi, and Grandpa Dean, but I had to miss it because I was at the hospital. I was really really bummed, but everybody says they'll take me to a concert soon enough.

I'm all done with the antibiotics (two whole weeks of taking it!), and I'm feeling so much better now. I'm back to laughing and smiling at Mama and Daddy, which makes them really happy. Although I've started this new thing where I only smile a little bit and stick my tongue out. It makes everybody laugh so I really like it. I'm still working on figuring out how to crawl, but I'm getting pretty close. I can get up onto my knees and move backwards a few inches, but not forwards. I just like to be different. I have gotten a lot of new toys lately, and I'm having fun figuring them all out. I really like the squirty bath toys I got yesterday and the obnoxious (that's Mama's word) radio that Grandma and Grandpa brought me. It makes me laugh. Mama and Daddy also had to go buy me a whole bunch of new clothes the other day because I don't have anything that fits and will keep me warm in cold weather. They were pretty excited because they haven't really bought me much stuff yet because my friend Presley gave me all of her old clothes. Overall my life has been pretty exciting lately and Mama, Daddy and I can't believe that I am officially six months old today. They say that's a whole half of a year old already. Wow, that was fast.

My First Boat Ride, a photo essay

Yesterday, Grandpa Gary and Grandma Vicki (I'm going to call them Granddad and Nana to avoid confusion with all of my grandparents) invited Mama, Daddy and me to go out on their boat for a big long ride, so I got my first experience out on the open seas (OK, so it was just the Puget Sound). We had to wait for the ferry for a little while, so I got to ride in a metal boat with some statue kids at the park next to the ferry dock.

I was a little bored on the ferry, so I was reading some of the brochures that Mama and Daddy had picked up in the terminal.

When we got on to Nana and Granddad's boat I got to spend a lot of time with their dog Pizono, who absolutely loved me. He and I sat up in the captain's chair and looked out the windows for a long time.

Then Daddy put me in a life jacket that was way too big and we went outside to sit in the sun.

The breeze in my face was a little bit weird, but I liked when we hit someone else's wake and we rocked a whole lot.

I took a big long nap in the big bed while everyone else sat in the sun, then we got to Poulsbo and walked around town for a long time.

I slept through dinner (everybody thought that was really nice of me), then we came home. I slept the entire way home on the boat, probably because we didn't leave until after 9:00, which is my bedtime. I woke up for the ferry ride home, but was really really tired and just laid on Mama's shoulder for the entire ride. I fell asleep in the car on the way home, and woke up this morning ready to tell you all about it.

Pictures from Mounthaven

Auntie Joan told my mom that she was sad that I didn't put any pictures from my trip to Mounthaven on here, so here are a few. The rest of them are on my website at athenaluccio.myphotoalbum.com, so check them out there.

Here's me trying to eat bubbles.
Here I am giving Henry a big hug. Thankfully this time I was happy to see him.
At the end of the day I fell asleep on the table at Auntie Joan and Uncle Craig's house. At least Mama and Daddy thought enough to put a blanket underneath me.

My adventures at Mt. Rainier

Last weekend, my family went up to Mt. Rainier to stay with my Auntie Joan and Uncle Craig (they're my great-auntie and great-uncle, but that makes them sound old and it's too much to write). It was fantastic! I did a ton of stuff. I got to spend a lot of time with Baby Henry, but I didn't get to teach him how to do very much. He's pretty much got it all down by now (at least what he's supposed to). He did teach me how to be a world champion spitter-upper. I have been practicing ever since we left (Mama says "Thanks a lot, Henry". She says it's sarcastic, but I don't know what that means). I got to meet some deer and watch them eat some apples. At least Mama and Daddy said they were called deer, but I think they were just big dogs. They kept staring at me, and it made me a little nervous. I got to go on a lot of stroller rides around the whole resort with my Grandpa. He also blew a lot of bubbles for me, which I hadn't really seen before, and I loved them. They don't taste very good though. I got passed around a lot between Auntie Sue, Auntie Sara, Uncle Ian and everybody else. Good thing I'm so skinny or they never would have been able to hold me so long. I also got to sit around the fire, which I love. It just looks so pretty and feel so warm. The best thing, though, is that I got to spend the night in Grandma and Grandpa's trailer. Grandma cuddled with me all night and let my Mama and Daddy sleep in really late. I think they really liked it, and I really enjoyed spending so much fun time with Grandma and Grandpa. I had a great time all weekend, and I can't wait to go up to visit them again. Maybe we'll go up there for Thanksgiving....or maybe when it's really snowy and everyone can throw snowballs for me to catch.

Yet again, I learned a new trick!

Notice that no one is holding me up in this picture. Pretty cool huh? I just started doing this a few days ago (Monday, for those of you are keeping track). I can't wait to show off this weekend when Mama and Daddy and me are up at Great-Auntie Joan and Great-Uncle Craig's up by some big mountain I've never been to. We're going up to see them, Great-Auntie Sue, Uncle Ian, Auntie Sara, and my very favorite cousin in the whole entire world Henry. Maybe I'll try to help Henry learn how to smile....but he probably already knows how to do that because he's a super-genius. Maybe I'll babble with him to help him learn how to do that. I'll let you all know how the weekend is after we get back. I'm pretty darn excited.

Also, this morning my Daddy had to get up with me when I woke up (after nine hours of sleep mind you) because my Mama was feeling too tired. Daddy gave me a bottle because I was starving, and I held it all by myself. It got a little too hard at the end, and Daddy had to help me hold it so I wasn't drinking a lot of air, but I did a really good job with most of it. Who knew that being a baby involved so much learning and trying new things.

My First Bubble Bath

Yesterday Mama and I took a bubble bath together in the big tub. I sat in my bumbo chair in the water and had a grand old time. For those of you know are familiar with Lush, you will appreciate that it was a Karma bubble bar that we used. I smelled like a hippy all day. I really liked eating all of the bubbles, but they made my tummy hurt a little bit. I also liked trying to pick them up and trying to figure out why I couldn't seem to do it very well. Overall I really liked it and can't wait to do it again with a new bubble bath. For some reason my Mama can't post the pictures here (stupid computer), but they are all at my photo website (athenaluccio.myphotoalbum.com) so go check them out.

Baby Henry 1, Mama and Daddy 0

So Baby Henry got this fancy jumper thing to play with, but since he's still a tiny mushy baby he's letting me borrow for a while. I think that it is awesome, but I think the real reason he let me borrow it is so that my Mama and Daddy will go crazy within the next few weeks. Every time I jump, move, sneeze, fart, etc. the thing starts playing music and sound effects. Again, I love it, but the songs are already stuck in Mama's head, and she's pretty sure they will be stuck in Daddy's as soon as he gets home from work. Now I've got to find some way for Baby Henry to drive his parents crazy as revenge....

Somebody call Child Protective Services

My Soon-to-be-friend Lemon's (who is going to be a girl, hurrah!) Mommy made this for me before I was born as a joke for my Mama and Daddy. For some reason they decided to put me in it and take a picture. Somehow, though, I even manage to make this look cute in a non-creepy way. And, yes, that's supposed to be a thong diaper.

Me and Baby Henry

Here's a picture of us together. I don't know why he's crying. It scared me, so I chose to suck on my feet.
Check out our feet. He's almost four months younger than me and his feet are just as big as mine. I just hope he won't kick the crap out me when we are a little bit older. I better learn how to run really fast.

My Mama is hilarious!

My Baby Cousin Henry

I just got back from two days down in Raymond visiting my baby cousin Henry. I find him fascinating. The whole time I was visiting him I was just hanging out in my Mama's arms staring at him. He cries a lot and it confuses me. I just want him to be happy and stop crying. I also find his hands and feet fascinating, because they're pretty much as big as mine (Mama thinks they're a little bigger, but what does she know). He does tend to spit up a lot. He spits up enough that when I was over there I even had to join in the fun (and I never spit up)! He is really cute and really soft and I really like to hold his hands. Mama likes to hold him too, but it makes me jealous. I brought him some new clothes and I think he likes them. He can't talk yet, but he told me with his eyes. I also brought him all of my old swaddler sleeping suits and I think it's funny that he wears the ones with butterflies and pink/purple polka dots on them. He doesn't care because he's just a baby. As you can see, I really really like him a whole lot. I can't wait until we're able to play games together and play tricks on our parents (but mostly on Uncle Ian because my Mama thinks that will be funny and I think that Auntie Sara will agree). Oh, here's a picture of him when he was just a few days old. We took a bunch of pictures while I was down there, but they're on Auntie Sara's phone so my Mama can't post them.

Teeth Suck!

What's the freaking point of teeth anyhow? They hurt and they're dumb. I don't see what's wrong with eating only foods I don't have to chew for my entire life. Applesauce? Good. Yogurt? Good. Popsicles? Great. Milkshakes? Awesome (or so I've been told).

Stupid teeth.

My first camping experience

Well, the folks and I got back from our very first family camping trip on Wednesday and I thought I'd tell you all how it went. The first two days were awful. They kept passing me around to different people I didn't know and it really pissed me off. I pretty much cried for the first two days. I was really excited to see my Grandma and Grandpa and my Mimi (Grandma Michelle, to those of you who are not in the loop). After that I really got more used to the whole camping thing. I ended up sleeping in the tent only for the first half of the night, then Mama and I moved into Grandma and Grandpa's trailer so I didn't get to cold (and so that my crying didn't wake up all of the other tent campers). I got to watch everybody play lots of games, and I slept a lot. I took like five naps a day for at least an hour at a time. Camping is exhausting! Surprisingly, the bugs didn't bother me very much. Everybody kept swatting them away so I only got two bites the whole time. I took lots of walks in my stroller with my Grandma (she and I were always the first two awake in the morning), and I spent a lot of time sitting around the fire with everyone. I got to put my feet in the lake, but it was too cold for me to swim in. Overall we had a great time, and my Mama and Daddy got to take lots of naps also so we're all fully rested now. I can't wait to go camping again!

Check out my sweet dance moves

William Henry Farrell

I now officially have a baby cousin. He was born yesterday and he's perfect. He is definitely the cutest boy I have ever seen and I can't wait to push him down the laundry chute. I'll have pictures soon, but for now you'll just have to trust me that he's adorable and we're all thrilled to finally meet him.

PEAS!!!!!

For those of you who know my Mama well, you will appreciate that I had peas for brunch this morning and loved them. I still prefer applesauce, but peas are a close second. So far I've tried a few different foods, and I think I like them all. Peaches, mashed potatoes, and watermelon are all good.....but that little bit of Thin Mint Blizzard that Lindsey let me try when I was in Raymond was the absolute best.

Next week I'm going to go camping to Baker Lake with my Mama, Daddy, Grandma Mimi, Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dean (along with a bunch of other people my family know). I'm pretty excited about hanging out on the beach and sleeping in a tent. I'm also looking forward to sitting around staring at the fire. It's just so bright and pretty. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Waiting patiently for my cousin

I can hardly wait for my cousin to be ready to come meet us. I really want to know if he/she's a boy or a girl, and I want to know what his/her name is so that I can stop calling him/her Baby Chuck....although I've grown rather fond of the name Chuck. Maybe I'll make sure Mama and Daddy have a little brother for me in a few years so we can name him Chuck. Really, though, I need a playmate who can take some of this attention off of me so that I don't grow up to be a spoiled little brat (or so Mama says). I really, really can't wait to play hide and seek at your house and hide in the giant ottoman in your living room. It's the perfect hiding spot! I promise I won't push you down the laundry chute...unless you do it to me first.

Oh, by the way, I rolled over twice in a row today, which I haven't done since I got the harness put on. As soon as I did it once I remembered exactly what to do and did it again. And this time Daddy was here to see it. I've also started getting really good at holding myself up when I stand up and lean against the footstool. I have to have Mama or Daddy place me there (no pulling myself up yet), but I can hold myself there for quite a while. I also got one of those Bumbo chairs that help me to sit up all by myself, and I really like that. It makes me feel like a big girl.

Whenever you're ready Baby Chuck....I'll be waiting as patiently as I can (which is surprisingly patient as I have no concept of time yet; the same cannot be said for my Mama and Daddy).

Told you so!

I told you I was going to learn how to drive. Next on my to-do list? Time travel.

I'm free.....sort of

Just yesterday I had yet another doctor's appointment. They took some more pictures of my hips, then the doctor told us that they were perfectly normal. Hurray! I have to wear my harness for another month or so (however long Mama and Daddy can handle up to one month, according to the doctor), but I am supposed to be out of it for 3-4 hours each day. This means I can change my clothes every day, which is nice because I tend to get dirty. I can have a bath more than once a week, and I don't have to wear that hot harness during these really hot days. Mama said one day we'll even go swimming together! As soon as we got home from the doctor Mama and Daddy took the harness and I got to stretch my legs for a really long time. I was a little confused at first, but then I got really excited about it. They took about a billion pictures of me wearing only my diaper. I even got to sleep without my harness on last night. It was a little weird, but really cool and comfortable. I've been a bit crabby at my Mama because she put the harness back on this morning, but I suppose I'll forgive her. I really tried to talk to her about my feelings, but I could only get vowels out. She didn't understand, which really made me mad. I suppose I should start working on communicating better. Words are hard though. I'd rather play that work on learning how to talk.

Hey, I contol those things!

Just recently I discovered that I control my hands. Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dean bought me this really cool new toy for me to practice with. Here is a video of me playing with it. Excuse my Mama if she sounds a little crazy. Spending all day, every day at home with me does that to her. There are more on my picture website if you are interested, but they're pretty much the same. Aren't I amazing?

Two months old

Yesterday was my two month birthday so I thought I should update everyone on how I've been doing. I'm still getting used to my harness, but it's really not all that bad. Mama and Daddy like it because I don't have as many dirty clothes as I used to (I only get to change my onesie twice a week and have a bath once a week so that I'm not out of the harness too much). I really like riding in Daddy's tummy pack or Mama's sling because I get to hang out so close to them. I look a little funny in the sling with my feet hanging out the bottom, but I don't mind. Mama, Daddy and I have started going to all of the farmer's markets around my house since I really like being outside so much. We have a lot of fun checking out all the fun stuff you can get there. Mama and Daddy have started reading poems to be when it's time for bed and I really like that too. I can't wait until I can read them myself, but I hear that will take quite a while. They've also started singing more songs to me when I'm sad. I really like the Beatles, which I'm sure Grandma Michelle and Grandpa Dean will be happy to hear. Daddy and I have been watching a lot of hockey lately, but sadly it's over for the year and Daddy's favorite team didn't win the Stanley Cup. We're sad, but we'll start watching baseball instead and I'm sure I'll like that too. Overall things are going well, and I'm growing up faster than Mama and Daddy can believe. Tonight, in fact, I am sleeping in my own room all by myself for the very first time. I think next week I'll learn how to drive.

Pictures of me in my harness

Here are a few pictures of me in my harness. I think I can pull it off pretty well.

My spiffy new accessory

I just got back from a doctor's visit (which I am getting quite tired of by the way, as this is a total of 7 visits in my almost 8 weeks of life) and they decided that I get to wear a nifty new fashion accessory for a while. They did an ultrasound a few weeks ago on my hips, and the results told my doctor today that I need to wear a harness to keep them in place (it's called a Pavlik Harness if you are interested). Apparently my hip sockets are too shallow to hold the top of my leg bone in place correctly, and the harness holds my legs at a funny position so that the socket finishes forming correctly (my bones are still soft because I'm so young). Mama says they call it hip dysplasia and I have an extremely mild case of it (www.hip-baby.org has some good information about it). She and Daddy aren't worried about me, but they and the doctors would rather be safe than sorry, so I get to wear the harness for a while. I should only have to wear it for a few weeks, or a few months at the very most. I can still wear all of my pretty dresses over it, and I can take it off to take baths. Most importantly to me I still get to play on my tummy, but I don't think I'll be rolling over again any time soon. I just thought I should tell everyone about it so that you don't wonder why I'm holding my legs a little funny in my upcoming pictures.

I can't believe I did it!

I get the feeling that no one really believes my Mama when she tells them this, so I am here to set the record straight. On Saturday I was playing on my tummy, and I rolled over onto my back all by myself. Apparently I'm not supposed to be able to do this yet, which is probably why no one quite believes my Mama. What can I say? I am Superbaby and I have superhuman powers. Oh, by the way, my new favorite thing is when Mama or Daddy holds me around my chest and I push my legs down onto their laps like I'm standing. It's tiring though so I can only do it for a minute or two, but I love it. I'm also working on learning how to laugh when my Mama tries to grab my tongue, which I stick out constantly.

New and exciting things I have noticed recently

I have had an incredibly big week so far. It all started with Mother's Day, which I almost completely slept through except when I needed either food or a clean diaper (Mama appreciated the extra rest she got!). The next day I spent all day down in Seattle for my Great-Auntie Sue's birthday with Mama, Grandma Diane, Grandma-Great Fiedler, and Great-Aunties Sue and Joan. I tried to be artistic when we went to the sculpture garden, but I was too tired so I just slept the whole time. I showed my extreme lack of understanding of the concept of "stranger danger" when I met all of Great-Auntie Sue's friends, and I really enjoyed the view from her windows. Tuesday was so far the most exciting though. Mama and Grandma Diane spent a long time today showing me a bunch of new things to see if I liked them. I really liked my mobile in my crib (which Daddy won't let me sleep in because it's too far from his bed), and my jiggly poodle from Auntie Renee. I did not like the story that Grandma Diane read to me, and I fell asleep. I liked my swing and my new tummy-time toy with a mirror to show me this other really cute baby that lives on the other side. I didn't really like the vacuum when Mama cleaned, but I really liked the medicine that Mama had to give me (it's really sticky and she says I look like a dog with peanut butter in his mouth when I get it). When we drove down to Grandma and Grandpa Great's house this evening I noticed all of the street lights and started following them with my eyes. It's really nice that I can now show everyone what I do and don't like because I spend so much more time awake and happy. My neck is getting stronger every day, and I also like jumping up when Mama holds me with my legs on her lap. I know I'm not supposed to be this strong yet, but I don't want to listen to what everyone else tells me to do.

By the way, Uncle Ian and Auntie Sara's baby (who I am going to call Chuck because I think it's a funny name for a baby, and will be even funnier if you're a girl) I am getting lonely. Mama and Daddy don't have a lot of friends who they see very often who have babies like me. Hurry up and come join me so I have someone to play with.

A video for you to enjoy

Here's a video of me practicing cobra pose. The first half isn't nearly as exciting as the second half. Hopefully Mama and Daddy will have a video or picture of my beautiful smile soon too.

Happy Girl

Just a few days ago I started working on my smile, and I have officially perfected it. I still don't do it often, and my Mama and Daddy haven't caught it on camera yet, but I promise that I can do it. Also, yesterday at Grandma Mimi's house I tried to laugh, but no sound came out. I'll post a picture when we have one.

I am a yoga prodigy

I told everyone in my last post that I've started liking to spend time hanging out on my tummy, but yesterday I did something new. When my mama put her face in front of me, I propped myself up into cobra pose (up on my forearms with my head lifted up to look mama in the face) and held it for more than a minute. I'm pretty proud of myself. I tried to hold it long enough for mama and daddy to find the camera to video tape it for everyone to see, but they're too slow. I'm sure I'll do it again though. When I do I'll make sure to post the video on my photo website, which is at athenaluccio.myphotoalbum.com in case you forgot or mama forgot to tell you.

I wanna be like my cousin!

Hi everyone. The other day my mama saw a website that my Auntie Sara created for my soon-to-be cousin *insert name here*. I got really jealous (because I want to be first at everything, just like my mama when she was little) and wanted to create my own blog. I already have a website with all of my pictures on it, but I don't get to tell everyone about what I'm learning to do every day on there. I'm sure I'll put some of my pictures on here also, but mostly this is so that everyone can keep posted on all of the weird new things that I'll learn how to do over the next few years. I know that some of you may be saying that two websites might be a bit much for one little girl like me, but I am a child of the digital age so get used to it.

I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself to start things off. My name is Athena Marie Luccio and I am three and a half weeks old today (I was born on April 3rd). Neither my mama or my daddy have any other kids, which works out well for me because I love having their undivided attention. None of my grandmas or grandpas have any other grandkids yet either, so that's ever more attention for me. My Uncle Ian and Auntie Sara will have a baby soon though, so I'll have to share the spotlight. I'm a little bit bummed about this, but I'm way more excited about meeting my first cousin so I suppose it will be OK.

So far I haven't learned how to do a whole lot except eat, cry, sleep, and poop. I'm getting close to cracking my first smile though and I'm getting better at controlling my head and neck all on my own. My favorite things at the moment are eating and riding in the car (which my mama and daddy also like because I fall asleep almost every time). I've also recently started liking spending some time laying on my tummy while mama rubs my back. I'll keep you all posted as things change.