A Day Off

Have I ever mentioned I love being at Dental school? One reason...all the breaks we get to have with our daddy! We took advantage of MLK day last week and headed to the Richmond Holocaust Museum. It was a great free activity and allowed us to get out of the house and learn a thing or two. I really like learning about the Holocaust, well at least I used to think so, this trip was really tough on my emotions, but I did enjoy it, it just felt really real. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be a Jew living in Europe at that time. Every time I think about it I feel so grateful for my easy life...which gets us back to our awesome day off. I love day's like these.

At the end of the museum they had an exhibit all about "Polish Heros" which was a big reason Erik wanted to go since he served a mission in Poland. While he spent some time reading all the stories and bio's Lucy and I just goofed around taking pictures. What a perfect day! :)

Puppy Dog

This is a common snapshot of my daily life. Ever since Lucy was born I would sit on the couch and work on stuff at the coffee table while she played on the ground, occasionally taking breaks to play with her. I have a feeling I am going to get a lot less done for the next oh...20 years now that this little girl has found my hiding spot! She is now ALWAYS at my feet. My little puppy dog following me wherever I go.

The more I think about it I think I am already beginning to understand why my Mother always responded to our constant pleas for a dog by saying "what do I need a dog for when I have 6 kids!"

I mean this girl begs, chews on everything, tears up my stuff, licks me, leaves spots on my carpet, moans, bites, and even barks...

I mean really, what do i need a puppy for when I got this adorable little pup?

Who can by the way can now crawl and pull herself up on things, which is leading to a lot more bumps and bruises because she still has not mastered easing her way down from her kneeling position. Poor girl!

New Things

I have been waiting a long time for a "kid corner" in my house...and here it is! Lucy has enough toys to have her own play corner now. It's fabulous! I love her little space, probably more than her!

Another new thing is my newly arranged bookshelf (doesn't it look awesome?). Erik is really happy that there are actually a good number of books on our bookshelf now, he wasn't happy that I was making him get rid of books so I could put pictures on our shelf...lol. Anyway...

Why the change you may ask? Well notice the bottom two shelves...baby proof for our little crawler!!! Okay- I am not sure I would exactly call it crawling yet, but she is doing a scoot/army crawl/ worm dance type thing. It looks exhausting! And she may not be super fast but she sure gets around now. She ventured onto our kitchen floor for the first time ever, kind of gross's me out, but i think I will have to just get over that! She follows me everywhere now!
She also had her first play date the other day and LOVED it! (okay, maybe mommy LOVED it) but I was happy to see her play nicely and not be scared. But honestly who could be scared or just not love this adorable little girl?! This may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Lucy's first dinner with mommy and Daddy aka "real peoples food." She did pretty well with Ziti past, garlic bread and broccoli.

Daddy would be sooo proud! We start em young at the Fox house, already brushing those little teeth! (she still just has the 2 bottom ones)
I know what your thinking, please don't tell me that's her first bath...lol..no but she is now stable enough to take baths sitting up in the tub which is much more enjoyable for all parties involved. She LOVES bath time!!
We also bought her these new foam letters and she loves chowing down on them...while Mommy and Daddy like forming words on the wall.
A few weeks ago Lucy also started saying Ma ma. I am so proud, even though it is used any time she needs/wants anything including attention, so not sure if that is good, but I will take it!

Another new thing is that we had to lower the crib one notch...it was starting to make us a little nervous. She loves peeking through the bars and pull the bumpers down to see up when we come in to get her!

She is growing up so fast! I can't believe that at the end of this week she will be 8 months old!!! She is definitely getting more busy which is mostly exciting but sometimes I wish I could go back a few months!

A Foxy Christmas

Lucy with a very familiar looking Santa! ;)



Poor daddy was sick with the flu on Christmas morning! :( good thing it only lasted one day!

We had a great week with the Fox Family! It was fun to relax with daddy and do some fun things together.

Pause-for a question

I have so many holiday events to blog about...but I have to pause a moment and ask a mommy question. I don't have a doctor appointment for Lucy for another 2 months, the nurses are only slightly helpful over the phone and the internet has about a billion different answers...so I am coming to my most trusted resources...my blogging buddies.

So...Lucy stared eating solids at 4 months. She was great with rice cereal, loved it, has always been a pretty good eater. We introduced baby food a few weeks later, and that went well. The problem is that over time she wont drink as much formula. (she is a formula feed baby) And it's gotten to the point that it's like she just drinks like 3 ounce to tide her over and she holds out for the baby food she knows is coming in a few hours. The doctor told me she should be drinking about 25 ounces of milk a day, and she gets maybe 18. (and I have tried a few different things and I can't trick her...)

So by the time (which I am still trying to keep a 2-3 hour feeding schedule like i was with bottles, is that wrong at this point?) I sit her in her high chair she has started the past week screaming bloody murder, crying more than i have ever heard her in her life! This continues the whole time I am making up her oatmeal and fruits and veggies (which take a few min) Then when I sit down to start feeding her she is like on edge and I have to SHOVEL it in her mouth so fast, literally if I skip a beat she looses it again! She acts like I haven't feed her in weeks! She is mostly herself the other times of the day-slightly more whiny but pretty normal. I just don't know what to do. She will be 8 months next week and I just want to know what should I be feeding her, how much, how often? What did you do? I thought that it was okay to be dorpping bottles and doing more solids, but it seems you have to just have them drink more at fewer sittings.

So here is what we are doing now (roughly)...what needs to change?

7:00- 4 0z formula (keep in mind these formula amounts are not by my choice-that's all she will eat- and that's with me sitting over her singing popcorn popping over and over distracting her to eat just one more ounce! it's a struggle! And she wont let me hold her to feed her anymore!)

10:00- 1 cup of oatmeal (we do TONS! from what i see online this is too much-maybe?)

1.5-2 ounces of veggies

1.5-2 ounces of fruit

12:15- 3 oz formula

3:30- 4 oz formula

5:30- exact same as 10:00

7:30- 6 oz formula

i also give her finger foods during the day like cheerios and puffs and things...but i just want to make sure she is getting all the nutrition she needs and doesn't become a snacker like her mommy!

HELP!?!! How do I do protein? What do you do? Thanks friends! :)

Tacky Light Tour...

...ever heard of it? You probably have if you 1. live in Richmond and/or 2. are an avid watcher of the channel TLC(as it was featured on there once). It is just what you think it is...a bunch of houses who bravely list there address on a website for thousands of people to look up who then go drive by these houses during the holidays to see the completely decked out (and nevertheless tacky) lighted homes.

So, naturally ever since I heard about it I have been DYING to go check it out. There are a bunch of them all over Richmond and I am sure other places too. It is such a simple fun family activity. We loved it! Our first night out was documented on that memory card that is gone...so we went a second time to different houses which was SO worth it! The first night we met Santa, Mrs. Clause, and the Grinch. Can you believe it? Not only do these people fork out all the time and money to "decorate" there homes, they also stand outside in the cold every night for a month to pass out candy canes and greet people! Insane! I'm grateful they do it though because it sure provides some cheap entertainment! (they do have donation box's at some places..I guess it has turned into a business!)

Here was our second night out...we bundled up, prepared some hot chocolate and turned up the Christmas jams and off we went.

This house was probably the best we saw! It was actually 2 houses next to each other and you had to actually park and get out to walk around and see everything! They set up cones and it's really crowded. Some people even rent vans and limos to go around and do the tacky light tour...the things people come up with! lol! (actually it's slightly brilliant...I am jealous) This house even had a room with all sorts of Christmas dolls and characters....it was neat....and kind of creepy. ET was even in there. Lucy obviously found it entertaining...she couldn't keep her eyes off it!

Our cute snowman! I also wanted to mention that some of the houses even have a guest book thing you sign and it shows all the different states and countries people have come from to see the house...and they have people from all over! It's amazing! Who'da thought something like this would be so incredibly popular!?
This house was pretty sweet too...look at that tree?! I want to know how they get all the way up there! And yes that's Erik out front in a t shirt!! haha. Some houses also do the lights to music that you find on a radio station...those are my favorite. SO COOL! How do they do that?
And this just made me laugh...look very closely up in that window...does that lamp look familiar to anyone? "It's a major award!" I love The Christmas Story...

And I love the Tacky Light Tour...see you next year! :)