The Raspberry Era

Raspberry's are all the rage in our house right now! Not to be outdone, of course, by spit bubbles which go hand-in-hand with the raspberry's. Lucy's favorite new game is to do both of these things over and over. Then Mike and I crack up (and maybe do some back to her) which she thinks is hilarious and makes her do them even more. It's a vicious circle that we all think is too fun to break!!
I'll try to post a video of it soon - They're hard to get on film because she's still very suspicious of the video camera. We'll have to 'secretly' record them. :)

Back to work

Monday was Luciana's 1st day of "school". Here's a quick pic before the tears started (mine, not hers).
It's been really hard for me so far but I keep hearing it will get easier. It better, or else I'll be driving out to St. Clair Shores twice a day to bring her to my sisters house!!

My last week home :(

This is my last week home with Luciana. Starting Monday I'll be back at work.

I've been crying a little bit everyday as "D-Day" approaches. I do have to say though, I love her daycare and I'm really glad that we found it. It's in between our work and our house and only a few blocks from each (which means I can make frequent lunch visits). I'll be going up there tomorrow so I can sit in the room with the teachers and get a feel for what Lucy will be doing all day. I'm not going to 'talk' about it anymore for now because it makes me to sad....

On a happier note - Mike's cousin Jason got married this past weekend and we had so much fun seeing everyone! The wedding was so beautiful (although, you'll have to take my word for it since apparently we forget to take pictures). Luciana did great on the car rides there and back (it was in Buffalo, NY). She even got to visit Niagara Falls with Mike and I and her uncle David. Below are a few pictures we did remember to take!





Luciana and Papa Catalano at Jason and Erin's rehearsal dinner



David cutting Mikes food while Luciana is sleeping - What a great uncle!!!



Ordering room service :)



Hanging out in the hotel with some friends



Luciana showing off more of her travels at the Hard Rock



The family at the falls



Me and Lucy at the falls



The brothers at Niagara

Our busy weekend

Luciana had her 1st official photo shoot on Saturday. We had them done by a friend of ours who has a photography business she runs out of her home. Even though Luciana was tired (the photo shoot was at 11:00 am and she had been awake since 7:00am) and was still getting over her cold, she did a great job! I think we were able to capture quite a few smiles.

We'll get all of the photos on Monday but here are a few we got to see early.







After the photo shoot, it was home for a quick change of clothes and a meal then it was off to my sisters house for our nephew Cameron's 3rd birthday party. Luciana was a out like a light from the drive there but then was accidentally woken up by her Papa Eberhardt so she was a little bit fussy (and Papa Eberhardt was then charged with calming her down) :) Other than that she had a great time and even got her 1st birthday party goody bag filled with toys and a book (thanks Aunt Nichole). She loves parties and has had a pretty full social calendar lately!!

Time Flies...

Luciana had her two month checkup today (although technically she's almost 10 weeks already)! She's 12lbs, 10oz (80th percentile) and 23.25 inches (75th percentile).

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She loves smiling now and does it most of the time. She also loves to mimic Mike and I so we are constantly making faces and noises with her which she repeats and smiles.
She eats more and more every day and is developing several healthy rolls because of it! Sometimes we think new rolls are appearing right in front of our eyes :)

She's a really happy baby (unless she's hungry and I'm not moving fast enough - note the rolls comment) :)
Smiling, cooing and watching everything around her - every day is something new and I can't wait for the next.

Here are some pics I've been meaning to post.



Sleeping with her blanket from her Great-Grandma Chubb


Up close with the camera


Smiling


She can sleep in any position


Sticking her tounge out

She's great at traveling (so far) :)

Over Labor Day, Mike, Luciana and I took the train to WI for our friend Vik's wedding. We had to leave our house at 6 am on Sat, travel a total of 9 hours on the train, walk to our hotel and then change and go to the Sangeet (which is kind of like a rehearsal dinner for an Indian wedding). Then there was the ceremony and reception on Sunday and the long ride back on Monday. She did fantastic! Slept, ate and played on both train rides and hardly even became fussy. Mike and I were so proud of her. Hopefully her great travel mode will continue for Jason's wedding in October...

Here are a few pics from our trip.



We're on a train??


Are you serious?


Playing on the hotel bed


At the ceremony


Sitting with daddy on the train home


Going fast on the train ride home


Cracking up with mommy

Our first seperation

Mike and I went out for the first time without Luciana this past Saturday for my friend Allison's wedding. It was REALLY hard for me! My mom watched her and I knew everything would be fine but I was so sad to be away from her. We were able to make it out the door by 5:30 and didn't get back home until 10:30 - I was very proud of myself for being able to make it that long :)

I'm trying to build up to being able to put her in daycare once I go back to work but I still cry when I think about having to do it...

Luciana and I also went to my sisters house this week to visit her and her family and we went to Kelly Services to visit with, well, the entire building! She did great during both outings and I'm getting a lot better at remembering everything to bring on an outing!!

Here's her 6 week old pic - she's almost the same size as her bear now!