Happy Dada Day!

Since Lucy doesn't quite know how to say father, we'll leave it at Dada.

She sure loves this guy!

Even though this picture doesn't appropriately convey that feeling.

But we're a pretty lucky family to have him as wonderful husband and awesome dad.

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads!

Car Seat Envy

I don't get it.

Lately, Lucy has occasionally been fighting me when I try to put her in her car seat. Even though she is over 12 months now, she is still in a rear facing car seat because with how little she weighs, she hasn't yet outgrown it. Maybe this fighting is a sign of a fierce, independent spirit we might have - I will have to SQUASH that before she gets into her terrible twos and temper tantrums (totally kidding about that - I love an independent spirit!). But for some reason, as much as she fights about her own car seat, she certainly seems to love other people's car seats.

Case #1:
Cousin, Olive has the same exact brand car seat, but I guess because it is a different color and new, she's all for it. Or maybe she loves it because she can actually play in it and not be strapped in it.

Case #2:
I don't have any photos to document this but the other day at church during Sunday school class, Lucy took it upon herself to mosy on over to another couple with a 4 month old baby and make herself at home in the empty car seat on the ground and continue to just relax there, foot dangling off the end and smiling at everyone around her.

I try not to be a helicopter mom so Lucy may fall on the side of "free range" kid. But at least at church, I just can't seem to keep a hold of her so I just let her off to explore. Which means that she is off pulling herself up on everyone's knees, getting into every purse and diaper bag on the floor, stealing toys, snacks, bottles, and sippy cups away from other babies. I bring her own toys, books, snacks, and drinks to church but she's not interested. Why, when there is this plethora of new and exciting things that don't belong to you? I try to be sensitive that other people in church may get annoyed with her (cause I also try not to be one of those moms that thinks that her kid is the greatest and that everyone must love her) but I figure that they can pick up their purses and bags from off the floor and shoot me a dirty look. I have gotten some looks I can't read so maybe I should count those in the "annoyed" category.

But despite some of the looks, I'll take my social butterfly any day. The thing is, she would probably make more of a scene if I'm constantly trying to keep her in my lap. Thank goodness church is full of such gracious mothers and babies who are already learning to share with a slightly pushy, independent, social butterfly.

Lu and Ollie

We actually call Lucy "Lu" a lot but I'm not sure how Emily and Jared feel about calling Olive "Ollie". But I thought it was an aptly named post. Here are the two cousins with Olive's latest trick: sitting up.I guess Lucy feels the need to steal the spotlight since "little" Olive almost outweighs her and has a heck of a lot more hair.

Or maybe Olive just hasn't learned to be as much of a ham for the camera. But if she has any Sturgis genes in her, I'm sure this will come out eventually.

Lucy and Her Cabinet

Unlike most responsible parents who actually babyproof their homes, we keep moving things around the house to let Lucy "explore". That might just be an excuse for being too lazy to put locks on our cabinets. But it's pretty ingenious if you ask me - less work installing cabinet locks, more entertainment for little Lucy.


This cabinet under the sink used to be full of all our toxic cleaners but we moved them above the sink (so still very accessible - I'm very pragmatic like that) and all the cereal that it displaced under the sink (so Lucy can have a snack whenever she wants by dumping the cereal all over the floor). We also might have small leak under the sink that we have put a plastic container under to catch the water that Lucy will occasional get to and drink. But don't worry people, it's not water from the dishwasher or disposal, it's leaking from the tap. I know, we should win a parenting award. Hasn't anyone seen Babies though - the Namibian and Mongolian baby are practically eating dirt! So I think that Lucy will be okay.

(Evidence of the leak: the little water spots on the back of her onesie - so precious!)

Race for the Cure

Brandon and I recently found out that his mother's breast cancer has returned after a 3 year remission. However, it is now in her lungs, liver, spine, and brain. It's hard to find the right words to describe the feelings. Cancer affects us all in one way or another because I am sure that we all know someone who has battled it before. Sometimes, it just hits closer to home by affecting those most near and dear to us. It's easy to feel helpless because there is not much to do - love and support the ones affected and pray for a cure or a miracle. My brother-in-laws describe some of their feelings (quite more eloquently than myself) here and here.

I have watched my husband break down in tears several times since the news. Last night, he frantically searched the internet...for something. He found the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We thought it would be appropriate to participate in honor of his mother and also his grandmother who is a two-time breast cancer survivor. It's somewhat short notice but we'll be participating this Saturday, May 8th in Salt Lake City with Lucy and a group from his work. Anyone who wishes to join us can register here. Anyone who can't and would like to donate can do so here.

Like Sisters?

I never really had the opportunity to be close with any of my cousins because growing up in Massachusetts, we didn't live very close to either sides of the family (in Maine and Japan). So I feel very fortunate to live nearby to at least one of my siblings and that her daughter is so close in age to Lucy and that I get the opportunity to go visit at least twice a week to babysit. I hope that Olive and Lucy can be close like sisters sans the sometimes sisterly drama or competition.

I think that we are off to a good start:
It will be interesting to see how Lucy transitions to being the older cousin because I think that she really enjoys looking up to her older cousin Maya. Now Olive will be looking up to Lucy and I just hope that they learn how to entertain each other (so less work for me). Now if only we could get the rest of the family out here...

Monkey Girl

Lucy's development happens so gradually but then it hits me all of a sudden how incredible active she is. She has been crawling for a while but now she is climbing up all over and getting into everything. Glad to see that she is so active but it can be a little nerve-racking at times. I haven't caught any pictures of her climbing on the kitchen drawers to reach the higher drawers because I'm scrambling to make sure that she doesn't fall. These pictures are a little more tame of her just getting into her toy chest that Uncle Damian gave her (thanks Damian!). One minute I look over and she is playing on the floor, the next minute, I'm wondering how she got in there...babies are a lot smarter than we give them credit for sometimes.

New Part-Time Job

Last week, I started my new part-time job - babysitting my little niece, Olive. It's the perfect job for a mom like me. The only downside is the commute to her house but it makes more sense for me to go there than for her to come to me. But the upside is that it's only twice a week, for just 4 hours each day, and then I get to hang out with my sister. I would be lying if I say that I don't count down the minutes until Emily gets home but it is mostly because I enjoy the adult conversation of my sister and to tell her all the details of how Olive was and how Lucy played with her or how Sir Bono (her cat) slightly attacked Lucy. When summer comes, it will be even better because we can go and hang out at the pool!

Lucy is so gentle with Olive - she kinda pats her like a cat. And Olive is such a mellow baby, the only time that she really gets upset is when she is hungry - and she gets HUNGRY! I haven't been around a ton of babies but she seems to really pack it down - and then spit it back up. But it has been nice when she goes down for naps with nary a fuss. So far, Lucy has refused to go down for her regular morning naps when we've been there but hopefully, as it becomes more routine, she'll settle back into her normal schedule even when we are there. I wasn't sure what to expect but two babies isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm hoping it will get easier when Lucy starts walking but who knows, maybe it will get harder. We both have some babyproofing to do to our homes. The only other issue we have faced so far was when I was changing Olive's poopy diaper and Lucy tried to stick her hand in there. Diaper changes are where I am most vulnerable (cause I usually change her on the floor instead of taking her upstairs to her changing table).

There actually is one more downside about babysitting at my sister's house - I eat so much junk food! I rarely buy the stuff in my own home but Emily must have some hormonal issues going on because she had Oreos, Doritos, Cheetos, and the softest (probably processed) cinnamon bread ever. I have pretty good control about not buying it myself (mostly because I am cheap) but when it is in front of me, I can't help but indulge. And that means that Lucy got her first taste of Cheetos because she fussed so much when she saw me eating them...maybe some incentive not to indulge next time so that I am not feeding my daughter that junk. But I guess every once in a while doesn't hurt - but two times a week is too much to be eating that junk food. Emily - I have no self control when it comes to food - no more junk food, please!

Visits to Auntie Em's

This seems like so long ago now but I never posted these pictures. Back in January and the beginning of February, my mom came out to visit from Japan when my sister had her baby. We made a lot of trips down to Pleasant Grove to visit but I did a terrible job documenting some of the goings-on. My sister did a much better job on her blog here, here, here, and here but here are some of the (blurry) pictures that we took:
I hate not posting things in chronological order but I tend to blog in spurts when I have time and I have a lot of catching up to do I realize when I look at my photo library.

Very Fancy Hat

Having a baby certainly brings out the silliness in us. Don't know why we get such a kick out of this but we do it to Lucy all the time. Nothing like making a hat out of pants...

Little Poser

We think that Lucy is starting to understand more what the camera is and she is turning into a little poser. Maybe there is hope for that modeling career...

Love these chubby little cheeks,...

...that toothy little grin,...

...and that little tilt of her head!

Sometimes the outtakes, despite the blurriness, are just as cute!

High Chair Photo Shoot

Brandon decided to have a little photo shoot with Lucy while she was in her high chair - I guess it's one of the only times we can actually get close-up pictures of her without her trying to eat the camera.
I don't know what we did without digital cameras before (well actually, yeah I do - we took a lot of crappy photos and spent lots of money on film and developing) but now, I can't seem to narrow our digital pictures down so I just end up posting them all!