New Routine

Lots of changes here. All good and exciting stuff but we're still transitioning. I guess that's kind of the way life goes.

Mike started at the Minnesota School of Barbering yesterday. It went okay for him. With only two days down, it's hard to tell how it will be. He's done three haircuts so far and got tips on every one of them so that was an unexpected surprise. It will help pay for some gas anyway. He's investigating different driving routes as there's a lot of traffic when he gets done. Hard to only have an hour with Lucy when he's been having the whole day with her. Bittersweet.

Lucy and I are getting used to our new schedule too. She really does seem to enjoy the other kids at daycare and is off playing before I leave her there and seems happy when I pick her up. No doubt that she misses spending so much time with her daddy though. They go on lots of walks there and last week Lucy went with the toddlers to story time at the library. Mike is home with her on Mondays and I am home with her Wednesday afternoons so that breaks it up.

Before this big change, the three of us were able to go down to Sears and have Lucy's one year pictures taken, along with some family shots. Lucy was in a happy mood when we arrived which was nice. We were happy that we got some good shots to capture this special time with her. After the two hour photo adventure, we went to lunch and Lucy thoroughly enjoyed herself, yelling and squealing at the other kids and people. It was nice to get out and do something "regular". A couple of the pictures are posted below.

Lucy really has been enjoying getting into cupboards, drawers, toilet paper, etc. and taking everything out and climbing in. Here's a favorite of hers, climbing in the bathroom cupboard.

Lucy's uncle Alex came for a visit before heading back to Florida. She always seems to enjoy him when he's here. Lots of smiles and laughing with him. We were sorry not to have more time spent with him while he was here in MN.

Lucy and Clyde enjoying the outdoor scene. They both wish they could get out there.

Lucy also has got two molars. So now she has a dozen teeth, which is hard to believe. Busy girl. She has been wanting to climb and stand on everything, getting closer to walking. She continues to be very talkative and has really developed quite a sense of humor. We're almost certain she's going to be an extrovert. She has been spending lots of time with her grandparents and enjoying that too.

Hope all is well with you. Take good care.

Lucy playing with her new toy from her cousins, Devon & Easton. It's a big hit!

We got green beans from the farmer's market and Clyde, the cat, had pulled some out of the bowl. His fun with ended when Lucy saw them and took them from him.

It has been another event filled week here at the Villaran house. Lots of changes it seems.

Lucy has been changing like crazy...almost four new teeth (one is not quite poked through). Now she has (almost) ten teeth, which is hard to believe. We just noticed them. She really didn't have as many teething symptoms as she had with the other ones. No drooling at all. She has been practicing making all sorts of interesting sounds with them. Most of the time it seems like she really is talking, carrying on about this and that. She has been practicing standing on almost anything she can, sometimes all by herself. Lots of climbing the stairs too. And she is fast. She also has been playing more with her dollies and stuffed animals, giving them hugs and bites too.

Lucy has been going on lots of walks with both of us, which she really seems to enjoy. Our cats, Penn and Clyde, have been the very patient victims of Lucy practicing being gentle, which is quite the opposite. She grabs them very hard, sometimes by the ear, the tail, or two fists full of fur and skin. We have been reading a lot of "touch and feel" books and she does the same thing with the really furry animals. Mike informed her that she will not be going to a petting zoo anytime in the near future. She has stopped nursing all together too and is now having formula. This has been a gradual but a big transition. It was nice to be able to nurse for so long. We hoped to make it to a year but that just didn't work and that's okay.

Mike has decided on going to the Minnesota School of Barbering for a nine month program, five days a week, Tuesday-Saturday, 8-5. He will be starting there on July 28. They will be long days with the commute. He is excited and nervous about the unknown. Lucy will be returning to daycare 3 1/2 days per week then. That is bittersweet for us all. We are glad for Mike to have a new opportunity to create a business for himself. He has been busy taking care of all kinds of things to make this happen.

The other big event here was an unexpected medical situation with Mike. As we previously wrote, he has been having problems with a sore big toe. He went in to the doctor for this and ended up having a lot of blood drawn to test for different things. Long story short, he collapsed and passed out while walking down a hallway, alone, after the blood draw. The medical staff wouldn't let him drive himself home and my mom ended up coming to get him as they were unable to get a hold of me (which I still feel really bad about). Through these tests, they were able to find that his thyroid is inactive and has been causing a wide variety of symptoms. He will have to take synthetic thyroid for the rest of his life and continue to be monitored. He has some additional tests coming up. I was able to stay home from work the day after as he still wasn't "quite right" from the fall. Luckily, he only had carpet burn on his face but no bruising. He quickly felt better physically, especially a decrease in aches and pains, which have been difficult for him for quite some time.

This past weekend I was treated to a movie, "My Sister's Keeper" from my step-mom, Cheri. It was an unexpected and much appreciated treat. We both had read the book. It is a thought provoking movie about family dynamics and life's challenges. Definitely "a crier".

This weekend I have a bridal shower for a good friend, Nicki, and Mike's brother, Alex, is coming to visit. We may make another trip to the Farmer's Market too. There's usually music there too which Lucy enjoys. No sweet corn yet though. Hope all of you are well and enjoying the summer!!

Climbing the stairs-a favorite activity! With close supervision.

Lucy and I-after an attempt to go swimming. The swarming mosquitoes put a quick

damper on the fun.

She's 11 months already!!

Boys, Boys, Boys

We did have a very busy, fun time here with Dylan and Trevor. Mike just got back early this evening from bringing the boys back home-about a 13 hour round trip, which makes for a long day. He has been having some troubles with one of his "big" toes, which was problematic when stuck in traffic on the way back, having to hold in the cluth. All in all, the trip went well though.

We went to Abby's parents' farm in Wisconsin for dinner Sunday night. Dylan and Trevor enjoy visiting their farm when they are down to visit. Trevor especially enjoys finding chicken eggs and seeing the animals. Mike's toe was getting very sore and so he was soaking it in a foot bath, complete with bubbles. As you can see in the above picture, Lucy also was enjoying the foot bath, splashing in it and standing on it. We brought it home and she has continued to enjoy getting in it (when it's not full of water).

Mike has introduced almost every kid that has come to visit to "RBI Baseball" on our original Nintendo, yes, that's right, not any fancy game system, just a Nintendo. Dylan and Trevor enjoyed playing the game, as did Mike. Lucy thought she would join the boys too as you can see above. She preferred to bite on the controllers more. The boys were extremely patient with her and proved to be excellent big brothers. Their mom does daycare in their home so they are very familiar with young children. Lucy seemed to adore them also.

Trevor turns 11 on July 8 so we had a pizza party to celebrate. One of Trevor's favorite food is cheese pizza-like father, like son. So we had pizza, breadsticks, watermelon, and soda for dinner. We definitely ate our fair share of watermelon over the past few days. Lucy and Trevor were the biggest fans. The party was complete with a chocolate cake, his favorite. It was nice to be able to celebrate with him.

Mike and the boys went on two big hiking adventures. One was to the top of Barn Bluff, which overlooks the Missisissippi River and the valley. It is some spectacular scenery and good exercise to get to the top. Dylan and Trevor posed for a picture at the top (above). You can see the marina we keep our boat at in the background. They also had an interesting hike up Memorial Hill, right behind our house. They even found a cave up there. They also were busy playing baseball at the park. This was very fun for them but not good on Mike's toe. We are not sure what exactly is wrong with his toe but he needs to take it easy and ice it frequently.

As you can see, Dylan has grown to be quite tall, at the age of 12 years old (he will be 13 in September). He is taller than his dad already, who is 5' 10". They are both tall boys.

On the 4th of July, Mike took Dylan, Trevor, and a friend's son, Isaac, to a Twins game. The boys were very excited to go, outfitted in their new Twins shirts that Grandma Mary bought for them. The were disappointed that batting practice was canceled, however, due to the previous night's 16 inning game. While at the game, they saw Mike's brother Alex, who was at the game with his dad. They also were able to watch the fireworks from our boat. Lucy did not wake up with the booming fireworks, which was a relief.

Tomorrow Mike is going to meet with someone from the Minnesota School of Barbering in Minneapolis about potentially attending there in the near future. He has done a lot of research into being a Barber and it looks to be promising. We will keep you posted on the outcome. He also will be going to another baseball game tomorrow-the Twins and the Yankees. His friend, Andy, got some free tickets and had some extra. So that should be a fun time. But a really busy day for him. He also has a meeting at the Workforce Center. Lucy's Grandma Sue is coming over to watch her in the morning while we are gone. That should be fun for Lucy and Grandma-hopefully.

We are enjoying the last couple days of Lucy being 10 months old. She will be 11 months on Thursday!! Seems hard to believe. We are trying to stay in the present moment with her development to be sure to enjoy it all as it comes. This is not always easy, however.

Have a good week everyone.