Grandma Lyn and Grandbob visit from VT

We've had an exciting and very active week since Grandma Lyn and Grandbob arrived. Lucy was so excited to meet them for the first time! We had 10 whole days to spend with them and we even had some great weather.

Friday night we all made the trip to WEIO (World Eskimo Indian Olympics). None of us had been before so we were all looking forward to it. Not one of us was very surprised to see how much Lucy enjoyed the event and spent most of her time looking all around taking it all in! We sat with Maya, Da-ka, Keet and his Emah, Lesley. It was a good time and Matt and I look forward to going again in the future. Below is a video of Lucy watching Da-ka at WEIO - she really liked his hat!

Saturday morning we went to the Golden Days parade downtown for some more visual stimulation for Lucy-bean followed by the Farmer's Market and a BBQ with friends. Lucy slept and nursed through about half the parade but she especially perked up for the bag pipes and the marching bands that went by.

Sunday was a beautiful day and it was

spent at home on the dome picking blueberries and doing yard work. Grandma Lyn helped us out quite a bit with her master-perennial-gardening knowledge as she planted some new items and moved things around. She even did some weeding for us!

Matt and I were so happy to finally be picking berries with little Lucy because we daydreamed about it last year around this time. The bonus was that the grandparents were there too. We celebrated that night with fresh blueberry pie.

Monday we all went to the Upper Fork of the Chena River to go fishing for grayling. Matt and Grandbob fished away the afternoon while Lucy, Grandma Lyn and I read and rested peacefully on the gravel bar. Grandbob said it was the best fishing day that he could remember on the Chena. They did well!

Wednesday afternoon we went on the River

boat Discovery up the Chena River, a must do in the summertime for visitors in Fairbanks. This was my 3rd time on the boat since I moved here 4 years ago and I still enjoy the trip very much. We had really great weather for it. At the native village stop, a husky named Miki was completely enthralled with Lucy so we spent some time with her. What a sweet dog!

Lyn and Bob wanted to check out Manley Hot Springs so we headed up there for an overnight on Friday and of course did some fishing along the way on the road. I enjoyed the West Fork of the Tolovana the most as Lucy and I were able to suit-up and wade in the water together. It was chilly but Lucy truly enjoyed sticking her feet in and rubbing them on the slippery rocks!

In terms of Lucy development this past week, we witnessed her roll from her back onto her belly! Pretty amazing. She also does the "happy baby" pose all the time now (grabbing both her feet at the same time) and it is pretty cute. Lucy has started being mesmerized by her hands and slowly moves a hand in front of her and watches it intently as she moves her fingers! She continues to growl and will literally chomp on your finger over and over if it is placed in her mouth. Uh oh!

Big steps at 14 weeks

The last few days have been really big for Lucy so I figure I better jot some of these things down. She sits cutely tucked into our bed this morning, quite pleased, as I quickly create this post.

Lucy recently started rolling onto her side and does this quite often when left on her back. Once I even caught her rolling from her back onto her belly on the bed. Imagine my surprise! A huge change this week has been her constant sucking or "chewing" on her left thumb and entire hand. Sometimes she does it so intensely that she chokes herself and coughs! The sound she makes during this activity is quite interesting and we've starting calling it her growl. It is actually a bit scary sounding. We haven't caught it on video yet but I did capture a clip of her quietly "talking" in her swing the other night. It will make you dizzy to watch it!

We also sat Lucy up in her beautiful new "Anka" high chair that people at Matt's work helped us to get for the first time this weekend. We love it and we think she enjoys it as well. We have to be creative with cushioning since she still flops to the side at this point but the Ergo newborn insert worked quite well for this. Now Lucy joins us at the dinner table every night. Supposedly this chair will last until she is 5 years old since it converts to a booster chair. Pretty cool.

Finally, I bought a book of "baby signing" yesterday so we can start helping Lucy to learn how to communicate with us using her hands. How exciting! She has shown some frustration in the last few days and we think it is time to help her tell us what she needs and also give her more stimulation. We'll let you know about her progress. We are starting (today) with some basic need-based signs: diaper, sleep, more, and milk. Oh, and probably "dog" as well since Lucy really enjoys watching Canute bound around the room or lawn.

Chena Hot Springs

The time finally arrived for Lucy to be able to go in a nice warm pool for her first swimming experience! Chena Hot Springs has a pool with spring water in it that is much warmer compared to a regular pool but not too hot for the itty bitty ones.

We made the trip with our friend Tamara and her little boy Caleb who is only two weeks older than Lucy. The two moms had due dates only one day apart but Caleb decided to make his appearance much earlier.

We had a picnic along the way at the Angel Rocks trailhead and we enjoyed watching Caleb and Lucy get to know one another. They've been around each other plenty but at this age they are able to really acknowledge one another's presence.

It was Caleb's first time in the water too! Caleb was a natural and enjoyed floating on his back and kicking. Lucy was a bit nervous at first as you can see below but she relaxed after a bit and we even saw some smiles.

Brunch N' Boys

Lucy and I invited Maya and Carrie over for brunch today and along came each of their cuties Keet (20 months) and Calin (2 1/2) in tow.

Everyone behaved really well, of course, and Lucy got some activity mat time in with the boys. It was a good way to spend a rainy and chilly summer day!

Lucy with Keet

Lucy with Calin

Happy Three Months Old!

Auntie Danielle sent Lucy an owl in the mail! So far she has held it and smiled at it a bunch. She kept getting distracted by it when I set it next to her to take her picture this morning! Notice the bigger smile once owl is by her side. Lucy loves it. Thanks Danielle!

A Day at the "Beach"

We went to Chena Lakes for the first time this summer and were very excited to introduce Lucy to the water and to hang out with friends and other little ones! It was a beautiful sunny day and not too hot. We also brought along Lucy's new PFD for when we go in a boat together so she could try it on and get used to it. Dad enjoyed walking around with Lucy sporting the PFD for a bit. She didn't seem to mind although she doesn't look too excited!

The water was a little chilly so Lucy and I sat right on the edge together so only her bottom got wet. She seemed quite content with this. I piled wet sand over her feet as she wiggled her toes and enjoyed the new sensation. The photo below lacks the reflections of water but we are indeed sitting in the water! You can click on it a couple of times to zoom in and see her little feet testing out the water.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, lounging, and relaxing. It was a good day. We are looking forward to another trip to Chena Lakes soon.

Petting Oliver the Cat

Last night after returning from Manley Hot Springs we settled onto the sofa to rest. Oliver decided to join us and sat right on one of Lucy's legs. Well she decided this was the perfect opportunity to pet Oliver! It was amazing really. She did this for a few minutes until Oliver decided it was time to leave. He really tolerated it well and Matt and I watched in astonishment. Luckily we ended up catching the last moments of it on video. What a sweet little baby she is!

Manley Hot Springs Trip

Lucy went on her first road trip this weekend. We traveled 4.5 hours west to Manley Hot Springs with plenty of stops along the way for Lucy to eat and just simply be held. We think she got lonely in the car seat although Canute tried to keep her company by looking at her through the back of the truck window. Overall she did very well.

The last time Matt and I were at Manley, two of the four tubs were cooler lukewarm water so we expected that this time as well. Unfortunately all of the four tubs were too hot for Lucy to participate. So she lounged in her bouncy seat while we soaked. We think she seemed mighty relaxed.

Afterward we grilled some steaks on the river bank and had a really nice evening enjoying the warm sunshine.

We also headed down the road to sit on the bank of the Tanana River where people who live in villages such as Tanana, AK drive the river to Manley (a three hour trip) to load up on supplies for their families with a trip to Fairbanks (a 4.5 hour drive from Manley). There are always a handful of boats on the riverbank.

Outside the Manley Roadhouse after a tasty breakfast.

Lucy enjoys looking at the field of wild celery outside the Hot Springs greenhouse.

It was perfect to get away and relax together as a family. I almost forgot to mention that we both were able to witness one of our favorite Lucy firsts: her first laugh! I was tickling her on the bed in our cabin and she was squirming and laughed twice. It was super cute!

We are already planning our next road trip since this one went so well.