Our first family hike

Taking advantage of another beautiful day, we set out to hike to Wickersham Dome along with Maya and Keet yesterday. This was my first hike since breaking my ankle so it was gratifying. After a 6 mile hike, I only had a small limp.

We stopped along the way for lunch amongst blueberry bushes which provided us with tasty sweet-tart treats to munch on. We passed many berry-pickers along the way though the berries are truly at the end of their season.

Lucy had a really good time and napped a only a small portion of the hike back to the car. She LOVES being outside and it feels really good to provide her with these experiences.

Kisses from Keet

We went raspberry picking AGAIN today because that beautiful sunshine and warmth just keeps telling us to play outside! We met Maya and Keet at Ann's Greenhouse to pick and afterward we sat and munched on a salad. Keet kept giving Lucy kisses. So sweet!

Heat Wave

With today's high temperature reaching 91º we decided to meet up with friends again at Chena Lakes and have a day at the beach enjoying the warmth and sunshine while we still have it! Lucy went in the water again, just a little, and spent the rest of her time sitting (assisted) in the sand wiggling her toes and bouncing up and down, loving every minute. We brought along her bouncy seat so she could nap as well. It was a perfect day.

A very exciting thing happened and Lucy made her first "sign" today for milk! We all looked at her with our mouths wide open. So cool. She did it twice so it definitely wasn't just a coincidence. Matt signed for milk asking her if she wanted some because she was fussing a little and she did it back!!! Yes, I want milk...she smiled.

I am already 4 months old!

I turned 4 months old today. I now weigh 12.1 pounds (in the 17th percentile) and am 24 1/4" long (in the 51st percentile). My head circumference is 16", if you really want to know. I also received my first immunization shot today, the DTaP, and I was very brave, I only cried really hard for about 10 seconds. Nursing me made me quickly forget what happened. It also helped that I got a sparkly bandaid where they stuck me. I sat up on my own this afternoon for a few seconds to celebrate my 4th month.

We all went to the Tanana Valley Fair on Monday night and my favorite part was checking out the farm animals, especially the goats. Some day we will own some!

I also helped my mom make delicious raspberry jam this week. I stuck my hand in the bowl once when mom wasn't looking. I didn't sneak a taste though. Next we are making blueberry jam. Yum!

Snuggle-Bug

There really are no words needed with this post! Truly too cute.

What a good kitty Oliver is.

Our little blueberry

Sometimes you can't resist dressing your baby for special occasions like blueberry-picking...Lucy didn't seem to mind!

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