Category Archives: Lucy’s 2nd Year

Two Years

As Lucy’s two-year birthday neared, she had plenty of opportunities to practice the “Happy Birthday” song at school and for her Mommy’s birthday. (Other songs in Lucy’s growing repertoire are the ABCs, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and “Rock-a-Bye Baby.”)Since she began going to Harps Mill Creative School in August, Lucy’s been picking out her own clothes (sometimes) and counting the stairs as she goes up and down, often going all the way to 15!Lucy’s other “firsts” included her first bus ride, her first time in a movie theater, her first time at the zoo, and her first fall festival at school. She also had a few notable “seconds” as well—she went to her second Durham Bulls game, visited her new favorite hangout Jumpin’ Jojo’s for the second time, and saw her Daddy play music at Ravenscroft’s annual Fall Festival.Taking a bus ride to the Destination Dix Festival.Seeing Minions in the movie theater.Checking out the animals at the zoo.Fall Festival at school.Watching a Durham Bulls game over Labor Day weekend.Jumping at Jumpin’ Jojo’s.Watching Daddy perform at Ravenscroft.

As fall progressed she spent a weekend with her Mimi and Pop-Pop and enjoyed her new activity tower (thanks Grandma and Coach!), which she uses to help her parents cook and color.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Lucy celebrated her second birthday surrounded by family and friends at Green Acres Farm in Cary, NC. She was very eager to eat cupcakes and take a hayride, but her favorite part by far was the bounce house, which occupied most of her time after she blew out her candle.

21 Months

As Lucy inches closer to her second birthday, she’s growing up (and more independent) right in front of our eyes. She’s always on the move–running, jumping, and climbing–and when we can get her to sit still for a few minutes at a time, she enjoys reading books (the “If You Give…” series is a big hit) and watching TV (she loves a Nickelodeon show called Bubble Guppies and a PBS program called Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood).

Lucy has become quite the little parrot, repeating just about everything anyone around her says, so we have to be extra careful. On the plus side, she’s learning her numbers and can sometimes count to ten on her own. She got her own frequent-flyer account this summer as she flew back-and-forth to California and New York (a total of eight flights in two weeks), and enjoyed her time on planes, making sure everyone knew that they go “up, up, up!”

Her favorite foods are pizza, avocado, and strawberries, and she loves her unicorn backpack, tea parties, and coloring. We often find her singing and dancing, and she’s a non-stop bundle of energy.

Hanging out at the park.Goofing off with Coach and Grandma.Water table fun with Sam.First trip to the trampoline park. Tea (and milk time) with Bear.You can never have too much avocado.Lucy attempting to help organize her closet.Lucy’s 1st rainbow.Our annual Mother’s Day trip to Vollmer Farm to go strawberry picking.Lucy & Daddy at Friday Night on White in Wake Forest.First trip to Jumpin’ Jojo’s. Fun times at the Got To Be NC Festival. Big girl backpack.
Lucy & ReidVisiting Ravenscroft and Daddy’s advisory group.Hanging out with Mommy and Mimi.Water play with James.Sylvie & LucyFirst time bowling.Enjoying Jet’s Pizza.Celebrating Avery’s baptism.

4th

Lucy spent her second Fourth of July at her grandparents’ house on Lake Chautauqua in western New York with her extended family.She was fortunate enough to get a front-row seat for the parade in Mayville, and was the guest of honor (and pulled by her aunt Christine) in the parade around Shorelands.Lucy enjoyed the fireworks (which she called “boom boom boom”) over the lake and got to play with the Delsandro kids in grandma and coach’s backyard.She also enjoyed a trip to Midway State Park where so rode the train and carousel. Later in the day she took a ride on coach’s sailboat. On her last night in New York, Lucy ate at Guppy’s, a Flinn family favorite. She’s already stockpiling patriotic outfits for next year!

LA Trip

Lucy flew across the country at the end of June to visit all her new friends in Los Angeles.

She stayed at Uncle Mitch’s house where she read lots of books and swam every day in what is now officially “Lucy’s Pool.”

She hung out in Santa Monica with Vanessa at her candy store A Real Treat Candy Boutique and dipped her toes in the Pacific Ocean (which was a little cold for her East Coast sensibilities). She preferred playing in the sand and on the playground.

Lucy finally met Rosie Shafran and Cary Pedante and had a lot of fun in Cary’s backyard. She especially loved the Pedantes’ hammock!

She also met Gia and Rocco Donatelli, and was only a little intimidated by her showbiz-famous friends.

18 Months

Lucy has reached the 18-month milestone. The last few months have certainly been eventful, with lots of holidays and play time with friends and family.Lucy did not care for the chilly weather and snow in January.
While Lucy wasn’t exactly feeling the love on Valentine’s Day, she enjoyed her first St. Patrick’s Day parade, and even met her second cousin Peter Newberry that same weekend.
2016 brought an early Easter, and Lucy’s second meeting with the Easter Bunny went better than her second meeting with Santa last December.For Christmas Lucy got a year-long membership to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh, and she loves meeting her friends there for play time. Her favorite activities are driving the bus, ambulance, and convertible.Lucy had lots of fun Easter weekend going on an Easter egg hunt and hanging out with Mimi and Pop-Pop.She’s spent time at a “tiny tumblers” class at a local gymnastics center and a music-based play space in Durham, and is a big fan of our local parks, especially the swings and slides (both of which she refers to as “whees”).Lucy’s also become a regular at the Container Store (where mom spends a good deal of time), and the employees have taken quite a shine to their youngest shopper.While she isn’t quite picking out her own clothes just yet, Lucy selects her own hair bows (another favorite word) on a daily basis.At her 18-month checkup, Lucy weighed in at 24 pounds (68th percentile) and 31.75 inches tall (49th).

Winter Break 2016

In February, Lucy escaped the cold and icy weather and took her first trip to Key Largo to visit her Grandma and Grandpa. Mimi came along too! She loved the sand, the sunsets, and especially the pool at Kawama. She dined at some of the Keys’ finest eateries (including Lorelei and Alabama Jack’s), took her first kayak ride, and got to see dolphins and fish at Island Dolphin Care.Lucy took full advantage of the playground outside Grandma and Grandpa’s condo and took great delight in watching fish swim under our feet at the Pilot House. She can’t wait to go back next winter!

15 Months

As Lucy reached 15 months, she’s grown into quite the little chatterbox. Her favorite phrases are “uh-oh!” (usually after she throws something onto the floor) and “what’s this?” (when she brings us a toy, a book, or something she found on the floor).

Lucy’s favorite activities involve climbing onto the couch, sitting for a moment, then climbing down. Then repeating the whole process all over again. And again. She’s also figured out that the most efficient way down the stairs is to slide backward on her stomach.

It took us a while to figure out that when she was head-butting her baby doll, she was giving it “kisses.” So now when she gives “kisses,” it means we’re going to get head-butted (albeit gently). She’s also learned how to blow kisses, which is less painful to everyone involved.

Lucy is much more aware of herself and her surroundings, and when asked, she can point to her heart, her fingers, and her toes. She’s begun taking Sprout Songs music classes on Saturday mornings (learning rhythm) and Parent & Me yoga (learning… well, how to run around and mess with other participants’ yoga mats).Lucy getting her teeth examined by the dentist. Dr. Abernathy said Lucy’s teeth are perfect!

Lucy at Sprout Songs music class.

One of Lucy’s favorite pastimes is reading books.

While Lucy loves healthy foods like vegetables and beans, every once in a while she likes to load up on carbs.

At 15 months Lucy is 23.5 pounds (77%) and 30 inches tall (30%).

Christmas 2015

Lucy was far more engaged in her second Christmas than her first. She was joined by her entire family to unwrap presents in Raleigh, and her gifts included her first tool set, a dump truck, lots of bath toys, a basketball hoop, and some fancy new sneakers.

She attended Christmas Day mass at St. Raphael and had her first taste of Mimi’s lasagna (as well as the Flinn family tradition of Christmas party-crackers) on Christmas Eve. She also enjoyed taking ornaments off of the tree.

‘Tis the Season

Even though the highs were in the 60s during the first weekend of December, Lucy helped pick out a Christmas tree.

When it cooled down the following evening she visited the Holiday Express at Pullen Park in downtown Raleigh, where she took her first rides on a carousel (of which she was definitely not a fan) and a train (which she liked much better).