L is for...

Oh, Lucette. Upon realizing that she is now a quarter of a year old, I've been feeling like her babyhood is slipping away. Things have been crazy around here, and I'm afraid that if I'm not careful I'm going to suddenly wake up and realize that the baby stage is over and we have a toddler on our hands.

So this post is for Cetty, in all her baby glory. She has been such a darling thing. Her name means "graceful little light," and it turns out that it fits her perfectly. She really is a soft, sweet, happy little light in our lives. Her middle name means "dark," and we hope that she will grow up to be a bright light in a rather dark world.

And speaking of her name, I never did tell the story of where "Lucette Mela" came from. She's named after Bry's grandma Lucille, who he was very close to. The "ette" is to celebrate the French side of my family...and of course my mom's name is Annette. The middle name is for my grandma. Her name was Carmela but she was known as Mela, and she was elegant and feisty and lovely. So there you have it. She has a lot to live up to.

This also seems like a good time to finally post Cetty's newborn pictures. Here are some favorites from my sister Andria when Cetty was just two weeks old...(I promise, I tried to narrow it down)...

And just a few more from my mom...

Three Months

What Cetty has been up to...

+ Folding her hands faithfully like a little prayer warrior

+ Sucking her thumb

+ Rolling over

+ Chewing and drooling on everything (teething perhaps?)

+ Continuing to talk and smile cheerily and starting the beginnings of a giggle

Poor Boy

So, I guess Sunday was Father's Day. It also happened to be the weekend that I took wedding pictures with my sister Kaitlin. This was an unfortunate combination for Bry.

On Saturday, while I was clicking away in fun places like this...

 Bry was at home for hours with two little girls.

And on Sunday while I was busy with cute things like this...

Bry was busy with cute (and messy) things like this...

And I may or may not have temporarily forgotten that it was Father's Day until sometime in the afternoon. But hey, give me a break...it was a crazy weekend. 

However, I may or may not deserve a break for getting mad at Bry for losing a certain little girl's flower hair clip at church. And I may or may not deserve another break for getting even more mad when he lost Poppy for a minute at the reception and I found her wandering out by the pond. Poppy did not drown, but while I was retrieving her I missed the picture of the bride and groom running to their car through a shower of pom poms by two seconds (no joke). 

Poor boy. It wasn't exactly a holiday for him. But I guess that's what being a dad means sometimes. And of course I was quick to remind him that he was the one who encouraged me to say yes to the wedding in the first place. And I also made sure to comment on the fact that I only got a note jotted down on a piece of scrap paper from him on Mother's Day. Because I'm always nice and sweet like that.

Anyway, he forgave me, because he actually is always nice and sweet like that. I do realize how lucky we three girls are to have him...and I told him so. 

But I still think we need a do-over for Father's (and Mother's) Day. 

A Visit to Wisconsin

Bryan's sister, Javon, is a travel nurse, which means that we get to visit her in all sorts of places. Right now she is working in Kenosha, WI, so we headed north with Bry's family over Memorial Day. Kenosha is a very cute little town along Lake Michigan with its own harbor and beach. 

Poppy was very excited to see her Aunt Vonny...and to sit and watch the ducks with her at the harbor.

 Families out for some Memorial Day fishing

 It was a cool day at the beach, so it was boots and jackets for us instead of swimsuits and sunscreen.

Getting acquainted with her new niece.

 Poppy called this boat her "sand castle." 

 Despite the brisk weather, the beach was really beautiful.

The crew, minus Bry's mom who was taking the picture for us.

 Swinging with Papa. Love this picture.

 Sand in the shoes.

 Braving the curly slide. She actually went down by herself with Nana cheering her on.

 Chilling with Uncle Nick, a bowl of popcorn, and the ipad. A winning trio.

 For day two we headed to the local chocolate festival. Poppy begged for a ride on the carousel, and since she was already wearing her boots and riding jacket we couldn't resist.

 They had a petting zoo at the festival too with all sorts of cute little animals. Ponies, alpacas, a baby cow, rabbits...and this fuzzy duckling.

And here is the 1st place chocolate sculpture. Yes, that's real chocolate.

Besides all that, we also had fun at the morning farmer's market, warming up at a coffee shop, swimming at the hotel pool, tasting cheese, outlet shopping, and touring where Javon works. 

At some point, I looked over and saw Cetty hanging out like this on Nick's arm. She looks rather bored, but don't believe her...we had a really good time.

Thanks, Javon, for being such a wonderful host!