Returning to Work (and then departing)

As you saw from Seth's oh-so-dramatic post, he survived his first day home alone with Lucy. He also survived the rest of the week. I found it surprisingly exciting to be back at work. It was nice to see old friends and type out complete sentences uninterrupted. But my friends, my return to work is short lived. I put in my two weeks' notice and my last day will be July 11 because we'll be moving to Baton Rouge in August! Woo hoo! Yes, there will be lots of mosquitoes, but there will also be lots of babysitters, since Seth is related to about half of St. James Parish (hello all you Brigancs and Roussels). We are really excited about the move and about being closer to our families. I have no idea what's next for me work-wise. I guess I'll figure it out once we're down there....

Anyway, I wanted to write a quick entry about Lucy's first trip to day care. Seth wasn't available to watch Lucy today, so she went to my work-sponsored day care program. It was traumatic for both of us. :( I called to check on her around lunch time and the person I spoke with said Lucy wouldn't really take the bottle. And then I hear it: a baby wailing in the background. Not just fussy-crying. Wailing. LOUD wailing. And you guessed, it was Lucy. :( My heart sank. She was not wailing when I arrived, which is surprising because it only took me about 6 minutes to get there. I literally ran over there from my building. So we are going to keep working on our bottle skills, I guess.

Tomorrow will be a fun filled day of wedding dress shopping. No, not for Lucy, but for our friend Jenelle. Will write more this weekend. Til then, good night!

Rhode Island trip pictures

Okay- here are a few of the promised pictures from the trip to Rhode Island this past weekend (more to come in our June slideshow).


First, on the train ride up Grandma & Grandpa passing through NYC.


"Prom 2024" future couple, Lucy & Sam, take a snooze on the train


Tonight on Animal Planet - "When Babies Attack"


Jessica and Sam zooming by


Awww! Great Grandma Helen holds Lucy for the first time


Grandma and Lucy pose (in their LSU colors - daddy was so proud!)


Auntie Liz gets her turn with the little lovebug!

Grandma, Auntie Chris, Lucy, & Auntie Eileen pause from visiting for a picture

Lucy with her mommy, grandma, and great grandma! What a great shot!

Lucy & Seth home alone ALL DAY!!!

so, Chrissy's 1st day back to work was today, which I'm sure she'll post about soon enough, and Lucy and I were home alone. I have vacation this week- my last week of residency! Let's just say the day was INTERESTING. Lucy did pretty well this morning but was begging, or more accurately SCREAMING UNCONTROLLABLY, for mommy this afternoon. We tried everything TWICE - rocking, feeding (with 2 different bottles no less), burping, pacifiers, changing diapers, singing, bouncy seat, exersaucer, playmat, baby einstein videos, going outside, baby massage, going for a ride, getting undressed, going in the crib, baby sling, baby bjorn, tummy time, watching TV, ipod - you name it. What the hell? She would calm down for a few seconds only to start right back up. I even just had to walk outside alone for 2 minutes, just to calm down and PRAY. I actually didn't know she could scream so loud. When she finally fell asleep after 2 hours, she was even sniffling in her sleep, which was a little upseting. I am convinced she just wanted the boob. So, needless to say, I'm pretty wiped out. I gotta give it to Chrissy - it's pretty exhausting. But, I still think it's gotta be easier with the boobs. Lucy rarely gets worked up, but when she does the boobs always seem to pacify her. Anyway, here are two videos we took today - after she calmed down of course. We'll see how tomorrow goes!!!

Oh how time flies

Chrissy here to report on the last week or two! Let's see--Father's Day was lots of fun. I got Seth a tie with Lucy's picture all over it. It was a fittingly tacky gift for Father's Day. Or so I thought, anyway. My parents arrived in D.C. on Father's Day to visit for a few days. We had a great time and somehow managed to avoid all monuments, museums, galleries, and all other educational places. Instead, we walked around Alexandria and D.C., met up with the Moriartys, ate lots of yummy food, and just hung out and stared at Lucy. It was super fun. Then on Thursday morning, Lucy went on her first train ride! No, she didn't go alone, I went with her, as did my parents. Me, my parents, Lucy, Jessica and baby Sam rode the train from Alexandria to Rhode Island. Jessica and Sam came up here to see Sam's great grandmother, and we headed up to see Lucy's great grandmother as well as her many great aunts, uncles, and my cousins (I think that my cousins are her first cousins once removed, right?). Anyway, Sam and Lucy loved the train (see how happy they look). They just chilled out in their carseats and took lots of naps. They charmed everyone who walked by them. It was funny because people kepy saying, "oh, twins!" even after we explained that they are not even related. They are pretty close in age though--I think about 6 weeks apart. As I write this we are still in The Ocean State now but are heading home tomorrow morning. Lucy has done lots of visiting and chatting while we have been here. She loved talking to my cousin Ted and his fiancee, Amanda. She was just yucking it up, laughing so hard. It was so funny. I wish I could bottle up her little laugh and release it whenever I feel like it--it is just the most perfect, pure sound in the whole world. It is. It makes me smile and almost cry just thinking about it because I just love it so much. Daddy Seth has been missing me and Lucy TONS and can't wait for us to get home.

Oh I almost forgot to report on Lucy's 4 month dr. visit!! That happened last Wednesday. She is 15 pounds, 8 ounces and 26.25 inches long. Apparently that's pretty big (90% for weight and 98% for height). Her head circumference is moving into the more normal range - 16.25 inches (75%, down from the 95%) She had 4 shots and only cried for a minute or two. The dr. talked a long time about introducing some rice cereal and pureed foods, which is so exciting. I never knew strained green beans would excite me so much, but they do. It just reminds me how fast Lucy is growing. I can hardly believe that she's already four months old. When you have a baby I feel like you enter some other time dimension where it's like you blink and a month has passed.

I'll post some more pics from the RI trip in the next few days. I'm sure I'll think of LOTS of other random things to post, but this should do it for now. Love to all!

Lucy's 1st video

Thank you Jessica for showing us this cool site

May 2008 Photos

So, folks, sorry for the delay! It's already mid- June, but here are some of our pictures from the month of May. Don't worry, we have a bunch of June pictures already so another slideshow is just around the corner. In May, we visited Louisiana for Jeffrey's graduation and then Florida for the beach with the Savarese family and to visit the Fox family (the beach pictures were posted in an earlier post). Also in May, Lucy attended her 2nd crawfish boil (as Chrissy said, you know her daddy's from Louisiana if she made 2 crawfish boils in the first 100 days of her life!) Otherwise we just hung out here in DC. Please enjoy the hpotos as much as we do! Yes, her blindness from the constant flashes is probably getting worse!

If you are having trouble with the streaming slideshow above here is a link to the pictures :

Lucy May 08

Happy Father's Day!

Sorry it's been so long without a new post--it has been a crazy-busy week for the Roussels! (Late) Happy Father's Day to Seth, Seth's dad, my dad, and all dads! Lucy gave Seth a special bedtime book to read to her. We promise to post new photos very soon. Until then, have a wonderful Monday!

Do you think she was trying to steal our baby?

So we went to Chevy's tex mex for dinner tonight. Not our first, second or third place choice for Mexican but oh well, that's where we ended up. There was this lady there who had maybe one too many of Chevy's watermelon margaritas and came over to "meet" Lucy. But then she lingered too long and the whole interaction was really awkward. And she reached out and touched Lucy's nose and cheek. Weird. Then she said she thinks Lucy has such feminine features. And since it awkward and she is still standing there and looking at Lucy and not leaving, I say, oh really, that's funny because people keep mistaking her for a boy. And she goes on and on and on about Lucy's very feminine features and how could anyone say that. She was so outraged that it made me wonder if she was going to follow us to our car and try to steal Lucy. And in my mind, I'm going, I'm not telling you our last name or anything else about us except our baby's first name. I know, I'm crazy, but I frequently am concerned that someone might try to steal her. My sister Liz has the same concerns, though, so I think this a normal thing. Anyway, Seth and I agree that no one should touch a stranger's baby. It's just weird. So potential baby stealer is still standing there, staring at Lucy and Seth goes, oh, she was a Valentine's Day baby, and the potential baby stealer was like, oh, only one day before my birthday! And then she proceeds to relay that info to her husband/date/accomplice potential baby stealer. Again, weird. But she eventually left and I told Seth about my concerns and he agreed that they are valid. There are just so many things to worry about when you have a baby. #213--worrying that someone will steal your baby.

So that's our big night out. Now we're watching P.S. I Love You, which several people have told me is surprisingly good. We shall see. How was your Friday night? Bet you weren't worried about someone stealing your baby. Or maybe you were, if you have a baby. Well, here's to a worry-free evening! Good night!

Our Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

Hi! So nothing too exciting to report from the Roussel house. Seth worked Tuesday night, which meant he was off for most of the day on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday. That's always so fun to have him off during the week. The whole Roussel fam goes out and runs errands and it's great because no one else is grocery shopping or eating out during the middle of the day on a Tuesday! On Tuesday we did more stuff around our house after heading to Panera for some giant bagels. Have you ever had their cinnamon crunch bagel with the hazelnut cream cheese? Man, it is freakin awesome. Maybe I am genetically predisposed to liking it b.c when we were in FL visiting my fam, my sister Maryellen and my brother Steve and I all had this long conversation about how delicious that exact bagel/cream cheese combo is. Really. But I digress. Maybe the reason I have all this muffin top on my waist is from the bagels. Ha. Ironic. I can't remember what else we did on Tuesday. Yesterday we went to Stroller Strides with Jessica and baby Sam. It was hard, as always. Then Lucy and I went to Barnes and Noble and Crate and Barrel while poor Seth did all kinds of yard work. On yeah, then the power went out! ARGH! It was hot and I was freaking out about all this frozen milk I had in the freezer b.c if it defrosts then it's no good. So Jessica and Rob to the rescue! It is currently sitting in their freezer, nice and chilly. Of course the power came back on about 30 minutes after I got home but oh well. Murphy's law. Today I did more errands--Babies R Us (I think I'm there every single week), mall returns, etc. etc.

I've noticed during Lucy smiles and flirts with people everywhere I go now. It's so fun! People say hello and she smiles so big it squinches up her little nose. And she's become sooo vocal. She oohs and ahhs all the time, I think just to hear herself. She is still loving her daily massage. She stretches her arms and legs straight out when I do it and just lays there. I guess I would like to be massaged every day too. Anyway, today I got her one of those bumbo seats at Babies R Us. For those of you not familiar with the world of baby products, i.e., things you never knew you needed but seemingly can't live without once you have a little one, a bumbo seat is a little seat that looks like it was made out of playdough but is somehow sturdier than playdough and your baby can sort of sit up in it before your baby can sit up on her own. Whew, that was a run-on sentence. (Sorry, mom). Anyway, I put Lucy in the bumbo seat and she was TOTALLY startled. She looked like she was waiting to fall over. So the verdict's still out on whether she'll actually like it. Oh, my other big news is that she actually took a nap AT HOME and NOT in the SLING. Woo hoo! Oh yeah, one more thing--again today someone thought she was a boy. What's up with that? At least today she was wearing yellow and not hot pink, so it's a little more understandable.

Enough randomness for today. Expect more tomorrow though! Good night!

Crawfish Boil #2, the pleated pants police, and my magic sling

Happy Monday to everyone. So I didn't know what sport it was.... When Seth listens to sports on the radio it's like they're talking in a foreign language to me. So I am here to report on the Roussel fam's weekend activities (which are referenced in the cryptic title of this post). On Sat. we headed out to the LSU/Tulane alumni D.C. crawfish boil. This was Lucy's second crawfish boil. You know your daddy's a Louisianian when you've been to two crawfish boils and you're only like 110 days old. :) It was a fun time visiting with Jake & Caroline, Tara & Alex, Jenny & Jeff, and Rachel & Tom. It was super hot and then there were a series of torrential downpours, so it really did feel like we were back in Louisiana! Now it's time for a what-would-you-do-if-you-were-Seth quiz. In the midst of downpour #2, while I am huddled under this pavillion with everyone else and trying to dress Lucy (I undressed her b.c it was hot) while standing up, Seth does which of the following: (a) feels my frustration in trying to do all this and assists me or (b) says "I'm going to get another beer and then we can go home." Yes, you guessed--(b)! That choice resulted in him receiving one of my "looks of death," as he likes to call them. Anyway, once we hit the road and headed home, the skies cleared up wonderfully. Oh well. It's not like we won't eat crawfish ever again.

Now on to Sunday, when Seth & I cleaned out our closets. Seth must've given away 15 pairs of jeans/pants. And about 10 of them were pleated with tapered legs. Ridiculous. So I sat there with Lucy and acted as the pleat police and vetoed every single pair. He still kept a few though. We got lots done, but it was a completely exhausting day. I think it was exhausting in part b.c our little princess really didn't nap. I've learned that Lucy will nap (1) when I leave the house or (2) when she is in my magic sling. The sling will instantly put her to sleep. It's wonderful. I've learned to do pretty much everything with my sling on--take out the trash, nap, go to the bathroom, etc. etc. But one thing I cannot do is bend over repeatedly to pick up all the junk on my closet floor. You just can't bend over repeatedly with a little one sleeping in your kangaroo pouch. It doesn't work. So yesterday, when we were home all day and I couldn't keep her in the sling, she couldn't nap. And she was a sad mess by the end of the day b.c she was so tired. I tried various other tactics to get her to sleep, but seriously NOTHING ELSE WORKS. NOTHING but my magic sling. :( I did give her a little baby massage before she went to bed, and even though she was super tired, she loved that. She was talking to me, ooing and ahhhing. It was adorable. After her massage it took me about 10 attempts to get her to bed. The more tired she gets, the more she wants to just suck on anything she can. I was rocking her and she was sucking my shirt, my arms, her hands. And she wasn't hungry, she just does that to soothe herself. Well, that and run her fingers through her hair.

So that sums up our weekend. How was your weekend, friends and fam? Hopefully it was relaxing and fun. Good night!

GEAUX TIGERS!!!

The LSU Tigers easily cruised through the Regional (yes, baseball - Chrissy didn't know what sport - I know embarrassing huh?) in Baton Rouge this weekend. The winning streak is now at 23 - a new SEC record I might add. I actually got to listen to some of the games on internet radio. Looking forward to this weekend's super regional - too bad we can't be there - sadly, these will be the absolute LAST games in (the old) Alex Box stadium. We are playing the UC-Irvine Anteaters- what the hell kind of mascot is that? That's got to be one of the worst! Anyhow, here's to the Tigers heading back to Omaha for another College World Series.