The Means Family

Dancing Life Away

2009-10-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

So, the last time we updated the blog was around Mothers' Day, so we figured we were due (that and the not so veiled threats via emails and texts that we have received). Lucy is now 14 months old and entertains us with her dancing as you will see in the video above, her chattering and scolding of our cats. When you hear Lucy yell "Doe" in this video that is her word for "gato" or cat in Spanish." She finishes with some fun little facial expressions for your enjoyment. I must warn you that there are a lot of pictures and videos, so good luck!!

Halloween

2009-10-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Soccer Game

2009-10-31T21:58:00.001-07:00

When we went to a soccer game at Northwest University, Lucy spent much of her time doing some serious leaf hunting.

Coloring

2009-10-31T21:56:00.001-07:00

Reading

2009-10-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

Giving hugs and loves

2009-10-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lucy is giving hugs to one of her buddies, Brennan

The cats don't tend to appreciate it quite as much.

Lucy's newest hobbies

2009-10-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

One of Lucy's most favorite current activities is dragging around clothes or blankets. Sometimes.... Mom's clothes

Blankets....or even....

Dad's boxers...

Being goofy

2009-10-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

Rocking

2009-10-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Trying on Mom's shoes

2009-10-31T21:28:00.001-07:00

Wild Hair

2009-10-31T21:26:00.001-07:00

Dahlias

2009-10-31T21:22:00.001-07:00

Making a Mess

2009-10-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

Trying to steal food

2009-10-31T21:14:00.001-07:00

One of Lucy's favorite pastimes...

Great-Grandpa's 86th Birthday

2009-10-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Great Grandpa and his great grandkids

Nap ritual

2009-10-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

Whenever Lucy wakes up, she has a ritual of jumping up and down in her crib and then spending time looking out the windows and waving goodbye to the cars that drive by.

Lucy with Auntie Valerie's Bear

2009-10-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

Lucy's Auntie Valerie gave her this gian bear. She loves it! Below you will also see a video that shows her "lovin'" her bear and as a bonus, when asked what dogs say in Spanish, she barks.

Lucy scooting

2009-10-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

So for a while Lucy was playing peek-a-boo a lot and before she walked, she did this strange scooting thing...

Lucy's First Birthday

2009-10-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

Eating Cake

2009-10-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lucy's birthday butterfly cupcakes

Opening Presents at Lucy's First Birthday

2009-10-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Trip to the Dominican Republic

2009-10-31T14:28:00.000-07:00

At the end of July, we had the great opportunity of leading a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was an amazing time. We stayed for about four days after the team returned to the States. These are a few of the pictures of us spending time with friends. It had been three years since we had visited and the very first time for our dear friends to meet Lucy. In fact, Lucy took her very first independent steps in the DR!! Lucy playing with Micah and Mariana

Eva's dear friend/mentor Ann and her youngest daughter Natalie.

Lucy's first time in the sand.

Andy went on a hike. This beautiful waterfall was one of the ones we frequented when we lived there.

Perhaps one of the greatest highlights was seeing 16 out of the 20 kids that Eva taught and Andy worked with for two years. With a high school graduation rate of about 4% we were delighted to hear that 16 out of the 20 had graduated and the majority are continuing with their education.

The Means Family Reunion

2009-10-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

The entire Means family

Lucy playing with cousin Russell in her new pool.

Lucy's Great-Grandma Lois and all of her 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Owyhigh Lakes hike

2009-10-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

We were able to take some great hikes over the summer. This hike was about 7 miles. Lucy did pretty well, except for screaming for the last half-hour. :-)

Pigeon Sounds

2009-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Wounded Soldier Crawl

2009-10-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Lucy didn't figure out how to crawl regularly until after she learned how to walk. She definitely should get some points for style.

Cat door!

2009-10-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

First hike of the summer

2009-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

To start the summer off, we went with Grandpa Jack and Grandma Maria to Paradise. We even did a "short" hike in Longmire.

Eating eggs

2009-10-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

One of Lucy's greatest pleasures is feeding herself. Well, lets be honest---food in general is her greatest pleasure. We still have not found one thing she won't eat. Here she is trying out a boiled egg for the first time.

Balloons

2009-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

So Lucy LOVES balloons and charmed a lady at our QFC, who then bought her this absolutely ginormous butterfly balloon.

Traveling to Uncle Aaron and Aunt Jen's Wedding

2009-10-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

Waiting in the airport

She may look like her daddy, but she has her momma's bad habits!

Cardboard Boxes

2009-10-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

Rhodie Farm

2009-10-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mothers' Day

2009-05-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you! The end of May finds us all doing very well, enjoying the beautiful weather and counting the days until school is out. Andy has finished coaching football, youth group is coming to an end and now we are just looking forward to the summer: several weddings of family and friends and a trip to the Dominican Republic. Yep! Lucy just got her first passport in the mail! Lucy is actually nine months old today. She went for her check-up and the Doc declared that she is in great health. She is growing a lot (she is 23 1/2 pounds and 30 1/2 inches long) and is off the charts. We haven't found a food that she doesn't like. She is rolling everywhere and does this army crawl thing, but only in circles because she hasn't figured out how to go forwards or backwards yet. She does however get wherever she needs to go. She is a super busy baby and for this reason we are enjoying the short time we have left before she is running everywhere. She is very social and people seem to get a big kick out of her everywhere we go because she is a stranger to no one. We have added a lot of pics so enjoy!

For Mothers' Day Eva, her mom Maria and Lucy went and had a 3 generation picture taken.

William and Melissa's Wedding

2009-05-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

On May 17th Eva's little brother William and his new bride Melissa got married. It was a great time celebrating what God has done in their lives and a wonderful time visiting with all the friends and family that came to celebrate with us.

Aunt Kathy's Sweater

2009-05-25T19:22:00.001-07:00

Lucy's Aunt Kathy made her this beautiful sweater!

Easter '09

2009-05-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

For Easter we went out to Whidbey Island to have Easter with the Means/Links Crew. Lucy with Grandma Mary on the ferry.

Lucy definitely seemed to prefer not having to share Grandma with cousin Russell.

Sleeping and eating

2009-05-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sunny Days

2009-05-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

We have certainly been enjoying the beautiful weather. Lucy has by far the best room in the house. This is her view.

Lucy and her bear that Auntie Valerie gave her.

Lucy at the park

2009-05-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Lucy and her orange dress

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Lucy's Auntie Valerie made her this dress. We love it!

Great Grandpa

2009-05-25T11:49:00.001-07:00

Just being Lucy

2009-05-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Love those legs!

2009-05-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

Nobody will ever accuse us of not feeding our child. Love 'em!!

Playing Peek-a-Boo

2009-05-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

Video of Lucy laughing

2009-05-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a little clip Lucy laughing. It always makes us smile!

Lucy and the Balloons

2009-05-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

Lucy is a BIG fan of balloons and always entertains the grocery store clerks with her squeals and giggles in the check out line. These were some left over from a baby shower I did for a friend.

Bath time

2009-05-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Spending time with Daddy

2009-05-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lucy loves to look out the window and watch for cars, or people or birds or squirrels--really just anything moving, bright or colorful.

Helping Auntie Melissa

2009-05-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Helping Auntie Melissa make her wedding invitations.

Good Eats

2009-05-23T21:27:00.001-07:00

Eating peas for the first time.

Lucy and Johnny

2009-05-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Check out those legs!

David and Maria's wedding

2009-05-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

Andy's little brother David and our new sister Maria were married in February. It was a beautiful, traditional Greek wedding.

Stan and Mary Means

Mary and Lucy's cousin Russell.

Andy and Eva were both part of the wedding party. We had a great time!

Auntie Valerie visits in February

2009-05-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Auntie Valerie came for a visit at the end of February and Lucy took a quick snooze on her.

Lucy's Baby Dedication

2009-05-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

On February 22nd, Lucy was dedicated to the Lord. It was a really special time and both sets of grandparents were there. Grandma Mary and Lucy hanging out after the dedication.

Grandpa Jack giving Lucy lots of "whisker" kisses.

Playing in the Exersaucer

2009-05-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Lucy LOVES to jump and this is yet another venue for her. When she isn't jumping, she loves to eat the flower. Not smell. Eat (which also tends to be another of her favorite pastimes).

Lucy and Lobo

2009-05-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Lucy loves our cats. They get they best reaction from her out of anybody when they walk in the room. The cats have taken quite the backseat (actually they have been practically kicked out of the car altogether) since Lucy has come along and they are quite desperate for attention. In fact, Lobo will take pretty much unprecedented amounts of ear, whisker and tale pulling, smacking and kicking. He even lays under her johnny jump-up when she jumps just to be kicked and get his fix of human touch. Poor thing.

Trip to Whidbey Island

2009-05-23T20:22:00.001-07:00

On Presidents' Day, we headed over to Whidbey Island to visit Andy's Aunty Kathy, Uncle Russell and cousing Vanessa. We had a great time and on the way Lucy got to meet her Great-Grandma Lois. Lucy and Vanessa

Aunt Kathy and Lucy.

Andy, Great Grandma Lois and Lucy.

Lucy Lu

2009-01-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in January. Since we last blogged, Eva has gone back to work part time. While mom is at work, Lucy enjoys spending time with Grandma and Eva's best friend April. Lucy Grace is now five months old and growing (more in length than anything). The doc says she looks like a stringbean. She is becoming more and more social. In fact, feeding her has become a long ordeal and her daddy can't be in the room or she won't eat. She just wants to watch him the entire time. She will smile at anything that moves including Fiesta, her favorite cat. On Christmas day she decided to roll over for the first time. She rolls from her back to her stomach. The problem is she hates being on her tummy and screams her head off. It really is quite hilarious. Here are a few pictures of the last few months. Enjoy!

Rice Cereal

2009-01-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

Trying rice cereal for the first time went over REALLY well as you an see.

Christmas

2009-01-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Play time

2009-01-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Playing with one of her favorite friends, Brennan. Trying the Johnny Jump Up for the first time. She liked it so much she was in it for an hour!

More playing

Reading Dr. Seuss in Spanish.

Lovin' the Bumbo chair!

Christmas tree hunting

2009-01-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

Morning routines

2009-01-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

Lucy participating in Dad's morning devotions.

The wild look

2009-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

The mohawk.....lookin' good! It is all natural by the way.

Trying to get a smile on Lucy's face for the camera is a challenge since this is her reaction every time to the red power light.

Hanging out with Family

2009-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

Uncle Will working his magic and getting Lucy to sleep!

Cousin Russell working his magic and waking her up!

Hanging out

2009-01-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

Our friend Brian got to meet Lucy and insisted that a picture be taken and posted on the blog. (He can be somewhat demanding).We got to see Brian a little while later at his wedding. Congratulations Brian and Maggie!

Last hike in Paradise

2009-01-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

To enjoy our last weekend of my maternity leave, we headed to Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park. We had a great time enjoying the amazing weather.

September and October Updates

2008-10-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Life has been going well for us in September and October. It has been full of diaper changes, eating, sleeping (for Lucy, not so much for us :-) and her newest, smiling. At Lucy's one month check-up, the Doctor's first comment when he entered the room was, "So, I see we like to eat." Thankfully, he was talking about Lucy and not either one of us! Lucy weighed in at just under 12 pounds. Yes, for Lucy, the buffet line is all you can eat. Here are some pictures from the last few months. We hope you enjoy them!
Resting on Auntie Melissa.

A visit with the Wilsons

2008-10-14T11:41:00.001-07:00

One of Eva's Spanish Professors from Point Loma, Jerry Wilson, and his wife Brenda came to meet little Lucy.

Morning Aerobics

2008-10-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Every morning when Lucy is taken out of her swaddling blanket she goes through the process of waking up (which can last up to 30 minutes). Her little routine of stretching, grunting and moaning has become known as Lucy's morning aerobics.

Lucy's first hike--Tipsoo Lake, Mt. Rainier National Park

2008-10-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Loving Daddy!

2008-10-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

Tax Deduction

2008-10-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Of course the real reason we decided to have children....

Husker fan?

2008-10-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Lucy's Uncle Aaron is the editor of Husker magazine and so sent Lucy this onesie. Andy is a little concerned that the only Husky stuff she has won't fit until she is 9 months and the brainwashing might already be complete by then.

Swing time

2008-10-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Sleeping time

2008-10-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Our first family pic

2008-10-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Obviously Lucy is thrilled to be a part of our family.

Meeting Great Grandpa Babcock

2008-10-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Great Grandpa Babcock loved meeting Lucy. He kept smoothing out her dress and asking if she likes to have baths.

Auntie Valerie's Visit

2008-10-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

In September, Auntie Valerie came to visit us! She was a great help and it was so fun for Lucy to meet her auntie.

Lucy's Faces

2008-10-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Lucy has lots of different expressions. Here are just a few to give you a taste.

Resting

2008-09-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Burrito baby

Hangin' out

2008-09-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Pondering life...Andy thinks she is solving math problems. Lord help us.
So they say it is just gas, but to us it is a smile.

Recovering after the first bath

2008-09-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Our first 10 days

2008-09-05T17:13:00.001-07:00

We love the swing!!
Watch Lucy grow! This bear was a gift from Lucy's Auntie Valerie.

Superwoman!!

It's a girl--Lucy Grace Means

2008-08-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

After Eva's water broke (hollywood style) at 8:00 PM Monday at Aunt Terry's house, we rushed off to Enumclaw Regional Hospital. This is our first labor picture four hours later, post-epidural. (notice there are no pre-epidural pictures :).

Lucy Grace arrived at 4:11 AM on Tuesday, 8/26. This photo shows after only a few minutes in this world that she had a hold both her mom and dad.

To everyone's astonishment (except for Eva), Lucy weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces, 22 inches long!

A favorite activity of both father and daughter. This has been a rare occurence.

Bringing Lucy Home

2008-08-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

A summer time view

2008-08-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

This is a view from our living room and kitchen.

What do you do when the baby is due???

2008-08-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

The crazy things people do!! Let's see....baby due in two weeks, what should we do....?? How about replace five windows in the house! Like we need any more excitement. However the home improvements didn't stop there....

Painting the house

2008-08-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

And just in case new windows weren't enough, we thought we would paint the entire house, detached garage and picket fence as well....

Before

After

Another visit with Russell

2008-08-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Russell with a bear that Valerie, Eva's sister sent for the baby

36 weeks

2008-08-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

A visit with the Macaleers

2008-08-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Good friends of ours, Bret and Leah came down from Bellingham for a visit and brought Willa, their beautiful 5-month old daughter.

Ocean Shores

2008-08-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

For a last get-away, we decided to go to Ocean Shores for the weekend. We enjoyed walks on the beach, miniture golf and movies.

32 weeks

2008-08-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

Oops! We forgot to take a picture at 28 weeks, so this is the 32-week belly.

Russell

2008-08-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

The day after the baby shower, Andy's mom came to visit and brought Russell, Andy's nephew.

June Baby Shower

2008-08-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

After school was out a co-worker of Eva's--Stephanie, gave a shower for Eva and another co-worker Alicia who happens to have the same due date.

24 weeks

2008-08-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Painting the nursery

2008-08-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, Valerie came for a visit and William and Maria helped paint the nursery.

Yard Project

2008-08-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

In thebeginning of May, Andy and Jack worked hard transforming the side yard into a fun cobblestone path for a shade garden.