Let's Dress Up (Mommy THURSDAYS)

Now that Lucy is in school on Wednesdays, my official day with the girls is now Thursdays. And it is usually spent doing at least 2 or 3 costume changes. Cinderella is the main attire for most of the day.

Lucy is starting to get into really dressing up her dolls and her build-a-bear now. This outfit was a birthday gift from Henry and Miles. She first called it Chicago Bulls. Ha!

Tinkerbell

Sleeping Beauty (she totally posed for this)

Rapunzel is also quite common. But it is now very elaborate because Lucy insists on wearing the princess crown, slippers, and necklace. Sometimes gloves and a bracelet too.

Breakfast with Rapunzel!

Even her jewelry is Rapunzel themed

Kiss

Lucy still likes to make the prince and princess kiss. (In this case, it's Cinderella.) 

I also am beginning to feel like there are a lot of Lucy pictures lately, and I realize it's because Sophie is always napping during these moments!  I forget how old they typically are when the drop down to only one nap. 

Nail Polish

Even though my baby still loves trains, super heroes, and some other gender neutral things, she seems to be turning more girly everyday. She likes to wear "beautiful dresses or skirts", she likes to pretend to be a princess, she likes to ballroom dance and twirl, she likes to wear 'glass slippers' and jewelry, and today we tried nail polish.

Nana's Visit!

This moment was too sweet not to post a picture of. Lucy made Nana pretend to go to sleep...on the floor. And being the wonderful Nana that she is, she got down on the floor to lay with her. (As I age, I realize that this is not as simple a request as it seems.) 

Nana is visiting for most of the week to help babysit the girls while Lolo & Lola take a much needed break to visit the house in Vegas. SO, that means playtime, playtime, playtime! Gifts! Silly girl time! Lucy loves Nana's visits. So do Mommy and Daddy. It makes for an easy week. We had fun going out for breakfast, eating special desserts, opening the clothes that Nana always buys :) and Mommy and Nana even got to get out for the night to shop and have a drink! It was lovely!!

Great Grandma's Playhouse

Sophie seems to really enjoy playing with this Fisher Price home that we bought (courtesy of Great Grandma) when Lucy was a baby. It's a big hit now, and it was a big hit back then too.

(Sophie above, Lucy below)

Thanks again Great Grandma. Love you and miss you.

Valentine's Day Love

I don't get why some people don't like this holiday. I love Valentine's Day!

Even if it has become a "Hallmark holiday", why wouldn't you want a day to really focus on those you love? Be thankful for ALL the special people in your life? I've heard too many stories of loss lately that are serving as a constant reminder to cherish those that matter most to you. This week I called my Grandpa. And I made sure to say I love you.

First Day of Preschool

Lucy's first day of preschool came and went. She posed slightly for the picture before Jay and I drove to drop her off. (Posing with Mommy's purse.) She did really well, didn't cry, and even napped there! Mommy on the other hand, had tears welling up before even leaving the building, and then cried in the car on the way home.

But here's the thing. Lucy has never been taken care of by anyone other than family before (and a select couple of very special people for a brief blink of an eye...and even then, she was in the comfort of her own home). So this is a BIG adjustment for all of us, but one that I know is totally necessary and worth it. I want her to be with friends and play with kids her own age, and I want her to listen to and learn from a teacher. So we chose a place in the city that is VERY close (like 2 blocks away) from our work. It's basically daycare, but there is such a routine curriculum, with "teachers", recess, music class, and school pictures that it seems almost like Kindergarten! Her first day was during the week of Valentine's Day, so they celebrated "Friendship" day as they call it. Lucy brought Valentines to give to all of the other kids and wore pink. And I think she seemed to like it!

While big sis was away, Sophie snuck around and played with all of Lucy's favorite toys :) Smart girl.

And then I guess Roxy snuck around and played with all of Sophie's toys...

Take a Picture for Mommy?

"Take a picture for Mommy?" is a question I hear a lot nowadays. Lucy's grammar is not perfect obviously, so she often asks 'take a picture for Mommy?' which I believe means, "take a picture with Mommy" or could also sometimes mean "Mommy, take my picture." In this case, I think she wanted to take a picture with me. Sounds good to me!

Cute Moments

I don't want to forget these images ever. 

Since I nursed my babies, I never got this full view of them sleeping in my arms much. Daddy was sweet enough to text this image to me one day when he was staying home with the girls. This made my day.

Another morning, just for fun, all 3 of my little ones hung out in the crib. It was pretty cute.

Last image is of Sophie on all fours. She's been doing this pose lately, and it cracks me up to see her little bottom stuck so high in the air :)

THREE!

Lucy, today you are 3! You are friendly and active, silly and stubborn :) You love: hugs, kisses, saying "no", testing limits. You seem to love your sister. You talk non stop! You love to sing, and you LOVE to dance. You like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Spiderman, Buzz & Woody, Totoro, Ponyo, and pretty much any other Disney movie. You still like Yo Gabba Gabba! You love "pretend play", specifically pretending to be a cat, playing with a dollhouse, making Mommy pretend to be a horse so you can ride, making Mommy pretend to be a prince so you can dance and kiss, and you LOVE LOVE dress up! Everyday you go through at least 2-3 princess dresses, but you also seem to like pirates and super heroes. You are a picky eater. You love milk. You like juice. You love to take baths. You love to climb, run, hop and jump. You are beginning to understand and love the holidays. You still like books. You seem to listen better. You dislike taking naps. You like your iPad Daddy got you for your birthday. 

You love birthday parties and blowing candles. And to that end, we put together a little cupcake for you on your actual birthday. We sang "Happy Birthday" while Facetiming with Nana so she could sing too, and this was the very first time you were able to blow out a candle all by yourself! (Caught on camera!) And I took maybe 3 minutes to make you a little mini-Totoro cupcake topper for your special day. 

Today you are 3, and although this is very challenging for Mommy to manage, I have a feeling I will always look back on this age as the most magical. I love you SO much Baby Lucy.

Lucy's 3rd Birthday Party

Lucy's 3rd Birthday Party was planned so that she could expend energy just dancing and running, without getting hurt. So we rented a dance studio, brought a bunch of blow-up musical instruments and balloons, and let the kids run. There was pizza, cookies, cake, etc. It actually turned out pretty nice.

Currently Lucy loves the Disney studio Ghibli movies. All of the Miyazaki movies like Ponyo, Totoro, and Spirited Away. So I made do for the theme. (Not much in the way of party favors and decor that you can buy for these cult favorites.) But we had special cookies made that were just beautiful, and I whipped up some soot sprite balloons and gift bags. Complete with a Totoro cake, I think it worked out in the end. Lucy just desperately wanted to eat a soot sprite immediately after seeing the cake for the first time.

She was a little reserved during the birthday song. She's not shy, but when all eyes are on her, I think she gets nervous. It was endearing.

I made little soot sprite balls (by gluing googly eyes on black puff balls from the craft store). Not sure what the older girls are doing here, but they must have collected them all.

All the black lips are kind of funny...almost looks a little Zombie-ish. But black fondant tastes kind of like a tootsie roll...sort of. Talk about a sugar rush.

I LOVE this picture of Lucy and Taryn!

Awesome cookies made by one talented lady! My sister's neighbor, Custom Cookies by Jill, made all of these characters for Lucy. Amazing!

Some more images of that cake...for my own sake.

Lucy got a musical card from Great Grandpa in the mail! Too fun!