215/365

Today I am thankful for the fact that both of my kids go to bed so easily. I am always so exhausted by bed time and they both put up no fight at all about going to bed. It is really nice.

I think I am done with my update on my Lucy Goose. So here goes. This is what my 3 year old is up to these days.

Lucy is still my very reserved little one when outside of her comfort zone. When she is around strangers, 99% of the time she just kind of shuts down. There are rare occasions when she surprises me and is outgoing and talkative in new situations, and I just love it because she absolutely charms the pants off of people when she opens up.

When she is at home or just with family, she could not be any more opposite. She never stops talking. I swear, every thought that pops into her head comes out of her mouth. It cracks me up because she will say the most random, unrelated statements. It is a little window into her mind for now, so I hope she keeps doing it for a while.

She has gotten rid of almost all of her funny little phrases that she had when she was just learning to talk. I get sad when I notice that she does not say her "baby phrases" any more. Forever she called ice cream - ice tee tee - and she no longer does. One phrase has stuck - when she wants to be held, she still says, "Hold you. Hold you." We never correct it.

She is struggling with her relationship with Annie. She is making small improvements and several times recently she has been actually playing with her. This has been a hard transition for her. She went from being my sidekick 100% of the time to having to really share me all of the time. I think it is so hard having kids so close in age because the one that is older is always expected to act like the older one, and that is not always fair - especially when the older one is such a baby still. I try and remember that when putting expectations on her, but it is still hard.

She has become obsessed with time. She asks me many times a day, "What time it is?" So cute. She keeps track of time by how many sleeps she has left before something happens. She will often say, 3 more sleeps before Daddy comes home. Or only 2 more sleeps until we go to PaPa Lee Lee's house.

She is totally potty trained. She absolutely never has an accident during the day and will occasionally have one at night, but only if she has had a whole lot to drink that night. She gets in our bed in the middle of the night every night, so I always have her tee tee then. It still amazes me that my baby that would not even consider sitting on the potty on a Sunday went to fully trained the next Monday.

Her favorite toys at the moment are puzzles. Any puzzle. I got her a few more of the smaller puzzles that she could do on our kitchen table because trying to keep Annie out of the floor puzzles was wearing me out. I didn't pay attention and thought that they were all 24 pieces, but one actually has 60 pieces. She can do it, no problem at all. Today Annie's OT told me that Lucy is going to be a math and science girl. She saw her doing the puzzles they had there and was quite impressed. She loves toys that require her to really focus. She also loves to play outdoors. It is so cute to watch her swing because she does this precious giggle the entire time.

She is still as flexible as a rubberband. She can do full center splits, bend completely in half, or pretty much move in any way that she wants. I am starting her in gymnastics this fall. I feel confident that she is going to love it. We'll see. She loves to be thrown as high in the air as we can get her. She also loves to jump off of things to us.

She is a VERY picky eater. She loves pb&j, mac and cheese, pizza, and above all fruit. She will eat more fruit than you could ever imagine. She will occasionally surprise me and eat a few chicken nuggets, but getting any meat down her is next to impossible. She likes carrots, corn, and peas. Getting her to try a new food is not easy. She always says that she doesn't like it. I get very tired of battling with her over food.

She still takes a nap every day with no argument. She normally sleeps about 1.5 hours. She goes to bed at 8 pm and usually sleeps until 8 am. When she comes into our room, she normally goes right back to sleep. Sometimes she smothers me and when I move her over, she will say, "But I want to lay right by you, Momma." So sweet, but so hard to get any sleep!

She weighs 26 lbs 2 oz. She actually got weighed today but won't have her 3 year check up until the end of the month, so I will get her official numbers then. She is tall and skinny. I think her height has leveled off some though. Many of her younger friends have passed her in height, so we'll see.

She is Miss Independent and says that she can do everything on her own. She has to dress herself, put on her shoes, get herself water, etc all by herself. She is pretty quick, so I am not slowed down much by her having to do it.

She loves music. She loves to dance around, sing songs, and listen to the radio. Her favorite song to listen to in the car is Yellow by Coldplay - the live version. She LOVES the part at the beginning before the song starts when it says "If you stand up, we'll buy you all ice cream."

She is a creature of habit. She loves routine and order. Every night we read the same books - No David, Ten Little Fingers, and The Giving Tree. We sing the same songs - Old McDonald, Amazing Grace, Twinkle Star, and ABCs. We say the same prayer. Every time we go to play with friends, she repeats in the car many times, "I am going to play nice with my friends." Every time she puts a puzzle together, she says "I can't wait to show this to Daddy. He is going to be SOOOOOO proud of me." Every morning when she wakes up, the first thing she says is, "Snack and milky please."

She loves to be dressed in cute clothes, and trust me, she knows when she has a special outfit on. She can work it! She loves to march into our bedroom when Justin is home and stand there waiting for him to tell her how beautiful she looks. I am SO thankful that she has not gotten choosy about her clothes. She still lets me put the outfits together. I will be so sad when I lose that job. She loves purses and likes to take them with her everywhere we go.

She would eat sugar all day long if we let her. She has an intense sweet tooth. I really try to limit her sugar because it can easily get out of control.

I could go on and on and on. Lucy will always hold a very special and unique place in both Justin and I's hearts since she is our first baby. She is spirited in a way that keeps me on my toes all of the time, but I would not trade any of it for anything in the world. You have to earn Lucy's love and trust, and once you have, you know you are someone very special in her life. I enjoy being her #1 because I really know how special that is. Lucy, you are an amazing little person and we love every moment and memory we have with you. We can't wait to see all that you accomplish this year. Always stay our Lucy Goose.









Look who plays in the dollhouse when sister takes a longer nap.