Happy St. Patty's Day

I hope you all had a very lucky St. Patrick's Day. A friend I have known for a long time through adoption FINALLY got her I600 approval today. She has been waiting a very long time. Congrats Karin!! Today was definitely a lucky day for you and your precious girl.

We weren't very festive today, but we celebrated big on Saturday. My neighborhood does an enormous St. Patrick's Day celebration on the Saturday before the 17th. Every block has huge parties going on. Everyone is outside and celebrating. It is so much fun. Lucy and I attended 2 parties. Justin wants everyone to know that he didn't get to party because he was working. So, please feel sorry for him! The first had several of her play group buds at it. We were there for several hours. Lucy is still really shy when we are in an unfamiliar setting. However, if we are anywhere long enough, she opens up and has a great time. By the end, she was interacting with everyone and just having the time of her life. Then she played for a few more hours at our neighbor's house. She was the life of the party. She LOVES our neighbors, so she needed no time to open up over there. I decided to let her really enjoy the day, and she was allowed to eat a cookie and later a cupcake. Seriously, she was in heaven. I was a terrible mom and took no pictures. That is so unlike me. I have just not had my camera around the past couple of days, which is so unfortunate because she has looked extra adorable. Bad momma!

On Sunday, we had a friend's 1st birthday party. When it was time for the cake, Lucy shoved her way through the crowd, seated herself at the head of the table next to the cake, and waited semi-patiently for her turn for some cake. She sat there really quietly while Ava dug into her little cake. The big cake was sitting next to Lucy. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she started saying over and over again, "BITE!!" Luckily, she did not try and grab the big cake. She just wanted to let everyone know that Ava's time in the spot light was great and all, but she needed some cake too. We had the most amazing weather this weekend - 75 and sunny all weekend long. We were outside almost all day on Saturday and Sunday. It was awesome.

Remember how I have blogged several times about wanting to start to exercise again? Well, last Wednesday I actually followed through with this goal. I am not one of those people who enjoys exercising. In fact, I generally hate it. But when I get started, I am really dedicated - for a couple of months. About once every 2 years, I get motivated and will work out really hard for about 2-3 months. Then I will get sick and have to take a break, and I never start back - at least not for 2 years. I am hoping to change this time. Wednesday morning I got this urge to go walking. I never get this urge, so I figured I better go. So, while Justin and Lucy watched Sesame, I headed outside. It was actually exhilarating. The weather was perfect and I felt great. I was able to run for 30 minutes. I am usually a terrible runner and have to build up for a long time before I can run for any period of time. I guess I am just in better shape this time around because I can already run for as long as I want to. Most days I have run for 45 minutes and walked for 20. I am finally getting to a point where my legs don't feel like they are about to fall off. I have been so sore. I didn't give my body any time to warm up to exercise, I just dove right back in, and my legs have not really appreciated the huge shock. I started again with the hopes of sleeping better, and it has absolutely worked. I have been sleeping so much sounder the past couple of days. YEAH!

Since I have been so horrible about taking pictures the past few days, here is a video of Lucy being tickle tortured by her dad today. She is SO ticklish on her ribs, neck, and back. She has been so happy and full of life the past few days and it has been a blast. She is usually always a happy girl, but the past few days have been extra happy and giggly. I have found myself laughing all day long, which is always fun.

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