Lucy Turns Three Years Old!

Well, here she is. The most loving, sweet, and cutest three-year-old girl we've ever known, Miss Lucy Irene, at three years old. It was a fabulous celebration with family and friends and we think Lucy really enjoyed herself. 

Lucy now weighs in at 28 pounds and is 35 1/4 inches tall. She's inherited the vertically challenged gene from her mama!

Lucy actually remembered her birthday cake from last year so she requested another cake with pussy willows this year! I of course obliged. Three little woodland animal candles danced in a circle in the middle of the pussy willow forest and Lucy blew all candles out on her third try.

Homemade chocolate angel food cake and homemade custard gelato are the perfect excuse to lick your plate and be messy!

Lucy, as usual, was very orderly about unwrapping her presents. We had to remind her their were several more presents to open as she kept being so enamored with each and every one. 

Lucy's first gift was an activity book with new crayons. She sat down and started coloring immediately. Too cute. We had to encourage her to wait until later to color so she could open more gifts.

But then the vacuum from Uncle Chris appeared and all attention remained on that for the remainder of the entire weekend! Look how pleased she is here to see her very own vacuum.

She got overheated and had to take her tights and leg warmers off.  Vacuuming is quite the aerobic activity.

Uncle Chris almost passing out from blowing up so many balloons.

Dada being silly with static electricity.

Lucy's First Easter Egg Hunt

Pre-Easter Egg Hunt...basket grass silliness which Lucy called "scrabbling"

First time hitting the slopes!

Hmm...I have a bit of updating to do regarding our galavanting over the last couple of months and that will happen in another post. Our move to VT has gone very well and we are so happy to be here together. It's been wonderful being close to our families.

Today Matt took Lucy to Bolton Valley Ski Resort for her first time downhill skiing. It was a great success! Lucy had a blast and smiled the whole time until she had to stop skiing because her legs were tired...but she didn't really want to stop so she cried and then plopped down on the ground.

Lucy loved being on the chair lift.

The skiers.

Homemade chocolate chip cookie snack on the slopes.

Lucy did so well skiing but mot importantly she had fun and wants to do it again! Little kids are such naturals. If only all of us can have that balance back again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us. Missing Maya who was in NM.

Lucy's first experience at a kid's table. She made it about half-way through dinner.

We had a super fun and tasty last Thanksgiving in Fairbanks with a bunch of our friends. As we prepare to move to VT during Lucy and I's last weekend here, we were all plagued with a terrible stomach bug. Lucy, for the first time, spent many of the evening hours hunched over the toilet, the night following Thanksgiving. It sure is hard to see such a little body working so hard. She was such a trooper though! This is definitely the worst illness Lucy has experienced. It was inevitable that Matt and I would get it too. We all hung out and rested today, slowly recovering, and thankful that at least we could spend the day together. It's time to get back to serious packing and cleaning tomorrow.

Doo-Wap-Doop!

Last night at dinner Lucy was singing away as she usually does but this time she made up a song that she sang over and over. Matt asked her if he could record it and she said "Yeah!"

And then she was interviewed but Matt's phone ran out of space so it got cut off.



Her responses to his first two questions are "about 7 weeks ago" and "This winter".

Lucy has so many fabulous personality traits at 2 1/2 and I am going to try to jot a few things down though it is impossible to remember all the wonderful things that come out of her mouth.

One of her favorite activities is wrapping up all her animals and her doll, Baka, in her own clothes and blankets and making them nests. She also builds "beds" out of her legos and little hand towels. While doing this you can hear her saying "Aw, it's OK Baka, it's OK, you're alright," over and over.  If only I could put a mini mic on her and record her every word because she goes on and on with words and stories about so may things to herself and her toys. It's really great.

Last night Lucy learned how to do a somersault, or as she calls the "summer-castles." This was right before Matt came home from work so when he walked in the door he had to "flip-over", as she called it, with her. She was SO excited and we had a hard time getting her to the dinner table. Needless to say his neck hurt late last night.

Lucy is stubborn and very independent. Neither Matt or I know where this comes from! For instance, we always hear "Let me do it!!!" with a strained shrieking voice or a more subtle shaking of the hands and head (like she is shivering) while watching us do something that she wants to do very badly. Every day at least several times this happens: I tell Lucy not to do something because it is not safe. Her response "It IS safe." I remind her it is not. She says "I don't want you to talk!" with a quivering voice. Usually we can just drop it there but I have to admit, it is pretty amusing. She's the contrarian about everything. "Lucy, I am going to eat some food because I am hungry," I say. "You're NOT hungry, mama, you're not!" she replies. You can apply this response to most anything during the day for us. I like to say she is passionate!

Lucy is also very very sweet. She shares all her food and water with us. She offers us both her sippy cup from the window sill in the morning. She gives tremendously loving hugs, kisses, bonks, nose rubs, and butterfly kisses multiple times a day. Her crinkle-nose smile is truly the best thing I have ever seen. We'll keep her!

Happy Halloween!

I cannot believe it has been a month since I last posted. This family has been BUSY! We've done some fun things and I will try to play catch up soon to capture the past few weeks.

Lucy and Kaelin at UAF Museum of the North checking out the spooky lab collections open special for Halloween: bugs,  bones, dissected birds, artifacts, etc. 

Lucy told me she wanted me to be a kitty with a collar and a bell for Halloween.
So, I was....though I felt slightly silly. She loved it though!
Matt was a 70s hairy man but his chest patch fell off before we took this photo.

Black-lit Glow Putt Affects. Lucy thought it was so cool that her costume glowed.

Sushi and Chopsticks

We went out on a special family lunch together yesterday. Lucy was given her own custom chopsticks to use! She did well with them and ate almost all her potstickers and miso soup.

Autumn in McCarthy

September in beautiful McCarthy

We spent 10 days away from Fairbanks and drove to McCarthy to enjoy our recently weather-proofed cabin. It was deliciously relaxing.

Lucy warms herself by the fire after being outdoors for a bit.

Matt made the most comfy bed where Lucy slept the best she has ever slept at night!

A walk through Kennecott

Little Lucy against the giant mill.

Windy!

Watching dad caulk the window.

Checking out the mountains

Sassy.

As usual, Lucy lends her hand while we work at clearing trees from the Nizina Rd on the way to Jeremy and Ali's farm.

Checking out the giant pig at the farm.

Lucy has her first taste of animal milk: fresh goat's milk!

Greeting a 3-week-old puppy.

Our little forest fairy.

Crossing the foot bridge.

Big land.

Lucy said she did not want to go home and that we should stay in McCarthy. We agreed. But back home we had to go!