Three Years of Lucy

Today an excited Lucy turned three. Throughout the day she would randomly begin jumping up and down announcing, "It's my birthday!"

Lucy is thoughtful and kind, but not a pushover. She sings made up songs all day long. One of her favorite activities is dancing. When music is turned on, she drops whatever she is doing and runs to the music to dance. This year she started calling Neil "Daddy-oh." It was adorable the few months it lasted. She loves wearing dresses and the color pink (the leopard print goes without saying). One of my favorite things about Lucy is the way she says "Tank you, Mom" whenever I give her anything. She is also extremely animated when she talks. You can't help but smile when you are around her. We are so lucky to have Lucy in our family.

We love you Lucy!

It Does Snow Here!

 This winter, the city has looked like this. Not a snowflake to be seen.

This adventure took place this past Saturday.

Today, it actually snowed enough to break out the cold weather gear. Before sending the girls into the snow, Lucy adamantly declared she would only wear her (too small) purple coat and not the pink coat (that fits). She also refused to wear her snow pants. Greta shared in the drama by shedding many tears over her snow boots because they were too big (the same snow boots she wore last year without complaint). I was pleasantly pleased that the girls ended up spending more time in the snow than getting the snow gear on. It doesn't always turn out that well.

 

Greta decided the snowman should indeed be a boy and named him George.

The girls ended their adventure by making and eating snow ice cream (snow, milk, vanilla, lots of sugar) and enjoying a bubble bath.

Missing Socks and What Lucy Wore

I purchased an eight-pack package of pink patterned socks for Lucy. For some reason, the mate to every (every) sock is missing. How is that even possible?

These are the lonely socks.

I did find a matching pair of white socks for her. Of course she wouldn't wear them because "white is a boy color." She decided on wearing the mismatched shades of pink socks.


Lucy aka Leopard Lady.  I am pretty sure this is Lucy's dream outfit.

Notice the mismatched socks.

While I was in the shower...

Greta made Lucy breakfast. It was made up of cold pancakes (minus the syrup), a cold hard boiled egg (peeled and cut in half), and some thick Tang. There were smiles all around. Greta excitedly offered to make breakfast everyday except Saturday and Sunday. A fantastic idea.

15 Months

Yesterday I took a trip to the salon. It has been 15 months since I have had my hair cut, colored, etc. Fifteen months. October 2010 for my family photos. The year 2011 came and went without any changes to my hair. I knew the grays must be pretty thick when my mom called in December specifically to offer to pay for me to get my hair done for my birthday.

October 2010:

 January 2012:

Conversation with Jen, my hairdresser as she is curling my hair.
Jen: So, do you curl your hair very often?
Me: I don't own a curling iron.
Jen (in her mind): ?!?
Me (in my mind): I am a mother of two girls and I don't own a curling iron?!?

Jen is amazing. She is definitely worth the two month wait. Unfortunately, she is not taking any new clients. I'm really glad I became her client 15 months ago.

I will be purchasing a curling iron. Today.

The 10 Day Countdown

I have 10 days to turn 12 strips of fabric into a skirt for Lucy for her birthday. A ruffle skirt. With six ruffles. Gulp.

Lucy fell asleep on my arm while she, Greta, and I were curled up on the couch reading stories. I always feel bad when this happens. The first question out of Neil's mouth when he comes home from work is always, "Did the girls have a nap?" The correct answer is no. (So they will go to bed at night. Some nights get pretty ugly.) But how do you wake this up?

Photo courtesy of Greta

What Greta Wore

Conversation this morning.
Greta: "Mom, I need help picking out a shirt."
Me (eying her choice of blue/gray plaid skirt and hot pink leggings): "I think I can find something to match that."
Greta (half cry/half whining voice): "Ooooh, I don't want to wear a shirt that matches this."
Of course. Why would you want your clothes to match? That's crazy talk.

Good Times

We attended two high school basketball games this past Thursday and Friday night in support of our friends and family. The  girls could not get enough. They stood up cheering and dancing every chance they had. Neil was a trooper. Basketball isn't his favorite. Especially when the teams we cheer for lose. By a lot. Two nights in a row.
It cracked me up when my cousin asked me at the game, "Who dressed your kids?"

 

Four photos of us from the night. This really was the best one.

Greta went to a roller skating party on Saturday. This was her first time skating. Ah, Skateland. You haven't changed a bit since 6th grade. Still no doors on the bathroom stalls, but thanks for installing those way too small shower curtains in two out of the three stalls. Way to keep it classy.

True love for your child means walking around the roller rink in socks holding your child's hand while she attempts to skate.  When I laced up the skates, Greta exclaimed, "Whoa, these are heavy." Yes, Greta. Yes, they are very heavy. But I wouldn't trade the bruised feet for anything.

Lucy in the Morning

It's nice to have time with Lucy in the morning. She loves coloring. Today she put a puzzle together without any help. I was quite proud of her.

 This is her face when I tell her to smile. It is a cross between a growl and a silent scream.

What Greta Wore

After Greta emerged from her room in today's outfit, Neil suggested I start taking pictures of each day's clothing choice. (He also mentioned the idea yesterday when she was wearing her zebra leggings but the camera never made appearance.) I made this skirt for Greta's 6th birthday. Along with the skirt she received a matching mauve shirt and sweater. The tie-dye works too.

Thirty-Three

Exactly one week ago, I turned 33.  It was a day filled with family, bowling, karaoke, and cake. All things close to my heart.

Bowling was a team event. Boys vs. Girls. Even though we had an additional team member, the boys still won by over 115 pins. Sadly, we could not blame the loss on Lucy and Greta. Their scores weren't the lowest. The person with that distinction shall remain nameless.

Boys Team: Neil, Abe, Papa, Bud (Henry slept for most of the intense competition)

Girls Team: Nana, Lindy, Sadie, Lucy, Greta

After Bowling we went back to our house for dinner and singing. Here is how the karaoke went down. Also, there are no photos of Sadie and I singing.......I reserve the right to withhold any and all goofy photos of myself and those I love.

• Greta and Lucy: "Brighter than the Sun" by Colbie Calait's
• Greta, Lindy, and Sadie: "Closer to Fine" by Indigo Girls
• Bud and Neil: "Girls" by the Beastie Boys  
• Bud and Greta: "Your Song" by Elton John
• Abe: "All Star" by SmashMouth and a touching rendition of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." (We laughed; we cried.)
• Sadie: "Sometimes You Gotta Dance" by Dixie Chicks (There was a lot of dancing to that one.)
• Nana and Papa: "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher and for the finale, "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Ritchie. (Everyone knew that song was going to make an appearance.)

Bud, dinner was great. Costco, you really outdid yourself with the red velvet cake. The entertainment was pretty unforgettable (the only singers missing were the Drew Hafer clan). This birthday was the best one yet.

Our New Holiday Tradition

The girls made "gingerbread" houses during the holidays. Prior to making them, I was worried the experience would end with caved in walls and the girls in tears. It was actually super fun and completely stress free. I credit this to the frosting recipe. You won't want to eat it, but your houses will be structurally sound. Greta doesn't like to throw anything away so these houses will linger a few more January days before I sneak them into the trash.

I wanted the girls to wear their new animal knit hats for the photo. They added the coat, scarf, and mittens. In reality it is a warm 50 degrees. 

Greta's Morning

Greta lost her fourth tooth today at recess. She pulled it herself. Number of teeth I pulled from my own mouth as a kid: Zero. Number of teeth Greta has pulled: Three. Her second lost tooth escaped her fingers only because she swallowed it while eating a cupcake.

She was cracking me up with the stories from her day. "There was a mystery today. Tyreece lost his blue coat. There was another mystery. Who is chewing off all of the erasers? Actually, I know it was Preston. I just don't know why." Now that is a true kindergarten mystery.

2012 Challenge

In this months Enisgn Pres. Monson wrote, “I challenge [all] to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life.” We talked as a family about what one thing each of us wanted to do this year.

• Greta wants to go to the museum on reptile night and pet the snake and lizards.
• Lucy wants to go to Alivia's house, the park, and the museum to pet the frogs.
• I want to learn how to sew following a pattern and make a dress for myself.
• Neil would like to compete in two bike races (at least one of them being a century--100 miles long).
• Greta added that she would like to watch her dad's bike races.
• The girls and I also decided we would try to read together every night.

If we can't accomplish these items, I will officially declare 2012 a failure.

Last year at the Boise Zoo where Greta repeated over and over, "This is the best day ever!"

2011 Moments

I thought I wanted to begin this blog from the here and now. Not looking back. While thinking over everything our family has enjoyed and endured during the past year, I realized not mentioning it wouldn't be possible. The year 2011 was unforgettable...........I wouldn't have it any other way.

• January 2011 ended with a miscarriage. I actually had two miscarriages last year. The first one everyone around us knew about. When our friends found out, everyone was really sweet with phone calls and letters. The second miscarriage was kept on the down low. I didn't enjoy the thought of people feeling sorry for me. 
• During the summer we not only grew a garden (that has happened in the past), we also ate the garden vegetables......and we pulled the dead plants out at the end of the season. Watch out organic world, here we come.
• Neil and I took a vacation to San Francisco. We were intimate with (not on) public transportation, saw the redwoods, and Neil bought himself a new NorthFace sleeping bag. Back in Twin Falls Neil discovered the sleeping bag could only comfortably hold his left leg. Because it was a woman's.
• In September Greta Jane started kindergarten. That girl was so excited and beyond ready. On the first day of school she finally had to ask me to leave the classroom (I might have been lingering long after she had sat in her seat and made friends). Greta has a memory that cannot be matched. It is quite entertaining to hear about each of her school days. She includes what all the children did and said as well as how Mrs. Brittain responds......Mrs. Brittain is awesome. Greta loves life!
• In October and November Neil ran for city council. He was absolutely amazing. The girls LOVED seeing their dad's signs everywhere. I, on the other hand, experienced real can't-get-out-of-bed-burst-into-tears anxiety.  Despite being the best candidate, Neil didn't win. Knowing the outcome, Neil would do it again. He met some really good people and will definitely serve the city in other ways.
• In December, Lucy finally had her first haircut. It is an adorable bob. Her favorite phrase is, "Me a big girl." She says it 50 times a day and tries desperately to do anything and everything she sees someone else (Greta) accomplish. That girl always has a twinkle in her eye. I love it!

I feel like 2011 was the year of Elder Wirthlin's "Come what may and love it." It was a year of heartache and joy and now that it is all said and done, we truly did love every minute.

 Neil grew a beard for exactly one month. We were all very proud.