Happy 4th Birthday, Dear Lucy!

Lucy as Flowergirl 11.11.11

I can't believe our little Lucy is four now!  What an amazing little girl we have!  Lucy continues to be so precocious...she is the most quick witted, sharp, and funny child!  She constantly blows us away with her intellectual questions.  She is just so smart!  She is still my little lover, she always comes over for hugs and always shows affection.  She adores her sister, who isn't as into PDA as Lucy is, so Lucy is always trying to catch her for a little hug.  Lucy is the first one to say "I love you" to her family.  Everyone says there is no one like Lucy, especially her teachers at the Children's Workshop.  She is in Mrs. Moyle's 3 year old class now.  She started off 2 days per week, but was just bored at home with Finn and I, or with Ruth when I am working.  I asked if she could be add another day, and a spot recently opened, so now she goes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9-3pm.  She stays the whole day and enjoys having lunch with her buddies.

For Lucy's 4th birthday party, she wanted a girls-only Princess Tea party!  We had 17 little girls come dressed as a princesses (and one prince charming).  We decorated with tea sets and flowers, and we did makeup and nails, and a made princess crowns as a craft!  We had tea sandwiches, cake pops, cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, and cake.  The party was so calm...I couldn't get over it!  All the girls waited so patiently in line to get their makeup and nails done! I was actually sitting down and chatting with some of the moms!  Lucy really loves her friends and they love her!  She seems motherly to some of them, probably because she is one of the oldest in her class.

Lucy still has the tiniest little body!  She is so petite!  At her 4 year old well-check, she weighed 35 lb (50th percentile) and is 40 7/8" tall (75th percentile).  She got her 4 year old shots and did so well, she cried at first, then shook them off (the ice pop from the doctor definitely helped!)

Lucy still has the fastest metabolism!  Its a running joke that as soon as she eats, she's got to "go".  She usually uses the bathroom in the middle of dinner, so Kenny or I have to go in and wipe her! She is definitely a bit on the clumsy side, she will trip over her own feet sometimes!  She frequently falls off our bar stools or the bathroom stool. She has even named on of our bar stools the "busted stool," since she busted her toe on it!  I think it's because  she walked to early, she's still physically catching up to where her mind is!  She played soccer this year with Delaney and tried so hard!  We moved her up a level to be on the same team as Delaney and her buddies, so it was hard playing against older kids.  She did make one goal, and was always cheering on her big sister!

I came across this idea of a yearly interview online.  The following are Lucy's answers, word for word:

Name: Lucy
Favorite Food: macaroni and cheese
Favorite Sport: "soccer,, I made two goals"
Favorite TV show: Super Wy
Coolest person on earth: "God, he's the tallest dad" then she said "Lily"
Favorite thing about school: playing outside
The thing I do the most awesomely: play soccer
If I could change my name it would be: Rapunzel
If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go: Sea World (hehe...we are surprising them and going TOMORROW!!!)
Favorite toy: Cinderella's carriage
Favorite Color: pink
When I grow up, I want to be: a cowgirl, work on a farm
Favorite Movie: Rapunzel (Tangled)
Favorite Song: "I Know You, I Walked with You Once Upon a Dream"- from Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Book: Peter Pan
Three words that describe me: "what does describe mean?" "happy, beautiful, I love myself"
When I was little, I used to: "open books"
Favorite season: "Valentime's Day", Christmas, winter
The snack I could live on: fruit snacks
Food I don’t like: the green spinach, burritos
Best friend: Lily
If I had one wish, it would be: "that I was a fairy princess"
My best memory: "going to Disney"
Why I love Finn: "tuz I want to play with him"
Why I love Delaney: "tuz I want to sleep with her and she never lets me"
Why I love Daddy: "tuz I always sit next to him"
Why I love Mommy: "I play with her everyday"


We love you Lucy, you are the most loving, joyful child!

10 Months Old!

Kenny and I cannot believe that Finn is 10 months old...our baby is growing up so fast!  His latest and greatest is that he now stands up on his own, without holding on, and just kinda stands there!  He gets so proud of himself!  He also now does the touchdown sign, Gator chomp, and is trying to imitate a cow mooing! He likes to yell at the top of his lungs until his air runs out, especially at dinner time to get some attention.  He also has been a big trouble maker- into everything!  The girls know to make sure all the bathroom doors are closed so he doesn't try getting into the toilets!  Some of his adventures this month include climbing into the dishwasher every time it is open, dumping out the package mix from the pantry, unraveling the toilet paper, and standing at the toilet with his hands wrapped around the inside of the bowl (ewwww!).  Kenny and I were laughing the other night as we were reading books to the kids...we have video of Delaney at his age calmly sitting in our laps, reading along with "Pat the Bunny", doing all the hand gestures and pointing.  Cut to Finn, who is literally standing up without holding on, then tackling me, flipping over my extended legs onto his head, grabbing the book, trying to bite it, as I am trying to read to him.  Such a boy, focused on the gross motor versus the girl and the fine motor!  But we love it!

He now weighs 21lb and is 28" long.  He wears 12 month clothes, and along with the crawling is now beginning to walk with a push toy!  He now has 4 teeth!  His 3rd tooth came in 10/23/11 (top right), and his 4th tooth came in 11/16/11 (top left).  He eats mostly table food now, I rarely defrost any of the baby food anymore!  He has 4 bottles per day and 3 meals.  He loves his morning yogurt and banana!  We are trying to focus on getting him to eat some meat, as that is the hardest thing for us to prepare for him.

He also unfortunately suffered from Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease this month, which was kindly passed to him from Lucy who must have picked up the germs from her classroom at school.  Neither the girls nor Kenny and I got it, since we must have already had it (you only get it once in a lifetime).  It is a virus that causes sores on your hands, feet, mouth, and BUTT, but especially inside of your mouth and causes kids to not want to eat because it is painful.  Apparently the girls had it, but we never knew as it is easily mistaken for a regular cold if you don't get bad sores, which Finn did.  He still has a few visible red spots on his knees, and it has been 3 weeks!

Finn also celebrated his first Halloween this past month!  We originally got him a Garden Gnome outfit, but he did not tolerate the beard/hat part of it at all!  So we just switched to a good 'ol Gator football player, complete with eye black and everything!  It was very fitting- he looked adorable!  We went to the neighborhood block party and just as we were about to head out to trick or treat, it started to rain!  Finn was such a trooper as we waited out the little showers and jumped through the puddles!  He loved watching all the kids from his perch in the wagon!  I even took him to a few of the last houses we stopped at and he got so excited, kicking his feet, like he knew it was something special and out of the ordinary!

We went down to Ft. Lauderdale the month and Finn got to hang out with some of Kenny's side of the family, and meet some of the for the first time!

I also gave Finn a haircut one day, as his bangs were starting to hang into his face again!  I am kind of proud of myself...I just stuck him in his highchair outside and cut it, with scissors and all!  Finn continues to adore his sisters, and reacts with such love and excitement when he sees them, especially when I pick Delaney up from school!  We all love this boy so much and he fits us perfectly!!

Gator Homecoming Game

We went to Gainesville for our annual homecoming trip with the Quigleys.  We didn't get tickets since we had the babies (Olivia is 3 months old).  We went to the O'Dome and the the Alumni Hall on a search for Albert but no such luck. Kenny and I decided that if we found cheap tickets we would take the kids in, at least for a little bit. Walking around campus we started asking about ticket prices and were able to buy fout together for $5 each in the 7th row of the south endzone! I swear Finn likes the game better than his sisters did! He had some soft pretzel, cheered when the crowd did, and shook his legs with excitement! The Gators beat Vanderbilt 26-21! Great day to be a Florida Gator!   It was