Halloween

After a month of Lucy telling me she wanted to be a princess or pinkie pie...and for the last week of telling everyone she was going to be Elsa. We went to Trunk or Treat with Lily on Thursday night as a pink princess and then we cave-maned it up with the Solomon Family the next night. I would say Lucy had a good Halloween.
Lucy quote of the night- "That's scary, I tooted"

Lucy's Birthday PARTY

We had Lucy's Birthday Party a week late, all she really knows is there was more cake and presents.

So much fun. Thank you to everyone that came up early to play with us. Lucy had such a good time, She is so spoiled and Loves playing her cousins. 

THREE YEARS OLD!

THREE YEARS OLD...
THREE YEARS OLD...
THREE YEARS OLD...

How does this keep happening? 
Lucy is all princesses and my little ponies! Last month was a good month. We had lots of fun. We made one last trip up to Donnally to the lake for the day. It was a perfect day. The weather was great and the drive was nice. She is a trooper when it comes to traveling, I think I have it all down to a science, movie and snacks at the ready. Traveling coloring books and toys. 
Seems like she grew like a weed this month, some how she has just shot up in height. 
Her imagination is fun. I could watch and listen to her play all day. Her little head seems to always have a song in it. She is always singing. Twinkle, Twinkle is still her favorite. Though while grocery shopping she sang I am a child of God at the top of her lungs. I could have died of cuteness over load. 
Her current favorite movies are Rio and How to train your dragon. Her favorite colors are blue and green. She asked me if she could wear a green dress, so I hunted down one green dress. Which she loves. I tried to put her in pants one morning and she yelled at me "I'm a princess! Princesses wear dresses!" Well excuse me! I am now educated in princess attire! sheesh.... I need to get her some winter dresses and tights. I had kind of hoped that the dress obsession would be over after summer, since its hard to keep her properly warm in the winter with just tights. But that's what princesses wear...
She will no longer let me put her hair in pig tails. So sad, apparently princesses only wear one pony too. I miss the pig tails, and can't wait for their come back. She looks too much older with one.
Her favorite foods would be Mac n' Cheese and chicken nuggets. She also loves to snack on apples and string cheese. I guess on the bright side, main dishes might not be the healthiest but her snacks can make up for it.
I am constantly surprised by the sentences she puts together, and how clearly she speaks. I hear her everyday and then she'll be with her dad for a weekend and I'll talk to her on the phone and I think wow when did she start talking like that! 
She can count and sing her alphabet. She knows her all her my little pony names, even the fake ones we make up are now permanent. 
I love the mornings, she gets up and goes potty, throws away her pull up and puts on her big girl underwear all by herself. And no I can't help. Any time I try I normally pick out the wrong princess panties. I figure at least she knows what she wants.
She and Frank are best buddies. I love it. Some nights when we are running a little behind schedule Frank will go to bed without her in his spot on the end of her bed. She loves to walk, pet and play with him. He is almost her sibling, though I get the impression that he thinks he is protecting her. When in reality I think sometimes he needs protection from her. She sits and lays on him, pulls his ears and tries to poke him in the eye and he just sits and lets her.
She loves puzzles, painting, and playing with stickers. She is always so happy to just do anything. 
I love that I can get her to do small things like put her panties away or sometimes the kitchen towels. I gave her a few hand towels to put in the cupboard, she looked at me, got really wide eyes and said "mom, the baby blankets are all clean! Thank you" Yup... who needs kitchen towels... that's why they make paper towels right?
Her other favorite thing to do is tell me Frank pooped on something if its dirty. While driving home the other night, Frank was sitting on her lap and she says to me "Mom Frank pooping on me". I think I got whip lash from turning around so quickly to see what was really going on. No, Frank didn't poop on her, but she thought she was hilarious.
She has also started to burp and toot...fart and then laugh herself into hysteria... and here I thought it was a boy thing. Never a dull moment with this little girl around. 

Lucy,
On your third Birthday if there is one thing I could convey it would be this. You are loved. I pray that there is never a day in your life where you question it or don't feel it. You are a special little girl and you fill my life with light and joy. You are the strength that keeps me going. Your spirit fills this house. I love to hear you sing and talk. I love to hear the music of your laughter and see your glowing smile. I can not believe how quickly three years have gone and its even crazier to think of all the changes. I can't wait to watch you grow and see all the changes to come in the future. I love you and only want whats best for you.
                                - Mom

September

 Cooler evenings, sweater weather and hearty soups! Welcome Fall!
Lucy, Lucy, Lucy! Where to start with this little girl?!
We walked up to Delsa's ice cream parlor and I bought her and ice cream cone of her very own. She was so funny, her eyes got huge and she didn't even know where to start with it. She whispered "thank you so much!" and then dug in.
She is pretty much potty trained, I still keep an eye on her but for the most part she is there! YAY! She does better if I have a prize for pooping, but it is much better than is was.
She has figured out how to lock and unlock the door knob and the dead lock! and has locked me out of the house a couple of times...She does let me back in so no complaints. Well except for the morning she let mittens and herself out. I have since installed a chain lock up at the top. It scared me pretty bad, I jumped out of bed and threw on clothes running down the hall, hopping that she wouldn't go too far, and thank goodness she was just smelling the flowers in the front yard,
Her favorite movie is probably Rio, she loves the birds and the music. Though she loves to sing just in general and it is amazing how many songs she knows.
Lucy loves to paint and color! Not to mention loves stickers, I found all these cool little sticker background, make your own scene books at the dollar store and they have been a big hit.
We've been kayaking a couple times and She loves it. She asks me every now and then when we can go play in the boat again.
I think she went through another growth spurt, she suddenly seems so tall. and heavy, she loves ridding along in the stroller for runs, but I think I have topped out around 6 miles, anything longer than that and I'm going to have to start getting a sitter and leaving her at home.
Her recent obsession with My Little Pony's has grown quite a bit. She knows all of their names and has a bunch of them to play with. She has a couple that aren't on the show and have names I can't remember and she will ask me who they are. Funny kid, I normally make up a name, sometimes she'll correct me with a previous fake name I gave her.
This little girl is a smarty pants! I'm kind of scared and excited to see what is to come. A glance in to the future, even 3 years would be awesome to see where and what we're doing.

Redfish Life Lesson

While taking a detour looking for our camp. My sister said maybe we should say a prayer. Which I replied, no, we're not quite to that place yet. We knew where the lake was, we knew we had a couple more hours of day light and neither of us were too worried. It ended up taking us a little over an hour to find our camp. But we made it. We joked along the way that we could build a lean-too to sleep in or eat the dog if we were starving, talked about wearing "good" shoes (we were both I flip flops) All the time knowing that we were going to be fine. It took us a little over an hour to find a road that finally lead us back to camp. We laughed and joked the next few days at camp, but today I realized. We should always be at the point to pray. My whole life, not to be dramatic, but I always get past the point of when I should ask for divine help. My little life lesson was this, if we are always asking for help and constantly communicate with our Heavenly Father, we don't have to get lost. (though the views were pretty awesome)

Redfish

Annual Redfish trip was another success! Lucy had a blast. I was a little concerned about how the outhouses would go. Lucy as usual didn't let me down. The first few days they didn't smell so bad. Lucy would walk in, go over to the toilet, lift the lid and say "look Mom, poop!". On the last day she went in and gagged a bit and said it smelled  "gross". I didn't even see her half of the time. She was with cousins or her awesome Aunties. She loved the water, I took her on a little jet ski ride and she seemed ok with it. She loved the chipmunks. and wow they were friendly! Megan's puppy was quite the hit. She asked to hold the baby puppy constantly, but was thankfully ok with going home without it.
I enjoyed running every day without a stroller! I also loved watching my nieces and nephews. I still can't believe that they are all becoming teenagers. I love that they are becoming real people! hehehe It's hard to believe how fast it all happens. I love our camp outs, and I am thankful that we are able to set the time aside and make the effort to do it each year. I have to admit this is the first year I truly looked around and enjoyed the views. I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful country.

 

August here we go!

Last month was a blur of potty training and new schedules!
I wouldn't say we are potty trained yet, but we are so much closer! Little stinker just refuses to poop on the potty! I try and tell her not to poop on her princesses or hello kitty but she is rather stubborn...not sure where she got that...possibly her dad....maybe me. On the bright side she will run in a potty and do her business all by herself. She will then come ask me to wash her hands and ask for her sticker and treat. Yes I stooped to bribery. But guess what! it's worked so far. I bought her a princess Elsa doll that is all hers if she just poops on the potty, but she doesn't seem to heart broken to seem her sit on the shelf...poo. Anyone have any secrets they are willing to share? The one time I got her to do it...was complicated and there were tears, and then she started to dry heave...really, not when its sitting in her pants, but when its in a toilet...
I have been playing guitar again, it's been coming back ...with lots of practice. My current song I've been trying to master is The Only Exception. Which Lucy knows all the words to now, it's pretty cute. I was practicing the other day and I looked over at her and there she sat, surrounded by babies and barbies with her fingers in her ears and says "no more, mom!" Maybe I'm not improving like I had thought! What is it that they say about out of the mouths of babes?
We have also been running in the mornings, I wasn't sure how she would do but she loves it! When we get up in the morning she asks if we are going for a run. Last week when the smoke was so bad I made it out about a mile before I realized. My eyes were burning and that this wasn't good for either of us to be out, so I started to walk back. Lucy then yells,"Faster! Mom! Faster!".
Last week during our longest run yet, we were nearing the end and I was spent when she says "you're a good runner, mom. Good job". Where does she get this stuff? She's so funny.
When I pick her up from daycare I ask her how her day was and if she had fun or if she colored anything. And she has started asking me the same thing, it's so funny to hear her say"did you have fun today!"
She loves to paint! I can't keep enough supplies in the house. I feel like I am always buying painting paper or paints. I noticed that her coloring has improved. She is good at keeping in the lines when she concentrates.
We ran up to McCall last weekend and rented a kayak for the day. She loved it, and loves the water. Everyday since she has asked if we're gonna go play on a boat.
Its hard to keep up with this child, it seems like everyday there is something new. She talks so well and clearly. She is always singing new songs of her own or picking up the lines to other songs.
She has also started to read to me before bed. It is amazing how quickly they can memorize stories. I love it.
Her eating habits have turned into that of a traditional toddler, except for the fact that she will eat broccoli everyday all day.