Well all I can say is balancing work and Lucy is HARD WORK! Some how the days fly by. Lucy is growing up so fast.
She is recently addicted to the movie Tangled. Which she calls Tangles. She sings and dances along. And always asks where the witch went at the end when she falls out of the tower. She also asks/looks for her purple princess dress whenever it is on.
This month she has started saying I love you. Its the best three word sentence out of her mouth. I love hearing it. Her other favorite phrases are "Frank potty outside", " its hungry time", "mom wake up!", "ah, man!" and either "I'm making cookies" or "I'm making eggs"
She's added Happy Birthday, Jesus want me for a sunbeam and let it go to her list of songs. Itsy Bitsy Spider still seems to be her favorite.
She loves to read and play with her babies.
She loves to eat ice and Mac n' Cheese. I have recently made it a goal to cook a real recipe at least once, trying for twice a week. Which is always challenging but, we eat a bit healthier and left overs are nice to have for lunches.
Along with my cooking goal I have added staying off my ipad and phone until Lucy is in bed. Which is sometimes challenging but we are finding better sources of entertainment (outside of Tangles) we read, color, do puzzles,play with play dough and babies, work on numbers and go over colors and shapes. And it is just getting nice enough to walk Frank again.
It seems impossible to sit and think of everything new she is doing this past month. Her vocabulary has grown quite a bit and it seems like she is putting bigger sentences together. Her stories are getting longer and sometimes understandable.
She is a total animal lover. She is obsessed with kitties lately. Anytime Mittens is around she wants to cuddle him and then make him lay down so she can cover him up with a blanket...which he is not as good about as Frank is. So normally it ends up with her yelling at him to lay down and he is running for any exit he can find. Though I think he must kind of like it since he lets her catch him on occasion.
While cleaning up Frank poop outside the other day, She realized that Frank actually poops outside. She looked at me and said "Frank poops outside?" And I said "Yes, Frank poops outside". She looked thoughtful for a minute and said "Mama poop in the potty?" And I said "yup, Mama poops in the potty" Which she got quiet again, So I asked her "Where does Lucy poop?" And she responded with a big smile, "In my pants!" I then asked her when she wants to poop in the potty and she said no thanks... We will get there.
Seems like she is getting more and more expressive in good and not so good ways. But with the screaming fits, words and demands are starting to be said which in some ways makes life easier.Sometimes it makes saying no or walking away that much harder. I swear she knows just which buttons to push to make me cave!
We went to the Aquarium again last week and she loved it! She loved the low pools with little guppies that they have to play in. She still wasn't so sure of the sting rays. She would put her hand in until they came close and then she would grab on to me. She also liked touching the starfish. They had stools all around and she gloomed on to one and carried it around to the different displays. She loved being able to climb up and see them by herself. She was rather passionate about wanting to touch the Jellyfish, but with all the displays it was easy to distract her.
I'm excited to see what summer adventures will come. And I'm so grateful for this sweet little girl.
Walked in the door and I noticed Lucy stunk a bit. So I asked her "are you poopy?" which she responded "no poopy, I fart". Well at least she knows the difference.
Goodness January was a little but slower than December which was kind of nice. Though this kid just keeps on growing like a weed.
She loves markers, and play dough. Whenever we color I always point to a color and ask which one it is, I recently noticed that she knows all her colors. She will point to a color and say "what's that?" and If I say "what's that?" she will tell me the color. Play dough is fun with her, she calls it snakes and all we do is roll snakes. She loves it.
Her favorite food by far is mac n' cheese , Chicken nuggets are a close second. Though she still loves her apples and grapes.
She is such a little ham in front of the camera! I don't think she will suffer from low self-esteem. She likes to tell peoples she's cute. And when we get done brushing her teeth and doing her hair she says "ooo, I so pretty"
She has also started dressing herself and insisting on going out that way. She had on purple pants, and orange and grey shirt and a pink dress over it with her brown boots, Justto go to the store. Today I dressed her in a under shirt with a little jacket and a skirt and tights, She added a hot pink vest and her coat and a blue tutu. The kid has style...
We sat down to breakfast this morning and she said "prayers, mom" so I folded my arms and bowed my head and was just about to start when she said them! "heavenly father...bless food...thankful... amen!" So sweet.
I use to go in after she fell asleep and hold her and try and soak in all her babyness. I went in tonight and held her, its sad and exciding all at the same time. She is no longer a little baby burrito swaddled and sweet but a long legged and armed little girl. Her legs fall off my lap and her arms reach around me. I remember squeezing her little arms and the smell of her hair. Rubbing her cheeks and tucking her hair behind her ear. Last week before he nap I held her and felt her little hands squeeze my arms and pat my cheeks tuck my hair and grab my ears. How is it time can be so cruel and pass so quickly?
We always read books before bed. The other night I sat down to read to her and she said "no I read it" She said a bit about each page, apparently it was a comedy because she would laugh and point at the pictures and say "see mama" and I would say :"yup I do" It seemed to help her with her story.
Love that she plays with her babies, and animals and even Barbie gets a place at the table. She will place all her toys around the table and the proceed to feed them, while doing so she will talk on the phone ( her banana) and sometimes say "no" or my personal favorite "say please" (which sounds like peas). When I ask her who she is talking to she is almost always talking to "Av".
We did a little science experiment with some baking soda and colored white vinegar. She loved it! Kept her busy for almost an hour!
Its been an interesting last couple of weeks. I have struggled more, but haven't been able to pin point why until recently. This past year has been hard but I kept telling myself whatever is suppose to happen will. That I know I will be put where I need to be. I kept reminding myself that I have no control and that I was in the Lords' hands. I feel like I have been able to come to grips with this, that this is not a place of great planning for the future but a place that will get me where I need to be. Recently I've had to realize that the same goes for Lucy. Though I would love to be able to protect her from everything there is out there, I can't. That all I can do is make sure I raise a strong young women that knows she is loved and supported, and that she too has a Heavenly Father that loves her. He loves her more than I do and that I need to trust him more. I think in times of trial we all need to remember that, Heavenly Father loves us and only wants what's best. We just have to trust in him.
Anyways, its been a good month :)
It's funny the things life does to you. For instance, coming home tonight from shopping I realized my house is empty, how sad. Where if this was to have happened a couple of years ago I would have been happy to enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad or depressed. I am feeling good. I've been working on my resolutions, yes statistically New Years resolutions only last until the end of February. But really, it think I'm gonna stick with it. I must admit that choking down my own advice has been the hardest!
It's been an uneventful January so far. Just working and trying to keep my head above water. I'm starting to think that maybe being single isn't so bad. What's wrong getting to know yourself again? Though the rule the world, concur my demons feelings have faded and left me soul searching but at the same time, I have an inner peace I haven't felt for a very long time, if ever. I am excited to start moving forward, knowing that I have some things to work on. But being able to "label" or recognize the issue has been liberating and helped me know how to better deal with it.
Lucy has been sick on and off for the past couple weeks. Got to love daycare! I've started paying more attention to what she is saying and wow she uses lots of sentences and words. I'm told to enjoy this stage where she doesn't talk back and takes direction well. It still surprises me when she does things I ask her. I asked her to go get a diaper the other day and she ran to her room came back grabbed one of her chairs, took it down to her room and got a diaper and wipes! She's pretty good at problem solving, though she will drop things and scream and point at them, till I tell her to pick it up, and then she will and be happy again...makes lots of sense...
This morning, Frank started to bite his back feet and she runs over next to him and says "I bit feet too" and stuck her foot in her mouth.
The best part was after her bath the other day she was dancing in the mirror saying "shake your booty" I got some of it on video, until she noticed and came at me saying " I want see it"
Its funny how a little 25 lb girl can fill my house. Lucy is the light and love in my life. I watch her and can't believe how big she is getting. She loves her babies. I love when she tucks them into her bed and turns her fan on for them to sleep. Or she will lay them out across the floor in my kitchen towels and put them to sleep or go down the row and feed them, asking them "want some?" I have to laugh when I look over at Frank in his basket and he is tucked in with a towel.
Some mornings she comes into my room calling "wake up mama! Outside Frank!" When the Christmas tree was up she would run into the front room saying "tree on!" She loves Christmas lights.
She has diffidently learned the magic of please, Though she uses it only when she really wants something.
My favorite story this month was when Lucy found a figure skater ornament and she ran up to me and said "it's a mommy!" So funny
I love to listen to her sing. She is so happy, and it surprises me how many songs she has learned.
I am constantly surprised by how much she understands. The other day she asked me for a snack and I told her she had to put her chairs back by her table and then I would get her a snack. I turned around and she put one away and was coming back for the other one.
I am also not so sure how to handle the 2's stage. There are times she will just lay on the floor and cry, and I will have no idea what or why she is crying about. I will be happy when she learns just a few more words can tell me.
Good bye 2013, you were a year of pain, new beginnings and growth. I have learn lots and hope that I got the lessons clearly because I don't want to be taught them again.
Since I have always believed that you only start a year with people that you want to end it with, I celebrated with a party of one. Because I'm pretty sure, I'm gonna be here next year.
Happy 2014! I have decided that this is my year, no matter what anyone else says. It's going to be a good year. I am not afraid of being by myself, I am OK with my thoughts. Seems like the voices in my head are getting along well, these days. Though they agree that they have some changing to do. I was told along time ago that if you share your resolutions, you are more likely to stick with them since the accountability factor goes up. So here it goes
My resolutions are
I will learn to let go of things that weigh me down. Simply because they are getting to heavy or hurt too much.
I will remember that I have no control of other peoples choices, and even when it effects my life. I still choose how it effects me
I will have no regrets this year, just lessons learned
I will run 2 half marathons (even if it kills me)
I will take time to slow down and enjoy where I am in life
I will be myself, I often mold myself to who ever I am around out of fear of rejection, but from now on-I will be me.
I will choke down my own advice
I will stop pushing people away, and learn to accept help
I will rededicate myself to my callings and responsibilities I have let slip.
I will stress less...hahahaha...I'll try
I am excited to see how much Lucy will grow this year. Its fun to look back at pictures and remember what she was doing last year compared to this year. And it just keeps getting better.
Onward and upward we go, can't wait to see what I'm doing this time next year.
Merry Christmas!
Christmas was a little different this year. I worked Christmas Eve and Lucy went to her Dads house for the day so we opened her presents that night. She was rather excided about her cot! Silly kid. We put cookies out for Santa, but I'm not sure she got the concept. Even when she found the empty plate and toy...Katie flew in from Texas on Christmas day. I picked her up from the airport and we headed to the salon to make her more beautiful. We realized I hadn't done her hair since I was in school and she wanted to see how almost 10 years of experience had improved my mad hair skills. And I think I passed the test, She look good when we were done :)
After picking up Lucy from her Dads house. We made our way down to Kimberly to Tasha's house, and waited for the rest of the crew to join us the next day. We had so much fun sledding and playing games. Mandi put together an awesome slide show of pictures and the kids put on the nativity scene and Mandi also played the violin for us.The best surprise was Kim's. Traditionally she makes us all awesome, homemade stockings. This year she did that and gave us one of my Dad's bears out of his huge collection. It made the weekend a little more special. The next day just the ladies were able to get away for some quality sister, sister time.
Not sure if I should include this, but this year has been a hard one. I feel like I have lost a lot. Being with my family made me realize how much I have. I missed a lot of events in the past, but I'm happy to know that there will be many, many more to see and support in the future. I love my crazy 3 ring circus family and can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have you all. Thank you for all you do and loving me and Lucy.
