Hard to believe when we can still remember this:
Or even this:
But all of a sudden, she's this big!
At two and a half, she continues to amaze us and make us proud. She often also makes us incredibly crazy...but I guess that's normal, too?
We took dance class over the summer and Lucy really seemed to like it...it took her a few weeks to really get into it enough to do the dances along with her teachers but that was also the case with several of her classmates. I decided to enroll her again for the fall - which is a much longer session. She gets excited talking about it and loves getting her pretty dance clothes on...but in class, she WON'T DANCE! She just stands there!
Two weeks in equalled 60 total minutes on not dancing...at dance class. Every single one of her classmates danced each week and they all seem to love it. Lucy alternated between watching them and looking at herself in the mirror - but she did not dance. I got increasingly frustrated (which probably didn't help). Her super sweet teacher assured me this is normal and she'll start dancing.
But my girl? She does as she pleases. So we'll just see.
I have resorted to bribery, I must admit. She's used to going to the "ice cream store" after class and on Monday night she started asking for ice cream. I told her no but if she danced pretty in class on Wednesday, we could go afterward.
Then I asked, "Are you excited for dance class tomorrow?"
Lucy: "Yes! Me wear pretty dress! The one Donna bought for me!"
Me: "Are you going to dance in class?"
Lucy: "No."
Ugh! We could stay home and wear pretty dresses for FREE!
Headed into just-stand-there class...
But my girl decided to throw me a bone last night. She started off normally (standing, staring, not dancing...) but all of a sudden, I guess the voice in her head told her to dance...and she did! And she danced well! I was so happy, so proud, so relieved! And for the first time this session, a couple of the other girls had moments of not dancing as well!
She amazes us with her vocabulary and she seems to know every word in the dictionary! Seriously, her vocabulary is extensive and she seems incredibly advanced and smart to us, though we really have no basis for comparison and we are her proud parents... |
| My little dancer earned her ice cream! |
But she speaks quite clearly and most people can understand most of what she says. She's becoming a bit of a mocking bird so we might need to watch it a little...
Dave told me about this happening at my parents' house recently. I think they were all watching football and my dad yelled, "Jesus!" and Lucy repeated him. He tried to quickly correct himself: "Jeezel petes" but Lucy held onto the original: "Jesus petes!"
Not long ago Lucy kept scolding her doll, Kate. "Dammit, Kate!"
It was kind of scary, I must say! Poor Kate! Dave admitted he says, "dammit" sometimes but I haven't heard either of them say it again in weeks.
A couple of weeks ago, Dave was giving Lucy a bath. Apparently she was trying to put some of her bath toys into their bag and they kept falling out and, from the kitchen, I heard her yell, "Oh, hell no!" Hahahahaha...that one she got from her mama! She said it again outside one day when she dropped her Popsicle. It's soooooo hard not to laugh! Scratch that...it was impossible. I laughed. A LOT. Luckily it didn't seem to encourage her because she hasn't said it since but I am trying to stop saying so much...
She's become a fun little dinner companion. One night, a few minutes after we sat down to eat she looks at Dave and says, "So. Daddy. Thanks for making this dinner."
She often asks us how our days were! "So, Mama, how was yours day?"
One night at dinner, she said her food was "delicious!"
 |
| Delicious! |
Her teacher at school commented after Lucy's first week that she kept asking her to play, "Play with me, Miss Megan!" She loves adult attention! Now that she's been there almost two months, Megan says she's noticed an improvement in this area...she said Lucy still seems to prefer to play on her own the majority of the time but she has warmed up to a couple of the kids and will play with them occasionally.
 |
| She loves these boys...even if she isn't always good at showing it! |
We went to my family reunion a couple of weeks ago. It was at a park so she was in heaven.
Scaling a tree...
 |
| Hanging out in a tunnel... |
 |
| Such a serious little cookie monster! |
Since I hauled her whiny butt out of the library without checking anything out, we went back after dance class last week and she was a much nicer girl. She got to ride the horse:
She loves doing crafts so the library was right up her alley. She made this tree at school and wanted to make another one at home:
She loves going on "adventures" so last week we decided to go to the Levee after school and work. First we went to the Aquarium, then we went to Five Guys for dinner (Lucy chowed down on a burger and fries but would seriously sit there and eat a bowlful of ketchup with a spoon if we let her...). Next we went to Barnes and Noble to look and play around and finally, Lucy was given some blue ice cream from one of Dave's "running girls" who works at Cold Stone Creamery.
 |
| She said she loves this shark... |
Potty training isn't going so great.
She has gone at home many times, though she often fights it. She has a potty chart and she earns prizes when she gets a whole row of stickers. When she does go, she gets very proud of herself and she loves all of the attention we give her. We even hear her reenacting such scenes with her babies.
She has yet to go at school. They also have potty charts there and Lucy apparently acts like she could care less. Sometimes she'll sit on the potty for her teacher but yesterday she refused and told Miss Megan, "I not a big girl."
Wonderful.
Because she's so cute, we'll probably keep her despite her frustrating personality!
Lucy got a ring from her grandma for her baptism...lately she's been obsessed with the jewelry box Aunt Amy got her and she likes to look at her ring as well as the bracelets Aunt Jessi and cousin Alli made for her (we can still get one of the bracelets on her growing wrist!). She likes to try the ring on and while it's still a little loose, it almost fits!
Here are her 2.5 stats:
Weight - 34 pounds
Height - 3 feet
She's getting slightly better about trying things, food-wise. She ate bakes beans at school! She's eaten them on more than one occasion now! And today she ate corn! She usually refuses corn so this is a big deal!
Part of the problem with trying new things is that she is such a creature of habit. Like for breakfast - every morning she takes a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios. Sometimes she pairs it with a banana and sometimes she pairs it with a yogurt tube but those are really the only variables.
She does love sandwiches but won't try PB&J. She'll eat turkey, salami or ham and shows no real preference between the three.
She cracks us up at snack time, though. Sometimes she'll request something we don't want her to have. If we say no, her backup choice is often much more appropriate and agreeable but not really comparable...like last night, she really wanted cookies. Dave had eaten all of the cookies so it wasn't an option anyway. She had to make a backup choice - yogurt! She has also been known to choose grapes or blueberries in place of Oreos or ice cream!
The girl does love cake, though! We went to my Granny's birthday party last weekend and on the way home, I asked her what her favorite part of the night had been. "The cupcake!"
 |
| Happy birthday, Grandpa! |
Bedtime with this kid has always been a bit tricky. We had a really good rhythm going for the past several months but it seems to have come to a stop. I'd take her up (or sometimes Dave would) at 9ish and we'd read a couple of books. A recent favorite, borrowed from the library, is Thirsty Baby. After anywhere from one to three books, I'd put an awake Lucy in her bed and she'd go to sleep. Usually, I'd sit in her rocking chair for up to 10 minutes while she fell asleep. Lately, though, it's more like 9:15 before we go up and more like 10pm before we come down. She's been taking longer naps at school, which may be contributing to this and we may have some bad news for her teacher (don't let her sleep so late / long!)...
But we love her, we love her, we love her!!
