Living, Loving, Learning

Lucy had her very first dance recital last night.  I have to tell you, it was a major dream come true for me.  From the moment the ultrasound tech told me, "It's a GIRL", I started weaving dreams for this wee one.  I am not sure why a dance recital was one of my first and most vivid daydreams, but there it was.  I feel to blessed and thankful that not only did that day come, but Lucy loved it and had an absolute blast participating.  Truly a miracle when one considers the type of child she was for the first 2 1/2 years of her life!  Part of what made this such an extra special experience is that we were able to go through it with a couple of our dearest friends.  It was so fun for me to be able to spend the practices and the flurry of activity leading up to the big night with my dear friend Mandy and also make some new wonderful friendships with other Moms in the process.  So this is the best family photo out of about 20 taken...

I am sooooo super excited and thankful that Lucy is a wee artist. She loves to paint, color, sculpt....all kinds of crafts. She has a super long attention span when she is creating, which is totally awesome! This feels like something that will be a HUGE part of our journey together. This week, some of the Mommy Brigade headed up to Evansville to make some Christmas gifts at the pottery painting store. This is something I did with Griffin in Michigan and was stoked to get an opportunity to do it with Lucy. She had a really awesome time, just picking colors and painting to her heart's content! Mandy and Carlie had a great time too. A big thank you to Mandy for driving us all up there together in her new fancy ride!! Especially since Lucy peed in Mandy's car seat when she fell asleep on the way home - LOL !! Brandy and Myle made some super cute items too. Myles liked painting but LOVED the little bowls of water! It was fun to hear all their great stories from their recent Dis...

Lucy is getting to that magic FUN age that includes ease of portability. She is starting to become really engaged in what is happening around her. She is growing sturdy little legs that keep her up and running all over the place. And best of all, using public potties!! I am eager to start taking her more places!! On Monday we headed out to our local zoo with our friends Mandy, Carly, Brandi and Myles. It is a pretty small zoo, perfect for 3, 2 year olds, on a perfect fall morning. All the kids had a really great time and had so much fun together. So did the Moms!!! We had many laughs together, it was a really joyful day. We can't wait to take more adventures with this group! Do you see the Mama Jaguar and 2 cubs behind us?

We are headed off this afternoon for a week of Spring Breaking...and I intend to do just that - take a break.  I am ready to really enjoy friends and family and this gorgeous spring bounty....a welcome respite.   I probably won't be blogging again until we get settled back home again in a week or so.  Until then, here are a few pictures of Lucy attending the egg hunt at the library. I think her favorite part, as always, was hanging out with Carlie. Wishing you a wonderful week.  May we all be heathy, happy, safe and have ease in living. Big Love to you friends! 

Carlie came over to play yesterday. I was thinking about how both these wee ones live in the shadow of their big brothers. Don't get me wrong, they both have loving, creative, energetic, kind big brothers...but they don't have "girlie" play modeled for them. They live in a world filled with bugs, dinosaurs, cars, trains, knights, pirates and superheros. I decided it was time I start adding some feminine energy to their play, for balance, and what a more perfect time then NOW. After having a tea party, we pulled out the tutus. They each selected their own hat and since we were already playing with the finger puppets...well, now we have something. They absolutely loved flitting around the house, parade style, singing silly songs I was making up about butterflies. We had to stop in the living room for some spinning, so they could really understand the beauty of the tutu. They even had to have a hug, as if to say, "I am having a lot of fun with you!" ...