Leigh Gracen

Age:  20 months

Favorite fashion statement:  Her coral vest. She's my vest girl.

Favorite activities:  using markers and putting the caps back on, flipping through books, copying Lucy's every movement, jumping off the ottoman and hopefully landing on the couch, and attempting to put on her own pants (big deal!!!)

Favorite foods:  string cheese, pirate booty, applesauce pouches, noodles and cereal bars.  She actually eats healthier than this list. But, if she could have one last meal, I'm guessing this is it.

Leigh's personality: Easiest. child. EVER.  It's amazing to Joe and me every day.  We thought all kids freaked out ALL THE TIME about little things not not being able to find the random bouncy ball that we got for free 3 weeks ago.  She rarely has any sort of opinion, although she is starting to get possessive over her things, probably because Lucy is incredibly smart and asks Leigh (who says yes to any question) if she wants Lucy to finish her snack or let Lucy pick the game/show/music in the car.  Manipulated every time.  But, she's incredibly sweet - always saying bye to strangers, waving to dogs walking down the street and asking us to put her to bed.  How did we get this child?!!

Favorite books:  100 Baby Words, Go Dog Go, It's Okay to be Different, Puppy Love (from Aunt Pat) and Yummy Yucky. 

Words:  She attempts to say everything - we communicate all day - but only I can make it out.  In my mind, we have full conversations but as I think about it, I can't actually think of any words we have mastered outside of the normal (mommy, daddy, puppy, duck).  She says "again" "show" "Fia" (to watch Sophia with Lucy at bedtime"  and "cheese" to take a picture."  We're making progress on vocabulary, but I love her attempts at talking with Lucy by the saying the last syllable of each word and will miss it when she can actually talk :)

Lucy Alexandra

Time for a little update on the girls.  Up first is Lu. 

Her first official school picture! I love that her hair is kind of messy because it is ALWAYS messy - perfectly captures her 4 years old.  But, they could have straightened her dress.  I also love how her smile has changed so much.  This is her big girl smile I guess. 

Lucy:  Age 4

Favorite things:  Jump-roping around the house, forward and backward, and sometimes using a jacket or blanket as a jumprope when her yellow one isn't handy; putting on a show with daddy and Leigh in the basement, anything art-related and being the "salt girl" at every meal.  Don't salt food without asking the salt girl if she wants to. 

Favorite fashion statement: Tying a sweater around her waist, which was taught to her during recess from her "best friend" Julia in the 1st grade class.  She also loves all her headbands and wears a skirt under her dress most days. She's a dress kind-of-girl and like all past seasons, has a favorite that will be seen in pictures all fall. 

Biggest "Big Girl Moment" this year: Walking into school/classroom all by herself like the big kids at St. James. I drop her off at the curb and off she goes into the big school!

Best Friends:  Julie (1st grade), Claire and Aubrey (her PK4 class.)  She recently drew our family and included 4 kids - Lucy, Leigh, Claire and Aubrey.

Favorite Foods: Angel hair with red sauce, Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza, Annie's fruit snacks, string cheese, and hummus - which has been on the list consistently since she started eating. 

Favorite Books:  Pinalicious, Berenstain Bears, Clifford and anything princess...and lately Halloween books.  

Favorite Show:  Sofia the First

Favorite Game:  Tag

Most random thing she started saying: "For Sure"

Lucy Turns 4 and Takes Over Woodfield Mall (Last Month)

We made it to 4!! And with each year comes less urgency on blog updates.

We started off Lucy's special day a little different - kind of like Christmas morning! We left all her gifts wrapped at breakfast because she was so excited the night before. We let her open them first thing and Xmas Winnie was a hit! She lost him a few years ago and saw him in a picture recently and randomly started crying about missing him (I know what traits she gets from me.)  So, we called up Amazon Prime and wa-la! She also got an Anna dress, some My Little Pony toys, and some Frozen things and a Frozen sweatshirt.

We asked Lucy what she wanted to do for her bday since she didn't have school (phew, not sure I could have handled crying all the way to her classroom on her bday!).  She never changed her mind once - she was going to Build-A-Bear and the Disney Store at Woodfield.

It was a dream day for any 4 year-old.  Lucy and Leigh got to pick out their "stuffies" to make - Lucy made a Hello Kitty and Leigh made a Princess Palace Pet.  Then we went to the Disney Store and Lucy had $20 burning in her pocket from my Aunt Pam. She looked around for a long time and decided on these magnetic Elsa gloves that pick up ice castle pieces.  Then we headed to lunch at Rainforest Cafe, which the girls loved.  We ended the day with Lucy's favorite noodles for dinner and an ice cream cake!

Happy belated bday sweet girl!! 4 has already been such a big year for you. Just a few weeks into school and you are showing so much independence (walking to your classroom all by yourself from the big front doors of the school!), talking about your "best friend" at school (which means you have friends), helping us so much with Leigh (helping her walk down the stairs, helping her put her shoes on) and learning so much more at school than we thought possible for a preschooler (you taught me a compound word a few weeks ago and then I tried to teach you one and daddy reminded me that it actually wasn't one, so you are already smarter than me.)  I say it every year, but I think 4 will be our best year ever.  Love you!!!!

Kate and Vern's Wedding Weekend

Life is finally getting back to "normal" after an amazing weekend (two weekends ago but it took me a full week to recoup) in Charleston for Kate and Vern's wedding, which was beautiful and perfect!  There's so much to love about Charleston - it's one of the cutest cities we have visited and the food was amazing.  Joe and Rob should know. They spent about 3 days eating and drinking while us girls did wedding-ish things.  But, we enjoyed every second of the trip.  Day 1 we missed the girls.  Day 2 and 3 we got used to getting to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted and it was honeymoon #2.  Day 4 - what kids? Day 5, we missed the girls and couldn't wait to get home!!

The wedding was like out of a Southern Mag, which is pretty impressive as Kate and my parents planned this event from Chicago with only one visit to Charleston.  Who knew they had such great taste?  Their venue, Old Wide Awake Plantation, was gorgeous with a huge wrap around balcony for cocktails and dinner under a tent.  And, probably the most amazing part of the night was that my dad had chosen to surprise Kate with a father/daughter dance to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."  Thanks to a little rain after the ceremony, right before their dance, a full rainbow appeared.  Someone was definitely shining down on them that night.  

After a year of planning, I think we all can't believe it's over.  But, being the 3rd and final wedding my parents have hosted, Kate and my parents really did plan what I think it one of the most memorable weekends ever!!! Next time we see Kate and Vern, they will just be a boring married couple :)