Lucy's 8th Birthday

Lucy's birthday was next in our three weeks of celebrations and after seeing what Emma received on her birthday, changed her mind about several things that she wanted on hers.  This added some stress to some last minute shopping, but it all worked out in the end.  Here Lucy is below, getting her birthday balloons the day before her birthday and then coming down the steps on the morning of her birthday.  Violet never ever sleeps in, but chose the morning of Lucy's birthday to do just that so Lucy took a shower while she waited for Violet to wake up.  When Violet was still sleeping, we decided to let Lucy go downstairs and see her present stack but that she would have to wait until Violet woke up to open them.  This was mild torture for Lucy, but I kept reminding her that a cranky Violet would be torture all day, and that waiting to open presents a little bit longer would be a small price to pay for a happy little sister.

When Violet finally woke up at the time that probably most kids regularly wake up, Lucy jumped in to opening up her presents.  When Lucy had seen the giant Lego set that Emma had received for her birthday, she informed us that she wanted a big Lego set for her birthday too.  We reminded her that we were getting her a bike for her birthday which equaled the cost of the Lego set Emma received.  Fortunately, we had not bought the bike yet, and so we gave Lucy the option of a used bike and a Lego set, or just a new bike.  She chose the used bike and new Lego set option and so Will and I had twelve days to find a bike on Craigslist and a Lego set to fit the bill.  

 Unfortunately the Lego set did not arrive in time and when Lucy opened up a game that was shaped like a Lego set (Will and I did not realize this detail at the time) she informed us that, "I'm not going to lie, I am upset that this is a game and not a Lego set."  Will and I started laughing and told her that because she changed her mind at the last minute, her Lego set was still in the mail.  It was a bummer she didn't get to build it on her birthday, but she had plenty of other things to play with including a little felt sewing set, a new Barbie, a new-to-her bike to ride and some books to read.  

After she finished opening her presents, we headed to the local cider mill that was open for it's spring pressing. We enjoyed breakfast there, and then played by the creek for a while.  Will was under dressed for the outing, and so we wrapped him in the girls jackets to help keep him warm.  The man wears shorts as soon as the thermometer hits 50 degrees or higher and hasn't yet learned that 50 degrees is not warm enough to have bare legs!

For lunch, we got take out from Lucy's favorite sub shop and then took a walk/bike ride to the cemetery in our neighborhood where the girls and I had spotted a field of white violets earlier in the week.  We laid our picnic blanket next the the violet patch and enjoyed a nice lunch with only three cups of spilled lemonade.

Lucy spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying her new presents, and then had a dance practice that she and Emma had to attend.  Will stayed home and made Lucy's request of tacos for dinner and so when we came back from practice, dinner was ready.

 Lucy also requested a chocolate bumpy cake from the local bakery downtown, and was excited to see that they had written her name in white chocolate on a thin, square piece of chocolate.

 After dinner we measured Lucy on the growth chart and thus ended our birthday celebrations.  The day went by too fast for sure, and since then we have overheard Lucy tell her sisters or various other people that "since I am an adult now, I can do that."  I think she may be confused on the legal definition of an adult.  Ten more years my girl, and let's hope they go by sweet and slow!

Happy birthday to my sassy, smart, creative and beautiful girl.  You continue to be our rainbow after the sadness of losing Luke and we are proud of the person you are growing into.  Lucy and I often come to blows as we are both stubborn and know what we want.  We are also both leaders and have ideas that we want to share with others.  We also are dangerous when we go shopping together, as we browse in similar ways and lose all track of time together.  So many times throughout the day I find myself showing Lucy things that I think are interesting that I know we both would appreciate.  Sometimes I feel badly that I don't do this as much with Emma and Violet, but I do share other traits with them.  Lucy, I hope that our similarities only bring us closer together as the years go by and I am so happy that I get to be your mama!!!  We love you Lucy!