Merry Christmas!

MEEEEERRRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve with the McPhees.  It was so hard to choose just a few pictures and not post all 100+

But, can I EAT it? 

The gift of strength! 

Fun with latches

Oh, Uncle Bob! 

Playing with her new cleaning set. She loves it and plays with it almost daily!

Christmas is exhausting for littles! 

Two grandmas means double the spoiling, double the videos! 

Everyone loved Uncle Luke's gift to Malcolm! 

Mesmerized by the candles at the church service.

Christmas Morning:

Watching brother play with his new toys from sister

Christmas day with the Courys and Nana:

So sweet to watch kids exchange gifts! 

These two are so cute! 

Putting together Lucy's bike from Uncle Seth

His favorite! 

Getting right down to business: playing with her new cars

Breaking in Noah's new game

Ava made this hat all by herself! It's SO cute! 

Grandfather joined us and joined in on the Nerf fun! 

Ava teaching us how to wolf whistle -- exciting stuff from her new book! 

Traditional Christmas Bear photo

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy Margaret!

Happy birthday, sweet Lucy Magoosey! My LuLu, My Lulu Bear, my Miss Ma-goose, Big Sister, Baby Girl (I am not a baby, I am a BIG girl).

You're three years old!  When did that happen? You are a joy to your parents' hearts! You are so much like your mama.

You stand 38 inches tall
You weigh 34 pounds

You love: Daddy! You are a total daddy's girl! Your mama, brother, and the rest of the family. Your giraffe (paci), to read, to sing -- you sing all day long and sometimes well into the night! You love to dance, play dress up, change clothes (skirts, dresses, and pajamas are your favorites!), and have your toenails painted.

Your favorite songs: "Let it Go" (anything from Frozen, really), "Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone", "Jesus Loves Me", and "Angels From the Realms of Glory" -- you are nothing if not diverse in your musical interests.

Your favorite foods: Mac n Cheese, rice, chocolate.  Your favorite fruits are pears and strawberries. You love to drink milk and ice cold water.

Your favorite book: the "swishy swashy" book (We're Going on a Bear Hunt), "I'm a Big Sister", and your "Jesus Storybook Bible"


Lucy, you make us laugh so hard and keep us on our toes with your curiosity and logic.  You test every boundary, need to know your limits, and are very nearly fearless. Except when it comes to imaginary frogs. Those still terrify you.  You love to pray, reminding us before a meal if we forget.  You are busy.  So very busy, from the moment you wake up at 6am until you go to bed (and again, well after some nights).  You wake up chatty and stay that way until you're asleep.  You are just like your mama that way. You also have her drive, patience (or lack thereof) and quick flash of temper. You meltdown when you can't do something, but are quick to take a breath and try again -- and often succeed! 

WE LOVE YOU AND THE MANY WAYS YOU'RE UNIQUELY YOU! 

Last night as a two year old

Big, three year old girl!

Since Lucy's birthday is so close to Christmas, we celebrate her half-birthday.  We still want to make her actual birthday special, though, by having a family date.  We took her to Red Robin for dinner and then out for ice cream.  She had a blast! 

Talking to Uncle Luke at dinner 

Ice cream! 

CHEERS! 

Lick, and swish. Straight onto her shirt. Every. Single. Time. 

Christmastime and Santa

Santa Baby

 This year we thought Lucy was old enough to do her own Christmas gift shopping.  We picked a day, she carried her own money in her purse, and picked out one gift for Dada, Malcolm, Ava, and Noah.

I set her loose in Dollar Tree. She wanted to buy all. the. things.  For herself. Our mantra became: "Is this for you, or for ___?"

Getting her change.

Successful shopping trip! 

Lucy got Reeses Peanut Butter cups for Daddy, a football for Malcolm, a ball for Noah, and a teddy bear for Ava.

Mama, take a picture of baby Rachie just like this. 

 First snow of the year and Malcolm's first snow ever:

Soon enough it was time for the annual trip to see Santa!  Lucy loves to look at pictures of herself and she was talking a lot about how sad she was at sitting on Santa's lap last year.  We tried to take the pressure off this year by letting her know that Santa wasn't real -- he's just a fun tradition to pretend.  We tried to talk up being brave for brother and showing him how fun it was to talk to Santa...and then we set off.

Twirling. 

Tradition, tradition. 

These two have a special bond!

Lucy loves her "Gunkle Bine"

Watching and weighing... 

The big kids

She did GREAT! 

Showing brother the ropes

As soon as she came away: "And I did not cry!!!"

Another tradition: Christmas lights!  This year we were down with the flu, but we recovered enough to take a drive to West Seattle to let GG guide us to some spectacular displays!

Sitting in the back, away from the plague carrier (me)