Lucy is TWO -- and a HALF!

A few of Lucy's favorite things at 2 1/2: Walking to the "far away shlide" (slide), playing "kin-tar" (guitar) with daddy, singing, jumping, jumping/tumbling off of anything and everything.  She loves to dress up, "keem up" with her spray bottle and cleaning rag, take care of her baby Rachie, help with brother, praying for Abbie and Sophie, all things Frozen, and go to class at "durch" (church).

Her best friends are sweet girls from church, Abbie (8) and Sophie (11), and Olive (1)!  She also loves her cousins Ava-Noah (yes, they're pretty much inseparable in her mind!).

Height: 36 inches (or a hair over)
Weight: 32 pounds

Lucy is getting her two year molars, finally, and it's brutal.  Just. Plain. Brutal.  As in, complete and utter personality changes, screaming like a banshee, and not sleeping well.  Thankfully we're finally aware of the cause and Tylenol seems to help a ton!  Phew! We'll all be glad when they're all the way through. Unfortunately, she's only getting two of the four, so we get to do this all over again later. (ugh!)

We're working on obeying with Lucy.  She's smart and we realized we were doing her a disservice by allowing her so much leeway.  We've been reading Shepherding a Child's Heart (highly recommend it, by the way!), and stepping up our discipline.  We're only a few days into renewed efforts to love her well by not being inconsistent.  Shes already responding so positively to the consistency. It reinforces the idea that kids CRAVE and NEED consistency. They need boundaries in order to be independent.

We're allowing her to explore her independence by walking on the sidewalk without holding a hand (except at street crossings, and as long as she stays close to us), climbing anything and everything at the playground, swimming in the pool (with a floaty) by herself, choosing between options when getting dressed and at meal times.  With a will as strong as Lucy's ("my do it myself" is her favorite phrase), it's really helped to give her options so she's happy and we are, too.

Lucy-isms at 2 1/2:

"Jus' doot-doots, mama" - just toot toots (no poop), mama - it makes me laugh 100% of the time. 

"Eecy Marget McPhee" - her name 

"Waver" for water
"Muffooms" - mushrooms
"Awfuls" - waffles
"My yoom" - My room
"Bexis" - Breakfast

"Dintie" for Auntie

"Gunkle Shesh" (Seth), "Gunkle Yuke" (Luke), "Gunkle Bi-an" (Brian) for her uncles

"Ty-na-nol" for Tylenol (those darned two year molars!!)

"Dis my coy-er firs' time" (this my color, first time) - This is my favorite color

"You like my hair?" - directed at Uncle Lonnie on a recent visit -- oh MY! 

Lucy: "There's the MOUNTAIN!"
Nana: "yes, that's Mt. Rainier"
Lucy: "no, MOUNTAIN!"
Nana: "say mount--" 
Lucy interrupts: "--ain. Mountain!"
Nana: "right, a mountain called Mt. --"
Lucy "oh NO, NO NO. mountAIN, Nana!"
Girl has something against abbreviations

"I pooped. I smell it" 

Me: "okay, let's change your dipe."
Lucy: "per"
Me: "yes, diaPER"
Isaac: (cracking up): "that's something I'd say!"

"Eecy take dis daddy's duck (truck). Br wight back. No daddy come. Ucy be WIIIGHT back."

Lucy loves to dance (and do somersaults), but I haven't been able to capture it on video until this day:

My girl is fearless and independent... A combination that makes my heart leap into my throat on a regular basis. 

Daddy-daughter duet: