Lucia is FOUR! (May 16)

Since my last post, we've finally had some more beautiful summer days! Short sleeves are the norm now, we occasionally get to wear dresses without tights and shorts :), and our activities show that summer has finally arrived!! David has summer hours at work, which means he gets to come home at noon on Fridays. That makes our weekends seem twice as long and allows for lots of fun outings. I've decided to skip pictures of our week in California because I don't have all the pictures yet (some were taken with other cameras so I'll wait until I have copies of those and will then post about that).

So... here's catching us all up on what's been going on in May and June!!

First, we celebrated Lucia's 4th birthday on May 16!

All the decorations in place the night before...

And here is the birthday girl!! Four years old -- where did my first baby go, and where did this big kid come from?! :) We love you so much, Lucia, and it's a joy to watch you grow into a big girl and young lady! Now she would say, "I'm not a LADY!!"

Rhea was actually the first to wake up (as usual, and was pretty impressed by all of the "bloons"). :)

Lucia got a "rain umbrella" for her birthday, which has been very popular with both girls. For once we're lucky to live in WI... it's had quite a few days of usefulness already.

Rhea is a huge fan of the umbrella, too. (I love this picture. Two of my favorite people :) )

I just had to capture this moment... it's so hard to be not-the-birthday-girl. Lucia was doing a great job of sharing her new things with Rhea, but here Rhea had to wait her turn and it was SO HARD. Luckily, (at the point of writing this) we're only about 6 weeks away from Rhea's birthday... and guess what one of her special gifts is going to be... :)

Here, Lucia was working on a scavenger hunt. She had to find 9 clues all around the house that led her to her last big surprise. (She was SO into the scavenger hunt!! I'll have to do those more often. :) )

.... tadaaaa! A big girl bike with training wheels!! She LOVES to ride it up and down our cul-de-sac (as she calls it, "to Maddy's town and back". :) )

Here she is on the the bike's virgin ride (well, with Lucia anyway :) ) - all geared up!

If I had to capture a few tidbits of Lucia at four years old, it would be this:

She loves to ask lots of questions. For example:

While riding in the car... "Mama, what does that yellow sign say?" "Why do you have to stop?" "Mama, is this the way to Kirsten's house?"

During the day at home... "Why does this sign say 'WARNING!!' ?" "How does my body make poopies and peepee from the food I eat and when I drink?" "Mama, what are you reading?" etc.etc. We've recently discovered the non-fiction children's section of books at the library, which has been very interesting to our whole family.

Lucia continues to love looking at (and beginning to read) books. Her current routine is an hour of quiet time after lunch, which is quiet play and reading in her room. Most of this time, she sits on her Elmo couch and reads her library books. After her hour is up, she gets to watch Sesame Street in the basement, which is paused and waiting for her. This gives Mama two solid hours of possible nap time, which I use almost every day. :)

She can decipher words fairly well, but it is still too tedious for her to want to read too much on her own. She can read sentences like "Do you want to ride your bike?" and other ones composed of fairly short and simple words. When we read together, I oftentimes let her read one word every sentence or two to keep her eyes following along the text and yet maintain her interest by going through the story at a good rate.

Her favorite pastime is spending time with her friends, currently Maddy and Ella in our neighborhood, and then of course Kirsten from our small group. They enjoy dressing up as princesses, playing "monster" or "bad guys" - which basically means running around screaming and hiding because they might "come and make you dead". (I have NO idea where all this originated).

In personality, Lucia has a very tender heart - she is easily "injured" if corrected too harshly or if Rhea takes toys away (which she loves to do :( ), but she is also very compassionate and loving. She loves to surprise me with kisses while I'm helping her change her clothes; if she hears Rhea struggle with something in the next room over, she jumps up from what she is doing and calls, "What's wrong? I can help you, Rhea!" She still loves to "help me" cook; her favorite is putting in the "Gesuerze" - her way of saying the German word for spices. :-) When David comes home, she (along with Rhea) greets him enthusiastically and loves to carry his lunch bag and water bottle inside for him.

She also has the gift of encouragement; she loves to tell Rhea that she's doing a good job at something, and her parting words for me at her quiet time are usually, "Mama, I hope you do a good job at your nap" or "Mama, have a good sleep tonight and I hope Rhea doesn't wake you up so you can sleep." She routinely tells me, "Mama, I love all the food that you cook" (fantastic compliment, though not really accurate :) ), and "This is my favorite dinner/lunch/snack EVER!" :-) I've also heard several heart-warming "You're the best mom EVER!", to which I usually reply, "and you're the best girls ever." :-) Lucia, Mama loves you very much, and I pray along with Papa for wisdom and grace to raise you into a godly, beautiful young woman. You are well on your way!!