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Lucy turned 2 years old today! She understood that it was her birthday and that she’d have cake with candles, but I don’t think she was prepared for presents. Hannah sure was, though, and she woke Lucy up at 5am to get things started! Once Lucy got downstairs, she kept saying, “YAY!” and “for ME!” She has adopted the Markelz way of opening presents – nice and slow. She stopped to color multiple pages in her Dora coloring book in between gifts.
We had a nice low-key day at home. She got to spend some downtime with mom while Hannah was at dance camp in the morning. Then she shared her new sandbox with Hannah in the afternoon. The sandbox is messy, but it’s better than the dirt trench she’s been digging in for the past few weeks. We have just come to accept that Lucy=messes. Yesterday we had vegetable soup for lunch, and I had to wash zucchini off the BOTTOMS OF HER FEET. How it got there? Who knows.
Lucy’s requested supper was spaghetti with meatballs and she had 3 whole servings! We had to cut her off for fear she’d explode. To burn off the energy fueled by the Dora birthday cake, she rode bikes and ran in the front yard while we chatted with our neighbors. It felt so good to be outside after an entire week of rain.
Keeping up with Lucy every day can be a challenge – she is messy and loud and regularly breaks things. She won’t keep her shoes on and pulls barrettes out of her hair. I’ve gone through 2 bottles of stain spray so far this summer on her clothes and it’s only June. But at the same time she is so loving and sweet. She gives kisses freely, likes to hold my hand during dinner, and cuddles with dad every morning when she wakes up. And she’s full of joy. She makes funny faces and silly noises to make her sister laugh. She wears dad’s shoes and mom’s sunglasses. And she’s been a wonderful big sister to June. We can’t wait to see what new things are in store for her this year.
As a gift for Trapper on Father’s Day, I tried to pose the three girls together for a picture for his office. We tried and tried to get everyone (mainly Lucy) to look at the camera, and this was our best result. The girl just doesn’t like to sit still. 
But it’s a great example of each of their personalities right now: Hannah posed and ready, Lucy in your face and crazy, and June looking around, most likely asking, “What am I getting into here?”
Summer 2009
We took our first trip out as a family of five to our favorite diner for breakfast this morning. We did pretty well, but we’ll have to figure out a new plan when June no longer fits on the floor under the booth in her carseat.
The girls are having a nice, albeit wet, beginning to the summer. I can’t tell yet whether Boston is truly more mild in the summer than Chicago, or if we’ve just had some uncharacteristic storms. Hannah finished preschool last week. She really enjoyed her time in the “Monkey Room” and made some good friends. She’ll be going back to the same school next year. She has spent the past two days combing her hair constantly with a comb she won at Chuck E. Cheese. She also has an odd habit of narrating her life in the third person. For example, when Trapper set her plate down in front of her last night, she said, “At last, it was time for Hannah’s dinner.” Not sure what that’s about.
Lucy is her same crazy self these days – and she’s excited that her birthday is coming this week. Or as she calls it, “BerDAY!” when she’ll be “TWO!” (said while holding up one finger). She is talking more and more each day – although I’m usually the only one who understands what she is saying. We’re hoping for some nice weather so we can go to the beach for a birthday celebration.
June is getting CHUBBY which is so fun to see. She’s been smiling at us more and more, and watches us from her perch in the bouncer on the counter. This is the only place we can put her without Lucy endangering her eyesight with “pokes”. She continues to be a good baby, which we are so thankful for.
Today we celebrate our awesome Daddy who does silly dances and takes us to the park while sneaking us donuts and smoothies. He works super hard, but plays hard too. Which is something Mom hopes we learn from him.
We also wish Happy Father’s Day to Grandpa McNulty and Gramps in Alaska! Hope it’s a fun one!
