Happy Birthday LuLu Belle

Oh Lucy… 

What can I say about Lucy?  

She is beyond feisty, which if you know her at all you already know that. She is so stubborn, she has a sharp tongue, she can throw a tantrum with the best of them, she is unruly, and she is a Spitfire. But she also is incredibly smart, she practices some core principles of life in a way that astounds me because of her age; her soul is wise.  She has the tiniest little body but the voice and the laughter that comes out of that little petite self is booming and loud and surprises a lot of people because it's so unexpected. Speaking of her laugh, it is truly one of the best laughs I've ever heard in my entire life. I can't explain it but it's just the best. She is a little entertainer. She loves to make people smile by putting on shows and singing for people. She loves to dance in front of people. She is not shy. She is hilarious and funny and she is a ball of energy. She's a fierce negotiator and someday if she doesn't become a lawyer I will be surprised. I almost wonder if she gets a kick out of arguing with people….

This year with Lucy has been our hardest by far. It's because this year has brought a lot of emotional turmoil between her and I and anytime you go through growing-pains with your kids it's gonna punch you in the gut harder than any "terrible-two’s" tantrum. Lucy was diagnosed with ADHD, as you know, and the roller coaster of a year that we had was not always pleasant. We went through some major bumps in the road. It was draining. However, whenever you go through something like this, it only makes the highs that much sweeter. Some days (when she was having a good day) and I felt like I needed some extra love from her, I would welcome her into my arms and we would just sit together and cuddle and we would talk quietly about our days. To some people that might be boring, but to me those tender moments with Lucy mean the world because they are rare these days. She is not a terrible child- I hope in this post I am not making people think that she is some kind of monster. Because she's really not. She is so special and she is beautiful. She is her sisters' best friend and a huge cheerleader to her little brother. She loves celebrating his milestones and she loves to play with both of her little siblings. But parenting Lucy is hard. There is no other way to put it. She is a tough child to raise. And that's why I said the tender moments with her mean so much more than they would with maybe other children who might not have the same set of challenges that Lucy has. I soak up her good days like a sponge (and I promise- she has many good days!). I love when she wants me to just hold her. I love it when she leans in and gives me big juicy kisses on the mouth because I don't know how much longer I'll get those and she still loves to kiss me on my lips. And it means everything. 

I can't believe I have been able to be her mother for six whole years! Seriously. I cannot believe I have a six-year-old who is going into the first grade. Not only is she entering into the first grade, but she is going in with test scores that are well above average. (I know that's off subject but it's a huge deal for us because at the beginning of the year there was talk about her not passing kindergarten at all). Anyway, I'm just in awe of this girl and I'm proud of her for how hard she has worked all year in school to be better. She's just been a trooper through all the ups and downs. I'm so thankful for her and her spirit. And thankful for what a fighter she is and for how strong she is. It is an honor to be her Mommy. 

Happy birthday Lulu. You are one of my BEST FRIENDS and I would go to the ends of the earth for you. I just adore you with every singe piece of me. I know you are going to take on the world someday. And as long as you do it with grace, class and have compassion for others, you will do amazing things. I love you more than all the leaves and all the trees.

Lucy had a Super Hero themed birthday party last Saturday at a big church down the street from my house. They rent out this HUGE party room called "Adventure Land" and it was huge hit! The kids had a blast. Such a cute, easy party!  And I made her cake all by myself :) 

Here are some of the kids from the party. I forgot to get a group shot until some kids had already left, but these kids were so sweet and well behaved! I just loved having them!

  

This Hatchimal was supposed to take DAYS to hatch. And guess what? It hatched 4 hours after we opened it and I MISSED IT! The girls saw it, which was awesome for them. But they didn't even tell me what was going on! After it was done hatching (which is supposed to take 25 minutes, so they had ample time to let me know what was happening) they yelled down the stairs that it had hatched..... UGH. I have been so excited and waited to see this thing hatch forever, haha! But, it's a Pink Hatchimal, which made her very happy! (You don't know which color you're going to get). 

This Ice Cream truck has been on her "list" since Christmas.  It was too big to wrap, so we had Sully bring it out to her. He loves to push things so it worked out perfectly. It was ADORABLE! We told her to close her eyes and we let him take over.  So insanely cute. 

And now today we have company coming into town and Dance Dress Rehearsals, and tomorrow the Annual Dance recital and Sunday a birthday party to go to and Monday our Anniversary and Tuesday Lucy's last day of school and Wednesday my last day of work and Friday we are leaving to go camping! May has been BEYOND busy. Holy moly. So glad we're half-way done :)