Lucy Turns 1

Poor Lucy was really sick on her 1st birthday. We didn't know it at the time, but her fever, constant crying, and inability to sleep (from pain) was because she had strep, an accidental birthday gift from Anna. Apparently it's unusual to have strep at 12 months. Emily got it too. But we still had a fun party with both sets of grandparents driving up from Orem at this busy time of year. Grandma and Grandpa Thompson brought Will and Piper with them too. Lucy perked up a little with the company and a full dose of Motrin (hard to get in little ones), but fell asleep in Emily's arms during dinner. This was her only nap of the day. She woke up to the clapping after Piper and Sarah blew out her candle for her, and she was able to open her presents. There were tears, but they were punctuated with a few genuine smiles. She was pleased with her presents, which is as much as you can hope for from a one year-old, healthy or sick. Her cream cheese frosted cupcakes were the second batch. The first disappeared from our back porch while we were at Target. They were homemade banana with pineapple cream cheese centers--a fussy but delicious recipe. Lucy has very descriminating taste. I would put money on the magpies as culprits. The second batch were strawberry-from-a-box, but they served their purpose just fine. We adore this little girl! Everyone in the family has a special relationship with her, and she smiles in such a way we're all convinced we're her favorite. 

The next morning Lucy was still sick--after a long night, but happy to see her toys. She understood perfectly that they were hers, and she loved to empty and fill her walker wagon. A week later she still does that, but here's how it's really used. She doesn't push it, she gets rides in it. She climbs in it all the time and sits there until a big sibling pushes her. She especially loves Michael to push her because he goes way too fast. I'm afraid we're raising a little adrenaline junkie. 

Real Life in December

Michael gathered all of his sturdy vehicles and invited Lucy and Sarah to come play with him in his bedroom. These little girls had so much fun! This shot doesn't show a fourth of the vehicles he out of for them. I have bought so many cars, trucks, and planes! It's fun to see how much Lucy and Sarah enjoy them too. Anna used to play Cars with Michael. It was an enormous, long game that included toys and knickknacks from all over the house as well as everything with wheels. It was really an elaborate game of house, designed by Anna. They had marriages, births, deaths, adoptions, elections, laws, trials, construction, utilities, natural disasters, holidays . . . I can't believe I never took any decent pictures or video. Michael was never happier than when Anna played cars with him. He never got to make any decisions, but he had a lot of fun. Sometimes they even let Sarah sit on the top bunk and watch the game from above:). 

A really nice woman in our ward passed on some clothes for Anna. This vintage 1980s European boy's snowsuit was in the bag, and for some reason it really caught Sarah's fancy. 

I know this last picture is really gross. I noticed a growing odor of urine in Sarah and Lucy's room, but no matter how many times I changed their sheets and how much Febreze I used, it was getting worse instead of better. I knelt down to retrieve something by the edge of their dresser and saw the corner of a Pull-up. Their dresser is set at an angle, so there was a lot of space behind it. This is what we found when we pulled it out. Apparently Sarah has been using this space as a handy disposal. Hard to believe someone so cute could be doing this! 

Anna is 13

Anna turned 13 on Dec 7, and Lucy turned 1 on Dec 13. It's been a poignant reminder of how my oldest and youngest daughters are twelve years apart, and how I have a teenager and a baby at the same time! December is busy with our two birthdays, but I'll always be grateful that Anna was born three weeks early, and Lucy two so that their birthdays aren't right on top of Christmas. We're glad Anna got better to celebrate her birthday. She got a horrible case of strep. I don't know if she had the flu too, but she could barely lift her head from her pillow for eight days, and she missed six days of school and several violin rehearsals, lessons, and performances that all fell during that week. She had missed so much school that we didn't get to skip it on her birthday to go shopping with her mom and Grandma Thompson. We'll go another time. I'm glad she was there because her friends decorated her locker and sang to her during lunch, and she came home very pleased. Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup drove up to Ogden to have a fun birthday dinner with us. Anna decided to cut out sweets for a year, so she didn't want a birthday cake. We think it was brave to make this decision the day before General Conference (and homemade cinnamon rolls). Many people, if they made this commitment at all, would have waited until they had gorged themselves on cinnamon rolls to begin their goal. She hasn't gone off sugar completely. She has jam on her PB&J sandwiches, fruit, and syrup, so she requested french toast made with homemade challah and buttermilk syrup, bottled peaches, and hash browns. Sarah took a permanent marker and wrote "to and frum" on all of her presents. The last picture is of her teaching Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup how to do Together Forever, which is how Thompsons end their family home evenings.

Halloween 2012

So Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but once the school parties, costume parades, and potlucks are over, and everyone has eaten dinner and is dressed in their costumes, I do enjoy the evening of Halloween. The kids love being dressed up, and there is a pleasant, community feel as we Trick or Treat and say high to neighbors. Other adults seem to have so much fun dressing up that Travis and I say, "We really ought to try that some time." But it never lasts past that night, and in the end, we just aren't much fun. 

This Halloween the weather was warm and lovely. Anna didn't want to dress up--or at least she wanted to want to dress up and always wished she had after the fact--but she had fun carrying Lucy most of the night. Lucy clutched her plastic pumpkin the entire night and had as much fun as everyone else--until the end of the night. Sarah was sprinting the first half, and ended up in the stroller the second. Michael has been dressing up in his costume for months. Our neighbor is a pilot in the Air Force, and he lent Michael his real captain's hat and aviator sunglasses.