Lucy is 4

Well our little girl is now 4, it feels so weird to think that. She's still a baby in my eyes (she's not the youngest, but she is the youngest girl and definitely our tiniest kid), but now she's getting to where she's growing out of her baby phase: no more baby fat on her, her feet and hands are getting bigger, her hair is getting SO long, she talks more...A LOT more, haha. 

We, of course, got her table all set the night before. She's been obsessed with ballerina stuff since she watched the movie Leap last month, so we had a Bluey/Ballerina theme going (how CUTE are the suckers I found that are ballerina shoes?). We put up pink and purple streamers (because pink and purple are her favorite colors....a true girly girl) and got her breakfast choice ready, cupcakes with pears.

On her birthday we did the usual, she picks breakfast and dinner (Leatherby's has become our birthday dinner tradition and she didn't break that) and we talked about things we love about the birthday person throughout the day. I saved her presents for her party, but she did get one gift delivered, from Stacey, that I let her open: a pop up Barbie/Mug/Color reveal type of toy. Her and the other girls loved it!

One of my favorite parts was the gymnastics birthday shout out. She was so excited in the days leading up to it. However, once her chance came you could tell she was incredibly nervous having the attention on her. She had one of those "I'm smiling, but I'm on the verge of tears at the same time" expressions haha.

We planned her party for this weekend and it ended up being a great one! She said she wanted to do a splashpad again, so I decided to choose one we hadn't been to that would kind of be more in the middle of mom's and our house. Heritage Park in South Jordan seemed to fit the bill for us. We weren't able to rent a pavilion, but we brought our own table and then everyone seemed to bring their own pop up tent, umbrellas, and chairs so we ended up making it work really well. The kids had SO much fun in the splash pad!

We couldn't find a ballerina cake so we ordered a pretty pink one and then a ballerina cake topper separate and I really liked how it turned out. We ate the Costco food we got, then did cake, then had her open gifts (it was B themed apparently: Bluey, Barbie, and Ballerina were the main gifts haha). She loved everything she got, she got super spoiled! We had a really great time, but when I noticed that my feet felt like they had gotten burned I knew it was time to leave. Pierce REALLY didn't want to, my mom was spending most of her time in the water with him and he seemed to really like it. He kept sitting on places that water was pouring out and would laugh, I think it tickled him haha.

Once we got home the new 4 year old attitude started and Lucy said she was sad she didn't get a ballerina party, but I reminded her she had a really good party and got lots of good stuff and we should be grateful for what we get rather than sour over what we didn't. 

The bonus is she's really excited because she'll be starting ballet classes next week, she's been asking to do those for WEEKS now so we're all really excited it's finally here. Hopefully she likes them!

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Dear Lucy,

My sweet little spitfire red head. You are the sweetest little thing (when you want to be) and you are very strong willed (when you don't want to be). You are very opinionated, but you definitely know what you want and what you like. You still love to cuddle and cling, just like the koala baby you've always been. You were a champ during our Disney vacation and I'm sure that wasn't easy for you (it was A LOT of walking and very little resting!). You love to make friends and be silly when there are kids around and you are still pretty shy around adults (even Nana, who I know you absolutely love seeing!).

I'm so excited to see you start ballet classes (we call it ballerina classes) this next week, I think you're going to love it! I'm also so excited to see what you accomplish this next year, we have lots of summer goals and I look forward to seeing you cross them off your list. You still love being in a swim suit EVERY day and I swear we should just get you a whole wardrobe of those instead of normal clothes haha.

You'll be starting preschool this fall and I'm anxious to see how you'll handle such a change. I'm sure it'll be hard at first, especially when I leave you and you realize mom isn't there with you, but I know you'll make friends fast!

I love how much you love to play on the swing and the trampoline, how much you love to just come up to me and kiss me or give me a hug. How randomly you'll say "you're the best mom!" You have such a sweet heart and I hope that part of you never goes away.

Happy birthday sweet Lulu! I am so excited you are four now! You'll do wonders this next year, I'm sure of it!