Lucy is 3!

Also way back in May, Lucy turned 3!
She got to do all kinds of fun things on her birthday.
We went to lunch with Britton and Leyton at Chic Fil A...or as Lucy says Chic FER la. We do that everyone once and a while and Lucy had been requesting it so specifically several times a day. It went something like this:
"I want to go to lunch with Britton and Leyton and I can get chocolate milk and Leyton can get chocolate milk too and then we can play on the rides after that."
What better day than her birthday to make it happen again!
I had to make a stop at the post office, which is usually okay with the girls. They consider it a second home I think. Ms. Nancy is the most friendly post office worker in the world and truly thinks of herself as a 3rd grandmother to the girls. No, it's not your typical post office. Lucy even got a birthday hug!
Then we went to Build-A-Bear because we did that on Bella's 3rd birthday, and we're really trying to keep everything equal. Of course now the girls have decided that Build-A-Bear happens on EVERY birthday. We'll see.
She was so excited as her animal was getting stuffed!

When we went home, I closed all of the windows so Daddy could sneak home early and start putting together a trampoline! When that was done, we went to dinner and then came home for cake and presents. She also had a couple of other small presents to open...she asked for that little cat stuffed animal every time we were at Hobby Lobby. She was so excited to get it! She definitely loves her stuffed animals.
Brian picked out a pink fishing pole for her.
And finally, the trampoline! I think she liked it.

I love this silhouette picture...notice the new stuffed kitty is included!

Cake!
As always, here's the post chocolate cake crazy girls picture!

Recitals

Way back in May, the girls AND BRIAN had their ballet recitals.
This was Lucy's first ballet class and recital. For that age, they just invite family to watch a class, but they still get fancy tutus and tiaras and call it a recital.
I must mention that Lucy's recital took place on a Saturday at 2:00. And at 2:00, most 2-3 year olds are at least a little tired and cranky.
During the regular classes, sometimes one or two of the girls would cry, decide not to dance, and just sit with their moms. However, Lucy was always ready to dance. She loved it!
The recital through her for a loop though- the timing, all of those people, and worst of all, some of those people laughed when her tiara fell down on her face. Note to all: please don't laugh at Lucy. She doesn't like it at all. After that (early in the recital), she was done. Oh well, I still got some cute pictures.
Before the recital with Daddy:
Getting a little antsy waiting to start:
Finally, it's time to dance- until the tiara fell. Then she was done! She gets to start tap and ballet in a couple of weeks and could not be more excited about the tap part!

I can't believe this was Bella's 4th recital! This one was a little different though. The dads danced with their daughters. They even had to go to several practices to make sure they were ready. It was pretty cute.
A pose of course! She's a pro at posing!

With a sweet friend before the recital:

Bella and Daddy on stage!

Flowers from all, of course!
When we got home, I took Bella's bun out of her hair. It came out a little curly, and BIG. Hello Glamour Shots!

Dancing at Disney

Some of our best memories of our Disney experience come from the "music man" at our hotel. We came back each night pretty exhausted, but as you will see, the girls still had some energy.

He played songs in the lobby every night we were there. To Bella and Lucy, if there is music and any kind of open space, there WILL be dancing. That open space will be their stage, and it doesn't really matter who is watching. What a move Lucy!
The musician loved that the girls were having such a good time dancing to his music. Each night he would introduce Bella and Lucy to his small crowd. Each night we gave the girls each a dollar for his tip jar. And each night, he gave the girls something in return.
Like sunglasses...
and necklaces...
On our last night there, he gave us his cd. After seeing these pictures again, I think we need to play it soon!

Disney, Take 2

Dinner at Cinderella's castle...with Snow White. Cinderella greets all of her guests downstairs, but all of the other princesses come to each table while you are eating. That's pretty exciting for 3 (well, almost 3 at the time) and 5 year old girls!
At the end of the dinner, everyone has to close their eyes and make a wish (except for moms...we take pictures).
Two happy girls and their Daddy.
We finished off the Cinderella's castle dining experience with the fireworks show. And yes, we saw the REAL Tinkerbell REALLY fly. (as real as it gets anyway)
The ride we rode the most: It's a Small World, of course! I remember riding it many years ago and thinking it was THE neatest thing. The girls agreed. They loved to imitate all of the different dances the dolls were doing. That cracked us and whoever happened to be riding behind us up. We thought this doll looked kind of like Bella.

One of our days was spent at Animal Kingdom. The girls got used to us grabbing maps at the entrance of each park. They requested their own maps here.
One of the fun things you can do at AK is climb on on (fake) rocks and POSE. Or maybe that's just a little girl thing! Can you tell they had been around princesses all week?

One thing we knew we wanted to see was the Lion King show. We got there early and asked a (nice older lady) worker if we were in the right spot. We must have looked hot and tired enough because she made us VIPs for the show. We got to sit in the front row and the girls got to be part of the show. That front row was a little bit loud, but neat!

They got to parade around the stage with little instruments. Lucy wasn't so sure about all of it, so one of the actresses grabbed her hand and off they went!

At Epcot...it was so pretty there!

But they did, of course, find a place where they could get wet.
The last day, but the first nap of the whole trip. She was TIRED. We tried having Bella wake her up, but Lucy just got even more comfy.
Trying to get the sword out of the stone. She convinced Brian to try too.
And finally, to top off the week, more sugar (cotton candy) this time to watch the big parade. Speaking of sugar (a spoonful that is), Mary Poppins walked by and shook their little hands during the parade.

Great trip, but it was SO good to be back at home. ALL of our girls reunited:

Disney Trip, Part 1

Disney...it was so much fun. It was overwhelming and exhausting, but fun.
The girls loved it, of course. We loved watching them love it.
I really think at least half of the fun of going of going to Disney is the anticipation of it.
Can't you see it in Lucy's face at the airport?
In fact, this may be my favorite picture of the whole trip, and we hadn't even left yet.
It's hard to believe that very same day, we were standing in plain sight of that very famous castle.
I think they were still taking it all in in this picture.
Can you believe we are HERE?
The first of many sugary Disney treats as we watched the first of many parades.
For the first time ever, they were both asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow.
The next day...Bella saw several kids posing for a picture on the big ant, so she had to have a turn.
They were getting ready to be sprayed by water. They loved these type of things just as much as the rides!
Ice cream and a parade, of course!
Let's see, I think Lucy liked that ice cream.
Yep, I'm sure of it.
We might as well pretend this picture was at the Kentucky Derby.
No, it's Disney for sure...where else could you dance with the Monster's Inc monsters?
Getting sprayed again!
Tinkerbell, the girls both agreed you were worth the hour we waited to see you.
Another favorite at the parks: the playgrounds. It got to where if Brian and I saw a playground, but had plans to go to a certain ride or show, we would speed the stroller past and do our best to distract them from it. Was that mean?
Again with the water; if they could get wet, they DID get wet.
The girls were watching "Storytime with Belle"...
Little did they know that Brian had been tapped from the audience to play the role of the Beast.

That evening, we went to dinner at Cinderella's castle. Lucy wore Bella's Snow White costume from Halloween a couple of years ago and Bella wore her cousin Bailey's Cinderella costume from several years ago. The girls got all kinds of compliments on their handmade costumes (so much better than the store bought kind)!

One of the few free things at Disney: pixie dust! So of course we made a stop for some on the way to the castle.
Pictures like these make me want them to stay these ages forever...they really thought they were about to meet the REAL Cinderella in her REAL castle.

to be continued...