Rawr! Lucy just turned 9!

Here we are celebrating another birthday, and this time it is Lucy's 9th and it was a big one!

We started off the celebrating a week early and Lucy has had her agenda planned out for about 6 months.  It was a family birthday this year.  We went down to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman last Saturday.  Lucy went for a field trip last year there and has been asking to go ever since.  So we enjoyed the planetarium, all of the reptiles (they had quite a few!), learning about the natural history here, the political history, having fun in the children's area, learning about the native peoples and especially the dinosaurs!  The kids especially loved the interactive displays, the snakes and lizards and turtles, watching the paleontologist at work and seeing the star show about the ice cube and ghost stars.  Then we went out to lunch at a pizza and pasta joint, which was pretty good.  We played a few arcade games and mostly had the place to ourselves because it was that lunner time.  We then went shopping at a few stores, which was fun.  We also had cake and a couple of presents Sunday evening since Dave would be gone on Lucy's real birthday.  So she had several celebrations!

On her birthday, she woke up pretty easy and was so excited!  She got ready, we made her favorite blueberry muffins for breakfast and then she was off to school.  While she was there, Sydnie and I made her cupcakes and a mini cake together, until Sydnie started getting crazy so I turned on a video for her.  Then we picked up some Happy Meals and took her lunch at school and ate with her in the cafeteria.  Lucy called it the Friendship Table.  She has some really cute friends and it was fun to be with the birthday girl and talk to her and her pals too.  Mrs. Deis, the principal came over and sang to her.  Usually they have the birthday kid stand up and all of the kids sing, but Lucy made it clear that would be embarrassing for her.  So Mrs. Dies sang very quietly and gave her a hug.  That was sweet!  The dino cupcakes we made were a hit!  Lucy said her class loved them.

When Lucy got home, we talked for a while, then just played indoors, making up silly games and chasing and playing pretend, and then she and Cov jumped on the tramp for a long time.  We had spaghetti for dinner, per her request.  We talked about Lucy, how she is such a fun playmate, so imaginative, so committed, so spitfire, so sweet.  Then she got to play her favorite Roblox video game for a bit and we read and looked at her baby books and other family photo albums from when she was a baby. We opened up the rest of her presents. This year, Lucy got a chalkboard and wipe board with chalk and dry erase markers, a puppet made by a local puppeteer, a little pogo stick type of thing, and a fuzzy planner.  We had Young Men/Young Women's over here after that and we played Mario Party.  She played some good rounds, snuggled with me on my lap (which she told me "squeeze me and never let me go!"  Cutie!), and then we sang to her again and had cake and ice cream again with our branch friends and leaders.  Grandma and Grandpa called and she got cards and money.   It was fun for her to talk to them and she also got to message and video call a few friends and family members.  Then we did our usual before bed routine.  I hope she felt all the birthday love, she deserves it!  I will always squeeze you and never let you go no matter how gigantic you get, sweet girl!

Lucy Niner

Nick names:  LuLu, Luce, Lucy Goosie (she hates that name!)
In her spare time: Play with stuffed animals, Roblox
Best friends: Summer, Lauren, Ellie, Tosya, June & Hank
Favorite color: Black and purple
Favorite books: Mallory books, American Girl books, Roald Dahl books, Chavela and the Magic Bubble.
Favorite food: Spaghetti and meatballs 
Favorite treat: Scotcheroos
Favorite vegetable: Carrots sticks with ranch
Favorite fruit: Persimmons
Favorite drink: Kool Aid Jammers
Favorite thing to play with: Dolls and stuffed animals
Favorite subject at school: Art
Favorite TV shows: Teen Titans Go!
Favorite movie: Phantom of the Opera
Favorite song: Fairies and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam
Favorite game: Candy Land
Favorite season: Summer
Favorite holiday: Valentines Day
Favorite animal: Chicken 
Favorite sport: Irish  dance
Thing she's best at: Building forts
Wants to be when she grows up:  Doesn't know yet.

Lucy loves the dictionary and expanding her vocabulary.  She reads it like a book and loves to learn definitions of new words.  We have a standard one and one for students, and she was so excited when 

Cal brought one home just for her after they cleaned out their classroom to move to the new area during the construction and got to bring home any books they wanted.  You would've thought it was Christmas.

Lucy enjoys going to the dentist so much I'm starting to wonder if it's not normal.  She can't wait to go and talks about it all the time.  She also loves brushing and flossing.  We were looking at her baby book and it said when she was one, she always wanted to brush her teeth and get her fluoride drops.  Future dentist or hygienist maybe?

Lucy is very good to all her siblings.  She gets along with any of them and they all like to spend time with her.  From sleepovers and long chats with Emma to laughing and making up games with Cal, playing pretend with Covey to chasing Sydnie around and helping her get ready and go potty, she is an all around super sister!

Lucy is very thoughtful and likes to help others when they are sick or sad.  She makes great cards, helps do chores, gives nice hugs and more to cheer others up.

One of Lucy's favorite thing to do is doodling and writing on the dry erase board.  She makes lists, draws pictures, leaves notes to people, and more constantly.  She was thrilled when she got some for her birthday to put on her walls!

Lucy is not boy crazy and that's okay with us! She likes boys to hang out with but when it comes to having crushes, nope!  Around Valentine's Day, many of the kids her age were asking each other to be ther "valentines" and Lucy told us she was acting crazy on purpose so nobody would ask her to be their valentine.  She was successful, haha!  When her friends ask her if other boys are cute or hot, she will say, "No!  That is just weird!"

Has a super fun personality and always cracks us up!