Lucy Day 2012

 Thursday was Lucy Day, the anniversary of bringing our Little Lucy home from the NICU. While the girls' birthday is a day to celebrate their twinship, June 21st is Lucy's very own special day to wear a party dress, choose what we'll have for dinner (pizza), take the family out for ice cream (she paid), and do what she wants to do (swim at the Y).   

I greeted Lucy on her day with a boisterous verse of the "Lucy Day" song:

It's Lucy Day, It's goosey day, 

It's Lucy Goosey, Lucy Goosey, Lucy Day. 

She responded with a grin that beamed from ear to ear. While she was a good sport about Sage Day last month, it was abundantly clear that she was pleased that her day had finally come. We agree Lucy. Three years ago, it was your Daddy and I who were grinning from ear to ear, so relieved that the original Lucy Day had finally arrived.

Speaking of Lucy's repretoire of smiles, my favorite one right now is this tight little grin of pride. We saw it when she blew out her birthday candles, as if she was telling us, "oh goodness, please do not make such a fuss. But yes, it is my birthday and I just blew out the candles on my cupcakes all by myself." And yes, she really does speak that precisely.

Lucy has become a little chatter box. She loves to describe her world when we first greet her in the morning or after school, being silly about this and that. "Mommy, I am not Lucy Goosey Pudding Pop. My name is Lucy McGillicuddy!" Just last week she began spontaneously telling us that she loves us...a lot.

Last year I wrote that sometime her little hops will get off the ground. Sure enough, by the end of last summer she was airborne and now she's a hopping fool. That girl loves to bounce.

Lucy Lu is a mama's girl. If she wants affection, she wants to cuddle with mommy and will hold onto me with vice grip of a spider monkey. If I'm not around, then she is readily comforted by Daddy, Poppa, Grammy, Mimi or Granddad, but if I am available, then she insists, quite persistently on me. Sadly, this often manifests at school drop offs where she cries when saying goodbye to me nearly every day. Although her teachers assure us that she is fine once I leave, her reports indicate that she only speaks in 4 to 5 word sentences at school and plays almost solely with Sage. I worry that the rest of the world is not getting to know the chatty, happy girl we know at home.

Notwithstanding the school reports, our observations are that Lucy is much more independent of Sage than Sage is of Lucy. The peals of laughter that erupt from their nursery or the back seat of the car evidence the affection and friendship between the girls. But if Lucy wants something, like to move to a big girl bed, she'll leave Sage behind without looking back. Sage is much more inclined to need Lucy by her side  - whether in going to bed or wanting to Lucy to join her in the spray at the splash pad. Conversely, when Lucy discovered that she loves to swim and independently began to explore wearing her puddle jumpers, she was happy to kick about on her own while Sage clung to me. When there's a divide between what Lucy wants and what Sage wants, Lucy is far less likely to bend her own desires to those of Sage.

Lucy is very exacting about what she wants and how she wants it. Variations from routines receive a loud protest, "Noooo Mommy. You do it like this." She will back down if you push back and explain the reasons - at least some of the time. But she will hold tenaciously onto old routines - like still wearing a sleep sack (backwards) to bed. I don't know what we'll do when she outgrows the extra larges any day now, but like all things in raising the girls, we'll figure out as we go. Lucy is similarly as demanding of her sister. With a slight lisp, "Sage, SAGE, SAGE!"

Lucy, we have always known of your tenacity, but in the last year you have begun to share with us your great intelligence, astute insight, and bubbly humor. You are funny and affectionate and a lovely companion. We are loving these three year old days with you and your sister and thank God for every day that we have shared with you since the original Lucy Day three years ago.