3 years old and runnin' the town.

I think we are in some kind of time warp. It just all goes by so fast. On the 23rd of July we commemorated the entrance of Lucia Davina Christensen into the world. 3 years! It feels like she has been in our family for forever. Like I don't remember life at all without her. And at the same time it seems like she was born yesterday. Have you ever seen a prouder papa than in this picture above? No. Never. He was the happiest man alive on that day.

Before we get down to the nitty gritty of her birthday bash, I want to tell you a little about Miss Lucy at 3 years old. Because she won't stay like this forever. And the thought brings tears to my eyes. I may or may not have just burst into ugly-face sobs.

She is obsessed with Cinderella. And her Prince. And their love. Dancing is the culmination of the highest form of love in her eyes. She asked last night in her prayer that "mommy and daddy can get married in the temple again and mommy can wear her dress and be Cinderellla".

She is her happiest self in the buff. Any opportunity to strip down is taken without hesitation. I walked the girls down to the park a few days ago and was sitting on a bench talking to another mother when I looked up and saw this:

Apparently she went down the slide and it was a little wet. Totally warrants a public flashing. Looks like she fell on her rear down in the mulch a time or two as well.

She has a big crush on her cousin Carson as of late. And she really wants him to dance with her and be her prince. She's in for a rude awakening when she realizes she can't marry him.

She love love loves being a princess but has a huge tom-boy in her as well. Loves bugs and snakes and any creepy crawly thing she can get her mitts on.

She misses Scarlett when she takes her naps. And when she wakes up from them she is over the moon. When we hear her talking on the monitor she races me to get to her. And then says, "Coochie coochie coo!!!" in Scarlett's face over and over and over again. And over again.

She was off the pacifier (suckie) at 2, but we went out of town for a weekend and when we got back she was back on it. And we haven't had the energy to take it away again. So she has it at bedtime. One time when daddy was home alone putting her to bed (Scarlett had been snoozing for some time), they were searching the house for a suckie. Couldn't find one for like an hour. Dad was getting really tired and frustrated. She saw this was a real ordeal. Then suddenly, she excitedly said, "Hey! I got idea! Scarlett has suckie in her mouf! I take it and put it in my mouf!" And dad actually did think this was a good idea.

"Chocker milk" is the answer to all life's problems. And band-aids.

She has a little obsession with "boobies". I think she's starting to realize that only mom has them and physically she is more like mom than dad. The other night we had friends over, Julie and Mervis, and she was sitting on Julie's lap while we sat around talking with our husbands. Suddenly, she asked, "You have boobies?" and started to paw at Julie's shirt repeating, "Let me see your boobies" over and over again. Julie was a little caught off guard and while chuckling, refused to be a floozy. Shortly after some insistence on Lucy's part, a full-on tantrum ensued. She cried for some time, and came running over to me bawling her eyes out saying, "She won't show me her boobies!! I need to see them!" So I got upset and told Julie she could either show her them or get out of our house. Just kidding. Can you imagine??? haha. But after a little snuggling and comforting Lucy did turn on me and start to insist the same. We're working on "private parts"... and what private means.

I showed her the video of when she was first born the week leading up to her birthday and she was thrilled to know she was a tiny baby. But she didn't really internalize the "getting bigger" process because since she's been saying, "One day I'll be a little baby and go inside your tummy". Oh, and when she found out she was in mommy's tummy she asked if I ate her. I think it's starting to click though, the growing up and getting bigger thing, because yesterday when we were in daddy's car (SUV) she told me one day my car (sedan) would be big like daddy's car. So at least I have that to look forward to.

So many things we love about you, little girl. Too many to talk about.

Onto her special day! Lucy got a sandbox for her birthday. Jason and I presented it to her and turned our back for 5 seconds to find she needed to enjoy that soft sand to the fullest extent.

This was the happy scene at our place for a good solid hour. A parent's bliss.

Your birthday party also included a princess bounce house, a clown named Keeka who painted faces and made balloon animals, too many presents, cousins and friends, and of course lots of cake and frozen custard.

The Cinderella dress she got from Grandma was the cream of the crop. She got a Belle dress from Quincy too and she rotates between the two regularly.

These next two shots with our friend Keeka might be some of my very favorites ever taken. As I was taking this first shot I leaned over to Jason's sister Wendy and said, "She might be getting a little too close... too close for comfort" and gave Keeka a good glare. We laughed as I envisioned starting a fist fight with my daughter's birthday clown for trying to put the moves on my husband. And that was that.

Except that wasn't that. Just moments after I had made that comment, look at this prize that Wendy took... unintentionally. Really I didn't know it was being taken. Have you ever seen a bigger creep than me? No, never.

Lucia, as your name indicates, you truly are a light in our lives. You are a kind hearted little soul who loves to get into mischief. You are a loving older sister but you also love to push Scarlett's buttons and stick your feet in her face. (I did the same thing to Vanessa. Must be some kind of right of passage). You are a daddy's girl and a mommy's girl, but you and your dad have a very special bond that brings me so much joy to watch as your mommy. I love you. I love being your mother. I love that you are our daughter forever. Happy 3rd birthday!