Ivy girl! She's Three!

Happy "Bubble Guppies" Birthday, Ivy!! 

   It's been a long long time since I wrote anything on this blog.  Joel had a birthday, too... but I'm writing about Ivy tonight.  Oh Ivy.  My crazy Ivy girl.  We had a really fun birthday for her this year at the end of July at the splash park with cake and friends and lots of sunshine.  Unfortunately the temperature was a little less cooperative and thus the blue-ish lips in this picture.  We wrapped her in a town about 5 min after this picture was taken.  She had a blast, though!  It was so fun to see Ivy having a party that she really got the hang of.  This was the first year she really understood what a birthday party was all about.  She kept shouting, "It's MY birthday!  I am having a party!!  These are MY friends!  Poor second child/ middle child.  But seriously, we did it up right.  We had a huge cake and she was well loved.  I really love that she has some of her own friends this year too.  Legitimate Ivy friends that aren't borrowed from Lilia's stash. 

I'm three!

Too cool for school.

   Ivy has so much personality.  I mean, all of my kids do, but she just LIVES life all the way.  When she is happy she is MANIC and when she is sad or angry, hell hath no fury.  I hope this is just a three-year-old thing and not like a bi-polar thing, but either way she keeps us on our toes and we wouldn't change her... except for some days when, you know, she's hitting her brother or screaming like a banshee or jumping off of furniture or smashing butterflies...  But I digress.  Ivy is Ivy.  She has retained her hilarious/ slightly frightening laugh and now that she can jump she is bouncing, leaping, bounding.   We just enrolled her in gymnastics with Lilia and it is SO FUN to watch her take to it with such... gusto!  She ran laps around the other kids and was grinning from ear to ear the entire time.  She's so cute.  She is also very snuggly when she wants to be and LOVES to give me kisses.  We call them "kiss pops" because we open our mouths at the same time to make a loud "popping" sound.  It's weird, but we're weird, so... there.  She insists on sitting in my lap every night for a story and some snuggles and then I hold her and rock her for a minute before laying her down in her crib... yes, she still sleeps in a crib!!!  (TENDER MERCY OF THE LORD!)  and then, melt my heart, she says, "Good night mommy!  I love you!"  every single night. 

Thoughtful/wary Ivy

 Other interesting things about Ivy:
-She loves to spell her name.  She knows that there are some street signs around here that have HER name on them so she is always on the look out.  I...V...Y!  "That's MY name!  I.V.Y! 
-She is TERRIFIED of flying insects.  Bees, flies, butterflies, you name it.  ABJECT HORROR if one is within 5 ft of her. 
- She has a love/ hate relationship with dogs.  She was terrified of my mom's dog when we went to visit, but once she got over it she was all over Sushi until she was being borderline abusive, and then she went back to being terrified when Sushi tried to protect herself from Ivy's "love."  Sigh. 
- She has a love/ hate relationship with... Joel.  She's actually pretty mean to him.  It makes me sad.  She CAN'T leave him be.  She has to constantly touch or push or smack or bump him.  He has a toy in his hand?  Nope!  It's Ivy's.  She screams when she sees him toddling towards her.  She does, however, stand up for him in a mighty way when anyone else tries to mess with him.  "DON'T HURT MY BROTHER!!!!!"   I guess only she can have that privilege.  Sigh. 
-  She doesn't nap anymore, but she really should.  Whenever she does, it's amazing.  AMAZING.  And precious.  Just look at that darling.  So sweet and angelic. 

Middle of the day sleeping Ivy!?!?

- She is smart and more importantly, determined.  And stubborn.  She will fight you tooth and nail if she doesn't want to do something.  She'll fight you if she DOES wan to do something too!  She just likes to put up a fight. 
- She knows her alphabet and can count to at least 30.  We've never really tried more, but maybe we should.  She likes to count. 
- She LOVES sugar, but sugar doesn't love her.  It makes her insane.  INSANE.  We limit sugar so that all of us survive. 
- She is my easiest kid to put to bed and stay in bed.  Once she is in her crib, she is asleep moments later... and STAYS that way. 
-  She says really cute things.  She loves to say "sure" as in, "I sure do love you, mommy!" or "This cheeseburger sure is yummy! It sure is!"  "It sure is a good day!" 
-  She loves to dance and always tell me to "bob my head and shake my fingers" while I am driving. 
-  She has really hilarious facial expressions.  She likes to purposefully make funny faces, too, and then giggle about them. 
- She doesn't really loooooove clothes.  In fact, most days around the house she is just in a diaper.  She always claims that she "wants to dress up!"  But I know the truth.  She just wants an excuse to be naked. 
- She becomes super attached to very strange and very small toys.  She loves to sleep with said toys.  Once she slept with a 3 inch rubber cockroach for a month.  Lately it has been an orange Barbie purse and an orange rubber dinosaur.  Sometimes it's her Littlest Pet Shop caterpillar.  You never know what you are going to have to scour the downstairs for before putting her to bed....  
- She loves nursery class at church and... is super well behaved there!  So very unexpected, but she consistently takes directions well from others and is kind to all of the other children.  She is not shy at all and loves to meet new people.  She will readily give a new acquaintance a hug or a kiss.
- In some ways I think the deployment has taken its greatest toll on her.  Her emotions and her ability to describe them is still growing and forming and Ivy gets frustrated and upset easily.  She misses her daddy so much and doesn't really understand why he isn't here or why she can't see him.  It breaks my heart to see her sad about this. 

  I'm sure I could add a million more items to "The List of Ivy," but another day another time.  I love her so much.  She is our little sugar duckling.  She makes our lives so much more interesting and I'm glad to know her!