Lucia Accidentally Catches a Fish

The kids have been enjoying fishing in the lake at our campground. No one has been having much luck so far, but today Lucia accidentally caught a fish! I had set the pole down on the dock, with the line in the water. She picked it up and started playing with it. I was worried she was going to drop it in the water and when I went to take the rod from her there was a fish on the line! 

Using her same technique each of the kids actually caught a fish later in the week.

Lucia’s Imaginary Friends

Lucia is definitely our most social child. Instead of having imaginary friends, like many kids do, she becomes one. Sometimes on our hikes or when we are just hanging out she insists that we call her Kenzie, short for McKenzie, and she also insists that we don’t know her. She will spend 5-30 minutes conjuring up different scenarios in which we, the Lieslands, hang out with Kenzie. 

She also still tells us about many adventures she has with Veda, our friends’ daughter who attended Susan’s preschool. We hear all about their adventures and experiences regularly.

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As Rose grows up, I am aware that we are passing through many phases of parenting. When Susan and I had our first apartment together we set up one room as a nursery, but within a few days of Andrew being born we realized that room would never be used. All of our kids slept with us in their earliest years, gradually moving from our bed to the mattress beside our bed, eventually moving to another room. 

For the past few weeks Rose has been on the move. She has been nursing less frequently and we decided it was time to night wean her. This means that she can move to the mattress on the floor and when she wakes up at night I cuddle with her to get her back to sleep. We also decided that it is time for her to start going to sleep laying down.

Historically we got her to sleep in the Boba, our carrier. This worked well and we still use this technique for naps. We moved Lucia back into our room and she and Lucia go to sleep at the same time. I lay in between them. Eventually I will move to a chair, to a chair by the door, to a chair in the hallway, to a goodnight kiss. I am ready for this transition, but it is definitely bittersweet. 

Lucia Rides a Bike

Mari worked with Lucia off and on all day today helping her to learn how to ride a bike. Susan and I were not so sure she was ready yet, but Mari and Lucia’s patience both paid off! There is still some work to do, but she is off to a good start.

Lucia Climbs!

Lu, near the top

When we signed up for Climb Iowa we did not figure Lucia would do much climbing – in fact, we did not even sign her up. We took her yesterday on one of the guest passes. After some initial hesitation, she loved it. She is just barely heavy enough to trigger the auto-belay and almost just floats in the air thanks to its support.

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Lucia’s First Time Skating

I took the afternoon off today so we could enjoy the ice before the warm weather takes it away. The Reagens dropped off some ice skates for Lucia so she was able to join in the fun. She actually kept her skates on for over two hours. She enjoyed skating while holding hands, skating by herself, and making snow angels on the ice. 

Santa Visit

To this day, Lucia thinks that Santa travels in a fire truck and when we see a fire truck she says, “There’s Santa!”

The Clive Fire Department escorts Santa around town to visit the kids in the neighborhood. The kids all love it. 

Happy Birthday, Lucia!

Dinosaur cake! This is what she asked for and this is what she got. It was a yellow cake, with vanilla frosting. It was good, but she only picked out the chocolate chips for consumption.
Dinosaur cake! This is what she asked for and this is what she got. It was a yellow cake, with vanilla frosting. It was good, but she only picked out the chocolate chips for consumption.

Today, and this weekend, we celebrate Lucia’s 4th birthday! She came so long after our other kids that I often think of her as our little girl, but as she turns 4 I am often reminded that she is not as young as she used to be.

Lucia at 4 is super-cute and excited about life. She loves to play with others and has many friends. She is very social once he gets to know someone and loves to connect with people of all ages. She still loves to be read to and lately has been doing some more ‘reading’ on her own. She is very familiar with some stories and will flip through the books on her own, telling the story.

This year she start the Playgarden class at Bean Sprouts, Susan’s school. She loves having her friends come to her on a weekly basis and still likes to drop in on the Parents & Tots class when she is not at the library with Mimi.

Lucia still shares a room with Mari. She is up between 7:30 and 8:30 and stumbles down the stairs, looking for someone to hang out with. She likes cereal for breakfast, with almond milk. She will also share egg whites with me and Rose. After breakfast she is off to school, or life. She likes noodles & cheese for lunch, the occasional grilled cheese, and pizza. She is still rather picky about what she eats and almost never eats meat. We head to bed at around 9. She brushes her teeth mostly by herself and then plays in her room while I read to Mari and Elliot and get Rose to sleep. She is in bed by 9:30 and insists on a proper goodnight, with a hug and a kiss when possible.