Christmas 2009

We have many reasons to rejoice this Christmas, among which is celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ! We are realizing more and more how difficult it is to keep this at the center of our focus, with the business and commercialization we see at Christmas. Although we enjoy giving gifts to Lydia, we do not want her to start to think that this is the main reason for celebration. Our prayer is that this Christmas will bring much joy to your family and that 2010 will be filled with God's richest blessings! Merry Christmas from the Winsteads!

Lydia posing with the Christmas tree...

Naming all of the characters n the nativity scene...

Christmas Morning at Uncle Paul and Aunt BJ's home...

Lydia with Karolina ... Opening gifts on Christmas Day...

Lydia with Nana

Brittany with Lydia

Paw Paw with Lydia and Brittany

Our very favorite gift of all!

Lydia ~ 26 Months

Okay, so I am a little late with this post... We have been so busy during the month of December, and I am just now getting around to posting Lydia's monthly update, while at the same time uploading Christmas pictures... In addition to this month going by so quickly, Lydia has continued to be a "trooper" in the midst of a hectic time. We know now, however, that she was just getting prepared for the crazy Christmas travels that were in store... :) We celebrated Thanksgiving together during this month, and decided to stay at home and just be together as a family. The day after Thanksgiving, I cooked a "traditional" meal for some of Mel's family, though, who came to visit for a few hours. Daddy and Mommy also celebrated their 8th anniversary this month, and did so with a nice family lunch and trip to Wal-Mart... ha ha... :)

Lydia is realizing that the weather is starting to change and she does not get to spend nearly as much time out doors. She often tells us that "it's too coooold..." to go outside! She is really beginning to pick up other skills, however, including being able to complete more complicated puzzles without assistance, and is improving with her letter recognition. She is also learning to form certain letters, which for now include "L", "D" and "O" and enjoys "drawing" all kinds of pictures, especially with markers! Another favorite activity for Lydia is Play-Doh; she will literally play with it for an hour or more! It is fun to watch her imagination at work with these different activities. Lydia has always loved music, but lately, she is definitely enjoying her own style of "dancing" with some of her favorite tunes and DVDs (mostly "Veggie Tales"). She continues to love to read and look at books and we often hear her "reading" to the congregation of stuffed animals and dolls which accompany her to bed each night! These are just a few of the many ways our little girl brings us joy each day!

Ready for Church!

Brittany and Lydia at the Allred Christmas Party ~ December, 2009

Hanging her special ornament, painted for her by her Aunt BJ for her first Christmas!

Running through the leaves with Mommy!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to thank the Lord for, and one very special blessing is pictured above. I cannot help but be thankful each time I clean tiny fingerprints off the glass tables or pick up toys in my living room that I have been given a reason to do so!

Emerald Isle, NC ~ November 09

We were fortunate enough to be invited to a [big] beautiful beach house with some of our dear friends from college! Lydia had a blast playing with the other nine children who were there! Although Hurricane Ida was a problem initally, we did eventually make it out to the beach and to the aquarium, which was a lot of fun! We enjoyed catching up with some college friends and relaxing for a few days!

Lydia and Karis

Is this turtle real?!

Yep, that's Daddy...

Touching the water, but NOT the stingrays!

We have a pic like this from last year and it's amazing to see how much bigger she is now!

Lots of new friends!

Lydia ~ 25 Months

Outfit for the Harvest Festival...which Mommy had absolutely NOTHING to do with!

Cheerleaders have to stick together!

Loving playing in the leaves!

Such a sweet girl!!

Pilot Mountain, NC ~ October 2009

Lydia with her cousin, Brittany

Lydia and Daddy

Lydia and Mommy

We took a somewhat impromptu and very quick trip to Pilot Mountain, NC a few weekends ago! It was sooooo cold, so we could only stay for literally a few minutes. It was beautiful, though, and we were able to see the handiwork of God from a beautiful perspective!

Lydia ~ 24 Months

She loves to be outside and to sneak some of "outside" inside... :)

Pouring tea...

Well, obviously the biggest thing that happened this past month was Lydia's second birthday, but since I have separate entries on that and our Gatlinburg trip, I will just share a few recent pictures of our not-so-little two year old! When we went for Lydia's two year check-up, the doctor just said, "she's taller than well, everybody her age"! :) Maybe one day she will make it back onto the "charts"... She is still around the 60th percentile for weight, though, so I guess it all evens out.

I am continually amazed at Lydia's exploding vocabulary and ability to retain and remember information - even things she has only heard once. She continues to be a sweet little girl, but is definitely developing a stronger will and has found ways to express that. We are working with her frequently on these issues. She hasn't had a "tantrum" yet... but we wouldn't mind avoiding that altogether if that's even possible... :) She is also continuing to sleep well (12 hours per night) and has done very well with potty training!

Lydia did contract some sort of virus this month, and ran a fever of 105 + for about a day and a half. She is much better now, though, and is back to being silly, sweet, and asking us what a variety of things are, names of pretty much everyone she sees, etc. She is such a joy and we are so thankful for her!

Gatlinburg ~ Fall '09

Telling Secrets? ... taking a break at the convention center...
Enjoying the music!

Enjoying the sucker! :)

Our Group

Feeding/Chasing the ducks...

the future Dr. Winstead with the current Dr. Hunt

YES! A Bear ... right beside the road! CRAZY!

View from the front porch of our cabin!

We recently took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN, with some senior members of our church for a conference. We heard some excellent preaching and music, and had fun hanging out in Gatlinburg. Mel, Lydia and I stayed with my parents (their church also attended) in a cabin, which was sooo much nicer than a hotel with a little one! Here are a few pictures of our trip...