Mother's Day and Father's Day

Father's Day ~ 2010
Mother's Day ~ 2010

Not sure how I missed out on posting a photo from Mother's Day and Father's Day this year ... but better late than never! :) Parenthood is such a blessing and privilege, as well as a huge responsibility! We endeavor to never take our time as parents for granted, because it passes so quickly! We thank the Lord daily for choosing us to be Lydia's parents and for the wonderful blessing He has given us in her!

Lydia ~ 33 Months

Heather's Family at my Dad's Birthday
Anthony Grandchildren ~ July, 2010

Lydia ready to go to the "pool"!

Enjoying watercolors!

Sitting with Grandma Winstead "watching" the fireworks!

Mel's Family at Blowing Rock, NC

Lydia with Uncle Paul

Lydia with Daddy on July 4th

Waterfall at South Mountain State Park

July was another busy month! We celebrated the Fourth of July by taking a trip to Morganton, NC, to visit with Mel's family. While we were there, we got to attend two fireworks displays. Lydia was not a big fan of the first one and basically would only "peep" at them through her fingers while her hands were covering her eyes. By the second round, however, she was thouroughly excited and wanted to "catch" them! We also visited the town of Blowing Rock and South Mountain State Park, while we were there, and Lydia was thrilled to be able to hang out with her cousins!

We also celebrated my dad's birthday in July, and both of my sisters and their children were able to join us. We are not all able to get together very often, so we were thankful for the time. In addition to her "learning time," Lydia LOVES to do "crafty" projects like painting (with watercolors), playing with Play Doh, etc., so I have included one of those pictures, as well as one where Lydia is very ready to go to her "pool," which is a small one in the yard, but makes for a nice break on hot days!

Lydia ~ 32 Months

Loving Playing in the Sand!

Looking at the Otters!

Sitting on a Big Turtle! :)

Lydia and Daddy

Lydia and Mommy!

Lydia and Brittany!

The girls: Brittany and Denise and Lydia and Heather

What a busy month June was! I was able to wrap up another year of teaching part time, and we were able to enjoy a few days away at Emerald Isle, NC, with my sister and her daughter. Lydia loved to play in the sand, but still wasn't a big fan of the ocean! Nevertheless, she had tons of fun at the beach, and also enjoyed going to the aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. We also had a few impromtu beach pics taken while we were there ... some of them are posted below.

Lydia continues to love to learn and we are thankful for that! She has most definitely mastered the upper case alphabet and is on her way with the lower case letters. She is also able to recognize numbers 1 - 12, and we are working on numbers through 20. She also enjoys puzzles and games, and doing just about anything outside! Each day is a blessing!