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...

Lydia's Second Birthday Party

Walking around with her cousin, Karolina!

Apparently, the watermelon looked more appealing than the "real" food... :)

Some of our party guests

Gifts from our very generous family members and friends!

More interested in the bubbles than in finding out who they were from...

Shoes!! :)

Lydia's Cake and Party Favors...

Yummy!

Please, Daddy... I haven't had enough sugar already... :)

Daddy is still working on taking pictures with both of us looking at the camera, but just to prove that I did attend her party....

Such a big girl!



Lydia celebrated her second birthday with almost our entire immediate family (all of whom drove hours to join us) on Saturday! We also had some friends and church members who helped us celebrate. We were very thankful and had a great time!

Happy SECOND Birthday, Lydia! We love you!!

Lydia Turns TWO!!

Our little angel turned two years old today! Unfortunately, we discovered that she had a mild kidney infection, and she therefore had to spend a big part of her birthday in the doctor's office, but she really seems to be handling it all really well. She celebrated with Daddy and Mommy today, with a yummy Happy Meal from McDonalds and a PINK cupcake! We hope to celebrate with her family and friends on Saturday!

Spending some time doing one of her favorite activities - coloring! :)

Lydia ~ 23 Months

Yes, we are starting early... :)

Heading to church one Sunday evening...

She LOVES to swing - especially in the "big girl" swing!

Lydia with Daddy...

As I sit here to enter this last blog update from my little girl's second full year of life, I can hardly believe it! Lydia will be TWO years old soon, and I can still remember the day we headed to the hospital to await her arrival! These have been two of the most blessed years of our lives, and we daily thank the Lord for all He has given us and taught us through our precious daughter. As I was putting together a photo collage of Lydia's second year, I was reminded just how much she has changed and how many things she has learned to do and accomplish during this year. Lydia has learned to walk solely (and on her own) at the very begininng of this year, to eat virtually anything Mommy and Daddy eat, to sleep in a toddler bed, to eat without sitting in a high chair, to go to the potty, and to talk in complete sentences and literally carry on a short conversation with an adult! It is truly amazing when I think about it! Some of Lydia's favorite activities still include reading (and now she will actually "pretend" to read books to us - so cute!), coloring with anything that will write - including permanent markers... (oops, Daddy), playing with Play-Doh, playing outside with bubbles, on the swings, etc., and going to church! She loves to ask us every time we get her dressed if it is "church day"! She has experienced a little bit of separation anxiety, which seems to be normal for the end of the second year of life, but seems to be managing that, other than a little bit of whimpering when she is dropped off for Sunday School.

Almost TWO!

We look forward to celebrating Lydia's second birthday with family and friends in a few short weeks! We praise the Lord for this very precious gift He has chosen to give us and we thank Him for allowing us to be Lydia's Daddy and Mommy!