Lydia ~ 35 Months

Lydia - ready for church ...
Another Sunday ...

Off to Play!

One of her favorite activities ... playing outside!!

Hanging out with a little friend ... Dawson!

Although nothing really "major" occured during this month, we got some pretty cute pictures of our little girl ... It is SO extremely difficult for me to believe that this time next month she will be three years old! With me starting back to school and Mel's semesters - both teaching and as a student - beginning, our month was busy, but not with a lot of activities ... if that makes sense! The fall and holiday season will be very busy for us this year, so this "slower" time is much needed!

Lydia ~ 34 Months

Myrtle Beach ~ July 2010
Peek-A-Boo!

A Ride on Thomas the Train with Mommy!

Driving the "Firetruck" all by Herself ...

Fun in the Ocean!

This is fun, Daddy!

Heading Out to Vacation Bible School ~ 2010

Ok, so I am really behind on blogging, but will try to update Lydia's monthly updates as much as possible ... :) During this month, Mommy, Daddy and Lydia enjoyed a relaxing trip to Myrtle Beach, thanks largely to PawPaw and Nana Anthony and the use of their beach home. It was nice to get away for a few days and just relax! :) Lydia FINALLY enjoyed getting in the ocean this time! In fact, she had a blast!! She also enjoyed a trip to the "new" Pavilion, with lots of rides for younger children ... she even experienced her first ride alone, and loved every minute of that, as well!

We also had Vacation Bible School at our church this month. Lydia enjoyed being old enough to go to all of the different activities this year ... especially crafts! Mommy started back to school during this month, also! I will be teaching just two classes American Literature and British Literature [grades 11 and 12] - first thing in the mornings - at South Pointe Christian School. For the remainder of the day, I will be blessed to do the thing that I love most - hang out with my girl! We have decided to keep Lydia home for at least this next year, and I plan to work with her to introduce some preschool skills. She has already mastered the upper case alphabet and nearly all of the lower case letters (as far as recognition), and we will continue to work on numbers 1-20. It is such a joy to watch her learn, especially since she is so eager!

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!

Lydia ~ 31 Months

Lydia's thirty-first month was busy, as are most of ours, it seems! We traveled to see her cousins, Savannah, Karolina and Marshall and her Uncle Paul and Aunt BJ in Rocky Mount. Aunt BJ had a beautiful surprise for Lydia - a new, handpainted learning table! Lydia loves to do "learning time," and now we have an official table! She loves to sit here and work on her letters, numbers, matching games, lacing cards, and coloring! Lydia continues to do really well with her memorization and recognition of letters and has begun to point them out to us! We are continually amazed to watch her learn. While visiting our family, we also attended a minor league baseball game and Lydia had a lot of fun with that (except for trying to be coaxed to sit with the mascot - a large catfish!)

Lydia is a happy, healthy and energetic little girl and we are so blessed by her! She is almost always a "sweet girl" as she calls herself and we try to remember to encourage her when she usu her manners (which we have been working on for a while) and obeys Daddy and Mommy quickly because obey (as she will tell you) means "right now." We are seeking to raise her in a way that pleases the Lord, because we know that not only is that what God desires, but it is also what is best for her!

Carolina Mudcats Minor League Baseball Game

Playing with Daddy...

Her new favorite thing to do - silly faces!

Coloring!

Lydia ~ 30 Months

Lydia ~ 30 Months

First Haircut!!

Washing the car with Daddy!

Loving the swing!

Beautiful Little Girl....

Thirty Months sounds like a strange way to explain the age of a child, but when doing a monthly update, it's the only way! Since one of the most special times for us was the celebration of Easter, and there is a separate post for that, I will just touch on some of the other things Lydia has enjoyed this month.

We have had a few days of unusually warm (for this time of year) weather, and Lydia was able to help Daddy wash the car. Since she LOVES to play in any kind of water, this was a special treat, rather than the chore it will most likely one day be! We were also able to make an early trip to the park, which is not usual in April! Since the "firsts" are getting much more scarce, the older Lydia gets, we did have one this month - FIRST HAIRCUT! I do realize that she is 2 1/2, but we have never cut her hair ... Mrs. Leah at our church cut Lydia's hair and sitting in Mommy's lap and a lollipop made her first haircut a total success! In addition, our little girl has mastered recognition of all of the upper case alphabet letters and numbers 1 - 10! We are so proud of her! As always, we are thankful that the Lord has allowed us the privilege of being Lydia's parents!