Happy Father's Day!!

What a special day for all the Daddys out there to be especially thankful for the gift of being chosen to be a special someone's father! Here are a couple of pictures of Daddy and his little girl ...

Lydia ~ 19 Months

With each passing day, it definitely seems that our baby girl is transforming into a little lady ... but definitely a well-balanced little lady who loves hairbows, dolls and purses, but also rocks and sticks! As expected, Lydia remained off the chart for height at her check-up this month, and the doctor was very impressed with her vocabulary which now includes several short sentences, colors and recognition of a few alphabet letters! As we haven't had another child to compare her development to, we didn't realize that this wasn't "normal" for a toddler. We feel very blessed to have been given such a sweet and smart little girl!

Lydia's daily activities include "drawing" and writing (and she will quickly remind herself that she must only color on paper!), going outside to play at any given opportunity (this includes picking up a multitude of rocks, acorns, sticks, and flowers, of course), being a little mommy to her dolls and stuffed animals (feeding and rocking them, etc.), helping Mommy unload the dishwasher, "cleaning" anything within reach with a hand towel or paper towel (or any other cloth-like item), and occasionally enjoying a short time with Mickey Mouse, Dora or Veggie Tales! She has really become quite a bit more independent and really enjoys hanging out in her room while Mommy and Daddy get some work done - as long as she knows we are close by and can come "check on us" from time to time. One of her new favorite past times is "talking" on Mommy's old cell phone to her grandparents, and some of her aunts, uncles and cousins whom she calls by name.

Mommy was very thankful to celebrate another Mother's Day with her special little girl and her Daddy this month also! We continually thank the Lord for blessing us with Lydia, and endeavor to enjoy these moments which fade so quickly (including and maybe especially those walks around the yard where it seems every rock, flower, and even some blades of grass are pointed out!). It's such an awesome privilege to witness our little girl growing and learning!

Check out the grip! Her Daddy is definitely hoping this sport is in her future!

Just hanging out in her room!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all the special mothers a very special day,

celebrating the unique blessing of being a mom!

Lydia ~ 18 Months

It's hard to believe that our little girl is 1 1/2! In some ways, these past 18 months have gone by so quickly, and in other ways, I often find myself wondering where that tiny little baby we brought home from the hospital has gone!

Lydia continues to LOVE being outside and it's finally warming up so that she can get out there more often. She enjoys picking flowers (and grass) and pointing out the birds, trees, rocks, etc. to us. She likes to go for a stroll with Daddy, Mommy and Pepper, too. Lydia also got to hunt for Easter eggs for the first time this month and was thrilled by that. It seems like she surprises us more and more every day with the amount of words she knows and uses properly. She has a vocabulary of more than 50 words and five or six short phrases (with "I don't know" being a favorite - complete with hands out to the side and a shoulder shrug!) We are definitely seeing her personality more and sometimes she can be quite the ham! Some other activities Lydia enjoys is "helping" Mommy unload the dishwasher (and she does a good job!), cleaning anything she can reach w/ a cloth or paper towel (I'm hoping this continues to be so much fun for her!), listening to music, and of course, reading and looking at books.

We have done quite a bit of traveling this month, some of it unexpected with another death in our extended family, but Lydia has been quite the trooper! We are so thankful for our little toddler and look forward to watching her continue to grow and learn.

Easter 2009

Yep, Mommy only got one of the hands down... :)

One of her favorite things to do - pick flowers!

One for Mommy...

...and one for Daddy!

We were reminded in song and message about the importance and true meaning of this holiday. It is so wonderful to know that we serve a RISEN Lord,

who gives us everything we need to live for Him each day!

Lydia's First Easter Egg Hunt

Well, technically, Lydia did attend last year's Easter Egg Hunt at church, but this was her first year actually finding the eggs for herself! She has such a good time even though she felt that it was necessary to analyze each egg (color and contents) before she would go on to the next one, instead of just throwing them into the basket and reaching for more like most of the other children! :) With a little help from an older friend, she also found the prize egg for her age group! She really enjoyed petting the rabbits, as well! What a fun day!

Waiting for the fun to begin!
I found one!

Making sure to get each one into the basket safely...

Another one!

the PRIZE egg!

carefully placing each egg...

petting the bunny

wondering why the bunny is hiding in the corner of its cage...

eggs are nice to find, but so are flowers!

Blessings this Easter

We trust that you will have a blessed Easter weekend, thoughtfully considering the price our dear Savior paid to redeem us and celebrating our risen Lord!