Life as Mrs. Schreiner

carrie and jonathan: engaged

2012-01-25T21:52:00.003-05:00

Carrie is a sweet sweet girl who used to be in our small group until Jonathan, a lucky guy stole her away to his church. We miss her dearly. She has been an encouragement to me often and has served our family so many times by either watching Lydia so we can go out or making me lots of meals when I was in the sick early stages of this second pregnancy. They wanted to do a mini engagement session to get a few pics for a save the date card. Here's some of what we got.

baby #2: 21 wks

2012-01-24T15:16:00.001-05:00

thankful to be on the downward slope from here on out

play date with friends

2012-01-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

As Lydia has gotten bigger and more active my love for play dates has grown. I mean I loved them before but it was more for my sanity (who am I kidding they are still more for my sanity) while she was so tiny and wasn't doing much "playing." I still love the mom interaction but really enjoy getting to see Lydia interact with other kids around the same age.

Hard to believe that I've been getting to know these ladies better for over a year now. I have grown to love their fellowship and look forward to the next time I can see them. Which was supposed to be today. BUM! Lydia got sick last night so I had to cancel our date with friends. She seems to be better now. Hoping it was just a quick bug.

G was cracking me up with how mesmerized he was by the camera.

can't wait to reschedule with you girls!!

cousins 3

2012-01-24T14:40:00.003-05:00

Lydia has lots of little cousins. We have the joy of living close to 2 of them. You may remember that I used to baby sit these little rascals. Now I just get to see them randomly for fun play times (for both mommies and babies).

a few notes from these pictures.
Till is pantless because he was mid potty training. He's trained now!! Yay!
Lydia needs to take some lessons from these two on how to smile on demand.

Thankful for family!

sweet lydia bug

2012-01-20T10:06:00.002-05:00

I feel like my camera has been a little Lydia less for the last few weeks. I couldn't take it anymore. I set her up by a window and started clicking away.

She was standing on a chest that I was sitting on. I was holding on to her shirt or leg to try and keep her safe. She wasn't happy about this at all. She kept pushing me away and then would almost step off the edge. That's when I sat her down and then eventually just let her roam around on the sturdy floor.

I love her little grins. She is a very happy girl and cracks me up with her personality.

Peek a boo!

baby #2: 20 weeks

2012-01-20T09:48:00.003-05:00

Patrick, Lydia and I went on Wednesday to find out the gender of this little baby inside of me. What a treat!! It's a girl. We are so thrilled to be adding another girl to our family. We watched a really sad video HERE about how those three words "it's a girl" are in some places the deadliest. Well, Praise the Lord for HE has given us hearts that love children. Boys and GIRLS.

Isn't this the sweetest little profile??

The tech surprised me by throwing in some 3D time. I didn't get this with Lydia and would never ask for it because I figure it's expensive and they still kind of look like aliens at this point. Here are a few of our 3D babe. She is weighing in around 13 ounces right now. TINY. But yet everything is there and she's healthy and kicking away! Her heart beat was 148 or something like that.

My stats:
Blood Pressure: 120/60 which is a little high for me... I was so anxious to find out!
Weight: 122 (8 lbs total).

I have been experiencing some flutters in my heart. I asked the doctor about it and she said it's completely normal during pregnancy. My body has/is producing so much more blood than normal which can causes some random palpitations. She said it's nothing to be too concerned about unless they don't go away. I didn't experience this with Lydia. Did any of you have this experience???

baby #2: 19 weeks

2012-01-11T15:38:00.002-05:00

I'm technically 19 weeks and a few days now but since I remembered to take a picture the day after I thought I'd post.

Patrick felt the baby move this week and I feel like my belly has really popped out.

p.s. self portraits are really hard to take. I kept twisting my torso to be able to look into my camera and then my stomach looks deformed. That's why there are multiples and some are blurry.

tidbits of cuteness

2012-01-10T08:54:00.003-05:00

Two videos of the Lydder bugs. Enjoy

Lydia loves books! She will point to them and say "buh" then she'll walk over grab one and come put it your lap repeating "buh" over and over until you read it to her. I hope her love for books will continue as she gets older.

A while back Lydia kept doing this thing with her mouth. We thought it was hilarious. She looks like a fish to me or a cat fish.

mommy's little helper

2012-01-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

Lydia helped me bake some cookies for our neighbors. Sadly they only made it to a few of the neighbors and then the rest sat on our buffet until they went bad. I blame it on the weather. Maybe I'll make some bread and take it to them and wish them a happy new year.

christmas recap

2012-01-03T15:54:00.001-05:00

I know we're a couple weeks out already but wanted to post some of these. Please forgive the uneditedness of all these pictures. I'm feeling lazy tonight:) It was dark and I generally hate flashes so these are a little noisy and kind of blurry.

Our Christmas celebrations started off with Patrick's family. We went to their Christmas Eve service at church. It was packed full of sweet songs and wonderful scripture telling of the promised one and then His actual coming to earth. We then went back to his parents house for dinner and to open presents. Patrick's oldest brother and family have moved to OR. We were able to skype with them. So thankful for technology!

We stayed the night at our house that night and woke up to do our own little Christmas.

After opening up presents we loaded up the car and headed down to my parents house. We had family over for our traditional donuts spent all day with family and then after dinner opened presents.

My family really likes Christmas so we had another day of celebrating with my Dad's extended family. I always love this time because we get to see family that we sometimes don't get to see but once a year.

lydia's cabinet

2012-01-03T15:49:00.003-05:00

There is one cabinet in the kitchen that Lydia is allowed to play in. It's the one with all the tupperware. She'll often come into the kitchen while I'm cooking or doing dishes and pull out all the bowls and lids. She's the best at making messes :) and hasn't quite gotten the hang of picking up after herself. Today I was in another room folding laundry when I heard her climbing into the cabinet.

Here's a video

and some pictures

I see so much of Patrick as a little boy in the one on the left.

18 weeks

2012-01-03T14:56:00.002-05:00

I finally remembered to have Patrick snap a picture of the growing belly. I was 18 weeks yesterday. I have been feeling so much better (although I did have one incident of getting sick on new year's eve but I think that was because I stayed up too late). I am thankful for the relief of nausea. I have some friends who are in the early stages of pregnancy and are having awful times with vomiting and just feeling yuck.

I forgot to post about my 16 week check up. Everything looked and sounded great. The baby's heartbeat was found oh so much quicker than last time which made me breathe easier. The heartbeat was in the 150's I believe. I weighed in at 119 which means I have gained a total of 5 lbs.

I feel like in the last two weeks or so I have started showing a lot more. I still get the looks of are you just eating too much around the holidays or do you have a baby in there. That baby is definitely growing though... I'm feeling more and more kicks and every day. I have been trying to feel them on the outside so that Patrick can feel them but no luck so far.

We go on the 18th of this month to find out the sex of the baby. CAN'T WAIT!!! 15 more days!

books read in 2011

2012-01-03T14:41:00.004-05:00

I always hope to read so much more than I actually do. I get distracted. I get started in a great series (Anne) and then can't find the 4th book and therefore don't read anything for 2+ months. I am making it a goal of mine to read more in 2012. I am trying to read some classics but I also want to read some books that spur me on in my walk with the Lord.

Here are the books I read in 2011

1. What Did You Expect: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul D. Tripp
2. Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
3. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg
4. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (great book. you should read it)
5. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
6. The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien (such a fun read)
7. The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery (this one sparked my interest in all of the Anne books)
8. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
9. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
10. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
11. True Happiness by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
12. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orezy

My first book of the new year will be.... Anne of Windy Poplars and then the rest of that series. Once I finish those it's on to the Lord of the Rings series. Happy reading!

bernard and brenda: married

2012-01-02T11:14:00.004-05:00

Bernard and Brenda were married a week before Christmas. They had a beautiful wedding and I had a blast taking their pictures. Special thanks goes to our friend Lang for letting me borrow all his AMAZING equipment!

happy new year!

2012-01-02T11:02:00.002-05:00

Looking back over 2011 I am amazed at all that has taken place.

It was our first full year with Lydia. What a joy she is!
We got rid of our dog.
I ran a 10 miler.
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Patrick graduated from SBTS with his MDiv.
We went to Cancun and had a blast.
We've had 3 nieces born this year.
Patrick's oldest brother and family moved to OR and his youngest brother got married.
My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and thankfully had surgery which was able to remove it.
Patrick has started his PhD at SBTS.
We celebrated 1 year of life with Lydia and 3 years of marriage to one another.
Found out we are expecting another baby in June 2012.
One of my brothers moved to Chicago for a new job (yay for a new place to visit:) )
Patrick has started a new job (HUGE answer to much prayer)
We have now lived in our house for 2 years.

Obviously so much more than that has happened but those are some of the major events that stick out to me. Our cup overflows! The Lord has been gracious to us in so many ways we will never be able to recount them all. We are thankful for the life He has given us. We know that we haven't taken one breath that wasn't a gift from Him. He has provided Patrick with a good job. We have amazing family that lives so close and love and support us. We are members at a wonderful church where the word of God is preached faithfully. We have sweet friends that provide fellowship and accountability for us.

All these things are a gift from the Lord. He gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Looking forward to this new year of 2012.

merry christmas

2011-12-22T16:26:00.002-05:00

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas

with singing

and laughing

and lots of time spent with those you love

remembering and celebrating

the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas from the Schreiners.

baby jude

2011-12-22T15:41:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I was able to take some newborn pictures of baby Jude. He was a wee one week old when I took these. Such a cute little peanut.

who's that chick thats rocking kicks

2011-12-14T15:03:00.002-05:00

check out those kickers

and look who gets so excited when she sees her daddy walking up!

welome to the world

2011-12-14T09:07:00.002-05:00

of constant drooling

never ending snot

crabby moods

terrible naps

tylenol

welcome to the world of getting your front two teeth.
(cue all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth song)

15 weeks

2011-12-12T14:24:00.004-05:00

I'm 15 weeks and figured it was about time I started updating the blog with pregger facts.

I have felt the baby move a few times. Nothing big or too consistent but just some random little flutters here or there at nighttime when I'm sitting real still.

I am extremely thankful that I have had two weeks and a few days with out sickness. It is a huge kindness of the Lord! It's not fun being sick but its really not fun being sick and taking care of a one year old. But I'd take it any day knowing that it's because a baby is growing inside of me.

Another thing I'm thankful for is how this pregnancy has really given me relief from my Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms. I have little aches here and there but NOTHING like it used to be. I know that there is always a possibility that I can have a flare up after having the baby but I know that the Lord will give me strength to endure. I'm just thankful for how I feel right now!!

I am starting to show a little bit. I'm sure after all the food I'll be eating around Christmas time there'll be no doubt of whether I'm pudgy or have a baby growing in my belly.

This picture is actually from 15 weeks 2 days but wanted to go ahead and post it.

Also I just noticed that I hadn't posted any of my info from my 12 week appointment.
My blood pressure was fine at 100/60.
My weight hadn't changed and was still 114.
Baby's heart beat took a little to find and had me holding my breath but that little heart beat was finally discovered and was in the 150's.

i throw my head back and laugh

2011-12-09T15:52:00.004-05:00

That title is supposed to be read to the tune of "I whip my hair back and forth".

Lydia is at such a fun stage. She is very expressive. One of our favorite things that she does right now is throw her head back and laugh. When she does it to her fullest she sounds like a raspy old smoker and it just cracks us up. We attempted to video her doing it the other night but she was more interested in watching the video camera and would only do it half heartedly.

Today I thought I'd get her walking around and just being herself. She is walking so well now. And it's my oldest sister's birthday so we included a "HI" and happy birthday in there.

hat and bath

2011-12-08T14:43:00.002-05:00

We got a package in the mail today. All the way from Washington State. What did it enclose??? A very sweet hat for the Lydder girl. Usually when I try to put things on her head she tries to take it off right away. She has left this on and is walking around playing for the past 20 minutes. Thanks Aunt Janet we love it!

Know what else we love?

BATHS!

Especially when Daddy gives them because he puts lots of bubbles in.

See how long her hair is in that top right one up there??

practically new pants

2011-12-08T14:28:00.002-05:00

So I bought these pants at Anne Taylor LOFT like 2 years ago and I loved them. I guess I'm kind of short because all jeans are too long on me. Unless I buy them in petite and then they are usually just right but kind of on the border line of high waters. Well one wash of these sweet jeans (that were on sale for $10) and they jumped the border and became high waters. I never wore them but kept them because I just really liked them.

Then came my friend Sammi. She alters everything. She showed me some jeans that she had that were funky in some way but she really liked the back pockets. So she turned them into skinny jeans. Once I saw hers I couldn't stop trying to find some pants that I could do the same thing too. Then I remembered my LOFT pants. YAY!!

She came over the other night and wide high waters became just the right length straight/skinny jeans. WOO HOO

the keune family

2011-12-01T14:39:00.002-05:00

Sweet friends. Adorable family. Beautiful place (Louisville Presbyterian Seminary...garden court).

I hope you guys love them!

stuck in nostalgia

2011-11-30T09:57:00.004-05:00

I was uploading some new videos and then it happened. I got stuck. I started going through the past in videos. Oh how I love seeing how tiny Lydia was. She has seriously transformed right before my eyes. I've been there for practically every moment of it but it's still hard to remember it all. So thankful for videos. This is one of my favorites: She was only 14 weeks old here.

Talking with Lyd at 14 weeks from Hannah Schreiner on Vimeo.

And here is a more recent one that I am late on putting up. It's probably from almost a month ago when she was just starting to walk more. She's so much more daring now. I apologize in advance for any motion sickness you may get from watching this video. I kept turning it the wrong way and then we threw the camera back and forth between the two of us... you'll see...we are definitely the best videographers out there.

Oh and I put up a new video of her on the birthday party post.

Happy Wednesday to you all and an especially happy last day of work at Starbucks for Patrick!!!

bernard and brenda: engaged

2011-11-27T18:01:00.002-05:00

Here are a few from an engagement shoot last week. Excited to take their wedding pictures in a few weeks.

thanksgiving 2011: round one

2011-11-25T11:23:00.003-05:00

We hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year. We didn't have all our family over (we are celebrating with my family on Saturday and did an early one with Patrick's fam last week). Instead we hosted friends from our church family who couldn't be with their own family this year. Most of them are students here but all are dear to our hearts.

We had so much fun and our hearts were full along with our bellies!

Hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 107: 1-3
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Lydia turns 1: celebrate!

2011-11-25T10:33:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Lydia's 1st birthday 2 days early and with 2 other friends. Lydia shares her birthday with our friends Mindy and Chad's little boy and our other friends AJ and Jordan had their little man 9 days before us. We all have pretty much the same circle of friends and instead of inviting all of the same people to 3 different parties we thought we'd have 1 party with triple the amount of fun. It worked.

We did a Saturday morning brunch. We served pancakes, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread, breakfast casserole, and fruit. It was delicious! It was so fun to see the babies eat their cakes and have everyone there to celebrate with us.

Get ready for picture overload.

I love this picture because she just woke up from her nap and looks so tired still.

the cousins
W

friends

cake time

Birthday Cake from Hannah Schreiner on Vimeo.

the birthday three

and the parents

Happy Birthday! Thanks for all of those who were able to celebrate with us!

headbands

2011-11-23T11:47:00.002-05:00

My sister is starting a little business on the side. She's staying at home more with her little ones and working as a nurse less. She makes adorable headbands for babies, kids, and adults. Of course Lydia has some... you should too. They'd make great stocking stuffers or just because gifts. She has them all on sale for $5 for this holiday weekend.

Here is one of her bands modeled on a friends precious baby girl

There are all sorts of colors and sizes... I'm sure she'd even do some custom orders if you let her know what you're looking for. Check out her etsy store HERE.

Go support a momma wanting to stay home with her kids. And get some super cute accessories while you're at it:)

ryan and cheryl: married

2011-11-22T22:09:00.002-05:00

This was a very special wedding for me to be able to shoot. I have known Cheryl and her family since I was some where around 9 years old. She has been a sweet friend and I am so happy for her and Ryan. Both of their families were so precious during the festivities. I hope you guys enjoy this little peek.

lydia: 12 months old

2011-11-21T10:37:00.000-05:00

Our sweet baby is now a 1 year old. She has grown so much in the last month. She has a wonderful personality and is becoming more and more vocal.

Here are her stats from her 1 year appointment:
weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (55th %tile)
lenth: 30.25 in (85th %tile)

Some things that she is doing:
-She is taking more and more steps. I really think she could walk on her own but she just doesn't quite have the confidence. She'll take probable 10+ steps on her own now but still prefers the crawl.
-She babbles a lot to her self.
-She loves the phone. We bought her a play phone for her birthday and she loves it. She holds it up to her head and says hello and hi.
-She is allowed into one cabinet in the kitchen (the one with all the tupperware) and she loves pulling everything out.
-We've just switched her over to all whole milk. No more formula. Now we just have to work on switching to all sippy cups and no bottles.
-She likes to do patty cake. I leave out a lot of the words and really just do roll em up, roll em up and then pitch em in a pan and she will roll her hands up (I should post a video)
-She says: hi, hello, mama, dada, da (duck), momo (more), uh oh, bye bye, baba (bottle or really any drink), roll (for roll em up in patty cake)

The last year has been wonderful. It brings me to tears thinking over our time with Lydia. The Lord has so kindly given us a great baby girl who we love and cherish dearly.

This kiddo is like my best friend. She gives me the sweetest hugs and I'd seriously take them all day if she'd keep giving them. She goes anywhere with me (because she really doesn't have any other choice) and keeps me company. If you know me very well in real life you know that I like to be with people or at least have some sort of company (the phone will work if you can't actually be sitting by me). Lydia is my constant butt buddy. She keeps me company and listens to all my randomness while Patrick is at work or school. She's my breakfast and lunch date almost every day. She laughs while I dance and make a goon out of myself.

I feel so inadequate when trying to describe how much Lydia has changed our lives and how much she means to us. We pray that the Lord would give us great wisdom as we continually strive to raise her to fear and love the Lord. If we could choose one thing for her it would be that she'd love Jesus.

Happy Birthday love bugs! What a fun year we've had.

number 2

2011-10-27T10:44:00.002-04:00

On Sunday September 25th 2011 I took a pregnancy test and it read positive. It was really faint so I didn't fully believe it. I showed it to Patrick and we both agreed we wouldn't get too excited because it wasn't the clearest. I took another test of Monday. Positive. It was still kind of faint. I took another one on Tuesday. CLEARLY POSITIVE.

WE are thrilled to be expecting our second child. The Lord has been kind to us in opening my womb again. And so quickly. We are humbled. I think I didn't believe the first two tests because we hadn't been trying but for a month and I had just stopped breastfeeding Lydia. But despite the odds there is a baby growing in my belly. A sweet sweet baby!!

We went to the doctor and had an ultrasound done to check the size of the baby. Because of weaning and other things I wasn't sure of when I got pregnant. After measuring and letting us hear the heartbeat we found out that I am 8 weeks (my weeks change on Mondays). The due date they gave is June 4th. So we'll have a baby by the end of next Spring!!

If you remember from Lydia I had a hard time with nausea and vomiting. Well it's back with this baby too. This is definitely not the most fun stage of pregnancy but I will take it. Patrick keeps reminding me to look at Lydia and remember what all this brings. It's just hard to always think like that while hugging the toilet or sticking my head out the car window. Oh yeah, it's fun!

I go again to the doctor on Lydia's first birthday. I'll be 12 weeks then.

Something I loved with my last pregnancy was sharing it with others who were also pregnant. I had lost of friends who had babies around the same time and it has been so much fun to see our kiddos grow. I get to experience that again!!! We have a constant stream of pregnant woman at our church so it's bound to happen but I'm so thankful to get to experience this with my friends.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

I'll try to do the weekly updates again. I like to look back on those from the last pregnancy and it'll be fun to compare the two. I'll start when I actually start showing.

julie and wesley

2011-10-22T10:04:00.002-04:00

Last night I took some pictures of Julie and Wesley on Southern's campus. They have been married for a few years and just wanted to get some new pictures of themselves. We were so thankful for the beautiful weather. It was a perfect night. Thanks Julie and Wesley!

11 mo

2011-10-21T13:49:00.002-04:00

Lydia is 11 months old and so much fun. She has such a little personality. She is getting more and more expressive. She laughs all the time and as she's also starting to exert her will more she fusses a lot more when we take things away from her or ask her to do something she doesn't really want to. Oh the joys!

Today was nice for the first time in a few days. It's been cold and rainy here. It's still cold but at least the sun is shining! I took advantage of it and took Lydia out for some pictures. I love the jacket she is wearing. Our friend Tara made it for her and I think it's just adorable! Thanks T!! (p.s. can we get together with you guys soon??)

Her schedule hasn't changed much. Still two naps a day and 3 meals. I have started to give her a bottle of whole milk for lunch. She is still on formula for the morning and evening bottles but I wanted her to start getting used to it. I give her 8 oz at breakfast and dinner and 6 oz at lunch. She still goes down for the night at 7:30 and has been sleeping until 8 or sometimes even 8:30. I am thankful for a great sleeper!

Somethings Lydia is doing as of lately:
-says hi, bye, uh oh, mama, dada, ba ba (for bottle)
-signs for more (it's so cute instead of the correct way she points to one palm over and over...close enough)
-we ask her "how big is Lydia?" and she raises her hands above her head as we say "SO BIG"
-she blows kisses
-she has taken a few steps but nothing more than that. she usually will take two or three steps and then lunge toward us.
-when I change her diaper I always say "shew!" whether it's poopy or not and she has started to mimic me.
-Lydia loves the book "brown bear brown bear what do you see"

(here she is doing SOBIG!)

Lydia still only has her bottom two teeth. I thought she'd have at least two more by now but I guess not.

don't you just want to eat her up!
I love the one below on the right. Well I love both of them...but the one of the right is so funny because she's being such a ham!

Lydia has a very sweet disposition and I am so thankful! We love spending time with her. It's so funny and very sweet to me how much Patrick misses her when he's gone. He'll come home and if she's asleep he asks if he can wake her up because he's so anxious to see her.

Cutest cloth diaper butt in the world!

Happy 11 months big girl. We love you!

joel and chelsea married

2011-10-20T20:54:00.002-04:00

I helped out at a wedding a few weekends ago. They got married out in Shelby County at a farm. It was the perfect night out. I wanted to put up just a few pictures as a sneak for Joel and Chelsea. Thanks guys for letting me share in your special day.

Joel and Chelsea decided to see each other before their ceremony to take pictures. I was supposed to get some pictures of Joel while he waited. He was so sweet as he anxiously awaited his bride.

the girl in the mirror

2011-10-19T11:59:00.003-04:00

Recently I've found Lydia giving her reflection kisses. Whether her reflection is in the dishwasher, stove, or an actual mirror. The girl loves seeing her face. She waves "hi," gives kisses, and smiles a ton. It reminds me of in Anne of Green Gables where she has her make believe friends that live in random things around the house. Lydia has found her first make believe friend in her self :).

Why yes my mirror is filthy. Thanks for overlooking that :).

and look who can stand on her own. She's still not totally confident in her skills but she's growing in them...she's even taken a few steps. Can't believe she'll be 11 months in 2 days.

sawyer came to visit

2011-10-10T11:55:00.002-04:00

Our friend's Alex and her little girl Sawyer came into town last week for a wedding. While they were here miss Sawyer turned one. Do you remember Alex and I being pregnant together last year??

Lydia and I went over one morning for a play date. It's so much fun to see them interacting together. Sawyer is already walking and babbling so much. I think Lydia just liked watching her do all her big girl tricks.

We also went to celebrate her first birthday. Lydia liked Tereza!

I love G's face in the picture on the left and D's face on the picture on the right...not to mention how Sawyer is digging in to her cupcake. The girl knows how to eat!

yay for friends and babies!!

tilly

2011-10-10T11:51:00.002-04:00

new scarf

2011-10-06T10:21:00.002-04:00

I made a new scarf. I used Keight's tutorial. Thanks Keight!! Hers is longer than I made mine. I had gone through my closet to get rid of some old clothes and found two shirts/dresses that I really liked the colors of. One was getting pretty fuzzy (it was probably 4 years old and I wore it all the time) and the was a dress that was super soft but fit badly. I decided to cut it off and make it into a shirt. So I used the bottom of the dress and the majority of my shirt to make the rectangles she calls for. Instead of wrapping twice like hers, mine only wraps once. I like it.

hubers apples

2011-10-06T10:15:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we went apple picking with some friends at a local orchard. This place is great for picking your own goodies. They have strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, pumpkins and lots lots more.

It was a perfect fall day. There was crispness in the air but the sunshine kept you from getting too chilly.

I've been snacking on these apples with some peanut butter... I'm thinking about making little mini apple pies like this girl did??

There were lots of kids with us. some were being carried while the big ones were roaming around picking their won apples. Mr. G (on the left) shares a birthday with Lydia. He is a few hours older:)

Here are all the girls

And the babes:

I love Lydia's hair in the left picture. We were riding on trailer coming back from the fields and the wind was blowing her whispy hair all over the place.

After picking the goods we had lunch out by the pond and then headed home for naps!

community

2011-10-05T10:33:00.003-04:00

Are you in a community? Not just like a neighborhood. A community of people who know you and you know them? People who you can share things with and know that they wont judge you. Not because they're just nice people but because they know that they are rotten nasty people too. We don't just get together and talk about how bad we are though, we also talk about how good the Lord is and remind each other who we are in Him.
At our church we have gospel community groups. Group of 15 or so gather in each others homes to eat, pray, talk, get to know each other, and have some fun.

Our community group meets pretty much once a week. One week we'll get together and discuss the sermon we just heard while we share a family style meal. We'll talk about how the sermon that day applies to our lives and then pray that the Lord would help us. The next time we meet as guys and girls. The guys tend to go do something active or watch a ball game. Us girls tend to just get together and talk and maybe eat some dessert:). The third week we all get together and do something fun like have a game night, play ultimate football, or have a bon fire. Then for the fourth time we meet separately as boys and girls.

I love our community group. These people are becoming very dear to me. I enjoy getting to see them and hear how they are doing. They care for our family and we for theirs.

when it was warmer

2011-10-05T10:17:00.003-04:00

A little while back, when it was warmer, my sister and I took our kids to the pool. Southern (where Patrick goes to school) has a great facility with an indoor and little outdoor pool. I took a few picture of the kiddos. It was hard to get them all to look but I love the ones of Rory in the glasses. Precious.

And when I say "when it was warmer" I mean Sept 1st... I'm WAY late on posting things but wanted to have these to remember.

explorer

2011-10-05T09:18:00.003-04:00

Lydia is quite the explorer these days. As her grandma said...it's her full time job. Patrick and I got out and enjoyed the amazing weather on Monday. We went to a local park and walked around some of the trails. We stopped for a break and let Lydia do her job. I haven't really set her down in a pile of dirt and leaves and let her play before so I think this was her first. It was her goal to pick up every leaf and tear it to pieces.

After walking some of the trails we went up to the "dog hill." We used to take our dog up there. Do you remember Kirby (caution if you clink on that link, you may not be able to leave that page...you'll be addicted to the cuteness)? Well now that we don't have a dog, we take Lydia up to dog hill and watch all the other dogs. Lydia is still somewhat apprehensive around dogs. None of these really came too close so she was happy watching them. In the picture on the right she started crawling after them (going down hill). You can see her right leg coming up...this was right before she flipped over and rolled down just a little. She stopped and just laid there looking a little confused. Crawling downhill is a little harder than on flat surfaces.

thankful for the smallness of my phone and it's ability to even take pictures...too bad the quality isn't the best.

walk walk i like to walk

2011-09-30T13:50:00.004-04:00

Lydia has just started walking...with some helps from her walker. She loves it. I was afraid it'd slip out from underneath her and she'd bust her face...that hasn't happened yet. We still stay close to her and help steer her around furniture. I think she loves this new form of freedom.

And this is an older video of Lydia laughing at her silly daddy. (sorry if you get a little sick from the wobbliness of the filming :) )

Isn't her laugh the sweetest?

10 months

2011-09-27T12:07:00.004-04:00

Lydia is 10 months old now. Remember when I thought 10 months was a year?? Ha, well thankfully its not! Or I would I have 1 year old.

We weren't scheduled to go to the doctor for a 10 month appointment but ended up going a few days before to have her ears looked at. I thought she may have an ear infection but it turned out that she was just teething. Poor girl. It has been tough this go around. Last time the teeth just popped through and she didn't really have that drastic of a change in mood. This time the snot and drool are RUNNING! I can't tell you how many times I've sucked out her nose just so she could breathe. Hopefully those teeth will break through soon because I feel pretty bad for the girl. Anyway at the doctor she was weighed and is 20 lbs 8 oz. The little chunker has broken the 20lb mark.

Lydia loves little kids. She gets really excited when she sees them and wants to attack. Tillman might just be her favorite! The other day Till and her were in our room playing with alphabet cookie cutters (I know they aren't really toys but they love them!!). Lydia was looking like such a big girl. She was keeping up with Till in just about everything.

Here is a video of Lydia with Tillman

She is definitely learning what "no" means. Now that she knows which things she's not supposed to touch, she will often go up to them and shake her head.

She says "hi" and "ba ba." She has perfected the wave to go along with those. She sometimes tried to say "uh oh"... usually the "uh" is all the comes out. I'm working on her learning high fives and how to blow kisses.

Two days before her 10 month mark she started crawling on her hands and knees. She still army crawls sometimes but more and more she is crawling in the traditional way. How fun! I really didn't think she would do this. I just thought she'd army crawl until she walked. I really am glad though because all her shirts were starting to look worn from her scooting everywhere on her stomach.

I have started giving her more and more finger food. She has had a few whole meals now of just finger food.

She is still taking two naps and 3 bottles a day. I am going to start introducing cow's milk again at lunch time to start getting her used to it so that when she's a year we can switch all together.

The pictures I have aren't the best...she wasn't feeling so hot this day. I should have re done them the next day but forgot. Now she's 10 months and a week so these will have to do. We took her to the park after dinner and she really enjoyed swinging. Of course she especially loved watching all the kids who were also swinging.

We are so thankful to the Lord for these 10 months. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

stinking it up

2011-09-22T21:57:00.003-04:00

Yeah, so I'm stinking it up in the blogging world. I haven't posted in a while. Sorry for anyone who cares. I reading a lot. Anne of Green Gables to be exact. Finished that one and am now on to Anne of Avonlea. Where has Anne been all my life. I love that little red headed girl.

For those who care, I'm hoping to do a 10 mo post on Lydia soon. I also have lots of videos to post, an update on the whole RA thing, and just random info on life.

headband

2011-09-07T15:07:00.001-04:00

thanks aunt b for my cute headband!!

officially weaned

2011-09-07T14:58:00.003-04:00

I started to wean Lydia on August 12th and by September 3rd she was completely weaned. The process was shorter than I had originally planned on it being but was also a lot smoother than I had anticipated.

I am very thankful to the Lord for giving us grace to get through this season. I think I had dealt with the emotional aspect of weaning at the very beginning (or maybe even before I started).

It was a rough start because Lydia wouldn't take formula. I only had about 30 oz of breast milk stored. Once that was gone I didn't really know what to do. I mixed the last few bottles with formula to try and get her used to the taste but I ended up throwing those bottles out because she refused them (I guess due to the taste of formula??). When it was only formula in the bottle she would scream and spit the milk out and then start gagging. Those first few days she went without (milk) for a few meals. One day I just broke down and bawled my eyes out. I emailed Patrick this pathetic message telling him how RA has ruined my life. In my mind it made sense... if I didn't have RA I wouldn't have to get on this medicine. If I didn't have to get on this medicine I wouldn't need to wean. If I didn't have to wean Lydia would not be screaming... All leading back to RA. Patrick reminded me that I'd have to wean at some point anyway even if I never had RA. He also calmed down the whole "my life is RUINED" thing by reminding me that many people have it WAY worse than me. He also threw in the reminder that this is God's perfect and good plan for my life. I was thankful for friends who prayed for us all during this rough time and who sweetly reassured me that this too shall pass. And boy is that the truth...all these seemingly huge things at the time are hard to remember in a few weeks.

We finally gave her a 3 oz bottle of whole (cow's) milk. She cried at first but then drank the whole thing. Slowly I have been mixing formula in with the cows milk. I know I know babies are not supposed to have cow's milk until they are a year old. I was desperate and my doctor told me it was okay. And now she is on only formula.

I dropped her dream feeding first and then dropped one feeding each week afterwards. The last to go was the "dinner" feeding. I did this so that I would be emptied out at the end of the night and could sleep comfortably. Thankful this process hasn't been too uncomfortable. I had this awful expectation and thought it'd be super painful. I think the Lord has heard my prayers and graciously made this process very smooth.

So overall I am happy with my nursing experience. Lydia never really had any trouble and I am so thankful that I didn't have any problems (i.e. mastitis). I am glad to be able to easily go out during those feeding times now and just bring a bottle.

Good-bye nursing.

9 months

2011-08-29T11:32:00.004-04:00

Lydia turned 9 months last Sunday. I was waiting to do this post until we had gone to the doctor and had all her updates stats.

Weight: 19 lbs 12 oz (yup she's a CHUNK!)
Height: 28 inches

She's in the 65%tile for both height and weight.

This little 9 monther is a bundle of joy. She is surprising us every day with new things.

Here are a few of the things she is doing lately

-She is a fast scooter. Every once in a while she'll actually get up on her hands and knees and crawl the normal way, but I think because she is so fast at the other way she wont ever really get the "crawl." We'll see.
-She is pulling up on everything.
-She still has two teeth but I think she's cutting more. Normally I think kids get the top two teeth but it kind of looks like Lydia may be getting her lateral incisors (the ones right next to her bottom middle).
-She is taking a bottle and I am weaning.
-Part of her pulling up on everything is her pulling herself up in the crib. This has been a fun trial for nap times. Suddenly her naps have not been so great. BUMMER.
-She says Ba Ba (for bye bye). She sometimes adds a arm wave.
-When she wakes up or comes into the room she'll often say Ha (Hi). I love it.
-We've started disciplining her (by smacking her little hand and saying "no") for touching cords. She is learning. I can now say "Lydia don't touch that...mommy said no" and she will sometimes touch it but other times she'll turn around and come to me (or go to a toy).
-Lydia is still really friendly and happy. She'll generally go to anyone. She is very flexible...even if she is totally messed up on naps and her routine, she'll usually be happy and offer smiles freely. We are thankful for this chilled baby.

Her schedule has been changing (because of us going through the weaning process). Here is what it basically looks like.
7:30-8:00 she wakes up and has milk
8:30 solids
9:15-11:30 nap
12:00 solids and milk
2:30 nap
6:00 solids
7:00 milk
7:30 bed time

So in the weaning process the first feeding I dropped was her dream feed. I was worried she'd wake up hungry but she didn't...she was just chunking up on that dream feed.

Happy 9 months Lydia!

jon and lindsay: engaged

2011-08-21T21:11:00.003-04:00

Lindsay is a sister who is super dear to me. She has been a constant in mine and Patrick's small group at our church. For practically 3 years now we have had the privilege of getting to know Lindsay. She has graciously spoken truth into my life over and over again. We have been blessed to share in life's trials and joys. One of the sweet joys that we have been rejoicing with her in recently is her and Jon's engagement. We are so excited for them. Jon doesn't go to our church so sadly she will be leaving our small group. This is probably the only sad thing about their getting married. She will be greatly missed at our church but will be a huge blessing to those where she's going.

Thanks you guys for letting me capture these! I loved hanging out with you. Can't wait till 9.30.11 !!

weaning

2011-08-19T09:45:00.001-04:00

A week ago today (aug 12) I started weaning Lyds. It was a hard decision to make but because of the importance of me getting on medicine soon to treat my RA I need to go ahead and do it now.

My original plan was to start dropping 1 feeding a month starting around 9 months. That way by the time she was 1 or so, she'd be weaned. Now I'm dropping 1 feeding a week so that she'll be weaned by 9 1/2 months.

The thought of weaning really made me sad. I was fine with the thought of it after a year but earlier was just too much. It wasn't what I wanted. Lots of things that have been happening lately aren't the way I wanted. I really struggle with being out of control. It makes me feel weak and I don't like that. Patrick kindly reminded me that seeing our weakness is good because it reminds us that we need Jesus.
I'm comforted that the Lord knows all my days. In fact He wrote them out for me.

Psalm 139:16b in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them.

It is also a good encouragement to see that He is strong when I am weak and that His grace truly is sufficient.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

So how is the weaning process going??
So far I've dropped the dinner feed (She eats four times: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dream feed). So now that dinner feeding is with a bottle. I'm going to drop the lunch one today. She has taken the bottle fine as long as it was still breast milk. I didn't have a ton of that stored so I am now having to give her formula. She refuses to take formula. Some people have suggested to try it in a sippy cup. I'm going to try that today. Hopefully it works. So far when she refuses to take the bottle I just let her skip that meal. I mean I know the girl isn't starving. Have you seen her? I don't know what we'll do if she still wont take it out of a sippy cup. Maybe I'll call the pediatrician and see what she thinks about whole milk?

sewing

2011-08-06T16:54:00.004-04:00

I've been sewing lately. Now that my machine is fixed it's so much more fun. Tons less frustrating.

So one night when Patrick was out with a guy friend I got an itch to sew Lydia a dress. I didn't want it to be complicated. Our printer is out of ink so I didn't want to have to use a pattern that I'd need to print. I wanted simple. REALLY simple. And I found it. Googled for an easy girls dress and this one popped up.

I had an old t-shirt of P's that had a hole in it. I like the color and it's really soft. So I cut it up and made a dress. I like the idea of this dress because it works as a dress now and later can be a tunic top or a skirt. I took a few pictures of the process.

This one of Lydia isn't the best. She's not looking and the dress was slipping down her chest... You get the point though. Oh and the dark spot on the right corner...SPIT UP. Right after I put the dress on her she spit up all over it.

I'm not thrilled with my dress but it'll work. I made it really quickly...didn't iron anything down so it's a little sloppy.

More recently while kids (this was a day I was watching my niece and nephew) were napping I got out Anna Maria Horner's book "Handmade Beginnings" and made the Henny Penny and Six Chicks.
I had never sewn using a pattern so this was my first time. I thought it'd be an easier start than a dress. My next thing is going to be a dress. Lydia likes holding on to the chicks and crawling around.

the chicks (3 blue 3 pink) fit under the wings.

food

2011-08-06T16:13:00.004-04:00

I've been the happy recipient of veggies from my sister's garden this summer. It seemed pretty easy but I'm still scared to try my own. I would love to be able to walk out into the back yard and grab some of these. Nom nom nom!! Thanks Bek, they made some tasty fajitas!

I've been gluten free for 7 weeks now. I had been craving some of my favorite summer desserts but they all had wheat in them. Then I found this recipe (thanks Laura!!). DELICIOUS!! Banana pudding is one of my favorites so I was kind of afraid that using this substitute for the wafers would be yucky but it wasn't. Not at all. I love the nutty taste the pecans add.

I used the same crunchiness for a make shift blueberry cheese cake. I layered the crust, cream cheese (with powdered sugar, vanilla, and sour cream), and blueberry filling (with freshly picked blueberries YUM) in the same trifle and it was super yummy.

Along with these I've made gluten free banana bread muffins as well as regular gluten FILLED banana bread for Patrick and a few of our neighbors.

What have you been making this summer? Any delicious treats you'd like to share.

$7.00

2011-08-06T15:06:00.003-04:00

Went to pick up a prescription from kroger this morning and saw a sign for a yard sale. I was then in the mood to go look for more. I went to the first one and found a few books, a mr. potato head, ABC caterpillar and a Pilates video for muah. $4

(forgot to get out the pilates video and books for pictures...now I'm too lazy to redo them)

At the second one I found two more toys and a pair of Limited shorts (perfect fit!!!). $3 total.

So I really wish I would have only spent maybe $5 just because its a yard sale and I like to be cheap. Today for some reason I felt bad low balling it. If I would have paid what they were asking I would have spent $17 so I guess $7 is still a pretty good deal.

I washed up those toys and let Lydia have at them. She loved em. Patrick hated them (haha only because they make annoying noises)

other news: went to oldnavy looking for a new bathing suit and just happened to find one that I really like for $5!!!

till reading to roars

2011-07-26T15:16:00.001-04:00

putting this up for my sister and family. walked in on till reading to little sis roar. **sorry for the longness**

the roars

2011-07-25T11:58:00.001-04:00

5 months

taylorsville lake

2011-07-23T17:23:00.002-04:00

why is it that the older I get the more scared I am to swim in a lake? I love the lake but its not as enjoyable as it was when I was a kid. I'm now afraid of squishy, slimy bottom and the unknown.

8 months

2011-07-23T16:10:00.004-04:00

Lydia is 8 months old. It really is hard for us to believe. For a while I was thinking that a year is 10 months. I know I know. I know a year has 12 months but for some reason I kept thinking Lydia was only 2 months away from a year. I started to freak out. Then I remembered. 12 months... I still have 4 months. Which really doesn't seem like that many.

She is a sweet ball of a MESS. I know that sentence didn't make any sense. Lydia is scooting. She is even able to maneuver herself over things. like my legs.

She has 1 tooth that is still hard to get a good glimpse at but is definitely there and then another one that is about to break through.
***If you look closely in some of these pictures you can see that little toofers***

and because of those teeth we are seeing this face more than often.

I think her schedule is still the same as last time. I need to check. The brief story is she is napping twice a day and nursing 4x a day. She eats solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Spitting up as much as ever (4 times while I was taking her pictures this morning...I only took pictures of 2 of those times)

She has just started to say Ba Ba (Bye Bye) when we ask her to and she even gives an uncontrolled hand/arm wave. Clapping has also emerged onto her list of things she can do. It's still not super controlled but she does it. (I think the last picture in this sequence is the best because she totally missed)

Patrick's summary of Lydia's stage right now: "Every day a new world presents itself to her and she steps to the edge of it and throws herself into the unknown."

See what I get for asking him to participate in my blog...nonsense :) Thanks Patrick!
Although she hasn't reached the developmental stage of knowing that if she crawls right off the bed it's going to hurt. (Is that depth perception?) Anyway a few times I have held onto her foot and just watched to see if she'd really try and crawl off the bed to get our alarm clock. YUP. She would have face planted had I not had her foot.

Lydia has a rat tail. Patrick wants to trim it to make it straight... I say it's natural so lets just let her rat tailish hair keep on growing!

and we'll leave you with a few videos from this month.
here she is saying good night to daddy. she is usually so good and just laying down and going right to sleep

and here is a day with all 3 kids (my niece and nephew)

talking with daddy

scooting action

meeting eva

2011-07-23T16:07:00.003-04:00

My newest niece Eva was born on 7/18. Wednesday Lyds and I went down to meet her. What a cute chunker. Something about a newborn that makes me want a million kids. HA
Eva is my oldest brothers (Micah) second baby. I'm thinking Eva looks like him. Can't wait till I get to hold that cuddly babe again.

little sister. big sister.

oh my what a big new born you have.

sweet little burrito

love you sweet girl

swinging

2011-07-19T21:15:00.003-04:00

Lyds and I went to the park today. It was her first time in a swing. She was adorable. She kept giggling everytime I'd push her. She pretty much loved it.

(taken with my phone sorry it's so small)

While we were there some little boy asked me if I'd help his papaw make him a brother. SORRY kid but that aint happening.

meet hudson

2011-07-18T16:59:00.002-04:00

Hudson is one of the newest additions to our church. One of many new additions. Seriously babies are popping out from everywhere. Anyway. Dave and Jessica welcomed their first born Hudson a few weeks ago. He's a hunk. Take a look.

did i mention?

2011-07-18T16:54:00.002-04:00

Lydia has a tooth. It came in a week or so ago. It's taking its time to really show itself. But trust me it's there. I felt it.

Oh yeah and way more importantly than a new tooth, we have a new niece. Eva Noelle was born today. She's a chunker. Born at 8lbs 7 oz (that's how much I weighed :) ). Can't wait to meet the girl. It will be a while though seeing as I've come down with a sickness. Not sure what it is. Hopefully on Thursday I'll be well and can squeeze her and pinch those chubby cheeks.

bergmeier family

2011-07-14T21:55:00.002-04:00

I love this family. I have done a few sessions with them and it has been so fun to see the oldest two grow up and then the latest addition of E. The mom, Becky, is someone who I could sit and talk to for hours. She has a very sweet, easy going personality. (Becky, I seriously want to hang out soon!!!) Their kiddos are incredibly cute.

K can make some good faces

In trying to get K to smile I asked her how many teeth she had. J gladly jumped in to show me how many he had.

(Alex C I think this little boy looks so much like Clint)

acs

2011-07-12T16:23:00.002-04:00

Last week we had some dear friends back in town for a short visit. I was so thankful to get to spend time with Alex and Clint. Sawyer has gotten so big. I loved seeing her and Lydia together. Last time they were with each other they were both stuck laying on their backs and couldn't do much but look at each other. Now Sawyer is a crawling girl and Lydia is trying to scoot and catch up. They were gibber jabbing back and forth. I love it. I enjoyed getting to hang out with Alex. I miss her! Tereza and Gabe came over to visit as well. Tereza if you are reading this we need to hang out more. I always enjoy seeing you.

grumpy butt

2011-07-12T15:56:00.002-04:00

taken on the hottest day of the year so far. In order left to right: Lydia, Griffin (born on the same day as Lyd) and Jesse (nine days older than the other two)

in her defense it was HOT and she was hungry.

to do:

2011-07-12T13:48:00.002-04:00

fold clothes. put up clothes. start a load of towels. unload/reload dishwasher. bake banana bread. take to neighbors. stuff cloth diapers. dust. edit pictures. upload pictures. mail pictures.

TOO MANY THINGS TO DO when all my feet want me to do is sit.

sells girls

2011-07-10T22:28:00.002-04:00

I've taken pictures for this family before but the other day I had the privilege to take some of their second daughter for the first time. It's hard to believe how big their first has gotten. I love getting to see these girls grow. They have the prettiest blue eyes.

this girl can make some faces

and here's her sweet big sister

and a few with their pretty mama (I love K's face in this first one)

Thanks Sells family for letting me take pictures of your cuties.

ellie turns 1

2011-07-09T15:32:00.003-04:00

Maria has been a sweet friend of our family since I was in middle school. Her youngest daughter Ellie turned one a few weeks ago. Her party doubled as a good bye party for her entire family. Ellie's dad has been stationed in another state and so the family is relocating. We are sad to see them go. Maria has been so generous to our family. She has passed down tons of clothes to Lydia as her little ones have out grown them. We are thankful for her kindness and friendship. We will miss seeing you guys.

this is Ellie and her grandmother

and the big sister

Happy Birthday Ellie!!

two things

2011-07-08T16:41:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. I have some photos to put up from some recent sessions. Those will be coming over the weekend and the early part of next week. Until then I wanted to say two things.

1. Lydia is scooting. She digs in with her big toes and uses her forearms. It's her own version of the army crawl. It works. She is slow going but can get around pretty well. I will try to get her on video and post for her 8 month update.

2. We recently went out of town (for the fourth). When we left I knew I had a few wet cloth diapers in the pail. I only thought they were wet...so I left them in there until we got back because there wasn't a full load. When we got back and I went to wash them. I found out there was a poopy one in there. DISGUSTING yes, but wait. I opened it up and there were MAGGOTS!!!! I officially deserve the NASTY AWARD. Go ahead and judge me. I came upstairs and told Patrick that I was going to throw the diaper away. He said, "don't throw it away...that thing cost twenty dollars!" Fine then... you have to take care of it. So he took it out side and hosed the poo out of it. Literally.
I washed those diapers probably 5 times. With hot water and bleach and detergent and about 3 extra rinses. I think they are clean. Never. EVER. will I leave diapers in the pail when we are going out of town. Even just for a few days.

Those are the two things I wanted to tell you.

you're welcome:)

me and my baby

2011-06-24T11:46:00.001-04:00

7 months

2011-06-22T09:53:00.004-04:00

Seven wonderful months of our Lydia. What could be sweeter? Every stage really is unique in it's own joys. We keep saying "she is getting so fun!" Thing is, we keep saying it...We love watching her grow and learn new things.

She is starting to feel like big girl in this last month. I am 90% confident to leave her sitting by herself. I still put a boppy behind her just so she doesn't bonk her head unnecessarily but she's pretty much got it on her own. She smiles all the time and giggles often. She still loves blowing zerberts and is becoming more vocal. After our return from Mexico I noticed her sucking her thumb more often. She still mostly does it when she's tired but I've caught her going to it and random times to just soothe herself. I know this has it's own hurdles we'll have to jump later but right now it's so sweet!

Right after we got home from Mexico she also started to adjust her own schedule. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this but she pretty much did it on her own so I had to go along. She dropped her third nap. That's right friends we are down to 2 naps. I feel like 2 naps means your a big kid. I mean I pretty much still take 2 naps a day. HA I wish!
Here is her new schedule:
7:30am wake up nurse
8:00am fruit with cereal
9:00-9:30am down for first nap
11:00-12:00 (this one has a wide range...) wake up eat solids and then nurse
2:30 nurse down for second nap
5:00 wake up
6:00-6:30 eat solids and nurse
7:30 down for bed
10:30 dream feed

She is eating solids like a pro. She has had soo many different things. I'm pretty easy going on letting her try new things. Here is a list of what she's eaten so far.
butternut squash, avocado, spinach, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, mango, pears, peaches, apples and blueberries, apples and cherries, apples and apricots, grapes (little bitty pieces without the skin), white potatoes from my plate, sweet pot and corn, zucchini, asparagus, pinneapple, peas, kiwi, chicken, turkey, beef, ritz crackers, and puffs.

family

2011-06-21T15:24:00.004-04:00

We have had a week packed with family. And we like it! Patrick's younger brother John got married on Saturday. Two of his aunts, an uncle and a cousin came in from out West. They hadn't met Lydia so it was fun to have them in town. We ended up seeing them pretty much every day Thursday-Monday.

Patrick's oldest brother moved on Monday. He and his family are now Oregonians. We are happy for them and what their future holds out West but are sad because for the last year we've been spoiled by their closeness. We are thankful that we were able to spend the last year in the same city. They already have a little boy and are expecting a little girl in August. It will be really hard not getting to see Sam or this new baby grow up. We tried to make a point of going and visiting them over the last 2 months more since we knew this time was coming. Sadly time flew by and we didn't get to see them as much as we'd hoped. It was nice though that this weekend was packed full of them them and other family members as we celebrated their younger brother's wedding.

Bye Sam Boy!!!

swimming

2011-06-21T15:08:00.002-04:00

Lydia experienced the swimming pool for the first time this weekend. We went to Patrick's mom and dad's neighborhood pool. The water was a little cool at first and kind of startled her but for the most part she like it. Patrick took her under once and she hated it. We learned you are supposed to blow in their face to make them hold their breath before they go under. We'll have to try this next time.

I love the water and hope all of our kids learn to swim and enjoy the water.

Toward the end of our time at the pool Lydia was getting close to nap time. She was practically falling asleep while her grandma was holding her in the baby pool.

I'm tossing around the idea of getting a little baby pool for our backyard...might be nice to have on the really hot days.

ra

2011-06-14T16:00:00.005-04:00

I used to think RA only stood for resident assistant. You know the (in my case) annoying girl who tried to keep things under control on your hall in the dorms. Mine thought she was from England (she wasn't... she actually grew up in the same town as me) and would fake an english accident. It was kind of comical... moving on.

I now have a better understanding of what else RA can stand for. Turns out all those problems with my feet and pain in my joints weren't due to plantar fasciitis. I instead have rheumatoid arthritis. I have been going to the doctor more in the last few weeks. They ran some blood work and once the rheumatoid factor showed up positive in my blood, my family doctor set me up with a rheumatologist in town.

I went to see him yesterday morning. He told me he is 95% sure I have RA. They ran more blood work to rule out other things, took x-rays and had me fill out surveys to have a base-line to refer to down the road.

The doctor was nice and explained things fairly well. He told me of course that when questions come up to write them down and ask him at my appointments. He seems nice and like he really cares for his patients. I appreciate him being patient with me and explaining things and really just taking his time with me. I think he could tell I was overwhelmed.

I was overwhelmed. I was sitting in the waiting room of the lab area when a lady sat down across from me. I was holding all my packets about all the medication options. She made a comment about how much she loved the doctor. I responded that I was glad to hear that...this is my first time here. I asked her if she has RA and she responded that she does. We had a brief conversation and she was very kind in reassuring me that it would be okay and that the doctors are great and its good that I'm so young and they've caught it early... I got called back for blood work. She poked her head around the door while I was in there and made a motion to me letting me know she was praying for me. Just a few minutes later we were both in line making our next appointments and on her way out she handed me a little slip of paper with her name and number. She told me to call her if I needed anything. She seemed super sweet and I may just call her to thank her for being so kind to a stranger. It was nice to have a smile and know that someone I didn't even know would pray for me. The Lord was kind to place her across from me in the waiting room.

I cried a decent amount yesterday. I'm not really depressed about this. I know that the Lord is good and is faithful to His children. I am confident that in this suffering (which in the grand scheme of things is really mild) He is making me more like Christ. I know these things and they are super comforting but it has just been a hard couple weeks.

I have a tendency to hold tightly to this world. I have a hard time thinking about death. I don't want to loose my ability to live the life I want to live... I want to be pain free and with out any cares. The Lord really is kind in bringing this specific suffering into my life. He is teaching me that I need Him. Unfortunately this life is going to be full of suffering. Sin has brought sickness and evil into this life and the only hope for any of us is in Christ. Because of Christ's death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead there is hope. He took the consequence of sin upon himself in his death on the cross. In believing in Him for salvation I have been given the promise of a life without suffering and pain in the life to come. I am learning to cling less to this life and cling more to Christ.

I am constantly having to turn to Him and ask for patience and strength and joy. With out Him I can't have any of these.

This is sort of a babbling of all my thoughts today. I'm sure I'll be posting more about this in the future.

a sweet welcome home

2011-06-10T11:23:00.008-04:00

It's always hard coming back from vacation. Especially when you were vacationing at a beautiful place. It's hard to leave the view of the ocean night after night and come home to a street that is often speckled with trash.

But when you come home to this...

it's oh so sweet!!

We have been loving having our girl around again. She seems to be growing leaps and bounds every day. Some one remind me where my new born went. I can't seem to find her.

oh yeah that's her in the high chair.

We brought out her high chair for the first time two nights ago. She looks so big in it. She has been loving food lately. We have started giving her some meats and am being more adventurous with letting her try our food (in itty bitty bites of course...no choking hazards). She had ritz crackers the other day for the first time and loved them. She holds them herself and puts them in her mouth. They get all soggy and mostly end up in her lap. She gets a little though. It's fun to watch her figure these things out. I think she feels like a big girl.

Before we left, we introduced her to the sippy cup. Here's her first time exploring.

She has been such a little giggle box these last few days. I can do the silliest thing and she'll crack up. Prime example...I was putting up her old clothes and getting out new clothes the other day. I sat her in the corner of her crib (to practice her sitting skills), I started dancing and jumping around, she loved it. Patrick caught some of it on this video.

thanks for the sweet welcome home Lydia!

porch make over

2011-06-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

Before we left for Mexico we had a few projects to tackle.
1. Paint our Porch
Our neighbors had their porch painted a while back. We commented that we should probably do the same thing before we ever try selling our house. It hit us. We should do this while we still live here and can enjoy it. Patrick pressure washed it and then we scrapped the rest off with hand tools. We made a mess. Lots of sweeping and two coats of paint later. WE have a much better looking front porch.
2. Paint Wicker Chairs
Some friends of ours (Matt and Tara) gave us some wicker chairs and tables they didn't have room for when they moved into their house. We gladly accepted their kind offer. The chairs were white. After painting our porch white we needed the chairs to be a different color. We needed something that would pop. BLACK! WE love them. Can't wait to sit out there and enjoy some sweet summer nights.

I don't have a before of the porch but do have a before of the tables we painted.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

(p.s. that black circle isn't really on my house...just covering up our street number)

SO after some hard work and a few dollars spent on paint we have a new porch.

Mexico

2011-06-07T21:58:00.011-04:00

Patrick and I just got back from a week long trip to Cancun, Mexico. It was wonderful! We left Lydia with Patrick's parents for the first half of our trip and then she stayed with my parents for the remainder of our time. It was definitely hard being away from her but well worth it. She was in good hands and I know all the grandparents had a blast getting to spend so much time with her. Patrick and I enjoyed spending some alone time together as well :)

We stayed at an all inclusive resort. This was our first time staying at one of these and we liked it. It was nice not to have to worry about food. We could pretty much eat whenever we wanted and we didn't have to go off the resort. We spent a lot of time reading at the pool. He read 4-6 books (I lost count) and I read 1 1/2. Half way through the trip we went on an excursion to Mayan ruins. We met a couple on their honeymoon and had fun getting to know them. A few afternoons we broke up our reading time by playing some beach volleyball. We also went out on the ocean in a kayak. We were hoping to take out a catamaran but it ended up raining the last two days so we couldn't.

It was such a blessing to be able to go on this trip and relax and enjoy one another.

willa jo

2011-05-30T15:40:00.003-04:00

Recently I had the privilege to meet and take some pictures of miss Willa Jo. I did her mom's maternity session a little while back. Willa Jo is SWEET. She wasn't too happy about taking pictures until we went outside. Then she calmed right down. Thanks Nick and Kellie and I hope you enjoy your sneak peak.

feet

2011-05-26T09:35:00.004-04:00

picture credit

I never realized how nice it was to wake up every morning without aches and pains. Never really appreciated good heath. Especially didn't appreciate my feet. That is until now.

About a month and a half ago my feet started hurting. BAD. I'd wake up in the morning and as soon as I'd step down tons and tons of pain would cause me to barely be able to walk. This was super annoying. I dreaded getting up and getting Lydia each morning to feed her only because I knew the pain I was about to feel. Can I please just stay in bed all day?? If she started crying in the middle of the night I'd lay in bed and hope that Patrick would get up and go help her before I had to.

After a month plus of pain I decided to go to the doctor. I went to my general family doctor and she did some blood work to rule out any chances of rheumatoid arthritis (I've also been having general joint pains...mostly in my right arm and hand). She also sent me to a podiatrist. I went yesterday and here is what she concluded.

I have plantar fasciitis. She gave me a cortisone shot in each foot to reduce the inflammation and hopefully bring pain relief. I still have to ice my feet and stretch them often (these were things I had already been doing). These shots hurt like POOP! I cried. I hate shots. This week has been filled with needles (they took blood from me and gave Lydia her vaccinations on Tuesday and then Wednesday I get two shots in my feet) and I pretty much hate it. READY for next week!
She also thinks I may have some back problems that are causing the pain in my toes. My toes have felt like they are constantly drawn in. I kept thinking I just need to load up on bananas and get tons of potassium in me. She put me on a muscle relaxer to loosen all these up. We checked to make sure all of these treatments are okay while breastfeeding and they are. So far my feet feel 70% better. There is still a little discomfort but I think it takes a few days for the cortisone shots to fully take effect. Same goes with the muscle relaxers...after a few days of these things I'm sure I'll be feeling good.

I have learned a few things from this mild trial in my life.
1. My hope and joy should not and and ultimately cannot come from my health. The joy of the Lord is my only strength.
2. I tend to be selfish and not very selfless. When my feet would hurt all I was thinking about was myself. I didn't care if Patrick had to wake up early to go to work and stand on his feet all day. My feet were hurting and I wanted him to have to get up. I have since repented to him and to the Lord. Asking forgiveness and help from the Lord. I need grace to be able to consider others more important than myself. I need power from the Holy Spirit to die to my own wants and serve others the way Christ served and continues to serve us.
3. Those who suffer well really do bring great glory to God. I kept thinking about Chip Stam. A hero of the faith who recently died of cancer. He truly relied on the Lord for his strength and joy. In the midst of pain and a killing cancer this man loved the Lord. I also think of Job who when practically everything was taken from him he still wouldn't curse the Lord. I pray that as I am tried with more and more things I would become well seasoned and bring great joy to the Lord.
4. Sufferings help us to long for a better place. I'm thankful that this is not my ultimate home. Praise the Lord that there is a land soon to come where those who have their faith in Christ will suffer no more. I love my life here on earth. The Lord has been very kind to me in giving me a loving husband, sweet baby, and great family and friends. These wont last though. They are all temporary. Praise God I have a lasting hope in Him.
5. I hate shots

6 mo

2011-05-24T15:34:00.003-04:00

This past weekend we celebrated Patrick's graduation. WE also celebrated Lydia's 1/2 year mark. The girl is 6 months old. HARD TO BELIEVE.

I took her to the dr today for her 6 mo check up. They are pleased with how she is growing and developing.
She is 27 in long (90th percentile).
She weighs 15lbs 15 oz (50th percentile).
I can't remember how big her head is but it's in the 40th percentile... a good step up from the 7th percentile last time. Her head is finally rounding out.

A week or two ago Patrick and I both started commenting how we felt like she grew up a ton over night. She is starting to do things that really make her seem like a BIG girl. Well you know... a relatively big girl. She is still only 6 months old.

She is starting to sit up better with little to no assistance. I sat her outside Sunday to take some pictures (I missed doing it on her actual six month day) and she held the sitting position for a good amount of time. She eventually face planted into the grass or toppled over to one side or the other. She is making progress though.

She is an extremely happy baby. She gives smiles and giggles freely. She has started grabbing my face and attacking it with a open mouth. I like to think she is giving me kisses. She usually attacks my chin. I think she likes the hardness of it on her gums. She goes after Patrick's nose because his chin is too rough from his beard. It often leaves my face covered in slobber but I'm okay with that.

She has been eating solid food for about a month now and is rockin it. She has eaten butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, and spinach. She didn't so much care for the spinach with out it being mixed with sweet potatoes...it had a gritty texture. I did appreciate the regularity of bowels that came along with spinach. Only eating it once made her go three days in a row. That's been rare these days.

Her schedule hasn't changed much. I have recently dropped a feeding (the 8 oclock). Her day now looks like this:
7:30 wake up and nurse
8:30 down for nap
11:00 wake up eat solid and nurse
12:30-12:45 down for nap
2:30 wake up and nurse
4:00-4:15 down for nap
6:00 wake up eat solid and nurse
8:00 down for night
10:00 nurse and right back to bed

This picture reminds me so much of Patrick's baby pictures

reason to celebrate

2011-05-23T17:13:00.003-04:00

This Friday Patrick graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary!!! We are excited. We used the last few days as a time to celebrate. Thursday we had a reception at the President's Home. Friday he graduated and then we went to lunch with his family and part of mine. Saturday we had a party with friends and family. We had a reason to celebrate.

I am very proud of Patrick for graduating from SBTS. I am proud of him because he has held many roles while being a full time student and he has been great in all of them.
He started as a fiance. Half way through his first semester became a married man. He then became the husband to a newly pregnant me who was sick sick sick. Then he became a daddy. He has done all these things while taking full course loads (of really hard classes), being involved in church and working a full time job. By the good grace of our God he has been able to do all these things and do them well.

I praise the Lord for Patrick. He has given him an exceptional ability to do many things at one time. If you know Patrick personally you know he is always doing something. He recently quoted Benjamin Franklin on his blog. The quote describes Patrick life well. "Lose no time: Be always employ’d in something useful: cut off all unnecessary action."

Patrick, Lydia and I are very blessed to have you as the man in our lives! You are a sweet husband and a very loving father. You love your girls well and we are so thankful for you. Congrats on graduating from Southern. We are excited to have you a little less busy this summer but also can't wait to see what's next.

summa time

2011-05-14T15:11:00.003-04:00

It's feeling more like Summer here. We've spent the majority of this week with temperatures hanging out around 90. Warm weather gets me excited about spending time outside with the kiddos. I sat out on the front porch rocking Lydia and watching our neighbors. Sweet times... minus the fact that our neighbors starting fighting and the guy threw his bike off the porch...that wasn't fun.

My mom came up to visit this week. Lydia was asleep while I took these two pictures of her with my sister's kids.

Patrick is playing softball this summer for a team from our bro-in-law's work. They had their first game Thursday night and got WHOPPED. My sister and I took the kids. Even though the other team beat them pretty bad, it was fun to go and cheer on our hubs. After the game we went and got DQ...ah sweet summa time.

Tillman was very sad that his daddy was leaving. I am the cruel aunt who takes pictures of him crying.

While we waited to go to the park we sat out on the porch and I snapped a few pictures.

some times you have to trap a little rascal so you can take a picture of his sister

and for baseball

sunshine

2011-05-02T17:05:00.000-04:00

mm hm/ nh nh

2011-05-01T20:52:00.002-04:00

Sometimes... a lot of times when I ask Patrick a question he answers with a sound that is really hard to distinguish. I always end up asking him to either say yes or no because I can't tell what he is saying.

p.s. we came home and our neighbors (who just moved in this last week) had a scare crow and a snowman in their yard. I really wanted to take a picture of it. As soon as I was walking outside with the camera... the guy pulled up to the house. I felt too bad to walk out where he could possibly see me. I haven't officially met the guy. Don't want to make a bad impression. Any way it was a funny sight. We are glad to be their neighbor.

easters

2011-04-30T20:36:00.000-04:00

We had a very nice Easter this year. We celebrated with Patrick's family. All of his siblings were in town so we went to his parents church. It's always nice when the whole fam is together.

We tried to take some pictures of our little family.

We included Aunt Anna as well.

Praise the Lord we have a risen savior!

solids for the first time

2011-04-24T15:04:00.003-04:00

Here is a video of Lydia's first time experiencing solid food. Sat. April 23rd. Butternut squash. It's a little long.

After she ate she spit up on Patrick and herself. He decided just to leave both the shirts off.

homemade

2011-04-23T23:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try and make Lydia's baby food. I'm not against store bought baby food. We are doing it because it's cheaper and fun! Well I think it's fun now... we'll see after a few months of doing it.

Patrick and I are going on a week long trip in about a month. We are leaving Lydia with our parents. She's okay at taking a bottle. She's not super excited but will do it if she has to. I wanted to make sure that she was getting something else other than breast milk just in case she decides not to take a bottle well while we're gone. I know lots of places say to wait until 6 months to introduce solids but we decided to do it a little early so she'll be a pro by the time we go on our trip.

With her turning 5 months on Thursday we decided we'd go ahead and start. We picked today so that Patrick could be here and feed her. We are excited about this new phase of her life. It'll be fun to make her food and see all her reactions to different tastes.

Today we are feeding her butternut squash. I also made sweet potatoes and avocado. We'll introduce those after a few days of squash just to make sure she's good on the allergy side of things.

I documented the process of making the food to share with those of you who are curious.

I started with a butternut squash, an avocado, and a sweet potato.

I washed all of these. Then cut the butternut squash in half. (I only used one half because I wanted to use the other half for Patrick and I)

Scooped out the seeds with a spoon and then cut into smaller sections.
Laid these in a dish with a little water in the bottom and then microwaved for 10 min.

After microwaving until the squash was tender, I let it sit for 5 min. Then I scooped out the insides leaving the skin behind. Dumped this into the blender and started on my sweet potato.

I washed and peeled the sweet potato then cut it into small cubes. Placed in a microwave safe dish with a small amount of water and microwaved for 10 min.

Let cool for 5 min and then dumped into the blender. Now I had squash and sweet potatoes ready to be blended.

Avocado time! Wash. Cut in half. Took out pit. Scooped out the good stuff into a bowl. Avocado doesn't need to be cooked. So I just went to town with a fork. Smooshing it till it was smooth.

I used breast milk to make all of these thinner. After I was done mashing and blending, I put these in some handy dandy ice trays and froze them.

Now I just pop one out and microwave for 20 seconds and feed the girl some yummy homemade food.

I used this book (it came with the trays).

5 mo

2011-04-23T16:49:00.000-04:00

Thursday marked 5 months of Lydia's life. We are so very thankful for her and her health. She is so much fun right now.

She has started to grab her feet. She does this the most when we are changing her diaper. She usually only grabs her right foot but in the last day or two she has grabbed both at the same time.

She is still sticking her tongue out all the time.

Squealing is her newest thing. She has realized she has a voice! It used to be quiet in the back when we'd be in the car but now there are high pitched coos. Squealing back at her often gets some cute giggles.

This last week Lydia was a little fussier than normal and had a slight runny nose. I took her temp thinking she may have an ear infection...It was a little high but not a fever. We are wondering if she may be starting to cut a tooth. She is drooling more and loves to gnaw on things. I put her teething ring in the fridge and then gave it to her. She loved it!

Lydia is picking up on more things... She is becoming so observant. On the days I watch Tillman and Rory, Lydia will stare at Tillman and smile at him.

look a like?

2011-04-23T16:00:00.000-04:00

this is me at 9 weeks. I was a lot chunkier than Lydia at 9 weeks. I can see some resemblance. Can you?

eating

2011-04-23T09:13:00.003-04:00

I mentioned a while back that I was going to try a new recipe every week. I haven't exactly followed through with that. Whoops. I have been trying to change things up though. If I don't try a completely new recipe I'll throw a twist on an oldie. Here are a few things that I've made

We have tuna every once in a while around here. It's quick and easy. Also I think it's a good source of something. I can't seem to find my picture of this but it was yummy. I rolled the tuna into medium sized balls and then breaded them with Ritz cracker crumbs. Baked them until crispy. Paired this with crescent rolls and a big salad topped with strawberries and grapes. I wish I had my picture... it was nice and colorful. Anyway this meal took a whopping 15 min or so and turned out pretty yummy. Nice and light on a hot Spring night.

Next I tried black bean soup. I love Panera's BB soup. I got this recipe from a friend's mom. It turned out very yummy. I just happened to have some soup bowls to put it in. DELISH!

Here is the recipe... I cut it in half because it was only for Patrick and I. If I eat beans as left overs for too many days, Lydia's belly gets mad at me. I also didn't do the optional sausage.

Black bean soup

4 cans Bush Black Beans ( 2 seasoned, 2 regular)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
½ of a green pepper chopped
Optional: 8-12 oz. andouille sausage (med. or hot according to your taste) – Cook in skillet before adding.
24 oz chicken broth ( start with 1-18 oz. add more depending on thickness you prefer)
1 tsp. chili powder
2 -7 oz. can Herdex Salsa (1 hot, 1 mild)*
*Using this salsa is key to flavor –find in Mexican food section at Kroger

Suggested toppings: sour cream, chopped green onions, grated cheese

In a stock pot, heat olive oil, add chopped onions, gr. Pepper and garlic. Saute until onions are
translucent over medium heat. In a food processor ( or mash with a potato masher, two cans of the

Bush’s beans. ) Add the chicken stock, mashed beans, two cans of Bush’s beans, salsa and chilie powder.
Add additional chicken stock here if desired. Cook on low heat for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Top bowls with toppings if desired.

working

2011-04-15T14:21:00.002-04:00

My sister just finished up her maternity leave and needed a babysitter a couple days a week. Since she's back to working, I'm back to working. What could be better than getting to watch my niece and nephew?? It's going to be fun spending so much time with them now that they live so close (they just moved to southern IN). Lydia and Rory (my newest niece who is almost 8 weeks old) are going to be BFFL (Best Friends for LIFE). Bekah (my sister) and I have already arranged it. There will be none of this going off to college and forgetting one another. Nope. They will be life long buds. Hopefully!
And Tillman (19 mo I think)...he's going to show these girls the way. He'll show them trucks and cars and how to get dirty and probably share some MmmmMas with them too. MmmmMa is his way of giving kisses. I'm sure they will be making appearances often on the blog. Why not start now?

Lydia likes to calm Rory down when she cries.

By hitting her in the face.

Tillman found his moms boots. We think he looks like Puss here (from Shrek)

Speaking of working... Patrick has been doing some yard work. Our back yard is awful. Full of weeds and weird funky grass. We had a fence between our neighbors yard and ours. It was falling down because bushes were growing on it and it just couldn't handle the weight. We found out a week or so ago that it is OUR fence... so Patrick took it down. Next we will try (ok probably Patrick will try) to dig out those rascally bushes.

While Patrick was working. Us girls were watching. Just hanging out inside admiring our strong Daddy/uncle/husband.

Lydia likes to stick out her tongue... its her newest trick. We can't tell if she's just found it and is exploring or if she's teething and using it to rub her gums...Either way it's always out. It's pretty cute.

nick and kellie are expecting

2011-04-15T13:29:00.002-04:00

We know Nick and Kellie from church. I am so excited for them as they are excitedly awaiting their little girl Willa Jo. She is going to be so loved! I was thanking the Lord today for the many ways he is blessing couples at Immanuel with babies. We seriously have kids coming out of the wood work. Thanks Nick and Kellie for letting me take some pictures of Kellie's cute 35 week belly.

Hope you guys enjoyed your peak :) I'll try to get the rest to you Sunday.

rainy days

2011-04-04T16:50:00.001-04:00

Rainy days mean mom takes silly pictures with photo booth.

tired of being tired

2011-04-04T16:15:00.002-04:00

That was me at this point last week. I had had it. I couldn't deal with Lydia's sleeping schedule being so hit or miss. I didn't know if it was because of her pacifier or if she was just getting too much sleep or too little sleep. After a few nights of being up every 15-20 minutes because the pacifier fell out AGAIN I decided we had to work on this. Something had to change... and FAST. I posted a desperate post on Facebook asking moms for advice. Some mentioned the Ferber method while others told me just to enjoy this time while she's so little and not worry about the scheduling as much some suggested taking the paci away cold turkey...other thinking she was ok to still have it.

So many decisions. Patrick and I decided to do something along the lines of ferberizing Lydia. We also decided to take away her pacifier. We felt it had become too much of a sleep prop. It was no longer being out friend. It had rather become my enemy. We knew that once we made our decision we'd really have to stick to our guns. It'd be hard but it'd be worse to flip flop on our decisions. I had a few (ok a LOT) breakdown moments. Once Patrick came in the kitchen and found me loading the dishwasher through tears. Lydia had just had a 30 min or so crying stretch (I was going in and checking on her periodically) and I just didn't know what to do. I kept doubting my decisions and just felt so unsure about pretty much everything. It's gotten better and things seem to be smoothing out. She knows what to expect and I think I know what to expect.

Here's what we did. It started Tuesday morning after I'd just reached my breaking point. I took away her pacifier for her second morning nap and laid her down. She fussed for a while. I went in after 5 min. patted her on her back then after another 10 min. did the same thing. She feel asleep. I thought, "wow that was easy..." HA she tricked me. She slept for like 45 min and then that stinker known as the "45 min intruder" decided to show up. She started wailing. I went in after 5 min. 10 min. 15 min. 20 min. Ok this stinks!!! This went on all day. She'd sleep good for a while and then would have a hard time going into that second sleep cycle. This first night was rough. She had a few hours of straight crying. Patrick and I obviously didn't get much sleep. This made that second day of sleep training really REALLY hard for me. I was running thin. Thankfully the Lord is kind and doesn't give us more than we can handle right? She slept without a peep that next night :) I didn't get my hopes up too much for the next night. Her naps were becoming more consistent during the day though. She was starting to go down fine without crying and would even go back to sleep if she woke up mid nap. That night (3rd night) was another rough one. She had another stretch of crying for close to 3 hours (I was checking on her..she was fine other than being mad at me and the rest of the world for not giving her her pacifier and not picking her up). That fourth day and pretty much every day since then has been SO much better. She has slept the last 3 nights without a peep. I am truly thankful for the Lord's grace to get us through those really rough times. I'm not naive enough to think there aren't going to be many many more rough spells in the future. But I am really thankful. I spent much of her screaming times praying for strength and patience and joy and a baby that would sleep:)

So here's what our schedule USED to look like.
7:30a: wake up and feed
8:30a: go down for nap
10:30a: wake up and feed
11:30-11:45: nap
2:30: feed
3:30-3:45: nap
5:30: feed
6:30: nap
8:30: feed and go down for bed
10:30: dream feed

4 naps and eating every 3 hours (6 feedings a day). That 6:30 nap was awful. Most of her naps were awful. She was waking up during the night... Not fun!

Here is her NEW schedule.
7:30a: wake up feed
9:15: down for nap
11:00: feed
12:45: nap
2:30: feed
4:15: nap
6:00: feed
8:00: feed/down for bed
10:30: dream feed

3 naps (each 1 hr 45 min) and eating every 3.5 hrs (still 6 feeding a day). Staying up for longer periods and a final awake time of 2 hrs right before bed. Cluster feeding at night... making sure her tank is on full for the long night of uninterrupted sleep.

I am really happy with this schedule. She is sleeping so much better. I like that she is awake for a good stretch at night while Patrick is home.

So that's what we've been up to and are now doing. If you have any questions please feel free.

thanks to all those who gave me advice/prayed for us!

videos

2011-04-02T19:41:00.003-04:00

Here are 4 random videos of life with Lydia.

My Nanny and Mom often sing this song to kids. I've picked it up and sing it multiple times a day to my girl.

Lydia has been laughing a good bit lately and mostly at random things we do to her. She really likes when Patrick kisses her hands.

Blowing raspberries has always gotten smiles out of Lyd. This last week she was really studying me as I'd blow them. One day she stuck her tongue out and blew one herself. Spit and drool have been flying ever since. It's so cute because it's almost as if she's proud of herself. I also did a quick tour of her nursery in this video.

I was dancing with Lydia this afternoon and she was laughing it up. Of course when Patrick got out the camera she calmed down... we caught a few.

enjoy!

outside

2011-03-23T22:05:00.005-04:00

We've had great weather here lately and it has been our goal to soak it up. It's nasty out right now and is supposedly supposed to get cold again for a few days. To remind me of the warmth here are some pictures of our family out on the front porch.

Don't you just love those button eyes

the doctor said she is getting rolls in all the right places :) I love a chubby baby

Thank you Lord for Spring and sunshine!

4 mo

2011-03-23T21:24:00.002-04:00

We celebrated 4 wonderful months of life with Lydia on Monday.

I took her to the doctor on Tuesday for her 4 month appointment. She received her second round of vaccinations. I got teary eyed but overall did better than last time. She did great. It was rough at first but calmed down once I nursed her.

Every time I go in to the dr I have a list full of questions. Our doctor is great and really takes her time answering and reassuring me.

I've just started spreading out her feedings from 2 1/2 hrs to 3 hrs. Now I'm trying to figure out the rest of her schedule. She used to sleep great for a full 1 1/2 hrs but lately she's having some trouble. She wakes up often needing her pacifier. Up until this point we were still swaddling her. The doc said I have to stop. She said her arms and legs are her little exploring tools and I'm trapping her. Well she's not used to that and keeps her self up with those swinging arms. I tried last night to leave her unswaddled but she woke up 5 times in the first hour. I decided I wanted to sleep and swaddled her up. She slept great and we worked on being unswaddled today during naps. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Lydia now weighs 13 lbs 5 oz (70th %tile) and is 24.5 in long (50th %tile). Her little head is literally little (7th %tile). They think it measured so small because it is a little flat on the back. We are working on that tummy time.

I feel like we are working on a lot right now. :) I'm having those common doubts about my mothering skills. I've often heard moms say that as soon as they feel comfortable in a schedule it changes. Guess that's what I'm experiencing and should probably get used to it.

Recipe

2011-03-21T20:28:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty much stinking at blogging and I feel like it's going to continue to be this way until the end of the semester. Any way I tried a recipe a few weeks ago that I said I'd post. I'm following through. I made this again tonight. It really is yummy and super easy. It's from a college friend who responded to my post about being in a cooking rut. Thanks Amanda!!!

Here is her message to me with the recipe:

Italian Honey Lime Chicken

-8 Fresh or frozen boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (or breasts that have been cut in smaller strips
-3/4 cup Italian dressing
-4 tbsp honey
-1 tbsp lime juice (I use the concentrated stuff that comes in the little lime shaped container)
-Stainless steel frying pan (I don't think this recipe will work in a non-stick pan)

Place chicken in frying pan on medium heat (you don't even have to thaw it out first if it's frozen). Pour Italian dressing, honey and lime juice over the chicken while it's cooking. Do not cover the pan with a lid. The chicken juice needs to evaporate so that in the end, all that is left is a carmelized glaze from the honey and dressing. Once the chicken is fully cooked, I turn up the heat to "high" to evaporate more of the juice and also to transform the dressing and honey into more of a glaze. It spatters, so I wear an oven mitt while I'm cooking at this point. It doesn't take long before the dressing is a nice deep brown and it thickly coats the chicken. I use tongs to rub the chicken around in the pan to get all the glaze on it. My husband says it tastes better the darker the glaze gets, but it will burn quickly if you don't watch it on high heat. We usually make mashed potatoes to go with it and I drizzle the leftover glaze over my potatoes for a different taste. It's really yummy!

If you try this let me know. Thanks again Amanda!

ghetto fab

2011-03-09T22:23:00.002-05:00

sorry for the poor quality... taken with my phone

catch up

2011-03-09T22:05:00.002-05:00

So Patrick has the computer with him at school a lot during the week. I'm finding it hard to find time to blog. He is in bed (old man) early tonight and since I have to wait up to feed the girl her last feeding I figured I should take advantage of this time and do a little posting.

Lydia is 3 1/2 months now. She is an absolute joy to be with. Today she giggled at me. Her smile is so sweet. She opens her mouth as wide as she can and grins from ear to ear. Her eyes light up and, oh, her innocence just melts you. It has seemed like she was so close to just letting out a squeal of laughter and today she did it. I tried to call Patrick and put him on speaker phone. He barely heard her. Then when he got home we tried again and she did it even better than this morning. Show off. She knew her daddy was watching.

After we went to the doctor around 3 months and saw the scales I decided it would be okay to drop that middle of the night feeding. It was time to make her sleep through the night. We have been at this for 2 weeks now. She woke up the first night a few times. I went in and put her paci in. Second night she went a little longer before waking up crying. Third night a little longer. Fourth night... slept all the way through with out waking up (10:30-7:30). Praise the Lord! Fifth, sixth and seventh night woke up like five times crying. Sheesh I was getting more sleep before. I gave in one night and just fed her. I could hear her belly growling. Poor thing. Well she's gotten better and has slept through the last 4 or 5 nights. I am thankful. I feel like this is a big step. Now I feel like we could leave her with grandparents overnight without feeling as burdensome. Who really wants to wake up in the middle of the night to feed a baby who isn't even their baby? (Even though I know both my mom and his mom wouldn't mind at all but still I'd feel bad)

I tried a recipe that someone sent me and I loved it. Super easy and super good. Will post about this soon.

Happy birthday tomorrow Mar 10th to my bro Jordan. He's the big 26!! Very thankful for those 26 years the Lord has blessed him with. Also very thankful for how He has grown and matured him in the last year. Love you JP.