Christmas Day!

December 25, 2012 marked Lydia's first Christmas (post womb). We had some special family time in the morning. Below, Lydia is receiving her first Christmas gift from us. At first she wasn't too sure....

 Reaching in...

 "What is it? What is it?!"

 A box!! Actually, it's a little ornament for the tree, but as you can see, she was more impressed with the box.

 Daddy and Lyddi

 Mamma and Lyddi looking at her ornament on the tree.

 Here we are all ready to go to worship and praise God for the greatest gift of all, our Savior! Lyddi, we pray every day that you will one day come to love and know Him as your personal Savior and King. Merry Christmas sweet heart!

Zane!

We have a neighborhood friend named Zane who spends a lot of time at our house. We invited him for a sleepover about a month ago and he has been counting down the days till the special night. We wanted to give him a pre-Christmas special evening. Here we are before heading to Hamilton for dinner. 

 Mamma and Lyddi all gussied up for the night out.

 We figured we would try to get a quick family shot before leaving, since we had Zane to take the picture. Taking a family picture is a bit more difficult than in the past. You would think Lyddi would be the hardest to cooperate, but as you'll see, she is not the only one.
Lyddi, it's okay.

 Why so serious Zach?

Mamma on the Move!

 Must...eat...necklace...

Ta-Da!!! There we go... Lyddi's blocking my head a bit, but we'll take it!

 We had a fabulously filling dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant, The Mandarin (per Zane's request). (We were thinking of you Hannah!)

 Stuffed silly...I think it was the third dessert that did him in.

 When we arrived home and gave Zane some early Christmas presents!

 A very excited young man.

What a fun night. It is always fun to get away for an evening and make fun memories.

Lately...

In a previous post I mentioned my Lyddi-loads. Well, here is another one...too cute to pass up.

 We have a neighborhood friend named Zane. He comes over quite often to hang out. One of his favorite things to do is pick out Lydia's outfit for the day. Below he displayed it for the camera.

 And here it is on!

 Lydia has a friend named Delia who comes over to play from time to time. We got to spend all day together while Delia's mom went Christmas shopping. They are only one week apart in age.

 Just hanging out...

 Below are a couple videos of our little lady. As you can see, she loves the camera.

 As I've said earlier, Lyddi is my little Magellan. She loves to explore, and gets into some mischief from time to time...

Caught in the act.

Lydia...9 months!

Wow, our little girl is 9 months old already! Lydia is quite an explorer. I often call her my little Magellan. She loves to explore the cupboards and often pitches in and helps us empty the dishwasher. She likes to give things her own taste test to ensure they've been thoroughly cleaned. 

 She is becoming more and more interested in our food. Here Zach is breaking up some of his ham sandwich for her to try.

 It is incredible how being a mom teaches you new ways to be creative in keeping up the house while watching your little one. The other day I wanted to bring the laundry upstairs to fold, and I couldn't carry both the basket and Lydia. So.....I made a Lyddi-load...problem solved! This led to laundry basket rides, which were a hit.

Lyddi is such a character. Her latest thing is swinging her head to the side. We then mimic her and it has become a little game we call The Lyddi-Lean. Here she is playing...

 Below is a short video of her playing The Lyddi-Lean. As you can see, she gets so into it you have to cushion her head fall. (This one's for you Uncle Cal)

Lydia Stats:
Recent Developments- These days she continues to climb up onto everything and anything she can. She will walk across the floor while holding onto a table. She also started clapping a couple days ago and is super proud of her clapping abilities (as are we).

Current Likes- All baby food except green beans, Mum-Mums, snowmen, Christmas trees, drawers, touch and feel books, peek-a-boo, making messes, the keyboard, unfolding laundry, eyes, earrings
Current Dislikes- morning diaper changes, being told "no," the vacuum, sitting still, clothing changes, green beans

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We got our decorations out to set the mood for the coming Christmas season. Lyddi is very excited about the new decorations, colors, and sounds. She especially enjoys reaching up and ringing the door bells.

Got it!

The Christmas tree is also very fascinating. Here Lydia is checking it out with Daddy.

"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...How Lovely are Your Branches..."

It will be fun to watch Lydia experience her first Christmas with the gifts, get-togethers, and celebrations. But it will be even more exciting to teach her about Jesus and His love for her! What a gift it is to know and be in relationship with our glorious King!

Lyddi and her yellow balloon...

Lydia received a balloon from a neighborhood friend. She was quite enthralled with this balloon immediately. As you will see, she became quite attached to her yellow balloon.

She brought it with her for her morning snack...

...and evening snack.
                            

They went exploring around the house together...

The two were partners in crime...

Just hanging out...

Play time...

Unfortunately, Lyddi and her balloon had to part ways. The balloon was no match for her razor-sharp incisors. So long yellow balloon!

Grandpa and Grandma Visit!

Mom and Dad M came out for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend visit! Lydia was very excited for their arrival.

Daddy tossing Lyddi into the air.

Grandma, Lydia and me all ready for church.

A brisk Sunday afternoon walk together.

Lydia enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with Grandpa...and climbing over him during his nap.

Grandma and Lyddi singing Pat-a-cake.

We went to Home Depot and they had a fake Santa outside to greet us. As you can see, Lyddi wasn't too sure about her first sighting of ole' St. Nick.

Below are a few shots of Mom and Dad.

Lydia loved her time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Uh....what's going on Zach...

Lydia especially had fun going to Coldstone for dessert one night. 

Below is her first ice-cream experience.

"I want some more!!"

Thank you so much for coming to visit Mom and Dad! We enjoyed our time with you so much and look back fondly on the memories and laughs. Already looking forward to our next visit together. 

Love and hugs!!