My Heart Wants to Sing Every Song it Hears

Today was day one of weaning Lydia's 3:00 pm nursing. Luckily we were a little off schedule today. She nursed at 12:30 before nap time, and woke up at 2:00. We didn't have snack until almost 2:30, diapers at 2:45 and we went outside by 2:50. Which means, we were outside at 3:00, so Lydia wasn't thinking about nursing. She was too busy playing. On most days, we're outside by 2:15 or 2:30, and back inside a little after 3:00. Today, we were back inside by 3:20. Lydia got fussy shortly after getting inside. So, I gave her a cracker to snack on. By 3:45, she was fussy again. I put  her in her chair and gave her some milk and another cracker. Her friends had snack at 4:15, so I gave Lydia a jar of fruit and some whole milk. This made her happy. 

She didn't want to take a nap this afternoon. Usually, she naps around 4:30 to 5:00. This not wanting to nap could have had something to do with not nursing. She was really fussy when Brian came over to give her dinner. She only wanted to eat 1/2 a jar of veggies, but did drink some milk and snack on a crunchie. Brian was a big hit with the other kiddos, and Lydia calmed down and enjoyed watching him play with the babies. She was fussy (as usual) when we got home. We got her ready for bed, she nursed and fell asleep.

Tomorrow is supposed to be really cold, which means we won't be going outside in the afternoon. This could be harder on Lydia since she won't have the outside to distract her in the afternoon. I plan on giving her food and a sippy cup of milk whenever she gets fussy. This will show her that she can have a snack instead of nurse. I have a feeling that I will carry out this 3:00 weaning for a long time. I want to stretch it out for at least a month. Even if she gets used to no 3:00 nursing pretty quickly, I won't drop another nursing until next month, when she's 9 months. The next nursing dropped will be her 9:00 am nursing. That way I'll be nursing at 6:00 am, 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm. I haven't yet dropped her "dream feed" at 9:30pm, but she hasn't been waking up at night. She will sleep from 6:00 to 9:30 then 9:30 to 5:30ish (but I don't get her out of bed until 6:00).

Lydia was so funny today! I was giving her kisses, saying "mwah!" and she would say it back! So cute!

Because You are the Most Important

Not only did Lydia turn 8 months today, we also bought a new car! We had been wanting a new car for awhile now. I felt bad for Brian driving all the way to New Braunfels in his Hyundai, which squealed all the time and sometimes had difficulty starting up. I wanted him driving a more reliable car back and forth from work. I also wanted a more reliable car while driving Lydia around.

We had put off purchasing a new car because we wanted to see where our finances stood after having to pay the mortgage on our house, all the utility bills, and everything else for a few months, so we could see what we had left over. Once again, God showed us that He has everything happen when He wants it to happen. Allstate figured out my claim from last year's accident only a few months after the accident. They took forever to get to Brian's claim. He had to keep calling them since we kept getting bills from the hospital. Finally, Allstate says they paid the hospital and there was money left over. This couldn't have happened at a better time! Brian's car just started having difficulty starting up, and this past week it really had a hard time starting up. With the money from the claim, we were able to buy a new car! Now Brian doesn't have to drive my tiny Ford Escort!

We went to Carmax, since my parents had just purchased a car for my little sister from there and they had a good experience. Brian wanted a truck, but I convinced him we needed a family car first. I wanted a car that was big enough to carry lots of stuff, but not so big that it would be hard for me to drive and to get in and out of. So, we settled for a small SUV. Brian likes Fords, so we thought about either an Escape or an Explorer. We drove both, but liked the Escape better. It's really fun to drive and I like the blue color! It only took us 2 hours to get everything situated with the car and then we could drive home! Yeah!

Lydia is also 8 months today! I can't believe how big she has gotten in just a month. She weighs 18 pounds, and is most likely over 27 inches. I just put away her 3/6 month onesies, since most of them are a little tight, and put out her 9 month onesies. She's long and chunky up top, but has a skinny waist, so still wears 3/6 month pants. She's in size 2 shoes and has three pairs of "real" shoes, and two pairs of those slipper shoes. I need to get her socks with grippers on the bottoms for when she's not wearing her shoes, since she likes to stand most of the day. She has started cruising around on furniture just this past week and it is so fun to watch! And, when she falls (because she thinks she can let go), she knows to land on her bottom (although she will then tip over). She has started saying "uh-oh" because her friends say it a lot, and she still says "ma ma" a lot. She hasn't gotten up on her hands and knees yet to crawl, but is getting better at pulling herself along on her tummy. We purchased two convertible car seats (one for each car) for her today. I researched them for awhile and was able to find inexpensive ones at Wal-Mart (I can't believe how expensive the ones at Babies-R-Us are!). It took awhile to figure out how to put them in our cars, since they're so different from the infant car seat. But, we wanted the convertible car seat since we don't carry her around in the infant one anymore (way too heavy), she's really long (her feet touch the edge), and I know she'll be in it for awhile. Of course, she's still rear-facing (you have to be 12 months AND 22 pounds to face forward). She looks like such a big girl sitting in the new car seat!

I can't believe January is already almost gone! So much has happened already and Lydia has grown so much more!

You Have to Live the Life You Were Born to Live

I like the random lists bloggers make. So here's mine:

1. I love busy weekends, but being busy (and having fun) makes the weekend go by too fast. Even though doing "nothing" is boring, sometimes it's the best way to drag out the weekend.

2. I'm so excited about seeing WICKED again! I read the book while in college (I read CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER first, then WICKED) and enjoyed it. I thought that a musical would be silly, but I love musicals and was willing to try it. Brian bought me tickets for WICKED in 2007 for my Half-Birthday/Valentine's Day present. We drove all the way to Houston, sat way, way up high and enjoyed every minute! We're going this year for an Anniversary/Half-Birthday/Valentine's Day present. We're taking my mom and my friend, Katie. This is my first time going to The Majestic downtown - hopefully it won't be the last time! I LOVE MUSICALS!

3. I LOVE MUSICALS! My first Broadway musical was PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. It was amazing! I read the book soon after I watched it (nothing like the musical, but still good). I love the new movie version (with Gerard Butler). While living in New York, I also saw LES MISERABLES (read that book, too), MUSIC MAN, PETER PAN, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The next musical I really want to see is INTO THE WOODS. I watch the movie (it's performed on the stage) all the time. I have the soundtrack on my iPhone. LOVE IT.

4. Lydia started "cruising" today. I put her at one end of the coffee table and the next time I looked over, she was halfway down the table! It's crazy how quickly she learns a new "trick" and how she grows, learns and develops everyday! I love looking back at pictures from the previous month (or even the start of the month) - she grows so fast! Babies are amazing!

5. Brian and I took Lydia to the park for the second time yesterday. She definitely enjoyed it more this time (she was really young the first time). Brian can't wait until summer when she'll be running around the park with the other kids. He loves making her smile and laugh.

6. Lydia actually wanted Brian over me yesterday! It totally made Brian's day (and mine!). She was crying while I was holding her, Brian walked up, she reached for him and when he took her, she stopped crying and didn't even want me. He held her while walking around downtown because he loved that feeling - and he didn't even mind when she spit up on his shirt! I love to see them bonding!

7. I really enjoy Saturday mornings. Those are my mornings to sleep in. I get up at 6:00, when Lydia wakes up, nurse her, and then go back to sleep. Brian has baby duty that morning. She's really good with him. She'll play on the floor while he plays his video game. She'll even just chill in his lap! She never does that for me. On Sunday mornings, when I have her, she always wants me to hold her! Totally jealous of Daddy!

8. I got my haircut yesterday and love it short. I used to keep it short all the time, but in 2009 decided to grow it out. I didn't cut it until mid-2010! It's so much easier to manage when it's short. I also dyed it dark brown yesterday - my blonde was showing. I still haven't quite perfected my hair straightener. How in the world do you get the back of your head?! I need a REGIS hair stylist at my house every morning!

9. We went on a date last night, leaving Lydia with my dad and little brother. I put her to sleep at 6:00pm, and left the house at 6:30. I also worry that Lydia's going to wake up and give the babysitters a bad time. Yet, each time we left her after she's asleep, she hasn't woken up! My dad was disappointed that he didn't get to hold Lydia and get her back to sleep (he actually wants her to wake up!)!

10. It's back to work tomorrow. Back to getting up and dressed at 6:00 in the morning, heading over to Leah's house at 6:45. Back to greeting kiddos at 7:00 and making them breakfast at 7:30. Back to dealing with screaming toddlers, biting, hitting, dirty diapers, potty training, cleaning up messes, and so much more. Back to marveling at new discoveries, laughing at silly toddlers, playing Ring Around the Rosy, stacking cups only to have them knocked over right away, helping Lydia practice crawling, and watching toddlers play with each other! I have the best job!

Swinging!

Playing on the bridge.

Having fun with Daddy!

I Have Confidence

Brian and I just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary! It seems like we have been together much longer than that. We met in February of 2006, but were not immediately friends. He was, technically, my superior, and I was quite intimidated by this super tall guy with long hair and a goatee. We both worked at Showplace Theatre in San Marcos. He had worked there awhile before I started. After a few months we became friends. I allowed him to take me disc golfing (never did that again!) and we hit it off. Over the summer we called each other and he visited San Antonio a few times. In August it was back to school and back to work. And we started dating. By January I knew I wanted to marry this guy. He was sweet, funny and smart. He helped me get over being so serious, made me laugh, and tutored me in math. In turn, I gave him a haircut, taught him how to take some things seriously, and helped him in English. By June we were engaged. And by January we were married!

So much has happened in our three years of marriage. We have learned how to compromise, how to make each other laugh (and cry), and we have learned how to work as a team. Some other things that have happened in three years:

1. Brian became general manager at Showplace and I worked at Marketplace in New Braunfels, since they don't allow married couples to work together

2. We moved to New Braunfels to student teach.

3. We graduated from Texas State December of 2008.

4. We moved to San Antonio to live with my sister and her husband in a house my parents rented to us. I worked at Bright Horizons and Brian worked at Regal Fiesta.

5. We went on our first family vacation to Disney World!

6. Brian started work at First Mark Credit Union in order to get better hours to spend time with me and we found out we were pregnant!

7. Brian got a long term substitute job in New Braunfels and I quit Bright Horizons to work from home at our daycare with Leah.

8. We were in a car accident that reminded us how wonderful and powerful God is!

9. Our baby, Lydia, was born safe and sound!

10. Brian got a full time teaching position at New Braunfels Middle School!

So many wonderful things have happened in just 3 years - I can't even imagine how many more wonderful things will happen in 3 more!