This Idea Was Invented by Woman

Lydia turned 23 months yesterday!

I meant to weigh her and measure her today...but I forgot. And she's already in bed.

The best thing Lydia's been doing this month? Singing! I LOVE to listen to her sing! She loves singing "Jesus Loves Me" - she says "know" and "Bible" and babbles along to the rest of the song. She also loves, loves, loves "Elmo's Song". She sings "la la la" and then says "elmo mo". So cute! She will be playing and will randomly start singing to herself. Funny story: Lydia was under her crib (her new favorite place to be) with a music toy. The song is about answering the phone and saying "hello" and "good-bye". Lydia started singing along by saying "hi" and "bye bye"! Super cute!

Here's a list of all the words (I can remember) that Lydia says regularly:

no 

yeah

dada

mama - yes, she's finally started calling me mama!

baby

bubble

bottle

Elmo

Gabba (for Yo Gabba Gabba)

thank you

bless you

please (and she signs it)

me

mine

more

beep beep (for cars and for the microwave)

hot

meow (for cats - she doesn't call them a cat, she calls them meow)

she barks like a dog (more like a grunt, though)

tweet (for a bird)

she makes an elephant noise

oh man

bye bye

hi

me - me (for her pacifiers)

all done

That's all I can think of right now. Her vocabulary is definitely expanding, and she's even starting to attempt repeating words. She comprehends EVERYTHING. Just today, we were watching Adah and I asked Adah if she wanted a bottle. Lydia pointed out to the front room (where Adah's bag was) and then ran to get Adah's bottle. I told Lydia we needed Adah's formula. She looked confused for a bit, then ran off and got the formula container! It's amazing what she understands and how well she can follow directions.

Lydia has really started enjoying her Sunday School class and going to MOPs every other week. She doesn't cry when dropped off and has a blast with the other kiddos. Her teachers have even commented that she's goofy during class and will talk to them. She's not at all shy, which is great. She will talk to everyone and anyone. She loves waving hi to everyone we pass in HEB (good thing there's not many people there at 8:30 in the morning!). I love that she's outgoing and energetic! 

She loves playing with friends her age. We have two new friends that we see often who are just a little bit younger than her. She calls them both "baby" and gets really excited when we visit with them. She loves hanging out with Adah (who she also calls "baby") and with Abram. She loves watching older kids play and will even talk with them - even though the older kids have no idea what she's saying.

We went to the Saturday night Fiesta Flambeau parade with Lydia and she had a blast! She was very well-behaved. She sat on my lap most of the parade or stood on a chair. She loved the marching bands! I was worried she'd be afraid of the noise, but when the bands marched by, she would start dancing. She would almost fall asleep, and then get up and dance when one passed by! I was very proud of how well she behaved and how much she enjoyed the parade.

I cannot believe she will be two at the end of May! The time has flown by so fast!

No Elephants?

I am home alone and I am bored!

I always enjoy staying at home with Lydia and playing with her, going on walks, playing in the backyard, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, painting, cooking, etc. But, when I know I won't get a break at the end of the day (to cook in the kitchen by myself, to play piano, to be by myself in the bathroom), I get antsy and frustrated and bored. I love hanging out with Lydia, but I also love having Brian home at 5:00 to take over so I can get a few things done without a toddler following me around everywhere.

Brian is heading to Wisconsin to attend his grandmother's funeral. He left this afternoon and will not return to until Saturday late afternoon! What am I going to do with myself while he is gone?! At least Lydia and I are on a pretty good routine so that we know how to fill the hours during the day. The only hours I have a hard time filling are the hours between 5:00 and Lydia's bedtime. Brian usually helps me during that time.

Enough complaining! I'll be leaving him a few times over the summer to take care of Lydia by himself, so I guess we can call it even. Tomorrow I'll figure out something fun to do in the morning - maybe go to the pet store to look at the animals and walk around Target. Then it will be lunch time, nap time, and then Lydia will go over to Abram's house while I teach piano. After I pick her up, it will be time to get dinner ready and watch some Gabba. Maybe I can get Leah and Adah to join us on a walk.

Wednesday I have work and then piano lessons and Lydia gets to go to BSF. I'll pick her up from Leah's house around 4:00 (or maybe 5:00) and then it will be time to get dinner ready and eat. Thursday we're meeting friends at McDonald's to play in the morning (after our early morning HEB trip), then nap time, and then piano lessons in the afternoon. And Friday we have Fiesta to enjoy, pretty much all day! Saturday is the Rummage Sale in the morning, Daddy comes home in the afternoon, and then more Fiesta that evening. So, Lydia and I will be able to keep pretty busy without Daddy. I just pray she doesn't drive me crazy before Saturday!

So, I've been trying to teach Lydia to play independently (at least for a little bit) and it's not going so well. She is so used to being entertained by me, that she expects me to follow her around and sit on the floor and interact with her constantly. Unfortunately, I can't do that all day, every day! And sometimes, I just want a break! The main reason I'm trying to teach her to be independent is so that she can entertain herself during piano lessons and won't think that she needs me constantly. When I first started lessons, she was pretty good - she would keep to herself in the living room, watching her movies and playing with toys, only coming in to check on me every once in awhile. Now, she's use to my students and wants to check them out and talk with me and get me to hold her and get me to give her more juice and more snacks. She wants me to play with her. And I want her to play by herself.

I've been trying to "train" her by not letting her join in when I'm doing something I need to do - like put on makeup, cook dinner, etc. The one morning I didn't let her sit on my lap while I put on makeup (she likes to put my eye shadow on her belly, plus it takes longer to get my makeup done with her in the way), she stood by my side and screamed and cried the whole time (about 8-10 minutes). I had tried setting up the shower for her to play in - put her toys in there, the tub mat so she won't slip, and just turning on the water a bit....but that didn't work. I had her favorite TV shows on with her breakfast and milk in the living room....nope, she wanted to be with me. I tried "training" her again when I was cooking dinner. She wanted me to hold her and I told her "no", that she needed to go play with Daddy or by herself. She cried...for awhile.

I love playing with her and being there for her, but I also enjoy taking a shower and going to the bathroom and putting on my makeup, by myself! I also enjoy giving piano lessons when I can fully concentrate on my students and not on my toddler who has everything she needs, yet still insists on fussing. This will take a lot of practice.... a lot of practice!

Lydia has been showing all the signs of potty training, yet refuses to actually go in the potty! Just this afternoon, she was walking around naked (no diaper, nothing....she loves being naked). She started acting like she needed to pee, so I took her and sat her on the potty. After a little bit, she wanted to get up. She never peed on the floor, but I knew she needed to go. I'm not yet ready to force her to sit on the potty for long periods of time, mainly because I can't consistently get her to sit, yet (we're waiting for the summer). As soon as I put her diaper on, it fills up immediately! Why couldn't she have gone in the potty?! She knows what it feels like to need to pee...she can even hold it in! Yet, she won't pee in the potty! We have a stubborn girl on our hands!

Et Cetera, Et Cetera, Et Cetera!

Wow, it's April already and Easter is over. March flew by and now April seems to be doing the same. I had had Easter all planned out. I was going to buy a cute pink cardigan that would match the dress I wore two years ago to a friend's wedding for my Easter outfit. I'd have my hair done nicely and Lydia all dressed up super cute. We'd head off to church as a family and have a blast! Unfortunately, those plans never happened.

First, I never managed to make it back to Ross to buy the pink cardigan. Thursday I met with a few friends at Chick-fil-a and watched my nephew, Abram, all day. He and Lydia had a blast all day and all the toddlers had fun at Chick-fil-a. We had a pre-Easter celebration Thursday night at my parent's house since my dad left for Africa on Saturday. We had yummy grilled food and Lydia, Abram and Adah hunted for eggs in the yard.

Friday Brian and I were both off of work, so we headed up to Austin around 10:30. I had noticed that Lydia was getting her bottom left molar in, but it didn't seem to bother her too much until Friday. She was a bit fussy in the morning, so we gave her some Tylenol and she seemed a bit better. She slept all the way to Austin, so I thought she'd be in a good mood. But, she wasn't. She was pretty fussy the rest of Friday and didn't want to eat anything and only wanted to go outside in the swing. She was clingy and sleepy all day.

And Saturday wasn't any better. She played well with Grandma Pfeiffer in the morning (so Brian and I could sleep in) but then was pretty fussy the rest of the time. She enjoyed being outside - it helped her forget her teeth hurt. She's been addicted to the pacifier. When she takes it out, she will point to her teeth and start crying. It's very heart breaking. 

We were going to go to church Saturday night, since we got back from Austin at 4:00. But, Lydia went down for a nap (since she didn't sleep on the way home and was exhausted) and didn't wake up until almost 6:00! And we had to leave super early to get to the service at 6:30. Oh well. Sunday morning comes and Lydia woke up at 6:00, so I went in to sleep on her floor so she'd go back to sleep. She slept until 7:30. Brian was rushing me and we were both getting frustrated with Lydia's fussiness and having to hurry. Lydia gets herself so worked up, she throws up. So, going to church was a no-go.

Lydia and I chilled on the couch and Brian headed off to HEB....but HEB was closed for Easter. We watched the service online and then Lydia went down for a nap at 10:30 (and I slept with her until 11:30). She woke up around 12:00 and was in a good mood. She finally ate some food - 3 small bowls of cheerios. We headed over to my mom's house around 12:45. Everyone was meeting there for Easter lunch and fun in the pool.

Lydia was pretty fussy most of the time - she just wanted to sit in the swing. Brian got to have fun in the pool with all the boys, which was great. Lydia just ate cheese and applesauce for lunch (she cried when she put a hot dog in her mouth). She went down for a nap at 4:00 and slept until 6:00. After that nap, she was in a great mood! She actually got down outside and played with Abram, was babbling and having fun. So, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

These teeth are crazy! She hasn't had this much trouble with any of her other teeth. And this is only one molar - she has 3 more to go! She has no appetite at all and doesn't drink as much as she usually does. She is fussy and clingy. She is always tired. She just wants to have her pacifier and sit with me. My poor baby! I really hope she'll do well for Leah tomorrow. 

I think the hardest thing about parenting a toddler is when she's sick. I hate it! I hate seeing her upset and not feeling well. I hate that she can't yet voice what is wrong with her. Does her throat hurt? Does her tummy hurt? I wish she could tell me! It makes me want to cry every time she's pointed to her mouth and started crying. I hate seeing her in pain and not being able to fix it right away. How will I handle worse situations with her? I guess I'll figure that out when we get there!

Hiding under her bed!

Painting with Cousin Abram.

Swimming with her floaties!

My pretty baby!

Playing at the park.