I've Been Dreaming of a....

(Side Note: I can't remember if I ever used the movie ENCHANTED for my one of my title quotes...but it is currently Lydia's favorite movie, so every part of it is stuck in my head all day!)

Wow, it's been awhile...I've been busy and at the same time haven't thought of anything interesting to post about. But, after tonight, I remembered why I started this blog - not because I'd have something super interesting to write about, but to keep track of Lydia. I want a place I can go back to to remember all her funny stories, her tantrums, how we dealt with certain situations, etc. 

So, a super quick recap since the last time I wrote...in pictures.

Yep, we saw Santa Claus, went to the Trail of Lights in Austin, took our family photos, and Brian and I headed off to an amazing Walt Disney World trip with my parents! It was an amazing December and end to the year 2012!

One of the best things about having a 2 1/2 year old is the vocabulary! I love, love, love to listen to Lydia talk...especially when she really concentrates on making herself understood. She is talking up a storm right now, and like all typical toddlers, she repeats what she says over and over until we acknowledge that we understood her (i.e. repeat back to her what she said). We can't get away with just saying "Yes" or "Oh, really?" anymore....she catches onto that! She wants us to really, truly understand what she is saying.

What constantly amazes me about Lydia is her ability to sing songs and to catch onto the words. She's been watching this Barney Christmas episode over and over and can now sing "Oh, Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bells" and "Up on a Housetop" all by herself and I can figure out what she's singing. She also knows all the motions to "Jesus Loves Me" and "I Thank God". She can sing the ENTIRE song called "Colored Kisses" (or as she calls it, "Daddy's Kisses")....BY HERSELF! Amazing! I love that she LOVES singing, and dancing, and reading books, and watching Disney princess movies! She's like a mini-me!

And of course, since she is almost just like me...she also has her moments. She will throw a tantrum over just about anything. One moment she's perfectly happy and content, the next moment she's screaming and crying and hitting and throwing herself down on the floor. We have learned that keeping calm and just putting her in timeout works wonders. Sometimes you just need to scream and cry. She's also quite stubborn (like both Brian and me) and will purposefully not follow directions or do what she knows she's supposed to do.

She can also get very wrapped up in her pretend play, which means we have to wait patiently for her to just get into her car seat, or walk out the door, or get ready for bed. Last Thursday as we were getting in the car after a trip to HEB, she was so wrapped up in making sure her baby doll was buckled into her car seat (yes, Baby has a car seat) just right, that she was refusing to get into her own car seat. I was ready to get home and got very frustrated with her. It's hard sometimes allowing her to do her pretend play when I really want to get somewhere.

Anyway....Lydia is no longer a baby in a crib! She's a big girl in a toddler bed! It's amazing how fast they grow and how they show you when they're ready to try something new.

I had decided a long time ago that Lydia would stay in her crib as long as she wasn't trying to climb out and as long as she was happy in it. Well, she finally realized that she can get her leg over the crib edge. She has never climbed out of her crib, but I have started worrying that, since she can get her leg over the top, she would soon attempt to get out on her own. Brian and I discussed this and decided that soon, probably in a week or two, or in February, we would transfer her to a toddler bed. Well, Lydia decided she wanted out now.

Yesterday she didn't want to nap in her crib, she wanted to sleep on the floor. So, I let her. She stayed on the blankets I put down on the floor and fell right to sleep. I even had to wake her up after 2 hours, since I had piano lessons. Then, last night she didn't want to sleep in her crib, but on the floor. We decided to let her to see how she does. She stayed on her blankets and didn't get off of them once! I heard her at 7:30 this morning and when I peeked in, she was just sitting sweetly on her blankets, waiting for me. (Plus she slept in until 7:30 - she usually wakes up by 7:00!) So, when Daddy got home from work this morning, we made her crib into a toddler bed.

Brian had to do a few adjustments, since for some reason this crib turned into a toddler bed where the mattress was still high off the ground! I didn't want my baby falling off and hurting herself! But, my handy husband was able to move things down and we figured it out! Lydia was super excited about her "new" bed! She was eager to go to sleep and try it out. We plan on getting a knob cover for her door so she can't get out during the night, but we'll see how it goes tonight. As of right now, she went to sleep just fine, staying her bed. We read her books, sang songs, said goodnight and left the room with her still awake. And we haven't heard a peep! Hopefully she'll stay in her bed when she wakes up in the morning....but we'll see.

Mother Always Taught Me: "Never Eat Singing Food"

It's been a long while....haven't had too much to post about, although I wish I had posted some of the super cute Lydia-stories that occur almost daily. 

So...here are the 10 Things I Love About My Daughter Right Now:

1. She is really starting to put sentences together. It's fun to watch her really concentrate as she puts together a sentence and says something she really wants us to understand.

2. Lydia is constantly saying that she "needs" things. "I need this" or "I need goldfish" or "I need go play" or "I  need go to Dearest's house". Super cute!

3. When Lydia's in a really good mood or really happy and excited about something - she sings about it. Yesterday I put a headband on her before going to HEB and she wanted to look at herself in the mirror. She stood in front of the mirror and said, "Oh, cute" and started singing. When she decorated her Christmas tree, she was singing while she put the ornaments up.

4. Lydia is super, super excited about all the Christmas lights! She loves looking out the window of the car when it's dark and looking at all the lights. She says, "I need more Cri-mas ights". 

5. I absolutely love how much Lydia loves to sing and how much she can remember! She said she was going to see the "I Thank God" song at the table the other night and she just started singing the first few lines all on her own! She remembers hand motions and the main parts of songs.

6. When Lydia counts she says "6, 8, 9, 10, 8, 9.....10!" She will say "two mimis" when she has two pacifiers in her hand, but when she counts them she says "8, 9". Funny girl.

7. I love that Lydia adores her cousins! She is always excited to see Adah and Abram. I pray that she gets to be the best of friends with all her cousins. I love living near our family so she can see everyone on a daily basis.

8. Lydia calls my parents "Dearest" and "Buddy". We didn't think those names would stick - but they did! And, boy, does Lydia love seeing her Dearest and Buddy!

9. We have been letting Lydia play outside in the backyard on her own lately and it's so much fun watching her play independently. When I'm out there with her, she wants me to push her in the swing or she sits with me. But, when it's just her, she plays in her little house, talks with her dolls, rides in her car. Super cute and super fun to watch.

10. Lydia loves the piano! She always wants to "sing" and play the piano. She likes to "teach" me - I sit and play and she sits in the chair I use during lessons. She will tell me, "No, play, C, play C!" And she wants to write on the music like I do (I tell her only Mommy gets to write).

I'm H2O Intolerant

I have not been keeping up with my weekly activities for Lydia. There are simply not enough hours in the day - at least, not enough hours in which I am being productive. I really don't like doing chores while Lydia naps - that's my time to relax and be on my own, not time to clean the house and do laundry. But, then I don't like to clean while Lydia is awake - I want to watch her play, entertain her, get her to help me with things, go on a walk. One day, I will have a maid come clean my house every week....but until then, the house may be a little messy and clothes may stay in the dryer for awhile! Brian doesn't seem to mind (or notice), so we're all good.

This week we were supposed to learn about Moses. We only got as far as Baby Moses (she water colored a picture of Baby Moses). I don't have any pictures because we used up all the memory on the card and I haven't emptied it yet...oops. I will redo Moses next week and hopefully stick to my routine a lot better. I need to stay motivated and not get lazy! For some reason, I'm much lazier now than I was over the summer....maybe because I have to do everything on my own now; I don't have Brian to help out during the day.

Anyway, the month of October is going to be an extremely busy month! Every weekend is filled with something fun to do. Which is great, but at the same time overwhelming! 

This past weekend, Brian and I rushed up to Austin to visit his parents. His mom was put in the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. The doctors also found to large masses in her lung. After helping Brian's sister, Tamara, with her classroom (boy does she have a lot to do!), we headed over to the hospital. Karla was pretty miserable when we got there - couldn't stop coughing and was worn out from the coughing. The nurse finally gave her some strong cough medicine and Karla was able to relax and talk with everyone. We stayed the night Saturday at his parent's house and then visited with them in the morning before heading back to San Antonio. Leah and Jessie were watching Lydia already (Lydia stayed over Friday night - we went to California Pizza Kitchen and watched movies), so she was pretty excited to be back with us.

Lydia got a little sick over the weekend, so I didn't get much sleep Sunday or Monday night. By Tuesday she was better. It was just a cold, but she had a stuffy nose which made it hard to sleep, so she was pretty fussy during the day because she was tired. By Wednesday she was pretty much over it.

This Saturday (tomorrow), we're going to eat at a burger place called Big'z Burgers with our Sunday School group. Hopefully we will get the chance to meet the other members. We're stuck at a table with Leah and Jessie, since we're divided by area groups, as we're the only ones who live in our area. There are a lot of young couples our age in the class, so it would be great to meet some new people and maybe make some new friends.

Sunday we are headed to the Maize Maze after church with the family. We went two years ago and it was a lot of fun! A field of corn is turned into a maze and you try to find your way through, as well as finding all the clues. It will be fun to see how Lydia likes the farm. I bought her a cute pumpkin shirt she'll wear and we can get some good Fall photos of her.

Next Saturday, the 13th, is my mom's birthday and a baby shower for our friend, Ashley. I don't think we have anything planned for that Sunday...maybe a trip to Six Flags for the Fright Fest?! That would be fun!

The Saturday after that, the Pfeiffers will (hopefully) be in town. It all depends on how Karla is doing. She went home from the hospital yesterday after finding out that the masses in her lungs are NOT cancer, but that she does have a very rare form of pneumonia. She is at home resting and resting and really wants to come down on the 19th. If she's unable to, we will definitely head up there to visit. Sara and Michael (her new fiance) will be visiting as well. We'll have a full house and it will be a lot of fun (and a good excuse to clean out the guest room!).

The Saturday after that (the 27th) I am holding a Piano Party for all my students! We're going to play games, learn about a composer, eat some healthy snacks, and play the piano for each other. I have enlisted Brian's help this time, since there are more kiddos and it got crazy last time. I'm also not allowing sweet snacks or even interesting snacks (the food was a big distraction last time). I know the kids will really enjoy getting to see each other and showing off.

Wow, that's a full month! In between I have music at the preschool, piano lessons, I need to schedule a flu shot for Lydia and perhaps a dentist appointment. Lots to do and so little time to do it in!

Last Friday we went to the zoo with Leah and Adah. Here are some pictures:

Yeah, I Really Wish I Had a Better Idea Than This

So I've gotten lazy since Brian went back to work and it's been just Lydia and me. I hadn't even started any laundry until today! And yesterday I put away towels that had been washed last week! What is going on with me? What I really hate about being lazy is letting Lydia watch all her TV shows....all at once! She'll have the TV on, a laptop on and have my iPhone....all watching her favorite shows. And then there's me, relaxing on the couch with my laptop. Plus, Lydia's gotten re-addicted to her pacifier! Enough is enough!

Tuesday during Lydia's nap I came up with a game plan....at least for Lydia....haven't figured out the laundry/cleaning game plan yet. I've decided I really want to start working on Bible stories with Lydia. She loves praying and hearing "Jesus songs", but I want her to know the stories. So, we started talking about Noah and the flood last week, but I only read the story from the Bible a few times and mentioned it here and there to her. I've decided to make simple lessons/activities throughout the week centered around a Bible story. I'm going to stick with the Old Testament for awhile, then move on to the New Testament. 

This week, we're still learning about Noah. I started the activities today (since Wednesday I worked until 2:30). Here was today's list of activities:

Read: Genesis 7 (Forgot to read the story today, but talked about it several times. I also have a simple story version of Noah, but forgot to read that, too....oops.)

Art: Paint a rainbow using water colors (I printed off a rainbow picture and set the paints out. She wanted to pour the water onto the paints and when I didn't let her, she threw about a 10 minute screaming fit. I had to rock her and sing to her - Noah's song, of course - until she calmed down. Then she started painting all on her own and did a great job.)

Cooking: Make rainbow cookies. (We used a bagged recipe for sugar cookies and added food coloring, making four different colors. I should have used more coloring so the cookies would have turned out brighter, but they sure are tasty!)

Snack: Eat animal crackers. (Almost forgot to pick these up at HEB, but remembered at the last second! I was worried Lydia wouldn't like them, but she loved them! I sang "The Lord told Noah to build him an arky arky" while she ate and she loved it! She liked talking about the different animals and watching me eat them too....yummy!)

Fine Motor: Sort Fruit Loops into color groups and string on a necklace. (I forgot Fruit Loops.....)

Outdoors: Go on a wagon ride, water flowers, play in the hose. (We went on a walk this afternoon....but nothing else. Didn't have time.)

I got to several of the activities, which is great for the first day! I'm glad there's a song that goes along with Noah....Lydia loves music and singing. Lydia was a bit fussy today (threw a fit at HEB) so that's partly why we didn't get to as many things as I would have liked. I need to get better at showering and getting ready faster so that we can leave for HEB sooner. Lately I haven't showered until 10:00 and just took my time, but today I wanted to be home so we could do activities before and after lunch. We managed the painting after lunch (and after her tantrum).

If I have a plan, I'm good at sticking to it! I also don't let Lydia have her pacifier during activities, which is great. And we didn't watch nearly as much TV today as usual, which is a plus! Didn't even turn the TV on until Daddy came home! Yeah!

Here are the pictures from today:

Painting

Animal crackers!

Rainbow cookies

Adding food coloring

Yummy!

Forgot to take a picture of the finished product

Love this!

Do Not Be Such a Crybaby....Hold Still!

It's amazing what a two-year old can comprehend, remember, and mimic. I promise (really, I do) that I never spent time tutoring Lydia on how to work my iPhone...she figured it out by watching me. She knows how to unlock the screen, choose Netflix, stop/play/rewind/turn the volume down on a movie, exit out of a program, choose her favorite game app, text and send the text, and how to answer the phone! She's seen me do it so often, she just picked it up on her own. One thing that she's recently been obsessed with is taking pictures. I just love it! I have taken so many pictures of her with my iPhone (one of the main reasons I wanted one - to text pictures of Lydia to Brian and family), it's about time that she's figured out how to do it on her own! She has even realized that there is lag time between the moment you hit the camera button and the moment it actually takes the picture (she'll hit the button, turn the phone to face her, and say "cheese" before it actually takes the picture). 

So, today I sent Lydia on a photo "scavenger hunt". I can justify this activity by saying that I was trying to see what objects she knew the names of - if she knew what I was talking about. But really, it was just cute to see her take pictures with the phone and to see how those pictures actually turned out. So, here are the pictures Lydia took on her photo hunt.

A picture of her Baby.

Her horse.

Her pajamas (we were in the living room, so she went into her room to find these).

Her drum.

Super Grover.

The oven.

The piano.

Her bed.

She told me she was going to take one of her baby's bed.

Her favorite book: Baby Dear.

Mommy.

She decided to photograph her potty trip.

Mommy...I'm sitting on the stool, not the potty, promise!

Herself...not a very attractive picture, though.

This is in the evening, but I thought it was a pretty nice picture.

Don't Move, eh, Don't Breathe, Don't Do Anything...Except Pray, Maybe...

It's been a rough day and it's only 1:30! I really don't need a rough day on my day off! 

Toddlers are so unpredictable. You think you get them down to a routine and you've mastered how to control their tantrums and how to convince them to do what you want....and then they learn other ways to get out of your control. It's an endless cycle. It's a good thing Lydia is so darn cute, or I'd have a hard time forgiving her today.

Yesterday was Lydia's first day of BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). She started going to BSF with my mom when she was only 3 months old! Last year, she went with Leah and Adah (Adah started when she was about 2 weeks old) and this year she's heading off to BSF, again, with Leah and Adah. I dropped her off at Leah's house on my way to the preschool yesterday. Despite waking up at 6:30 (after not falling asleep until almost 9:00), Lydia was in a good mood and ready to have some fun. Leah said she napped in the car on the way home from lunch at about 1:30....and decided that a 15 minute nap was enough for the day! I got home around 2:45 and Lydia didn't fall asleep until 4:00! We had to wake her up at 5:30! I let her go to sleep at 8:30 (we've been trying to get her in bed at 8:00), but she didn't fall asleep until after 9:00.

This morning, she thought 7:00 was a good time to wake up. Almost all summer she's been waking up around 7:30 or later....until now. She needs at least 11 and 1/2 hours of sleep...she does really well with that much....any less and we can have a somewhat rough day. Today is one of those days.

She has started screaming in her crib if we don't come get her right away. We've always had her stay in her crib until the time we want her to wake up (7:30 would be nice) to teach her to sleep longer....it worked during the summer, but I guess she's changed her mind. I remember the days when she would just play around in her crib until we came and got her....those days no longer exist - it's screaming and yelling "Mama!" over and over and over. You'd think that alone would wear her out.

We went on a 2 mile walk with Leah and Adah and the girls played in Leah's front yard while we finished chatting in the driveway. Then we headed back home so I could take a shower and get ready to head off to HEB. We left for HEB around 10:30 and got home at about 11:45. She was really good at HEB, even though we did forget to bring a baby doll, which caused a mini meltdown as we got out of the car. When we got home, I put the groceries away and made us each a sandwich for lunch. Lydia likes to "feed" her baby when she eats...keeps her busy, but she hasn't been eating much lately. After lunch, I put on Yo Gabba Gabba so she could watch a show while I picked up lunch and cleaned the front of the house and started laundry.

After Gabba was over, it was 1:00, so we headed to her room to read our Bible story (Noah and the Ark) and read some books (her new favorite book is Baby Dear by Eloise Wilkins). She refused to put on her pull-up and started screaming, so I sat her in time out for a bit. That convinced her to let me put on her pull-up. She wanted me to sing and rock her, but when we sat down in the glider together, she started playing around. I told her it's time to relax and cuddle, but, of course, she didn't listen. I put her in her crib without songs. She screamed and cried. I came back and rocked her - she sat nicely in my lap and enjoyed my singing. Then it was time for nap. I put her in her crib at about 1:15....it's 1:45 and she has screamed, thrown her pacifiers, asked to go potty, and I have walked in to cover her up several times! She is finally quiet now!

Let's hope that she naps at least 2 hours and is in a better mood this afternoon. Brian is staying late at school and I don't look forward to an evening with a cranky toddler!

Lydia and Adah on their first day of BSF!

In other news:

• I started teaching preschool music at the church on Wednesdays - yesterday was my second day. My first day went really well, but the new kiddos gave me a hard time. It's hard keeping 3-5 year olds entertained for 20 minutes! Yesterday went a lot smoother and we had a lot of fun. It's amazing how my lesson changes from the first class to the last class. My poor first class gets the "okay" lesson while my last class gets best one!
• Lydia's rash has gone away. We applied Cortizone cream for a few days and it's almost gone...you can sometimes see a hint of it, but it's not nearly as bumpy and red!
• I am loving my Fall piano schedule and my students! I had to get really creative with my new 5-year old, but he's doing great! And, I learned that I can convince him to do almost anything if I say he can have a stamp! Sweet!

I took Lydia to the doctor yesterday to check out a rash that has been forming on the right side of her chest. It started about a month or two ago - it just looked like flesh-colored bumps (maybe 4 bumps) just below her right shoulder. It didn't seem to bother her, so I wasn't worried. Then, about two weeks ago, more flesh-colored bumps appeared. Then, the bumps turned red. Then it started spreading down her chest! That's when I started getting worried. I had to know what type of rash it was and what I can do for it.

Despite the fact that the rash doesn't appear to bother Lydia, I wanted to make sure it wasn't something horrible (or contagious or fungal). So, to the doctor we went. After paying a huge fee to see the doctor (crazy expensive health care plan - at least well-baby visits and shots are free), we met with our doctor. Have I mentioned before that I really like our doctor? Lydia has even started liking him! He's so understanding and calm and takes his time. He's worth the long wait in the waiting room.

Anyway, after a quick look at Lydia (she now weighs 23 pounds!) to make sure everything else is fine, he looked at the rash. By shining his light on her skin (the light he uses to look at her eyes and in her mouth), we could see that the bumps actually wrapped around her neck, down her shoulder and onto her chest. The bumps on her neck are (still) flesh-colored. He diagnosed the rash as Lichen Striatus. Unfortunately, this is a not very well researched rash. Doctors don't know where it comes from or why people get it. They also don't know how to cure it.

After reassuring me that there are no bad side affects of the rash and that it's not fungal and that Lydia will be fine, our doctor told us we'd have to go to a dermatologist if we wanted some kind of treatment. I asked if the dermatologist would give her a medicine that would get rid of the rash. He said he didn't know! Brian and I researched Lichen Striatus online (you can find pictures and brief descriptions). There really isn't that much information on this type of rash. And there is no known cure.

The thing with this rash is that it spreads in a linear fashion down the body. So, Lydia's rash could gradually spread all the way down her stomach! Some people have it spread all the way down their leg or arm! A dermatologist may or may not be able to give the patient something to get rid of the rash. Using Cortizone cream is known to help stop the rash sooner than leaving it be. It did say that the rash would eventually go away on it's own - after 6 months to a year! And, the rash can discolor the skin for awhile, too! Crazy!

We are going to start putting Cortizone cream on her rash twice a day and see if that works. I will mark the beginning and end of the rash with a permanent marker to track whether it's still spreading or not. If it does start spreading more, I will take her to the dermatologist. I would hate to have a rash (even it it's not itchy or painful) all the way down my stomach!

In other news....next week is the beginning of the school year! Brian is at his school all this week for in-service. It's hard having him gone ALL DAY and not have help with Lydia in the mornings. But, I did it last year, I can do it this year!

I have my piano lesson schedule finalized and am excited to start with my 13 students! I can't believe that my small private piano lesson business has gone from 9 students to 13 in a year! I love being able to contribute money to our household finances AND be able to stay at home! I have 8 students on Monday (10:00-11:30 and then 3:30-6:30) and 5 on Tuesday (3:30-6:00). Lydia will be going to Aunt Rekeisha's house on Monday afternoons and Aunt Leah's house on Tuesday afternoons. I'm hoping she'll do okay Monday mornings, since it's only for an hour and a half. 

Lydia is still not as well behaved during piano lessons as I had hoped she would be by now. She wants my attention and doesn't want to share it - even if she had been ignoring me right beforehand. I just had one of my students this morning and Lydia bugged us for the first half of the lesson. I had her set up in the living room with a snack, milk and Yo Gabba Gabba. But, she still wanted to sit on my lap, talk to me, and see what I was doing. I'm sure she'll get to the point where she'll be like "Whatever, mom's doing lessons. I'll entertain myself." Until then, she gets to spend an hour or two with her cousins and aunts, which is also fun for her.

I've been making activity schedules for August. I want to keep Lydia busy and not just in front of the TV watching her shows. I was really good at doing art activities, etc., with her last year and I want to start that again. We're also going to try story time at the library, again, this year - two times a week. We'll see how she does.

When All You Care About is Here, This is a Good Place to Be

Summer is almost over, so we're trying to have as much fun as a family as we can before it's off to work.

I can't wait for the weather to get a bit cooler so we can spend more time outside. Lydia constantly wants to go outside and I have to keep saying that it's too hot. If she finally convinces me to take her out, her face immediately turns red and then she wants me to carry her because it's so hot. So, I have started being creative about ways to entertain her inside the house. When she has Adah or Abram over, she's perfectly happy to stay inside. But, when it's just boring old mom and dad, she needs lots of entertaining!

So, here are some ideas I came up with this week.

Body Painting

Adah joined in with us on this one. I put a huge piece of paper (thanks to extra school supplies via Brian) on the ground and taped it on the floor with masking tape. I put small globs of different colored paint all around the paper. Once Lydia and Adah were finished snacking, I took off their clothes and put them in the paint.

Add caption

Lydia loved the paint right away, but Adah was a bit more hesitant. I put Adah right in the paint and then she started getting more interested in it.

Music Time

Adah joined us for this one, too. I put out the music instruments I have: a drum, small piano, and a xylophone. Lydia immediately picked up the drum and started playing. She played the drum for like 10 minutes! Adah thought the drum was cool, too, but Lydia had the claim on it. So, Adah played the piano and xylophone. Lydia liked it when I sang songs while she played the drums.

Baking

Lydia really wanted to go outside today, but it was just too hot. So, I asked her what else she wanted to do. She went into her bathroom and started dragging out her step stool, wanting to take it to the kitchen. So, I asked her if she wanted to bake something and she said, "Yeah!" I got out my recipe book and found a recipe for Banana Cake - and we had all the ingredients!

Lydia loves to bake and she's actually really good at pouring and stirring. I love how she always wants to help.