Growing

July 5th

August 26

July 5th

August 26

This girl likes to be organized!

4th Grade and crazy times

Somehow our baby girl is entering 4th grade! She is excited to start the new year! The first night she brought home her science book and looked all through it. (Remember this is the girl who loves National Geographic for kids magazine and videos and/or anything science.) The next night she brought home her social studies book and uttered these words..."I love my textbooks!" I hope she always keeps her love for learning! We so love our Anna! I miss her during the day...


Each morning, she is ready and waiting for her cousins to round the corner so they can have a few minutes of chatting while they walk the one block to the bus stop.

And then we have the crazy times here at the home front...

Christmas ideas for the little ones: big empty boxes...

The one-eyed-smile and giggly girl...

Trying to take a picture of little peanut is no easy task...

David: "Watch this Mom..." as he spins his laundry basket on his head.

I will sit still for just one picture so don't miss it!

Oh, the wonderful things she is learning from her big brother... :)

And then we have this... David: "I'm climbing with my sticky toes!" How does this enter one's mind? Has he ever seen someone do this? I have actually. Before he was born, his older cousins Jess and Drew impressed me with their climbing skills in this very doorway. Hmmm...this doorway must inspire creativity. Maybe I should go stand in it!

Monkey See...Monkey Tries to Do

The perfect landing...
And then there is this...I was on a much NEEDED phone chat with my sister, but the kitchen was a complete disaster. Yes, I tied the phone to my head! It worked really well by the way. And yes, my hubby informed me that I could of just used the speaker phone. lol
Things I want to remember:

Anna: "I love my textbooks!" Going to bed last night, instead of asking for a drink she states: "Mom, I am dehydrated!" She also says "defidently" for "definitely". I gently told her the difference but I waited all through summer because it is so cute. I thought I should inform her of the correct word before 4th grade. Anyway, LOVE my girlie!

David: "I climb with my sticky toes!" "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" "I love you, Mommy." Peeing on the tree in the front yard, taking his play tools outside and working on a stick for an hour, wanting to paint his room red, sleeping with all kinds of toys including planes, trucks, and totally not snuggly toys, wearing his bike helmet when riding his bike or scooter (we never told him he needed to)... Love my boy!

Lydia: First sentence: "I went pee-pee potty, Daddy!" :) Treats work for this girl! Learning to jump and dance, giggling during her first time in a swing, insisting on wearing her shoes all the time even during nap time, communicating completely with hand motions and facial gestures (watch out for this girl in charades some day), covering her ears whenever she eats something cold (???), setting up the little dishes with the tea cups on the coordinating saucers without ever seeing us do that, worked and worked and mastered scooting her tiny behind up onto the little tykes chairs so she can sit at the table, filling her little purse with David's matchbox cars, repeating EVERYTHING David says including "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" (Maybe this is why I tie a dish towel around my ears!) Other news: Our little one definitely makes it known that her choice of sleeping arrangements are right in the middle of her Mama and Daddy. After waking up with her head in my stomach and her feet in her Daddy's back, we did some rearranging. Now, her crib is pushed up to my side of the bed. If she wakes up, I just tell her to lay down and we hold hands through the slats until she goes back to sleep. Ahhh...so much better! She's content and all three of us are sleeping.

Maybe one of these days, I will share some of the crazy thoughts that run through my head...like have you ever thought about adopting??????????????????????????????

Quick Update

Lydia met Great Grandma Parmenter and I love this picture!

Finally, the two two year old girl cousins got some time to play...lots of smiles! Lydia would not sit still very long so the picture taking was a little funny!


By the way, Lydia has gained 4 1/2 pounds since she has been home! She is out growing her shoes and I need to measure her length again! Look at these cheeks! Praise God!

That's it for now...

Camping...seriously?

Are we crazy? Yes, we are. There is no other explanation for taking off for a one night camping trip with three tired children. Yes, they were tired before we left, but we went anyway. It was fun. I think. OK, if this smile says it, it was fun! Except for the 3 million mosquito bites that are on my legs. It is hard to swat them away when holding two exhausted-don't-want-to-sit-on-Daddy's-lap children.

Get off my new sleeping bag!

Hiking...otherwise known as swat all of the spiderwebs out of the way trail.

Lydia is learning to sit down in a chair. Well, she has never had the opportunity. I found this little chair at good old Walmart. It is low enough for her to sit down by herself. She loves it!

This playground was right behind our campsite. Here is the brave little explorer.

Mmm...smores

One tired little toddler returning home: I wanted to get this picture because this is her "binky". Lydia pulls up her dress or pjs, turns it over her thumb, and touches her lips. She doesn't suck on it. She just touches it to her lips. I've learned this is right before she konks out. :)

Lydia also discovered the sprinkler on the garden hose tonight. She loves water! When she started shivering, she had to continue her water play in the warm bath where she insists on dumping water on her head the whole time.

After peeing on the tree in the front yard...yes, I saw him out the front window with his shorts around his ankles...David was moved to the back yard to play! I think he might have been as happy as he has been all summer digging in the dirt under the swings. He had a blast with dirt, trucks, and water. This boy needs a sandbox. Here is a pure summer smile! Notice the feet and legs...

Camping was fun and bedtime tonight took less than ten minutes. Both "littles" were snoring before I could even finish bedtime prayers. Maybe we should sleep in the tent and go hiking every other night...maybe not!

Smiles

I took a picture of Anna and David each month of their first year in this brown chair. I thought it would be fun to "watch" Lydia grow month by month her first year home. She loved her first photo shoot in the chair. :)

One Month Home

And then big brother crawled into the chair too.

David and Lydia story time: Tonight we were having a family movie time. Lydia was crawling all over everyone giving kisses and saying "I love you". Very Cute! Davey boy was busy watching the movie and was not into kisses. Lydia kept grabbing onto him, climbing onto his lap, following him around with puckered lips! She was not giving up until he gave her a kiss.

Lydia's first balloon...

David...
Hi Mom...I've been watching my brother climb...

Anna seems to be Lydia's greatest source of English. She repeats Anna a lot. Today, we heard "I got it." "I love you" "thank you" "please" "dog" And of course "Anna" is clear as can be!

Our small town community has an organization, Sugar Creek Symphony and Song, that brings an opera into town every summer. Anna picked up the flier at the library Friday and saw that the opera was Little Women. She was so excited and wanted to go. Off we went with a McDonald's smoothie on the way. :) She loved it! We have been randomly singing things to each other today. Driving Daddy a little crazy with our "opera" voices! Today, we finished getting her school supplies for 4th grade...

Pig Pile on Daddy

I'll end with a picture from David's photography... :)

Crib Update

If you read the last post, I just had to update. The day after I posted that she INSISTED in taking a nap in her crib. She laid right down, held my hand through the slats, and let me sing her to sleep. Maybe she was closing her eyes hoping I would STOP singing! HA! Yep, she's two! Today, she has also decided that she loves to brush her teeth. She drug her Daddy by taking his huge finger in her teeny hand into the bathroom showing him with motions that she wanted to brush her teeth. She cracks us up with her ability to communicate. She will be a pro at charades some day! She will make the motion or point to what she wants, lift her arms in the air (for us to pick her up), and nod her head "yes" in the direction she wants to go. She doesn't give up and isn't distracted very easily! Well, we will see what night time brings...crib or bed?

Four Weeks

Lydia has been in our arms four weeks. Hmmm...what to say...Truthfully, this has gone through my mind the past couple of days. The honeymoon is over. HA!HA! That is not to say that there is not lots of laughter and smiles, but hey as we get to know one another, we are becoming a family. She's two you know. Yes, she's a doll! A beautiful sweetheart who gives smiles, kisses, laughter, babbles, pops out English words, communicates easily, whines, doesn't want her brother to touch her toys, wants her sister to be at her beck and call, is getting pickier with her food choices, and LOVES our bed. Yep, she has decided that sleeping all night in her crib is not to her liking. YIKES! We are not the "family" bed family. So, we have some decisions to make. Right now the cutie pie is sleeping soundly in her Mama and Daddy's bed. Hmmm...she is tiny, but wow-she takes up a lot of space! We'll figure it out. Last night, I kept praying for God's wisdom and grace. His wisdom to do what is best for her little heart. Does she really need to be between us to feel safe and secure or is she two and just wants her little way? The grace to sleep hanging onto the side of the bed or buy a king size bed! I think that was muttered in the middle of the night last night. Well, I know it was muttered! Anyway, it is hard to believe that it has only been four short weeks since we first met face to face.

Four weeks could be summed up by the word...backwards. Yep, lots of things slipping backward. She has almost stopped using the potty. She has stopped communicating that need and just goes in her pull-up. Besides not wanting to sleep in her crib, she has decided that not every bite of food is a wonderful choice. She has picked food out of her mouth and handed it back to me if she decides she doesn't like it! Even though I see it as going backwards, I don't think of it as negative. She isn't worked up about the potty or food. And isn't it a good thing she finds comfort between her Mama and Daddy? I think so. We continue to enjoy day by day watching her grow into such a sweetie.

Rewind to last week...For her third week home, we headed off to marching band camp. Now, you might say that is crazy. I doubted myself several times for taking her to a new place without her siblings, but she did just great. Anna had some time by herself with Papa and Grandma. David had some time to chill and play at Grandma Stone's. They both had a wonderful week! Although, leaving them so many days in July has definitely taken a toll on all of us.

Back to band camp. Lydia was adored by all of the band students who were very respectful of us asking them to give her some space. We had asked them not to get in her face or try to pick her up. By the end of the week, she was screeching "bye" or "hi" and waving at all the smiling faces. She also now loves her shoes and does not want to take them off. She discovered that she could walk in grass and even was brave enough to explore a little ways from my side. It is such a privilege to discover God's creation with her.

One evening when we were out at the band field, she decided it was time to venture a little further from my side. She would take a few steps and then turn back to see me. She would come running back. Then she would take a few steps and go a little further. Each time she would turn and come running back. After about 5 or 6 trips, she decided it was OK to wander. She didn't go very far, but she did discover that I was not going to disappear. It warms my heart to watch her grow more comfortable each day. Here she is in her chariot for the week.

Here we are with two of our "daughters". These are two of my color guard ladies! :)

And this is how we all felt by the end of camp...and several days afterward...

More details: You can stop reading if you want. This post is not too anything except details that I don't want to forget. My creativity may return when I am not hanging onto the side of the bed trying to get some rest. (Seriously, it's not so bad to snuggle with this sweetie!) Anyway, we also had Lydia's first doctor's appointment. Thankfully, she shows no signs (like swollen organs) of malnutrition. The only concern is that she is so teeny tiny. But when we picked her up she weighed 15 pounds. Yes, 15 pounds. In just three weeks, she is up to 16.5 pounds. I am sure she gained another pound at band camp. I wish I would have measured her little thighs, ankles, and arms to see the tremendous growth. I keep praying that God would touch each cell in her body and cause them to grow strong and healthy. She is also much stronger and steadier on her legs. She's got to keep up with David you know! :)