The Princess Diaries

Fast Forward

2008-11-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

Hey, um, excuse me...when did my daughter turn into a teenager? Doesn't she look like she's 13 in these pictures? What's up with that?!

I just love those pigtails. She picked out the flower ponytail holders herself. Problem is, more often than not, she hates having her hair in ponytails, barrettes or anything. Drives me nuts, cuz she's so cute with her hair up like that!

2008-10-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

F I N A L L Y !!!

2008-09-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a year and a half, I can again post to my blog. David reimaged the hard drive. It occurred to me that maybe the problem had been eliminated. Hooray! It is.

My goodness, where to start. I know. How about I start with the cutest picture ever taken?

This is Lydia (on the right) with her cousin, Kerra, getting a ride behind Mom's bike. It's quite the workout dragging 60 pounds of toddler uphill, in case you're wondering.

2007-02-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally had to Lydia-proof the house. She can really log the miles, crawling lickety split from one end of the house to the other. She has gotten more efficient and graceful in just the last two weeks. She started out slapping and jerking, resembling Frankenstein to tell you the truth, but now she just efficiently gets from point A to point B. She follows us from room to room, opening doors and drawers, pulling herself up to see what's on the end table, and even crawling up Mom and Dad's legs to get our attention.

Yup, she's mobile.

Click here for miss Lydia in action.

Click here for "news flash".

Cuteness Squared

2007-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Aiyaiyai...what am I going to do with such a cute little girl???? She gets cuter every day!

Thib ib buy thung

2007-02-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

Lydia discovered her tongue. She likes to nibble it with her two little teeth, and just let it hang out there to get some air.

A little light reading

2007-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

"Wait a minute, Mom. I'm pretty sure there's a verse in here about babies getting to stay up as late as they want. I know I can find it, just give me a sec."

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen

2007-02-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

When are they going to let me out of here? I'm pretty sure I've been good today. I ate my veggies at lunch. I pulled Mom's hair only 3 times instead of my usual 12 or 13. And I let Dad wear his glasses instead of crushing them in my little fists. What do they want from me? I guess it could be worse. This mattress is pretty comfy, and I have my kangaroo by my side. Oh, who am I trying to kid? If I could figure out how to squeeze between these bars I would do it before anyone could say "Fizzlesticks!"

Nocturnal Migration

2007-01-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

She had an entire full-sized bed to fall asleep on, and where does she pick to crash? The northwestern most corner of the futon with her head wedged against the wall. She was so jammed up there, that she clunked her head every time she moved. I eventually put her in her crib, of course. Strangely, she seemed really comfortable.

Chicken-Based Hair Products

2007-01-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here we see the lovely Lydia enjoying a spa day - chicken based hair gel and a noodle facial. Who knew such down-home goodness would be a girl's best beauty products?

Reflecting Lydia

2007-01-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

One of Lydia's favorite pastimes is viewing her own reflection. We love looking at her, so why shouldn't she?

Click here for a video of her in front of the bathroom mirror.

I was watching that!

2007-01-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

Don't change the channel - I was watching that!

Lydia, who is getting her first tooth and is exceptionally whiny these days, was not content to sit on my friend's lap and wiggled her way down to the floor. The remote control tends to keep her occupied, so we let her press its buttons while we talked. After a while we noticed it was strangely peaceful. We could hear each other speak. We looked down, and there she was passed out with her cheek resting on the remote. I hope this does not portend a deep affection for the remote. Also this week, Lydia has made great advances in her ability to wiggle herself where she wants to go. Exciting - in a good way and a bad way. She's a little tougher to deal with now that she knows new freedom. She now has a new emotion. Frustration. Click here for video of the little speed buggy.

Click here for video of a night at home with "the girls." You might want to turn down the volume a little. Lydia (and Dasha) get vocal.

A Difference in Parenting Philosophies

2007-01-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

David and I differ in our approach to feeding Lydia. He lets her feed herself occassionally. Ummm...I really don't. At least not the really messy stuff. This is a post-Daddy feeding. She sure looks like she's enjoying herself. Click here to see a neater version of Lydia enjoying a meal.

Eulogy for Nikki

2006-12-15T20:05:00.000-08:00

From a story on the web: a child answers the question, "why are dogs' lives so much shorter than our own?"

"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Last week we lost Nikki, the sweetest dog on Earth. I've been waiting to post this until I felt I could do it without crying.

Nikki was a very sick girl. We didn't even know it. She didn't act sick at all until Thanksgiving when she lagged behind on our walk. Tuesday morning (12/5), she walked away from her breakfast. With a little encouragement, she did finally eat. She was happy to eat her post-breakfast treat, so I didn't think much about it. I got home that night, and she wasn't eager to eat her dinner either. While I watched her slowly make her way through her kibble I noticed her belly was clearly bloated. We took her to the emergency vet. They took X-rays and told us her organs were not where they should be. They assumed a tumor had pushed them out of place. We took her for an ultrasound the next morning. They confirmed she had cancer throughout her liver and probably in her heart and lungs. There was nothing the vet could do. Since the tumor was leaking fluid into her abdomen (causing the bloating) and would soon rupture we had to put her to sleep. I am grateful to God that He took her quickly and didn't allow us or her to suffer. He is so merciful.

David and I are recovering. It helps us to know that there was absolutely no way we could save her. It was just her time to go. But it is so sad to say good-bye to such a sweet dog and constant companion. Nikki was an example for me of several good things. One, be honest about your needs. It was clear Nikki liked to go for walks, ride in the car, and man oh man petting. She just put it out there. She wanted to be petted, and she'd really like it if you'd pet her now, please. No shame, no cajoling, no manipulation, and no hard feelings if you didn't want to. There's something admirable in that. She was perfectly egalitarian. She loved all people equally. Anyone with a hand who could pet her was her friend. In fact, if you didn't have a hand, she'd be perfectly happy to be petted by your foot. She made no distinction by age, gender, race, or any other status. She didn't care if you hated or feared dogs, she was your friend. And she won you over. Few humans can do that. And she forgave. I hate to admit it, but I lost it a few times, getting mad at her for absolutely no good reason. I remember one of the many times I stepped on her paw, and I actually yelled at her for being in my way. Then I realized, not only had I hurt her I had the gall to yell at her, too. She humbled me. I learned over and over again how broken I am. Each time, I prayed about it and asked God to make me a better person. I think He has.

I'm grateful for the few wonderful years we had Nikki in our home. She was a delightful companion, respectful houseguest, and quiet teacher. I will miss her always.

Link to Giggle Stick

2006-12-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

Click here to see a video of Lydia laughing.

Basket Taxi

2006-12-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is the only way I get any laundry done.

Just a funny picture

2006-11-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

Whut Choo Talkin' 'Bout Willis?

This picture cracks me up. I don't know what I did to earn this expression, but it's a keeper.

Just to remind everyone how stinkin' cute she is, I included another picture taken the same day. What a glamour queen.

Yay, Sit Up. Not Spit Up

2006-11-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

It's a whole new vertical world for the Peanut. She can now sit by herself as long as she has a little support along her back. She can reach for things and see what's going on. Not such a baby anymore. She's on her way to becoming a little girl. Click here for video of Lydia doing her thing.

She's Getting "Hand-y"

2006-11-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

This is Lydia holding her bottle all by herself, and her Mom looking ridiculously impressed by it.

Daddy - Daughter Cuteness

2006-11-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

Not much to say, except I just had to post these insanely cute pictures of Lydia and David. I had just gotten home from work, and these two were horsing around, pressing their noses together. I grabbed the camera, and David tried to recreate the moment. all three of us ended up laughing and a few shots actually turned out.

Squash Becomes Her

2006-11-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

And, yes, this was immediately after her bath. Believe it or not, she actually likes squash and gets some into her mouth. This was an early exposure to this food, so David let her play with it and the spoon in order to make it an enjoyable experience for her. What's even more fun for her is blowing bubbles with squash and spraying it all over mom and dad. What a hoot that is!

Happy Halloween!

2006-11-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

Baby's first Halloween.

My little pumpkin became a little pumpkin for Halloween. This is the first thing I ever bought for the baby. I wandered through Target - must have been 11/1/05 and saw costumes 1/2 off. Being my mother's daughter I browsed through the offerings, did the math and picked up this little number. It fit her perfectly and was nice and toasty warm for a very cool evening.

Lydia didn't care for the experience too much. Don't let the smiley face snoozing in the car seat fool you. She was pretty wigged out by the costumes. At least that's what we figured, because she burst into hysterical crying every time she saw our friend Christopher. Christopher's wife, Jen, babysits Lydia once a week, so he is not a stranger to her. We figure it had to be the pirate's hat he was wearing. She liked him again on November 1st.

I'm already looking forward to next year's costume. Let me know if you find any good places to get one 1/2 off.

Carseat

2006-11-03T04:45:00.000-08:00

We try to avoid it, but Lydia spends a lot of time in her carseat. Thankfully, she doesn't fight it yet, but I bet it's coming. These are three more images taken by my friend Annette (see previous post). I like these, because they capture the everyday Lydia. The last one especially captures her quick smile and delight in someone's attention.

Beautiful Pictures

2006-10-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Lydia and I lunched with my friend and former PDA co-worker Annette Kavanaugh and her partner Greg Ruffa a couple of Sundays ago. Annette is an artist and took an interest in photography after viewing a photo exhibition of my boss' work. She brought her camera with us and captured many lovely images. These are a few of my favorites.

I like the top one, because it is very natural and easily brings me back to that moment. Lydia has begun exploring my face while I feed her. She had her fingers in my mouth in this picture.

The middle one is just so HER. She always rubs her face, especially when she's trying to fall asleep.

The last one I like because of Lydia's expression. It is sort of melancholy. Annette talked about some of these looking like "Madonna and child." I think this one does that particularly well.

Where's Waldo?

2006-10-11T04:34:00.000-07:00

Can anyone spot the baby in this picture?

David took Lydia outside with him while he raked the lawn yesterday. She had on quite an outfit, pink Winnie the Pooh hat (check out the little ears - its, not hers), red fleece jacket with orange trim, purple cordoroys, and multicolor blue knit booties. David said her clothing betrayed her Finlander heritage. I can't say I understand the reference, but she gets her Finlander from him!

She does look like something you could buy in a Scandinavian gift shop.

An update on her development: her legs are getting so strong with all the time she spends jumping in her jump-up (see previous posts) and standing in her exersaucer. David had her standing in his lap yesterday. She would bend her knees and get into a full squat then entirely under her own power stand herself back up again. She did this over and over again. I wouldn't be too surprised if she skipped crawling altogether and went straight to walking. She has no interest in sitting. She flattens herself out whenever I try to get her to sit. I don't know if she dislikes her diaper cutting into her tummy or what.

What the...?

2006-10-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Daddy bought his little girl sunglasses.

I laughed myself silly when I saw this picture. It was just what I needed after a stressful day at work. (Work's great, just really busy.)

Does anyone else see Elton John when they look at this?

Rick's Wedding

2006-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, folks. The devil got out his parka on September 30th. Rick is married. Here's a shot of him and his lovely bride, Kanisha. Notice his hat has the flowers and veil. Hers, if you could see it has a ball and chain. It sort of set the tone for the whole affair. Everyone had a lot of fun.

I included a shot of me with my other brother, Rob.

Lydia did not attend. She's just too little. She was lovingly cared for by her Grandma Carol. Lydia was even pretty easy for Grandma, sleeping when she was supposed to, eating when she was supposed to. Mom and Dad are getting all the hassles now. She saved them up apparently.

We're so stinkin' tired

2006-09-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Lydia had a heckuva time getting to sleep tonight. It really wore on my nerves. She abuses herself when she gets overtired, thrashing around, poking her eyes with her fingers, trying to stuff both her fingers and her nuk in her mouth at the same time, and whining, lots of whining. I swear my mind flits to narcotics and large hammers. It's insane what sleep deprivation and desperation do to your mind.

It's quarter to nine, and I can't believe I'm writing this I'm so sleepy. It's my stubborn drive to do just one more thing before I go to bed. It just may kill me.

I'm signing off...thanks for letting me vent.

Our First Night Out

2006-09-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight, David and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary by going out to dinner at the Water Street Inn in Stillwater. We had a LOVELY time. Aunt P watched Lydia for us, which was such a blessing. The dinner and service were excellent, and we enjoyed talking about Lydia and NOT talking about Lydia for several hours. Thanks Aunt P and thank heavens for holidays.

A Budding Bookworm

2006-09-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Lydia is a social bird. She doesn't take much interest in objects, at least not yet anyway. The only exception is books. She really enjoys "reading" and will finger the pages as David and I read the words to her. She grabs the corners as if she's going to turn the page. I give her a hand and move the book against her fist, so it seems like she's turning the page herself.

I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. I hope she continues to enjoy books as she gets older, so we can share good stories with each other, just like I do with my Mom and Aunt P.

Flying Baby

2006-09-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

A sure-fire way to get a smile out of Lydia is to lift her over your head. I call it "Flying Baby!" It doesn't matter if I do it while standing, sitting, or lying flat on my back. It always tickles her. I often do it after picking her up from the changing table.

This can be a tricky maneuver. She has her mouth open. I have my mouth open with a "wheeeeeee!" You do the math. Gravity is not my friend sometimes. Somehow, I've managed to catch her spit only once so far, but you can bet my reflexes are lightning fast.

Lydia Goes Bananas

2006-09-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

David introduced Lydia to bananas this week. Just like the cereal, she didn't like it at first, but she started to figure it out...hey, this is food! Pretty soon she was opening her mouth in anticipation and grabbing at the spoon. Next week she gets to try squash. This should be interesting.

Jumpin' Mania

2006-09-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

Lydia has figured out the Johnny Jump Up. It is definitely her favorite thing to do. She can bounce for an hour straight. It completely wears her out.

Check out her skills:

http://blip.tv/file/76421

Caution: motion sickness threat. She's really moving, and I'm not too steady with the camera. I promise to get better at this.

She rolled over!

2006-09-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

In the top picture, Lydia had just rolled over for the very first time! David and I both missed it! He had placed her on the floor for some tummy time while he helped me get ready for work. He stepped into the kitchen while was fixing my hair. When he returned into the living room she was on her back. He put her back on her tummy while I grabbed the camera. Sure enough, she did it again! And again, and again, and again. She rolled like a pro.

And so it begins. Life just got harder.

Lower Lip

2006-09-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

She started doing a new thing today. She discovered her lower lip, or at least that she could suck it into her mouth. She looks like a little frog! I couldn't stop laughing at her! She was doing this when I got home from work and kept at it until she went to sleep. I wonder if she'll remember to do it tomorrow.

Bath Time

2006-09-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

These are from Lydia's bath on Saturday. She is amazingly contented during bath time. Other than her very first bath - and the time David let her water get too cold before setting her in it - she has always been peaceful. She puts up with being soaked, scrubbed, and rinsed without a complaint. I think it helps I keep a washcloth on her chest throughout the bath to keep her nice and toasty warm.

The best parts for me are washing her hair and carrying her to her towel. I love it when her hair is wet. She gets the cutest soggy comb-over. And when I carry her to her towel I get to hold her little bare bottom in my hand. There's a reason we say "smooth as a baby's bottom."

Sweet.

Trouble Sleeping

2006-09-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Lydia is having trouble getting to sleep lately. We put her down and she fusses for up to an hour. She loves her nuk. She hates her nuk. She loves her nuk. She hates her nuk. I think I've lost the last bit of baby weight just running back and forth plugging her nuk. Sometimes she substitutes her thumb for her nuk. Or her whole hand. Makes for a soggy hand...and face...and chest...and blanket...

Tip Over

2006-09-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture? Like she's somebody else. And so girly! Those chunky thighs are irresistible.

David took this picture. He was probably playing "Tip Over" with her. He sits her up really straight against our bed pillows then lets her flop over. She loves it! Laughs all the way down then licks the sheets when she gets there. She's an odd duck. We just sit her back up and let her flop away.

Kelty Cutie

2006-09-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Over the holiday weekend, we decided to take the family for a walk. Lydia is finally big enough to give the Kelty carrier a try. It was a little cool, so we put on the hat that Grandma Carol gave Lydia a couple of weeks ago. The cute-o-meter pegged, so I had to grab the camera. Even Dasha was cuter than cute!

Johnny Jump Up

2006-09-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ever since I first saw a child in a Johnny Jump Up I knew I had to have one for any kids of mine. Kids love 'em, but truly they're for the parents! This is one of Lydia's first times in the Jump Up. She hadn't quite figured it out at this point. She's still working on it, actually. She mostly likes to lean and swing in large circles, spinning around and around. She's too small for the seat, so we stuff receiving blankets around her chest to keep her from flopping back and forth. You can see one of the blankets spilling out the leg hole on her right side.

Even though she doesn't yet understand how much mobility she has in this contraption, I think it's one of her favorites. It certainly keeps her happy while we get a moment to eat or read a section of the newspaper...okay, part of an article if we're lucky. : )

Solid Food

2006-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

This is Lydia's first exposure to solid food - a thin mixture of rice cereal and warm breast milk. As you can see she didn't like it very much. Thankfully, I had read about this in a child development book and knew to expect her to reject it the first several attempts. She ended up wearing most of it. You can see how wet her chest is. She got a bath right after this. She liked that a whole lot better.

I've given her rice cereal four times since this day. The last two times, she began opening her mouth to receive the spoon, and I heard her swallow a few times. She even stopped making faces and thrashing around. David and I have caught her watching us intently as we bring our forks to our mouths. I think she's beginning to figure it out! I'm so impressed!

Retrospective: We're Pregnant

2006-09-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is where it all started. After a lot of prayer - courage for David, healing for me - here we were standing in our bathroom with a positive pregnancy test and a major sense of disbelief and bewilderment. What do we do now? Well, I knew what I was going to do next...throw up.