Rock Bridge High Memories

I flew home last weekend for a quick trip to attend my friend Caitlin's wedding in Warrensburg, MO. John watched Lydia for the weekend, giving me a nice break to gain some perspective on all that has happened in the past few months. My mom was an excellent date to the wedding and it was so meaningful to catch up with these friends from high school. I hope that Lydia has such a tight-knit group of friends in high school. These ladies, combined with meeting John, made high school such a special time. Megan
P.S. I have no idea why this picture will not center but I'm not going to worry about it!

Sometimes Simpler is Better

Friday was a wonderful Birthday for Lydia. She woke up from her nap to a stack of presents. Thank you so much for all the wonderful toys and clothing! She truly loves them all. As soon as we started opening them, you could tell that Lydia was realizing that this afternoon was special. Following presents, we took her new red kite to the park near our house. Having lived on the beach, Lydia has often admired the kites of others. This one is all her own and flying it in the park was the perfect activity to celebrate two years of life. She wouldn't let go of the kite string. Anytime it started to get low she would excitedly yell "uh-oh! uh-oh!" And when it fell to the ground occasionally she would run to it with a "I got it!" The only way to pull her away from the park was to bribe her with ice-cream. Kite and ice cream, simpler is sometimes just better. Megan

Here Comes Two

Come Friday, I will have a two year old! Lydia seems to change every day, leaving me with constant feelings of confusion. When did she learn to do this? Why is she doing that? What am I supposed to do when she does this? You get the idea. Well, this post is dedicated to my always changing almost two year old.

Favorite Foods: Peanut Butter reigns supreme, but also popcorn, ice-cream, munching on ice, and most fruits
Favorite Activities: Swimming, watching TV, the beach, laughing at dogs, slides, watering plants, rough-housing
Favorite People: I make her the calmest but John makes her the happiest
Favorite TV/Movies: Shaun the Sheep, Little People DVD, Annie, Yo Gabba Gabba, The Lorax, Wall E
Strangest Addiction: Licking playdoh (I know, gross)
Proudest Accomplishments: Giving up the pacifier during the day, putting together three words to form phrases ("Where are you?" "I got it" and "Hey you Dog!"), surviving a cross-country move, learning to jump (still sorta working on this one)
Her Personality: Confident, thoughtful, mischevious, active, determined
One Last Anecdote: Lydia routinely angers little boys at the playground by calling them "baby." She calls all kids "babies," probably because I still call her that. But three times now she has heard "I'm NOT a baby. I'm a BIG boy!" Angering the boys just makes her (and John and I) chuckle.

Megan

Father's Day 2013

Lydia has given up her pacifier during awake times! We are certainly proud of her, though it left her quite irritable last week. John and I found ourselves completely exhausted Saturday night. For Father's Day, Lydia gave John (and me) a day of relaxation, including sleeping in past eight and taking a three and half hour nap. On top of that goodness, John also got a gas grill. Happy Father's Day John from Lydia and I! Megan

Lydia's House

Here she is! Our neighbor called our neighborhood "old San Diego" and that is probably right on. It is a safe area with older homes, many with identical lay-outs.

Living room, still have some decorating to do. We said farewell to our flat-screen and cable service. This is our old Sony TV from Japan. We will see how long it lasts!

Breakfast nook, has great light!

Master Bedroom, still needs some decor.

Lydia's Room, one of my favorite rooms in the house. It is in a nice quiet, secure spot and it is a room all her own. The perfect size for her too!

Guest Room/Office/To-Be Baby's Room, just finished unpacking this room today. No more boxes! Megan

Cross-Country Complete

This photo was taken our last morning in the condo. Can you sense the sorrow in everyone's eyes??? And while we were truly sad to leave Navarre, John and I also felt a huge sense of relief that all the work of getting the condo ready for the rental market was complete (thanks mainly to all of John's hard work). We are now in our home in San Diego, a place we like to call "Lydia's House." Being that it is a rental, we are more than happy to make it as kid-friendly as possible, put our feet up a bit and let some things that might need fixing go. I'm tired of trying to keep a house with a toddler clean all the time! Lydia will have to learn to share her favorite part of the new house, the big backyard, with a sibling come late December. Another big reason why our time in San Diego will be all about kids. Here is a photo of Lydia and Lucy enjoying their new play-space. The tree in this photo has already become a great spot for Lydia to climb. More pictures of the house to come soon.

Megan