Tangle

Lydia's first tangle. Many more to come, I anticipate. Megan

Chex Mix

The seasoning and butter of chex mex are Lydia's favorite part of the snack. She hands the soggy pieces of pretzel and cracker to Lucy, while keeping the chex for herself. If Lucy is a little too rough when taking a piece, Lydia will say "ouch." It does not prevent Lydia from handing Lucy the next piece. They enjoy the snack together.
Megan

Air-Conditioning in December

Besides celebrating my Birthday and getting a Christmas tree, it does not feel like December at our house. Just check out the tank dress Lydia is sporting today. We have been running the air-conditioning for over a week now! I shouldn't really complain because the warmer temps make taking Lucy on walks so much easier but I do miss winter. Add that to the many reasons we are looking forward to packing up the car and heading north in just over a week. Can't wait to celebrate Christmas with family. Megan

Lucy and Lydia

Here is a video I took this morning of Lydia helping me around the house. Lydia is completing her favorite chore, emptying the lint from the dryer. Afterwards, she becomes side-tracked by Lucy's bones. This is why Lucy loves Lydia. They certainly are in cahoots with one another. Megan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhmcgzCeoCM&feature=youtu.be

A Short Time in Wonderland

40 minutes. That is how long we lasted at today's Christmas party at John's squadron. It might have been the wrong week to introduce Lydia to open-gym. She seemed to think she should be free to roam wherever, whether it be jetting towards the running helicopter (that flew in Santa) or adamantly attempting to go in the "big-kids only" bounce house. Tantrums ensued. It was totally exhausting for both John and I. We saw the line of over a hundred kids waiting to sit in Santa's lap and were in agreement that Lydia didn't need to sit on Santa's lap this year. Megan

Open Gym

This week we attended preschool open gym twice at our local gymnastics studio. With cooler temps and an active girl, this is a great activity. I cannot stress enough that Lydia loves it--she runs from station to station, climbs high up on the mats, jumps into the nerf block pit, and bounces on the trampolines. Of course I try not to compare Lydia to the other toddlers there but let me just say that so far Lydia is the only child I have seen who will a) roll a ball to another child in hopes of playing together and b) stop mid-activity to do a little dance if the right song comes over the sound system. I am a proud and lucky mom. Now if only I had won the lottery this week! Given half a billion dollars, I would quickly buy a house and convert the basement to our own gymnasium fully-equipt with tumbling floors, padded walls and all the fun stuff. For now, a few hours a week will do. Megan

Bright Lights

Our family had a beautiful Thanksgiving, thanks to seventy degree weather and a meal catered by our local grocery store. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas is in full swing at our home. We were the first to purchase a tree from our local Walmart, something we are oddly proud of. Speaking of bright lights, we had a bit of a fire here at Summerwind on Friday night. The flames could be viewed from our balcony coming from the neighboring building to the west. An electrical fire in the penthouse hot tub was the cause. Firetrucks arrived quickly and put out the blaze with damage luckily limited to the outdoor patio area. Five different counties responded to the emergency, making me feel safe and secure. Megan