An Appreciative Fetus

If you've been paying attention to the sequence of my muddled posts as of late (not easy to do!), you will have noticed that Lyd's cake smash actually took place on the morning of Mother's Day. Because the missing of our plane was imminent, hasty hugs were given, and to my surprise, a few wrapped packages were stuffed into my carry on.

I had forgotten about my very first Mother's Day...

But the women in my family are on the ball when it comes to holidays.

My parents had picked out a pair of earrings for me and a new book.

My sister got me a DVD from my childhood that she knew I'd been wanting,

And my sister-in-law Mandy made me this beautiful block of the Salt Lake City Temple:

Such fun/thoughtful gifts!

As Always, Lydie played happily on the airplane until she fell asleep in Daddy's arms...

She is seriously THE BEST plane baby.
We lucked out on this since she's been on an airplane at least 10 times. As for road trips, well, we're hoping that once she gets a front facing carseat she'll be a more pleasant traveling companion ;)

Once at home, Kyle made my request of salmon, red potatoes, and asparagus for dinner.
For dessert, he provided chocolate muffins from Costco :)
I got lovely flowers and a new pillow.

I love me some hot pink.

The mandatory 1st Mother's Day shot.
This picture cracks me up...Lyd looks like such a tired/happy little squish.
I'm so lucky to be her mama. AND she made me a card:

"yor the best
Momy a Lyd
could evr ask
fur. I luv you.
Luv Lyd."


There was also letter from my love inside, and to my surprise, a letter from the fetus too :)
Here's a snippet:

"I want you to know that I'm sorry for putting you through hell the last few months. To make it up to you I promise to be a well-behaved girl/boy all growing up. Thank you for keeping me warm and feeding me nutrients (Especially those chocolate muffins) Yummy!"

Such appreciative children I have, let me tell you ;)
Being a mother opens up your world to a whole new kind of love. No one will tell you that it's easy, but I don't think it's possible to know how wonderful it is until it's happened to you. Once you hold that precious little baby in your arms, little else matters.

My in-laws took a trip to Jerusalem a few months ago. They got to listen to some very insightful thoughts on Mary and her role as mother to the baby Jesus.
They sent me this gorgeous olive wood carving symbolizing that love:

I received this when I was still at my parents house and too ill to take care of Lydia by myself.
 It acted as an instant reminder that all of this is worth it.
My mom used to say that a lot when she thought back to her pregnancies.
Everything we go through for our children pales in comparison to the joy we're given in return.
I love Lydia more than I ever thought possible, and I know I'll feel the same about the new little baby about to enter our lives.

1-Year-Old!

Our precious Lydie Bug is now a toddler!

Pretty hard to believe.
A few things about Lydia:

• She is the biggest smiler and loves to make friends with EVERYONE. I don't think I've ever run an errand where someone hasn't come over to meet her or grin and wave.
• Lydie waves a lot. And says "hi." But never "bye."
• She's obsessed with drinking water. We got her started on a sippy cup a few weeks ago and she loves that it gives her water faster than a bottle used to. We've tried on two different occasions to make her day by giving her chocolate milk or orange juice. She was just disappointed that it wasn't water. Go figure.
• She knows how to stand, but can only walk if she's holding onto something.
• She thinks cold things make the best treats. Especially ice water or just plain ice.
• She loves the phone and gets very mad if I'm talking on it and don't give her a turn. She puts it up to her ear and says "hiiiiiii."
• She talks. A lot. I think she legitimately feels that she's saying something.
• Outside is her favorite place to be. Unfortunately, she still eats leaves and dirt. I've been given more than one "what are you doing" look from other parents when I haven't immediately stopped her. But, when a habit goes on for 7 months straight, you get to the point where if it doesn't kill 'em, you just let it happen. You know?
• She's got 4 1/2 teeth. And all of them came within the same 3-4 weeks.
• She's the biggest music junkie. She knows how to get down. And 2 months ago she started singing along to church hymns. It is ADORABLE. We downloaded the Children's Hymn app on Kyle's phone and it is her very favorite thing.
• She loves to eat. She'll eat most anything, but lately her favorites have included: cereal (especially mini wheats, cinnamon chex, or raisin nut bran), oranges, spaghetti, yogurt, strawberries, pizza, chicken, string cheese, and bananas.
• I asked Kyle what is one thing that the world should know about Lyd. He said, "She's very proud of herself all of the time. She's constantly cheering and clapping for herself." It's true, she's got a very high confidence level. Wonder who she inherited that from ;)

My brother Steve and his wife Candace got married on Lydia's birthday (May 12). 

So Lyd got to celebrate the big 0-1 in Los Angeles!

For her birthday breakfast, Lydia had her choice of blueberry muffins, pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit, and yogurt. You'd think I was the coolest mom ever if we didn't get it from the hotel's free breakfast lounge :)

1st big girl activity = eating breakfast in daddy's lap while watching Sponge Bob.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say daddy looks like he's enjoying the show more.

Sweetie fell asleep on our way to the temple.

Here's a tiny sneak peak of the wedding until I can get my hands on the professional pics:

The happy couple

Our Family

Because wedding festivities tend to take all day, we had a little family party for Lydie the following morning.

Classic excited Lyd face.

Grandma and Grandpa got her her favorite toy of all time:

A walker that has many different buttons to push. She's obsessed with it.

She stopped unwrapping so she could do a little jig to the music that started playing :)

Auntie Julia sewed this lovely cross stitch for Lydia's wall. They are fellow Winnie the Pooh lovers.

Uncle Jerry & Aunt Mandy got her a fun bubble making machine for the backyard!

I wanted to get a birthday hat shot of the 3 little cousins, but they weren't having it.
So...onto the cake smash!

Uncle Steve & Aunt Candace were thoughtful enough to order Lydie a birthday cake from the same bakery that did their wedding cake. The plan was to do the cake smash at their reception, but by the time everyone was ready, Lydie was just too tired.
Our backup plan was the hotel bathtub :)

Want to know a secret that I wasn't going to divulge? Kyle smeared the cake all over Lydie's body, because we needed to catch our flight (which we missed) and she wasn't smashing quickly enough for picture taking purposes.
So there you have it: cute cake pictures = totally staged.

Happy Birthday, Lydie Pie!
We sure love you!

A Week of Firsts

On our last full day in San Diego, Rick & Rhonda had a little present opening party for Lydia. Baby girl was turning the big "1" the following Saturday (birthday posts coming soon!), and Grandma wanted to make sure she was good and spoiled.

Some of the darling outfits Lydie got, along with a musical purse full of big girl accessories like a phone, credit card, mirror, bracelet, and keys. After all, she is a toddler now...

And because we were just a few condos down from the pool, we decided Lydie needed to experience her first swim. 

I'd say this activity was a hit ;)

Swimming with Daddy.

Being preggo and without a swimsuit, I hadn't planned on getting in. But Kyle convinced me that Lydia needed both parents in the pool for her first time. How could I say no to that?

Lyd could not stop laughing...

Which made us laugh too :)

She thinks it's hilarious to be dunked under water!

The last big thing we got to do before driving to L.A was attend a family BBQ over at Sunshine's house. David (Kyle's cousin) was getting married that Saturday and we got to meet his adorable bride-to-be Courtney for the first time. 

It was a fun night with lots of yummy food, kiddos running around, and an entire toy room that Lydie could not bring herself to leave. 

It was a short, but wonderful 2 1/2 day stay :)

San Diego Zoo

The first thing we did when we stepped off the plane in San Diego was head to the zoo with Kyle's parents!

It was the perfect activity. Perfect weather. Perfect company.

Because Kyle & Rhonda had sick spouses to cater to, they found several different awesome bus tours that saved us from having to walk for some of the time.

Fun family pic

The elephant eating his lunch.

Dancin'

Mama and baby giraffe.

Daddy-daughter cuties

We were all fans of the polar bears...

"Ooooooh!"

Lydie was having such a grand time, she eventually just closed her eyes and passed out in Grandma's arms. Which, for anyone who knows this baby, understands what a rare occurrence this is.
Last time this happened was back at Disneyland in Grandpa Kenny's arms 5 months ago.

Do they look like Grandparents, or what? Okay...so maybe I told them to pose like that.

So precious.

Me and my sweet.

When Lydia woke up, she was rearin' to go! 

She was a champ and didn't whine once that day.

When you give this girl people to play with and sunshine, she is one happy camper.

Laughing at silly Papa :)

My favorite shot of the day. I think Lydie and her grandparents like each other...

We all had a blast :)

We ended the day with dinner at BJ's (which Rick announced was some of the best food he's ever eaten!) and strawberry shortcake back at the condo.
Thanks Rick & Rhonda for treating us to such a fun day!

Reunited

May 4th marked the last day my little family had to be apart due to the many evils of a woman's first trimester. Whoever said pregnancy is "natural" never had to spend 3 months bent over a toilet/battling migraines.
There is nothing natural about my insides wanting to become my outsides. And yet, women keep putting themselves through it, because, no doubt about it, the little ball of squishy love you get at the end of 40 weeks more than makes up for it. My pregnancy with Lydia was far worse than this go around, but I'd do it all again if it meant getting to be her lucky mama.
That being said, I am so not opposed to adoption. Kyle tells me most everyday that we're adopting numero tres. 

Watch, I'll be announcing my third pregnancy in 2013...

If this kid is as cute as Lydie, it may just happen.

Cinco de Mayo weekend was lovely.

As was his habit, Kyle came up to my parent's house on Friday night to spend time with me and the Lyd.
He convinced me to go to "The Avengers" at 11 PM. I was nauseous and wanted to stay home, but he bribed me with popcorn...
You know you're pregnant when you're coerced into a date with the promise of junkfood.

On Saturday, we treated my mom to dinner at On the Border (Mexican food, what else?).

 There was much mariachi music involved, and consequently, lots of booty shaking by Lydia.

Then on Sunday evening, instead of kissing our man goodbye, Lydie and I got into the car with him and drove home. 

We had one day to pack before flying down to Southern California for a week of San Diego, family reunions, the zoo, Los Angeles, wedding bliss, Mother's Day, a 1st time swim, and a certain one-year-old's birthday! But, y'all know how camera happy I can be, so we're going to save all that jazz for future posts.

Even though I had one heck of a good week health wise while on vacation, I was still a little nervous to return home afterward and become a full time mom after 2 months of not even having to change a diaper. Yes, my mom and sister are AMAZING. But, it was time for me to move past the sickness, let everyone return to their scheduled lives, and get some normalcy back. I surprised myself by going to the gym on Monday and cooking dinner. Tuesday I went to the gym again and did some vacuuming and dusting. I just kept making little goals, and before I knew it I was back to participating in life: changing diapers, reading stories, preparing bottles, going on walks, making lunch. 

I'm a real mom again, who knew? Plus, we get to hang out with this guy every night:

 It's been tricky with the nausea. There are several times a day where I just have to sit on the couch and watch Lydia make giant messes that I'll have to clean up when my medication kicks in...

Lydie Gwen AKA mischief seeker extraordinaire.

But I've loved being home. And it definitely is due in part to the thoughtfulness of my husband. I woke up to a love note this morning and got a phone call a few hours later telling me to put Lydie down for her nap early because she was going to spend the afternoon at school with daddy.

Me: "You really want to take Lyd to school for 4 hours?"

Ky: "Well, I don't have to..."

Me: "No, Lydie would love to!"

Ky: "Good, because you need some relaxing time."

Me: "Yes! I want to clean our bedroom and do a workout video and make spaghetti."

Ky: "No, you need to sit on the couch and read a book and we can tag team clean tonight."

Well, if you insist...
So here I am, slice of pizza consumed, cup of soda gone, novel completed, blog post done. 

Workout video, what?