The Dishes Can Wait, We've Got Monkeys to See.

I didn't feel like being responsible today...

So, I ate 3 See's Chocolates for breakfast and went to the zoo.

We live only 10 minutes away from this place...
It was high time I introduced Lyd to the animal kingdom.

The giraffes were my favorite.

Lydie's favorite were the goats.

Finally, someone who shares her grass nibbling fetish!

Best Buddies.
Or lovers. Depending on what kind of mood Tawny and I are in.

And what would the zoo be without a couple of these?
Great way to spend those never ending Mondays.

So, Um, You Wanna Catch a Movie or Somethin?

I've had to stop beginning my story-telling preludes with the phrase, "When we were dating..."

Because Kyle's response has always been, "When did we stop?" 

Of course, I view this expression as being synonymous with, "Before we were married..."

But, Kyle is right. We began officially dating 4 days after we first met and, though we were married almost 4 years ago, we've never stopped. 

My mom comes into town to play with her favorite granddaughter just about every month, which gives us the perfect excuse to go a courtin'.

Last month, we got really crazy and decided to hit up Wild Wednesday...unlimited bowling what whaaat!

6 rounds later, we both had blisters on our thumbs.

The next afternoon, Kyle came home from school complaining that his left bum cheek had been hurting all day. When I thought about it, I realized my left bum cheek had been hurting too. (TMI?) I chalked it up to all the squats I had done at the gym, but why would only one side hurt? And that's when we realized...we bowled for 3 hours. I think we laughed for 10 minutes straight. We were sore...from bowling. How shameful is that?

So, like the senior citizens we are, we decided to take it easy that night and do a traditional dinner and movie. "We bought a Zoo" was such a clean, heart warming show.

Lately, M.O.P.S has been focusing a little more on marriages rather than parenting. And one thing they keep driving home is the need for mom and dad to come first. Which, at first, may seem a little selfish, but I think few things give children as much security as the knowledge that their parents are not only a team, they're in love.

I purchased a ticket to the M.O.P.S date night challenge evening. It was "a night on the red carpet" with a program about the importance of dating your spouse along with Texas Road House catering.

MOPS & POPS :)

Lydie was a champ in the M.O.P.S nursery. She loves all of the toys and sunny care takers there, and even though we kept her up 2 hours past her bedtime, there was no complaining from her!

While every marriage has areas that need more attention than others, dating and having fun together has never been something that Kyle and I have had to work at (yet!). I know the ability to go out will become more complicated as our family grows, but the addition of one little Lydie bug has done nothing but bring our family closer together.

I Like Love. Why Don't You?

I have a question for the masses...when did it become cool to diss Valentine's Day? Somewhere in between the time one is lovingly addressing a Minnie Mouse themed card to each person in their 4th grade class and the time they say "I do," the holiday of hearts loses its luster for so many.

I can't count the number of times I've heard someone say to me, "Valentine's Day is ridiculous. You should show love to your spouse every day, not just on February 14th."
Um, yah.
And you shouldn't just think about Christ on December 25th or appreciate your mother on the second Sunday of May or let your son dress up like Spiderman on October 31st!
 Okay, I was stretching it on that last one.
But, you know what I'm sayin'.

I get really, truly excited when Valentine's Day approaches. If for no other reason than I get to wear pink and red at the same time and tell my husband 50 times in one day that I love him.
 I get that there is pressure stuck onto one day to be romantic.
I get that it's hyped up by the card industry. (Though what holiday isn't?)
I even get that not every girl wants cheesy balloons.
But, it's meant to be fun people!

I say, lighten up and go light a candle. Give your kiddos a heart shaped sucker and a gorilla that says "Be Mine." Spread some rose petals and spend a little extra time smooching.
It ain't gonna kill ya!

Baby's 1st Valentine's Day

Watch out, the Lyd will attack you with love!

That morning, Tawny picked Lydia and I up for M.O.P.S. Along with the regular brunch, they paid a speaker to put on an awesome presentation about how to love our husbands. The woman was a regular comedian and had me laughing the entire time. And she had some great insight on how to strengthen a marriage. It was the perfect way to begin the day.

Not long after we got home, Kyle surprised us by taking the rest of the day off!

After some fun family time out and about, Lydie came home to her first Valentine:

Big cousin Zach mailed her an awesome super hero card. They got to be good buddies at Disneyland.

Then, sorry to say it Lydie pie, we had our real Valentine's Day after she went to sleep at 7.

Surprise surprise, I AM a cheesy balloon kind of girl :)

I forgot that our new tradition was supposed to include making our cards together on Valentine's night, and gave Kyle this card I made at M.O.P.S two weeks ago. I'll remember next year, Ky ;)

Kyle picked up an Italian dinner from Rigatoni's.

We did it up right with sparkling cider and candles.

For dessert, our thoughtful neighbor Sarah brought over 2 of the most AMAZING cinnamon rolls I have ever had. 

I'd get the recipe from her, but I hear it takes 2 days to make. And we all know that's never gonna happen.

After dinner, Kyle had a love song playlist ready as he invited me to slow dance in the living room; Followed by an aroma therapy oil massage. 

Romance is big for me, and with just a few thoughtful touches, Kyle knows how to make me feel like a very lucky girl. We love on each other everyday, but Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to do something a little extra special. 

L.O.V.E

HERE'S HOPING YOUR DAY IS FILLED WITH LOTS OF LOVE, WISHES, AND BABY SQUISHES.

Landon proposed...

Lydia has to think about it.

9 Months

Our pretty Lydie bug is moving on up in the world. Today is her nine month birthday, though you wouldn't know it by looking at her. When strangers ask how old she is, their eyes go wide when we respond. We call Lydia our petite princess. At 15.7 lbs, she's not even in the 5th percentile for her age group anymore. 6th month clothes are always loose on her. And size 2 diapers are still plenty big. 

Lydie is ALWAYS smiling. She's a little ham with a larger than life personality. One of our favorite things about her is the way she makes friends wherever she goes. She simply loves people.

This makes our daily agenda easier. 4 days a week, I drop Lydie off at the 24 hour fitness Kid's Klub for an hour and a half. I worried at first that she would have separation anxiety. But, she lights up when she sees the other children, and contently plays until my workout is over.

She started pulling herself to standing position a week ago, and could not be more proud. 

She's looking at me so that I'll cheer for her :)

"Yeah, gooooo Lydie!"

She is a curious soul who wants to touch and explore all she sees...

Which leads to some unfortunate situations...

Sometimes she thinks getting stuck is funny.

And sometimes she doesn't...

"It's not nice to take a picture, mom!"

"Help meeeee!"

"Mama, did you hear me?!"

"I don't believe you...are you seriously taking a picture again?"

"I believe we talked about this."

And the list of offenses continues...

I guess I shouldn't give her a pen to hold in her carseat anymore, huh?

It's a good thing she still LOVES her bath time. It's Lydie and daddy's special time every other night. And she splashes the heck out of him :)

But once that bath time is over, she is most definitely a mama's girl. Kyle has come to accept the fact that if Lydie is tired or in need of comfort, daddy is not allowed to hold her. She'll do the "I can't breathe cry" until she's placed into mama's arms. At which point, she'll turn around and smile at Kyle. He's trying not to feel like she's mocking him.

Lydia still eats non-stop. If it's not meal time, it's snack time, and if it's not snack time, it's bottle time. If staring you down doesn't work, she will snatch the food right out of your hand.

"So help me, I WILL have those eggs."

She got them :)

Though, she still doesn't have a single tooth to help her out.

Lydie is our favorite buddy. Not a day goes by where she doesn't crack us up. I know we're biased, but as her parents, we're allowed to think she is the cutest little thing alive. 

Family Fun Day

We try to make the most of our Saturdays around here. Which, of course, has nothing to do with being productive. Lydia is at her happiest when we are away from the house, so we often take that trait and run with it. Last Saturday we lunched at Red Robin, read Lydia stories at the library, took her to meet the cats at the SPCA, and explored a great park in Dublin.

Lydia is a lot more interested in making friends than the actual play area. She loves all sizes of people, but there is a little extra twinkle in her eye when those people happen to be small.

Buddies

We always take a frisbee and football along on our park days. Lydia will watch Kyle and I play for as long as we want. She munches on the grass (as evidenced by the blade sticking out of her mouth) and tries to talk to the children running by.

Besties

Sometimes a girl just needs her daddy.