Ode to My Coworkers OR The Second Annual Lanier Homecoming Teacher Dance

Without much question, I have some of the best coworkers ever. Happy Homecoming, Lanier Vikings!

She's Got Skillz

Lydia seems to be learning new tricks every day. She uses a spoon like a pro and will insist on having it when she eats. She still resorts to using her fingers at some point during the meal, but she uses a spoon or fork the majority of the time.

She has fallen in love with her baby doll. She feeds it, requests that I change its diapers, rocks it, and asks for it to be put to bed in her crib. Her love for babies in general was evident with Cousin Simone, and she's trying her best to spread the love to her best bud, Aidan.

Her vocabulary is growing steadily. I haven't been keeping an official word count, but she says mama, daddy, baby, backpack, no, yummy, all done, down, spoon, poo, dog, banana (dada), yogurt (o-uuu, obviously), airplane, flower, ball, uh-oh, and others. Maybe 20-30? The most significant word addition? No. We now hear "No" frequently, but fortunately, it still sounds cute to us. We both recognize that this feeling will change quickly, but for now, "No" is not a source of frustration!

Finally, I will leave you with a video of Lydia doing pushups with Robin. Note her breathing...

Lydia is growing so quickly, and we have more fun with her every day. It just gets better and better.

Halloween Sneakpeak

That's How She Rolls...

Tonight was a big night. Robin's mom is in town for the weekend, and since she's here alone, she wanted to go to a restaurant that Dale (Robin's dad) might not appreciate. At the recommendation of The Fearless Critic, we checked out a new sushi place, Ryu of Japan. It was DELICIOUS. Great rolls, great appetizers, wonderful service, and a relatively kid-friendly setting. Lydia was the only child there, but we didn't feel judged or shunned for her presence, which is generally a plus. Perhaps they liked her because...

Lydia loved her sushi! She dug the seaweed salad, seemed to enjoy her squash nigiri, and giggled everytime we gave her a taste of...drum roll...sea urchin! This is apparently a very exotic fish, and we decided to break her vegetarian diet rules to give her a taste. She loved it! Maybe it's all thanks to the sushi set gifted to her by Auntie Britt and Uncle Mike.

She's Quite the Catch

I have been a bad, bad blogger lately, but fortunately, Elizabeth has some great Lydia and Oliver stories in her blog. Go here for your Lydia fix:

http://web.me.com/contines/Site/News/Entries/2010/10/17_Oliver%E2%80%99s_got_moves....html

Austin City Limits

Fun was had by all!!


-- Post From My iPhone

Auntie Britty is here to visit...

And she came bearing gifts! Lyds has some new threads!




-- Post From My iPhone

Stylin'

Yesterday, the cool morning weather allowed me to indulge in one of my favorite things: dressing Lydia up in adorable outfits. It has been in the 50s when we leave for school, so I felt layers were necessary. I included this picture in a previous post:


Here, you can see her awesome sweater (Robin said it looks like one of my "English major" sweaters), her adorable dress, her leg warmers, and her new shoes. She is also wearing her backpack. (Bah-pah is one of her favorite words, and she loooooves wearing it when we walk to the car to and from school.) Apparently, her classmates try to take it off the hook and put it on frequently.


Upon further investigation, I decided the picture didn't do justice to the cuteness of the leg warmers, so I took some more. This was in the afternoon, so her sweater was no longer needed. (Sidenote: the scratch on her cheek is self-inflicted. She was playing with plastic food and rubbing it a little too vigorously on her face.)









The outfit was SO cute that it was noted on her daily check sheet at daycare, a first.


Lydia struggled when her fans started asking, "What are you wearing???" Her verbal skills aren't quite there yet, so I'll help out.

Shoes: Converse (purchased on Zappos.com)
Legwarmers: H&M (thanks, cousin Rachael!)
Dress: Daily Tea (thanks, Grandma Jeanette!)
Backpack: SkipHop

Our Victory Garden

For awhile, Robin and I have talked about making a garden. This year, Robin decided to take the bull by the horns, and he had some gardening boxes made. We went to the Natural Gardener, an awesome gardening resource just outside of Austin, and he planted. Our backyard is home to some budding carrots, beets, swiss chard, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and leeks. We will see how this endeavor ends; hopefully we'll be enjoying some homegrown produce in not-too-much time!

Fall is here!!

Legwarmers courtesy of cousin Rachael!


-- Post From My iPhone