An Inevitable First

When I found out that I was carrying a little boy, I dreaded one inevitable moment: the moment he peed while on the changing table. Little girls pee on changing tables, too, but with boys, it's a whole new ballgame. So far, we had dodged the proverbial (or not so proverbial) bullet, but today... today.

I was changing Holden's diaper and out of nowhere, I swear there was a stream of pee that rose five feet in the air. Okay, maybe two feet. Or a foot and a half. But it was a lot, and it was shocking. Robin heard me exclaim and ran into the nursery thinking something was seriously wrong, only to find me laughing and a changing table, wall, and baby covered in pee.

This necessitated a second milestone: Holden's first bath at home. He was not such a fan, as the pictures demonstrate.

Home Sweet Home

After spending a lovely day at Abbott yesterday and introducing Holden to many new friends, we made the decision to go home. We had debated spending an extra night just to relax, but upon realizing that we would most likely be woken up less by Holden than by nurses if we were at home, we decided to be discharged. Upon receiving clearance from our pediatrician, a midwife, and clear hearing and CCHD screens, we packed up our room and got in the car. I do want to point out that our room in the Mother-Baby Center at Abbott-Northwestern was beautiful. We had an iPod dock, a large flat screen TV, a fold out sofa-bed, a glider, and a large bathroom. We really can't say enough good things about our experience in the hospital. (We would like to request that they add valet parking and improve their phone signal. Our car sat running for three hours--yes, three hours--in their drop-off because I was too far into labor for Robin to leave and there was no nearby place to park, and we both struggled to receive or make phone calls and text messages. Also, our car was perfectly fine when our doula Brook went down and moved it at 10:30.)

Anyway, we headed home around dinner time. As we got into the car, I felt a wave of adrenaline--excitement, disbelief, and fear all mixed together--realizing that we were actually taking another baby home. I had a brief "maybe we should have stayed" moment and then realized that this first night home just needed to happen. We got home, got situated on the sofa, and ordered our Valentine's dinner--delivery from a nearby sushi restaurant--and watched a little TV. 

Holden's first night at home was nearly flawless. He woke up on a 2-3 hour schedule, fed, and went right back to sleep. Robin and I both commented (and quickly knocked on wood) that we each felt somewhat refreshed in the morning. Nursing is going fairly smoothly, though I'm feeling the toll of the first few days spent breastfeeding and am very thankful for lanolin. My body is rebounding well--even better than I thought when I realized that I had gone from 10:15 last night until 9:15 this morning without any pain relief. (I then popped some ibuprofen.) When Lydia was born, I took narcotics and ibuprofen for awhile and recall being extremely uncomfortable. Despite Holden's five extra ounces and despite the fact that I exercised far less this pregnancy, my body just feels better. Maybe it's the level of activity I had to maintain while parenting Lydia, maybe it's delivering in a way that felt natural as opposed to a way that the doctor instructed me, maybe it's just that it's round two, but things feel better.

Now, we enter day three with our newly arrived little guy. Lydia and Stanley will come back home this evening, and we will begin "real" life as a family of four. We've got a cue lined up on AppleTV, books to be read, a running Target list, and little outings planned to do as we feel ready. We're feeling very, very thankful.

Robin snuggles Holden during our final hours at Abbott.

All bundled up and ready to go. We've never had to address taking a newborn out in the cold before!

The youngest of my two wonderful Valentine's dinner dates.

Laurie, Robin, and Holden's Birth Story

Since my due date was Feb. 19, I had been purposefully planning things between now and then. I had an observation scheduled tomorrow, knitting club and yoga on Saturday, Lydia's Valentine's Day pizza lunch at school... Earlier in this pregnancy, I had felt like our little boy would not make it to his due date. As the date approached, however, I began to assume he would be late, and I feared that my body wouldn't go into labor on its own at all.

Wednesday was a hard day for lots of reasons, and because Robin had commitments until about 9:30 that evening, I called our friend Casey to come hang out with Lydia and I while we made her Valentines for school. I kept saying things like "Since I might be pregnant for two more weeks..."

Enter 6 AM. Actually, back up. We very rarely sleep with Lydia. However, last night, a running mind kept me awake, and when Lydia called and said she was scared around 3 in the morning, I decided that, since our days as a family of three were numbered, I would go sleep with her. I laid with her and we snuggled, and soon, we were both asleep. At about 6:10, still laying in her bed, I woke to a popping feeling in my low belly, followed by some intense cramping that wrapped around to my back. Still in a sleepy fog, I realized as I felt a sudden gush that this might be labor and that, while I had overslept, going to school was not going to be in the cards today. I woke Robin, asked him to call his sister and let her know that we would need her to come get Lydia, placed a request for a sub--my long-term sub had a prior commitment today--and began making the important calls--to the clinic, to our doula, to my parents to inform them that Lydia would likely need to be picked up from school today.

Meanwhile, contraction #2 happened at about 6:35-40. This was comforting; I began to trust that my body would go into labor on its own as it had with Lydia and we wouldn't be up against an "expiration date" due to my water breaking before labor had started. I felt giddy and excited, and we quickly packed a bag--something I had been putting off--and debated going in to the hospital right away. As we waited for Heidi to pick up Lydia, I realized that my contractions albeit quite manageable, were getting closer and closer together so keeping in mind all of the stories of second labors going so much faster than first and knowing that Lydia arrived in a speedy six hours, we decided to head to the hospital with the intention of leaving if labor wasn't progressing the way we wanted it to.

I quickly started to rely on leaning over and supporting myself on the bed, sofa, etc., and making low noises in an effort to stay relaxed. I swayed like we do in prenatal yoga. It was easy to keep my mind off of panic and anxiety with Lydia running around. She was so giddy and sweet, and I knew that the next time I saw her, we would be a family of four. Heidi came, Robin got Lydia into her car, and we headed to Abbott-Northwestern. Watching the clock, I felt like we had made the right decision in going to the hospital; I was also enjoying the lack of panic in our drive; when we drove to the hospital with Lydia, I was in a lot of pain and I didn't have a handle on what was going on. This time, my contractions, while feeling more intense, were still very manageable, and I had more confidence. We arrived at the Mother-Baby Center at about 7:35, left our car in the turnaround with the intention of Robin going down to pick it up once we were settled, and headed up to the Maternal Assessment Center. I was weighed, celebrated that I had stayed under my weight-gain goal, and got onto the bed to be monitored. Baby's heartbeat looked good and he was responding well to contractions.

Then...the exciting part. The nurse checked my cervix and announced that we were at seven centimeters! She unplugged the monitors and sent us to the birthing wing; they held off on asking me intake questions or doing anything deemed unnecessary. From that point on, the nurses took it upon themselves to support me in labor. It was incredible. They helped me get into the position I preferred for contractions--my hands and knees--and rather than force me to wear the heartrate monitor on a belt, the nurse held it in place during contractions. After going through a few and deeming the baby as doing well, they took me off the monitors and allowed me to labor as I wished, free of cords and belts. Contractions were definitely becoming more intense, and Robin was doing an incredible job of supporting me, hugging me tightly between contractions and rubbing my back during them.

At some point during this time, Brook, our doula arrived. She quickly found a spot on the side opposite Robin, and I continued to labor on my hands and knees. As I began to feel the urge to push, the midwife did another cervical exam. She did the exam while I was on my hands and knees rather than making me flip over and labor on my back. She determined that I had yet to reach complete dilation; there was still an anterior lip she could feel, so she asked that I hold off on pushing. This was definitely the hardest part. Brook explained that pushing could cause the lip to swell and actually slow down progress, so I worked hard to relax through contractions and allow my body to do the work it needed to do. I took deep breaths, thought "one breath at a time," and made low moaning sounds on the exhales. The midwife strongly encouraged me to lay on my left side to encourage progress; first I opted to stay on my hands and knees, and then, when she said it might reduce the urge to push, I took her suggestion.

At that point, Robin would push on my hip during contractions and Brook would hold my hands. I was feeling really warm, so I had cold washcloths on my head and neck, and Brook and the nurse fanned me to help me cool off. Contractions were definitely getting more intense, and I was fighting the urge to push. I continued with my yoga breathing, with low moaning sounds, and kept my mind in the moment. I allowed myself to verbalize my feelings between contractions and found that by the time the words passed my lips, I had processed and come to peace with any feelings of anxiety or panic. Then, all of a sudden, I really felt like pushing was no longer something I couldn't do. The midwife did another check, saying that she would try to push the lip back if it was still there, and in the midst, I started pushing. I think she said it was okay to start, though I'm not sure. I pushed gently at first, following my body's lead. As I remembered with Lydia, pushing was such a relief. I had something to do with contractions rather than just manage them. I did not, however, remember how intense it got when the baby was actually ready to come out. I managed to continue to follow my body's lead, and my body was saying, "PUSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!" I was still laying on my left side, and at some point, I determined that I could NOT keep my top leg down anymore, so up it went. Brook stood and supported my leg with her shoulder. There I pushed for about twenty minutes and suddenly, the baby's head was out.

I had requested that, if possible, I catch the baby, but the position I was in made that difficult and I wasn't in the frame of mind to do so. I had specified that if I was not able, I would love for Robin to have the opportunity, so after the midwife situated the baby, I pushed some more, and at 9:21 AM, roughly three hours after the onset of labor and less than thirty minutes of pushing, Robin caught our son. He was placed immediately on my chest, and I felt immense, immense relief. This roller coaster of a pregnancy was over, and we had a big, pink, crying little boy. He was covered in white vernix, had a head of thick dark hair, and felt so wonderfully snuggly. When Lydia was born, I was really overwhelmed; I couldn't believe we actually had a child. With Holden, I just felt gratitude and love. Gratitude for his immediate, apparent thriving health and love for this little boy whose journey to the outside brought with it so much emotional challenge and growth for me.

The nurses and midwife respected all of our requests. They did all procedures with Holden laying on me, they waited for his cord to stop pulsing, they respected my wish to decline pitocin after delivery, and when it became apparent that my bleeding was enough to warrant pitocin, they engaged in a dialogue with me about it rather than informing me what I "needed" to do. Brook continued to massage my legs and feet, and I felt so, so nurtured, respected, and cared for. Abbott-Northwestern has somewhat of a bad rap amongst the natural/normal childbirth community, and in our experience with the HealthPartners midwives at Abbott, we felt incredibly supported in our wishes for a drug-free, minimal intervention birth. As I've compared Holden's birth to Lydia's, Holden's was so much more hands-off and centered around Robin and me. They did not automatically bathe him, they left us to be as a family, and many of their assumed procedures were things that, in Texas, we had to specify. They waited nearly an hour to weigh and measure him, letting us snuggle instead and now, thirteen hours after birth, Holden has yet to leave our sight. 

We spent the day as a group of three, and shortly after five, my parents, Lydia, Heidi, and my brother Markus came to meet the newest addition. There is so much more to be said, pictures to share, reflections to be made, but right now, I am feeling such overwhelming peace, gratitude, joy, and love, I am going to leave it at this--the amazing story of Holden's birth. I couldn't have asked for any better.

Lydia's First Haircut

Some parents wait patiently for their child's first birthday to cut their hair. At Lydia's first birthday, she looked like this:

We began haircut talks about a year ago, but Lydia was adamant about not cutting her hair. Finally, in November, her friend Marit got a haircut, and this prompted Lydia to want one, too. A call was made to my cousin Shelly, and Lydia received her first haircut at Rocco Altobelli in the IDS Tower in downtown Minneapolis. We had the last appointment of the day, and Shelly made a big deal out of it--Lydia got the full salon experience. She had her hair washed and conditioned, cut, blow-dried, and then styled. She was SO proud of her new haircut, especially the curls. Thanks, Shelly! 

A Birthday Party

Yesterday marked what I thought was a milestone--Lydia's first birthday party for a friend whose parents are not family friends of ours. Lydia spends every Tuesday with my parents, and one Tuesday, they took her to the wading pool near our old apartment. At the pool, Lydia began playing with another little girl named Marit. Lydia shared her kickboard, Marit shared her princess toys, and a friendship was born. Since then, my mom has organized several playdates with Marit's mom on Tuesdays, but we had yet to meet Marit or her parents. When Lydia was invited to celebrate Marit's 4th birthday, I was excited to finally connect with her family!

Lydia was SO excited about this birthday party. She started thinking about gifts immediately, and for once, we had our gifts purchased weeks in advance. This past week, she started planning her birthday party outfit, putting articles of clothing into a designated drawer. We knew she was excited, but we didn't realize just how important her outfit was to her until Wednesday night when she woke up crying due to a "bad dream." In the morning, we finally got her to tell us what happened in the bad dream, and we tried to stifle our smiles when she said, "In my dream, I went to my drawer to get my outfit for Marit's birthday party, and I couldn't find it!" Because Lyds was so enthusiastic about the outfit, I promised myself I would do as little "gentle redirecting" as possible, and I have to say, Lydia did pretty well. (The wings were put into place when we arrived at Marit's house.)


Lydia had a lot of fun at the party! Marit's parents, Peter and Katie, did a great job planning a party that was fun for the kids but didn't feel over the top. Lydia was so excited to see Marit and watch her open her gift. The only blip was when Lydia became upset that another boy was playing with the yarn we'd used to decorate the wrapped present. Some tears ensued, and then all was right again. I'm hoping that we will reconnect with Marit's family; they were very nice people, and Lydia LOVES her friend Marit!

On the Move--Again

We are moving. Again. Today, my coworker told me, "You're always moving!" Yes. Yes, I am. Last July we packed up in Austin and headed north to stay with my parents for two months. Then in September we moved into a temporary apartment due to a lease snafoo. Last October, we moved into the two bedroom apartment where we have lived for the past year. We quickly decided this was NOT where we wanted to reside for more than one year, and we were thrilled to find the an adorable duplex in the East Harriet neighborhood that was for rent. It has three bedrooms, a fireplace, and it is in a location that works a little better for us. It also has a basement for storage, a small yard, and a washer and dryer that belongs JUST TO US! Ah, luxury...

Despite our excitement, Lydia was NOT thrilled about the idea of packing her things up. When Robin told her we were moving, she wailed. Yesterday while riding in the car, she told us, "Moving is hard for kids. It's hard for us to understand." Right on, Lyds. I think she'll acclimate quickly, but her anxiety was yet another reminder that she's getting older and sees the world through her own little lens.

I'll document a we make the spot our own, but for now, I am proud that at 10:15 the night before the movers come, we are ready to go! This is totally a personal record.

Reflections and Ruminations on 3

This year marked the first time that Lydia celebrated a birthday in Minnesota. Festivities continue; we will share cake with three of her great-grandparents tomorrow afternoon, and I will do a photo-heavy post soon thereafter, but today I have been struck with the way in which our lives and community have expanded since our move.

Lydia is simultaneously more fun and rewarding and amazing and difficult than she has ever been. Yesterday, I brought Lydia to the park to enjoy our unseasonably warm Minnesota March and forced myself to sit back and watch her climb on the playground equipment. She has been able to climb the jungle gym for awhile, but yesterday, I gave her space. I didn't hover and spot. I allowed her the chance to go plummeting to the ground, but I also allowed her the chance to succeed completely on her own, and my girl climbed that ladder over and over.

Lydia uses phrases like "definitely interesting," "so cute," and she works "actually" and "would you mind if..." into her sentences like a pro. She climbs up on to a chair and attempts to steal frozen peas from the freezer. Last week, in a moment of rare form, she told me she was a dog, stood on one foot, lifted her other leg, and peed on herself. The girl is unlike any other.

The work involved in parenting is immense. The effort to maintain a sense of self--to not completely lose who I am in motherhood--is substantial. The twos and now threes have brought with them a fierce and feisty independent streak in Lydia that challenges me daily and sometimes leaves me wanting to curl up in an exhausted ball--and sometimes I do. I have always said that I wanted to raise a strong, independent girl, and that we have done--and I wouldn't have it any other way. Every single night that I have put Lydia to sleep--most in her life--I have left her with the words "Mommy loves you and you're a brave, strong girl." Now, she knows the phrase so well she says it with me. She is a brave, strong girl, and she knows it. What a blessing.

This year has felt so bittersweet. We have said so many goodbyes, made so many transitions, and missed so many things; on the flip side, we have stepped into exciting new opportunities, strengthened old friendships, and enjoyed being in the city that was always home. Today it clicked; as Lydia rolls into the threes, we are blessed with two amazing communities that have held us up, fed our hearts, and love our daughter. She has friends on both ends of the country; friends that I know will remain friends for years and years to come. She has adults that she loves and trusts--adults that love her right back--spread across the US. We are so, so fortunate.

Maybe the theme of this year will be, "I never knew..." I never knew how difficult it would be. I never knew how good a place could feel. I never knew how heartwrenching goodbyes could be. I never knew what good things could lurk just around the corner.

I never knew that in the midst of change, struggle, and challenge, there would be so much reason for joy and gratitude. I never knew that those things all coexist.

I have had said since her birth that Lydia has been the best thing we have had going. She is my greatest source of pride. I have always said that becoming a parent is the single most life-changing event one can experience. Lydia burst into our lives and we were never the same, and with every day, I understand that more fully. On a daily basis, she makes me laugh, she makes me want to scream, she boggles my mind.

She's a brave, strong girl, and for that and so many more reasons, I love her.

Happy 3rd, baby girl. It's been quite a ride.

P-Day

I have kept the latest Lydia news quiet for awhile, lest we fall prey to the whole say-something-and-the-backlash-begins phenomenon, but...

Lydia is potty trained! Awhile ago, we designated the day after Christmas as P-Day. We hyped up underwear--Santa even dropped some in Lydia's stocking, and we prepped for a day at home. I'd read in Toddler 411 that when a child is ready, potty training should only take a day, and a friend of Grandma and Grandpa Ganser swore she had a fool proof trick to get a kid potty trained in 24 hours, so we combined forces and went for it.

One day full of every incentive Lydia could think of later, she was using the potty with only one accident in 24 hours. The next day was a pitch perfect day, potty wise, and since, accidents have been rare.

What was this magic plan, you ask? Hype the potty, stay home for the day, and drop Lyds on the potty after meals, before and after nap, and every 2 hours otherwise (if she didn't go on her own). We added major, major tangible treats for positive performance.

All along, people told me that when Lydia was ready, potty training would be easy. After a false start this summer that was apparently thwarted by our move to Minnesota, I have to say that now I believe it wasn't so much that we moved as much as she just wasn't ready. This time around, it's been a breeze.

Since a potty picture isn't so much appropriate, I'll leave you with this--look at those baby blues!

P Day

This has been a long week in the Hahn-Ganser household. A whirlwind of illness swept through, hitting first Robin, then me, and ultimately Lydia. We were pretty much incapacitated for the week, save required things at work and one outing that I had been looking forward to for months (look for a blog entry later today). A combined four sick days and one prescription of Amoxicillin later (Lydia had strep--eek!), we are back on the mend.

In the meantime, Lydia hit a major milestone. In a 24-hour period, she used the potty a whopping five times. FIVE TIMES! We started potty incentives awhile ago--a silly band and a cupcake sticker card in the bathroom--we add a sticker every time she uses the potty. On Thursday, she announced while in the bathtub that she had to go "peepee." We put her on the potty and lo and behold, she did! Commence application of cupcake sticker to card. On Friday, she told us, she wanted a cupcake, grabbed the stickers, sat on the potty, and did her thing. I think she has figured out that she can manipulate the system, and used the potty three times in one hour. I think with Lydia, our little reward game is key. She got super excited to pick out more stickers when we went shopping yesterday.

Anyway, yesterday we decided to take the plunge--or at least dabble our toes in the water. We bought some panties at Target, and when we are at home, Lydia wears them. Today Lydia and I went to run some errands, and she wanted to keep her panties on rather than switch to a pull-up, so we went with it. An hour later after driving around with property insurance in the form of a plastic-bag-lined carseat, we arrived home with a dry little girl. From here on out, we will do the same thing--follow Lydia's cues. If she wants to keep the panties on, we'll keep them on. If she wants to switch back to pull-ups, then pull-ups it is. We'll see how everything plays out when she goes to school tomorrow; my guess is she'll stick with pull-ups.

I do not expect this to be the end of Lydia's potty training story. In fact, I expect the whole process to take months, but I am pretty pumped at this reminder that eventually, there will be an end to diapers. As I have dropped bag after bag of dirty disposable diapers into our garbage can and purchased package after package of diapers and pull-ups, I have really regretted not giving cloth diapers a try when Lydia was born. The environmental guilt factor and pocketbook effect have grown steadily, and consider this my public commitment to giving cloth diapers a try should we go in for round two someday. I am eager to get to the point where we are washing panties rather than throwing out diapers, knowing that there is nothing we can do push Lydia to get potty trained until she's actually ready.

Until then, I will ride the high of Lydia's pride every time she uses the potty. Her excitement is pretty awesome!

Lydia's First Friend

Three years ago July, Robin and I met our friends Brian and Elizabeth to share a bottle of wine at a local wine bar. Earlier that day, a nurse had told me over the phone that I was "not not pregnant," but we had already planned to meet at Vino Vino. Robin and I had planned to say that I was not feeling well in order to explain why I wasn't drinking, but shortly into the evening, I let it slip that we more than likely had a baby on the way.

The next time I saw Elizabeth, I was coming from our first appointment with my obstetrician, had a sonogram on hand, had just heard Lydia's heartbeat for the first time, and had confirmed her due date. When I told Elizabeth our baby was coming in March, she said, "So is ours!"* and so began the story of Oliver and Lydia.

Their first play date was before Oliver had decided to make his debut as an outside baby, and as Lydia wiggled on Elizabeth's stomach, Oliver kicked back. They met "in person" when Oliver was about 24 hrs. old, and Oliver has been a consistent part of Lydia's life ever since.

I have to say I love that little boy. His excitement, near-constant grin, and on-the-go nature have won my heart. First of all, he knows the vast majority of NFL ref signals and can tell a mean knock-knock joke. Selfishly, it has been wonderful to have friends to accompany us as we all made the transition to parenthood. On the 12th of April, exactly one month after Lydia's birthday, Oliver turned 2, and yesterday we celebrated two years with this adorable little boy.

As always, Brian and Elizabeth put on a great party, and as I watched Lydia and Oliver chase bubbles in the backyard, as I listened to Lydia talk about "Oliver's birthday party," and give him a hug as we left, I simultaneously marveled at how fast time moves and felt intense pride and love in both Lydia and her first friend.



*Oliver's due date was later changed. He wasn't two weeks late!

Conversations with Lydia

It is hard to describe Lydia's verbal skills. She is extremely good at communicating what she wants. She combines words, gestures, and awesome facial expressions to let us know exactly what is on her mind. (She has recently added eye-rolling to her arsenal, as well as "Ummmmm.... no." I wonder where she gets it...) While she's effective, she definitely uses Lydia-speak. "Bote" is milk, "Boo-boot" is music, "Mimi" is Brittany," "Bapi" is Mikey," "Un-toe" is uncle. (Note sounds are generally consistent; she says "t" instead of "k" for example.) She has words can be understood by most people, but she has lots that require a parent's ear.

Regardless, I am continually amazed by her ability to remember and convey her thoughts. Tonight I was rocking her (like a baby), and here's how the conversation went:

Me: Lydia, did you have a good day?
Lydia: Yes. Lee-ah goo day. (Lydia good day.)
Me: Who did you see today?
Lydia: Ahh-woo. Aidan. Aba. (Oliver. Aidan. Ava-a classmate at school.)
Me: You saw Ava today?
Lydia: No. Boo-boot cass. (Music class.)
Me: You went to music class?
Lydia: Yes.
Me: Did you eat tacos?
Lydia: Tah-toes.
Me: Did you go to the book store?
Lydia: Boots. (Books.)
Me: Did you eat a cupcake?
Lydia: Yes.
Me: What kind of cupcake did you eat?
Lydia: Mee-nut. (Peanut. *Yes! It was a peanut butter/chocolate cupcake that we shared.)
Me: I love you, Lydia.
Lydia: I wuv you, Mommy. All done baby. (Gets up and lays on my chest instead of being cradled.)

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.

Here We Go!!!

This is one of my proudest moments as a mom!!! She's walking!!!



In a move towards full disclosure, Lydia took seven steps a week and a half ago when the two of us were playing in the backyard. She didn't do a repeat performance until this past Friday, when she took five steps. Today she took 14 at one point, and she walked to Robin for the first time. As we've been told, walking seems to be a much more gradual process than crawling. She's getting there, though!!

Updates

In all of the commotion and emoting surrounding Lydia's birthday, I have failed to mention three significant milestones:

--We are 85% certain Lydia is now saying "Dada" in reference to Robin. It's not perfectly clear, but almost... She also says something sounding similar to dog (da!) but it is not clear. (Elizabeth, I swear I am not copying you on this! Lydia and Oliver are right on track together!)

--Lydia can cruise along furniture but prefers to crawl. Pulling up is easy for her, so she will pull up, play in one spot, get down and crawl to another spot, and pull up again.

--On her birthday, she climbed our entire flight of stairs--17 steps! I was behind her the entire time, sure she would somehow fly off the steps and down through my hands.

--Today she stood for about 30 seconds. She was right next to Rachael, our cousin, but she stood up on her own and stayed standing on her own!!!

Cupcakes and Cocktails

On Friday, Lydia turned one, and yesterday, we celebrated going from this

to this.

Lydia dressed in her finest

We filled balloons

Made some snacks

Did lots of baking

And together with friends and family and friends that have come to feel like family

celebrated all that has taken us from this

to this.
**Special thanks to Jessica for taking the role of photographer. You're awesome!!! The pictures are perfect!!!

Three for Three

Lydia has officially cut THREE teeth since Saturday. Her top two broke through overnight, and the bottom left tooth cut through while we were waiting for the top one. I was letting her chew on my finger and discovered it this weekend.

We're up to five!!!

Choc-o-noooooo!!!!!!!

On Sunday evening, we went to a friend's 60th birthday party. Robin has worked with Jimmy at Land Design Studio for the past few years, and we really enjoy him. His party was a laid back affair with some delicious chocolate cake. As most of the people at the party were closer in age to Jimmy than to us, Lydia was quite the hit. I hardly held her at all, and she put on a great show being passed around.

Now back to the cake. Doesn't it look amazing? Earlier in the weekend, I had been telling someone at our yoga studio how proud I am of Lydia's healthy diet--that I don't plan on giving her junk food until someone else introduces it to her, maybe at a birthday party or a friend's house. At the very least, I wanted her first taste of sweets to be given to her by me at her first birthday party. I pushed her out, I get the joy of watching her eat cake for the first time at her birthday party...

...or at Jimmy's birthday party, across the patio while she was being held by a very kind woman. At the tender age of 8 months and 1 week, our darling Lydia had her first taste of chocolate cake, given to her by the woman next to the kind woman holding her. It was one of those moments that left me not knowing whether to just shut my mouth and watch or speak up, since well, she's our baby, and we have very strong opinions on what she eats. I went with the former, accompanied by a smile that hopefully masked my clenched jaw. Here is Lydia, right after the Choc-o-noooooo incident. You can see the icing on her chin. I'm sure you'll be shocked to know that she absolutely loved the cake.

Trick of the Week

Pulling up! (It's hard to tell in the picture, but she's standing.) She learned it at home on Thursday and was going crazy the next day at daycare showing off her mad pulling up skillz. The best part is when she stands up, she gets really excited and starts babbling!! She has also mastered waving hello, but we have yet to catch it on film.

Sitting Up

Laughing!!

Last night, Lydia laughed! We have heard hints of giggles before, but this one was definitely for real. What pushed her over the edge? Stanley Shih-Tzu, of course! Robin, Lydia, and Stanley were in the backyard, and Stanley was sitting in front of them panting from chasing his ball in the heat. Something about this prompted Lydia to laugh!