HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wishing you the Happiest Halloween from our little mermaid! I had to start making mermaid costumes MONTHS ago in order to get them finished by October, but it was worth it! I am so happy with these pictures. JC Pennies came through for us again. I wish Lydia weren't asleeep, but a sleeping baby was better than a screaming one.

4 Months Old

Lydia is now four months old, so here is the celebratory portrait with her doll. She is now as big as the doll, but the doll is able to ride the rocking horse/tiger and Lydia must sit and watch.

More Beach Babies

Here are two more pictures from the beach. One was referenced in the previous post, Kelly’s girls freezing in the cold weather. The other shows Lydia and her new stuffed animal that may or may not be a dog toy. I saw it in two places in the Old Navy Store, one with dog toys, the other with baby stuff. Technically the one she has was picked up in the baby stuff area, but I saw it and liked it for Lydia when it was originally with the dog stuff. It’s just so cute and I knew it would be the right size for her little fingers and arms to grab without too much trouble. So here she is holding her new toy that may or may not be shared with Buckley at some point.

At the Beach

We arrived in Gulf Shores Alabama on Wednesday and with our arrival came the rain clouds. We tried braving the beach on Thursday, but it was so cold and windy and the rain was approaching. We joked that Jennifer was the one who thought it wasn’t too bad. She lugged the huge cooler all the way down to the beach; assuming we would stay long enough to need snacks AND that it was actually warm enough outside to need a cooler to keep food cold! HA! She was crocheting a blanket and had it over her to keep her warm while the rest of us huddled together for warmth (see the sad picture of Kelly’s kids turning into popsicles!)

Sunflowers!

One more shot from the sunflower garden at the pumpkin patch.  We are currently at the beach, but the internet connection is a little slow, so I will post the pictures later.  Too much going on this week.  Jennifer, Lydia and I took Halloween pictures at JC Penny's and they are STUNNING!  I am so excited and can't wait to show them off.

Pumpkin Patch!

Mom, Jen and I took Lydia to the pumpkin patch on Monday.  It was a field trip with her daycare (AKA Miss Nancy)  So cute and so fun.  So here is my cute girl having fun amongst the pumpkins.  OK, OK, it was cold and wettish and Jen had to take about 30 shots to catch this smile, but still lots of fun and still really cute.

Un-official Baptism photos

PJ with Lydia on Sunday.

Baptism Portraits

Here is the "official" photo of Lydia in her christening gown. She was perfect on Sunday, awake just before the service, asleep during the entire thing (including the sprinkling with water), and awake at the end of the service to greet everyone. The joke is that if they don't cry during the baptism, you haven't gotten all the devil out. Seeing as she is screaming her head off this evening for no obvious reason, the theory may be true.

Double Post Friday!

Special bonus feature! I have been delinquent in posting this week. TOO much going on and too much to do to get ready for all the stuff that is about to be going on. We have had or will have soon: a baptism, a wedding, several baccalaureates, grandparents in town, a grading period ending, a car show approaching, a pumpkin patch to visit, and a beach to collapse on when its all finished. In the mean time, its raining and turning cold in Knoxville. Lydia decided to cheer everyone up by wearing her tutu today. Not just CUTIE, but SUPER CUTIE if you asked me!

Oh Brother!

Lydia has this great shirt from Yee Haw Industries. I love everything about Yee Haw and think this color combination is super cute. Unfortunately, while wearing her trendy blue and brown, she gets asked if she is a boy... A LOT! My favorite was the little old lady who admired my adorable "boy." After hearing that she was a girl, the lady remarked..."She must have an older brother!"

Hands, meet your face. Face meet your hands.

We are still working on the hand thing. The ALMOST fit into that mouth. We are also still working on the sleep thing. She ALMOST sleeps through the night. I recognize that waking up at 5 am when I do seems like middle of the night to you day-walkers with your 9-5 jobs. However, recently the 1am feeding is shifting to a 4am feeding. A good sign in general for eventually sleeping until I get up, but it is a rough day when I have to feed her at 4 and be up for work at 5. Anyway, here she is trying to eat her hands.

Renal Reflux Diagnosed

Lydia's tests came back positive for renal reflux in her left kidney. According to the Pediatric Urology website I found "The condition is more prevalent in females and in children who have red hair." Darn! Just one more place where red heads are weird."

Apparently reflux is caused by a blockage that prevents urine from flowing normally, so it backs up into thekidneys. It can be caused by a UTI or there can be an anomoly in the eureter that is often genetic. Seeing as her cousin Gracie had this, my bet is it runs in the family. Either way, the result is that you get UTIs, so the idea that i get is that she has probably been uncomfortable for a while.

She is being put on an antibiotic until we can meet with a specialist. Her cousin just had to be on antibiotics for a year and then outgrew it. Hmmm. I wonder if they miss out on being sick during cold season because they are already on anti-biotics? We should know more soon.

Fun in the Sun

Just a few hours after her kidney ultrasound and catheterizing at Children's Hospital, Lydia was playing like a champ at home and at Miss Nancy's. Notice the sundress. It hit the mid-eighties in TN today, so Lydia got one more chance at some of the cute summer stuff that just started fitting her correctly. Also notice the hands. Lydia has discovered her hands. She still doesn't have complete control, but she tries to get them to do her bidding and they are beginning to comply. Also notice the belly button. If you haven't seen it in person, that is the herniated umbilical chord that has been with us for almost two months now. Seeing as it may be with us for several more months (it should go away as her stomach muscles strengthen) I think it deserves its own name. That way when people ask... "WHAT is that THING?!?" We can nonchalantly say, "Oh, that's Fred, or Harold, or Henri (the Hernia)" Any suggestions?

The Return of Giraffe Girl (The Sweater Strikes Back!)

I kept getting weird error messages yesterday and thought the blog post never uploaded, so I stopped writ ting yesterday's post mid-thought. Here goes attempt part deux. I spent yesterday putting away Lydia's summer cloths. It was bittersweet seeing as her summer outfits were the first she ever wore and we waited so long for those to fit. But now she is three months old and we are relieved to see that her 3-6 month fall and winter attire look like they will fit fine. It is fun to see Lydia in some of the outfits that I bought when I first found out I was pregnant. I didn't know yet what we were having, but Gymboree was having a sale...dangerous territory for the newly hormonal! So here is Lydia in her Gymboree Giraffe sweater. No, this isn't her Halloween costume. This is everyday dressing in my house.

Giraffe Girl

Lydia is wearing a giraffe sweater that was one of the first outfits that I bought for her. It came from Gymboree last fall.