Christmas Portrait

I think that this is the last of the Christmas portraits that haven't been revealed yet. I have been trying to post more of my Christmas photos, but between the new camera taking pictures that are bigger files and the blog upload process being REALLY slow these last few days ( I think EVERYONE is trying to post Christmas pictures) it just hasn't happened. So here is a great shot of Lydia smiling for the camera.

Things we have learned this Christmas...

We have WAY too many stockings considering only 3 people live here.

Things we have learned this Christmas.....

Lydia likes presents.

Now that she can roll over, Lydia doesn't mind being on her stomach.

Santa Clause is coming to town!

We did it! In the midst of all the holiday hubub, we managed to get Lydia to the mall to see Santa. Hmmm... realistically, we got Lydia to the mall so WE could see HER with Santa. Either way, mission accomplished and with no tears shed! Jen and I snapped pictures while mom placed Lydia on Santa's lap. I love that first shot where it looks like Lydia is looking up at St. Nick as if to say, "Really, Santa! I'm waiting for my PONY!"

Saturday Silliness

PJ went Christmas shopping and came back with antlers for the dog that also happen to fit Lydia. They have a piece of mistletoe hanging from them and say "Kiss Me!" As if we didn't already have THAT idea!

It's my birthday!

It's my birthday, so here is one more picture with the presents. This is one of the two good family photos that we recently took at JC Pennies. I think the best gift for today is that at exactly 2:50pm Eastern Standard time, I begin a much needed 2 week vacation. Posts may slow for a while as I avoid averaging the last few midterm grades, but I promise to reveal the remaining Christmas pictures soon.

My Best Gift Ever!

I think PJ is realizing that my handmade Christmas cards may take a lot more time to finish and send out, so the moratorium on showing the Christmas photos has been lifted. One set of grandparents already got their pictures and my mom will be in town soon to get hers. So here are some of the pictures that we ordered from J C Pennies. I got the idea to put Lydia in a gift box from searching Christmas photographs online. Lydia is still working on sitting, so we needed a box that was big enough to also hold her bumpo seat. I wrapped the boxes to match the pedal car because it originally did not have wheels and I thought we would need to hide selective parts with packages. The car ended up looking so good that we used it by itself and just did a series of package pictures and a series of car pictures. So here is Lydia, the best gift this year! I can’t decide if I like the smiling one best. There is just something poetic to me about her sitting by herself, looking a little lost, and trying to figure out what her crazy mommy is up to!

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

This is one of the first shots with my new camera. I'm still learning some of the settings, but it has lots of them and seems to do well even without the flash, which I prefer for pictures of Lydia. Here she entertaining herself with her feet after a bath. We also got some cute video of bath time with the new camera as well. It does BOTH still pictures and video, COOL! I need to see if there is a way to link video to the blog so I can show you all the stuff she is able to do now, like sqeeling at the top of her lungs! Hmmmm, just one more similarity to her mom. This girl is LOUD!

Uh Oh!

Uh Oh!  I've been caught!  The jig is up!  My mom emailed to say how much she liked the "Christmas" pictures and to be sure to tell PJ that the car looks great.  It went in my brain and out my mouth without me stopping to remember that as far as PJ knows the Christmas pictures were not going on the blog yet.  OOooops!  I've been caught playing my silly game, trying to give you a sneak peak at of pictures.  Oh well!  My new camera is up and running, so for now I will switch to posting those pictures and I will have to show you the rest of these later.

Still NOT a christmas picture.

Can you tell that it is driving me CRAZY not being able to post all of our wonderful Christmas pictures. Hmmmm. Good incentive to get those cards written, I guesse! This is still officially NOT a Christmas picture. This is also one that we did not order, so no one will get it in there Christmas chard, so here it is for you to enjoy early! Now that Lydia is awake in the pictures, it suddenly mattered where everyone is looking. We do have some where she is looking at teh camera AND smiling, but only a few and I suppose you will have to wait to see those!

These are NOT our Christmas pictures

PJ doesn't want me to show our Christmas pictures until they are sent out in our Christmas cards. However, this is NOT one of our Christmas pictures. It was taken at the same time as our Christmas pictures, but this is not one that we ordered, so no secrets ruined here. No SIR! What we do have here are Lydia and PJ checking out the pedal car that PJ painted for Lydia. CUTE!

All creatures great and small.

Can you believe how SMALL she was? This is Lydia at a few days old. We had just come home from the hospital and she was probably at her all time low weight of 4.5 pounds. Its a little fightening to see now. Thankfully she is now all caught up.

Good Pictures Coming Soon

I have a little more research to do reading the instructions on my new camera. Until then, I just can't get all that excited about taking pictures with the old one. But I promise, once I have a memory card in hand and have glanced at the directions, be prepared for a barrage of pictures of everything and anything.

Also, we took family Christmas pictures at J C Pennies on Friday. It was SO crowded with lots of cranky kids and aggravated parents. The waiting area was full and then we arrived.... 3 adults each carrying an arm load of props and a baby in her car seat with her own bag of stuff. We actually brought a neon colored pedal car into a waiting area full of kids who were starved for something fun to play with. We showed up early because I was hoping they might get us in faster. What were we thinking! So Jen, PJ and I took turns guarding the pedal car from the legions of kids trying to climb on it and waited the hour until or appointment time and then about an hour more because they were behind. It was all worth it, though. The pictures look great and I can't wait to share them when they arrive. Until then, here is a picture of Lydia and my mom at the Fantasy of Trees over Thanksgiving.

What's for dinner?

I have neglected to mention the results of our doctor's visit last week.  It seems fairly certain that Lydia is allergic to cows milk.  Her protein levels were up in the 200's and have FINALLY, after 2 months on special formula, returned to an almost normal 50 something.  Her doctor wants to see her levels stay normal for another few months, so no reprieve from the expensive formula for a while.  But, we can start solid foods at 6 months!  I am so excited that at Christmas we can begin rice cereal, then slowly move to yellow vegetables.  Until then, the only thing in Lydia's mouth will be her stuffed pig.

Look at all the pretty lights!

Lydia is very into lights right now.  My mom is very into doing anything with Lydia.  After visiting so many times for testing, I am very into helping Children's Hospital right now.  So even though it was a dreary day, the "Fantasy of Trees" was a perfect fit for all three of us.  It's a fundraiser for the hospital where organizations decorate christmas trees and they sell tickets to see them and to do lots of fun activities.  Lydia was too young for the kid's stuff, but she really enjoyed the lights.  Hopefully you will enjoy seeing this picture of her enjoying the lights......and her hand....she is always enjoying her hand these days too!