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Lydia WALKING!

Lydia started taking her first single steps last week, just before we left for the beach. I haven't been able to film it because it has been so sporatic and she would only take one step and then crawl, so you couldn't predict it. Today she started taking several in a row and I was able to tape it on my camera. Unfortunately, I apparently held teh camera vertically. It looked normal on the camera but ended up sideways on the computer. AGH! Oh well, assuming it uploads correctly, turn your head, or your computer and enjoy Lydia taking a few steps.... and then celebrating with a victory dance!

A House Divided

The baby gates are here! We have a really big opening from our living room to our kitchen. I found the superyard, a customizable baby gate that can convert from a hexagon, to a rectangle, and can even be self supporting in a zig zag configuration. It fits perfectly in our large doorway and later it can be reconfigured to block teh fireplace or protect the Christmas tree. For now, life is much easier now that Lydia has a living room sized playpen to roam around.

Lydia in the ocean with mam and dada

Liddy at the beach

The idea was to get an inflatable baby pool to put Lydia in. That way, if she didn't like the sand, she had a place to play that kept her and her toys contained. She didn't mind the sand.

And all the really good toys were in the sand with the big kids. And the sides of the pool were just high enough to stand on.

And crawl over. Oh, well. Luckily playing with the toys and the kids in the sand kept Lydia in one place. So the pool was quickly deflated and will be filled with water when we get home.

At the beach!

Lydia is LOVING the beach. More pictures soon, but she is fearless about crawling in teh sand, usually towards the ocean! No worries about water. Happy to play in the sand. Having fun!

What I am making for Lydia now....

I am rushing to finish making a doll for Lydia's birthday. The idea is for it to look a bit like her. I had a lot of fun with getting the felt hair to swirl around the head like Lydia's hair does. I made her dress out of a top that Lydia outgrew. She needs a face and, while I think it would be easier for me to paint it, the felt hair makes me think she needs an embroidered face to match. Good thing I have lots of car time on our trip to Gulf Shores next weekend! I am hoping to have enough time to also make the doll a tutu, and a backpack, and butterfly wings, and a pet pig, and a bottle of antibiotic, and an epi-pen. Pretty much all the things that were staples in Lydia's life this year. Like I said, I have a month, but I am rushing to get it all done! That final picture is of the fabric I bought to try to make Lydia a winter coat. My cousin who has great taste in really pricey kids cloth turned me on to Corky Coats, these fabulous winter coats. I want one, but don't want to pay for one. I also thought it might be fun to make and match the trims, etc. Just an idea.. for later.. until I saw this beautiful embroidered polar fleece. Yes, its only May, but the stuff was on sale and not long for the fabric store. Looks like I have projects to last a while.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

Here are two ideas that I "borrowed" from crafty blogs that I enjoy looking at. The stacking sterling silver birthstone rings came from Etsy. My first Etsy purchase actually. I saw them on a crafty mom's blog and looked up the person who made hers and then searched Etsy for others. Mine came from Purple Moon something or other. I really should learn to add links to give proper credit. Oh well. If you like the idea, search Etsy for stackable rings and enjoy finding one that suits your needs. Mine has my birthstone and PJ's birthstone as the smaller stones and Lydia' stone is larger. They are a little loose. I goofed on ordering them, but they will still fit if I get pregnant and my fingers swell up. Which, should that happen, I can also order another ring to add to the stack. I love it!

The other idea cost more time and less money, but the result was priceless. I traced Lydia's hand. (read: PJ held her down and we both tried to distract her while we traced her hand) and cut it out and made paper handprint corsages. I made one for each grandma, one great grandma, one for myself, and made 3 more for a friend of mine out of her kid's prints. Whew! Luckily they were pretty simple. Now I just have to decide how to flatten and preserve mine.

It's May, already?

Hmmmm. It's May? When did THAT happen? We are so busy right now. The days are longer, the weather is warmer. There is more going on after work. AND work will be very busy from here until the end of the school year. Add in a few computer issues and the blog posts just haven't happened. I pulled out my camera lat night to take a picture of Lydia playing with her new bead toy. I got one shot and then she spotted the camera. Apparently the camera is a much more interesting toy. Especially that lens cap that hangs from the string. So much fun.