Today Lydia went swimming with me and her Grammy (my Mom) and we had a lot of fun. (Thanks, Omi, for lending us your cute turtle floatie for Lydia to sit in!) This was Lydia's second time in a big pool (Omi took her once and they had so much fun). Today, not only did we play, but Lydia had her first swimming lesson from Grammy! She did great. No fussing at all when we put her under the water. She's going to be a little water baby, I think! She enjoyed being pulled around in her floatie and loved the "bouncy-bouncy-bouncy" game up and down in the water. (She was only mildly entertained when I would go under the water and then jump up and say "Peek-a-boo!") After a short bit, we put a t-shirt on her to protect her cute little baby skin from the sun. Between that, her 70 SPF, and her sun hat, this child was super protected!

One of Lydia's new favorite things to do is to throw herself onto the pillows. We'll lay them on the floor and she does a pillow dive into them and then smiles at us and giggles. Oliver likes to take it to the next level and pile the other pillows on top of her. She likes that. Here's a video, although she wasn't quite as giddy about it on this particular day...

Lydia went to visit her Pediatrician this week and he says she's doing great! She's on target for most developmental milestones, but hasn't spoken any real words yet, like "Mommy" or "Daddy" or "cat". She babbles a lot and sometimes it totally sounds like her own little language - nothing recognizable quite yet! The Pediatrician suspects this is because she's learning 2 languages (English, primarily, but German too with her Omi.) He thinks that's wonderful and in the long run is going to be a tremendous asset as she prepares for school. She's developing a certain part of the brain and her aptitude for learning, and this is a great time to learn languages. BUT, on the flip side, obviously she has to deal with 2 different words for milk, 2 different words for cat, etc. Naturally it's confusing! So anyway, we're still waiting for those magic first words. But you know, when Omi speaks german to Lydia she refers to me and Oliver as "Mommy" and "Daddy" so Lydia has no excuse on those 2 words! We've been consistent, Baby, so show us some love and give us a shout-out!

Last week we took Lydia on her first plane trip! All the way to Morgan Hill, California. I had business in San Francisco, so we decided to make it a family trip to visit extended family just outside the city (Oliver's Aunt, Uncle and cousins). Oliver and I were definitely intimidated by the idea - How will Lydia sleep? How will she do on the plane? How much food and diapers and toys do we bring? What else do we need from Wal-Mart before we leave? Will she nap well before we leave? There were highs and lows for little Lydia, and for her parents (!!) but overall she did great. The plane didn't seem to bother her ears at all, but she did melt down a few times because she was tired and annoyed that she couldn't move around.

While waiting for our flight at DFW Airport, we tried to let her walk around as much as possible to get it out of her system.

Yea! We arrived at San Jose airport! Good job Lyds! You made it!

We stayed with Aunt Cindy in Morgan Hill. Her home is beautiful, as are the surroundings! There were deer and horses and turkeys (!) that we could see from the balcony.

Lydia was fascinated by this music box! There are little ballroom dancers inside of it. She could have watched it for hours, I think.

More to come! I need to log off for awhile.

Lydia in her giraffe pool! She got to go skinny dipping.

Last week Lydia took her first airplane ride all the way to California! Pictures and video to come soon.

I can brush my teeth all by myself, sort of!