This summer we're taking a trip to Montreal, Canada to visit extended family and stay in the house Oliver's parent's own there. It's a very beautiful setting and the weather should be great. So, today Lydia had her very first Passport photo taken! Hopefully the US Passport Office doesn't require a SMILE in the picture! We were doing good just to get to sit still, keep her hands out of her mouth and face, and look at the camera. I hope she looks back one day and likes her very first little Passport photo!

We catch lots of fun times in the car on camera!

(using my cell phone camera, of course, so the quality isn't great)

Recent car fun...

Lydia has a favorite song on her Wee Sing Kids Praise CD (a gift from cousin Warner for Christmas). It's "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory-Glory!" It is one that I've loved since I was a kid, and we've sung it a lot since she she was born. When it comes on the CD in the car she instantly smiles SO BIG.

Brushing her teeth! We had just brushed them at home and she decided to bring her toothbrush with her in the car. What's really ironic about this is we were driving to meet Omi at her Dentist's office.

She loves my sunglasses and has mastered putting them on correctly all by herself. Grammy recently bought Lydia her very own pair of hot pink sunglasses for summer. They are great because they actually stay on her face!

She is a very focused reader... Look at that furrowed brow.

That's all for now!

Lydia likes bath time. And lately, she has a lot of new bath things to play with! Her friend Gracie gave her some new bubble bath, as well as these cool Crayola finger paints (it's soap...not paint, of course). She also received a new Elmo and Dorothy bath toy from Omi and Opa that is pretty fun also! So while bath time was already pretty fun....now it's super duper fun!

(not a completely modest video, but I figure since the quality of the video is grainy, it's okay!)

Ok, so this is totally a Mommy thing to do, and I can't help myself. The following 3 completely random pictures are purely to show you HOW CUTE Lydia is in a ponytail!

Of course I couldn't get her to look at the camera for more than 1 second - she's too quick for our camera!

Daddy has developed a new game for Lydia. It's funny. He has always liked working with her on vocabulary, whether it's running through the Baby Einstein flashcards (which she still likes to do) or naming things in the kitchen while we're eating, etc. The latest trick is that he grabs a bunch of her little toys, lines them up on the window sill, and then names them, one at a time, and with a bit of a rhythm. She becomes very engaged with him. She thinks it's fun...and also a little silly!

Last Saturday, Aunt Katie, Omi and I went out for a little girl's day out (lunch and pedicures) while Uncle Ollie baby-sat Lydia's cousin Warner. Officially, he was baby-sitting Lydia too, but she napped literally the entire time we were gone. So therefore Uncle Ollie able to focus purely on his nephew Warner.

Later, we watched Lydia share one of her favorite things with Warner. He's smart and knew exactly how to operate the toy, but Lydia stayed close by in case he needed any assistance from his older, wiser cousin. (Or to be sure she was going to get it back once he was finished!)

Here are a few pics of our happy kiddo on the morning of her 2nd birthday! Happy and silly, as usual.

In the pic below, she's multi-tasking. Reading, and...watching the home video of the day she was born!! (see video below)

Later that morning we went to IHOP with Opa and Omi - yummy!

Last week Oliver had to be out of town for work, Monday-Friday. This is new for us! He was concerned for Lydia and I flying solo, but we did just fine. We missed him, though! We played and had great Mommy and Lydia bonding time. We made sure to send Daddy pictures of her so he wouldn't forget how cute she is! Here's a sample of what we sent to him.




Being silly with Mommy. (If you lay down on the floor...look out, because Lydia will come and pounce on you, kiss you and crawl all over you!)


Meanwhile, it was PARTY CENTRAL at our house. I was putting together party favor bags, decorations, etc in between work and loving on Lydia. (If you look very closely at the picture, you'll see a glass of wine in the middle! Mommy needed to relax a bit!)

Lydia had her 2 year check up with the Doctor on Monday. She's so healthy, and we are grateful. She continues to lead the pack with her stats:

Lydia is officially 2 years old!
She had a birthday party on Saturday, and it was fun! Actually, it was fun...and really WINDY!!!!!!!!!!

So windy!!

Lydia's party was held at Frisco Commons Park. It was a beautiful day. Perfect really, just super windy. We reserved a pavillion there, and had snacks, birthday cake, and Opa cooked hot dogs on the grill. (the hot dogs were a big hit!) Omi made Lydia's special birthday cake for her, and Grammy bought her this precious princess party dress to wear! Many of Lydia's friends came (and brought along their parents) and Lydia's whole family came!! Grammy, Poppy, Omi, Opa, Kelly, Joshua, Liam, Katie, and Warner! (Uncle Mike is away for something really important, but was with us in spirit!) Although me - the Mommy with the BIG vision for the perfect birthday party - was disappointed that the decorations, balloons, colorful tablecloths, streamers, party favors, snacks and drinks, etc were FLYING EVERYWHERE and the scene was just NOT what I had envisioned... I eventually let it go and we had a wonderful time. We felt really loved that our family and so many of Lydia's little friends had made a point to come to the party. We feel blessed when our child is blessed! And I couldn't have pulled this off without the support and help of my awesome family. Lydia enjoyed being outside for 2 1/2 hours and had fun dancing and playing the entire time! She was singing and happy and totally secure! Her Daddy says she is so full of the Spirit!! I love that. She truly is so happy and full of love. And now she's 2! Wow. Although I'd love for her to stay just like this forever, I'm actually really happy for her that she gets to be 2 now. I loved the age of 1 for Lydia - it was a great age, sweet and fun. But now she gets to have fun being 2 and I'm really happy for her. There's so much in store for her this year!

Omi, cute Cousin Warner and Aunt Katie

A few videos...

Lydia
turns
2 tomorrow!!!
Stay tuned for pictures from Celebrate Lydia 2010 weekend!

Happy Easter!

3 videos from church:

It was a beautiful day today, so Lydia had her snack outside and played for awhile. It was fun!

Video: