July and August

July and August have gone by so quick...

Charlotte turned 2 and she got the coolest car.  Somehow they figured out how to get three of them in the car.  Charlotte is 3 months older than Lydia to the day, so this is also the day Lydia turned 21 months.  

Lydia learned some moves over the Summer.  Unfortunately we think she's getting Blair and my sense of dance style and moves.

This is after brunch at a Mexican restaurant and she loved this horse.

The only time where she kept her sunglasses on long enough to get a pic.  She just looks too cool.

She's taking a gym class now and goes on Mondays with my Mom.  She loves the bars and even practices at home in our closet.

She loves her Daddy.  We took her to the Little Galleria to play around on a Sunday morning and she kept escaping and running around the unopened shops.

 We went over to play with Caroline and Charlotte and all they wanted to do was lock themselves in the kennel and pretend to be dogs and cats.  See Charlotte laughing the background and Caroline pretending to be a sad kitten...

These two are like peas and carrots...right after taking this shot, they both grabbed each others plates of freshly cooked ravioli and dumped them on the floor...no more ravioli.

This was very rare for us...she slept in until 9:30 one Saturday.  The one Saturday that we had to be somewhere at 9am...but we canceled our plans and let her sleep.  She is accumulating many items in her bed these days.  Humpty Dumpty, Brown Bear, Pink Bunny (aka Hop Hop), Ki-Ki and Bevo Paci in the top right hand corner.  And after this weekend she now has Puppy which is a small addition, but nonetheless an addition.  Notice how long she is in her crib, she's very very tall for her age and growing strong.

San Diego! - Our Annual Polichino Family Vacay

Each year we take a Polichino trip somewhere.  This year with new baby Kate, Paul's family couldn't join us, even though we missed them, we did get to see them a couple of weeks ago (see previous blog post).  In the past, we've been to South Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts, Austin and now San Diego!  

My parent's friends let us use their house near Miramar and it was spectacular with a pool, spa, outdoor living room complete with fireplace and TV!  We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed all the amenities!

We couldn't help but try and get a picture of this "true" American!  Why didn't I think of this pj outfit?

We went to the Old Town Market on the Fourth where we got to try some neat teas, jerky, root beer, salsa, olive oils, Mexican desserts, etc.

Great picture of Uncle Brendan skipping with Lydia - her facial expression says it all!

We also went to Coronado Island and visited the very nice hotel on the beach.

Here are Nana and Grandpa walking along the beach.  Blair, Lydia and I stayed back on the boardwalk and viewed the cute bungalows around the hotel.

Mom and Dad watched Lydia one afternoon while Mary and I went to the spa and Blair and Brendan played gold at Torrey Pines.  The hotel/spa had some very pretty grounds and it was very relaxing.

In the backyard, Lydia (aka Miss Fourth of July) loved walking up and down the steps. 

Another trip up the steps with Nana.

We went to the famous San Diego Zoo and Lydia just loved all the animals.  Which is harder?  Getting Lydia to look at the camera or getting the elephant to turn around so we don't capture his bum?

At the zoo going up the escalator to lunch.

Watching the giraffes eat and play.  See the cute one month old baby giraffe in the background?  Lydia kept saying "baby, baby, baby"!

Back at the house in the hot tub, she loved swimming and relaxing in the bubbles.

She loved being toted around in the pool like a Princess on her throne.

Lydia's First Plane Ride and Trip Outside Texas - Yikes!!!

We took Lydia on her first plane ride to Peoria, IL for Blair's cousin's wedding.  She did pretty good on the plane, despite the no napping at all that entire day, kicking the seat in front of her, wanting to get out, and the whining, crying and screaming. Ha!

We had a 3 hour lay over and so we found a kids play area where all the girls could entertain themselves in the airport.  Charlotte and Lydia love playing together.

At our hotel they had a very tempting luggage cart that we couldn't keep the girls off of.

Here they are at the Peoria, IL zoo with Honey.  They loved the monkeys!

All the cousins together watching the lions.

And taking a break with a drink and snack at the zoo.

Blair's Uncle's house had a really cool tree house.  Blair looks a little creepy in the background watching Lydia...safety first though.

Philadelphia Trip - New Niece!

Mary and I headed to Philadelphia to meet our new niece, Kathleen "Kate" Mae!  She is so sweet and cute and was on her best behavior for her Aunts.  We had so much fun playing with Sam and spending some quality Aunt time with him.  We played outside for the entire weekend and it was so nice to be in great weather and just relax with Paul and the family.  

Future Horse Rider??

We spent Memorial Day in Dallas with Mary, Brendan and Huckleberry!  We had a great time and a full house.  Not only was Mary, Brendan, Blair, Lisa and Lydia there, but there were also 3 dogs!  Huckleberry, Harley and we watched my cousin's dog.
Apparently Lydia is practicing becoming a horse rider.  There was a time we couldn't keep her off of Huckleberry and Harley.  They were the greatest during this short period and just let her climb on their backs...quite funny.

Spring Time

I know, I know...I haven't posted anything in a while.  It's been a crazy Spring and I can't believe it's already half way through May!  Where did April go?  Lydia has two more weeks of school and we are really going to miss it in the Summer.  She turned 18 months this month and according to the Dr.'s measurements, she's in the 98% of height and 84% in weight.  She's the tallest in her class (and the youngest).  Blair and I think she'll grow as we grew, meaning that we both maxed out on our height in our Sophomore year of HS.  We've both been the same height ever since.

At her 18 month appointment (before the shots)

 Picture from Art Class at school...she's so serious

 On a Saturday morning waiting for Mommy's Starbuck's hot tea

 She still loves the slide!

 After our walk, she takes a break from eating her apple (which took about an hour - then Harley got a hold of it and it was over)

 Piggies!!!  I love putting her hair in pigtails or a ponytail.  It's long enough now and she looks so much older with her hair pulled up.  Someone on the street asked if she was 3 years old because she's so tall.



Easter Time!

We had our annual Olympia Egg Hunt in our front yard on Good Friday.  It was great since Lydia is into hunting this year.  I don't know how all the kids sat on the blanket for a pictures, but they did!  Of course I had to sit with Lydia since she wouldn't sit still.

She was more interested in the candy of course, but I don't think she knew it was candy.  She just held it and walked around.

The next morning we went to another Easter egg hunt with our families.  Mary and Brendan were in town too and she kept getting better and better at the hunting.

Her first encounter with the Easter Bunny - pretty successful compared to Santa Claus.

Lydia and Charlotte (her cousin 3 months older exactly) always have so much fun together.  They entertain each other very well, which means there will be a lot of mischief later.

More hunting...

Our only Easter picks with the three of us.  She has so much fun that day with all our families.

Classic picture...she's upset because she just realized she won't see the Easter Bunny until next year.

Only 2 seconds later...there's that Lydia smile!!  She sure knows how to turn it on and off.