School!!!!!

Who was more excited that school finally started????....this Momma!!  It was a great, long awaited day.  After leaving my job at the beginning of the Summer, going through two big toddler transitions of moving to a big bed and potty training, not to mention the long, hot days we had, it was such a great relief for both Lydia and I.
She absolutely loves school!  She is in the Orange Fish class this year and goes three days a week now.  When I drive her to school she tells me that she's so excited to go to school and see all her friends and her teachers.  She walks right in to the classroom just like a big girl, no crying, fussing or running away.  I'm so happy for her.  She's got two great teachers and there are more activities this year as she moved into the big kid hallway.  She now has Spanish on Mondays and Math on Wednesdays.
Here are some pictures of her first day at school.
YEAH FOR SCHOOL!!!

Last Minute Trip to Atlanta before School Started

We were so excited to take this last minute trip to Atlanta to visit my friend, Jennifer and her little boy Philip.  It was so exciting to decide on a Sunday, buy the tickets on a Tuesday and leave on that Saturday.  Lydia did great on the flights going and coming from Atlanta.  It was an express plane and small, but she was so interested in everything and it worked out beautifully.
We stayed at Jennifer's in-laws on Lake Lanier for two nights and they were the most hospitable!  We had two bedrooms and our own bath in the house which was so convenient.  Lydia loved being at the lake house.  They had a boat, sandbox, doggies, an amazing view to watch the lake in the mornings and of course a great friend to play with about her age.
After our two nights there, we went to Stone Top Mountain about 30 minutes outside Atlanta for one night.  We took the air tram to the top of the mountain, swam in the resort pool and ate some great meals.
All in all this was an amazing family trip that worked out wonderfully.  Lydia was on her best behavior the entire 4 days/3 nights.  It was so great getting out of town with just the three of us after a long hot summer.

Beautiful Pics

We went to a dear friend's son's first birthday party and they hired a professional photographer.  She captured these gorgeous pictures of Lydia.  I was so excited that I wanted to share them!!  We can never get her to pose like this for us.    

(that's her Daddy's beer by the side...please don't call the authorities :) )

Fourth of July

We went down to Galveston for the Fourth.  Unfortunately Lydia didn't care too much for the fireworks and they scared her.  Thank goodness we had 2 sound machines going and a oscillating fan.  We had a good time with everyone.  We got to take some boat rides, fish and swim.

She really did so well on the boat.  We went out to the ocean and fished with Bubba and Ricca.  She didn't mind waiting for the fish to bite.

On the way back to the house, she fell asleep in Daddy's arms.  Thank goodness for sunscreen.  It was so hot and sunny out that day.

Da and Daddy picked up a kite for Lydia and Harley wanted to participate.  They tried to fly the kite on the third deck with more wind and it finally caught the wind.

At sunset we watched all the boats come down the canal from the day with Honey and Da.

Tried to get a good family photo from the weekend.

Well this is a very impressive picture and we can't take credit of the enormous fish that was caught.  Ricca caught this great fish and we were measuring it up to Lydia's size.

River Trip

We got to go to the Riley's River house for Kacey and Brent's birthdays (they share the same birthday!).  We had a great time and Lydia loved being there with everyone.  Check out the pictures from that weekend!

Waiting patiently for the candles to be blown out on the cake...

Boat ride and hanging out with Da on the boat...

Um, Shark Fishing?

We fished in the Bay the other weekend with some friends and their adorable son...who Lydia is smitten with.  We were out on the boat for about 4 hours and totally didn't know!  The kids did so good on the boat and really enjoyed fishing.  Only 2 hammerhead baby sharks were caught the entire time.  The kids loved seeing them being reeled in and then released back.
Lydia whined and begged to go swimming with the sharks...um, NO - where there are baby sharks, mama isn't far!  It was hard to get her to stop talking about how it would be ok if she got in the water as if sharks don't bite...quite comical.  I really think she was trying to show off how adventurous she can be in front of her friend.

Lydia's Reactions to My Simple Recommendations

"Hey Lydia, here are some q-tips to clean your ears out"...Shrek!?!?!

"Hey Lydia, here are some stickers for you to play with in the car"...Clown?!?!

Swimming!!

Lydia has been taking swim lessons each week for about 1.5 months now.  She's really working hard at it and loves her teacher.  She asks about swim lessons 5 days a week and keeps asking each morning what day it is and if it's swim lesson day.  I'm glad she's really taken with the water since we live in Houston and this activity is the only thing that gets us by in the hot humid Summers.

Update

I guess I've been waiting a while until it kicks in to blog about me quitting my job.  I stopped working about 2 months ago in early May.  It was a difficult decision especially since I really do like working.  It was also really hard to leave a wonderful Director and co-workers.  Everyone is different with this subject and to each their own.  At this time, this was the best decision for me and my family.
The transition from working mother to stay at home mother has literally taken me this long to get use to.  It's not all roses and giggles for sure.  I love hanging out with Lydia more and have tried to be organized in having planned activities for us to do so we don't get cabin fever in the house on a blistering hot Houston day.  I have a schedule that has worked out quite nicely though it does get moved around a lot.
The funny part is that you would think if you quit a full time job that you would have more time to do things and that is a myth for sure!  I keep thinking, how in the world did I get all this stuff done and more when I was working.  I think the answer is that I was much more organized working since I needed to be.  Now it's kind of like, well, I'll get around to it when I can.
Lydia and I have a blast together, though there are challenging days with a 2.5 year old...ha!  I can't believe this summer is almost half way over already and the Fourth of July is this week!  It's crazy how time flies!
I'm sure I'll go back to work eventually, as there are many days that I do miss getting dressed up and going into my own office and conversing with adults with adult topics.  I guess time will only tell when and if I'll go back...but for now, this summer, I'm soaking in all the time with Lydia and Blair and trying not to take advantage of it.

Lydia's BIG Girl Bed

Transition 2 of 3 is now complete.
1. Remove Pacifier
2. Move her to a big bed
3. Potty Train (left the worst for the last and will start after 4th of July)

She LOVES her big girl bed!  The first week went off without a hitch, then after the first weekend, she reverted....ugh!  The first bad night was 4 hours of walking her back to her bed and tucking her in.  The second bad night was 2 hours of walking her back to her bed and tucking her in.  Now she will stay in her bed 70% of the nights and the other 30% have been about 1-2 hours of walking her back to bed or listening to her open and close her door to see if we are there.  We've been just going on with our regular routine after she is put down to bed and sometimes she comes and finds us and other times she will just cry at her door or in the hallway.  Last night she fell asleep in the hallway and I startled her when I walked in, but after that she was in bed for the night.  I've heard it gets better so we'll see.  All in all, 70% of her staying in her bed for the night is better than nothing.  The good thing is that she doesn't have a problem with staying at my Mom's or Blair's Mom's house.  She might get up once, but that's it. She also goes down easier for a nap with our nanny and our moms...go figure.

Here is her room converted into a big girl room.  It took me one day to move the furniture and organize it all.

First time seeing her big girl room.  Notice the big bump in the bed...it's a large pool noodle to keep her from rolling out of the bed at night and it's worked so far.

She was so excited to get a big girl bed so all her "friends" could fit.  She now has about 12 stuffed animals or babies in her bed.  Hey, whatever it takes to keep her in bed and comfortable.

On to Transition 3, the last of the big ones...potty training.  We will begin this after 4th of July since she needs to know how to dress and undress by herself and be potty trained by the beginning of school in early September (we got a letter stating this in the mail from the school).  Wish us luck!!

How many lollipops can Lydia eat at one time?

NYC

The next weekend after Philadelphia, I flew to NYC with my parents and Mary and Brendan.  Paul, Renee and Sam met us for Sunday brunch to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday.  Unfortunately this is the only picture that I got...notice how BIG Mary is getting in the mid-section...only a couple more months until we meet baby Dalton!

Trip to Philadelphia to visit Uncle Paul, Aunt Renee, Sam and Baby Kate

At the end of April, we took off to visit my brother and his family in Philadelphia.  We had a great trip and Lydia was pretty good on the plane both ways.  Unfortunately both Sam and Kate were getting over a cold, so we didn't get too many pictures.  We still had a great time!  Lydia and Sam played on the moon bounce out in their yard, we went to the neatest playground, climbed the stairs from the movie Rocky and ate some great food (thanks to Renee).

 Lydia and Sam in the car.

 Lydia and Sam waking up.  They each have their little "lovies"

There were some great views of Philadelphia at the top of the "Rocky" stairs.

 Awesome slide at the playground.  See Blair and Lydia up at the top coming down.

Check out this swing!  At one point after I took this pic, she just laid back and closed her eyes.

Paul and Kate with me and Lydia.  Kate is so infatuated with her Aunt Lisa!

Picture Booth, Caterpillars and Jeeps

We took Lydia to her first wedding.  My cousin, Melissa, got married in San Marcos, TX and at the reception they had a photo booth.  We couldn't keep Lydia away and she kept cutting in line.  Blair took her first and put a blue boa around her neck.  Then we all went in and tried to get some funny pics.  My favorite is of her and Blair at the very bottom with their mouths open.

Lydia has become infatuated with bulldozers and any kind of construction equipment that moves.  She calls them all Caterpillars.  We drive around the neighborhood often just to find some to look at.  It's rare that they are actually working when we find them.  They are fixing to tear down a large complex in the next neighborhood, so there will be many trips to see all the construction.

Our neighbors have this really cool jeep that Lydia "tries" to drive around the empty lot on our street.  She loves driving it off road and is working on her turns.  Usually she'll just run it into a fence or up a tree and say "not working".  Her friend, Dare, is very kind to let her drive.