Such a blessing

On Sunday my little angel came to her first milestone in our church. Her baby blessing.
For those who are not of the LDS faith, this is when children are brought to the front of the Sacrament meeting and men who are authorized to act in God's name through the Melchizedek priesthood give the child a name and a blessing. In our case, the blessing was offered by my wonderful husband, Derek.
What a special day to see this sweet little girl literally surrounded by family who loves her so much and to hear her dad share an important prayer inspired by the Lord. We are so grateful to have her in our lives!

After the church service we had our families over to our house for lunch. Thanks to help from family the food was fantastic and I think everyone had a great time. Lydia slept on and off through the party in her honor, but whenever she was awake she was being showered with love and attention from everyone. I know she won't remember this day, but I will. I plan to tell her all about it.

Our little family!

After some earlier debate, I decided to use the blessing dress that I was blessed in years ago. I am so glad I did. I love the nostalgia of it all. Derek said the bonnet looked a little "Little House on the Prairie" but I thought it was cute!

With Grandma and Grandpa Grady (too many cameras so we're not all looking the same way.)

With Grandpa and Grandma Larson

With all the aunts and uncles and cousins on the Grady side (minus missionary Brian).


Four generations on my dad's side and my mom's side.

So sweet with Grandma Grady!

Kevin and Leslie made the most darling cookies at my request. Thanks guys!

I kept a bib on her before the meeting to avoid any spit up problems. Luckily she made it cleanly through the meeting :)

Church debut

On Sunday we made our first appearance at church as a full-fledged little family, complete with baby Lydia. I wasn't quite sure what to expect since this was the first time we had to meet entirely with a schedule set by someone other us. But Lydia pulled through with flying colors.
I was so anxious to have she and I ready on time that we ended up being early -- a flaw I'm sure Derek will try to rectify in the coming weeks :)
She wore the cutest little dress, courtesy of Grandma Larson. And everyone at church thought she was adorable.
How could they not?
She was a complete angel and slept the entire time. I worried a little about letting her go so long between feedings (it ended up being almost 5 hours from when I fed her before church to when we got home) but I certainly didn't want to ruin things by waking her. Besides, I'm sure I'll have plenty of weeks in the future when she's not so inclined to sleep and let Mom and Dad enjoy the meetings. My friends with toddlers have already warned me...

"Aida"

I love going to the theater. I'm sure I've mentioned this passion here before but I'll say it again. There's just something so riveting about attending a live production -- both musical and non -- in a nice theater complete with great acting, beautiful singing, wonderful sets and the amazing ambiance. Last Tuesday, we had the chance once again to experience all these aspects in Tuacahn's production of "Aida."
This play holds a special place in my heart as it is the only production I've ever seen on Broadway. The music is so powerful and the story equally moving. I know I would have enjoyed it no matter what, but attending this play with Derek and my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Leslie, made it that much more special. Actually, it was Leslie's newcomer reaction to Tuacahn that really made the evening great. I have seen so many productions at this amazing amphitheater that I fear I have started to take some of its unique aspects for granted. Things like live animals on stage, fireworks during the productions, the use of a flood system that pours across the entire stage and more. None of these are ever overlooked by me, but sitting by Leslie and listening to her gasp, then turn to Kevin with a look of glee at the sight of the horses and camel used in the show reminded me just how fortunate it is to have access to places like this right here in our town. Plus, I loved the chance to watch a fabulous love story unfold while sitting next to the love of my life on a now less frequent, but no less appreciated date.

Derek and Lisa before the show.

Lisa, Kevin and Leslie in the theater's courtyard.

Waiting for the music to start.

Six weeks and SO cute!

Today officially marks the sixth week of Lydia's life here on earth. I cannot believe she's already so old! Sadly, it also marks the half-way point through my maternity leave. But lest I start dripping tears on the keyboard, I'm not going to think about that right now. I prefer to pretend that world does not yet exist.
So, I realize there's not really anything super "official" about the six week mark, except that it signals the time when our pediatrician said we could start taking her places where there might be larger crowds. With caution, naturally.
Like true overly-protective first-time parents we have adhered pretty strictly to this six-week-no-crowds advice, avoiding everything from errand running to public gatherings with her -- much to the chagrin of some of our family and friends. I still plan to be cautious though. I mean, the dangers of swine flu and other seasonal ailments MAY be overly hyped in the media right now, then again all the hype may be for good reason. I prefer not to take any chances :) However, we have plans to parade her around at church before too long, and my colleagues at work may soon get a much-anticipated visit as well. As soon as I decide to stop pretending the work world doesn't exist :)

In her six weeks of life, here are a few things that melt my heart:
* Her smiles. Though not yet in direct response to Derek or myself, I know that is coming soon. She gets so excited sometimes and it comes out in a smiling coo that is so cute!
* She's a good eater. That's right, after a rocky start with too much weight lost, she's made up for lost time and at last check (last week) she weighed 10 pounds, having gained a full pound in nine days. Whoa!
* She's happy, most of the time. I am beyond grateful for the fact that she seems to cry only when she is in need of something and the majority of the time we can figure out what it is. If her basic needs are being met, she tends to be a pretty happy baby.
* She knows I'm her mom. I love that she seems to know (and has known for quite some time) that I'm her mom. I have always watched women gather up their crying infant from someone who is trying without success to comfort the little one and been amazed that they calm almost instantly. Lydia has done that with me several times and it's so rewarding!
* Stretch! I love watching her stretch when she is waking up from a nap. Her little arms barely reach above her head and for some reason this sends Derek and I into laughter every time.
* Family time. Derek and I have commented several times that the pace of our life has changed dramatically in the past six weeks. Although we've still managed to go on a date every week so far (yeah!) we spend many, many more evenings at home just hanging out that we did before. Naturally, Lydia is our main source of entertainment during these hangouts. She's just so fun to watch. I just feel so blessed to be at this stage in my life!

I just love my little girl!

Stretch!

Here's to 30 fabulous years

I love my life -- all 30 wonderful years.
Oh sure, I've had my ups and downs like any other person, but overall I don't have any major complaints. This may be why I've never been one of those people who fears getting older, or who dreads these landmark birthdays like the one I had on Sept. 4. I've always figured as long as I've accomplished what I want to in the time frame there is no need to be ashamed at the passing of another year. And right now, I'm extremely happy where I am.
So how did I celebrate this landmark day? Some people plan major parties for such a birthday, or long to do something really exciting/dangerous to mark a day. Skydiving, for example. But I've been there and done that. No, my birthday wish this year was remarkably simpler: To get a full night's sleep. Quite a change from past birthday requests, I must say.
Thanks to my amazing husband for pinch hitting on the feedings all night with bottles of breast milk, I got my wish and it was wonderful. However, in the morning I was glad to reclaim my post as Lydia's source of sustenance. I missed her that night.
The rest of my birthday weekend coincided with a Labor-less Day weekend in Cedar City with my family. It was just what I needed. A lot of relaxing, some time out of the house, a movie date with Derek, a trip to the cabin and lots of time with people I love. As always, my whole family went out of their way to make my birthday and the whole weekend special. Thanks you guys!

I blew out all 30 candles. I can't wait to see if I get my wish :)

Hanging out with Lydia and Kate

Lydia spending time with Grandpa Grady

One month old already! Sept. 6, 2009

Cabin time!

On Monday, Sept. 7, Lydia had her first experience at the family cabin, although for her it probably felt like every other place she's ever been considering her sleep, eat, play schedule didn't change. Kevin and Leslie drove up in time for a late lunch that day, making it the first time in quite a while that the whole family has been together (minus Bri-guy).

Uncle Kevin and Lydia

Birthdays, baths and stuff

The pressure is on.
It was only a matter of time.
I've received multiple comments about my lack of blogging lately. I knew once people got wind of this adorable little bundle the demand for posts would rapidly increase, and so it has. Very well -- as the proud mother, I will comply : )
Actually, we've had a fair amount going on lately, including my sweet husband's birthday, another weekly birthday for Lydia, her first bath and so on.

Time to celebrate!

To celebrate his 27th birthday, Derek decided we should round out the current Shakespearean Festival line up in Cedar City by seeing the only play we had not yet seen. "Foxfire." So we headed for our first road trip with Lydia (yes, 45 minutes seems like a road trip when you haven't gone further than the mailbox in weeks) with Grandma and Grandpa Grady's house as the destination. My parents were excited to see Lydia again and we were grateful for the chance to go to dinner and a the play as Derek and Lisa, rather than Mom and Dad. The play was fantastic and dinner was great. Before leaving we took the above family picture to mark the date. Seeing any picture of me lately leaves me with one question: Will my eyes ever look rested again?

Three weeks
I know it sounds cliche, but I can't believe how fast this little girl is growing up! On Aug. 27 I captured just a few of her darling moments on camera to celebrate three weeks of living.

Rubber duckie

Lydia had her first real bath on Aug. 29. Although her cord had fallen off a few days before that, I continued with sponge baths until Derek and I could both be home for this momentous first occasion. She seemed to really like the water and thanks to the great tub Karen and Mike loaned to us (thanks guys!) it wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined to keep her upright in the water. Best of all, the whole bathing process seemed to really relax her and she slept amazingly well that night. Almost five hours between the late night and middle of the night feedings. It may have been a fluke, but I'm thinking bath time should be every night!




Just because
I've been trying to capture her impromptu smiles on camera with no such luck so far. Still, these attempts yielded a couple of darling faces!