Look who is two!

{Aug. 6, 2011}

Happy birthday Lydia!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Lydia's second birthday with a family party at the cabin.

I can't believe this little angel is already two! She is at yet another adorable/hilarious/challenging stage and we are loving it.

The party
Guests included both sets of grandparents along with great-grandma Noma, Uncle Brian & Aunt Leslie, Uncle Heber and of course Mom, Dad and Lydia.
Despite a major snag in getting my in-laws to the location of our cabin, eventually all the guests arrived for a dinner of barbecue pork, corn on the cob, watermelon, chips, cake and ice cream. We had a great time visiting. The main topic of conversation: adorable Lydia :)


The cake
Growing up my mom always did a fun cake for our birthdays, so how can I do any less for my kids? This year, since there was not really a party theme, I decided to have the cabin itself being the cake theme. It turned out pretty well and tasted delicious :)





Gifts galore
Suffice it to say, this is one spoiled little girl. Everyone was so generous with their gifts. We have been having a ball at our house with all the new things.

(She can't quite reach the pedals but she loves scooting around the driveway "exploring" with Ariel.)

This was my gift idea (a toy broom and mop) and Derek scoffed at the idea. However, he's had to admit I was right because Lydia has thoroughly enjoyed cleaning everywhere we go. The cabin -- and the great outdoors -- have never been so thoroughly swept and mopped before.

This was delivered to our house the following Monday. I'm so glad it is small enough to fit inside until we get a break from triple digit heat.


But it works great as a water slide when we do take it outside.

We've got a little mommy on our hands. She loves to take care of her babies!

My little baby

Here's a little about Lydia at this stage:
29 pounds (81 percentile)
35 inches (84 percentile)
** I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are. She absolutely shrieked and fought through the entire doctor's visit. They did their best to keep her still during weighing and measuring. It was an exhausting visit with lots of tears. But we survived.

* Some of my favorite of her words: "Bo bo" (elbow), "mere" (come here, accompanied by her gesturing with her hand), "mar" (more. Also accompanied by holding up one finger, as in 'one more' only it never means just one), "sit" (kind of sounds like another "s" word).

* Speaking more and more every day. She puts two words together like "big truck" or "Daddy work," "what do?" (doing), "Mommy home" or "I go" (I want to go). Most of her words are still probably not entirely understandable to the outside world but we know what she is saying and she definitely knows what is being said to her.

* Still a great eater (as evident by her height and weight). So far we've not hit a picky stage... knock on wood.

* Loves to play pretend. Whether it is tea party, babies, cleaning, cooking, she wants to mimic real life. She has taken to wanting to change the diaper of her stuffed animals too. She revels in being in charge of things and wants to direct people where to sit and when to come follow her.

* So loving. She is the first one to show concern for a crying child in nursery or anywhere in public. She often will run up to Derek and I with her arms wide open saying "hu" (hug) or smacking her lips for a kiss.

She took a liking to some old hats from my late Grandpa Petty. She kept wanting to wear them and at first I was hesitant, not wanting anything to happen to something of his. In the end though, I know he would have loved to see his great-granddaughter playing with something of his.