Lydia lately

As I put together the last couple of blogs I had a slew of random photos that didn't really go anywhere, but as you'll see, they are just too adorable not to be blogged :)

Me, biased? Of course not.

Waiting outside Rusty's when the birthday dinner was
longer than a 2-year-old could handle

Helping mom decorate for Halloween/Fall

???
Apparently Mom's hiking socks and old tennis shoes are all the rage.

I actually thought we were having fun at Park Discovery.
Evidently, at this moment, Lydia did not agree.

Your shirt says it all sister!
As a nod to her daddy's love of music, these are my current favorite of her pajamas

Trying out her pal, Josh's, ride

My little gardener

A favorite past time

Surprise visitors

In the midst of my recovery from my appendectomy, we had two sets of surprise guests — both of which were great diversions from an otherwise monotonous period of time.
The first was my cousin, Frank, and his wife, Emily, and their two kids as they made their way across the country back to their home in Maryland. We knew they going to be coming but they ended up bumping their trip up a little and were here a week or so ahead of schedule. It was great to see them! I just wish I'd been able to be a little better hostess for them. Still, Lydia had a great time playing with her second cousins and I enjoyed the time catching up with Frank and Emily. Tragically since neither I, nor Emily, were feeling up to much, I didn't get any pictures of the adults. The kids were willing to hold still for a couple of moments for a photo though.

Frankie and Lydia

Katie, Frankie and Lydia

The second surprise was actually a surprise for my mom. My brother, Kevin, flew in with his family to surprise my mom for her birthday! It was so fun to have this bonus visit with them since I hadn't expected to see them again until December. It was fantastic!
Although, again, I wasn't up for much in the hostessing department, I did enjoy several late night chats, games and a dinner out to celebrate my amazing mom. Thanks so much Kev for making the effort to come :)

I can't believe this is the only photo I got of the entire time they were here and it doesn't even capture everyone at dinner. Leslie and Colin and Lydia and I were also there. Sadly, Derek was sick and had to miss out on the celebration at Rusty's.

I love this picture of Lydia and me. It's so rare to get a photo of her without a fake cheese smile lately and even more rare to have the two of us in the photo together. I've got to work on that...

Back in the saddle again

After what feels like a ridiculous amount of time out of the loop, thanks to an unexpected bout of appendicitis (are these things ever expected? Unlikely) I am trying to get back into the groove. I am feeling much better — not quite 100% but I'll get there — and am overwhelmed by the love and support people have so willingly given even for a "routine surgery" like an appendectomy.
In my opinion it's only "routine" to the surgeons, not to the person who is suddenly thrust out of their routine by the unwelcome hospital visit and subsequent recovery.

It started with the worst stomach ache in the world. After writhing in pain all night it was clear I was not going to take care of Lydia that day so Derek arranged for sub for his class so he could take care of Lydia all day.

It turns out it was a fantastic daddy-daughter day. They headed to the carousel in the Town Square, then went to story time at the library, played at the park and went to the dentist.
OK, that last one was not exactly a fun part of the day, but it was an appointment I'd made weeks before and so off they went to her first dental visit.
At first I felt bad to miss such a monumental first in her life, but Derek tells me she did nothing but scream, so I don't really feel that bad. It was just a cleaning, but apparently she's not a fan of the dentist. Like mother like daughter.

Lydia in the dentist's waiting room... before she knew what was coming :)

Derek has donned his superhero cape more than once over the last several weeks — in fact he's rarely taken it off — as he has taken care of everything with Lydia, with our home, as well as keeping up with work and school. He's amazing! But I think he is also glad that I'm feeling much better :)

Pigtails and playgroup

Lydia has allowed me to put elastics in her hair exactly two times in her life.
Neither time lasted very long, but it sure was cute.

I don't know what I'm going to do with her hair soon. It's getting longer in back and a little longer in front but still full mullet.
I love the curly ringlets in the back though.

Oh! My heart almost aches every time I look at her lately to see how grown up she is.

A few weeks ago at our ward playgroup the sprinklers came on mid morning at the park. Clearly an oversight on the city's part. However, the kids loved it!

Even though this meant going home to change before a trip to lunch with my coworkers, it was worth it to see the elation on her face.

I love this little girl with all my heart!