It's that time of year again...

My kids may need 3 baths a day, but they are having a fabulous time playing in the yard. This afternoon, Asher used the hose to turn the sandbox into a mud pit. I wasn't pleased, but it was very satisfying to use that same hose to spray off the mud before I would let them come inside the house.



Lydia wishes she could join in the fun. I am guessing by this time next year, I'll have three muddy kids on my hands.

New Skill

One of my favorite factors of Lydia's personality is her persistence. If she wants something, whether it is food, a toy, or the mastery of a new skill, she will keep going until she gets what she wants. She's been pulling herself up to stand now and has even started attempting little steps. Her attempts at letting go and stepping have been anything but successful. She falls every time, but she isn't giving up, and it's terrifying.

She is also very persistent in needing me in the middle of the night still. She is still waking up at night, sometimes several times, at eight months old. Asher slept 10 hours at night by the time he was 3 months old and Madeleine by the time she was 1 month old.

Lydia is almost 6 months old!

Lydia turns 6 months old this week! Where has the time gone? I have to be on guard with this girl because she tends to find things she shouldn't have and eat them. Anything paper is her particular favorite. She can't quite crawl yet, but she is still fast. Lydia's hair is starting to grow straight and blond like Asher's. She slept through the night starting when she was one month old up to three months old, and I haven't been able to replicate the magic since. At 6 moths old, she is officially our worst sleeper.

We've been busy this past month. We put our house up for sale. It was on the market for about a week when we had a change of heart and took the sign down. We are currently planning on staying put for another year, or two, or three.

Sisters

Our Christmas in Pictures

Initially our Christmas Eve was a bit lame because Paul had to work and we didn't have time earlier in the week to finish our grocery shopping. I didn't want to take the kids by myself so I waited for Paul to get home to go. Instead of the ham dinner I had planned we ate fast food, which was a big hit with the kids, but I was a little disappointed. Then, our friend and neighbor, Jill, brought us some traditional Swedish rice pudding and it made our day. Especially for Paul because he always misses Sweden this time of year. The kids made a bit of a mess with it and Paul decided to join in on the fun. It was delicious.
Christmas was so magical for the kids. Asher opened up his first present from Santa and it was a red bicycle helmet which he was confused by because he didn't own a bike. Santa had taped a note to the couch telling Asher to look out the glass door for a present that was too big to fit under the tree. Asher pulled back the curtains, and was thrilled to see a red bicycle just like the one he wanted.

While he was staring at the bike on the porch he yelled out "Hey! There are more presents out here!" Which was a complete surprise to me because to the best of my knowledge Santa had only left a bike on the porch. We brought them in and opened them and it was a Wii and Wii Fit-plus. It came as a complete shock to me, but it was so fun! Paul and I played the boxing game together all day and my arms are still sore from the exercise.




Maddie opened up a ballerina outfit from her Grandma and Grandpa Smith and was so excited that she had to put it on immediately, but she would not hold still and pose for a picture. The big hit of the day was her dollhouse, which she has not stopped playing with since. All of her other presents play in the dollhouse. Even the alien and rocket ship that Grandma Ashby crocheted for her. (It sounds weirder than it is)

Santa also gave our little baldy a hairpiece.
It was actually a Barbie wig that Madeleine got, but Lydia was the only one who would hold still for a picture. Asher looked pretty great in it too, trust me.

Lydia at 3 1/2 months old

I can't imagine what life was like before Lydia was here. She has a very calm, and sunny disposition. The biggest change in the last month is that she is noticing Paul, Asher and Madeleine more. When they come up to talk to her she gets really excited and smiles and coos back at them. Before, it was all me all the time.

I've been surprised at the difference in myself between my feelings toward this baby versus my others. With them, I was excited and anxious for them to meet milestones. With Lydia, I want her to be my baby forever. It actually makes me a little sad to see her get so big and like other people. I want her to be all mine. I think it is just because I have experienced how fast my others left the baby stage and I just want to savor every moment of her babyness.

The Doctor at her 2 month visit was impressed with her motor skills and he told me that he thought she would be rolling over within a few days. 6 weeks later, she still isn't rolling over. I think the pediatrician should go into practice with my OB who told me that he was certain that I would be in labor in the next few days, but had to induce me 3 weeks later.

Asher is particularly infatuated with her. He has told me that 3 kids isn't enough for our family, he wants us to have 9 kids. When I ask him what he wants for Christmas, he asks for "more babies". I told him when he is the daddy he can have as many babies as he wants.

Trip to the North Pole

I (Paul) have an online account with the local talk radio station, where you can answer trivia questions and get points that you can spend on prizes. I have gotten things like books, hats, mugs and T-shirts, but a week or so ago I saw something that looked like lots of fun. It was tickets to the Holiday Lights Show in Coeur d'Alene, ID. It claims to be the "largest on-the-water resort holiday light show in America". The only catch was that we could only use the tickets Monday through Thursday, so I arranged to take Monday off instead of Friday and we would drive up to CDA for Family Home Evening.

When we got there and Vanessa fed the Lydia, we had just enough time for a quick dinner before we had to get on the cruise boat. Vanessa wanted pancakes and we found an IHOP that literally had no other customers. It worked out well for our schedule, but it was weird to be the only people in the restaurant.

The Holiday Lights Show is a cruise around the CDA marina, all decked out in lights and then the boat takes you across the lake to the "North Pole". Even though the temperature was in the low teens, Asher and Madeleine were so excited that they wanted to sit out on the top deck nearly the whole way. They got a kick out of the Grinch who came out and tried in vain to stop us from leaving the harbor.

It is pretty cool when they take you to the North Pole because when you are crossing the lake it seems like you are in the middle of no where. All you can see is lights off in the distance and stars. Still the kids insisted on staying up top.

The North Pole is some resort nestled among trees on the far side of the lake. On a dock sticking out from the resort is Santa Clause's living room. Sorry the pictures are so blurry.
Santa and Mrs. Clause are there, and Santa even read some of the names of the nice list, including Madeleine and Asher. They were really excited about that. Then Santa turns on the North Pole Christmas Lights, including a huge musical tree and the Elves' Toy Shop. The kids absolutely loved it.

All the other kids on the boat went inside after we left the North Pole but Asher and Maddie wanted to stay outside. Eventually I convinced them to go tell Vanessa what they had seen. Vanessa stayed in with Lydie the whole time, but since she doesn't produce her own warmth she was probably happier in there. As soon as the kids finished telling Vanessa they wanted back outside to see if they could see the Grinch again.
It was bitterly cold, and we had to drive the whole way home in the dark, but watching the excitement on the kids faces, and hearing them talk about it the next day made it worth it. Asher has told all his friends about it, and Madeleine talked my ear off about it when I got home from work on Tuesday. It sure is fun to see the world through 4 and 2 year olds' eyes.