The House of Steel

Bad Pictures, Cute Faces

2009-09-22T13:57:00.004-05:00

It's been a cranky couple of days around here. I think Lydia is teething - but then again, it could just be the "terrible twos" come to visit a little early. I was looking back through pictures this afternoon and found these taken last month. The quality is terrible, but the grins are just too cute.

Plus, I needed the reminder that she does actually smile sometimes!

Faster than a Speeding Bullet

2009-09-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

It took Lydia forever to decide to walk, but I don't think she's slowed down much since. She is to the point where I have to exert some serious effort to catch her when she doesn't want to be caught.

A Day at the Duck Pond

2009-09-15T12:37:00.000-05:00

Lydia gets very excited about all things duck related. She can spot pictures of ducks, stuffed ducks, something yellow that might be slightly shaped like a duck in no time flat. Really. Take her to the store, and you will be amazed at the number of items that have ducks on them. She starts quacking her little head off, and rarely can I not find a reason for it. I finally took her to see real ducks again.

Before she spotted the ducks.

She found them and plopped down to watch and quack along.
Eventually, she did decide to chase them. Boy is she getting fast!

Barney...

2009-09-14T20:30:00.002-05:00

...everyone's favorite purple dinosaur!

At least, everyone under the age of four. And if you are a mommy to someone under the age of four it's more like a favorite purple headache.

Lydia and Barney napping on the shelf.

Sandbox Fun

2009-09-13T20:12:00.004-05:00

More Day at the Zoo

2009-08-29T11:20:00.011-05:00

We went to the zoo last week mainly to see an elephant. Lydia has a stuffed elephant at home that she likes to carry around. She also has really been into Barney's Circus movie which features a fake elephant. She walks around the house like an elephant singing the elephant song all the time, and I decided it was time she saw a real one. We walked up to the elephant cage and immediately she identified her "Eh-Phant."

This elephant is on loan from the OKC Zoo.

Lydia looking out at the "eh-phant."

Looking out at the elephants.
I spent most the day trying to get shots of Lydia with the animals. It was no easy feat!

The mama monkey, of whom we now have a plastic likeness.

The view I saw most of the day.

More zoo fun to come!

Tulsa Zoo

2009-08-27T08:59:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I took Lydia to the Tulsa Zoo. I have to go through the pictures still, but here she is playing on the playground after lunch.

4th of July

2009-08-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Whew, I am really behind on my posting! These are the only (clothed) pictures of Lydia on her 2nd Fourth of July. I was sick that weekend and had a huge speech due, so our weekend was pretty low-key.

She jumped into her pool before I could get a picture of her patriotic outfit.

Lydia went with her Pop and Grammy to have dessert, listen to the band, and watch fireworks at the church. She loved it! She was marching to the band and "directing" music. She said, "Wow!" to each of the fireworks. Unfortunately I forgot to send the camera with them.

We did find out that Lydia can occasionally break out of the schedule and not be confused for weeks. She didn't get home that night until 10 - two hours past her normal bedtime. She was absolutely exhausted and could barely sit up in the tub, but you could tell she had had the time of her life!

Hair Bows

2009-08-18T14:41:00.004-05:00

These just came in the mail and I love them!

Lydia was really excited to get these "preetty" bows in her hair!

I got them at MarieD's on Etsy.

Purple Bubbles

2009-08-17T10:25:00.004-05:00

Lydia, like the rest of society, occasionally has cranky days. This particular day, she was in a foul mood! In her defense, she was teething and we had both gotten less than 8 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours. Seeing as she normally sleeps 13-14 hours a day...it wasn't pretty!

In an attempt to distract from the crankiness, I made her a bucket of purple bubbles.

NOTE: using food coloring will cause your child to change colors!

She wasn't quite sure at first but quickly decided purple bubbles are fun!

It ended up being a fun activity and chased the crankies away! Plus, she slept again that night...And it only took a few days for her to return to her normal color!

To Show the Boyfriend

2009-08-04T15:35:00.005-05:00

These pictures are awful. They are obviously (badly) doctored and strangely colored (even after the doctoring) and yes, those are chairs being reflected on Lyd's forehead.

But someday, I'm gonna show 'em to her boyfriend.

Because they're just too funny!

Here's the scene for you: Gram had just been washing all the sliding glass doors while Lydia was playing in a bucket of purple bubbles (post coming soon!). Lydia proceeded to press her slobbery mouth, snotty nose, and grimy hands all over said door. Gram proceeded to have a coronary.

Just Kidding.

It was only a minor stroke.

And she's expected to make a full recovery! ;)

Mama's Helper

2009-07-27T08:55:00.006-05:00

Lydia is working on her helping skills. She's been assigned dish duty.

She felt the need to give it a taste.

Turns out, bubbles aren't nearly as yummy as they look!

Hmmm....

2009-07-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

I think she gets this from her Daddy.

Wild Apples

2009-07-06T12:58:00.001-05:00

Lydia picked up a wild apple (or pear) from the yard and decided to eat it. Yes, I'm aware that's disgusting, but she was cute. She took it over to her picnic table and chowed down!

Farewell, Donkies!

2009-07-05T14:37:00.000-05:00

The donkies have been sold.
Just for fun, we had Becky wear her hat one last time.

In the Sandbox

2009-07-04T16:47:00.002-05:00

Or the Sand Rubbermaid Tub - whatever you choose.

Love the crossed feet.

This is why you shouldn't pick your nose with sandy fingers.

Bathing Beauty

2009-07-03T15:31:00.000-05:00

Lydia was enjoying an evening in the pool...

...just splashing away...
...until someone had to make her sit.
Goodness, that's cold!

Swimsuit Model

2009-07-02T15:19:00.000-05:00

I'm way too busy to pose Mom!

Just love the belly here.

Fun in the Afternoon

2009-07-01T13:46:00.000-05:00

Cookies for Daddy

2009-06-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

For Father's Day, Lydia made her daddy some sugar cookies.

She helped cut.

And she helped roll.

And she "sliced" some rainbow cookies.

She even gave them her own special touch - literally!

And she tasted to make sure they were good. Yep!

Will opened the package from her on Skype. I was curious to see if she remembered making them. I guess she did because she threw a major fit to eat one too and didn't understand the cookies were not here anymore. Next time we'll save one to eat together!

Family Reunion

2009-06-29T09:34:00.000-05:00

Family Reunion - May 30, 2009!

Utensils!

2009-06-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

She finally gets it!

Well, mostly!

The Snake Post

2009-06-27T16:11:00.001-05:00

While living out in the country gives us plenty of room to run (when it's not 137 degrees outside, that is), there are also some disadvantages. Namely, snakes - or "necks" as Lydia says.

This one was right outside my bedroom door.

Later he showed up on the front porch. He was literally 3 feet from Lydia, and I didn't even see him. The porch was too close for our comfort, so we decided to relocate him.
Patrick got a long stick and the cooler to put him in. These pics aren't so great because I was standing on a table many feet away. Brave I am not. Here is Patrick gearing up to get the snake. I left out the picture were the water hose flopped over and caused him to wet his pants.

Just kidding.....Sorta.
Going in for the kill, er scoop.

Got him!Unfortunately our scaley friend didn't get the memo that we moved him off the porch because we wanted him to stay off. Less than two hours later, he was back - in EXACTLY the same position.

So we had to kill him. For size reference, Patrick is about 6 foot tall.

The next day we had to kill another. No pictures of it, but it was even bigger. We think it was riding around on the tractor with Dad.

This next snake apparently heard that we were on a killing spree - he wasn't going down without a fight. First he tried to creep us all out by crawling along the wall...he was successful.
Next he hid in the bush...partial success. Mom was able to get him out, but just as Dad was set to shoot him, Belle walked into his path.

Then he crawled up the wall underneath the deck while striking at my mom (non-venomous). And then he disappeared....he's the one who got away.

I still can't walk outside without feeling all snake-y.

Just Dance

2009-06-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

Dancing with Grammy after work one day.

I think Lydia thought Grammy was a little nuts.

Gettin' her groove on!

Weird coloring here, but I love her expression.

Paparazzi!

2009-06-08T10:47:00.001-05:00

Lydia was tired of me snapping pictures while messing with camera settings.

No more pictures!

So Sleepy

2009-06-07T10:28:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, Lydia woke up early - 5:30 early. Much too early for this "nothing good happens before 7" Mama. We went out for breakfast with Pop and worked around the house until a later than normal lunchtime. Poor girl fell asleep in her chair, propped up by her sippy cup!

What am I in for?

2009-06-06T10:02:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, Patrick had 3 of his friends over. Male friends. Teenage male friends.

Lydia was putting on quite the show for them - dancing, playing drums, being quite the little charmer. Then she decided she needed to be on the bed, right in the middle of them!

Oh boy! What do I have to look forward to?!

Peek-a-Boo

2009-06-05T15:55:00.005-05:00

I see you!

Out in the Barn

2009-06-05T15:24:00.005-05:00

Since Patrick left for his mission trip to Romania with Belief in Motion, I've had to go out to the barn each day (well, mostly each day) and feed Mocha. Lydia loves to go out and see the horse, Apollo, and the donkies, LuLu and Becky, as well.

Lyd and Apollo

Peeking in at Mocha

Mocha

When you're 18 months, it just can't get better than living on a farm!

Sweet Deliciousness

2009-05-27T20:23:00.003-05:00

Lydia is currently cutting 3 "I" teeth and none too happy about it. We've had a few days of constant whining, tantrums, and clingyness. I've been doing whatever it takes (within reason) to make her happy.

The other night Grammy decided to give sherbert a try...SUCCESS! She was happy for at least 6 minutes! And boy is it delicious!

Forget the spoon!

Just dig in!

And yes, she most certainly did go straight to the tub!

Speedy

2009-05-27T07:30:00.003-05:00

In the time it took me to fill this juice cup - say 3 minutes....

an 18-month-old can make a mess like this:

And yes, I re-folded each tissue, which took a WHOLE lot longer than it did to get the juice in the first place.

And that is why I never feel like I accomplish much in a given day!

The Final "Catching Up" Post

2009-05-21T21:37:00.003-05:00

Wrapping these months up...

We stayed at the Mariott while we moved.

We purchased a weasel-ball and then were terrified of it.

We saw live TV for the first time in weeks and were entranced!

We cleaned the rental house and took a nap on the floor.

We attempted to rescue a bird - pretty sure he's NOT native to OK! He may get his own post as well.

Whew! Just posting all that makes me tired again!

What We've Been Up To - Part 3

2009-05-21T15:08:00.004-05:00

We've had fun with Uncle P.

We've played outside A LOT!

We dealt with a tree situation.

We picked some flowers.

We escaped once. (Note: photo is a reenactment. On the actual occasion I was too busy screaming and running around like a crazy person to snap a photo.)

We worked on using a fork.

We discovered that stools are for climbing.

We used the potty a few times.

We earned an M&M, but weren't so sure about it.

We saw a BIG snake right outside our bedroom door! More on him in a later post!

What We've Been Up To - Part 2

2009-05-21T12:23:00.005-05:00

We hunted some eggs.

We took a shoulder ride.

We were amazed that every single egg had a Reeses in it.

We took a nap before saying Good-bye to Daddy.

We stood on the deck naked. Well, not exactly we - just Lydia there.

Even more to come!

What Have We Been Up to Lately?

2009-05-21T10:11:00.007-05:00

Well, I haven't blogged in 2 months because we have been busy. Our family has gone through a lot of changes. Will is now in Korea, and Lydia and I are staying with my family. Here's an overview...with pictures!

We've gotten really pretty.

We've played the drums.

We've developed a love/hate relationship with Belle.

We've had our first sucker...

...while wearing a funky do!

We've played outside LOTS!

We went to the aquarium (and did not get great pictures because of the weird lighting).

We got to pet...

A stingerless Stingray!

We've done lots, lots, lots more stuff, but it's too much for one post....stay tuned!

Zoo Day - OKC

2009-03-16T21:54:00.008-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Oklahoma City Zoo with our Meetup Group. I had really been looking forward to it, as Lydia loves to see animals. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that it is Spring Break. There were approximately 17 kajillion people in the zoo. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it was BUSY!

We couldn't get close enough to actually see many of the animals, but Lydia really enjoyed the ones we did see. I think we are going to the Tulsa Zoo during Will's leave next month. Hopefully that will work out a little better.

We did get to see some turtles.

We saw some giraffes.

We sat by a lion.

We saw some zebras.

We rode a carousel. Lydia did.not.like.it!

We saw a rhino in the pen labeled elephant. Apparently the elephants are on vacation in Tulsa.

We sat on a giant toad. It was much less scary than the carousel.

We saw a pygmy hippo. The "full-sized" hippo was on vacation too.

Overall we had a good time. We were gone from 8 o'clock until nearly 5, so if anything it's a relief to know that Lydia can do a full day adventure, at least occasionally.

Chores

2009-03-13T13:48:00.003-05:00

Lately we've been seeing lots of messes that look like this:

It's really quite fun to make them though!

Not as much fun to clean though!

She really was enjoying herself! Honest! She looks depressed, but I was just slow with the camera I guess. I've been working on finding new ways to entertain her and help her feel included. Lydia's been "dusting" with a swiffer rag, throwing trash away (although she normally wants to take it back out), and even helping with dinner. The other night she made cornbread. She was so excited I thought she would hyperventilate! No pictures of that though - my hands were a little full making sure she didn't fall off the step ladder, throw eggs in the floor, scoop the batter out of the bowl, etc.

Splish Splash

2009-03-06T20:08:00.005-06:00

We love bath time around here!

Hmmm...this might taste good....

Eww...but it doesn't!

What's this here for?

Is it a straw?

We Can Neither Confirm, Nor Deny

2009-03-05T21:47:00.005-06:00

Sometimes, the military just drives me crazy. We went to our "briefing" this morning to be told that it "really looks like" the Air Force will approve our application for command sponsorship. But first they need us to choose between these two options:

1.) We can live in Seoul where we will be close to a cardiologist and Will can commute to our assigned base daily - 2 1/2 hours round trip, at our expense.
2.) We can live at our assigned base and I can make the yearly trip to Seoul - also, at our expense.

I mean really. Was this such a difficult question it couldn't be asked over the phone? Was it even necessary to ask the question? Honestly, common sense figured that one out.

Their other piece of advice was to make sure I had medicine with me. Again, really?

The lady briefing us kept getting the base we are going to wrong. I kept telling her, we're not going there. It didn't instill a whole lot of confidence in me.

I called the office later to see if they were confident enough that we would be approved to put in our 30 days notice with our rental agency. After much hemming and hawing, she wouldn't do it. What would she do? Nothing. We are supposed to leave in 5 weeks and we can do nothing. Schedule nothing. Pack nothing. Otherwise prepare for nothing.

Do they not understand we are moving across the world?!

On a less stressful note, here is Lydia on the move!

Wrong Side of the Crib

2009-03-04T17:49:00.003-06:00

Today, like most days, Lydia woke up from her nap in a not-so-great kinda mood. Normally we cuddle for a few minutes and she gets over it. But today, that didn't happen.

So I gave her some pretzels. They're her current favorite. They fix anything!

But, alas, even pretzels failed us this afternoon!

For the record, sweet tea did the trick...

Korea, Here We Come!

2009-03-03T12:33:00.003-06:00

At least, I think here we come!

I got a call this morning from travel wanting to brief us on "our upcoming move to Korea." I asked if that meant we had been accepted for command sponsorship and she wouldn't say over the phone, but she said it was good news. So to me that means yes.

She also said the Air Force wants two things from us. She also wouldn't tell me what that was, and I have been wracking my brain all morning trying to figure it out. So far I have a list 10 miles long of things they could possibly want from us, but who knows!

We should know more soon...hopefully by Thursday!

Toots

2009-02-27T13:08:00.003-06:00

Lately Lydia has become obsessed with passing gas. It all started this past weekend. She was crawling along when a couple of loud toots escaped. She immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around to see what the ruckus was. She saw nothing, so she continued on until it happened again. Then she started imitating the noise. She puts her lips together and makes a big, spitty "ppppthh" sound. We videotaped it because it was really funny. Note I say was really funny. Now, she does it constantly. She will sit and grunt and giggle and "ppptthhh." It's getting annoying, not to mention embarassing when she does it at Olive Garden and gets all her other buddies going.

She is darn cute when she's being ornery though!

15 Months

2009-02-21T14:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Lydia turned 15 months old. It has really flown by! Everyone tells you it will, but you just don't really believe them.

The past few months have been a bit trying. I've been watching her every move since she was labeled "behind." It's discouraging to have a set of things she needs to be accomplishing and have her not be doing them, no matter how hard I work. But even though she's not hitting her milestones exactly how her doctor wants, she's no dummy!

- She will no longer eat anything that goes in her mouth. If it's gross, she will spit it out!
- She knows how to turn her sippy cup around so the straw is on the correct side. And boy does that make my life easier!
- She has recently realized that we eat with our own silverware. She will not accept food from my fork unless I give her the fork. Unfortunately, she hasn't exactly figured out how to get the food onto the fork, so I have to load it for each bite.
- She figured out how to pull the string connected to her Valentine's balloon so that the balloon comes down to her level. She was pretty proud of that one!
- She knows that to get off a bed or couch, you have to turn around backwards and slide off. Of course, just because she knows doesn't mean she doesn't occasionally attempt a Superwoman-like dive!
- She knows that every Wednesday when we eat at the mall, she will get French fries. Last week I got us Chinese food instead, and she had a fit! Thankfully her friend Megan gave her a couple.

Last night, we did our usual pre-bedtime walking practice. She did the best she's done so far. One run she took EIGHT steps! We got it on video, but I am not technologically savvy enough to post it. She was so proud though! She had a smile plastered on her face the whole time and would just about hyperventilate after each go. She probably took 25-30 total last night. Normally after 3 she's over it.

After we were done, I let her watch the video with me. I wish we could video her watching the video. She was so impressed! She gets especially happy at the part where I give her a kiss...which of course melts my little heart!

Right before bathtime I decided to have her fingerpaint. She hadn't done it in a while, but now I know I need to do it more often. She just couldn't understand that I was giving her something that she was supposed to smear around and not eat. It took a while, but she did finally get to painting!

Ode to a Molar

2009-02-12T13:16:00.003-06:00

Oh, Molar down on the bottom right,
Won't you come out? It'd be a great sight!

You've been torturing us since early January.
This out-then-in deal is such a travesty.

My poor little girl has not been so glad,
So just come out 'cuz you hurt really bad!

So if you'll break through, I'll pay you a dollar.
I just can't take much more of this holler.......ing.

Spaghetti, Meatballs and More!

2009-02-10T20:48:00.007-06:00

For dinner we had one of Lydia's favorites - Spaghetti and Meatballs!

After dinner, we did a little walking practice. She took ONE WHOLE STEP all by herself! I was so proud and so was she obviously. She immediately sat down and clapped for herself! She refused to even try for another step, but she did walk all over the house holding onto just one hand...barely!

I think we are really close!

Sweet Tooth

2009-02-10T13:51:00.003-06:00

Homemade chocolate chip cookie bliss!

Think she inherited Mommy and Daddy's sweet tooth? Or is it teeth?

Snow Day

2009-01-27T12:20:00.007-06:00

Lydia appears to be feeling much better today. We were going to go to the library and get out of this house, but we woke up to SNOW!

Actually, I think it's more like lots of frozen rain. But it's pretty nonetheless. I'm not a slick weather driver, so I guess we are home bound at least one more day. Living at Fort Riley the last few winters makes this seem like nothing. We had snow from November to March then, and I hated it! Hopefully this will be our one obligatory snow of the year. It's really enough for my taste!

She wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she thought it was fun!

Sick

2009-01-27T12:14:00.003-06:00

Photo taken Saturday, Jan 24th.

And the verdict is...

2009-01-24T19:30:00.002-06:00

Lydia is sick and teething. I kept going back and forth all week, but the puke and lethargy have proven it. Poor, sad, little girl.

After sleeping 14 hours last night and not waking up until 9:30, she has napped for 5 hours (and counting) today. The rest of the time she has been in a semi-awake-catatonic-type state. She is sick every time Will is gone. All I can say is we better get sponsored to go to Korea with him! I can't have her sick the whole year he is gone.

She did have a few "active" moments - if your definition of active means turning the pages on the book.

What a Week!

2009-01-24T17:21:00.005-06:00

Man! I had every intention of updating daily-ish, but this week has been a little crazy.

Sunday: Hmmm.... no recollection of Sunday. Oh, I know I baked peanut butter kiss cookies. And got groceries. And went over budget.

Monday: We went back to the park to feed to ducks the bread we forgot on Saturday. We again had a great time. I only got one picture though, because my camera broke. I have no idea what happened. Somewhere in between taking a picture of Lydia talking to the geese and attempting to take a picture of her chasing the geese, the screen decided to not work anymore. I was holding it the whole time, so blame it on me. We were planning on getting a new one fairly soon, but now it's going to have to be soon soon.

We also ate dinner at McDonald's with plans to let Lydia play in the ball pit. However, after forcing down some really burnt fries and the world's smallest chicken sandwich, we realized they didn't even have a ball pit. We left.

Tuesday: We stayed home this morning to watch the inauguration. Obama wasn't my pick for President, but I still wanted to see history in the making. I wasn't actually able to pay attention to his speech because I was reading "Fox in Socks" and playing farm. I do think it's amazing that Lydia won't think anything of an African-American man as President. It's a testiment to how far our nation has come in a relatively short period of time.

Wednesday: We went to storytime at the library as normal, followed by a Chick-fil-a lunch and playing with friends at the mall play area. Afterward, Lydia woke up from her nap whiny and clingy. She sat on me until the FRG meeting and Will even called me home from the meeting so she could sit on me until bedtime and then lay right beside me all night.

Thursday: More sitting and laying on me. I broke away for a minute to take a shower because I was smelling myself - gross! Lydia couldn't stand being without me and jumped in too, clothes and all. Thankfully, Will got home early and I was able to go to book club. We had a fun three hours and laughed and chatted a lot! We really didn't talk about the book though. Oh well. Came home and went to bed - holding your child all day is exhausting!

Friday: More holding, sitting, laying, whining. Lydia joined me at 3am when Will went to work. Had a few semi-happy moments while I cooked dinner and during bath time. Slept in her own bed for 14 hours! I had to check several times to make sure she was alive.

A Day at the Park...

2009-01-17T21:39:00.000-06:00

...And just a tiny little whiny rant.

Working out hurts! I love the feeling that I got completing my step aerobics class on Friday, but now, not so much. I had to carry my mug of tea to the microwave with two hands and unload the dishwasher one. single. item. at a time. I will go back on Monday though, no matter how I feel. And to keep myself motivated, I am going to reward myself with a new workout outfit when I go to the gym 10 times for at least 40 minutes each. Only 7 more to go!

Anyway, today was an oddly warm day for January - a balmy 62 degrees! We decided to take advantage of the day and head to the park this afternoon.

It was a bit blustery for Lydia's taste.

But she thoroughly enjoyed looking at the water with Will.

Say "dog" at the prairie dogs - completely unprompted I must add. She's brilliant!

Daddy was having more fun than daughter.

Look how big the slide is!

Meeting the ducks.

Mommy and daughter - far too sunny!

This does NOT do justice to how many ducks there were - at least 50! It was overwhelming.

We also had a picnic "catered" by KFC. I really wanted to take a cute picture of our picnic spread, but we were all too busy trying to hold onto our chicken!

Something I learned today: Seagulls have an odd affinity for Teddy Grahams and Goldfish. In case you were wondering.

It was a great day though. Will and I walked back to the car with linked arms, just smiling and laughing. It's becoming real that in just a few months, he will be in Korea and, at least for a time, there won't be whole family moments like this.