Ice Cream Monster!

We had Kelvin's parents over for dinner on Saturday and when we were having the dessert (ice cream) everyone started laughing.  I was in the kitchen at this point and Kelvin called me to come look.  When I got to the table this is what I found....

Yes, somehow she got a hold of the ice cream lid and licked it clean.  She even knew to turn the lid to get all the sides.  That was the first time she had ever done that and thank goodness the ice cream only had a serving left for her daddy to finish off the next day or people would be leery about eating ice cream at our house!  She has such a personality!

The Perfect Toy

A couple days ago I got an email from a member of our ward saying that her neighbor was getting rid of a toddler slide and wanted to know if there was anyone who would like it.  I emailed right back and asked if it was still available.  I didn't have much hope since I am usually one of the last to get the email and respond back in time to secure most items.  But this time I was lucky!!!!  I was the first response and we got ourselves a toddler slide for free!  I love getting free stuff but this was so awesome because I know that Lydia would LOVE it.  When I went and picked it up I was talking with the sweet lady who was giving it away and she said that she also had a changing table pad if I wanted that as well (she could tell I was pregnant).  Of course I said yes and it is great!  I am excited to have this since with the c-section I don't expect that I will be able to get on the floor and change diapers much so this will be a big help to put it on a dresser.  Now I just need to find a crib and dresser for the new baby.

Anyway, back to Lydia, it turns out my hunch was correct and Lydia has spent hours of fun on the slide.  Her favorite toy at any playground is the slide and she will climb up anything close to her so this seemed like the perfect combination.  She spent the rest of the day as happy as can be sliding on that toy and the next few days were still a lot of fun.  I was grateful for a new toy to distract her from having to be cooped up in doors all day and this was the right one!  I am so grateful for people who are willing to give away their used items to people who could use them.  It's definitely how we have been able to survive!

This picture cracks me up.  She stopped for the camera to say cheese and her little face is so precious!

This is my favorite video it captures her giggles so well.

What a little squeaky we have!

She kept getting herself stuck at the bottom so I put socks on her so she could go down more easily and it doubled as a deterrent for her climbing back up the slide.  It worked well I must say and she LOVED being able to go a little faster.

You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'

It seems that kids these days are more and more tech savvy and Lydia is no exception to that!  We let her try out Kelvin's iPod the other day and she knew exactly what to do with it.  She put the headphones in her ears and started rocking out.  It made us laugh.  This little girl still dances to music whenever it comes on, even in the middle of the store!  She definitely has some knack for music, whether it be playing or dancing we don't know yet but are sure excited to find out!

Please excuse her "hippy" look.  Her hair is getting long enough to get crazy but is still a little too short to do anything with yet.

I love her dancing!  We've missed the hips as she has gotten more into moving around lately.

At the end of this video Kelvin and I are talking and Lydia pulls out one of her earphones and looks at us like "yeah? Are you talking to me?"  You can't see the expression on her face very well on the video but it was hilarious.

Vacuum Buddies

It's Kelvin's job to vacuum our apt and one night I asked him to do it off schedule.  It was almost time for Lydia to go to bed so we had to hurry.  Lydia has always been afraid of the vacuum and so I usually hold her while he hurries to get it done.  This time however she wanted to help!  She got her little music rolling toy and was vacuuming along side of daddy!  Until of course this could no longer satisfy her and she had to try the real thing!  Adorable as it was, I am just glad she is no longer afraid of the vacuum!

Back to Life

Wow!  I really have neglected our blog lately.  I guess that's because of a little present we are expecting in Feb!  Yes I know most of you already know as we spread the word a while ago, but for the sake of the blog, here is the official post....

At the end of May I could tell that there was something different with my body.  I wondered if it was just all the stress from the past few weeks that was taking it's toll.  I mean with the move, the car crash, Lydia falling out the window....there was a lot going on.  But I still had this feeling that I couldn't shake.  I just KNEW!  So when Gregory got home from work, we prepared a little present for him...

Yep!  We are having another baby.  Because of how much had been going on I don't think either of us were too happy at the news to begin with to be honest.  With all the added financial expenses recently, we are barely making it now.  Although, as time has passed we have come to be really excited about it and are now fighting over names!  We told immediate family pretty early as we knew we couldn't keep it from them long (I do tend to get sick and it was starting to make itself known).  But even as hard as we tried to conceal it from even them, Gregory's mom guessed!  She didn't say anything but she already knew when we announced it to everyone.  I don't know how she does that!  I had called my parents earlier and let them know and told them to announce it to the family.  Funny thing is that that night, I got a call from Dan and Amy telling me that they are expecting too, AND at the same time.  It was pretty funny. 

I guess the Lord really wants us to have another child.  I feel very blessed and scared.  Lydia's pregnancy and birth were in a word, traumatic and I was not looking forward to going through that again.  I met with the Dr early and we discussed everything about Lydia's birth and pregnancy.  I left with a great feeling that this one would go better.  She told me that she wouldn't let my weight get that bad (remember I gained 75 pounds, 50 of it was pure water which is dangerous) and then opted to do a c-section since I tore so bad and still don't feel 100% yet.  We both feel very good about this Dr and are excited to be delivering here is Texas.  The hospital we will be at is like a 5 star hotel.  They will feed Gregory, guests, and have a snack room for anyone who visits.  The last night there you get a steak and lobster dinner!  Can we say...heck yeah!  I am also VERY excited about knowing when the baby will be coming, it's scheduled and Gregory will have plenty of time to get enough work off to help me since i will be needing lots of help.  I am also excited about the quicker recovery time I will have with the c-section.  I will take 6 weeks over 15 months ANYDAY! 

Anyway, we are thinking it might be a boy but are hesitant to really say that until we know for sure on Sept 30th.  Either way, I am so excited to have a little baby again.  Lydia is a toddler through and through and I have just started to get baby hungry again.  It's perfect timing for that to kick in.  The c-section will be on Feb 9th.  I am about 15 weeks along now and even though my due date is the 16th, the baby is measuring 5 days ahead of schedule but since it was on the border, they didn't change the official due date. 

We are very excited about this new child coming to our little family.  Lydia doesn't know what's going on yet and she will be 1 month shy of 2 years when the little one is born.  It turns out to be a great difference in age but might be more challenging for the first little while.  No matter what though, it will be a great adventure!

All Hail the Graduate!!

A few weeks ago we had a big party for Kelvin's graduation.  It was fun to get together with family and celebrate such a momentous occasion.  I had enough time that I was actually able to make a cake.  Sometimes I forget how much I really enjoy decorating cakes/cookies.  I really should make more time to do it. We are so proud of you Kelvin!!!  We love you so much and are grateful for all your accomplishments.

Bountiful Basket

I signed up a few weeks ago to do what's called Bountiful Basket.  It's a co-op sharing of local farmers fruits and vegetables so the produce is fresh, good quality, and really good.  I have slowly started a transition to feeding my family fresh, good quality foods.  I have done my research and have not found good things to say about the food industry.  There is a reason that there are so many more diseases on the earth today.  But being a wife and mother, I do know that changes like that don't come quickly.  When I found this co-op, I jumped on it.  I pay about $20 and get a small laundry basket's worth of fresh produce every Saturday morning.  I go pick it up and I don't know what it is that I'm going to get until I get there, but we have noticed a difference in the produce.  It's much better quality, and it's kind of fun to be surprised with my produce every week.  I know that the same company does it in Utah that does it here in Texas so I strongly encourage people to sign up.  You would think that the regular produce you buy in the grocery store would be fine, but if you do a little research you will find that there are chemicals all over them and are NOT washed off.  That means when you eat the produce, you are eating the pesticides that are left.  Pesticides used to be very helpful, but they are just plan dangerous now.  So to get off my soap box I will tell you this.....BUY ORGANIC whenever you can.  You will notice a difference and your body will be grateful.  The changes won't be immediate, but down the road, you might be incredibly grateful you did.

Look at all this beautiful produce!!!