A new life has begun...

A new chapter...

2011-04-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for over a year...and boy what a year it's been!! Lydia turned 3 in July and continues to amaze me every day. However I'd like to personally inflict harm and the person who dubbed the phrase "terrible 2's"...they've got nothing on 3!!! However challenging she may be she is the brightest light in my life. In September she started preschool at First Lutheran and she loves it. She always has fun stories to tell and loves talking about her friends. She got to be cinderella for for Halloween and my little princess looked and played the role well. In December my mother in law treated our family to a trip to Disneyland. The week we were there we had 1 day of sunshine and then California decided it was due for some record rainfall! Lydia was totally content jumping in mud puddles and making wishes in every fountain she could find. In January my mother in law treated my mom and I to a trip to Hawaii! We had a wonderful time and it was a trip I will cherish forever. I've been so lucky to live the life I have for the past 3 years and the gift of my amazing little girl.

But Lydia and I are beginning a new chapter in our lives. My marriage is over and it's time for Lydia and I to discover who we are as a family. Right now we are dealing with a lot of sadness and confusion. I love my husband more than words can explain but those things have to work both ways. Right now it's hard...right now we do a lot of crying and I thank the Lord for zanax!! I have the most outstanding family and friends who are there for me. We will get thru this...hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right??

"When we live with resentment toward another our hearts close down. Letting go of our resentment frees us from placing blame on them and allows us to look toward ourself for peace."

Spring pictures

2010-04-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

I took Lydia into Sears today in her Easter outfit to get some "spring time" pictures done...I think they turned out pretty cute!

Spring pictures

2010-04-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

How does this happen?!

2010-03-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here it is, almost April and I've done it again...totally slacked off! I haven't posted a thing since December. I'm going to start with March and work my way back to January...here goes!

MARCH really has been slightly uneventful. We did move...again...hopefully for the last time! My parents bought a new house so we moved into their old house. We are so happy to be back in Mount Vernon. The move has cut tons of time off of Matt's commute and is just minutes from my work. Once we get totally settled and organized I will put some pictures up! Lydia is now four months away from turning 3! Holy smokes! It really hit me just yesterday when we were at her cousin Ava's 3rd Birthday party. Lydia just loves Ava to pieces. They are so cute...they hold hands and give smooches and play really well together. Our Niece, Maya turned 1...can't believe how quickly that went! She is the sweetest, silliest little girl. Happy Birthday Maya Lu...we love you! Another niece, Mallory turned 4! She was just 16 months old when Lydia was born and she is such a sweet little girl. Lydia really looks up to her big cousins Maci & Mallory! We love you 3M's!!!

FEBRUARY...Busy month! We started out the month with a family trip to Ocean Shores. We had a nice, relaxing weekend. We had a little birthday celebration for Matt(he was a party pooper and didn't want anything big). Matt's mom also had a very nice dinner at their house to celebrate. We celebrated his Birthday the right way later in month with a trip to Vegas. We also welcomed a new cousin into the family...Amelia was born February 2!

JANUARY...Started out with family friends at Joel & Angela's. We had a great time visiting, playing cards and this was actually the first time Matt and I got to spend New Years together...he's always worked nights and NYE was mandatory...so that was fun for us! Matt's wonderful parents took us down to Tacoma to the Pt. Defiance zoo to see the Christmas lights. That was so cool! I had never been before and will definitely go again. I got to go down to San Diego for friends wedding. That was a lot of fun! I was child-less and husband-less...that was the first time ever! It was a busy weekend, helping Jen with last minute details, doing a couple cuts and colors the night before, then hair and makeup the day of. She was a beautiful bride and the ceremony/reception were amazing.

There you have it! 3 months in a nut shell! Lydia is her same old silly self. Saying the funniest things and constantly making us laugh. She is a loving, singing, tantrum throwing, smart, beautiful and strong willed little girl and I thank God everyday for giving her to me...I must have done something right in the world to be given such an amazing gift!

Oh, the holidays!

2009-12-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Things have been busy in the Meece household. Several Christmas celebrations, and family functions...we're ready for a relaxing weekend. We had Holiday treats evening at my Grandparents house on tuesday the 22. Before we headed over there we took the 4 cousins to get thier picture taken with Santa. Lydia was so excited to meet him! Her eyes were big and she just seemed enchanted by him! There was a bit of chaos and a little throw up and this is what we came out with...

we got a couple other snapshots too...

Keegan, Lydia, Maya & Addy

On Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Marie's house and did dinner and presents with Nanny's side of the family. Lydia has so much fun with her cousins and just LOVES Joel!

Christmas Morning we woke Lydia up a little after 7am to have her open presents at our house. She was thrilled that Santa came to our house...and ate the cookies and milk she left out!

Then it was off the Nanny & Papa's house. This year instead of matching pj's we all got snuggies! College team ones! We had a delicious breakfast and were all spoiled with wonderful gifts.

After that we were headed to Mamo & Papa's house(oops I forgot my camera). Again, Lydia was spoiled rotten and got so many great new toys and art supplies....including a really cool art tower with 4 stools and storage for crayons, markers, coloring books and clips to hang the artwork! We then went home for naptime and re-grouping. Christmas dinner was at Joel and Angela's. We had a yummy ham dinner and lots of tasty desserts! The day after Christmas we had brunch at SaraLyn's(Matt's sister)and yet another Christmas celebration! Lydia has so much fun with Maci & Mallory...and some day when Marla gets older, Lydia will enjoy her too! They opened presents and played a game and Auntie played castle with Lydia...Santa brought that to Maci & Mallory!!

I got to go to my friend Kirstie's 30th Birthday party and had the opportunity to catch up with old friends...I need to do that more often!!

Lydia got a tutu from Aunt Heather & Uncle Jason for Christmas and it seems to be her new favorite piece of clothing...along with her new dress up outfits!

Family Photos 8/09

2009-12-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

family photos

2009-12-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

Family photos

2009-12-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

pictures from September, October and November

2009-12-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

To blog, or not to blog...that is the question

2009-11-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

So it's been 2 months since I last posted and I'm not quite sure how that happened! I've been debating on whether or not to continue posting on here because basically anything I would post gets put on facebook and I'm not really sure if anyone reads this or not. But after much debate(only with myself)I have decided to keep on going. I started this blog when I was pregnant with Lydia and I don't want to stop now! Now, I get to get you caught up on the last 2 months! So here we go!

September was a busy month. I've been back to work for a month at this time and getting back into the swing of things...balancing child care and work and being a mother & wife. I turned 30(YIKES!!!)! Matt took me out for a nice dinner and had a small party at our house when we were done. We took Lydia to the Children's museum and met up with Matt's sister and her kids for a cousin play date! Our family friend, Holly got married in Bellevue. It was a wonderful ceremony, where my Aunt Tammy and cousin Carolyn were the maid of honor and bridesmaid. Holly is very special to our family and is like an Aunt to me. We are so thrilled for her and Rob and wish them all the best!

October...glad it's over! It was a hard month. Matt's Uncle passed away after fighting ALS for 2 years. Lydia just loved him and after we told her he went to heaven she asked when she was going to get to go to heaven to see Uncle Merlin.
Halloween was fun...a little somber, but I think the kids had a great time. Lydia dressed up as a garden gnome and was so adorable! Keegan was a doctor, Addison was Thumbelina and Maya was a flower! We tried to get a picture with all the kids but weren't very successful! lol! We took the kids to the grandparents houses and then headed to the mall to trick or treat and promptly left! It was insane! There was a solid line of people walking through the whole mall...probably would have taken us a good 2 hours to get through! So we headed over to my in-laws and posted up there for the rest of the night. Marg had a wonderful spread of food...baked apples, cookies on a stick, hot apple cider, goody bags for the kids and so much more! They were a popular house due to the full sized candy bars they were handing out! Lydia got to go to Chucky Cheese for the first time for her cousin Blaine's birthday party and she was a big fan! She especially loved the "bob the builder" toys! Lydia also moved into her big girl bed full time! I took her crib down this weekend and it was kind of hard! Can't believe how time flies!

Now we're practically through November...where does the time go?!? My sister-in-law Angela, my mom and Grandma took Lydia and Addy to Disney on Ice. That was an experience! If I ever take Lydia again, we will get there 5 minutes before it starts and go directly to our seats! We got there an hour early to go to the Princess meet and greet...what a JOKE! They hoard you all into this tiny corner, while making you walk past all of the vendors...driving your child insane because she can't have the $20 flashlight or the $12 cotton candy!!! The Princess walked onto a stage and waved for a couple minutes and that was it!! My little angel had a total and complete MELT DOWN! We're talking threw herself on the floor kicking and screaming...yelling in this horribly scary voice, and just causing a huge scene...bringing me to tears! Oh ya...GOOD TIMES!! Once we got to our seats and she was able to eat her snow cone(with out help)and wait for the show to start, we were OK! They loved the show! My mom bought both of the girls Tinkerbell outfits to wear to it and they were pretty darn cute. I sadly didn't get any good pictures due to my child's behavioral issues! lol!

I have always heard the expression, "kids say the darnedest things". Well until my child started speaking I never really fully understood the meaning! I should do a weekly post called "my child said what?!?". Here are a few examples...and it's not that she says offensive things, sometimes it's super silly, sometimes so smart...just baffles me!
While in the car Lydia points to a church and says, "look at that castle"! I tell her it's not a castle its a church. She tells me that's where we talk to Jesus. I'm like, "you're right Lydia!...do you know where Jesus is?". She says we need to find him! I ask her if he's in her heart...she says nope. I asked if he's in her mind...nope! I tell her I think he is everywhere! She thinks for a minute and tells me she thinks he is in a bad at Nanny and Papa's house!!!(they have a "little people" nativity that is kept in a bag that she plays with).
Just last week we were in the car and I got cut off...I said "I can't believe that guy just cut me off!", Lydia says "it just makes me sick Mommy'!! lol!
One day she brought me her cup of water and said "here mommy...you can have my water, its not good for me. I NEED apple juice for healthy bones"! I have decided to start an AA group for kids...Apple-juice-drinker anonymous!! Sheesh!!!

We are preparing for Thanksgiving this week and remembering the things and people we are thankful for. We have wonderful friends and family and blessings in our life, and although things aren't perfect...you don't have to look very far to realize that we don't have it that bad. I love my husband more today than yesterday...I have an amazing daughter who brings joy into my life and tears to my eyes...and the most fantastic support system. I am THANKFUL!

For some reason I can't upload my pictures right now...I will try again later!

trips to costco & 2 year check up

2009-09-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

So I took Lydia to Costco the other day to grab a few items and it turned into the "Lydia show". It never fails, no matter where we are people are always stopping to talk to Lydia. So this older woman, who Lydia kept calling "grandma Lois"(my step-dads mom) was talking to Lydia when all of a sudden she says "hey, you're old and I'm young!". Good thing the woman had a sense of humor, she said "you're exactly right!". Feeling a little embarrassed about that we continued shopping when a woman, probably in her 90's came over to talk to Lydia...this woman had an eye patch(can you see where this is going???)...Lydia says "Look mommy...a PIRATE!!!!" Then starts yelling "ARGH MATEY!!!", over and over again. I don't think the woman knew quit how to respond, and I kept talking over Lydia and walked away. So as if that weren't enough...we get to the check out line and the man who was our checker was black...Lydia says to him, "why are you purple?"...I think my jaw hit the floor. He handled it very well and said, "I'm not, I'm black". She was just like "oh...okay". The woman who was boxing up our groceries asked Lydia if she liked to sing and boy does she ever. She started singing old McDonald had a farm and as she was singing she pointed to all the people in line saying "you sing, you sing..." and soon the whole line and workers around us were singing Old Mcdonald had a farm and after each very they would let Lydia pick a new animal! Oh boy...you'd think maybe one of those things might happen in a trip, but ALL OF THEM?!?! SHeesh...we are in for it!!

Lydia had her 2 year check up today and everything went great. She weighs 31 lbs and is 3 feet tall. He height is in the high 90's percentile and weight is in the mid 80's. The doctor and her staff were all very impressed with her vocabulary!

I'm such a slacker!!!

2009-08-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

So it's been a month now since I last posted anything...you'd think I've been busy or something! August has by far been the busiest month of the summer with either a wedding every weekend, or a wedding festivity(shower/bachelorette party). So we'll start with Liz's wedding. Liz is one of my oldest and dearest friends. She was a GORGEOUS bride. They had a lovely ceremony and a super fun reception.

Then Matt's sister and her family came over for a belated birthday celebration with Lydia. SaraLyn made adorable cupcakes and the really spoiled Lydia!

Then it was off to Cassie's bachelorette party. We had a night out in Bellingham. Kelli and I realized we are WAY to old to hang like we used to! Out at the clubs we felt like we were at a high school dance! As the chaperone's!! lol! But Cassie had a good time(from what she remembers!). Pole dancing and lap dancing lessons, martinis, a very nice dinner then out to the clubs.

Cassie's wedding was last weekend but I forgot my camera. She looked amazing and the location was breath taking. I ended up at the Canadian border after taking a few wrong turns! But I made it home after a 40 minute detour!
Friday night we all got together at my mom and Mike's for a bbq. Joel was working on the ambulance so him and Isle came down the bbq and let the kids play on the ambulance. They got to put the head sets on, sit in the drivers seat, walk all around the back and Uncle Joel even put the lights on!

Princess Party

2009-07-29T11:49:00.001-07:00

On Sunday we had about 40 friends and family over to help us celebrated Lydia's 2nd Birthday. We had great weather and all the kids(and some of the adults) enjoyed the pools and sprinkler. We had great food, wonderful company and a little bit of a cranky 2 year old. The heat combined with being a little overwhelmed made Lydia a tad irritable, but we made it through the day.

Happy Birthday Lydia & Nanny

2009-07-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

This morning when Lydia woke up I came into her room snapping pictures and singing "Happy Birthday"...she was less than thrilled in the beginning but by the time I was done dancing and singing around her room she was being silly with me.
She got several phone calls from friends and family and she got to wish her birthday buddy(her Nanny)a happy day too! We had family over tonight to celebrate Marg's birthday...Lydia's big Princess Party will be on sunday. Lydia got to open a few presents and nanny brought a special cupcake for her.

Dear Lydia

2009-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe you made your entrance into this word 2 years ago, today. You have brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. Your Daddy and I can remember feeling anxious, scared, excited and overwhelmed as we were being taken into the operating room but as soon as we saw our beautiful baby girl it was all over for us! Love at first sight! You amaze us over and over again. You are God's greatest gift.

You crack me up how you make me knock on the door in the morning before I get you out of bed..."who is it?" you ask..I say "mommy" and then you say "come in"! You then immediately tell me "get me outta here". It's impossible to be in a bad mood around you. I love how you say "please" and "thank you". You just learned that green means go and red means stop and you tell me that at every light we go through. You laugh when the big kids laugh...not always knowing why, but understanding the time is appropriate. You fake sneeze when you get in trouble or are upset, just so we'll tell you "bless you". You announce to us "I'm okay" when you fall down. You love to bounce and run. You melt you're daddy's heart when he comes home from work and you tell him you missed him. You have a steal trap memory. You have a twinkle in your eye, a little mischief in your laugh and smile that will light up the room.

Lydia, you make life fun and exciting. You make me a better woman every day. Daddy and I love you around the whole world and back again! Happy Birthday little miss!

Mommy

Lucy's 1st b-day!!

2009-07-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Lydia and I picked up Bill & Kelli and headed down to Covington to celebrate Miss Lucy's 1st birthday. It was SO hot out! Lydia had a great time playing with all of the kids and she really enjoyed the put the bee on the flower game. She told me this am, "I wanna play a game, Mommy" so I asked he which one and she said the "bee" game! After Lucy's party we celebrated her mommy's Birthday...what fun!

q-tips, pennies, poop and work

2009-07-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy busy busy for the Meece family in the last couple weeks. We're still working on getting settled into our new home, but now we HAVE to be done by a certain date because we're having Lydia's birthday party here...so it's crunch time! Speaking of Lydia, she is certainly becoming what I would expect a typical 2 year to be. On Father's day she was playing in her playroom(Which we put a gate in front of the door so A)she's not going up and down the stairs and B)she's not throwing toys down the stairs)well she was playing really well and being super quiet. Next thing I know she's downstairs...I asked Matt if he put the gate up and he said yes. My next thought was "are all of the doors closed?"...NOPE! Well the gate was just propped against the door(it's a tension gate)so naturally she just pushed it open. Our bedroom door was open(OH CRAP!)!! Almost a whole box of q-tips had been put in the toilet and then onto the floor, my clinique foundation and moisturizer were in the toilet alond with miscellaneous hair clips and stuffed animals! There was also a glass of water on my side of the bed that she dumped...on my side!(Matt went to take a nap and called me to ask me if I had peed the bed!!) lol!

Lydia noticed me putting some change in my pocket the other day so her new obsession is to have change in her pocket. So as a reward for not putting the coins in her mouth I let her have a couple pennies to put in her pocket...as soon as she takes them out or plays with them I take them away(PLEASE DON'T CALL CPS ON ME!?). So she had 2 pennies in her pocket on Saturday and I noticed her playing with them so I asked her to give them to me. She ran away from me and put them in her mouth. I calmly walked towards her so she wouldn't run with them and as soon as I got to her *GULP* she swallowed both of them! So after 3 days and 1 trip to the ER...
We have pennies! Poor thing was probable so confused as to why Matt was so excited when she told him she was pooping!! lol! We should nickname her "coinstar"!

And lastly...I have decided to go back to working in a salon. A friend of mine(I used to babysit!!)just opened a new salon in Mount Vernon and has invited me to come work with her. It's an opportunity I couldn't pass up and I'm really excited about it. So come check us out at ESCAPE salon 360-428-8315...I start the week of July 13th.

Chocolate...bubbles and sleeping babies!

2009-06-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

So my mother-in law recently introduced Lydia to push-pops and it was love at first bite! I'm sure more of it ends up on her then in her tummy, but she enjoys every minute of it!

Last night we had my family over for dinner. After the kids played outside for a while we put them in the tub...Addy, Lydia and Keegan(Maya just observed). They were playing and splashing and having a good time, and then I put the jets on and WOW did we have bubbles!! Keegan wasn't so sure about having a bath with the bigger kids so he got out and watched. Lydia and Addy had so much fun being covered with bubbles and making bubble beards and dumping bubbles on each others heads!

Little Maya was so sleepy that she fell asleep on the couch and Angela got some super cute pictures of her!

Keegan's 1st Birthday

2009-06-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we celebrated our nephew Keegan's first birthday. Heather and Jason have a great back yard and the kids had a blast running around, playing in the sand box and swimming in the pool. Keegan got a wagon and at the end of the party all the kids enjoyed rides in it down the hill(Lydia was calling it a mountain).

Holy hot weather!!

2009-06-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Wow has it been beautiful weather around here. Lydia has LOVED playing in her sandbox and having a backyard to spend time in. Yesterday I set up the sprinkler and let her run through it in her diaper... she discovered that if she ran through the sprinkler then played in the sandbox the sand would stick to her! She was so dirty!

Life has been a tad crazy for us the last couple weeks with moving and me starting a job but I think we're finally starting to get into a routine. On tuesday we were getting new carpet and our new furniture was being delivered. I work on tuesdays now so my mother-in-law came to our house to watch Lydia and so someone would be here for the deliveries...well when I left our house was full of boxes, no carpet and no furniture...when I came home it looked like a home! She did laundry, put things away, organized...it was amazing! I really lucked out in the in-law department...they are so good to us!

New house

2009-05-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

For the last 8 months we have been on the hunt for our first house. Out of all the houses I looked at we seriously considered 2 but decided against both. Out of frustration, our search had come to a halt. After hearing about the $8000 tax credit being offered to first time home buyers I re-opened the proverbial can of worms and started looking again. Well I didn't have to look very far! A good friend of mine mentioned that his parents were looking to sell/lease/rent a property that they had bought for a family member whom no longer lived there. After a couple meetings(one being a yummy dinner at Il Granio), we came to a VERY generous conclusion and now we have a house!!!! We are so excited to make it our own. It's 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1700 sq. ft, a nice fenced back yard with a great play area for Lydia. We feel so blessed and are amazed at the kindness they have shown us! Here are a few pictures...look for "after" pictures soon!

Photo Contest

2009-05-04T15:58:00.001-07:00

So I decided to put 4 photos in a local contest. I posted a link for one of them, if you would like to vote, go to goskagit.com then tulip picture contest and search for Bridget Meece. You have to take a few minutes and register...but I'd sure appreciate it!

A trip to the tulip fields

2009-04-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Heather, Angela and I took all 4 kids out to the tulip fields yesterday hoping to get some good shots! Lydia was super cranky due to some new teeth coming in so I was a little bummed I didn't get very many pictures. I've really been into taking pictures now that I have a nice camera and I've enjoyed playing with the colors and effects...

Anniversary & Street Fair

2009-04-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Matt & I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. We spent friday night at the Chrysalis in Bellingham. When we got to our room it was beautifully decorated with rose petals and flowers, sparkling cider, choclates, bubble bath & chocolate dipped strawberries! Our wonderful friend Ronna made all of that happen.

We had a delicious dinner at the Harborside in the Bellwether hotel. We had pan fried oysters for an appetizer, Matt had the ribeye steak and I had this amazing seafood pasta! Ronna was eating dinner in the lounge(her roommate is the executive chef there)and we were going to meet her in there for dessert. When we got our bill there was a card in there from Ronna...she paid for our dinner!! The chef(Rob) brought us out an amazing dessert, fallen chocolate cake...yum! After we visited for a while, Rob went back into the kitchen and made a wonderful brie platter with this yummy sauce and cracker and apple slices! They were so good to us and we can never thank Ronna enough for being so kind to us!

Saturday after we got home Lydia and I headed to my moms house to meet up with Mamo, Angela, Addison & Maya. We walked from Mamo's house to the street fair where we met Jason, Heather & Keegan. We walked through the entire fair and enjoyed looking at all the goodies...and really like the ice cream! Lydia and Addy thought it was pretty cool that they could hold hand while sitting in the strollers!

How time flies

2009-04-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking alot lately about how much Lydia has changed in the last year and I've been wanting to blog about my feelings but I just haven't gotten around to it. Yesterday I looked at my friend Megan's family blog and she always does such a great job writing about her memories and milestones...so here I am, INSPIRED!
Lydia is a JOY...plain and simple. She has the gift of gab, which apparently she got from me(I don't know where anyone got that idea! lol). She has so many wonderful personality traits...for example, awesome comedic timing(Matt & I are both goof balls so Lydia is destined to be a class clown!). She has a great throwing arm, especially when it comes to her cup, or food...is softball in her future?! She is a master at unfolding freshly folded laundry(it's really a fun game!). Her laugh brings tears to my eyes, her smile melts my heart. I love the way she says "we're home" when we pull in to our parking spot. She hugs herself when she says "please". She greets me in 3 languages(English, Spanish and Chinese)...that's right, we've got a genius on our hands!! She calls stars "twinkle". Her glow worm is known as "friend", and she has to have it to sleep. When she wakes up in the night she pushes friend to make it sing and it soothes her back to sleep. I love how she plays coy with people, like we really believe she's shy & reserved! The girl loves her Daddy! Lydia is becoming a little bookworm(she comes by it naturally), and I love it when she grabs and book and says "read it". When someone knocks on the door she says "come in"! Whenever I ask her where someone is...she either says "on an airplane" or "out the window". She LOVES running!

This time last year is when she started crawling...at Joel & Angela's house on Easter to be exact.
this year on Easter and last year...WOW!

I love when she meets new people how she clings to me and says "mommy", as if she's introducing me! She enjoys listing her family member too, and sometimes in the morning when she wakes up I can hear her over the monitor and it sounds like this "Mamo, Papa, Nanny, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, Ang, Addy, Maya, Uncle, Heder(heather), Teetan(Keegan)"...then she finishes off by yelling "MOMMY, DADDY!!!". She is stubborn...Matt says she comes by it naturally, "who me?!".

This weekend is our 1 year anniversary...CRAZY how fast that year went! There are no words to express how happy Matt makes me and how much he & Lydia complete my life! Matt has the ability to make me laugh on a daily basis. He has shown me how love is supposed to feel. They have both taught me patience and understanding.

I am beyond blessed with an amazing family and fantastic friends! Here's to another great year!

Spring Carnival

2009-04-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Marg(my mother-in-law)invited us to the Spring Carnival at Trinity Lutheran. Lydia got to do a cupcake walk, scoop duckies out of the water and go fishing! She even got to participate in an Easter Egg hunt! The eggs were filled with candy and on the way home she got to eat a few pieces...she kept saying "mmmmm...CANDY"! It was pretty funny! Thanks Marg for inviting us!

*I didn't get very many good pictures...I realized half way through that my camera was on manual focus instead of auto focus!! BUMMER!

Some silly pictures

2009-04-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

The other day Lydia picked up my camera, brought it to me and said "cheese"! I can take a hint! So we had a little photo shoot...and boy was she silly! She kept making these big dramatic gestures and scrunching up her face in these silly smiles. Enjoy!

It's Final!!

2009-04-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

Today is a great day! A group of us gathered at the courthouse in Mount Vernon to witness Maya's adoption be finalized! Hon. Judge John Meyer proceeded which was special because he's been friends with our family for years, as well as a member of our church. He made it special and was sure add what lucky little girls Addison and Maya were to be a part of our family...I think we're the lucky ones!

Dinner at Joel & Angela's

2009-04-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

We had a nice BBQ with Joel & Angela last weekend. The girls love each other so much and play pretty well together! There is always the occasional "MINE", or toy taken away, but all in all they do great together! After Dinner, the Dad's gave the girls a bath which they enjoyed. After they got their pj's on they were so silly! Running around the kitchen and down the hallway where they would say "on you mark, get set, GO"! Then they'd run around the kitchen again and back down the hall...all while laughing hysterically!

Ava's 2nd Birthday

2009-03-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed to Bonney Lake to celebrate Ava's 2nd Birthday(Ava's daddy and Lydia's daddy are cousins). There was Sesame Street decorations, stars and swirlys hanging from the ceiling and balloons!! Ava had a really cool birthday cake that looked like presents stacked on top of each other. Lydia had fun playing with Ava's new kitchen and her piano that was just her size. It was a nice afternoon spent with family. Happy Birthday Ava!!!

Play date with Lucy!

2009-03-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

On thursday we were excited about picking Matt up at the airport and getting to spend some time with the Starowski/Cave family! We headed down south around 2:30 with a car FULL to the brim(5 costco sized diaper boxes to be exact)with clothes for Miss Lucy. We enjoyed a nice dinner and had fun watching Kellie go through all of the clothes that Lydia was handing down. Lucy is absolutely adorable and if there is a camera in her presence she lights up! I can't get over how cute she is! Lucy's mom(Kellie)and I have been friends for 16 years now and it's so much fun to have children so close in age...can't wait till they actually intereact with each other! Thank goodness they live so close to the airport. We were able to hang out until Matt called to tell us he had landed then all we had was a 10 minute drive to go get him! When he opened the back to put his bag in Lydia yelled "DADDY"!! It was pretty cute. We are so happy have him home!

What we've been up to...

2009-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

So Matt left last sunday to go to Winona, MN for 12 day training and BOY DO WE MISS HIM!! Lydia is continually saying "Daddy! Where are you?", and "Oh No Daddy!". It's pretty cute. I asked her where Daddy was and she pointed to all the pictures she could see that had Matt in them! I miss him so much and hope this next 6 days go by quickly!

Unfortunately Lydia and I spent the first part of the week sick with a yucky bug! My wonderful Mother in law brought Lydia and I some "get well" presents...I got beautiful red satin pajamas and flowers and a crossword book. Lydia got a super cute sock monkey and a new car to play with...we also got a box of creamsicles(because you always get them when you're sick!).

We've got to spend some time with baby Maya and Aunt Angela & big cousin Addy. We also got invited to dinner at Uncle Jason & Heather's house. Heather made homemade mac'n cheese...yummy!

Please forgive the poor photo quality, they were all taken with my cell phone!
my pretty flowers! Thanks Marg!
Baby Maya...she's so cute and snuggly!

Lydia in the tub.

Meet the newest family member!!

2009-03-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today was an exciting day for our family! Maya Luella Pratt was born around 11am at St. Jo's in Bellingham! She weighed 7.5lbs and is 20in. Our family has grown by 1 every year for the last four years...Addison in 06, Lydia in 07, Keegan in 08 and now Maya in 09! It is going to be so much fun to watch all of our children grow up together and for them to all be so close in age is so cool!

Congrats Joel, Angela & Addison....Maya is so beautiful and such a blessing to our family!

Maya's middle name is Luella, after our Aunt Lu!

Family fun

2009-02-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Today we met up with Auntie SaraLyn, Uncle Eric and cousins Maci & Malorie at the Children's Museum. We had fun doing art and looking at the turtles, but spent most of of time playing in the toddler area. Lydia was happy to see Aunt Angela & cousin Addy show up! What a fun surprise!

Using the potty

2009-02-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we brought home a potty for Lydia. Not that we are in a rush to get her potty trained...she's only 19 monts old. She was pretty excited about so we decided to take off her diaper and put her on it. After a minute or so we took her off and.....

She went peepee!!! YAY! We were shocked!

About an hour went by and she grabbed her diaper and said "poo poo". So I asked her if she wanted to go on the potty and she said "ok" so off we went. The diaper came off and she sat down...POOP!! I did take a picture, but I will spare you all! hehe!

At the park with the family

2009-02-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

On friday Aunt Heather, Uncle Jason, Keegan...Aunt Angela, Uncle Joel, Addy, Lydia and I met up at Lion's park in Mount Vernon. It was so much fun watching the kids play. Won't be long before Keegan is chasing those girls around and playing with them! This was Keegan's first time at the park...I think he enjoyed himself!

Matt's 30th Birthday

2009-02-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

I had to get pictures from Matt's Birthday from my mom...I was so busy with the party that I hardly took any! Thanks Mom!!

some pictures from my mom's camera

2009-02-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

New camera!

2009-02-16T23:08:00.000-08:00

Matt got me the Canon Rebel and I am so excited about it! I can't wait to start taking great pictures...so I took it for a "test run" tonight! We had just finished eating so she was still wearing most of her food, but was just being so darn cute! Then we got a couple bath time pics!

Childrens museum 2 days in a row!

2009-02-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

Lydia got to go to the Children's Museum 2 days in a row this week! Matt and I took her on sunday and she had so much fun! She played for close to 2 hours. She drew a picture, Daddy made her a necklace, she looked at the turtles...she loves this thing that blows air and you put a whiffle ball over it and itholds it in the air. She kept going back to that one! She also really loves the music room!

watching the turtles
loving the music room

drawing a picture
Daddy making Lydia a necklace

playing in the sandbox

Aunt Angela had today off so we went again with her and cousin Addy. The girls had a lot of fun playing in the Sickelsteel Crane...
Lydia loves playing in the huge rice bin! It's this clear plastic container fitted on a table and it's filled with rice. It's got bowls and spoons and measuring cups. Lydia played with that for the majority of the time.

This and that...

2009-02-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

Things are good in our neck of the woods. Matt had a milestone birthday and turned 30 on Monday. We had a big party for him on Sunday. There was a great turn out and we enjoyed a BBQ dinner and birthday cake!

Matt is going on week 2 working at his new job. It's been so awesome to have him working "normal" hours. We never realized what we were missing with him working nights. He seems to be enjoying the job and has been learning a lot. He has to go to Minnesota next month for 2 weeks for training...we're really going to miss him!

Lydia is becoming so expressive...with her facial expressions to the things she says. She said a swear word the other day, making us realize we really need to watch what we say...she's beginning to be like a little parrot! Big oops! She puts her pointer finger up to her mouth and says "hmmm". She is also counting in English and Spanish. Sometimes she mixes them together but still counts in order, like this..."uno, dos, cinco(still leaving out 3 & 4), six, seven, ocho, nine, ten"! She's so smart!

Ocean Shores

2009-02-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend our family went to Ocean Shores and had a great time! We would have loved to have stayed longer. We had a fun time on the beach and playing in the sand, spending time with family and watching the kids play.

Jason & Keegan at the Irish Pub

Heather, Angela & I

The guys having a cigar

Papa & Addy

Lydia had fun running around

big steps over the car tracks

Walking to the beach

Our smart little girl...a drummer maybe?!

2009-01-29T12:42:00.000-08:00

Lydia learns new things every day and amazes us with new words and skills beyond her age.
The other day in the car, Lydia handed me something and I said "thank you" and she said "de nada"! I'm sure it's thanks to...

I was shocked! We've also been working on her counting and she has been counting like this... "1, 2, 5" then yesterday she counted up to ten, leaving 3 & 4 out! She's a genius, right?! :)

She loves music. When we went to the Children's Museum she loved playing the bongo drums! Every time she gets a chance she plays on the drums we have for rockband...maybe she's taking after Uncle Joel and going to be a drummer!

Cold day at the park

2009-01-26T17:22:00.000-08:00

So it was so beautiful today that I thought I'd take Lydia to the park after I ran some errands. We got to lions park and were the only ones there! I was shocked with how nice it was. So I put her hat and gloves on her and off we went to play. She played on the swings and the bouncy duck then she saw the slide...she kept saying "slide, slide". By this time I was beginning to notice how cold it was, but she was having so much fun! She went down the slide a few times so I decided to video tape her going down. She looked like she was going to go head first as I was turning the camera on and I said to her "sit on your bottom please" she flew at me HEAD FIRST and in my attempt to catch she knocked me over! I got it on tape!
After that we got in the car and I was pretty cold...Lydia's cheeks were red, but she had been running around and playing. I looked at the temperature and it was 28 degrees!!! I am a horrible parent!!! But we had fun!

First OREO!

2009-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

Lydia and I went with Mamo and Papa(my mom and mike)to Woodinville today. We had lunch at the Redhook Brewery and visited a couple winery's. With Lydia's lunch she was given a pack of oreos...so after she was done I let her have the first one...it was a hit! You would have thought that child just discovered gold! It was hilarious! Here are a few pictures. After she ate her cookies we got her all cleaned up and she would not stop asking for a cookie...here's a little video!

Andrew's Playroom

2009-01-19T14:28:00.000-08:00

Today Lydia and I, Auntie Heather and cousin Keegan met up with some of my old friends from high school at a this great place in Arlington called Andrew's Playroom. What a great place! It was so much fun to meet everyone's children and watch our kids play together...kind of crazy to think that some of us weren't that much older than our kids are now when we started playing together. We will definitely be going back.
Keegan loves wipes!
fun toy!
BUBBLES!
Keegan loved watching all the big kids! His face would light up when they ran past him!
Kaitlin helping Lydia down the slide
going down on her tummy
Keegan on the roller coaster
Lydia loved the roller coaster!
in the bouncy house

nothing too exciting

2009-01-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Life around here has been the same'ol same. Lydia is growing by leaps and bounds and baffles us everyday. Her vocabulary is increasing and she's beginning to put words together. "Thank you", "hi mommy", "do it"(have no idea where that one came from), "Oh man". This morning while I was laying in bed waking up I heard Lydia over the monitor yelling at me..."mommy...Oh NO"! "mommy...up"! It was pretty funny. She has this sparkling little personality and a laugh could bring you to tears. She has a seriously stubborn side and is very adamant on doing things herself. If i try to feed her(which I don't do too often)because I know something will be messy, she gets so mad and will not eat if she can't do it herself! We've learned that if there were 2 things that she could eat everyday it would be grapes and Popsicles!

Matt started a new job on Wednesday that for now is part-time, but will grow in to full time soon. My amazing husband is now working 7 days a week, while I am still a stay at home mom. I am so thankful for Matt and his devotion to our family and allowing me to stay home and raise our daughter. He is such an fantastic husband, father and partner and I am the luckiest women in the world to have him as my soul mate!

My health has been an issue for the last month or so. X-rays, blood work, ct scans...Crohns was a possibility but ruled out. While I am still in some pain and not quite feeling myself, I am feeling better. I still have more blood work to do and don't know what in the world is wrong with me but we will hopefully have an answer soon!

Be worried when they are quiet...

2009-01-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

So the other day Lydia discovered a drawer that she could open was full of mommy's old cassette tapes(I know...who keeps those?!). I was in the kitchen making dinner and Lydia was being super quiet(mental note...super quiet = trouble), She was sitting in her chair unravelling a tape.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Lydia and Mommy spent the evening at Joel & Angela's with friends and family...dada had to work. We played poker and rockband, the girls played dress up and had a tea party and played lots with Grammy Debbie! All 3 kids, Addison, Lydia and Landon stayed up until midnight! We couldn't believe it! They were such troopers and were so good! We have been getting together at Joel & Angela's to celebrate New Years for several years now, and it's so crazy to see how all of our lives have changed...marriages, babies, engagements...so cool! Here is a picture of Lydia and Landon last year and a picture of them this year...

Lydia...aka Snow White
Addy dressed like a beautiful fairy
enjoying a tea party
Having a popcicle
Landon...so sweet
The girls with Grammy
Jason & Joel showing brotherly love
Auntie Bridget & Keegan
Uncle Joel & Keegan
heather & Keegan
Lydia doing Addy's hair
Keegan just being cute

Before I was a Mom

2008-12-28T22:49:00.000-08:00

I found this on my friend Shelley's blog and thought it was so right on! I stole it from her! Thanks Shelley!!!!

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, I
never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,the joy,the love,the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

New love...popsicles

2008-12-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

Lydia was recently introduced to popsicles and she LOVES them now! She insists on holding them all by herself...she's such a big girl.

Santa picture

2008-12-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

We took the cousins...Addison, Keegan and Lydia to get a picture with santa. Addison went right up to Santa and hugged him and said "I just missed you so much"! It was so cute!! They all did great, no tears!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Uncle Mike reading with Lydia

Loving her new chair from nanny & papa

Lydia in her Christmas dress

Loving her new doll from Wendy & Kindred

Opening a present with Great grandpa
Lydia had a great Christmas! She woke up Christmas morning early(we had to wake her up)and Matt brought her upstairs to see what Santa brought her. He brought her the Rose Petal Cottage! She looked around with sleepy eyes and took it all in and then she said..."ALL RIGHT"!! It was hillarious! She got Dora bubble bath and new jammies and socks, and tons of toys! We went to nanny and Papas house in the morning to open more presents and have Breakfast, then to Uncle Mike & Aunt Jana's house to open more presents! By the time that was over Lydia was ready for a nap and slept for 3 hours! Then we headed to Grammy and papa's house for Christmas dinner. She was such a good girl all day. She even got to spend the night with papa & grammy!

Finding the perfect Christmas Tree

2008-12-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

We went with Matt's parents on Wednesday to the Whidbey tree farm to get our Christmas tree! Last year we got lucky and it was snowing when we went...not this year. Matt had to cover Lydia's ears a few times to block the sounds of the Navy jets flying over-head. We searched and searched for close to an hour...it seemed to be slim pickings this year. Don and Marg found a great tree and cut it down! Matt and I actually saw one in the pre-cut section when we first arrived and ended up taking that one home. Lydia loved watching the machine that shakes the tree to get all the loose stuff off. She got to ride on Matt's shoulders almost the whole time...how fun!

New favorite passtime

2008-12-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

Lydia has discovered that she can get on the furniture...not a big deal if she just sat on it! What she likes to do is jump on it, walk around on it and most of all she like to sit on the coffee & end tables. She also likes to climb up on the chair by the shelf with all of our dvds and knock them onto the floor...fun game!

She also says "cheese" every time you point a camera in her direction! We've been working on her colors and she knows yellow, blue and pink.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours we'd like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
We have so much to be thankful for...our health, our families and friends. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives!

Lydia's surgery went great! We checked in at 7am and were home by 8:30. She never acted like anything ever happened...by the time we got home she was her normal silly self. Let's hope this does the trick and she doesn't have to deal with another pesky ear infection.

Matt and I have been house hunting and looked at one yesterday that we both really liked. It's 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, nice big yard, 2 car garage...it just what we've been looking for!! Here's the "but", the previous owners trashed it! They obviously smoked in the house, which can be sealed with a special paint. They also trashed the carpet. It's at the very top of our price range so updating, such as hard-wood flooring, new appliances, etc...would have to be put on hold. It's a bank foreclosure so we'd have to make an offer by Sunday because it's up for auction. We'll see!!

Enjoy Thanksgiving and those you are spending it with!

Surgery

2008-11-19T11:39:00.001-08:00

Lydia will be having tubes put in her ears on monday. She has had probably 10 ear infections, and has had allergic reactions to pretty much every antibiotic they have put her on. They discovered that her right ear drum is retracted and her hearing is slightly impaired, which they say should be fixed with the tubes. We'll let you know how it all goes!

Just an update

2008-11-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

To say that Lydia is thriving would be an understatement. She is unbelievable! I thought I would let you all in on some of her milestones.
her vocabulary grows on a daily basis.
Mommy
Dada
Papa
Nana
Mamo(grandma)
puppy
cracker
cookie
chicken
ball
book
luv ya
ta-da
uhoh
oh man
no way
thank you
please
Addy
TeeTan(keegan)
night night
bye bye
nummy
dude
wawa(water)
baby
juice
tickle tickle tickle
and the list goes one....
Her motor skills are incredible. She is always trying to take things apart and put them back together again. She has figured out how to get on the furniture now so I'm not sure how we will deal with that situation...she's trying to crawl from the couch across the end table to daddy's chair!! Lydia has a flair for the dramatics and is quick to throw herself on the floor with a fake cry, it's actually quite hilarious! She's doing somersaults(sp?!)now too and loves doing what looks like the "downward dog" yoga position and putting her arms out to the sides and saying "TA-DA"...as if to say look mom no hands!! She has a contagious laugh and a twinkle in her eye. If you tell her to do the "monkey dance" she does this dance where she bounces up and down and giggles then she spins around and falls on the floor! We've also been working on sounds with her...she says a cow says "moo", a dog says "woof", a cat says "meow", a duck says "quack quack" a horse says "neigh" and a bear says "rawr". Whenever she sees a baby in a book she says baby and then she says "awe" and kisses it, it's so sweet.

In short, Lydia is the biggest blessing to Matt and I. We cherish ever second with her. We never knew a love like this existed until we had her. Thank you all for taking the time to read out blog and keep up on our little families happenings!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and bundled the kids up and headed to the pumpkin patch. Mom & Mike, Joel, Angela & Addy, Jason, Heather & Keegan along with Me & Lydia! It was a perfect, crisp fall day. The kids rode the merry go round...played on the big tires, ran around the pumpkins, fed the animals and papa even took Lydia on a train ride!

Texas 08

2008-10-17T21:41:00.001-07:00

So Lydia and I spent 12 awesome days in Ft. Worth, Texas with the de Vega Family. Please enjoy the slideshow!

Pictures with the cousins

2008-10-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Lydia had her pictures taken with her cousins today...exauhsting! But they turned out great. We also had a great trip to Texas and I have a ton of pictures to share but haven't had time to put them up yet...I will get to it this weekenend hopefully!

Finally had her 12 month checkup

2008-09-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

So Lydia finally got her 12 month checkup. They said she's perfect! :)
She weighs just under 26lbs which puts her about the 90th percentile for weight and she is 32 inches tall making her above the 95th percentile for height...her head was above the 100th! lol! The doctor said she looked like she was going to have a chronic ear condition which basically means she's going to need tubes in her ears. Besides that she's doing fantastic and growing like a weed. She's been sleeping about 14 hours a night! She's an absolute joy!

2008-09-16T11:19:00.001-07:00

Summer 08

2008-09-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy summer we've had! We went to a couple family reunions and 1 class reunion. A mariners game and a brewery in Puyallup. We threw a surprise party for "Auntie" Liz and got to eat ice cream cake!! We also went to the closing ceremony for the 3-day breast cancer walk. Grandma Debbie walked a whole 60 miles with cousin Carrie. We are so proud of them! The ceremony was so moving and emotional. There was 3200 walkers and they raised 8.6 million dollars!!!

Lydia's vocabulary is growing every day...this is what she's saying these days
mama
dada
nana
papa
puppy
bubble
thank you(gan goo)
please
no
uh oh
yay
apple
addy(ah ha)
and more....

She's walking all over the place and starting to gain speed! She's fascinated with bathrooms now and it's a job keeping her out of them! Uncle Jason and Aunt Heather got her a Dora bike that she just LOVES...in fact she's sitting on it now watching a show! It makes all kinds of noises and sounds and songs! We can't wait to buy Keegan a drumset!!!

Big girl walking!

2008-08-12T16:56:00.000-07:00

Walking?!

2008-07-27T21:21:00.001-07:00

Lydia took 7 steps all by herself tonight!!

Birthday cake video

2008-07-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Lydia's Birthday Luau!!

2008-07-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

Pooped after a long day and a FUN party!

Ava giving Lydia loves

what a MESS!!!

mmmmm...CAKE!

singing happy birthday

Auntie Heather doing the hula hoop

Our littlest guest, Miss Lucy! We were so happy that she brought her mommy and grandma to the party!

Kellie and Lucy

Tore doing the limbo

Lydia and Addison having a tea party

Lydia and Ava sharing a laugh

Lydia trying to play peek-a-boo

Lydia and her cousin Ava

Well today was the big day! We celebrated along with 40 friends and family and wow did you have a great time! We had a bubble table, a tea party, and limbo & hula hoop contests. Lydia loved all the company and had so much fun!

Lydia is a Year Old!!!

2008-07-24T12:43:00.001-07:00

Well, a whole year has passed and our little girl is on her way to being a full fledged toddler! We'll do a big update next week after her birthday Luau...but here's a few pictures...

11 months old!!

2008-06-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

being silly in the tub

play time

taking a snooze on the couch

Lydia is now 11 months old and oh my word how time flies! She took 2 steps all by herself today...she promptly started clapping! He vocabulary consists of "uh - oh" , "mama", "dada", "baby", "woohoo" and "yay". She's beginning to have some seperation anxiety and while it's flattering, it also breaks my heart! She's got 5 teeth now and just starting grinding them! Not sure how I'm going to deal with that! She loves her Daddy and her face lights up when she see's him. She loves her new baby cousin Keegan...actually she's not really sure what to think of him yet, but I know they will love each other and be great friends!

Keegan Wallis Pratt

2008-06-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Meet the newest member of our family! My brother Jason & sister-in-law Heather welcomed Keegan Wallis Pratt yesterday at 5:38pm via c-section. He weighs 8lbs 1oz. and 19 in. long. He is perfect in every way. We got to witness my brother change a diaper...that was funny, and see the first moments of him bonding with his son.

9 months old and a Wedding!

2008-05-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

I know I've been slacking and I apologize! Life has been a little hectic!
Lydia is almost 10 months old now. She's crawling all over the place. Standing up to everything she can and trying to stand on her own. She's waving "hi" and "bye" and puts her hands up as if she's saying "i don't know", it's pretty cute! We took her to the park for the first time yesterday. She wasn't sure what to think about the grass...she wouldn't crawl in it! Matt pushed her on the swing she even went down the slide.

8 months old

2008-03-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Lydia & Grammy

Our Easter Eggs

Addison in her flower girl dress

In her Easter outfit

Lydia fell asleep while playing!

On Easter,Lydia was eight months old. Big day for her...she started crawling! She is such a silly girl. She's got her second front tooth coming in and EVERYTHING goes in her mouth! She's been battling a bug, but we're hoping she's on the mend.

The wedding is less than a month away and we are getting excited. I had my first bridal shower, and this weekend I have another. Time has just flown by!

7 months old...oh my!

2008-02-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

So silly...

Holding her own bottle...such a big girl!

Showing off her first tooth!!

Little Miss Lydia Vivian is our little ray of sunshine! She never ceases to amaze us. She is so animated and has the silliest facial expressions. She loves sitting up like a big girl, but once in a while that round bottom makes her topple over. She's got a flare for the dramatic...unfortunately she comes by it naturally(Matt, of course). She's quick to give us a good fake cry to get our attention and then quick to smile or laugh when she gets it. She makes everyday enjoyable.

At her 6 month check-up she weiged in at 19.4lbs and was 27 3/4 inches. Making her in the 95% for weight and 97th % for height. She has her first tooth showing and another coming. She's working on this crawling thing, and just today started pushing herself backwards.

She is a delight in every way.

6 months old!!!

2008-01-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

Wow...half of a year has FLOWN by! Lydia is never ceases to amaze us. She's learning new things and displaying new personality triats every day. I think she's working up to crawling. She's rolls onto her tummy and rocks her body back and forth trying to scoot...we'll see! Matt and I just moved to a townhouse in Burlington. It's about 3 times bigger than the apartment we were in and Lydia has her own room now! As soon as we get all set up I will post some pictures. Wedding plans are coming right along. We truely are enjoying life everyday and loving our family time together.

2008-01-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

2008-01-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

12/27/2007

2007-12-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Augusta and Lydia had matching PJs!

Trying to reach the birds that hang down...

Lydia in her new Rainforest Jumper!

We had really nice first Christmas as a family...busy, but very enjoyable. Lydia got spoiled!!! She's starting to have this personality and it's so fun to watch her grow and change. She just started doing this silly panting thing...she sounds like a dog, but it is hilarious! She can also be such a faker...when she coughs, if you talk to her or just give her attention she'll keep fake coughing, and she's mastered the fake cry! She got a jumper from Nanny and Papa(matt's parents)and she LOVES it!! She's eating fruits and veggies now with rice cereal so we are down to 3 bottles a day.

Wedding plans are coming along. A couple of my bridesmaids and I went dress shopping for their dresses and I totally changed my mind on the colors...
I've got my dress and sometime in the next couple weeks we will get the invitations done(i'm making them myself).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2007-12-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

We have been truely blessed this year and have many things to be thankful for. Lydia is the light of our lives and the best gift we could imagine. We hope you all had very happy holiday and that you have as much to be thankful for as we do.

2007-12-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

2007-12-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

4 months old!!

2007-12-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

Out little Lydia is growing so fast! She's 4 months old now and just amazing. She's starting to get this little personality. She weighs just about 16 lbs now and is 26 1/2 inches. She's reaching for things and anything she can get in her mouth she puts there. I'm pretty sure she's teething...drooling like crazy and chews on her hand all the time. She has discovered her feet and toes, and boy those are fun!! Those go in her mouth as well. She talks and laughs and is starting to enjoy a game of "peek-a-boo".

Matt and I decided against the Vegas wedding and are getting married here in Mount Vernon, April 19, 2008. Things are going great.

3 months old

2007-11-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

I know...I've been horrible at keeping this up to date! Lots going on and wonderful things happening! Lydia is fantastic. She is so amazing! She's getting this little personality and she is so sweet. She laughs and coos and talks alot. She's rolling over now from back to stomach and stomach to back. She's also trying to sit up! We had he baptized and had a wonderful gathering with friends and family. Matt and I went to Vegas last week and left Lydia with Nanny and Poppa Don...while it was nice to have the time to ourselves I missed her terribly and couldn't wait to get home and hold her! She got sick for her first time while we were gone...I was so sad, but she's doing great now and is back to her happy self!

Matt proposed on October 26!!! We are getting married in Vegas on March 29!!

I will post more pictures soon...I promise!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-24T11:38:00.001-07:00

2 months

2007-09-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, time has flown by!! Lydia is now 2 months old. She is such a joy and a blessing. From her sweets smiles and cooing, to the way she just fits on my shoulder, I couldn't be happier or more in love. Just sitting here writing about her brings a smile to my face.

2007-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Being a parent is so amazing. Lydia changes every day it seems. I can't take enough pictures or look at her enough. She already has this little personality. She smiles and laughs. I'm going back to work in a couple weeks and am not looking forward to being away from her...we'll see how it goes!!

2007-08-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Lydia is now 5 weeks old. I can't believe how quickly it's gone. She seems to change every day. Looking at pictures from the day she was born and today...what a difference! She is so easy going, loves to be held and we're still working on that whole sleeping at night thing! She's been to 3 family reunions, a Great Grandpa's 89th birthday party, her Nanny's retirement party, a couple bbq's and will be going to her first bachelorette party this weekend!

My how they change...

2007-08-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

So Lydia is not even 3 weeks old and she has changed so much already. She really is a good baby and a good little eater! She's been to two family reunions and will be attending her third today. We're struggling a little with sleeping at night. She likes to keep things interesting and sleep a couple hours then up for an hour, then sleep for 4 hours...last night she was up at 1 and didn't really fall back asleep until almost 5 then she was back up at 7!!! Mom is a little tired! But she is so sweet and is a great snuggler!

She's Here!!!!

2007-08-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

Lydia Vivian Meece was born July 23, 2007 at 10:59 pm. She weighed 8lbs 15.6oz. I started having contractions sunday night and at 3:30am my water broke. After 17 hours of labor and not dialating past 4 I had a c-section. We were in the hospital until thursday and things were going well. I was sore and had some bladder and back pain but didn't really think anything about it. I just figured it was par for the course with a c-section. On Sunday we had a busy day going to church and having some visitors and I started not feeling well. By 7 pm I felt like I had a fever and sure enough I had a tempurature of 103! My mom tookd me to the ER and they admitted me. I had a kidney infection, a bladder infection and an infection in my incision. I was so upset about not being able to be home with Lydia. But she had her dad and granparents taking fantastic care of her. I was in the hospital until wednesday and was so happy to come home!

Lydia had her 10 day check up today and she now weighs 9.5lbs and is 21in and is doing great! She's already been to 1 family reunion and we have another this weekend and another the following weekend!

40 weeks!!!

2007-07-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

How your baby's growing:
It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs in at a little over 7 pounds and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

So here we are...40 weeks! Didn't think I'd make it this far! I've been to the Doctor twice now this week. Tuesday I was still 1 1/2 centimeters but about 40% and he could feel her head. Today I was the same but her head was lower...which would explain the intense pressure I'm feeling. He said she was anterior(face down), which I am thankful for! He's hoping to see me this weekend, but if not I have an appointment on tues and he said we would schedule an induction at that appointment.

39 weeks

2007-07-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Your Baby
She's reached her birth weight (typically between 6 and 9 pounds) and length (18 to 22 inches), and all systems are go! Since only about 5 percent of women give birth on their due date, baby could be making her appearance at any moment. Labor may begin in several ways: mild cramps (the most common scenario), a painless trickle of straw-colored fluid caused by the rupture of the amniotic sac, or a scheduled induction or cesarean section.
If your delivery is scheduled, you'll check into the hospital and either be prepped for a c-section or given prostaglandin gel (to soften the cervix) followed by oxytocin through an intravenous drip. If you're waiting to go into labor naturally and your water has broken or your cramps are growing steadily more painful, call your doctor or midwife for instructions. She'll probably tell you to wait until the contractions are five to eight minutes apart before heading in to the hospital or birthing center. This can take many hours, especially for a first birth, so try to get some sleep, take a walk, or watch a movie--even anything that relaxes and energizes you. Think of yourself as a runner on the eve of her first marathon--a little scared, but even more excited!

I am so ready for her to arrive! Seems as though the membrane stripping didn't work, but my doctor said he could do it again at my next appointment on tuesday. This weather hasn't been fun for me...I'm thankful for Matt's air conditioning!! Now I need to make it through the weekend without going into labor. Addy's 1st birthday is saturday and I plan on being there!

2007-07-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

I just returned from my doctor appointment. I was 1 1/2 centimeters and 30% effaced. He did the membrane stripping which I thought was going to be horrible, but because I was dialted some it was nothing! He could feel her head so she's nice and low. He said if this works I could go into labor tonight or tomorrow. He also is having me tested again for pre-eclampsia(sp?!), because of the swelling in me legs/feet/ankles and I had some protein in my urine. If that comes back positive and I haven't gone in to labor yet, they will be enducing me. So fingers crossed, we'll have a baby by this weekend!!

38 weeks

2007-07-05T23:27:00.001-07:00

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and she's nearly 20 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.

2 weeks and to go and boy am I ready!!! I have an appointment on tuesday...and if she's still in hiding my doctor is going to strip my membranes to try to help move things along. Aside from super swollen feet and ankles and me being totally neurotic...I'm sure driving Matt and my family insane, I'm hanging in there. The heat hasn't been getting to me too badly, thank goodness for A/C!

37 weeks

2007-07-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

How your baby's growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs a little over 6 pounds and measures between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

We had kind of an exciting weekend. Friday morning I woke up around 1am with really bad lower back and leg pain...it continued all through the night and the next morning and I had lost my mucas plug. So I called the doctor and they asked me to come in. They said it could be pre-labor, and they did an exam...she thought the baby might be breech so they did an ultrasound just to be sure and everything was fine...she's in head down position. They told me to push the fluids and get lots and rest, and then she added "Welcome to labor!". So I went home and took a nap, but continued to feel a little worse. Started getting really crampy and having what felt like contractions. I went to my families softball game and felt even worse. Really sick to my stomach and the contraction feeling got worse. I went home and was ordered(by Matt...from California)to call my doctor, who told me to go to the hospital. Angela picked me up and off we went. Sure enough I was having contractions...2-4 minutes apart...then I started throwing up. After an exam the nurse said she could feel the head, my cervix was softening but I wasn't dialated and I had bloody show. I was starting to get dehydrated. They had a hard time finding a vein the do an iv. They pushed some saline through and some anti-nausa medication and around 4am the contractions stopped. I was still dry heaving and feeling pretty ill so they kept me overnight. About 7am I started having small contractions again and I'm still having them, but it sounds like that's just going to be par for the course until I have her. My whole family had this bug last week and I thought I was in the clear, but I guess not! I'm feeling much better today, and I'm so glad she's being a good girl and letting Matt and my Mom get home from vacation before she decides to make an appearance!

36 weeks

2007-06-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

How your baby's growing: Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the creamy substance that covered and protected her skin during its submersion in amniotic fluid. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, which will stay in her bowels until birth. This blackish mixture, called meconium, will become her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery, but if she isn't in the next week, your provider may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying he'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position manually, by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

How your life's changing: While your baby continues to grow and crowd
your internal organs, you may find that you're not as hungry as you were a few weeks ago. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to drop down lower in your pelvis. This dropping — called lightening or engagement — is more likely to happen before labor if this is your first baby. When it does, though, you may feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, making walking increasingly uncomfortable. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs, or as if the baby is going to fall out. (Don't worry, she won't!)

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are a little more frequent now. Be sure to review with your practitioner exactly when and where to call her when you think your labor has started. As a general rule, you should call when you start having regular contractions coming every five minutes for about an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you're not yet 37 weeks and have signs of preterm labor. You should also call without delay if your water breaks (or if you even think you're leaking amniotic fluid), if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, severe headaches, abdominal pain, or changes in your vision.

Even if you're enjoying an uncomplicated pregnancy, it's best to avoid flying during your final month, when you're more likely to go into labor. In fact, many airlines won't let women on board who are due to deliver within seven or sometimes 30 days of the flight.

oh goodness...

2007-06-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Alright...I had a doctors appointment today and finally got the results back from my ultrasound! She is a big baby!! She is in the 98th percentile, so my doctor said he's guessing at delivery she'll be anywhere from 9-11 lbs! Today I measured at 39 weeks, so we'll see what happens. He said that if I were to go into labor anytime from now on that everything would be fine and they wouldn't try to stop it. My mom and Mike are in Mexico and Matt leaves next monday for California...all of them getting back on July 2nd so hopefully she's happy where she's at until at least the 3rd.

35 weeks

2007-06-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Your Baby
She's nearly there! Most 35-week babies weigh 5 pounds or more and rarely experience major complications if born before they officially come to term. You may feel a tingling or numbness in your pelvic region as the extra weight presses on your nerves, as well as increased movement in your upper rib cage where her feet have come to rest in preparation for the head-down journey into the world. Three to four percent of full-term babies never adopt this position, but remain breech (with their heads facing up). If your baby is part of this stubborn minority, you may be at greater risk for a cesarean section. To prevent this, your caregiver may attempt to turn her from the outside using a process called "external version." She'll also do a sonogram to determine the baby's exact position before deciding whether to attempt a vaginal birth.

I still haven't heard anything about my ultrasound. I had to go back this friday and do it again because they erased the results before it was read. I ended up spending a few hours in the hospital that night as well. I hadn't really felt good all day and my lower back was hurting and I felt really crampy. Throughout the day the cramps got a little more painful and were coming and going. So to the birth center I went and sure enough, I was having contractions! First they were 12 minutes apart, then 6 minutes, then 4...all the while the woman in the room next to me was screaming like she was being murdered!! It was not a pleasant sound! I told my mom we could just go...that girl was freaking me out! The nurse was watching the screen as I was having what I considered to be a painful contraction and she says "can you feel that?" "that's a small one". Dear Lord!! That was a small one!! I must be a huge wimp, cause on my pain scale that was like a 6 or 7!!! Anyway, after a few hours the contractions just kind of stopped...they said I was probably dehydrated and I needed to drink more water and get more rest. They also did a test on me that can predict if you're going to go into labor in the next 1-2 weeks and it came back negative...so hopefully I have at least 2 weeks left and everyone will be back from their vacations.

nothing to report

2007-06-12T17:03:00.001-07:00

I still havent heard anything from the doctor. I actually called today...yes I was one of "those" people. They said it might take another day or two.

I truely have the most amazing friends and family.
My sister in law Angela asked me earlier this week if I would be able to watch Addy this past Saturday because she had to work, and my brother was coming home from Florida. I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to spend time with Addy so I said yes.
Late morning, my friend Adele calls and asks what I'm up to...I tell her I'm watching Addison and she asks if her and Christy can bring lunch and come hang out. They come over and visit for a few hours...she's asking me where Angela was and what Joel was up to...and we make plans for Adele to come to my house after I'm done for me to cut her hair. When they leave Adele says to call her as soon as I'm leaving and she will meet me at home. During all this time I'm trying to get a hold of Liz because we were supposed to go to a movie that night and she's not answering and I've talked to Joel a few times who seems to be taking FOREVER to get home from the airport!!
Joel finally gets home and I visit with him a little bit when Angela calls...she says she didn't get a break at work so she was going to get some lunch and then she'd be home. Joel calls her back and says he's going to meet her at Red Robin. I head home. I call Adele to let her know. Then my mom calls to find out when I'm coming home...I tell her I'm on my way. I walk in the door and all the baby shower presents that were taking up the living room were gone!! My mom says "I put some stuff away...come look." My bedroom door opens and there is Angela and Liz and Adele and my grandparents!!! The totally re-did my room to accomadate the baby furniture. They put the crib together, my grandpa made me a new bed, they decorated...it was the most amazing feeling...it is so beautiful!!
They had been planning this for weeks...it's funny because when I look back now I can remember things that might have made me question, but they were good! I even drove by all of their cars parked at the Christian School on my way home! This was my sister in laws idea and I can't thank her enough for loving and caring about me and my baby to want to do something that like that for us. The room is now ready for her and it's such a huge weight off of my shoulders. I feel prepared now so whenever she decides to make an appearance I'm ready!

34 weeks

2007-06-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Her central nervous system is still maturing, but her lungs are well developed now. That's great news in case she decides to come early. If you've been nervous about going into preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.

You may be feeling a little fatigued lately, and that's perfectly understandable. Let yourself slow down and save some energy for labor day. If you have to spend a lot of time on your feet, try wearing a maternity belt that supports your abdomen and helps redistribute some of the weight. And if you've been sitting or lying down for a long time, don't jump up too quickly. Blood can pool in your feet and legs, which may cause a temporary (but rapid) drop in your blood pressure and make you feel dizzy when you get up.

ultrasound update

2007-06-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had an ultrasound today...the technician can't give too much information because the radiologist has to read it, but from what we could see her head is really low and the tech said that she was "very generous" in size! Oh man! We got a couple of good pictures that I will try to get on here soon, and we got to see her yawn! It was so cute!

Hopefully I will know more on monday!