Lydia is 4 Months...

Lydia is 4 months old already!

Typical Stoic Lydie look with big eyes!

Stats: 
Weight- 13lb. 7 oz. (47%)
Height-23.75 in. (33%)
Head circ-  15.75 in. (25%)

Lydia is a growing girl!  She loves to play in her jungle gym and is starting to grab a hold of things- even her big brother.  She is getting very close to rolling over- she rolls to her side and lays on her side often.  She is still wide eyed and very smiley.  Just the other day as Jeremiah jumped around- she broke out into a full belly laugh and giggle- one of her first laughs.  She loves to watch her brother- chew on her blanket or fists.  She still is very stiff and loves to stand- I wonder if she will be a jumper like Jeremiah was as a baby.  Lydie is still in her little bassinet in the living room and is doing better at sleeping through the night.  She goes to bed for the night around 8:30pm in our bedroom and then around 10pm we transfer her to her bed.  Sometimes she wakes up and needs a pacy to go back to sleep.  She is also scooting with her feet and trying to touch her toes.  She is taking 3 naps a day and eating about 6 times a day. That is Lydie in a nutshell at 4 months.

Day 2 Potty Training highlights...

Ok- so this is more for me to remember.  Jeremiah still had a few accidents today but overall he is doing great.  He pooped in the little potty again and has been doing a great job of saying "Mama potty" when he needs to go!  He even woke up from his nap and went to the potty right away and called us just now in bed saying he needed to pee.  We got him out and took him to the potty.  Tonight we were working on him sitting in the big potty and peeing so we can give him practice for when we go out in public places. 
Funny things:  Using the baby doll we have and Jeremiah calling it cousin "Anna" and saying Anna pee.
Jeremiah pooping in his potty and saying - Big, big pile

Then & Now...

Jeremiah Then...  (3 months)

Jeremiah Now... 2 years- a potty training big boy!

 Now Lydie at 4 months in her basket of animals....

Love this face- captures her blowing with her lips lately!

Potty Training Boot Camp!

This morning was our first morning of Boot Camp Potty Training!  To be honest, I was so nervous the whole week before and weekend as I read and studied and asked people's tips and opinions about potty training and than today we woke up and began!  One of my first fears was that he would have a meltdown over the underwear as he hates trying on new shoes and often complains things hurt him- I guess his skin is sensitive.  We took a quick walk this morning and put Lydia down for her morning nap and begun our training at 8:30am.  I used the book Toilet Training In Less Than A Day by Azrin and Foxx and was so intimidated by teaching this skill.  So many questions.  After 5 hours of training before naptime- Jeremiah peed on the toilet many times- we began first by sitting on the toilet and reading books for almost a half hour until he peed.  He got lots of M & Ms- loves to point out the colors of each one he eats- and lots of watered down apple juice.  We did go through about 7 pairs of underwear meaning he had about 7 accidents- but those were great training grounds right?  After about 4 hours, he was telling me he had to go and running to the pot.  At about 1pm- he ran to me and said "Mama" and ran to the pot and behold he pooped on the pot!  I was quite shocked as I thought this skill would take days to learn!  Praise the Lord- we have seen much progress already today and Jeremiah is such a big boy!!!  Thanks to Amy S. for letting us use your pot. :)  Jeremiah has been talking all morning that Jack is a big boy and goes to the potty and he is using Jack's potty- good motivator! :)  And thanks to all my mom friends who I have been bugging for a few weeks for tips on this huge milestone- for the mom and the child!  :) 

Reading Time

Jeremiah giving Lydie a book to read.  She hates tummy time so we are trying to work on it for her 4 month appt. this Friday.  Lately, Jeremiah just loves flipping her over on her tummy and then she screams.  I thought she might have rolled over this week but it could have been Jeremiah flipping her once again. 

Parks

 A few weeks ago, we went to a park along the river, Fernbank Park.  We really enjoyed our stroll along the river and the beautiful day.  We left Jman with my mom as she was here for a week the beginning of June and we took a date night out with Lydie to the park and then tried a new ice cream spot- the Zip Dip- I think it will be one of my favorites!

Nursery Craziness

Last Sunday in the nursery was a little crazy!  We had lots of kids and not too many workers.  At one point, I had 3 babies including my own lined up in the swings side by side rocking- a little crawler got stuck in the kids bathroom and was crying and I kept thinking- why is someone trying to go potty and crying.  And chaos and fighting abounded.  So I am not quite ready for 20 plus kids- oh my!  The nursery is on of the most needy areas for ministry in any church!  I am always sure to thank the nursery workers each time I drop off my very active two year old!

 Lydie and cousin Anna in the swing- Lydie wide awake- Anna fast asleep.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day (actually tom.) to an amazing hubby!  I am so thankful that he is not only an amazing husband but an amazing Dad too!  Jeremiah loves to play choo-choos all the time with him!  He wrestles with Jeremiah (until he hurt his back) and takes time for his kiddos even in the midst of a busy schedule of juggling many jobs, a Ph.D. program and the many other things he does to support our family!  And Lydia loves to watch the boys play right now. :)  Some day she says- she will get in on the fun.  Thanks for all you do for us honey!  You do a great job of leading our family and being intentional with each of the kiddos esp. a very busy boy that just wants to play all the time!  Love, Your Family :)

And to my Dad who is across the ocean in the Philippines on a trip- Happy Father's Day to you too!  We are so thankful for how you are a model and example to us of a man who loves the Lord and faithfully follows Him!!  I am so thankful for your passion for the Lord and your desire to follow Him- you have definitely made a huge impact in my life!  Love you Dad! 

Visits

Jeremiah has been adjusting this week- it only took the first few days as he was in withdrawal from so much attention from his Mom-Mom and Aunt Rache and Uncle Mike.  Mom brought relief and rest for me as I was able to get out a few times without the kids- so much easier.  Aunt Rache brought crafts and water squirters. 

 We had fun just hanging out and going to water parks.  Jeremiah loved all the attention and so this week is boot camp again. 

A boy and his turtle...

Jeremiah is getting quite an imagination.  His favorites lately- his stuffed animals, esp. the turtles!  He has even been known to take his turtles to sit on the potty- I guess he is getting closer to potty training. :)  On our walks lately, he loves to run ahead pretending he is a police car with the siren blaring!  Love the imaginations of little kids!

Michigan Trip

 Memorial Weekend, we visited Joseph and Amber Proctor in St. Joseph Michigan.  Joseph and Michael were roommates in college and good buddies.  They flew all the way from Dallas to visit his family and  the Mom & Dad Proctor were gracious enough to let us come and invade their living space.  We had so much fun seeing the kids interact.  Jeremiah still talks about little Elijah.  Martha made us these amazing meals all gluten free and we walked through her beautiful gardens and flowers!  She is truly so hospitable and we felt very well loved.  It was fun to get to know Amber too- we went to their wedding right before we moved to Cincinnati a few years ago.  We were also thankful the kids did so well on the road trip- 5 hours in the car and they seemed to do pretty well- Lydia slept most of the time and Jeremiah read books, ate snacks and I did a puppet show for him at one point.

 The boys both have blankies that they chew in their mouths-we thought that was so funny!  This was the closest picture we had of them both chewing on them.  The morning we left- we went down to the beach to let Jeremiah play on the playground and to see the lighthouse and the Lake Michigan water. 

Flashbacks from Last Year...

 We are missing Israel this week!!!  And thankful for all God has done in this past year- even the little blessing of little Lydie since we got back.  My mom has been here since Tuesday and will be here for the week and my sister and her husband arrive today- we are enjoying time with family and I am trying to take some time to rest and get a few breaks which are a huge blessing after a busy semester.  The main reason Mike & Rache are coming- to take in a Reds game- we are leaving the kids with mom and going to a Reds game tom. evening- Mike is a HUGE baseball player so it will be fun to have him at the game! 

Looking Back...

It is hard to believe that last year at this time we were flying across the big blue to Israel!  My how a year has flown and Jeremiah is much bigger now than a year ago when we slept on my lap in an airplane all night across the ocean.  This month we are reflecting on our trip last year and thanking God for the amazing opportunity He gave us to go to Israel!!