Two Teeth and Time for Solids!

The video does a pretty good job at depicting Lydia's initial response to solids. I really can't blame her since the 'healthy and organic' veggie puffs that I gave her really do smell like fish food. My bad! Despite her grimace and obvious dislike for the flavor and texture of her new snack, she still manages to swallow. What a trooper!

Hokie Pokie Elmo

Aunt Aubrey gave Lydia a special toy for Christmas this year. As fun as her hokie pokie Elmo is, Austin and I are afraid that Lydia likes it a little too much. She's already figured out how to turn it on all by herself, a discovery that we're not terribly excited about. The darling neighbor girls love Elmo and dance with him, which makes Lydia laugh. Super cute - but a person can only handle so much Elmo in one day. I let Lydia play with him for about 10 minutes a day and then I tuck him away in a place where she won't find him. We'll see how long this ingenious solution lasts. She gets more mobile and determined every day!

Rolling Practice

Sometimes Lydia sounds like a baby raptor!  (A very cute raptor).

Crabby Baby in Exersaucer

It's definitely time for a nap!

Teething, Rolling, Sitting, and Crawling

This has been a very eventful couple of weeks in our household.  Lydia is changing so rapidly that Austin and I have a hard time keeping up with her.  This past Monday her second pearly nugget of a tooth finally popped through and ended the teething misery that we've all been enduring for what seems like forever.  In the absence of the runny nose and sleepless nights, Lydia (and I) have been thriving.  Her latest accomplishments include rolling around the apartment, sitting all by herself, and the big one...CRAWLING!!!  I'll be honest, this new development kinda scares me a little.  It is time to baby  proof like crazy.  Lydia is very proud of herself and enjoys being able to maneuver her way through our apartment.  She is a little explorer and is always after water bottles, cellphones, and tags.

Lydia is our social bug and loves being around people as much as possible.  I was very nervous trying out the daycare at the gym, but she immediately started smiling, babbling, and making friends as soon as I brought her in.  She hardly noticed my absence and the daycare manager didn't want me to take her home when I came to get her!  With my new calling in the nursery, Lydia enjoys spending time observing the older kids.  Her wide curious eyes reveal that she's trying so hard to make sense of everyone and everything around her.  As long as we're out and about, surrounded by people, and things are happening, Lydia is a very happy little baby.

It's so exciting to see how much Lydia's personality is developing as she continues to grow and learn.  I didn't expect this all to happen so fast!  Seeing her grow up is so much fun, but a part of me wishes that she could remain my sweet little baby forever.

Come on Lydia, you can do it!

Gerber Baby

There and Back Again!

Soon after Austin and I got married we decided to read The Hobbit together.  Austin is a big Tolkien fan and somewhat of a nerd when it comes to the history of elves and Middle Earth.  He's read the entire works of Tolkien some 13 times now and is probably overqualified to teach a Tolkien class at any community college.  Wanting to share his love for Tolkien with me, he convinced me to embark on an epic journey through The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and most recently - The Silmarillion.  Needless to say, I believe I have now had enough exposure to consider myself a true Tolkien fan.  His ability to create a world complete with a thorough history, epic stories, and rich cultures is simply astounding.  It is amazing to me that Tolkien could create something so inexplicably beautiful.  Every night after scripture study Austin and I escape to Middle Earth.  It will be a sad day when we finish The Silmarillion.  My life will feel so empty without Tolkien, I guess we'll have to move on to Sherlock Holmes or some other fantastic work of literature.


Austin got "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy on bluray for Christmas this year.  To celebrate after we finished reading the books together, we decided to watch the show and be nerds by dressing up as Frodo and Arwyn.  Lydia got to be "the first of strawberries and cream" (her costume also happened to be pjs and it was her bedtime).

Oh dear, ya know the blade glows blue when orcs are close!

Lydia's First Christmas!

I had never been so excited for Christmas than I was this year knowing that I'd get to share it with my own sweet baby! For some reason, Christmas feels different when you are a parent.  All of a sudden you are way more concerned about making the season special for your child than you are about counting the presents with your name on them under the tree.  It is a magical time of the year when the world lights up - and boy does Lydia love looking at the lights!  The sparkling ornaments on the tree, the soothing Christmas tunes, and the special family traditions took on a whole new meaning when I got to share them with Lydia.

  This year we spent Christmas with Austin's family.  Lydia's Grandma and Grandpa Burdge felt like they were in heaven having their entire family together with their new precious granddaughter.  The Burdge family has many special Christmas traditions, which were a lot of fun to be a part of!  Every evening during December, the entire family would gather together to read a Christmas story and scripture, sing a carol, say a prayer, do the advent calandars, and grab a piece of candy from the train moving beneath the tree.  Even the puppy Zoey would run around with the train and snatch her doggy treat when it was time.  I couldn't tell if Lydia was more entranced by the train or the puppy. 

 On Christmas Eve, the Burdge family had the sister missionaries over along with Joni's parents, Uncle Scott, and Aunt Sarah's family for a special clam chowder dinner.  After relaxing and eating this delectable meal, the family gathered around the piano to sing almost every Christmas song we could think of.  Afterward, the family went driving around the neighborhood to view all of the beautiful Christmas lights.  This adventure ended in a cacophony of Christmas carols that we utterly ruined by purposefully making them as offensive to the ears as possible.  I never thought that sounding horrible could be so much fun!

Christmas day was even more eventful.  The Burdges take hours upon hours to open their presents - which just prolongs the fun!  They had a wonderful Christmas breakfast complete with a Swedish tea ring, and then everyone went to Joni's parent's house where the Matthews all gathered and opened MORE presents.  I never thought I would see the day when I'd be relieved when there were no more presents to open!  After enjoying some more good food and company, Christmas was coming to a close.  Lydia was so tired by the end that she fell asleep on the car ride home.

Lydia is so good at making new friends

Feeling a little giddy when Soren touched her hand

Don't you just want to squeeze those chunky cheeks?

Teething... it's a lot harder than I remember!

Joni's friend at the gym gave Lydia this darling outfit.

We went to see the festival of lights parade. It was cold, but worth it!

Playing the Great Dalmouti. Guess who's the lesser peon?

All ready for Santa to come!!!

Christmas morning and unwrapping presents!

She thought the paper was such a thoughtful gift :)

Santa brought Lydia a new Baby Einstein exersaucer!