Lydia - 10 months

Now that Lydia is on the move, EVERYTHING has changed!  Gone are the days of non-baby-friendly items being strewn throughout the house, Colin no longer has his own toys, and we're going through bottles of lotion like crazy for her poor knees.  She is loving her mobility and [fortunately] has yet to master the steps.  We're quite certain that whenever it happens, we're really in trouble. 

Other than the large motor milestone, something else has changed in Lydia from 9 to 10 months.  She is suddenly more of a girl and less of a baby.  She is very observant and determined; she knows what she wants and won't let anyone stop her from getting/doing it.  This last month has been full of waving, clapping, mimicking sounds/words, "singing", and laughing.

Lydia's daily routine hasn't changed much.  She still loves her sleep!  Naps are at 9:00 and 12:45/1:00 and she last eats at 7:00 and is in bed sleeping right around 7:15.  A lunch meal was added at 10 months and so far it's going well.  She resembles her brother in that she loves to eat!  New favorites are yogurt and mashed potatoes.   

Likes:  music/dancing/singing, playing with her LeapFrog table, playing with anything that isn't a toy, crawling

Dislikes:  being tired, unfamiliar faces, getting dressed



Just for fun, our budding photographer & his adorable subject



 

And so it begins...

The little girl is finally on the move!  She has been so close for quite some time but she finally moved forward right on her 10-month-day.  She seems to enjoy being able to explore with freedom.  Grabbing all of the books on the bookshelf in her room is now at the top of her favorite activities list.  Her brother crawled at 9 months, so considering she's only been out of a DDH apparatus for 2 months I'd say crawling at 10 months is pretty good! 

More videos and the 10-month post coming soon...

9 months

How is this possible?!  Little Lydia has now been out, in our arms, the same amount of time as she was in.  The 9 month milestone has been an eventful one.  Our house is now full of constant babbles, squeals of delight, occasional clapping, and [a form of] crawling.  No toy or crumb of food is safe from Liddy; she quickly scoots around on her bottom or reaches forward to her tummy and pushes herself backward to get what she wants.  She is rocking back and forth while on her hands and knees...maybe she'll full-on crawl before Christmas?  Liddy is still a peanut, weighing in around 15 lbs. (6th percentile) and 27" (16th percentile). 

Likes:  feeding herself (no more purees!), looking at books, taking baths

Dislikes:  unfamiliar faces, lying still for diaper/clothing changes

  

8 months

Life has gotten in the way and I'm finally just now posting 8 month pictures (as Lydia is now 9.5 months).  Somehow I don't think she'll blame me when she's older...

This little girl continues to be so fun and interactive.  She truly is such a happy girl.  Not much new happening development-wise for her; she loves to stand and play at her Leap Frog table, could play peek-a-boo for hours, and is always testing out new sounds by banging two (or more) objects together. 

Likes:  trying new food (all fruits and veggies are favorites), laughing at her brother, sleeping with her plug & lovey, music

Dislikes:  being cold (lotion after bath is the worst!), the nasal aspirator, being tired



Colin's Super Birthday

Colin was given full control over his 4th birthday party theme and thanks to his buds at daycare, there was no question as to his request: Avengers/Superheroes!  We had a great weekend with family and there are now no shortage of heroes to save the day in the Holt house. 

Colin at 4 years:

36 lbs, 44"

Size 10-10.5 shoe

In bed around 7:45/8:00 at night, up at 6:45 during the week

Still takes a brief nap at 12:45-2:30ish

Loves being active outside - riding bike, playing catch with a football or baseball, playing at the park

Favorite cartoons - Octonauts, Curious George, Babar - Adventrues of Badu, Doc McStuffins, Team Umizoomi, Super Why

Is a funny, sweet, sometimes silly, well-mannered boy

Absolutely LOVES his baby sister

Is very observant and bright and still loves to use his spanish words and sign language

 

Labor Day & "West Fargo"

Our Labor Day weekend was spent as usual, relaxing and taking in the Box Car Days festivities.  Colin loved the rides and games and got to skip his nap and go to the Labor Day parade for the first time.  Lydia had fun swimming and watching her brother on the rides. 

14 years & 4 kids later...

Happy girl with dad at the parade

The sun was apparently too bright...

He was so excited to be on the Spider-Man motorcycle!

From Grandma and Grandpa's we took off for South Dakota (or West Fargo, as Colin often called it) and the Black Hills.  Our ultimate destination was Deadwood where I had meetings for work.  John had never been out there so we made sure to stop and be tourists every chance we could.

Wall Drug had a [newer?] "backyard" area that was fun.
Too bad it was 90 degrees at 11:00AM.

Trying to make it to the other side without getting hit by the fountains.
This turned into a fun game until he slipped and fell.  Then it was tears
all the way back to the car.

Our last stop before the hotel was Reptile Gardens in Rapid City.  It was fun to see the shows and America's largest crocodile. But it was HOT that day and we were all ready to be done riding in the car. 

 

Alligator show at Reptile Gardens



Feeding time

Colin wouldn't touch the tortoises so dad had to show him it was ok

While I was at meetings the next day, John took the kids to the fish hatchery in Spearfish. Colin says this was one of his favorite things (and it was free - even better!). He was fascinated with all of the ducks and trout.

Feeding the ducks

 

Room service picnic







Our last must-see was Mount Rushmore. We were wavering on whether we should actually go a half hour out of our way to see something that Colin wouldn't even understand (or remember) but in the end it was totally worth it. It's a lot different now than I remember it and John definitely enjoyed it. Even Colin got something out of it, even if it was only that their ice cream is yummy. :)

 











Pretty sad family picture.
I should note that we ran into someone from Tracy when
I asked her to take our picture. Small world!



It was too hot to walk any longer!

I have to say that our South Dakota "vacation" really was a great time - even if chaotic at times. I'm so thankful my three favorite people were able to make the trek with me!