Everyday Changes

Our little Lydia is very quickly becoming a little person all her own. She has quickly made great strides in her development and personality. Over the past week she has nearly mastered the art of rolling from her front to back; and even once this week she rolled back to front. Hard to think that scooting and crawling won't be that far away -- she is already utilizing her ability to roll back and forth in order to move short distances!

She has also developed her intentionality when it comes to using her hands. When she isn't busy sucking on both her hands, she is eagerly using them to play with hanging toys, pull at both Elizabeth and my shirt when we are holding her; and most recently pulling one foot or another to her mouth in order see what her feet taste like!! She certainly doesn't lack in her ability to entertain herself and is constantly exploring the world before her.

Smiles and giggles come much easier now and she is certainly more than happy to greet Elizabeth with smiles when she arrives at home. In fact, just the other day I was at home with Lydia for a few hours and didn't get a single smile, but the moment Lydia saw her mother walk in the door she was all smiles! It is wonderful to witness the strong bond that has developed between mother and daughter and I feel truly blessed to be invited to participate in that sacred circle of love.

For me, my favorite time has started to become bedtime when I get the privilege of reading Lydia a book before sleep. It amazing to see how attentive that Lydia is to books already and has even now started to try turning the pages herself (or at least grabbing for them). It was wonderful to get many new books as Christmas gifts. Probably her favorite books at this time are two 'first-word' picture books from her Uncle Mike -- she is very much enthralled by the large pictures of animals and other objects.

I am certainly glad to be mostly through the most stressful time in my professional life thus-far. My 7 month, very high-profile project is nearing completion and my work hours have cut back considerably. There was one day this week where some issues came up and I ended up having to work a longer day that I wanted, but it I very much enjoy having more time with Lydia - especially when I get the privilege to pick her up from daycare. She is now at daycare at NDSU for around 6-hours a day and it is working out great! We don't think that we could have found a better arrangement.

We were thankful for a visit from Grandpa and Grandma (Lee) this past weekend. Grandma was almost as good as Elizabeth in getting Lydia to giggle and Grandpa enjoyed pushing Lydia around the mall in her stroller. We are also looking forward to a visit from Nana next month and hope to make some trips to see other family soon.