Our Very Merry Christmas!!

I hope this post finds you all well rested after your Christmas weekend. I am just now winding down from what was a very busy, crazy, fun, blessed, wonderful Christmas weekend. I am luckily off from work this whole week, so why has it taken me until Wed. to finally post. Well, as you know if you have a new baby you are in very high demand during this time and Lydia and I have been making our rounds with lunch dates this week and visiting family and friends still in town.

So instead of filling you in on every detail of the whole holiday I will just post some pictures. We are so blessed to have our family in town and spend time with all of them over Christmas Eve (my family) Christmas morning (my family came to us and brought yummy yummy breakfast) and Christmas day (Matt's family) day after Christmas (Matt's family). Whew it was a busy one and one that we will never forget. God has been so good and we are so thankful that we have our sweet Lydia here with us this year.

Fun Toys she got:

Leap Frog Activity Table
Leap Frog Violet Puppy
Pottery Barn Everywhere chair with her name on it
Betty the Bumble bee Pillow pet (yes we named her)

Now picture time: Enjoy :)

Christmas Eve Morning

Christmas Eve Dress

Our first Christmas Eve at GiGi's

Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa's

Our first Christmas day with Lydia bug

She looved Violet

She loved the tissue paper

Christmas Morning in her chair

Mary Did You Know?

So Christmas is fast approaching and I have never been more excited then I am this year, to experience Christmas through the eyes of my daughter will change the way I look at Christmas forever. It has already changed me in so many other ways. I want less for myself and want more for her and I find myself wanting more for those who have less. I hope this is a permanent change that God has placed in my heart.

This morning I was driving into work and I was thinking about the song "Mary Did You Know?" And as a mother it truly moved me this year. Mary was such an amazing woman that God picked her to carry Jesus and raise him, raise our Savior, can you even imagine??? I can't imagine how that must have felt knowing that she was raising a son that would eventually die for all of our sins.

So on Christmas I will celebrate the birth of Jesus and I will also remember Mary who carried him and raised him here on Earth. What a privelage, a scary responsibility, sadness to know he would eventually die for us, but a joy all at the same time. What a feeling to have held our savior and to have looked into his eyes.

A Classic Lydia Face

I usually only share the cutest pics of Lydia that I have but this one just cracks me up and it's one that we do see quite often but choose not take pictures of.

From Ambers wedding, she loves the bride obviously! (I promise she normally really does)

Slacker and Sharing some Cuteness

Has anyone else not even printed their Christmas Cards yet?!?! Ugggh I just had to change the Christmas Card we are using because I planned on picking them up from the store and I couldn't pick up the one I orignally had ready to order. That's what I get for slacking.

Although, no matter what card I pick it's going to be cute because this little girl is on it. Sorry for the bad quality it's from my phone but I had to share.

We could just put a bow on her head and leave her under the tree because she is the gift I am most thankful for this year!!!

Something important to share today....

Every Moment Matters from Videos for AGCI on Vimeo.



Break my heart and let me hug them all!!!!!

7 months old

Lydia, Lydie Loo, Lydia Bug, Loo Loo, Boo Boo, Liddy,

Yes those are just a few of the nicknames you have accquired over your 7 months of life so far. I thought oh yay Lydia a name we can't really find a cheesy nickname for but oh wait.... we found some hahaha. You are just so darn cute and saying all of those in baby voices can usually get you to smile.

You are such a fun happy baby I can't even stand it sometimes, my heart just wants to burst out of my chest. You are growing and learning everyday and it is so fun to experience that first hand. You are pretty smart and that makes me so proud! You actually are developing up to an 8 month level, haha that is my proud mommy moment where I get to brag on my kid.

You love to talk in the mornings when your daddy and I are still semi-sleeping and you aren't really in a get me out of this crib now mood, you just like to talk to yourself and play with your hands. We call it story time.

You have 2 big teeth on the bottom now, they are pretty much all the way in and you look so cute when you smile or scream your happy scream and you can see them peak through.

You love to eat now, you are eating cut up bananas with mommy, you are absolutely obsessed with puffs, you like macaroni and cheese, and get cereal for lunch and a baby food for dinner.

You experienced your first Thanksgiving this past month and did an amazing job!

You want to be mobile so bad, you roll and scoot where you can and you get frusturated when you can't crawl to get something, so I'm pretty sure that's coming soon because you get a pretty determined look in your eye.

We took a few walks in the park with the dogs this past month and you loved being outside and laughing at the doggies tails as they walked in front of you.

You really love your bath time these days and splash splash splash all over the place.

You are starting to get a bit of an attitude if I take the remote away from you or we buckle you up in your car seat when you don't want to be.

You also got a new car seat which fits you a ton better because you are such a big girl!!

You have also started dancing and bopping up and down when music comes on, the waiters at the restaurants think you are the cutest thing when you are sitting in your highchair, put a big smile on your face and start bopping up and down. I LOVE IT!

I hope you continue to be healthy and grow strong, discover and learn everyday and continue to feel loved and safe. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love you so much.

Love,


Mommy

A Winter Wonderland Wedding Weekend

This weekend was definitely one of those weekends I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.

My best friend and roommate from college got married up in South Bend this weekend. She has always talked of a winter wedding and the weather gave her exactly that. We had flurries the morning of her wedding day as we ate breakfast together talking about the excitement of the day to come. We watched the snow fall out the window of the room we got ready in and the flowers, reception site, and all of our colors really gave the feel of a winter wonderland.

I went up before Matt and Lydia, they came up Saturday for the wedding but didn't take anytime off work to get up there any sooner. So we had a slumber party all 4 of the 217 Harrison Apt. 2 girls. We drank champagne and laughed at the show bridal plasty. We talked about old times, painted our nails for the next day and just enjoyed each others company as we all live hectic lives that leave us minimal time together anymore.

Then at the wedding, not only was my whole family there including an adorable Lydia in a red dress to match my dress. But we had our whole Sexy Crew (my group of friends since Freshman year of college) together again, even Cody and Trista (and their baby who is in Trista's tummy) who live in Colorado, Rob who lives in Baltimore, Walsh who lives in Chicago, Billy who lives in Ohio, Ted who lives in Michigan and then all of us Indy people. It was so great to have everyone together again to share our friend marrying her best friend and love of her life. To see her so happy and fulfilled was worth the hangover and sleepiness I am feeling today.

Memorable Moments:

Our Christmas Card picture by the tree at Gino's East
My pretend trip turning into a real trip down the aisle at rehearsal
Amber picking the songs for the wedding (snoopy theme song and Lady Gaga)
My cousin Kylie break dancing in a circle of all of my college friends
Lydia having a blow out in the middle of the night and pooping on a hotel towel
Lydia sleeping under the table at the reception in her car seat
Being able to see Amber in her dress the first time and zipping her up
Letting her wear the bracelet that my husband gave me for our wedding as her something borrowed
Don't Stop Believing and Piano Man with my friends
Being introduced in the bridal party with my baby girl on my hip
Getting the text message that my cousin just got engaged to his longtime girlfriend who we LOVE!
Walking into the boys bathroom because they were doing a rendition of stomp, had to check it out

**Seeing my best friend happy and in love to an amazing man who I know will take great care of her!**