To Hannah at 7 Months

Dear Sweet Hannah,

I had heard before having you that life goes by even more quickly with a 2nd child, but, until I experienced it, I never understood.  I often wish I could create a clone of me to take care of all the tedious work that just needs to get done so that I can enjoy more time with you. Unfortunately, that is not possible and so you are often expected to entertain yourself as I run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Or, as in the case right now, I write a long awaited letter for you to read several years down the road.

You are such a beautiful, sweet girl and are growing so healthy and strong. At your 6 month well check you measured 27 inches (90th percentile) and weighed 16 1/2 pounds (50th percentile). Dr. Beach commented that you are very tall, however if you look at your weight percentile according you your height instead of age then you fall in the 25th percentile. You sure don't look like a skinny baby, but I guess most babies your height are really chunky! But I love the sweet rolls that you do have. You are especially ticklish in your thigh rolls and I love making you giggle!

Speaking of giggling, you make all sorts of noises now. You enjoy babbling and giggling, however you have also taken to grunting and growling at us. Maybe it's a result of you trying to get and keep attention more.

You are doing so many things now! You sit up like a champ! And have even ventured into the realm of reaching for anything you can as you are sitting up. You also can get up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth. So, it's only a matter of time before you're crawling. In your attempts to move forward to get that much desired toy or person, you end up scooting yourself backwards. This frustrates you to no end. Unfortunately you also only roll in one direction, so you always end up in a corner. I almost feel bad for you...almost. As much as I would like you to be mobile and get those toys that fall out of your reach, I don't want you following me all around the house and getting into all the other things that I have yet to baby-proof. So, I'm okay with you waiting a few more weeks or months for this next big step.

You are a very particular child. We just got back from a long roadtrip for Daddy's residency interviews and stayed in several different hotels and at people's houses. On the nights where you got to sleep in a pack and play, you were happy and slept for most of the night without complaint. However, on the few nights where you had to sleep in a metal portable crib, you threw hefty fits and wound up sleeping in our bed for most of the night. However, even that wasn't completely satisfactory for you. You like your bed, with your snuggly and your thumb. If anything messes with that arrangement then there are heavy consequences. You also have grown very attached to me lately. If I walk into or out of the room then you cry out for me and wimper. Even if your Daddy is holding you. While this phase is endearing and I feel so important and needed, I also won't be too sad to see it pass. Your poor Daddy loves holding you too :).

Sweet Hannah, I love you and thank Heavenly Father every night that He chose to send you to our family. You are and will always be my little angel.

Love,

 

Momma

To Hannah at 5 1/2 months

This past month and a half has been extremely busy with traveling, Halloween and all the other little things that I can't even name off. So, with all of the excitement going on, I haven't had time to sit and write Hannah's 5 month letter. Poor girl! Don't worry, I've been spending a lot of time with her and taking in all of her little rolls! She is such a sweet sweet girl! So, better late than never!

 

Dearest Hannah,

I can hardly believe how big you have gotten! This past month somebody asked me if you were 1! Yeah, they were just crazy, but you really have been growing a ton! And it's no wonder with how much you love to eat! You already eat 2 hefty solid meals a day and still love to nurse. So far you have tried oatmeal, mixed grains, peaches, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears and bananas. The only thing I'm not sure you agree with is bananas. So, we'll try that again at a later date. But you love food and surprise me with how much you can consume in a sitting.
Other new developments in the past month and a half are that you can sit up for short periods of time. This actually happened just a few days ago. The first time I was able to get you to sit up (while Lydia entertained you with a picture of Christ) you lasted an entire minute! This happened twice in a row. You are already quite the spiritual young lady :).
Our family went on a long trip this month for Daddy's residency interviews in El Paso and Albuquerque. You didn't do very well.  Once you slept as long as you could in the car, there was nothing for you to do but scream. And then you didn't want to sleep at night, which made it more challenging to drive for long stretches. But, luckily, you got to meet your Great Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. It almost didn't happen because Grandma had to go to the hospital and children weren't allowed to visit there. Fortunately she was discharged the day we were leaving, so we got to visit for about an hour. You charmed them quite well with your sweet smiles. They loved holding and cuddling you. We also got to spend some time in San Antonio with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and Uncle Neil. And we spent a day at Sea World. You didn't really watch the shows and whales, but you didn't appreciate it when Shamu sent a huge wave of water all over the audience! But neither did your sister :).
You experienced your first Halloween. Though you didn't go up to each door with your sister to get candy, you matched her in costume. Lydia dressed up as Fancy Nancy and the rest of the family dressed up as Fancy Nancy's family. You looked adorable in your pink leopard print dress, ballet shoe socks, wings and feather headband!
The month started off with your main "talking" consisting of high pitched squeals and has evolved into sweet babbles. Though the squeals were cute also and unique, I'm glad that they didn't last for too long. It's so sweet to hear you talking to your mobile and you play with your feet in bed. And to have you tell me how yummy the food I just put in your mouth tastes, though it is much more messy that way.
Our main goal for the next month is for you to sleep through the night. We began the painful process lastnight as you screamed for nearly an hour halfway through the night. You usually wake up to eat once each night and then a couple of other times for Daddy to rock you back to sleep. While we endured this for almost 6 months, it is time to end. We love you and love holding you, but we want to be more rested in the morning when your sister comes in our room around 6. I pray this transition goes well :).
Sweet Hannah, I love having you in our home! Your smile illuminates the room and your eyes sparkle when you laugh. We love you dearly. I wish I could describe my feelings for you more eloquently. But I'm not a writer, nor am I very good with words. So, in the words of Fancy Nancy, "I love you. Because there isn't a fancy-or better-way of saying that".

love,

 

Momma

 

PS: I tried to upload some videos to this post of Hannah, but my internet was too slow. So, look at the pictures link to see them :). And please let me know if there are any problems with the link.

To Hannah at 4 Months & Other Updates

This month has been crammed with all sorts of excitement! Hannah is 4 months old, Lydia started Joy School, David sent in his applications for residency programs, we got a new car (not really willingly), we took 2 trips to San Antonio (only 1 sort of planned), David flew to Washington, and now Lydia is potty training again (I sure hope this is really it!). And, actually, except for Lydia starting Joy School, all of this has been in September! Wow! I sure hope the rest of this month lets me catch up!
So, I guess I'll start on all of our explanations of everything and then end with Hannah's monthly letter.

The biggest story/experience of all has been the car. I will dearly miss our CRV! I already do! There were so many things I loved about it despite it's need for constant TLC. Like how I didn't have to hunch over to get kids in and out of carseats and didn't constantly bang my head doing so. And how there was space between the 2 front seats for me to put my purse, diaper bag and any other essentials. And how I didn't have to worry about what I could take on daytrips because there was plenty of room in the back. I also loved how it had an awesome table in the trunk that I could pull out and use whenever we went to the beach (A super cool thing about CRV's!). Sigh...
So, I'm sure you're wondering what happened to my amazing car. Well, Ol Bessie came with her share of problems. We made several pricey repairs in the 3 1/2 years we had her. Most recently, we were trying to get her A/C fixed. No matter how much money we spent and how convinced the mechanics were that they really knew what the problem was, it just never seemed to get fixed. So, Labor Day weekend we decided to take a last minute trip to San Antonio to see my family. My sister was getting ready to go back to BYU-I and we wanted to have some fun in the middle of their frantic packing and getting ready. So we drove up late Friday night after an Astros Game. About 3/4 of the way there our check engine light came on. Yikes! The car didn't sound good and was shaking like crazy whenever I slowed down or came to a stop. Luckily it made it the rest of the way to my parents house though. The next day we took it into the shop and got the bad news. The 4th cylinder was shot and the entire engine would need to be replaced. The part alone costs about $3000! That's the car's trade-in value without any problems! We got a few different opinions, but they all led the same direction. It was totalled. And, not only was it totalled, but it was also unsafe to drive back to Galveston.
After spending the afternoon confirming the bad news and looking through our budget, we went out to start looking at new cars. However, we had very little money for a down payment, couldn't afford much of a monthly payment, and didn't have any income yet. So, we would need a co-signer to even get a loan and then we would be living very tight for the next while. Not our ideal scenario. But we really wanted to get a reliable car that could get us all the way through residency because we were initially planning to get a second car next summer when we moved for residency. We didn't want to get something that would have to get replaced right away or have too many expensive repairs. Things were not looking very promising. And we had very little time to find something. David had to be back to work by Wednesday.
Luckily, Sunday was Fast Sunday. We prayed and prayed that we would know what to do and that we could find something to meet our needs. That evening David talked to his parents who told him that his Grandma was thinking about selling her car. It was very old (a 91), but she hadn't driven it much (only 38,000 miles). We talked about it and prayed about it some more. And decided that it was an answer to our prayers. So we started figuring out all the details. We got a rental car to go home to Galveston on Tuesday. Then on Friday I drove David to the airport in Austin (the plane tickets there were about $200 cheaper that leaving from either Houston or San Antonio) and then continued on to San Antonio with the girls where I would spend the weekend with my mom and brother, return the rental car, and work on selling our car. David flew to Washington where he spent a late night trying to see his brother and grandma there, then drove with his dad to Utah the next day. He got to visit with his brother, Adam for a couple hours (Adam just got home from his mission last month). Then he drove with my dad for the next couple of days from Utah back to San Antonio. My dad had driven my sisters car up to Idaho for her to use the week before and was spending time at the Family History Library in Utah. So, conveniently he was already up there to help David drive back home. Thanks Dad! I know you would have rather used the plane!
So, we were able to sell our car for a decent enough price to a salvage yard, we got a new, but old, Honda Accord and eventually all made it back home to Galveston. It was a very long couple of weeks! Now we're just trying to wrap up the last few details of getting the car registered, etc. But it left me completely worn out and stressed! I sure hope that is all said and done! And that this car will last us a good while!

At the Astros game before going to San Antonio for the first time.

Aside from the car drama, a lot else has been going on! Lydia started a Joy School where we rotate who is in charge each week with 4 other moms in the ward. We are using the book "Teach Me Mommy" by Jill Dunford. They meet twice each week for a few hours and get to learn a new subject, play with their friends and eat lunch out of a cool lunchbox. Lydia loves it! She constantly asks to go to school. And I love it too! I get a few hours each week to actually clean the house, shop, or get other stuff done while Hannah sleeps. I get to teach next week. We are going to learn about our 5 senses and the clothes that we wear. I have tons of fun things to do with the senses, but if you have any fun things for 2-3 year olds for clothes that we wear then let me know!

 

Lydia's first day of Joy School

 

 

No wonder she loves school so much! This is her first day and she already is enjoying cupcakes! PS: I have no idea why she decided this was how to eat a cupcake. Maybe she didn't want her fingers dirty?

Lydia is also potty training, again. I wasn't planning to do it for a while. But for some reason one morning I was talking to Lydia and decided that she might be ready. I can't remember if she said something or what. But we pulled out her panties and lined the living room with towels and we watched a movie. And she stayed dry almost all day! She had just one accident as she stood in the bathroom by the toilet. Then she was dry all the next day. Sunday was more difficult with nursery, but we will keep working on that one. And she has stayed mostly dry all week! She has even worn her panties to school without having any accidents. She talks a lot about how her friends wear panties and don't use diapers anymore. I think that she's finally registering that wearing panties is the cool thing and diapers are for babies. Hooray! I hope that I never have to buy diapers for her again!

Lydia with her potty training doll. She loves having the baby sit on her potty next to her!

The other major events of this month are getting residency applications in. It was very stressful getting everything together and deciding where we wanted to apply. But we finally got them in last Saturday, September 15th. The soonest we had heard of people hearing back from programs for interviews is about 10 days. So, we weren't really expecting anything. But on Tuesday we heard back from 4 programs! And we have heard back from one everyday since. So far we have interviews in Corpus Christi, TX, Albuquerque, NM, Louisville, KY, Oklahoma City, OK, Milwaulkee, WI and here at UTMB. We are trying to arrange some of them into roadtrips for the family. We would like to attend most of them with David to save money on flights, have fun around the country and so that I'm not left home alone with the girls all the time. We are so excited that he has already heard back from so many programs! Hopefully that means that we will have a good pick of places as we rank them in March! I just hope that he gets some more interviews in Texas. Corpus Christi is also on the gulf. I have enjoyed living by the beach, but I don't really want to endure any more hurricane seasons! It's too stressful! I was really disappointed last week when we found out San Antonio is not taking any new residents next year. That took one of my top places out of our options! Now I'm really hoping for Dallas and Austin! Please!

And last, but not least, Hannah is now 4 months! I can't believe how much time has flown by! She is such a sweet little lady and has grown so much! Here is my monthly letter for her:

Dearest Hannah,

4 months seems like such a short time, and forever all at once. It's like you have always been a part of our family. You are a tremendous blessing in our home and bring so much joy wherever you go. I would describe you as being a very happy baby. The only times you cry are when you are hungry, tired, stinky, can't get your thumb, or are getting bored. Yet it takes a lot to get you to laugh. You are only ticklish on occasion and look at me like I'm crazy with I try to tickle you with my hair. And when I finally do get you to laugh, I hunger for more! It is so adorable how it usually ends in a squeak! But your smiles are getting to be more frequent. And you talk to us frequently. Mostly it involves blowing bubbles out your mouth and you make cute noises. I love hearing you. I imagine that you're telling me how tasty your food was, how much you love us, and what you want your next meal to be.
This month you have grown a lot! You have begun grabbing at things. We first noticed this at dinner one night when you were waving your arms as you stared intently at the ketchup bottle. When I held it closer for you, you worked hard and were able to grab on. You are quickly drawn to colorful objects and have since learned that you can grab on to them. Now you get more excited when we hold toys up for you and when you lay down with your little jungle gym toys hanging over you.
You also have officially moved into your crib in Lydia's room. Lydia loves having you in her room with her and always makes sure that we turn your mobile on for you to listen to. And y'all have done pretty well together! You have only woken her up a couple of times (you're lucky that she's such a deep sleeper!). You still fluctuate between wanting to eat 1-3 times/night. However, I have figured out that you wake up less when I don't swaddle you up. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure out that swaddling up a baby who likes to suck her thumb isn't a smart idea! Now you are able to roll onto your side and suck away as you soothe yourself to sleep. Which, by the way, melts my heart! As soon as I lay you down in your crib you grab onto your blanket with one hand, stick the other thumb in your mouth (usually your left thumb) and roll onto your left side. So sweet!
You also are getting a little bit more of a regular schedule during the day. You take a good nap in the morning and also in the afternoon. You take a few other little cat naps throughout the day. But this seems to be your new schedule.
Speaking of rolling, you sure are doing a lot of it! I'm noting this in your 4 month letter, but it's mostly started the last few days since your 4 month birthday. You roll onto your stomach all of the time now. I don't think that you do it on purpose yet, at least you fuss a lot once you get onto your stomach. You are able to make it back onto your back on occasion, but that seems to be more difficult for you. I hope that this doesn't mean you will be rolling around my living room soon and getting into everything! Relax. Enjoy being a baby and staying in one place. There is plenty of time for mobility later!
So far we haven't come up with many nicknames for you. I frequently refer to you as "Hannah-bo-banna", Sweetie, and Little Lady. Lydia calls you Hannah pronounced like the A in Hannukah. But no matter what we call you, they are only a small symbol of our love for you. We are so grateful for you. I love you and everything about you. Especially your beautiful hair and big eyes. But most especially the sweet spirit that emanates from your smile and babblings. You have me smitten!

love,

Momma

On another note, we finally got out on a date!!! Hooray! Thanks Jason and Diana! We did the tree sculpture tour here in Galveston. It was really neat! All of the trees were ones that died in Hurricane Ike and were carved into sculptures right where they sat on the trunk. This one is carved into several birds flying away. There are several other pictures in the September folder if you would like to see more.

Also, for any of you who remember this house that I talked about a few years back. It has been selected to be part of Galvestons restoration project. They have been working on it for about 6 months now and it is slowly coming together. I'm excited to see it when it's finished!

Quotes from Lydia

Lydia's personality has been developing so much more the past few months! I didn't think it was possible! Lately she has been saying the darndest things! They're so cute! So, I want to remember some of them. These are my favorites:

Lydia pointed to David and my wedding picture with the Manti Temple in the background one day.
Lydia: "You and Daddy got married in the temple?"
Me: "Yes:
Lydia: "Oh...I get married in the temple someday!"
A couple days later was our follow up conversation while she sat on the potty.
Lydia: "I get married in the temple someday."
Me: "Who are you going to marry?"
Lydia: blank stare
Me: "I married Daddy in the temple. Who are you going to marry?"
Lydia: "You not married to Daddy!"
And then all rationale was abandoned from there. But, we have had several moments where she tells us that she is going to get married in the temple! We just have to keep building on them :).

We had some friends over one day to play, but decided not to do bubbles in the backyard because it was too hot. Later that day after naptime:
Lydia: "We go do bubbles outside?"
Me: "After dinner because it's still too hot right now."
Lydia: "Oh". Thinks for a moment then goes to the front door. "It's cool out here."
Me: "No, it's hot outside"
Lydia: "It's hot in the back, but not in the front."
If only that rationale were really true!

This morning after watching The Little Mermaid.
Lydia: "Aaaaaaaaa" (however you write that singing that Ariel does in the movie).
Me: "Oh, are you singing like Ariel?"
Lydia: "Yes, Aaaaaaa!"

Other noteworthy things:
Lydia loves things that are "scary"! Why? I have no clue! But she loves anything to do with Monsters (including, but not limited to the movie Monsters Inc) and dinosaurs. We went to the zoo a couple weeks ago and they had a dinosaurs exhibit. She was in heaven watching the life-size dinosaurs move around and make noises while her friend (who had also been begging to go see them) cowered in his stroller and wanted to leave.

Lydia takes every opportunity to dance! Whenever and wherever we are, she will stop and dance if there is music playing. It was especially amusing as her and her little friend danced around at the Scotty McCreery concert that we went to for my birthday! They were pretty much the only little kids there, even though the concert was at Palm Beach in Moody Gardens, and they were surrounded by squealing teeny and not so teeny boppers.

Potty training: the never-ending adventure. Sometimes I think that we're making some headway in this long traumatic endeavor. But then other times I just want to throw my hands up in the air and say that I'm not even going to let her use the toilet until she decides she's really ready. We had one amazing week in March where Lydia was completely potty trained and only wore panties (except for sleep time). And then we took a complete 180 turn and she decided it was no longer fun and was done with it. So, we put her back into diapers to take away some of the stress and frustration. She has not tried to go back yet. She goes through periods where we come up with a new award system and she's really excited. She will spend a couple of days earning rewards like crazy and will stay mostly clean. And then she gets bored again. But she still likes to go on the potty. With how little energy I've had and how little she seems to really been interested though, I have yet to pull her panties back out of the closet. Hopefully in the next 6 months! I would like her to be potty trained before she turns 3 :).

As much as Lydia loves scary things, she also loves princesses. Cinderella is her favorite, but she loves them all. Even the ones from movies she's never seen, like Jasmine and Tiana. They are all pretty and she loves to sing their songs. Yesterday during lunch she was singing the Wishing Well song and Someday My Prince Will Come from Snow White. This morning it was Ariel. Who knows which one it will be tomorrow :).

And Lydia also loves Dora (what little girl doesn't?). This has been one of the strongest pulls to get her to go poops in the potty. Lydia can occasionally be heard saying "Buenos dias" and other spanish phrases. So cute!

Hope that gave you a good fill of Lydia! I know that I never get enough of her! Well, unless she is being cranky. But most of the time she is happy and full of life!

To Hannah at 3 months

Oh Sweet Hannah!

I can hardly believe you are 3 months old now! Well, actually 3 months and a week and 3 days. I've been slow getting your letter written this month. You have now passed the stage of being a newborn. You look and act like a full blown baby. Which is mostly filled with good things! You smile at us quite frequently and coo at us as we talk and play with you. It seems that you have a lot to tell us, and mostly that you appreciate our efforts to make you happy. You have laughed a few times at me tickling you, however this is not very frequent yet. I look forward to it coming more in the next month!

You are starting to stay awake for longer periods of time now. And we are working on creating more of a schedule for you. You seem to appreciate having a long nap in the morning and in the afternoon. I can appreciate that too :). However, you still tend to wake up twice a night to eat. This I would rather change. I am hesitant to move you into your big sister's room when you still wake up and cry every night. We need to improve this soon so that you can leave the bassinet in our room and go to your crib. Maybe if I set it up for you this month then it will give you more encouragement? If only it worked that way. Sigh.

You have filled out so much more this past month! The rolls and chunks in your thighs and cheeks are so adorable! I love it! You are such a beautiful little lady and have such a sweet spirit! You are happy a lot of the time and content to just watch and take in everything going on around you. Especially the activities of your big sister! I love watching the two of you interact with eachother. I can see what good friends the two of you will be.

Hannah, we are so grateful to have your in our family. You have brought even more joy and love into our lives, if it were possible. We are so excited to see what the next month will bring!

love,
Momma

Hannah's 2 month stats

I meant to put this in Hannah's letter, but I spaced it when I got focused on the picture problems.

Hannah went to the doctor for her well check yesterday. Things went very well for most of it and she is a very healthy little girl. She does, however have the same clogged tear duct that Lydia struggled with. We are doing everything we can right now to prevent her having eye surgery too. Please keep her in your prayers.

Hannah measured 23 1/2 inches (85th %) and weighed a whopping 12 lb 2 oz (81st%)! She sure been packing on the weight! I looked back at Lydia's stats to compare and she was the same height and 11 lbs 8 oz, yet she started out almost a whole pound heavier than Hannah! Crazy!

The only bad parts of the visit were the mosquitos (they kept getting into the waiting room and wanted some food) and Hannah's shots. Poor girl! I always feel bad for their sweet little legs!

But Lydia did very well entertaining everyone there and was a ver supportive big sister. She even made sure they gave Hannah a sticker before she left :)

To Hannah at 2 months

I tried again to add pictures to this post, but am still struggling. It seems to have the same problem whether I'm on David's computer or my own. So, I'm not quite sure what to do. But please check out the pictures linked to the sidebar. There are some really cute new ones from the 4th of July and that our wonderful friend and Bishop took for us. (Thanks Alan!)

Sweet Hannah,

It seems as though you have been a part of our family forever! You fit in so perfectly. We love having your sweet spirit in our home and wouldn't trade you for the world!

This month you have really started filling out more of your delicious rolls! I love kissing them! And, as expected, everywhere we go people are amazed by your beautiful hair. It is so soft and gorgeous! The other day we were sitting outside and the sunlight caught some red hints in your hair. "Oh dear!" was my first reaction. Are we going to have a red head in the family? We'll see! As far as the rest of your coloring goes, you have your sister's eyes. At least they seem to be following the exact same pattern that hers did. Right now they are a dark grey.

You are smiling and cooing at me more when I play with you. I love these tender moments! I still haven't been able to capture them on camera very well. Your eyes light up and your whole countenance changes when you know we are playing with you. You love the attention! Especially since you have to fight for attention with you being a second child.

Hannah, my love, you have me smitten! I love rocking you in my bedroom as I feed you. It is "my time" with you and I treasure it! Especially since it happens mostly at times when I'm awake now. (We're down to 1 feeding a night! Yay!) And, speaking of sleeping, you sleep a full 6-7 hours most nights now! Just a little while longer and you may be able to move to the crib in your sister's room. That will be a bitter-sweet day. But, for now, I love watching you sleep beside my bed. You curl up so sweet like a Glo-worm!

I love you Sweet Girl! You are such a beautiful little angel sent from above. I am so grateful to have you as a part of our home and family.

love,
Momma

Pictures of the Ladies

As promised, I am posting pictures of our cute little Ladies (mostly Hannah). I know that it's taken a while and I'd like to say that I'll do better. But I need to be honest and admit that I probably won't. But it will always get done eventually.

And updates on our little family, David has officially finished his third year of Medical School and we are now on the homerun!!! Yay! He'll start his 4th year of school on Monday with an acting intership in pediatrics. I think he'll really enjoy this next month because, if we haven't told you already, David has switched from wanting to do radiology to pediatrics. Huge shock! He's such a stubborn man. So when he decides he's going to do something, then that's what he does. However, he suddenly started having huge doubts back in February when he was enjoying his pediatrics rotation so much. Its good to know that he's chosen to go into the field that has him coming home so happy and fulfilled each day.

As for me, I just try to keep my head above water. I constantly have projects I want to do, chores to get done, a baby to feed and who loves to be held, and a little lady who loves to play and interract with me and who needs me to teach and care for her. Its so hard to prioritize things so that nothing gets neglected, including my sanity! However, I think that's the thing that keeps struggling the most. I'm pretty sure that I've made it through the worst of my baby blues. Though after particularly sleepless nights, I can be easily found crying over the mere fact that I am out of bed. But I really am doing pretty well. I fit back into my pre-pregnany clothes a week after having Hannah and am now tring to lose those last few pounds (+ a few extra) and get myself into shape. My goal is to run a 5K in the next year. Though I need to find one and sign up for it so that I'm really stuck with it. I haven't gotten to start working on it yet unfortunately because the heat and mosquitos and are too crazy to take the girls out in. I know, I'm full of excuses. Just come visit us in Galveston and you'll cut me some slack once you experience the madness! Those mosquitos are merciless and don't respond to bugspray more than half the time!

Okay, onto a more fun topic! Lydia! Our sassy little princess. She is constantly busy and is so entertaining! She has officially figured out how to open every door in the house (kindly making the last one her own bedroom door). So she is now unstoppable. Though she does still stay in her room for naptime without too many reminders. She loves to dress up in her princess clothes and always makes sure that her clothes "match". She tells me quite often that things I pick out don't match. I have to kindly tell her that just because jeans aren't the same color as a shirt, that they still coordinate well. She loves having her hair done and picking out hair bows. What can I say? She's a girl! She loves to swim, color, and talk about her imaginary monsters. These monsters encourage her to finish her dinner most nights, so I like these friendly creations. They can be found all sorts of places in our home, including on the walls and the ceiling. There are big ones and small ones. And she loves them all!
Lydia is also slowly working on potty training still. I'm trying to keep the seed planted and watered until I'm able to jump in full throttle again. So, we're emphasizing poops right now. Each time she poops in the potty she gets a prize from the basket. They consist of random $ Store items and coupons. I resorted to adding the coupons when she started earning 3 prizes a day quite often. The coupons are for simple things that don't cost me money. Like an episode of Dora or Blues Clues, play doh time, board game time, bubble time, a new coloring page, or an outfit for a paper doll. These have been working wonders! We rarely have to clean a poopy diaper anymore! Well, not one of hers anyway.

And then we have Hannah. In ways she is easier than Lydia was, but in other ways she is more difficult. She started off wanting to eat at least every two hours, but we are slowly drifting away from that and we are getting more sleep at night. Lately she is sleeping for 5 hour stretches and occasionally a little longer. She only feeds for about 15 minutes most of the time (much better than Lydia's 45+ minute feedings!) and goes right back to sleep each time (versus having to rock Lydia back to sleep and then pat her bum while in the bassinet for another 1/2 hour before going back to bed). And Hannah falls asleep on her own most nights! I feed her, swaddle her up, turn on her water noises, and lay her in her bed. Even if she's still awake she'll fall asleep most the time. The hardest time with her lately is during the day. She's awake for most of the morning and wants attention. Then she usually takes a longer nap sometime during the afternoon (often during Lydia's nap so I get some quiet time :). ) and then is awake for a lot of the evening before we go to bed at about 10:30. Ummm...not much more to report on with Hannah yet. She poops great and has gone from having a constant smear in her diaper to usually only pooping 1-2 times a day. Yay! This makes us have to change her diaper a whole lot less frequently!

So, back to the main reason I am putting up a post! Pictures! People may be angry with me again, but after writing this post I spent literally about 7 hours (broken up over 2 days) trying to put the pictures into it. After it telling me that it was being saved the second day and then realizing after a few hours that it was lying to me, I can't deal with it any longer. I've given up. Sorry! It was too much frustration and pointless tears. So I'm just going to link them all to the sidebar like I usually do and y'all can flip through and pick out your own favorites. I can't say I like Google very much right now. Grrr! But at least I've had a night to sleep off some of my anger and I'm feeling better today!

Hannah also had her blessing yesterday, so I'll try to do another post soon to cover that. And, if you're lucky, I'll try to put pictures in it again.

To Hannah at 1 month (+ 1 week)

I am already a week late with Hannah's letter, so I decided I should go ahead and post it. But I will do another post with just pictures this week. We had a friend take some nicer ones of Hannah last week and should be getting those back soon. So, hold onto your socks! We'll have pictures soon!


Dearest Hannah,

You have truly blessed our home with your sweet little spirit. It seemed impossible that I could love another little lady as much as your big sister. But now I can see how our Heavenly Father can love each one of His precious children so much. My love for you has grown immensely since the moment the doctor placed you in my arms. There are so many little things about you that make me melt! Number one on the list would definitely be how you grin from ear to ear and even occasionally let out a little laugh. These happen mostly when you're asleep, but a few times they have been in response to our coos, talking and kisses. I wish I could capture them on camera and preserve the memory. But they will be forever imprinted in my heart.

I also love your little rolls and cheeks that are forming. I love your beautiful hair and soft skin. I especially love how you hold onto my clothes when I feed you. You are grabbing a lot of things that get in your grasp. Sometimes that ends up being your sweet hair though. You don't like that very much and need our help to let go of it.

Your big beautiful eyes are open a lot of the time and are constantly taking in the things around you. You are definitely a curious little lady. You also enjoy watching your big sister. She loves you so much! She always makes sure that you are comfortable and loves to help soothe you when you're upset. And you calm down for her most of the time too. Y'all are going to be such wonderful friends!

Hannah, your name has many special meanings for us. Hannah means "grace" and "beauty". These are great blessings that we can already see in you.

Your middle name, Elsie, was from your Great Great Great Grandma Elsie Maude Gulliver Matthews. When Grandma Elsie was fifteen, she came in contact with Mormonism while visiting her sister, Nellie. It was there she read the story of Joseph Smith and the vision in the Sacred Grove:

"As I read I experienced something that I had never felt before, it is hard to explain it, I have never forgotten it and hope I never will, it was such a feeling of conviction within me, it was so strong it was a burning sensation, it was something telling me 'It's true, it's true', and I thought of the two disciples that were walking with Jesus after his resurrection and didn't recognize him, 'but' they said 'Did not our hearts burn within us', what I felt reminded me of that incident. It has always been a testimony to me that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God, and that his story of the appearance of the Father and Son was absolutely true, I have never had a doubt about it."

Elsie's dad was very much opposed to her interest in Mormonism for quite a while, and he told her if she brought home any more Mormon books to read, he would throw her out neck and crop, and the books with her. But she couldn't forget what she had felt, and every time she visited Nellie she brought home more books, and hid them in her bedroom, and read them at night by the light of a candle. After many months she told her dad all she had read and he consented to let Elder Blanthorn come to her house to teach. Much of his first bitterness had gone, and he said she could be baptized if she wanted. She went to Southampton to be baptized because there were no missionaries in Salisbury at that time. She was a member of the Church at age sixteen, the only one in Salisbury. The next year her mother and dad joined the church and they came to Utah in a company of converts in 1903.

I have always been touched by this story of Grandma Elsie. The strength of her testimony from the first time she learned about Joseph Smith and her dedication to see it through is an inspiration. I pray that you will follow this example that was set by her. That you will be able to feel the Spirit witnessing the truth of the Gospel to you and that you will have the strength and conviction to see that testimony through.

We are so grateful to have you in our family. We love you so much!

love,
Momma (& Daddy)

Welcoming Hannah Elsie Dickinson!

Our newest Little Lady has arrived! Hannah Elsie Dickinson was born Wednesday, May 16th at 7:35 pm at UTMB. Another BOI (Born on the island, for the non Galvestonian folk)! She weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz and 19 inches long. She is such a beautiful little angel and has added a whole new world back into our home!

This labor was not without it's challenges though. (If you don't enjoy birth stories, then please skip to the next section of the post.) My worst fears didn't come true. Hannah was born safely in the hospital and not in my living room. But some of my other fears were definitely faced. And now I feel I will not be so patient with doctors when they don't take my experience seriously.
After having fairly steady and increasingly intense contractions all morning, I decided it was time to head in to the hospital. David was at work and in a surgery, but he had a feeling that he would need to run home that day and so he didn't scrub in. He was able to get home in about 15 minutes and was definitely in more of a panic than me. Lydia had only been down for her nap a little bit, but was ready to move when we told her that it was time for baby sister to come out. She went over to a friend's house for the rest of the day and that night (Thanks again Stormie and Jer!).
We got to the hospital about 2:30 pm and were put into a triage room. I was only dilated to a 2 at this point and 50% effaced. But my doctor decided to keep me at the hospital since my contractions were only 5 minutes apart and planned to induce me. His plan was to deliver me in the morning when he came back to work. He had experienced my rapid progression when I had Lydia (reminder: dilated from a 3 to a 10 in 30 minutes), yet he still doubted it would happen again. Stupid doctor! He moved me to a labor and delivery room and, after me begging, agreed to give me an epidural if I had progressed to at least a 3 at 6pm. At about 5:30 the pain was getting unbearable. The contractions were coming about every 3 minutes and were very challenging to stay focused through. So, they gave me some pain medicine in my IV. I will never opt for that ever again! It left me extremely light headed and disoriented. It did numb the pain slightly, but not enough to be worth it. At 6:15 the nurses checked me again. They told me I was dilated completely. So, the resident checked me. He agreed that I had dilated a lot, but was still an 8 and needed to wait a little longer. So, the on call doctor came (it was 7pm by this point). He told me that I was only dilated to a 6 and it would still be a few hours. The resident had set up all of his delivery materials and, just as quickly, put them away. Meanwhile, I was desperately begging for my epidural and was losing even more of my focus. The anesthesiologist performed his fasted epidural ever (he was very proud of himself) and gave me my punch button. However, the contractions and pressure was so intense by this point that the epidural was not able to take any control over it. I still felt every little bit of pain. And I was incredibly frustrated by this point. How could everybody tell me that I was dilated so differently and then the doctor completely push me off like that! I already felt like I was ready to push tis baby out! But, the doctor left as quickly as he came to do some other work on another floor. Within 15 minutes of him leaving I felt an incredible desire to go to the bathroom. I began screaming so that everybody in the hallway could hear me that my baby was coming out. The nurses and resident quickly returned and I was checked again. It was confirmed that the baby was indeed crowned and ready to come out. After a few contractions of trying to refrain from pushing until the doctor returned, I was given permission to start going. What a relief! As awful as the contractions were, it was even worse trying to not push when your body is fighting so hard against you! After about 5 more contractions and 15 minutes, Hannah was born. I wish I could say it was as tender a moment as when Lydia was born. But, after having experienced so much pain and frustration, I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep! But I could still feel the needles stabbing me as the doctor sewed my small tears back up (they ended up giving me a local anesthetic because I kept cringing). Apparently the epidural never did kick in. I will never willingly go through a natural labor! But, I do plan to prepare myself more next time in case I have to go through that again. Lindsay and Kiersten, I may be asking you soon about the hypnotherapy stuff! I needed a better way to relax and focus through the contractions. Poor David almost got his fingers broken off because that was the only way I knew to control my pain!

But, despite the frustrations and pains, our little angel was born. First 2 things I noticed when holding her was her hair (so beautiful, dark and full!) and that she had a strong resemblance to her beautiful sister, Lydia. That was also the moment that I looked at David and said in a hopeful voice, "So, Hannah Elsie?" David couldn't argue with me any longer and he was locked in. So, I got my little Elsie! I'm so excited! But I'm even more excited to have Hannah in our home. I had forgotten how precious and fragile newborns are. I love holding her and cuddling her when she falls asleep. I love watching her dark eyes take in everything for the first time. I love her huge grins and occasional chuckles as she dreams of sweet things. I love how silky soft her dark hair is. I love how she curls up into a ball when she's comfortable.

Lydia got to meet Hannah for the first time the next morning. At first she was incredibly shy and unsure of approaching us. After a minute of encouragement, she came over to see her new baby sister. She timidly held her for a minute and gave her a couple kisses. But then was ready to go back to Miyah's house. That is how Lydia's interactions have been with Hannah so far. She'll come over and give Hannah a snuggly or a kiss. But then she's ready to go do her other things. My mom, sister and brother came into town to help a little on Saturday, and then took Lydia back to San Antonio with them Monday morning. She seems to be having a lot of fun there and may not want to come back home on Saturday. I'm glad that she was able to get away and get the attention that she needs during this stressful week. But it doesn't keep me from missing my little Princess like crazy! It's so quiet without her here! Well, all except my nights. Those have definitely become more eventful and busy. Hannah seems to think that the night time is the time to be awake and feed. But the days are quiet and uneventful. I'm looking forward to a big hug and kiss from my princess when she returns! I just pray that she is able to continue feeling as special and important upon her return as she did before Hannah was born. These two little ladies are the lights in my life. I want them to know how special, beautiful and wonderful they are. I'm excited to be their mother!

So, welcome to our family Hannah! We are so excited to have you here and to get to know you better!

And one more picture, just because I miss my little Princess right now! We celebrated David's birthday early this year at Fisherman's Wharf. Lydia loved looking into the bay at all of the fish! And she loved hamming up all of the pictures.

You've Had A Birthday, Shout Hooray!

Lydia is now officially 2 years old! Part of me wants to shout "Hooray!", but another part of me is sad. She seems to have grown up overnight. Everyone always told me to treasure each moment possible because it goes by so fast. And I feel like I really tried to, but there just doesn't seem to be enough moments before they grow up! Each stage has had its amazing moments (coupled with the trying ones, but we'll try to forget those.) And she has grown into a beautiful, sweet little lady. I've always considered her to be quite spunky and opinionated, and that has grown even more. But so has her sweetness, her cuddliness, and her desire to share everything with the world around her.

I couldn't possibly name all of the new things that she has done and developed since last time I wrote about her, but here are a few of the highlights:

*She loves to take care of her babies. She now keeps her babies in bed with her, makes sure they have their own blankets, and feeds them a bottle before she will go to sleep. Sometimes she thinks that bedtime means bedtime for her babies, not for her. And this results in some fun 2-year old tantrums. But she loves her babies. Hopefully this means that she will be excited to help take care of her baby sister soon!

*She talks up a storm! I couldn't possibly name all of the words that she can say now, and she's saying new ones everyday. She constantly amazes me with the things that she knows. My favorite words that she says right now are "hadoo" (hiding), "Dove you" (I love you), and "kiss it" (referred to when she needs a kiss on some obscure owwie). Probably my least favorite one right now is "No yike it" (I don't like it). This phrase is used quite frequently lately and refers to almost anything I feed her before she's even tasted it. She'll even say it to the tried and true foods that she's always liked. Sigh. Mealtimes seem to be a battleground lately. Oh, and one of my favorite things that she does lately is say her own prayers. We help her in saying them, but instead of repeating us like she used to, she adds her own commentary. Most of the time they involve praying that Daddy will come home, or blessing someone in our family. It's very sweet.

*She is taking the reigns in her potty-training progress. We bought her a couple of potty seats to go in our bathrooms and she has been taking it from there. She tells us quite frequently when she needs to go potty and we don't have to change her diaper very often. She almost always goes #2 in the potty (I guess she's realized how much more comfortable it is not carrying that around anymore). We've bought her several pairs of panties and we will go full gear as soon as I have a stool that will help her reach the toilet on her own. My guess is that she'll be trained within a month. Hooray! I won't have to buy diapers for 2 kids at the same time!

*Here are some of her favorites:

Favorite food: hmmm...I could toss out several of those. Among the top would be pizza, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, apples, oranges, bananas (or other fruit), broccoli (surprising, huh?), edimame beans (double surprise?), corn on the cob, and, of course, anything sweet.

Favorite Songs: Old McDonald, My Hands, and Personal Penguin (Sandra Boynton)

Favorite Toys: Nothing could possibly replace Pooh, but her babies do come into a close second. Her other favorites are her kitchen/play food & dishes, games (Cootie, Mancala, Hungry Hippos & HiHo Cherry-O) and books.

Favorite Movies: Most anything we put on at the moment. She especially enjoys "Goge" (Curious George), "Tigga" (any of the Winnie the Pooh movies), and the "Boods" ("Birds" aka Rio). Though she doesn't complain when we stick in most any other animated movie.

Other random things to note:

*Lydia is developing a little bit of phobia to anything messy. For example, if anything gets on her hands, then she panics until it gets cleaned off. If anything spills or gets a couple drops on the floor, she has to have it cleaned up. If there are a couple of fuzzies floating ni the bathtub then she will panic and can't get in until they've been removed. It hasn't ever gotten out of control and we've learned to just provide her with a napkin at mealtimes. Right now it's more in the funny and sometimes roll your eyes phase.

*Her stats right now are 36 inches tall (95th percentile) and 29 1/2 lbs (75th percentile). She's very tall for her age and it sure shows when she's with all her friends who are mostly a little older than her.

To celebrate Lydia's birthday, we threw a birthday party with a bunch of her friends. (Conveniently her birthday landed on a Saturday this year.) Of course, this was monkey themed. This little lady LOVES monkeys! So, I made a monkey cake, monkey/banana/jungle decorations, and a cute outfit for her with a monkey on the shirt. We played "Hot Banana". This was kinda like hot potato, except we gave each kid a prize as they got out. And then we took the kids on a jungle safari. Unfortunately it was raining bad and we couldn't do it outside, so we improvised in Lydia's room instead. We set up jungle animals around the room and each kid was given a paper with a picture of each of the animals. As they found the animals they got to color them on their paper. Then we sang Happy Birthday and Lydia blew out her candle. It took her a few tries to get enough of a blow to actually put out the flame, but she enjoyed it thoroughly. Then she opened all of her presents. I think in the future we'll get her less presents on her birthday if we have a party, because she got more than enough from all of her friends and family (Thanks so much!). She loved it though and didn't get upset when her friends wanted to join in the excitement of unwrapping the gifts.

After a yummy breakfast, Lydia opened her family gifts. This is her pretty new dress from G&G Anderson. So cute!

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but she loves to play games and was really excited for her new ones!

Lydia was also in love with her new addition to her kitchen! She has been playing with this constantly since she opened it. Thanks G&G Anderson!

Lydia's cute birthday cake! My cake decorating class paid off! I'm really proud of it!

Lydia and David doing the Jungle Safari around her bedroom. She enjoyed identifying and coloring each of the animals. I was impressed with how well she did!

Very softly blowing out her candle.

And then opening her presents at her birthday party (with the help of some friends:).

After her friends all left, Lydia cuddled up on the couch with her new pizza and all the accessories. I don't quite understand the cuddliness of it all, but apparently it made sense to her. Maybe a midnight snack?

After a much needed nap, Lydia got to talk to Grandma and Grandpa Anderson on the phone as they sang Happy Birthday. Then we went to McDonald's for dinner (kids this age sure are easy!) and (the real excitement) went to the new Petsmart on the island to get her a fish. We hadn't realized though that you should have the filter running in your tank for at least a day before putting the fish in it, so we got all the supplies and just admired the fish. Right now Lydia looks in the tank for the fish and can't understand why she can't find them. We'll go get her some this week :).

Overall, I think that she had a very exciting birthday! We loved spending the day celebrating our Little Princess and are so excited for many years to come! Happy Birthday Sweet Lydia!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I'm finally catching it all up! Hooray! I just updated all of our pictures in Picassa, so please feel free to take a look and see more in depth of what we've been up to. It's taken a while to get it this far because I've been updating 6 months of pictures. Yuck! I hope I never lose my computer again! We do have some more pictures on David's computer from our parents' cameras over vacations. But I'm still working on loading those to my computer. These pictures will give you the general idea at least of what we've been doing.

Part 1: November activities & Thanksgiving

The weather was beautiful for most of November and allowed for a lot of time to be spent outside. Lydia loves to ride her bike. She can't quite reach the pedals yet, but she enjoys Daddy pushing her around anyway.

The 1st weekend of each November is the Motorcycle Ralley in Galveston. We decided to take a gander at it all this year rather than just recieving the downside of Harley's revving their engines all night long. We enjoyed walking around and seeing all the cool gadgets out there. We were just a little bit out of place though. This street is just a small sampling of the bikes in Galveston that weekend. All of the streets were lined like this. More people are on the island during this weekend than any tourist day in the summer. Quite the event!

Lydia enjoyed making her apple turkey. Though, she enjoyed eating it even more!

The week before Thanksgiving, Lydia and I were able to join my parents and Neil for a trip to El Paso. Lydia had never gotten to meet my Grandma and Grandpa Anderson before, so we decided to take the chance while we had it. Unfortunately she got sick while we were there and didn't want much to do with anyone but me most of the time, but they enjoyed meeting their Great Grand-daughter anyway.

One day when we were in El Paso, we decided we needed to get out and enjoy some fresh air. So, we took a trip to the zoo. It was fun to see all the animals and walk around.

We kept telling Lydia to stretch out her arms like the monkey, but all she wanted to do was hug it. It was cute.

Unfortunately the carousel was closed down, but Lydia was still happy to sit on the tiger.

My parents and Neil came back with Lydia and I to Galveston for Thanksgiving so that we could include David in our festivities. After a yummy meal and some much needed rest, we decorated a gingerbread house with Lydia and Neil. I think we did a pretty good job!

We all went to the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens. It was a beautiful night to go and the lights were amazing. Lydia got so excited for each one!

And, of course, we couldn't have my parents in Galveston and not take at least one walk on the beach! Lydia quickly discovered that she loved hanging out with Grandma the most! She was always looking for things in the water and that was where Lydia wanted to be too! They were such cute little friends!

Part 2: December Pre-Christmas Vacation

Santa made sure to visit at our Ward Christmas Party. Lydia loved watching him from a distance as all of the other kids went to talk to him. However, the closest she would get to him was a stretched out high-five. Working on it a little at a time.

Most of my November and December were spent working Christmas gifts. I will do a post on all of my projects soon. Promise! This was one of my projects. Before we left for visits with Grandparents, we had our own little Christmas. This was Lydia's big gift from us. Lydia was so excited to get her own little kitchen for Christmas! She loves to do whatever I'm doing and I'm happy to say that now, instead of pulling up a chair to help me cook on the hot stove, she goes to her own little kitchen and cooks up some amazing gourmet food! She is also modeling one of her cute little aprons in this picture.

I also got a wonderful gift of my new computer which I love using. The only thing that would make it better would be a comfy chair to sit in, but don't tell David I said that! He'll complain that I sold our old one before we left Provo and then immediately start looking for a new one.

Part 3: Christmas vacation: Andersons part 1

Our first stop on our Christmas vacation was to San Antonio to visit my parents, Neil and Eric and Kiersten who came out from San Diego. We enjoyed a couple relaxing days with them and were able to finish up all of our shopping and do some fun baking. Lydia loved playing the piano with Grandma and Uncle Eric whenever the opportunity arose. She always accompanied it with her beautiful little voice. She is going to be quite the performer one day!

Our last night before we left San Antonio (for the 1st time) we did a little Christmas together complete with caroling, stories and presents. Lydia was excited to get some food to go along with her kitchen set and immediately began preparing meals for everybody. David got some much needed tools and I was excited to get a brand new flat iron (the one I've been using was a hand me down from my sister and was never quite what I needed).

Part 4: Christmas Vacation with the Dickinsons

Okay, so this picture isn't really with the Dickinsons. We were able to steal 1/2 a day away and go see my Grandma Matthews in Issaquah. This is our 3 out of 4 generation picture. Next time we need to drag my mom to Washington with us so that we can get the full deal. It was fun to see my grandma. She is such an energetic, happy and caring woman.

We took a few minutes to see my Grandpa Matthews new headstone. It was beautiful. Perfect for him with Mt. Rainier on it and the caption "You are the wind beneath my wings". Lydia loved walking around the cemetary and admiring all the headstones and pretty flowers.

We spend part of a day at Pike Place Market with David's family. I have fond memories of going there as a child with my family. And it never disappoints me when I see them throwing the fish around and tasting all the wonderful nuts! Lydia loves seeing all the exciting things there too! I had though that she may get bored easy, but she was enthrawled the whole time!

That night we went to the Point Defiance Zoo to see the lights. Once again, Lydia loves lights and gets excited for them. It took me several shots to get this picture, but it sure was worth all the effort! Such a beautiful happy girl!

Christmas morning (the real one). It took a lot to get Lydia to stand there for a picture when she desperately wanted to plow into all those beautifully wrapped presents! It was a nice Christmas and I wish I could say like all my friends that the spirit was felt so much stronger because we were able to go to church. But the truth is, that was probably the most challenging sacrament meeting I have ever had with Lydia. I was to the point of tears. I actually gave in a spent a lot of it in the Lobby with her (and that's saying quite a bit because I'm very opposed to letting Lydia think that is acceptable). But, by the time all the excitement over opening presents had cooled down and I had a little time to rest, things got better and it ended up being a pleasant Christmas after all. And sweet Lydia was having a rough trip too. As we found out later that week, she was sick with Fifth Disease and was really having a hard time. Poor girl! (And for those who know about Fifth Disease and pregnancy: I'm okay. My brother had it when I was little and I built up the necessary antibodies for it. So, the baby is doing good.)

Lydia loved Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson's cat, Herckie. This is a sampling of the loving she gave that poor cat. Fortunately, he was very patient with it all and took it like a champ. I think that he was very happy when Lydia went home.

Lydia also loved getting to play with her cousin Sophie who is just 6 months older than her. They were the perfect little duo and were always getting into mischief!

Grandma Dickinson with all of her grandkids: Sophie, Noah and Lydia.

Part 5: Back to San Antonio with the Andersons

Being back in Texas felt amazing after weathering the cold of Washington! I have to say that I am built for warm weather and (as we learned on this trip) so is Lydia. It was both sad and funny when Lydia would cry and say "ouch" when her hands got the slightest bit cold from being outside in Washington!

Anyhow, after getting back to San Antonio, realizing that Lydia had been sick with Fifth Disease for the whole week, being on the phone with nurses on what to do, and then getting some much needed rest, we got outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We spent one day touring the San Antonio missions (minus the Alamo). They were all beautiful and unique in their own ways. Some were restored more than others. It was my first time getting to see them all and enjoyed it a lot.

One of Lydia's favorite parts about the missions were the rock gardens. She loved throwing the rocks and collecting them. My mom joked that she would also have a lunchbox full of rocks one day (like somebody else she knew).
This was Lydia by the time we reached the final mission. Such a sweet little angel!

That night we had fun playing with the parachute and eating my dad's dutch oven cooking.

On the morning before we left San Antonio we took a hike in Government Canyon. It was very beautiful and felt so good to be outdoors! This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip! Lydia loves her Daddy so much!

Grandpa found Lydia her own little walking stick. She had a lot of fun hiking like Grandpa!

And that sums up our trips and some of our fun over the last couple of months. I know it was long, but you made it! Life has been busy, but exciting! Now I'm very excited for some much needed rest, organization time, catching up on things (like blogging), and starting some fun new projects!