This past week has been filled with several different kinds of tears. But it was centralized around my love for my Grandpa Matthews. His health had been getting worse and worse these past few weeks. He had been having a series of "micro-strokes" that were taking a toll on his brain. He began to struggle standing up and sitting down. He seemed to be living in the past a lot of the time. I was fortunate enough to get to see him for a few hours last week. Lydia loved him! He would wave at her and she would smile so big and giggle at him. She loved her great grandpa!
Yesterday, Grandpa passed away. It was a shock to all of us regardless of how he's been doing. We all thought he had another year left in him. However, I feel so blessed that I got to see him before he moved on. He was such an amazing man. He always gave me so much love and support through everything I did. When I was in my lowest low, he was there for me and often called to see how I was doing. He shared in my joys with me. He was always a great example of faith, patience, love, dedication and strength. I know that he has lived his life worthy to gain Eternal Life. We will all be together again. I am so grateful for the example he has set and count myself lucky to have been his granddaughter. So, Grandpa, we'll miss you for now. But we'll see you again someday. We love you!
Lydia has developed a wonderful new trick of laughing lately! It's slowly becoming more frequent and we were finally able to catch it on video! Hooray! We have tried so many times and she just became so focused on the camera that she stopped laughing. But, finally, here it is! Such a cute baby!
Sorry, I've added so many posts in one day, but I've had a lot of catching up to do! So, there are a couple more new posts for y'all to read. Continue below.
Oh dear!!! I say this every month, but I can't believe she's 4 months already! She's growing so big and learning so much! I knew time went by quickly before having a child, but life just seems too short now that I have one! I wish things would slow down a bit. I try to enjoy and savor every moment possible. Yet there just aren't enough of them to savor! I love watching her smile and doing my darndest to get her to giggle. So, here's her 4 month letter.
Hey Precious Girl,
You are learning and growing everyday. I just can't seem to get enough of you! Your smiles make me melt and your laughs make me laugh. Your spirit is so sweet and innocent. I love having you in my life. I can't imagine living without you now! My life is suddenly so much better than it ever was! It's not because we have more money or my life was so horrible before. But you simply make me so happy.
Here's just a few of the things that you have learned this month:
*You laughed for the first time a few days ago! I was blowing raspberries on your tummy and tickling you with my hair and you let out your first real laughs! It was so exciting! We've gotten you to laugh a little bit each day since then, but I'm excited for you to start doing this more and more.
*You are such a happy baby now! All I have to do is talk to you and smile and you grin right back. It just makes me melt! You seem to adore us!
*You are holding on to your toys now! Mostly just the flatter plastic ones or the cloth ones. You love your little butterfly that flashes lights at you and talks. You are starting to learn how to use your thumb (it doesn't have to be constantly folded down).
*You are becoming more content at laying on a blanket or sitting in your bumbo seat. In fact, the other night you fussed until Daddy finally put you in your bumbo seat. You seemed to just want your own time.
*You are such a little talker now! You love the sound of your voice and are constantly wanting to share it with us!
*You love hanging your tongue out of your mouth! It seems to constantly be on a show!
*You have gone swimming for the first time this last week! You sat in your floating tube and were so chill as we dragged you around the pool.
*You are slowly starting to take naps during the day! We will definitely improve this. But, it's starting to come together.
*You are discovering your feet! When possible, you love holding onto them.
*Oh, and you are starting to grab onto more things put infront of you. Especially my hair, daddy's chest hair, my breakfast, or whatever else we happen to be holding.
*You can sit in your high chair now to play with your toys while we eat.
We love you so much, Lydia! You are a true blessing in our lives! I am excited to continue watching you grow and learn more things. You are helping me recognize how wonderful life really is. Your Heavenly Father really loves you! I am only beginning to understand what that must feel like! Keep appreciating each moment sweet angel!
This is a cute outfit that Uncle Eric and Aunt Kiersten sent from China. It almost fits! Such a cute little white chinese baby!
So much has been going on! My best friend Jenny Sue came to visit. David had his 25th birthday. And we have just been having a grand old time with the beach!
Jenny Sue (Actually just Jenny, but I gave her a middle name because her parents didn't.) flew in late on the 13th. Our first excursion we took her on was too the beach. Too bad the current had brought a bunch of nasty seaweed with it! But we had fun anyways! It was a great day for the waves! And, luckily we enjoyed the beach that day because it started storming after that!
The next day we all went to the Johnson Space Center at NASA. We almost didn't get to do a tram tour because of all the rain, but luckily it calmed down just in time! We enjoyed seeing the rockets. And fortunately David had already gone with his parents, so we didn't have to spend 5 hours in the museum! After coming home from the museum we all went on a double date. Me with David and Jenny with our friend Ben, a fellow 1st year student at UTMB. I think if I ever double with single friends ever again, I will definitely get a babysitter! Jenny and Ben sat in the backseat of our car with a screaming Lydia who just wasn't consolable. She was sick of her carseat and wanted the world to know it! I felt really bad. I'm sure they've never been on a date like that before and probably wouldn't volunteer for it again!
Sunday we went to church and then took a wonderful stroll on the beach. It was a beautiful sunny day! And then on Monday we took Jenny on the ferry and got to see a few dolphins before we took her back to the airport.
It was so wonderful to see Jenny Sue again! We love her and miss her already!
The next big event was David's 25th birthday. To celebrate we had some friends over for cake, icecream and a round of Bang. It was fun. David had gotten his birthday present about a month ago (a much needed laptop computer), so I made a book of coupons for him to use. After all, he is totally obsessed with finding coupons and getting free stuff! So, now he can get some massages, happy time with Lydia (she agreed to put a coupon in there), and meals of his choosing. Happy birthday David!
Also, on Sunday we had our Emergency Preparedness Sacrament Meeting and 5th Sunday lesson. We learned all about the destruction hurricanes can cause, about the different categories, how to prepare for them and all sorts of other things that could scare your socks off! Needless to say, I am very anxious about hurricane season! Apparently they're projecting more hurricanes than average this year because of the warm waters. Now I'm ready to get renter's insurance and polish up my 72 hour kit! Lucky for food stamps, we can get a lot of food storage now! If only we had the room to store it!
Apparently Lydia doesn't find Neuro very interesting!
Other than these big things, we are just having fun. David is studying heavily for his last test on Friday and then we are looking forward to a month of fun! We'll enjoy some time with my family in San Antonio. But we are also trying to figure out what other fun things we want to do. I'm thinking of possibly New Orleans, Austin, Corpus Christi or somewhere else for a couple days. Any suggestions? Anyone want to join us for something? Let us know!
Happy Mother's Day! Today has been a great mother's day! Lydia slept while daddy made me breakfast and then she made a card for me with her footprints just before taking her bath! It's a cute card! (Thanks David!) I also got to speak in Sacrament Meeting. Ummm...I can't say that was a blast, but it was nice to reflect more on the things my mom has taught me. Thanks for being such a great example to me mom! I love you! And I got some great videos of Lydia, so everyone can witness her rolling over and "walking"! Enjoy!
I can't believe a month has gone by since I last posted! My greatest apologies! I'm just enjoying the little lady so much, I don't think about getting on the computer!
However, time just seems to be going by even faster lately than ever before! The little lady is officially 3 months old today! Wow! I can't believe she's that old! And I can't believe how fast she is growing! I looked at some of her newborn pictures and she has grown so much! She's chunking up and is getting so tall! She's a beautiful little girl! So, here's Lydia's 3 month letter.
Beautiful Lydia,
How time seems to flash right by! You have grown so much this month! I love watching you grow and interacting with you more each day. You have a beautiful smile and a sweet little voice. Here are some of the new things that you have started doing this month.
*You love to play in the bathtub and splash with your feet.
*You smile more and more each day and talk to us.
*You've started to interact with us more while we are feeding you.
*You're starting to discover your tongue and often have it sticking out or licking things.
*You love to play with your friend in the mirror! You watch her very intently as she moves her feet along with you.
*You are starting to grab at things and hold onto them. Not really toys yet, but clothes and your burp rags are your favorite.
*You love "walking" around as we support you.
*I've caught you a few times giggling at things. I'm excited for this to develop more!
*You now officially sleep in your crib in your own room! Hooray!
*You sleep all the way through the night! You normally fall asleep around 10pm and wake up about 7:30 am. We love this!
*You are much better at keeping your fists in your mouth! And oh how you love to suck on your fists! You would be the happiest baby in the world if you could just fit both of your fists in your mouth at the same time!
*You roll from your back to your stomach now- not on purpose and you don't like it- but you'll get better at it.
You are such a little angel in our home! We love you Sweet Lydia! I can never seem to hug you and kiss you enough! I wish the moments would slow down, but I know we have a lot of wonderful times ahead of us! I am so grateful to know that you are mine for eternity. I love being your mother.
