Los Lynns

I can’t believe my baby is already 1 year old!  I know any child’s birthday is a huge milestone, but having Isabel to here to compare makes it so much more surreal.  Lydia was even smaller when she was a newborn.  It really shows you how life really is miraculous.  At Lydia’s 1 year check-up she weighed in at 20 pounds 10 ounces and 30 inches…or 2 1/2 feet tall!  Lydia is a talker!  We just wish we knew what she was saying.  Lydia’s party was a big hit.  She got more presents than she did at Christmas…it was pretty ridiculous.  It kind of had and 80’s theme, too.  She got her first glo-worm and cabbage patch kid.  I also tied her dress over to the side so she could crawl.  Lydia was not interested in her cupcake, so smashed it to smitherines, but never tried to eat it.  Greg finally tricked her into eating some cake and ice cream.  She is eating more solid foods.  Bananas and cheerios are a staple in her diet.  She took two steps on her birthday, but no one saw them but the neighbors!  We were all in the same room too.  The next day she took 4 steps to see mommy.  It is like a mummy walk right now, but she will be taking off in no time.  I do have some videos I need to edit and add the the site sometime, but don’t hold your breath.  I’ll try to get those done before  they are in kindergarten!  In the mean time here are some pics of Lydia’s birthday!

Isabel Mae Lynn was born at 9:56 on Friday May 16, 2008.  She was 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long.  She is really an easy newborn.  I think we feel a little spoiled.  Lydia loves giving Isabel kisses, but sometimes she pats her sister a little too hard.  Greg’s mom was there for the birth along with our friend, and videographer, Lia.  The birth was another great experience for me…once it got started.  After being told we would be induced Monday night…we finally got called in to the hospital at noon on Friday.  It was a very frustrating week.  When I arrived at the hospital I was 3-4 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced.  I would have gone into labor on my own by the weekend!  After about 9 hours of labor Isabel was born, and she was “sunny side up.”  All the grandparents have been a great help.  They get Lydia duty and give me time to nurse and bond with Isabel.  I will be one busy mom when my mom goes home this Saturday!  Hopefully I can hold down the fort with a busy toddler and needy newborn.  Here are some pics of Isabel!

So much has happened since my last entry! That is probably why I haven’t had time to get around to it! I’ll start where I left off in February…

Greg and I spent the last two weeks of February in separate states, he was in California and I was in Illinois. He had a 2 week intensive course at Fuller Pasadena. Lydia had a really hard time being away from daddy, she “talked” to him on speaker phone every night. She also got very sick on our trip, the worst she had ever been sick at the time…103 temperature…yikes! It was a scary time for me and it was hard for Greg to be away from us during that time. I was so grateful that I could be with my mom and brother to help me with the sick baby. Also Lydia’s favorite song one of the only things that would calm her down during the trip was Alicia Keys song No One, which Unkie Gabe just happened to buy for me! Thanks Gabe. Lydia threw up on both plane rides, that was a lot of fun. Lia picked us up from the airport in Mesa and we arrived safely home. It was great to see family, but Greg and I don’t ever want to have to be apart for that long again!

March…Lydia figured out how to crawl! She had been working on crawling for about 1 month…and she finally got the hang of it this month. I had been working with her daily, then one day when I was getting the mail…she crawled for Greg. I almost cried. Despite being disappointed to miss seeing her crawl for the first time, I was very proud of her. Lydia also had her 9 month check up in March she weighed in at 20 lbs and 28 inches long, the 75th percentile for both…her head was in the 90th percentile. Greg started classes again, yay. He is only taking two classes, but one has a pretty heavy workload. Be praying that we can get through this quarter with little stress and manage our time well.

And then there was April…We kicked off this month with Lydia having a major stomach flu. We visited the ER once and she was sick for a solid week. It was really rough for all of us. Guess who else got the stomach bug my wonderful hubby. Guess who took care of two sick babies…ME. Yes I thought I was going to have to pull my hair out, and I was impressed at how little sleep a woman 7 months pregnant could function on, but we made it! I really don’t want to do that again any time soon. We had to say goodbye to Pedro and Suki. We took them to the humane society and it was very sad. They just weren’t adjusting to Lydia especially with her being more mobile. They were more intimidated by her than anything, but it wasn’t fair for them or us to live like that. So we pray that they get adopted by a great family!

On a more positive note…I am three weeks away from delivery and looking forward to it. I will be induced May 15th or 16th. Greg and I are getting things done on our To Do Before The Baby Comes List. I just don’t know what we will do when the baby is actually here. It seems a little overwhelming at the moment. Lydia will be 11 months old this Thursday! Its so hard to believe. Here are some pics from the last three months!

Okay, this updating every two months may just be a trend. So lets catch up! Lydia is doing so much these days…she is starting to eat little pieces of banana and baby puffs, steadying herself on her hands and knees (no crawling yet), pulling up on mommy and daddy, the dogs are her best friends, and her 7th tooth is coming in. She also had two major milestones…first haircut and her ears pierced! A lot has happened lately.

We spent Christmas in Illinois to be with my family. It was bittersweet…Lydia’s first Christmas and the first without dad.
Our lives will just never be the same. We got to see a lot of family and friends. I (Alicia) got to enjoy my Steak n’ Shake cheese fries…a pregnant woman’s dream! Overall it was a great trip. January went by super fast. Our friends Sed and Cheryl came for a weekend visit on their way home to Alaska. We went to the Desert. Botanical Gardens and had a blast. I got to go to my first NBA game ever! We had 15th row tickets and post-game passes, it was so cool. While I was at the game Greg was in Sun City at a church dinner with Lydia. He was such a great husband to let me go out and have some fun.

I am currently 24 weeks pregnant. Lydia likes to pat/hit my belly, apparently it makes a good drum. We know that this baby will be a girl also, so it will be great financially. Greg is working hard to provide for his growing family. He is still doing school. This year he will start taking intensive classes in Pasadena, CA every quarter. You can pray that he has safe travels and that God will provide finances for these trips. I hope you enjoy the new batch of pics!

So apparently I like to update every two months! So let’s catch up! Lydia is sleeping in her own crib and loving it. She has started eating solid foods. She loves sweet potatoes. Lydia was almost rolling over…and then she found her feet and decided it was much cooler to suck on her toes than roll on her belly. She is sitting up now. She loves to scream, make fart noises, and grunt. She has her two bottom teeth. Greg and I are fine. He is working and doing school. I am being pregnant and taking care of Lydia. Here are some Thanksgiving pics. I also made a set of miscellaneous pics.

Yes…we are PREGNANT! Lydia and Little Lynn will be approximately 1 year apart. This was not is our plans, but apparently God has other things in mind. I’m having a little nausea, but nothing too major. You can all be praying for us. Since we have to buy our own heath insurance we do not have maternity coverage. Yikes! It is in God’s hands. We will keep you all updated.

This is a video we took when Lydia very first started talking.

This is video of Lydia making a treasure for Daddy. Enjoy.

This was Lydia’s favorite thing for a while. She loved to be in her swing on the fastest setting with the music on.

Here is Lydia being fussy at a few weeks old.