Baby Girl is TWO!

It's funny how much a child can change you in such a short period of time. Two years ago, I was the contended mother of three, wondering how on earth I was going to handle ANOTHER baby. Lydia came, that miraculous love instantly flowed, and our family has never been the same since. 

Lydia has so much personality. She came to this earth ready to DO stuff. She is undeterred by her bigger brothers and sister, and generally rules the roost around here. 

 Lydia is a huge fan of her older brothers, but mostly she wants to be with Nora all day. Nora is usually only bothered by this when she's trying to clean her room and Lydia is getting in the way, or when Lydia is demanding whatever it is that Nora is wearing or holding. But for the most part, these two cuddle muffins were made for each other. Lydia has the imagination and playfulness that Nora has missed out on, being the only 'big girl' in the family for so long.

 Lydia also adores her Daddy, and gives the best hugs, accompanied by an enthusiastic "DADDYYYYY!!!" when she sees him walk through the door after work. She is really sensitive to who might be missing whenever we go places. Like if Paul is driving separately and she thinks we've left him, she'll wail for a good five minutes. Same with her siblings.

 This isn't a common thing (yet!) but Lydia has started refusing naps, and then usually takes them anyways when I'm not looking. When this happens, she's most often in her big reading chair with a giant pile of books scattered around her. That's her spot most mornings too. Her routine when she wakes up is very particular- Ben gets her out of her crib and leaves, she shuts her door behind him, then she goes to town "reading" her books for about a half hour. After that, she's ready to be social. But you don't mess with her before she's had that reading time! Seriously.

 Lydia is a builder. She loves her Duplos, so we got her a big set for her birthday. She was pretty excited to have more to work with!

 The day of her birthday, I was also teaching Joy School here at our house. Lydia is usually pretty chill about this, and her birthday was no exception. (The last time we had it here was a different story...lots of drama)

I love how easy to please two year olds are in the present department. 

 She was so excited about all her presents.

 For her cake, I used one of her presents (some Frozen figurines) to decorate it. The frosting wasn't much to look at, but it is a REALLY good recipe I recently got from a friend. Usually I'm not a fan of frosting, but this stuff kicks a 'meh' cake up a notch. Anyways. Back to Lydia... :)

 When she saw the cake for the first time, she kept saying "Olas!" over and over. She had been talking about birthday cake for weeks and weeks, and was thrilled when she finally had one!

 She even blew out her own candles.

 This is what happens when I try to take a picture with all the kids. Peter and Lydia. Sheesh.

Lydia loves animals of all kinds. It's fun taking her to the zoo (but only if you bring enough snacks, I've wisely learned).

 We also recently went to Purina Farms to pet the bunnies and baby animals. She still talks about the "Doggy Show" that she insisted on watching twice while we were there.

 Lydia is my fearless girl who will climb up the playground steps and go down big slides all by herself with no one at the bottom to catch her. And if you even try to hold her hand in a parking lot or carry her, you'd better watch out. She walks BY HERSELF thank you very much. And she climbs into the car and into her car seat by herself too. Thankfully she lets me "help" with the buckles.

 Lydia still loves boots of any kind, and is really good at getting them on by herself.

Lydia is comfortable in her own skin. I love her confidence and creativity and her fierce devotion. I'm excited to watch who she becomes as the "toddler" wears off and the girl emerges. Love this girl.