profiled

Name that cousin!!

 

10 months old!

Our little Lydia is growing up! It has been so fun to see her develop into her cute little personality these days!

She loves to laugh and play- her favorite game is peek-a-boo. She’ll tease you by hiding behind a couch, blanket, pillow, counter, etc, then pop out to surprise you!

She LOVES to be on her feet and she’s walking everywhere. If she falls, she’ll start crawling but then realize it’s much more fun to walk, so she’ll get to her feet and start walking again.

At her 9 month appointment, she was 18lbs, 3oz and 29in tall (50% weight, 90% height!). The doctor was impressed that she had taken her first steps already :) (And she FLYS up stairs, too but has no clue how to go down!)

She has 4 teeth on the bottom, and nearly 2 have broken through on the top. These past few days it seems that she prefers table food to mashed baby food, and she insists on putting it in her mouth herself- then if its new, she’ll take it out to examine it, then put it back in two or three times.

Though she’s not one to enjoy sitting and reading with anyone, she has some favorite books that have textures that she loves to touch and feel over and over. Her favorite toys are the ones that aren’t toys of course- remotes, phones, laptops, etc! We borrowed a friend's bike buggy and went cruising along a forest preserve trail a couple weekends ago. She loved having daddy pull her!

She still only says “Mama” and “Dada” occasionally, but she is CONSTANTLY babbling and we hear new letter sounds all the time! She has a lot to say, especially during mealtime!! We look forward to hearing all that she is saying in a little while! :)

And the above photo reminded me of a couple taken 5 years ago of her mommy and daddy, and her aunt and cousin:

We miss you Aunt Amy and Rebekah!!

exploring the world on two feet

Here’s a recent photoshoot from our favorite photographer, Erica Hang!!

Walking all over!

She's walking all over the place these days!! Here she is at the Botanic Gardens.

Walking with help!

Lydia borrowed a push toy from her cousins and this how she did on her second day of practice. Pretty, good, huh?!

biking across Wisconsin

Our family participated in Coast 2 Coast Wisconsin for the first time this summer! There were about 70 others in the group, both from our church and from other churches around the country.

The bikers started on the western border of Wisconsin on the Mississippi River and ended at Lake Michigan after 5 days of riding 50+ miles each day!

 

Off they go!

There were about 70 total in the group- both from our church and several others as far as Wyoming. It was cool to be able to bond with so many people over a week’s time- through riding, eating, playing games, worshiping, cleaning up or loading vans together.

These riding buddies found creative ways to get up tough hills!! ;) (Ok, Adam and Peter only grabbed on to the van once…)

Lydia and I had some great company on the road!

Adam and I traded a day so I could ride. I went 60 miles. It was tough but it felt great to finish!! Here we are on the 5 minute Merrimac ferry in the middle of the route.

Each day we’d find a public pool to shower and swim.

Each night we slept at a different church. We had to find creative ways to keep Lydia clean :)

In the evenings we’d have great worship time led by Peter. Adam borrowed a bass guitar and played along a few times. It was the first time I’d ever heard him play! Turns out he’s quite the rocker ;)

Lydia’s first watermelon!

Overall, it was a great experience! I think the three of us grew a bit and learned how to be flexible and enjoy special moments being surrounded by great friends.