Going for a Stroll

She can walk, she can walk, she can walk!! The other night Chad put Lydia behind her doll stroller to take her for a little walk like they sometimes do, but she took off by herself like it was nobody's business. Ever since then she has been a walking!! It is so cute to see her hobble down the hall. She is really pretty good, especially since she decided to just go for it. So fun!

Picking Up

Someone once asked me how old Lydia was and when I replied she said, "Oh, she's at that age where she loves to dump things out, pick it back up again, and then start all over." I replied that Lydia indeed loved to dump stuff, but had yet to put anything back. She loved to empty the diaper bag of every single item all in sacrament meeting, she loves to throw her shoes on the floor from their perch on the second shelf of our bookstand, and she loves to throw her diapers, one at a time, over her shoulder when she finds them neatly stacked in the cupboard downstairs. Chad even said of her, "Disorganization is her happiness." And I loved her for it.

Well, in this video, for the first time ever, she started picking up one of her messes. She had shredded a tissue all over the front room floor. Chad, for whatever reason, picked up one of her empty snack cups and put in a shred of tissue for her. I guess she liked the idea because she kept filling her cup (and sometimes accidently dumping it so she'd have to start over) and it kept her entertained for quite awhile. We caught it on video. Ah, my little girl is growing up.

Busy Bee

So Lydia was a bee for Halloween and I thought it was ADORABLE. I must say that Halloween has seemed lame to me since I grew up. But having a baby to dress up and take to the ward trunk-or-treat brought all the fun back for me. Maybe even more than when I was the one being dressed up since I usually feel a little silly when I'm not dressed like myself (and even sometimes when I am). Lydia's little friends Claire and Derick also looked killer in their adorable costumes. And you haven't seen adorable until you've seen magnetic earrings in the pirate ears of a six-month old boy! I almost died. We tried to teach Lydia to say "Buzzzzz" before the big day, but she didn't quite get the hang of it. She was so cute that the sound effects would've put her over the top I'm sure. See for yourself.

Happy 1st Birthday Lydia!

Lydia turned ONE on October 29th. I can hardly believe it. We celebrated the event with all the pizzazz that I have ever mustered for a birthday (I'm not a big party planner). Chad put up all the streamers you see in the picture below and I spent the better part of the day baking Lydia's cake, cupcakes for our guests, and then decorating the goodies.

After all the guests had arrived we brought out the cake. She loved looking at it. We sang, and then I tried to help her blow it out. One little candle and it took me like four tries. Obviously it's been awhile since I blew out candles. Let the mess begin! We stripped the birthday girl and let her go at the cake. She was a little timid at first which is just like her. But by the end....

Well, you can see for yourself.
She got tons of cute presents, and then we carved pumpkins. She was all about helping Chad gut our pumpkin. She at one time had a spoon in each hand and was pushing Chad's hands out of the way--she wanted it all for herself.

Here Lydia is with her best gal pal Claire. Thanks to all who came and made it such a fun night, especially Grandma and Grandpa Carrigan who only had to drive 820 miles to be here.