*Quack*Quack* Happy Halloween!

Lydia gained an aunt last weekend! Uncle Dan and Kaitlyn got married! Ben was bestman and I was a bridesmaid. Sorry I don't have any other pictures yet.

Driver in Training

Lydia can stay on this car for a pretty long time. She'll shift her weight and drive backwards. While riding, she smiles and reaches out and gabs. And oh does she gab!..and jabber to her toys, rant to her hands, yak to anyone who'll listen. You might hear a 'dada,' 'baba,' or 'hi.' Sometimes you can tell she's babbling about serious stuff, like the upcoming elections, and other times it's just cuteness.

Little Pumpkin

Grandma Jan expertly made this orange get-up and turned Lydia into an adorable little pumpkin. But that doesn't mean we let those people chuck her at the Punkin Chukin Contest. Nope, we kept her close in our arms.

Family Visits

Aunt Sarah, Stacy and Grandma Linda came for a weekend visit!

We saw the Morton Punkin Chukin Contest. Those are cannons on the left in the background, and a catapult on the right.

Snaps

Grandma Jan and friend, Jane, came for a visit. We're out to lunch and then shopping, which might be one of my favorite activities. And I'm not without my cool shades on this sunny warm fall day.

Too much fun. Gotta take a break from shopping for a bottle and a lesson on snapping my fingers.

Now I'm rejuvinated and ready to conquer the world; and I'll start by pulling up on this bench.

First Illness

Lydia has had a runny nose and a cold for at least a week. Unfortunate enough, I'd say. But then at 11pm Wednesday night, Lydia woke me up with a painful cry. A dose of Tylenol didn't stop the crying. I thought it must be the kind of bad teething that people talk about and scare you with. The top two teeth are due to come in soon. So at 1am we took a trip to the 24-hr store and got two different kinds of teething gels. I applied these and she eventually went back to sleep at 2am. The next morning (just a few hours later), I felt bad leaving her with the sitter, but I reasoned: teething is just a normal part of a baby's life, Lydia is without a fever, and she is mostly playful and happy this morning. With that, I dropped her off with the teething gel. At the end of the day, the sitter reported that the gel didn't help with the fussiness, she only ate a quarter of the jar she usually gobbles all down in the afternoon, and maybe she has an ear infection. Hm, you know, I didn't actually see or feel any teeth coming in. And ear infections do commonly strike after a cold. I knew that I had to get her checked out so I called the pediatrician's office, and they were awesome to get us in right away. One peek through the otoscope revealed a bright red left eardrum, i.e., ear infection. So that's what was the matter. Now I'm giving her an antibiotic twice a day as well as Tylenol and Ibuprofen. She's feeling a little better already and sleeping soundly as I type. It's great to have my smiling baby back :)

Tub Time

Scrub-A-Dub-Dub,

My Little Duckie's In The Tub!

Lion, Yum!

Hi there, Lydia. Cute ears :) So, what are you doing in the African plains?

Oh, watch out! There are two lions right behind you!

Uh oh, now there's only one. Where did the big lion go? He looked awful hungry...


Hey! Where are you, Lydia?! Are you okay?!


Phew, there you are!
Looks like you were hungier than the lion. ;) Was he finger-licking good?

The Weekend

Friday night before going out to a Halloween party. You are looking at the cutest duckie in the world! They had it wrong when they voted the best costume of the 0-4 age group a pink fairy.

Eek, this might be a sneak peek at the 2-year old Lydia. This taken on the way to the Spoon River Drive fall festival.

After a big day away at the festival, grocery shopping, and charming fellow diners at Rhythm Kitchen, we're finally back home to stay and play.

If I haven't posted a picture of Lydia rolling before, here she is rolling. It's her transportation mode of choice.