"Welcome to Lydia's Fairy Land!"

 I love the fairy toppers I found for Lydia's fairy birthday party.

A shot of all the party fairies.  (Lydia, Gma Jan, Abigail, Kaitlyn, Gma Linda) Abigail looked the cutest crawling around with her little fairy wings. Wings were provided for guests who forgot theirs at home. 

*fairy speak*

I love that the grandmas are still sporting the tight wings well after the photo.

 Abigail is having tons of fun with the fairy wands. Swan Lake and other fanciful music was the soundtrack for fluttering and dancing.

 Greg's eating his pasta & meatballs with star-shaped garlic toast nice. Sarah and Matt are being good at the table coloring their Tinkerbell pages.

 Three little candles and three little wishes for this little fairy who turned three!

Yes, we're in the princess phase, and getting a Hello Kitty manicure from Sarah.

Lydia received so many FUN birthday gifts, too many to mention. Thank you "fairy" much everyone!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lydia!

My "I do it myself; I'm a big girl," my "Abgail cry, then I made her laugh," my "I can't go to sleep without my bear, my blanket, my dolly, two books...I'm thirsty...Sing me a song" Lydia is three today!

Wake up, Birthday Girl!

She wants to wear a dress every day, but today she wanted to wear the fancy pink dress. She wanted the little muffin and the pink candle. :) This girl knows what she wants. Then she wished for a dolly friend for her dolly, and blew out the candle (in one try. last year it took about 20 tries!).

Consistently little weighing in at 28.2 lbs and measuring 35 inches tall, almost 3 feet!

First Steps!

 Abigail took two little steps at Great Grandma Edna's house last week. Then she took three; then she took four! Now all she wants to do is hold on to my little pinky and go for walks.

Standing and blinking.

Eyes open but crutching on a  toy.

Abigail was doing great with her first steps and correcting her balance. But when she flapped her arms in excitement or turned her head to look behind her, then she went down for sure. She's such a big girl. Where has the time gone?

The Domes

Ah, we had a fun weekend. We weren't all perfectly healthy, as Abigail started with a runny nose, but we felt good. It started on Saturday with a little trip to Ikea, where it's always awe-inspiring, crowded, and you pass by people speaking a foreign language. Call me weird, but it reminded me of Disney World.

After church on Sunday we saw ice sculptures and active artists participate in Wisconsin's State Snow Sculpting Competition in downtown Racine. It was very cold, so we just took one loop around the 10 large sculptures-in-the-making. Some were real wonders. 

Then on Monday, MLK day, Ben had off work so we went to the Mitchell Park Domes. 

 The first dome is the tropical jungle. I soaked in the warm humidity and admired the beautiful environment. Lydia wanted her picture taken in front of the purple star-shaped orchids.

This tree makes 'sausages!'

Abigail & I enjoyed the waterfall.

 Lydia continued her scavenger hunt in the second dome, a desert oasis.

Can't forget about mid morning snack time! Goldfish never disappoint.

 

On to the third dome, the floral gardens with seasonal display. Daddy and Lydia followed the trains as they traveled the railways in the circus town.

Abigail had a laugh in the gardens.

Neat circus elephant

And that's our fun weekend to kick off a fun new year and good health! May a fun year and good health be yours too!

growing...

Look! Abigail's hair is long enough for pig tails now! The fun begins. I really love this stage. She's playing a little more independently, sleeping better, and big enough to give a solid hug to.

She loves pulling up on things and standing, so we're working on walking. She's into peek-a-booing around things now, like this door. I remember Lydia got into this around her first birthday too.

Two of a Kind

 

One of the girls' Christmas gifts from Grandma Jan were these matching handmade knit snowman sweater outfits.

Abigail looks like a cute baby here. She has 6 teeth now even though you can't see any of them
She's into saying "mah!" a lot.

Lydia likes to say "cheese" and forget to look at the camera.

Christmas Eve & Following

 When we got to Grandma Jan & Bruce's house, Abigail found all the pretty decorations right away.

 Went to kid's Christmas Eve service where they invite all the kids to dress up as part of the nativity scene. Lydia was up front for a good while as an angel.

Back at the house, we had dinner and exchanged gifts with the step family and kids.

Before bed, Lydia put out carrots and celery for Santa and his reindeer.

 

A white Christmas means sledding! Lydia was timid last winter, but not this time! She was moving her body weight to go go go! Bruce helped her get back up the hill.

We went to Grandpa & Kathy's on Christmas Day. Had a nice time with Addie, Kathy's parents, and Dan & Kaitlyn.

 

 

After a few days at home, we went to Sarah's to exchange gifts. Abigail had fun playing with the step between rooms. Then we went to Grandma Linda's house and I woke up totally sick. Thanks to Stacy for pulling the girls in the sled in the snow and Mom for giving me a rest. When we all feel good and healthy again, we're going to take a Fun Day!