Lydia is 11 Months Old!

11 Months? Already??? I say it every month, but I just can't believe how fast my sweet girl is growing. She is becoming her own little person, and she's a little person with a BIG personality! She brings so much joy to our little family!

At Eleven Months, Lydia...

• Weighs about 19 plus pounds
• Measures about 30 inches long
• Has made huge sleeping improvements! The biggest skill she's learned is putting herself to sleep. Ever since she was a newborn, it has been nearly impossible to put her down without her waking up in the process or shortly thereafter. So for most of her life, she's either been held, worn, or snuggled with during naps. Its been really difficult to juggle keeping up with Jacob and making sure she gets the rest she needs during the day. But it looks like we're making it to the other side! Whew!
• Continues to do her spider monkey crawl, but sometimes crawls on her hands and knees. She is very fast and gets into EVERYTHING!
• Started standing independently! One day she just started trying to stand in the middle of our living room on her own. She kept falling back on her bottom, but kept working until she could do it!
• Has an increased interest in Daddy. She gets so excited when he comes home from work. We're usually eating dinner when he gets home, and when she hears the key in the door she starts doing her lion roar and saying, "Da-da!!!!" She also loves playing chase with Jacob and Daddy in the evenings.
• Mimics everything - sounds, motions, words, facial expressions! Just like Jacob, she is very observant and expressive!
• Can drink from a straw. I am so impressed by this skill! Jacob was almost 18 months old before he figured straws out. :)
• Is a climber - I find her on top of diaper boxes, Jacob's chair, the step to the bath tub. You can't turn your back for a second.
• Loves shoes (tries to put them on), her kitty, playing in her kitchen, and pulling off headbands! She also loves to play cars with Jacob. (Side note: Jacob does not like to play cars with her!) She pushes them around and makes "vroom-vroom" noises.
• Is a little chatterbox! New words are Pa-pa and bye-bye. She also holds things up to her ear like a phone and says, "Hey!"
• Understands so much! I think we don't give babies enough credit for how much they understand. For example, Lydia will crawl to the bookcase, touch a book, say "no-no" while shaking her head, and then scramble away before I can get there!
• Got her 8th tooth on 9/18 (left lateral incisor).
• Gives hugs and (open mouth) kisses! This is my favorite! She squeezes our necks and says "mmm....mah" as she gives her kiss. She is a sweet, happy girl!

And this is why we don't let Daddy "fix" her hair... :)

Tybee Island

We had the best time with Papa during our long weekend at Tybee Island! We went the last weekend of September, into the first days of October. The weather was absolutely perfect - cool mornings and evenings and warm, sunny days. We were so lucky to have our trip before Hurricane Matthew hit the following week!

The kids absolutely adore Papa. He's pretty much a big kid himself, so they always have lots of fun together. Lydia even added "Pa-pa" to her vocabulary! It was really sweet, and of course Papa felt very special! I was even able to have a couple of relaxing afternoons at the pool while the kids napped, because my dad wanted to stay with them while I had time to myself. At times it actually felt like a vacation! Scott and I have decided that traveling with kids should be called a trip, not a vacation! :)

We stopped in Savannah on our way home. We enjoyed walking on the Riverfront, taking a (free) boat ride, and a stop at the candy store.

This trip was the perfect way to say goodbye to summer!

 Now to catch up...

A few weeks ago, Scott and I were finally able to go on our first kid-less date since Lydia was born. Big thanks to Meme for watching Jacob and Lydia!

We also went to Family Fun Night at Fletcher Park. We played on the playground, checked out some trucks ("Touch a Truck"), enjoyed free popcorn and sno cones, listened to live music, and watched fireworks! It was a blast! We also ran into the Macarrelli Family. Jacob loved running around with Jack and Kate. We were surprised to find Lydia loved the fireworks! She didn't even flinch at the booms!

Jacob got a fresh buzz cut before the beach trip, and he did great! Last time was pretty dramatic, so I prepared for the worst, but he was such a big boy! Yay for no tears!

Lydia continues to get into everything - bowls and cabinets included! She also loved to sit in Jacob's chair. She looks so proud of herself when she sits in it!

She also loves her babies! She carried Baby Dunk (named by Jacob...who knows where that came from!) around all day!

She has also started standing up without assistance. She worked and worked to figure it out. Everyone is predicting that she'll walk by her birthday. I guess we'll see!

We finally got some rain a couple of weeks ago, and Jacob took full advantage of the puddles! He's always loved playing in the rain. I love that he doesn't feel pants are necessary! :)

He's also really been wanting to climb our maple tree. Ms. Toni gave him a boost one day and he loved it! It reminds me of Uncle Andrew, who was an avid tree climber in his younger years.

Bath time fun - Lydia loves to splash Jacob. Jacob doesn't like to be splashed, but I captured some pictures while everyone was still happy!

Two Fridays ago, we went to Culvers with the Hayes Crew. Benjamin and Jacob are becoming best buddies and it is too cute!

And finally, a couple of Saturdays ago, we enjoyed a visit with Grandma and Grandaddy, who have been on an RV trip for the past 6 weeks or so. It was so good to catch up with them. Jacob was so excited to see them again!!!