March Madness!

March was a fun, full month for us! We always love March, because we get to celebrate Papa's birthday on the 5th and Meme's birthday on the 15th. Jacob loves picking out special birthday plates and helping me make a cake for each celebration. We love Papa and Meme so much and are so glad we got to share their special days with them!

Papa spent the weekend with us! We had fun playing outside, walking on the trail behind our house, and going out to lunch.

Mother nature has been a little confused this year. February was incredibly warm and spring-like, but most of March felt more like winter. We even had a little snow! It didn't last long, but we enjoyed it while it did. It was a fun surprise for all of us, especially Jacob, to wake up to 4 inches of snow! We did a little sledding, threw some snowballs, and took a snow walk on the trail behind our house - all before it melted around noon.

Since the chilly weather kept us inside more, we decided to go to the Mountain Play Lodge with our neighbors one morning. I don't think I've taken the kids there since Lydia was a newborn and Jacob fell off some equipment and busted his lip. This trip was thankfully much less eventful and much more fun! Both kids loved climbing and sliding on all the fun stuff there.

Even with all the cold, we did still have some really nice, warm days. We went outside any chance we got!

Last week we went to a really fun park near Cane Creek Middle. Lydia LOVED sliding by herself and Jacob loved seeing the school buses leaving at the end of the school day.

We're really excited to see our spring garden starting to grow!!! We planted peas, kale, and romaine lettuce. I'm hoping Jacob will think eating some of these veggies is just as fun as growing them! One funny thing - Jacob says we planted kale chips, because the only way we eat kale in the Baden house is in chip form! :)

We were so lucky to be able to meet up with my cousin, Sam and his fiancé Lisa this month! They live in Kentucky, but were traveling to Virginia to visit his other set of grandparents. The couple is getting married this summer, so it was fun to see them beforehand. It was also the first time Sam got to meet Lydia. We can't wait to celebrate with them in July!

We got decked out in our green for St. Patrick's Day! Well, everyone but Daddy. He is a party pooper. Jacob cried when Scott didn't wear green, because he was afraid he would be pinched at work! (Personally, I hoped he would! Who doesn't wear green on St. Patrick's Day?)

Jacob was long overdue for a haircut, so we hit up the barbershop this month. He was such a big boy and sat in the fire engine instead of my lap this time!

Jacob continues to love school, and I can't believe he only has two months left before summer break. He had spring pictures at the end of the month, and I took Lydia, too. I had high hopes of getting a cute picture of the two of them, but I don't think that happened. Jacob was very cooperative, but Lydia - not so much. I was also a little disappointed, because they had to do them inside because of rain. I snapped a few pictures at home before we left.

These two keep us laughing!

15 Months

I started writing this post in February, and now here we are in March, and Lyddie is already another month older! I need to do better at this!

Lydia turned 15 months on February 9th! I stopped doing her monthly updates after she turned one, but she's growing and changing so much that I feel like there should be some record of it. Right now I feel like there's no way I could ever forget a single sweet (or not so sweet) detail of her babyhood, but I know from experience with Jacob, it happens before you even realize it.

At 15 Months Lydia...

• Weighs 20 + lbs (33rd percentile)
• Measures 31.5 inches (75th percentile)
• Says Mommy, Daddy, Ga-Ga (Jacob), E-uh (Lydia), Papa, Me (Meme), go, muh (more), puppy (in reference to any animal), cookie, cracker, no, yeah, wa-wa (water), ba-ba (baby), ooo (shoe)...just to name a few! She is super verbal and gets very frustrated when we don't understand what she's trying to say.
• Is FINALLY sleeping! It took 14 incredibly long months, but Lydia has finally started acting like a human rather than a raccoon when it comes to nighttime sleep. She is still not super reliable when it comes to naps, but is doing way better.
• She wakes up most mornings between 6 and 7, typically 6:45. Then she takes a morning nap around 9 - 9:30. This nap usually lasts about 45 minutes. I actually tried to cut this nap out altogether, but she's not there yet. She got super cranky by 11 and her afternoon nap wasn't lasting any longer than it was before. We'll try again in a month or so. Then she goes down for an afternoon nap around 1:30. This nap is usually a exactly an hour. She's ready for bed between 6:30 and 7pm.
• LOVES...
• Shoes! A favorite past time is taking shoes on and off over and over and over again!
• Singing & Dancing! Favorite songs include: Old McDonald (E-I-E-I), Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Baa-Baa Black Sheep, and Where is Thumbkin?
• Babies! She loves real babies (ba-s) and her dolls. She hugs, rocks, feeds, and (tries) to diaper them. She has a very nurturing nature!
• Stuffed Animals! Bunny, Lamby, Pandy, Kitty, and Figgy are among her favorite. Whenever she wakes up, she insists on handing them to you one-by-one and taking all of them with her....every.single.one.every.single.time!
• Mickey Mouse Club House! Especially the Hot Dog Dance! She also loves watching Mother Goose Club.
• Bath Time! She loves to splash and usually makes Jacob cry, because he hates getting water on his face.
• Playing outside! She loves running up and down our hill, drawing with chalk, and pushing her shopping cart.
• Climbing! We had to rearrange our living room so that our couches are against walls.
• To eat! Favorite foods include cheese, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, mandarin oranges, pasta, oatmeal, green peas, and green beans. And of course, cookies.
• Purses! She loves stuffing things in bags and carrying them around, especially in public!
• Having her picture taken!
• Her brother! She adores Jacob and copies every single thing he does!
• HATES...waking up (always cries upon waking...NEVER wakes up happy), getting her diaper changed, closed in spaces, such as bathroom stalls and elevators, being separated from Mommy, dropping Jacob off at school, and sitting in shopping carts!

We love our sweet, spunky girl!!! ♡