It's official

• Tobias weighs 18 lb. 2 oz. as of Wednesday
• Tobias can NOT crawl, pull to stand, or cruise (can you tell this is stressing me out a little bit? ;)
• Tobias is very frustrated that he is unable to complete the aforementioned mobility milestones
• Tobias has approximately 1/4" of light, maybe even blonde, hair on the top of his head. We'll take what we can get!
• Tobias is officially excellent at looking very cute, won't you agree? (Ok, so I'm really biased. It's Mother's Day, it's my prerogative to brag a little ;) Notice his shirt says, "I love my Moo-mmy" How fitting!

Easter

So, yes, this is VERY tardy - You'll see why, read on...

Easter was such a blessed time. We did our traditional Good Friday Easter egg painting which Lydia obviously was very focused on,


and then incredibly proud of.


We had fun with the newest member of our family, Rachel Isabelle. She slept the whole time in typical newborn style, so “daddy” (yes, my brother is a DAD!) and Uncle Mark had fun during her slumber.


Take notice of the green food coloring on her lap.

Ta Da!


Lydia had a blast hunting for her Easter basket.
Getting ready to search.

She found mommy's (filled with coffee and tea from my loving husband) first

Hers

Toby enjoying Lydia's DVD.


Eggs at church (aren’t the two little boys helping her the sweetest?!)

This is the extent of Toby’s hunt…

Toby loved standing on G-pa's lap during Easter Breakfast

And eggs and Mimi & Gpa’s. In fact, Lydia coerced Mimi into hiding the eggs again after she found them all the first time.




Unfortunately there existed a stark contrast between the joy and celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and the week to follow in the Willson household. As I was putting Tobias to bed on Easter evening I started feeling sick on my stomach. That began 3 days of aches, chills, fever, and bathroom running followed by 3 more days of bathroom running and little solid food intake for mommy. Lydia actually started on Friday and threw up for the last time Tuesday. Of course, daddy took his turn too and Tobias, thankfully, just got a minor version of this terrible terrible stomach flu. My poor mother got it too so our help was limited. I truly think it was the worst week on record for the Willson family. Yet, I’m grateful it occurred in shifts, I’m grateful that it ended, I’m so grateful for daily bread, the Lord’s healing power, and His almighty provision. During this process Lydia coined a new verb. As I was feeding her breakfast she heard daddy rustling upstairs. She innocently asked, “Mommy, is daddy throw-uping?”

Here's our Happy Family - my bro took these photos for us.



And here are some of my attempts at a "formal" shot. Didn't quite work out so hot. I'm glad I've had more success with other people's kids! The extra hands are key. :)





This captures how most of the sessions (yes, I tried multiple times) went.


Praise God for His indescribable gift in our Lord Jesus who overcame death and the grave so that we may have life eternal. AMEN!

Tobias is 9 months old!

Yes, I'm this BIG!

Cutie

Look at those cheeks and those eyelashes!


Whew! What a month we’ve had! The Willson household, Tobias included, has certainly experienced a rollercoaster ride this month…

Right before Easter, Tobias came down with yet another terrible cold. I am confident, Mark concurs, that Toby’s physical development has been impacted by the amount of time he has spent with some illness or another these past few months. Weeks have gone by where he has been unable and/or unwilling to “play” setting him back a little. I thought for sure by now I could report, “He’s crawling!” but not yet… Now, don’t get me wrong, Tobias does move. He rolls, gets up on all 4’s, rocks, and even lifts one hand up. He effortlessly squirms around in a circle and moves backward quite well (often ending up “stuck” under some piece of furniture.) Here under the sofa.

His method for reaching a toy includes stretching himself out as far as possible. If he is unable to get to the toy, he’s often satisfied playing with the rug underneath him, watching the dog, or waiting for Lydia to deliver another option for entertainment. That’s where his personality comes in – the “drive” to get to stuff just isn’t that strong. He’s typically content with whatever is in his immediate vicinity. Soon enough, he’ll learn.

I’ve come to the realization that I just don’t have “moving” babies, I have “talkers”. Tobias is exploding with vocalizations which, of course, we find adorable. He’s getting his “motor running” doing “zerburts” on different pitches and with various intensity. Mark noticed his “oh, this is so cool, I found something new!” noise is “teh teh” in almost a whisper. And his variations of the letter “D” are remarkable – he’s found every possible way to make that sound. Of course “Da, Dee” loves it! He’s also combining sounds like “Nah Lah” or “Bah Dah” and even put an end consonant on: "Dat". He makes this hilarious giggling/fake laughing sound. We captured it on camera. It’s a riot when he does it spontaneously.
This video was taken 3 weeks ago. His vocabulary & volume has increased since then...


Tobias’ 1sts this month:
• Riding on a train. We met up with Gramma, Aunt M, and cousin Gabby for a Metro ride to downtown DC for the cherry blossoms. We enjoyed the blustery day along with hundreds of thousands of others. Tobias was a trooper. He fell asleep in the pack minutes after this photo was taken.

• Falling on his head. In attempts at taking some “formal” Easter photos, Lydia decided she was done holding Tobias and off her lap and onto the concrete floor he went. He cried for at least ½ a day. Poor thing. The first bump, but I’m sure not the last.
• Becoming a “big” cousin. Tobe’s baby cousin, Rachel, was born at the end of March. He is fascinated by her, trying to hold her hands at every opportunity. He’s not the “baby” anymore…


• A tooth! Of all the milestones this must be the most unpleasant one (for him and us!) What a miserable time for poor Tobias. He had just about every “symptom” that goes along with the process. A start to another 2 or so years of teething.
• Swimming. When we first put Tobias in the little raft during “splashtime” at the Y, he was less than thrilled. With a little distraction he settled down and really settled into his raft. He would lean back and lounge surrounded by toys alternating stuffing them in his mouth.

Toby’s favorites:
• Eating. Anything. A new preference: Fruity Cheerios.
• FACES


• Sitting and playing with the Fisher Price houses and/or emptying containers (Lydia’s play food baskets, Tupperware with blocks, baskets with balls and trains…)


• Standing to play. Sometimes when I attempt to sit him down to play he straightens his legs out as if to say, “Hey, I want to stand, woman!” He is getting adventurous in standing and even letting go with one hand and attempting to bend down to get toys he drops.

• Wake-up time: 6:00am (give or take 10 minutes)
• Sleeping position: On his back with his hands behind his head, elbows out to the side and legs bent with knees out to the side (like a frog). So cute!
• Light switches, cabinet knobs, door handles. He lunges out of my arms in pursuit of these items.
• Being in close proximity to mommy. He just started a little separation/stranger anxiety. This phase is tough on mommy.
Happy as a little clam on mommy's hip.

• Being outdoors. When he gets fussy after or before a nap, the fresh air is a wonderful distraction. He is so content to just sit on a blanket or in the grass with a fistful of Cheerios or a bucket of toys.


My baby is now 3/4 of a year old. Oh, man, is this going fast! The joys outweigh the challenges, the blessings abound for which we are grateful, Lord!

Our "big girl"

Lydia is 2 ½ Years old

WHOA! Over the past few months Lydia has certainly developed from a “toddler” to a “little girl”… The primary turning point in this process was the day we “said goodbye to diapers.” During one of Mark’s 3-day weekends we did a “potty-training boot camp.” After lots of juice boxes, lots of wet pants, and lots of running to the potty, (and lots of stress and patience and perseverance on the part of mommy and daddy) she finally got it! Of course, we have “good” and “bad” days, but we have officially kissed diapers goodbye (good riddance!).

She also got her first real haircut (I know, it's about time!)


Lydia went to her first "big girl" birthday party: that of our dear friend, Riley, who turned 5. It was, obviously, a "princess" theme. All the girls had a blast and I simply couldn't believe my beautiful little girl among all these lovely big girls. They were so nice including her and making her feel special.


Quite a crew, huh? Can't believe our babies are now KIDS! [Ava, Riley, Luke, Owen, & Lydia]


Lydia has much more fun with mommy's photo shoots than Tobias does




St. Patty's self-portraits using "Photobooth" FUN!



Playing ball with daddy - you can see her intensity and energy in these photos. :)



Each day she seems to grasp in greater depth how the world works. For example, she’s into describing who is in her “family.” The members include “Mommy, Daddy, Toby, Guinness, and Blooper.” Yes, her doll, “Blooper” is a part of our family. Blooper has a life of her own (which is strikingly similar to the happenings in Lydia’s life). She takes a nap, goes to time out, eats lunch, pees on the potty (“Blooper does NOT pee in her underwear.”), gets spanked because she “didn’t listen”, plays with toys, goes to church. Blooper has feelings: she “likes” and “doesn’t like” many things, she gets sad and happy and tired. What a beautiful imagination our dear Lydia has. One day she explained to Mark, “I am mommy’s Blooper.” Quite insightful.

Her sense of time is developing too. Every morning she asks, “Where are we going today, mommy?” “Are we going to Bible study or school or church or exercise?” Then she’ll say, “I go to school on Mondays. Miss Chris will not be there. (Miss Chris only works on Wednesdays) but Miss Joy will be there.” When I pick her up from school she will recount the day, “Tillie was sick. We played with balls, we painted, I peed in the potty. Where are we going now, mommy? To the bank for a sticker?” (Don’t I wish every Mon & Wed I had money to deposit in the bank!) As you can tell, she thrives on the structure and experiences of her school days and loves those afternoons with mommy & Tobias.

Speaking of, Lydia is incredibly sweet with Tobias. When she first sees him in the morning, she declares, “We missed you, Tobias!” She even talks in the sing-songy “babytalk” voice which gets him every time. Now that he’s showing interest in grabbing things, we’re working on her not stealing them out of his hands – sharing on the most basic level. He has an eye for her cup and snack cups – as soon as he’s mobile I fear she will be fighting for her food.

When Lydia gets a cold, the first sign is watery eyes. As she was doing her morning potty time she said, “Mommy, my eyes are raining.”

Last week I was expressing frustration about forgetting an item I had planned to put on the grocery list. Seeing my distress, Lydia responded, “Mommy, wanna say a little prayer?” Of course!!! How beautiful that my 2 ½ year old daughter’s response to difficult situations is to turn to the Lord. And what a reminder that He is in every detail… So, we stopped our meal and prayed. Sure enough, moments later I remembered “plastic spoons”, put them on the list, and was able to show Lydia how God answers when we call on Him. Great is Thy faithfulness!

Lydia is totally into making up words. It’s hilarious to hear her “read” a Dr. Suess book (which has lots of made up words anyway) – it’s a comment about the picture on the page followed by rhyming jibberish.

Reading with daddy and Toby


One evening as Lydie and I were snuggled up reading a book, mid-sentence Lydia looked up at me and declared, “You’re a good mommy.” How sweet are these random affirmations – they make every trial, every frustration, every hour of missed sleep, every moment of overwhelming stress just melt away…