Friends

It's hard to believe but my friends kids just keep getting cuter. Enjoy...

A "Gummy" teaparty at the Dortenzo's

Darling Riley with tired Tobe and Lydia

All 4 sitting together for one, brief, moment

Riley lovin' my kids

Brave Maeve

Owen


Happy Anna

Cooper

Coop and his beautiful momma

Proof: Toddlers CAN share!

Owen and Lydie squinting

Jude and Toby: Happy boy, Sad boy

Ava & Lydie being silly

Jude is one week older than Tobias

Blowing bubbles...

Very very silly (I love how the boys are totally oblivious to both the frivolity of the moment as well as the fact that they are falling over)

Avery is practicing for her job as "big sister" in a couple weeks

HUGS!

The newest member of the bunch...Welcome, Natalie!

Tobias is 3 months old!

With the days of constant screaming behind me, I am finding more joy in this child each day. He is developing a relatively regular eating and sleeping schedule (including 8 hours at night – horray!) and his “awake” times are much more pleasant. He is cooing and smiling for extended periods of time. He bats at his dangling toys with much more purpose now and really studies them. He gazes at his hands then stuffs them in his mouth. He loves to be held upright (that reflux still gets him sometimes) and facing out so he can see what’s happening. He grins from ear to ear when daddy sings him “Do-Re-Mi” (daddy’s scales can sometimes be a little off-tune – hilarious to Tobelerone). And even laughs when his hands are played with. Nothing compares to a squeal of delight! He’ll follow his sister with his gaze as she prances around the room. He still primarily rejects “tummy time” but today I got him to tolerate it and he did so well with holding up his head. I think he may have even enjoyed it! We sure are enjoying him!

He truly is "so cute" in hats

Look at those chubby cheeks!


A favorite activity... hand sucking

Smiles from Tobe = priceless!

Tummy Time


Daddy's boy

Daddy returned from MTEC tired, but thrilled - He didn't miss a minute of the Giant's game! Don't they look alike here?


Toby in action

Lydia is 2!

"I'm TWO!"


Once again we give God the glory for the miracle and blessing of the life of Lydia Elise. We are overcome with thankfulness and joy when we consider how the Lord has moved in her life and we are humbled by the way He has used us to share His love with her. It honestly amazes us to see how even the mind and heart of a 2 year old can grasp His truth and exhibit such enthusiasm for His word (“Read the Bible”), His house (“Go to church?”), and singing His praises (“I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart!”).

A couple weeks ago as we were driving to my parents, Lydia blurted out, “I see Jesus riding a bicycle.” Now, I didn’t see anything remotely resembling that picture, but Daddy did tell her that she could see Jesus anywhere!

One of Lydie's favorite activities is playing on her playset. I hear, "Wanna fwing (swing)" atleast 5 times a day. :)


Slide static. What fun!


Following in her mother’s footsteps, Lydia simply LOVED her birthday. She would sing along as she was sung to by her friends and family. She even pretends her crayon container is a cake and sings and blows out the “candles”. She was absolutely adorable opening her presents. She’d get this look on her face of true awe and gasp. Then she’d repeat, “Awww, that’s so cute.” Or “That’s cool.” When she received pieces of clothing she would hug them or kiss them & of course to every toy she exclaimed, “Open this please!” She even expressed her thanks with a little encouragement (it was tough to divert her attention from her gifts).

Opening her singing "Old McDonald" card on her birthday morning.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to herself along with...

...her play group friends.


Happy girl during her birthday dinner.

This child LOVES ice cream!

Our little imitator got cleaning tools from mommy & daddy - we'll use this mimicking to our advantage!

She was VERY intent on vacuuming.

Gasp! Look at it!

Chillin' in her tent.

Cupcakes: A Lydia favorite. She picks all of the sprinkles and icing off and leaves the cake.

"Buh-rown" ice cream - a frequent request.

Hugging her new outfit. She gave it a kiss too. :)

We love you, Lydie Lew!

Here are some more little stories in the life of Lydia E...

Since we knew Tobias was coming along, we haven’t really worked on potty training due to the potential for regression. Recently she has been telling us as she performs a B.M. and when she's done asks, “Change my diaper, please?” Last week I caught her pushing and I said, “Lydia, are you pooping?” Her response: “C-mon poop! Hi, ho, let’s go!” Is cheerleading in her future? ;)

She is so very sensitive and perceptive. As I was reading to her she pointed to my eyebrow and said, “What happened, mommy?” I thought, “What could she possibly see on my eye (besides the dark circles under them)?” Then I remembered: I have a chicken pox scar at the end of my left eyebrow and she had spotted it! I told her about it and reassured her that her shots protect her from getting that horrible disease.

Lydia on her first day of school. When I ask her what she did at school her reply is, "Take a nap." or "Play with balls" Last week it was "Make bats" (they made a craft bat to hang on their spooky tree). Unfortunately she's having a bit of separation anxiety - it just started a couple weeks ago and she has done it at school and at church in the nursery. I feel badly leaving her screaming, but I know she calms down in a couple minutes. She really does have a good time there and is often quite energetic when I pick her up. Always hungry, always smiling.


Lydia can now sing her “ABC”s and count to 10. Of course, sometimes she gets distracted and mixes things up but the basics are there. This child just loves to sing. She often wakes up singing and it’s her favorite thing to do in the car. I love her sweet voice any time. The past couple days she has requested "CD"s and that I sing with her.

A common response (if she's in a good mood) when Lydia is asked to do something, "Sure!"

“Why?”: Not constantly, but in the past week she has started to ask, “Why?” Whew, I know I’m really going to be tested now!

Sibling shots

Lydia and Tobias hanging out on my bed watching Sesame Street, a favorite morning activity.


She looks so sweet and loving here.

Singing the "shake hands" song with Tobe


God's planning and timing is greater than we can fathom - He knew these two children would come into our lives and the lives of one another at just the right time. These photos remind me that despite the challenges of "2 under 2", the blessings far surpass them!

Tobias is 2 months old!

Well, our relatively “predictable” newborn followed suit in his second month, unfortunately his predictable pattern included lots of screaming. Poor thing would wake out of sleep almost exactly 2 hours after nursing screaming at the top of his little lungs. It truly is amazing the volume an infant can create. In fact, I read in Baby Talk this month, “The average newborn shrill measures 110 decibels, more than the sound pressure generated by a passing freight train or a jackhammer.” I believe it!!! It has been a trying time. It’s so difficult to console him and so hard as a mother feeling unable to take the pain away from your child. After exhausting all of the "tricks", I hit a point of desperation and decided to take him to the doctor’s 3 days before his scheduled 2 month visit. She put him on Zantac for reflux which has greatly improved the situation. He still has his moments but thankfully the intensity and frequency has diminished. I hope and pray he grows out of this soon.

I love how babies look when they just get out of the bath.


Noone is quite sure who Tobe looks like... Here are photos of him and my brother John as a baby. See a resemblance?




Our friends Jen & Ryan sent Tobi this Redskins outfit for the big Skins/Giants game. Mark almost hyperventilated when I put it on him and required that he also have some sort of NY apparel on. This is what resulted...




Since the moments are few and far between I cherish being able to catch my sleeping little boy. He looks so incredibly peaceful in direct contrast to his painful, red-faced grimace when he has these painful screams.



On a positive note, Toby LOVES music. We sing to him in a high-pitched voice which elicits a smile every time. :) He also coos in response to our melodies. It’s quite entertaining to hear daddy belt out “Twinkle Twinkle” in falsetto. Tobe has “found his hands” and keeps himself entertained by waving them and watching them fly. We also found he enjoys rocking and swinging. He was quite content watching a dangling Pooh while swinging high while mommy showered.

Tobias had a wonderful 2 month doctor’s appointment. He continues to be in the 50th %tile for weight at 11 1/2 lbs. (This is so crazy for me having such a small first baby). He handled 3 shots as good as a newborn can – fell asleep immediately after getting dressed. The doctor is keeping an eye on his belly button – he thinks there may be an abnormality, but nothing to be too concerned about right now. We praise God for His amazing gift of this healthy little life.



CHEESE! See, he does smile sometimes! :)