October

The month of October has been a blur. Of course it started out with lots of celebrating, followed by the chaos afterward of finding spots for and playing with the new toys and Lydia creating thank-you notes (followed by mommy writing and sending them).

We also enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon in the pumpkin patch.
Our annual mommy & Lydie photo on the horse

Toby got in on it too this year!

Tossing hay in hunt for the gourds

Daddy in the hay maze

Lydie too

"The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind..."

Toby found one!


So did Lydia

Finally, this is "the one"

Look at the face on this stinker!

I love how Tobias is just loungin'


Tobias thoroughly enjoyed and was quite adept at feeding the animals.



Unfortunately, the middle part of the month was plagued by illness in the Willson household. A few days after I had not been feeling “quite right”, the chills and aches began. This was followed by days fighting a massive headache, sinus congestion, and otherwise feeling wiped out and worthless. Four days into my illness when Tobias spiked a fever I immediately took him to the doctors. After his exam, our doc did the test for “Influenza A” aka “H1N1” aka “swine flu” which unfortunately came back positive. It was too late for me to get any medication, but Tobias was immediately started on Tamiflu (as were Mark and Lydia preventatively). Besides a few days of fussiness you would never even know the kid had the same thing I did. It was a miracle and a God-send (as were my husband and parents who cared for the children and our house during this terrible time for mommy). During the midst of our illness there was time for some silliness.





Thankfully I healed just in time to enjoy Lydia’s preschool field trip to the pumpkin farm.





The hayride was the highlight of the day but Lydie also had a blast running through the mini-hay maze

and going down the huge slides (she went all by herself after her initial ride with mommy).


On a gorgeous fall day in Caledonia...



... the kids and I made our way to cheer on daddy and our dear friends for the MTeC race.
While waiting for the racers to finish, Riley and Lydia made a little housing development.

Daddy's team, 2nd Inaugural, crossing the finish line after about 7 hours of racing. Whew!

Mark couldn't have been more thrilled to have completed the race.

As were his team members.

And Congrats to the "Bad News Bears" who placed FIRST in the Women's Division. You go, girls!


What an amazing October! (and Halloween photos are still to come...)

So… what’s up with Lydia?



Lydia has developed quite a few obsessions over the past month.
• Band-aids – she sticks them on every piece of furniture and her brother but REFUSES the mere thought of a band-aid being put on her (even if she really does need it).




• Footie PJs – her cousin lent her a pair of footie PJs and she quickly fell in love. Thankfully Great Aunt Vic & Uncle Eric got her a pair for her birthday so at least we could rotate. She refused to wear anything else to sleep (including naps).
Painting in her PJs

• Brushing her teeth


– she found that she is capable of putting the “training toothpaste” on herself and since then, there has been no turning back. She fusses if she “forgets” to brush her teeth before naps or before she leaves the house. Now she even has her brother roped into it. He’ll stand at the sink, arms outstretched for the toothbrush repeating, “Teet, teet” (for teeth) and then “Juice” for toothpaste (I think because it has a “fruity” flavor.)
…I suppose there could be worse things to be “obsessed” about.

Lydia challenges us and inspires us. Her pure faith is amazing. Today’s conversation:
Mommy: Daddy won’t be home for lunch today.
Lydia: Oh, that’s too bad. I miss daddy. Where is he going?
M: He has a special class at work.
L: Well, I want God to bring him back.
M: He will darling…
If we all lived our lives trusting that God was with us every moment and that He has the power to "bring daddy back" aka do anything!

So what’s Tobias up to?

Toby is really starting to mimic adult behavior. Besides brushing his teeth he also combs his hair (or should I say, “head”) when he gets ahold of a comb, puts the toy (and real) phones to his ear after he pushes the buttons, mops and sweeps the floor (what a helpful kid!) and carries Blooper around saying “shhh, shhhh”, then kissing her. This is ADORABLE to me.



Thankfully the climbing has died down. I think he’s focusing on other things, particularly his speed. He is getting quite fast – bordering on running. My dad has nicknamed him “John Wayne” for the way he swaggers around, but that name might not be appropriate for long! He’s even taking some steps backward at times.

I have finally succeeded at getting Tobias attached to a “lovey”. I kept holding a special blanket I bought for him close to his face during story time before bed then putting it in his crib with him. And… it worked! He also has had a monkey, frog, and green baby blanket in his crib and has started to love the frog (which he calls “duck”).

Tobes is definitely trying to make his needs known through words and gestures. As we strolled down the dairy aisle in the grocery store, Toby spotted yogurt (a favorite). He immediately went into his chest rubbing sign for “please” and repeated in a desperate voice, “Peeze, peeze”. How can you resist that cuteness? Well, it’s kind of tough to feed a kid yogurt in the grocery store so we sped to the checkout before he spotted something else he wanted. His language certainly still needs an interpreter most of the time. For example, he kept saying, “kook, kook” in the car last night and I said to Mark, “Please hand him that Pooh book.” He also uses the word “doggie” for pretty much every animal, except duck (the only other animal name he says). G-pa taught him to say “poop” (obviously G-pa has cleaned a few of these in the past couple weeks) and “baby” as he looks at photos of Rachel on their fridge. One of the cutest little words is when he gets his fingers going and says, “tickle, tickle”. When he sees steam he says “hot” and then attempts to blow it to cool it off. He calls cookies, “gook kook”. Along the lines of food, he calls any utensil, “boon” (spoon). And he keeps surprising me with the words he knows. When daddy came home yesterday, Tobias grabbed his silly rain hat and said, “hat”.

Toby still gets sad when he’s not at home without a family member, but he is improving. According to Ms. Amy at MDO (by the way, she taught him her name and he says it quite well!) and Nicki in the church nursery he’s crying less so that’s a plus. And he and Lydia stayed with a babysitter at our house one evening and both did great – meaning no sad Tobias!

Tobias is such a character

– still a flirt, still a stinker, still our precious boy, still completely loved.

Lydia's 3rd Birthday!

My beautiful Birthday Girl!

Lydia certainly celebrated her 3rd birthday in style. It all started during our beach bash with our family. Since her birthday was the following weekend, and we were all together, we decided to celebrate. Aunt M took us out for pizza and Lydia relished in the cupcakes that she and Gabby helped to prepare. (Special thanks to Aunt Laura who remembered to bring cupcake pans and sprinkles!)


The following Thursday she came home from preschool with a crown and a card and declared, “I’m the birthday girl!” and really hasn’t stopped saying it since.

That same day a special present from Gramma and Granpapa arrived.


On her big day she requested waffles for breakfast. After devouring them and much pleading I allowed her to lick the pan. Now, I think waffle batter is kinda gross but obviously Lydia thinks differently.


Mimi & Gpa took the kids for a walk.

And later brought Lydia a cash register.



Before nap Great Aunt Vickie and Great Uncle Eric brought Lydia some special presents

Of course the highlight was the big box the presents came in. Aunt Vic would sing her "birthday girl" song and Lydia would jump out of the box when it was over. Hilarious.


Uncle John & Aunt Leslie had a gathering of friends for turkey dinner that happened to occur on Lydia's birthday. They had a cake and sang for her. She felt so special. :)




At our weekly family dinner on Monday, Mimi & G-pa gave the birthday girl cupcakes (which you can see, she decorated with M&Ms)


She also received her long-awaited camera. It was a challenge at first, but she quickly figured out how to take pictures (and some pretty good ones, at that!) and frequently gets it out at home for some photo shoots. The cutest thing was that she set the camera up on the chair, and said, “Ok, guys, get together for a picture.” You can tell she’s done some “timer” shots in her days…



After lots of cupcakes, special treats, candles, singing, presents, and joy I think we may finally be finished celebrating Lydia’s 3rd Birthday.

Here are some Lydia-isms
• She’s currently OBSESSED with brushing her teeth. She’s getting quite independent at it. It’s getting a bit ridiculous at times – we can’t leave the house without brushing her teeth.
• Naming her poos. Sometimes when peering into the toilet after a BM it’s “Look! There’s a mommy and a daddy and a little girl and a baby” Today it was, “It’s a squirrel tail.” Why couldn’t she describe normal things like clouds?
• [Christian Radio station talking about sponsoring a child with Compassion International while on our way to preschool.]
L: Mommy, they are talking about God!
M: Yes, they are saying how much God loves children.
L: Well, God loves Tobias and God loves me.
M: Yes he sure does!
L: [exclaiming, looking to the sky] We love you God! We love you sooooo much!!!
• Expanding her play/pretend world. “Blooper” is mentioned every day, multiple times a day. Blooper, her doll, has a family, goes on adventures, and likes certain things (like broccoli and cookies). It’s almost as if Lydia expresses her feelings through the life of her doll/imaginary friend. Before she would just talk ABOUT Blooper but now she actually talks TO her imaginary friends. The other day she was directing “Oliver” around.
• Random quote: “I have boobs, if you care.”
• Woke up with a stuffy nose and said, “Mommy, my nose is blowy.”
• Lydia’s future…
o L: “Mommy, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?”
M: No, Lydia, What do you want to be when you grow up?
L: I want to be a shepherd.
• Really starting to organize her world sequentially. This evening when I put her to bed she said. “So mommy, when I wake up then I will get out of bed and shout for you. And we will go downstairs and eat waffles. Then I will come back upstairs and brush my teeth. Then I will play with my camera. Does that sound good to you?”

We sure do love you, Lydie Lew! :)

September

I feel incredibly behind on my blog world. Even though it has only been a month since I’ve posted it seems like an eternity. This is likely because of the drastic change in schedule in the Willson household over the past month. Not only did daddy return to his grad classes but the kids both started “schools” of their own.

The week after Labor Day, BOTH kids started Mother’s Day Out on Mondays.
Here they are on the first day of "school"


When I walked into her classroom, Lydia promptly dropped her bookbag and ran to the toys (not even a hug or a “c-ya mom”). I then forced her to give me a proper goodbye. Needless to say, she has a BLAST. This month they have been learning about manners and she tells me who shares and who doesn’t. She’s also thrilled about the opportunity to be “line leader.” Unfortunately, Tobias is having a ROUGH time. We have known that he would have issues since his separation from me causes tears 100% of the time (unless he’s with family). And yes, these tears go on and on and on… He cries most of the morning then (refusing to eat) naps and is typically “ok” when he wakes up. Thankfully there is one-on-one with his teacher and sweet Ms. Amy is caring for our sad boy with a patient, loving heart. Of course, this is tough on mommy, but I know it’s the best for both of us. I have been working on my “day out” which keeps my mind distracted from my distressed little boy.

Lydia also started preschool this month two mornings a week. Her first day of preschool. That smile says it all.


Reading a note her daddy wrote to her wishing her well on her 1st day.

She adores the “Apple Place.” Her favorite part is playing outside on the playset but she also can tell she is picking up their “lessons”. Although prior to preschool, she knew her shapes, now she’ll point them out in the world. She has yet to name a “friend” at preschool, she consistently tells me a certain little boy “does not share” or “the big kids take stuff out of my hands”. This will be a good experience for her to get a taste of her own medicine (her “sharing” with her little brother is not-so-hot).

The big news in Toby’s world is that he is now officially a walker. Once he “got it”, he became proficient quite quickly. He loves picking up balls, overhead throwing them with both hands, and chasing them. I think his favorite activity is playing on the sofa or bed, throwing his body into the cushions, flopping down, rolling around.

Along the lines of enjoying dangerous activities, Toby loves to climb. His favorite spots are inside the train table,

on the fireplace, or standing on the table or chair in Lydia’s room. He not only loves climbing up, but climbing in.

At the playground he loves climbing UP slides. UGH! Keeping mama on her toes!

This kid really still needs a morning nap but with the running around 3 days a week just doesn’t get one. Therefore we’ve had quite a few times where he’s conked out in the car (which he used to NEVER do!) In fact, when he fell asleep at strollercise today his Aunt Leslie mentioned, I have NEVER seen him or known him to sleep anywhere but his crib! He’s not quite as good of napper as Lydia is/was but he is consistently sleeping through the night and no longer is up at 5:55am – HORRAY (more like any time between 6:30-7 – I love it!)



Tobes loves to talk, probably stemming from his love of making noise – lots of noise. He learned the words “duck” and “shoe” this past weekend. Some of his favorites: get down, up, dog, juice. He loves doing “Where’s your head?” (with food all over his hands makes it extremely thrilling!) and his cousin Ally taught him how to do “Where’s your ear?” He is starting to get into books, listening, turning pages, pointing, and giggling at the silly parts.

Tobias has also become particular (go figure!) about the manner by which he eats his food. He strongly prefers to feed himself. With a utensil. He finally will let us put the food onto the fork or spoon but snatches it out of our hands if we attempt to put it in his mouth. We’ve finally conceded to simply handing him the utensil. Now, this creates quite a mess if the consistency isn’t “just right” but it’s certainly cute to watch.

Toby and Lydia are quite a pair.

Mimi & Gpa have been taking them to music class on Wednesday evenings. On the way home we’re told they get into giggling matches. He really feeds off of her attempting to match the pitch and sound she utters. He’ll also mimic the rhythmic parts of the music CD from their class (repetitive “bah, buh bah buh bah”). I’m sure she’s heard this from me, but sometimes Lydie states, “Tobias is a loud child.” True, true. Another cute Toby story: Due to his extreme seperation anxiety, I decided not to burden our sweet Bible Study caregiver with Toby’s screaming, so I take him to Bible Study with me. This week he was happily playing on my lap. All of a sudden he said, “Di-dee-ahh” [Lydia], squirmed off my lap, and speed-crawled toward the open door. He was trying to find her! So sweet.



Although at heart he is a momma's boy, Tobias ADORES his daddy.

No question where he gets his gorgeous green eyes.



GREAT-MA...

(at Toby's 1st Birthday party: see the joy radiating from her!)
This month we also are mourning the passing of Lydie and Tobias’ dear Great-ma, my precious grandmother, Babe. . I had the blessing of having a very special relationship with my grandma. We grew up with her living in the same town, vacationing together, and she has been at every monumental event in our lives as well as sharing the day-to-day ups and downs. When I was away at college she would consistently write me letters, notes, and cards sharing the happenings of her life in Cburg and providing words of encouragement and love. Lydia had the sweetest relationship with her and Toby would even try to hand her things while she sat in her chair.
One of the last times the kids and I visited Great-ma, September 4


Her decline was relatively rapid – essentially her heart just gave out. 91 years of pumping and it was simply worn out. Rest assured her heart is still living with us as her legacy runs deep in our souls. Mark said, “your grandmother was one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met.” And a sweet woman at the funeral noted, “God doesn’t make people like that every day. Your grandmother was truly a special woman.” That she certainly was. Even when she was struggling, she never uttered a complaint. In fact, the last day I spent time with her I took the kids into the nursing home. We read her Bible verses and prayed with her. She asked me to repeat “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 ) Surely that is why she retained her joy until her last days. The joy of the LORD was her strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Even though she was hardly able to speak due to labored breathing and extreme weakness, she sang, “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus love the little Children” with us. And my mother shares, as she was in the face of death, she cried out to the Lord for mercy, to save her soul and to take her home… I am confident He has answered her prayers. I miss her terribly. Yet I also rejoice with her as she is singing with the angels with our God. She has restored sight, renewed mind, and a heart that is strong and will never fail. I know dear Babe loves to hear us sing this truth.

“Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong.
They are weak, but He is STRONG.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.”

Her beautiful life is truly an inspiration. If we all lived as such a “good and faithful servent” what an amazing place this world would be!

More on our September vacation to come...