Happy 3rd Birthday!

Hello everyone,

Today I am 3 years old and once again I have a lot to fill you all in on.  I have been doing lots of fun things like going to Iowa for Tulip Festival, participating in events around town and so much more.  Here are several pictures to catch you up on things.  Sorry that it has taken me so long to get this posted.

Mom dressed up with me and we went down to Windmill park for the parade

My cousin Maddie joined us for this picture.  She sure is fun.

 We got a few games of "round the rosie" in by the tulips

I sure love parades.  Especially the marching bands.

 My cousin Marty is the tall one in the middle.  My cousin Maggie did the dutch dancing as well as Maxwell.  Max was also in a marching band as well and for one of the last parades he was the school mascot, a tiger.  He made his way over to me and gave me a hug.  I was totally cool with it but no picture.  oops said Mom and Dad.

We took a trip out to see Barry, Joni, Ethan and Erin.  We got to see my cousin Ethan in action at a baseball game.  He is a pretty good ball player.  I love to watch baseball. 

 He pitched a couple of innings as well.

 We had to cut the trip a little short because I had to get back for an ear tube surgery.  The procedure went well but I had a bit of a tough time coming out of the anesthesia.  I also had a hearing test done while I was under to see brain response to sound.  It turns out I have a mild to moderate hearing loss that will require hearing aids.  I will be getting these soon so hopefully that will help me hear better in school and learn to speak a little better.

 We went to the Bolder Boulder on Memorial day to support our friends Scott and Andrea as they ran the race.  They are the two people in the middle waving.  There were some 60,000 people running alone and that made for lots of good people watching.

 Way to go guys!

We joined some our friends for the Alternatives Pregnancy Center walk last weekend and it was a beautiful day to support a beautiful cause.  My buddie Patrick and I had fun on the walk but really loved these rocks at the end of the walk at the park.

We had my birthday dinner outside on the porch since it was such a nice evening.  I also went to Boulder for lunch with Mom and Dad and we had a picnic in the park.

 I had a fun birthday today.  We are going to have a birthday bash on Sunday afternoon.  Look for those pictures coming soon.

I got a music card from Mom and Dad.  I love those things.

Well I hope that catches you all up on what is going on with me.  It's hard to believe that I am 3 years old.  I love you all and look forward to seeing and hearing from you when the opportunities arise.

Blog you later,
Lydia

Oops!  Forgot to mention the main reason we went to Iowa - Grandpa & Grandma retired from teaching this year, so Mom and her sisters threw a party for them.  Grandpa taught middle schoolers for 43 years at the same school - that's a pretty big deal!  Way to go Grandpa and Grandma!  Now they can come visit me at every whim - that will be fun!

Spring - I guess

Hi friends,
It is mid May and I'm wishing for some summer-like weather... all of my cute tank tops and skirts are all going to waste.  In my experience, we've usually had some 80 - 90 degree days by now in Colorado.  Oh well, I guess I can dig deep and come up with a few more wintery outfits if need be.

Anyway, just wanted to update you on the goings-on before we head out to Iowa tomorrow.  That way you won't be too overwhelmed with so much info at once.

So this month started with Mommy going to Iowa by herself and leaving me and Daddy here to fend for ourselves - by the way, she went for a good reason, her sister Julie graduated from college!  Even though Mom was gone, we managed to have a pretty good time.  Grandma and Grandpa T came up from the Co. Springs for a trip to the Downtown Aquarium.  I love fish - my favorite movie is "Finding Nemo," and we found him there!

This is one of those aquarium tunnels - so cool, I loved watching the fish swim over my head!

 

 

Wow, that fish is really close!

Well, then Mommy came home and I was here with Andrea (our good friend) but Daddy was not.  He was in the emergency room - turns out that he had a kidney stone.  Now I'm no expert, but it looked like that's a pretty painful ordeal!  Fortunately, Scott and Andrea were available to watch me and take dad to the ER while Mom was on the road home.

I'm glad to report that Daddy feels much better now and we've been able to do some fun stuff like, celebrating my cousin Liv's birthday at Casa Bonita! And just this last weekend we went to a Rockies baseball game - again the weather was sub-par, but it was super fun anyway!

Liv and I had a great time hangin' out by the fountain

I was kinda jealous of her balloon, but i guess it was her birthday!

Dad is super excited about the game - I am too, it just doesn't show on my face as much!

We had some pretty great seats!

If you look on the screen behind me, you can see that they just had a Home Run!

Now Mom is trying to get all the laundry done and the car all situated for the trip.  We leave tomorrow right after my preschool class.  I'm very excited to get to wear my Dutch Costume again this year... looks like the weather could be iffy, but hopefully there's a little sunshine on one of the three days.  On the Saturday of Tulip Festival we will get together with a bunch of folks for my grandpa's retirement party... I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share after this trip.

I got this really cool "Little Mermaid" vanity set from some friends this week - I love to look at myself - so what could be better!

Mommy and I were practicing our picture faces since I'll be having my third birthday in a month - we both have some work to do!

 I think that's all for today, hope you enjoyed the pictures.
Thanks for readin'
Love,
Lydia

Lydia's Springtime fun!

So, the weather is changing - not sure what it's supposed to be like, but I use less of my puffy coat and more often than not, I don't have to wear a coat at all!  The only problem I see so far is that my hair never stays in it's original "do" - I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the wind, however, around these parts it seems a way of life in the spring.  Oh well, wind can't stop me from enjoying the outdoors at school and at home!

To get the full effect of the season, Mom and I have been doing some yard work like getting the garden ready for plants and raking the lawn of the old yucky grass.  I'm a huge helper!

Mom started this task, but I asked her to step aside and let me do the grunt work.

Turns out, I could maybe use a rake just a few inches shorter.

Since my last blog I've fully enjoyed getting used to my preschool class.  Miss Brooke and Mr. Rick are fun and I never have trouble letting my mommy leave me with them for two hours - I do give Mom a big smile and hug when she gets back (I don't want her to feel unimportant).  Two weekends ago I went to the Butterfly Pavilion with some of the kids from my class - we were part of the "Weekend Explorers" group.  Mom and Dad get to come along too and meet my classmates and their parents.

Dad held Rosie - she's a tarantula!

I'm a huge fan of "Finding Nemo" and they had a Nemo-like exhibit there.

The weekend before that, we went to the Arvada Kite Festival.  That was really cool and it was the perfect day for kite flying.  We met up with some friends from Mom and Dad's small group Bible study and had a great time!

I couldn't believe all the kites there - there had to be millions, I'm sure!

Here I am helping Dad and Emily get their kites untangled.

At the very beginning of April we went to Grand Junction to see Val (one of Mom's college friends) and Jer.  They are expecting a baby in early June and we went out so that Mom could attend the baby shower.  While mom did that I got to experience something new and exciting - Dad and I joined Jer for a 4-wheeling adventure near the Colorado Monument.  My car seat fit great in Jer's four runner and I bounced and bopped the whole way!  I would say, "Weee!" over every boulder.

Just another chill ride in the car seat - I'm sure they test these things for such rides.

Not sure where you go from there, but pretty cool anyway.

Other than all those things, I keep busy cleaning the house like the good helper that I am.... Mom needs to keep the wipes in a higher place than she used to.  I also like to make sure that all the clothes in my dresser are clean and that they still fit the way they should.

I keep my dresser super clean with baby wipes and I keep my hair out of my face with my gingham shorts.

Last but not least, I wanted to let you know that I had a wonderful Easter.  Dad was sick, but that didn't keep Mom and I from heading to church and then being ready for an Easter spectacular egg hunt.  Unfortunately, since Dad was under the weather, Grandma and Grandpa didn't come.  Not to worry though, we will have a belated Easter celebration with them on Saturday before my cousin Liv's birthday party - because you can celebrate the true meaning of Easter everyday of the year!

Look what I found - the first one was pretty interesting - then I started to realize what fun this was going to be.

Dad is a really tricky egg hider.

Come on basket, let's gather some more spoils.

Here she comes!

Until now, I haven't been much of a candy eater - turns out that I like the robin eggs and that mom freaks out when it looks like I might get some blue food coloring on my dress.

Well, that's all for today.  Hope you enjoyed it.
Love, Lydia

Feeling Groovy!

Hey friends,

I thought I had better update you on my health status:
Turns out that I'm feeling much better and after two weeks on oxygen while slumbering, I am canula (the tube that goes in your nose for O2) free!

In addition to that, I felt well enough to attend preschool without Mommy for two whole hours by myself last week. They called it my practice day and I did swimmingly. Now I am scheduled to go regularly after Spring Break starting on March 29th. I will go every Tuesday and Thursday from 11am - 1pm. My class seemed really nice as well as my teacher. I'll miss the kids in the parent/tot class that I currently attend, but the show must go on. I'm a little worried about what Mom will do for two hours while I'm gone to preschool... she'll be so lost... I'm her life you know!

This was after my day in class... I wanted back in!

I also enjoyed a visit over the weekend with Aunt Julie and her boyfriend Trent. They are super fun and somehow Mom and Dad finagled some babysitting hours out of them - which I enjoyed thoroughly. However, no pictures were taken of our fun time together, not even when we went to the zoo on Monday - boohoo!

Also, Grandma T came and played with me on Friday last week - she loves hanging out with me and I like to play with her too... we went to the park and I threw sand and Mom yelled at me - Grandma is so much nicer!

Grandma likes to take pictures of me on her phone so she can look at them all the time. In this photo, I'm demonstrating how I look when I sleep.

Here's a random photo of when Boscoe's friends came for a visit and Denver (the big black dog) took Boscoe's perch by the window... Boscoe says, "What's the big idea... that's my perch!"

That's all for this beautiful day!
Talk to ya later,
Lydia

Iowa trip and hospital visit... what?

Hello everyone,

Two weeks ago my mom and I went on a trip back to Iowa so that my mom could go to her friend Tonja's wedding. We had a good visit and my mom said the wedding was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of some of the girl friends.

Here are Mommy, Crystal, Renee, Molly, Kristin & Mary preparing for the wedding with some photos. All these ladies went to college together.

I had my first overnight stay with someone besides my parents so that my mom could have an overnight stay with her friends. I stayed with my Auntie Nesser and Papa Wolgen and all of my super fun cousins. I had a blast!

The day we left for Iowa my mom and dad noticed that I had a strange cough but I had plenty of energy and they had both had a little cold but nothing big. So the plan went forward and I really did not start feeling bad until Saturday night when my mom got back from the wedding. I pretty much slept all day Sunday and did not really have an appetite or any energy for most of the day. Monday was pretty much the same but was our travel day back home. When we landed and I saw my dad at the airport I managed to pull up a smile and said "daddy!"

On the ride home from the airport I was out cold with no energy at all. When we got home I was burning up and mom and dad said that I was breathing really fast and shallow. They decided to take me to the ER to see if it was anything serious. Turns out I had RSV (a pretty nasty respiratory virus) and along with it an ear infection. My pulse oxygen levels were pretty low so they put me on O2. Since I was not eating and drinking well I was also dehydrated so I also had an IV put in and the doctor admitted me to the hospital to be watched closely and get the care that I needed. We got up to our room at about 12:30AM on Tuesday. I needed to be at the hospital until Thursday afternoon.

Being in my mom's arms is the best place for healing.

Lots of sleep is the key to getting better.

I had moments in the day where I felt great and wanted to play.

A fun activity when I was feeling better was pulling my pulse-ox sensor off my toe and hearing the monitor go beep-beep.

Room service and eating in bed. I also watched TV at the same time. I started to wonder if this was some sort of vacation. The food was good and there was plenty of it. My parents shared with me from time to time.

I am feeling better now and have been back to my usual activities. I am still on O2 during naps and at night until Monday next week at which point I will see my doctor and see if I can get off of the O2 if I am better on my own.

This past weekend my friend Val and Jeremy came out from Grand Junction to see one of their friends in the Mrs. Colorado pageant. It was fun to have them around to take my mind off of the RSV thing. It was also a good break for my mom and dad.

Needless to say it has been quite a couple of weeks here but that seems to be how it goes sometimes. I hope that I did not pass any of my RSV stuff onto any of my family or friends. Sorry if I did.

On a happier note, my Auntie Julie and her boyfriend Trent are coming out here for their spring break. They are due to get in later tonight, more like tomorrow AM early. I better get to bed so that I can be well rested to play with them.

My next blog should fill you in on how that visit goes but you can be sure that we are going to have a lot of fun.

Love you all,
Lydia

January and February... boring... I don't think so.

Hi all!

I know it's been forever, but what a crazy life I lead... not really, just sort of.
So let's see, the last time I got you up to speed was right after our Christmas trip to Iowa. Well, now I'm writing as Mom and I are about to leave for another trip to Iowa. Mom's friend Tonja, from college, is getting married this weekend and I get to fly out with Mom and then stay with my aunt Jenness and family on Friday night and with Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie Julie on Saturday during the day. We will return to Colorado on Monday evening... we will be super excited to see Daddy since he left on Sunday for a work trip to White Sands, NM and he won't be back before we leave for Iowa.

I like to start my days by doing a little texting - all the kids are doing it.

Between Iowa trips I've been busy attending music class on Mondays, my pseudo-preschool class on Tuesdays, tumbling class on Wednesdays, Mom and I like to go swimming on Thursday afternoons, and then I usually get to hang out with my friend Leah on Friday nights while Mom and Dad go play volleyball at church. Throw in a few trips to the grocery store, some dress up, and watching movies and that's what I'm up to most of the time.

Looks a little suspect, right? Dad was on the other end of the yard with Boscoe... my parents don't just leave me in a lawn chair in the middle of the yard all day - I promise!

However, they do allow me to drink and drive - that's my beverage in the other hand.

My mom's dress from when she was my age - I should've worn it to the rodeo... yeehaw!

As for the weekends, we've been doing some out of the ordinary activities. We've been to the zoo a few times when the weather was unseasonably nice, we went to the rodeo at the National Western Stock Show, the Butterfly Pavilion, we went to a University of Colorado basketball game and we visited grandpa and grandma in Colorado Springs.

Here we are waiting for the rodeo to start - didn't think I would like it as much as I did!
(Same goes for Mom and Dad, but a good time was had by all)

Mom and I went into the petting zoo area at the Stock Show - I don't really like goats it turns out, so Mom got to pet the fella or gal (don't know how to tell yet).

Here we are waiting for the basketball game to start. Did I mention that it was -27 degrees that night. Most parents didn't take their kids out but Mom told me I had to toughen up since she used to walk to school on days like that - something about frozen hair and frozen tears on the face.

I'm getting so super smart that we found out the other day that there's space for me to start real 2.5 to 3.5 year old preschool - no more dragging Mommy along to class (I felt like she wasn't applying herself) I get to go all by myself. I will start going on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours at a time after spring break, which will be late in March. Then, Mom and Dad already have me signed up for the summer program and the fall program... Yippee!

"Silly headband, I need you to complete my gorgeous outfit... err!"

That's all for now!
I'll try to get my parents to let me on the computer more frequently in order to keep you informed on school and the like.
Until then,
Lydia