Lydia Lately 5.23.2016

Lydia is 14 months old.  I’m trying my best to cherish every moment, even the not so fun moments. If you’re a mom, you know exactly which moments I’m referring to! The demands from a little person who wants to be carried all day long even though they’re getting heavier, that creates tornado style messes every day, and constantly putting up a fight each and every diaper change. My patience, which I always thought was solid, gets tested every day and now I totally get what it means to be slow to anger. I try my hardest not to raise my voice because it almost always makes the situation worse. Instead of reacting negatively, I’ve been singing more and sometimes it helps calm us both us down. If God uses marriage to sanctify us, He absolutely uses parenthood too, and I’m learning more and more that I need to be slower to anger, more patient and calm even when I’m exhausted. But those moments quickly get better. I could go on and on about how much Lydia is a blessing and that she truly makes it all worth it!

She’s currently fluent in full-blown gibberish, no real words yet other than “no no” and mama, da-da. She has been trying to mimic our words and when she pets Zoe she goes “naaanaaa” which is in the same tone as us telling her to be “niiiice.” While we do encourage her to talk by telling her what things are and play narrative of what we’re doing, we’re not worried nor in any rush. I try not to compare her milestones with other kids because everyone learns things on their own time. She did learn how to walk at 10 ½ months so maybe she will talk a little later. Only time will tell!

Her favorite things to do are dancing, exploring outside (thank God the weather is finally warming up), playing with Zoe, and eating. She is especially fond of “If You’re happy and You Know It” and knows all the moves too! We recently stayed a week at my parent’s house and she got to spend lots of time with her cousin DJ. There were a few fights over toys/attention and Lydia discovered how to bite! I know I already covered the negative sides of raising a toddler, but Lydia sometimes bites us when she doesn’t get her way, please tell me this is just a phase?! 

Lydia is also at the age where she’s creating her own fun with her toys and stuffed animals. I am always so curious to know what’s going on in her little head and what she is gabbing about. It reminds me of how vivid my imagination was when I was little and how much fun I could have on my own. It makes me excited for her to have little siblings and watch them all interact. My sister and I are five years apart in age so we didn’t have many years of playing because she was too cool for playing pretend. This is kind of a side note but I remember the day Aria declared she was done taking baths together and the dreaded day she told me this was her last day playing pretend with me. I was devastated! I consider her one of my best friends now that we’re older but I think it would be better for Michael and I to have kids closer in age, and hopefully we’ll be able to expand our family soon. 

hardcore snacking!

I mentioned one of Lydia’s favorite things is to eat. Girlfriend is so passionate about food! She is so enthusiastic and literally sings when she eats. Her favorite foods are blueberries, yogurt, beans, tortilla chips and applesauce. She isn’t 100% weaned, she nurses at night and in the morning, I don’t really have a specific day when to stop. I am still giving her homemade chocolate milk and have been adding a little chia seeds, and spinach for a little heft which she loves. I’ll definitely have to do a separate post about toddler-friendly meals and snacks! 

To end this post, I want to say how much I'm looking forward to the weather warming up and starting summer traditions as a family. Possibly trips down the shore when visiting my parents in Jersey, going to the pool in town, watching the parades, going to Pittsburgh, and hosting a BBQ or two! Gotta love the summer:)