Walking with the Cooks: Happy 2 years, Lydia!

Lydia may be our most determined child yet. She is vocal and expressive and independent and funny. Her dramatic flair keeps us laughing! As Lydia's speech blossoms she is able to really play with the big kids as they have fun with legos, babies, and riding toys. They are really becoming a trio and I love the way Lydia fits into our family and life in KY.

Weight: 35 lbs 7 oz (99th%)
Height: 35.75 in (95th%) (according to our stats she grew 3 inches in the last 6 months!)
Head: 48 cm (65th%)

Diapers: size 5, undies
Clothing: some 2T, 3T is comfy (pants have to be even bigger unless they are stretchy)

Likes: singing, being tickled, reading (and turning pages), riding her "bike", eating, pouring water in the bath, playing catch, doing things herself ("I do it, I do it mommy!")

Dislikes: being strapped in the car seat, not getting her way (or to do it herself)

Schedule:
6:30-7am Awake for the day!
9:00-11am In her room with a pile of books
1:00-3pm Nap (the real deal)
7pm Down for bed

Sleep: Lydia tends to go to bed easily, sleep through the night, and then wake up around 6am. The only downside to an otherwise smooth transition to the bunk beds is that Lydia doesn't just sing when she wakes up now. She is quite ready to play and follow Sarah to the bathroom. Thus far we have chosen not to fight this battle. We are just thankful she still takes a good afternoon nap and Sarah doesn't suffer too much with the early start to her day.

Physically: She has hair! Praise the Lord! Lydia is our "squishy baby" and has kept all her rolls. She has the cutest run and loves to be outside.

Food: As she has learned to say more she has started saying "sooooo hungry, mom, sooo hungry." Lydia likes to eat :) She loves watermelon, frozen peas, blue berries, peanut crackers, and cheese, but will eat almost anything. She still likes her afternoon milk.

Communication: She speaks! And she has lots to say. Right after Anna was born she went from a handful of words in her word bank to repeating anything she heard. Since then she has started forming sentences and expressing herself more and more specifically. This leads to some frustration when she thinks we should understand the meaning behind her words and we definitely don't, but on the whole is just such fun.

Potty training: Potty training went well. The last month before Anna was born she was doing great and telling us "I teetee" when she wanted us to take her to the potty. She did well at first after Anna came home, but when we tried dropping her first nap (and the diaper she wore during that time) she totally regressed. In the craziness of guests and new baby, we just did diapers for a while. But now that we are back to more normal life she is back to a normal routine of panties at home, diapers out and during naps. It is working for now! One exciting addition is that she is more willing to go on the big potty now :)

Fun things:
- Lydia has entered the world of pretend play. She makes a super cute mama to her babies :)
- She loves to hold Anna, but doesn't like Anna to touch her. As you might expect, this is tricky!
- When something doesn't go like she would like, she often yells OWWWW! You might come running expecting she is hurt. Nope, she just can't get her shoe off. Or get her blanket to cover her feet. Or (see above) Anna's feet are touching her.
- Lydia begs to go to church. "Go to church mom. Get goldfish!"
- She loves to brush her hair. I think she may be a girly girl- she is all about her hair, bows, and "shoeys".
- This has been a "cheese face" phase.