Our Spring Girl!!!

Hooray for Spring! I don't think I have ever been this excited for spring to arrive! Experiencing new seasons with a new little life beside you is such a joy! Well, I am officially the worst blogger ever. If anyone is still checking our blog, here are finally some updated pics! We went to visit Aunt Robyn and got some great spring pictures. We started on rice cereal about a week ago after Lydia started grabbing handfuls of taco salad off my plate! She is doing pretty well, I guess....I'm not sure how much is actually making it in her mouth, but she has to learn somehow! She is a big smiler and giggler now. We cannot get enough of it. I hope this little video clip works so you can enjoy her giggle too! I cannot believe she is already 5 months old! How time flies. We feel more blessed everyday. The Lord has been so gracious to us! We don't deserve it!

Our New Little Chatter!

Well here is some footage of Lydia and her new found love for making chatty/giggle noises and playing on the changing table. We have such a blast talking to each other and playing the past few days. She is starting to interact so much more! Brian brought the flip in yesterday night and we caught the tail end of a chatting session. You can tell she is really trying to get more noise out, soon enough I'm sure! I wonder if she will be a chatty kathy like her mom :) Now that we know how to use this video feature, we will post more soon!

Month of Firsts!

Time for a much needed post finally!! Wow, what a crazy past few weeks! It has been a month full of firsts for our baby girl. Just to name a few: first Christmas, first time to meet her extended family, first time to sleep away from home, first time to walmart(not her favorite-screamed half the time!), first time to see lots of snow, first time to take a road trip on icy roads (I was freaking out, but Brian and Lyd were completely calm), first time to refuse a bottle(not good), and as of today, first little giggle!! I cannot believe she is almost 3 months old! At her 2 month doctors appointment, she weighed 11.6 lbs and 23.5 inches long. She is a growing girl for sure! And as for the hair, I have only seen evidence of 1 strand falling out, so she obviously still has a head full.
We had such a blast with her over the holidays. We spent Christmas Day and weekend with my family and New Years weekend in Chattanooga with Brian's family. Both families are growing rapidly with spouses and kiddos! At first, Lydia was not the happiest camper, evidenced by the most frequently given compliment being her good set of lungs! She quickly got used to being in new places and was back to her happy self. The second weekend in Jan, we went to Pigeon Forge. Brian was meeting some buddies to go back packing in the smokies and I stayed with Ellen and Ryan. We did not realize the snow would be so intense! I cannot believe we made it alive. Lydia handled the long trip great. We had a great time hanging out with the Grays and even got to catch the Holts for dinner.
Since we have been back in town, I have been trying to catch up on regular household stuff, which now takes about 3 times as long. I cannot believe it is almost time for me to go back to work! Feb 5 is my first day back. Thankfully, I am only having to work one 12 hr shift per week. I plan to work on Brian's day off, so he can babysit. I am doing some trial and error tying to get her to take a bottle easily again. She got out of practice while we were traveling and now decided she only wants the real deal. Any tips are welcome! I cannot begin to explain how blessed we feel everyday. The Lord has been so good to us.

Fun past time: Blowing bubbles

My sweet girls!

We love her smile!!

Concentrating

Beautiful eyes

Family photo at the Grays

The gals and their babies! Can't wait to meet baby Gray in July!

Can't wait to meet baby Webber in June!

Loving on Great Grandma Cosby

Hanging on Moo

Our Winter Girl

We love our annual Harris/Kendrick Christmas reunion. We sure missed Jud and Li!

Snuggling with Moo

Cosby/Echerd Christmas. Can't wait to meet baby Echerd #2 in March!

Growing Families!! Lydia is going to have so much fun with her cousins!

First cousin meeting. Hayes is welcoming Lydia to the family!

Smiles All Around!!

Hooray for a smiling baby! Lydia has been melting our hearts this week smiling at us on purpose! A few days ago I went to get her out of her crib and she gave be a big grin! Thankfully, I was able to grab my camera later in the day and catch a few. I am loving her more and more every day. It's crazy. We have officially moved up to size 1 diapers and out of new born clothes! She is a growin' girl.
This weekend we had the Webbers, Erin, Aaron and Zach over and had a GREAT Christmas celebration with them. We went out to eat with Lauren and Derek and took Lydia along for her first dinner out. She did great! She is such a happy girl most of the time, but certainly has her fussy times each day. For the past 2 nights she has had a 6-7 hour stretch of sleep! What a blessing! They did start at 2-3 am, but sleep is sleep no matter when it is! The past week was scant on sleep to say the least...we were told she must have been going through a growth spurt since she was up wanting to eat more often than usual at night. As evidence by the pictures, Lyd moved into her big girl crib last week. She is quite the noisey sleeper, so we decided it would be best for the sleep of mom and dad (and Ellie) to start her sleeping in her own room. She seemed to have no problem with the move, but I on the other hand had some separation anxiety. Brian assured me she would be fine, and after a few nights I started getting used to it. I am realizing that even in the small things, I have to trust the Lord with my sweet girl.
Last Sunday was Brian's ordination service at Carriage Lane. It was such a special night. Both our parents came in town for the service. My mom stayed home with Lydia so I could be there. I cannot believe he is now an official ordained pastor! It has been quite the journey to get to this point. His new job title is Assistant pastor to youth and families. The church family threw a really sweet reception after the service. We felt so loved and appreciated. What a blessing it is to serve in such a great church!
I think that is it for now.....enjoy the pics and Merry Christmas!!

Big Grinner!

During Brian's Ordination Service

Little girl in a big bed

Sporting her new cozy Christmas bear suit on her first night out

Lyd enjoying her new Smart Wool booties from Aunt Erin

Snoozin' on Uncle Derek

Admiring Aunt Lauren

Christmas with the Gals!

Relaxing with Uncle Aaron

Cozy in her car seat...and sweating I found out...poor girl!