Easter Sunday

Neal's mom gave us a beautiful Easter dress for Lydia. She looked so adorable and the weather was really nice, so of course we had to take lots of pictures. 

 Lydia is fascinated by the grass and loves to pull out little handfuls.

Lydia and her handsome daddy!

Mommy and Lydia!

Lydia loves to stand! She can stand by herself for a few seconds, but is still a bit shaky, so we help her out a bit. I don't think it will be much longer before she starts walking.

As much fun as the holidays and festivities can be, I hope that we all take time to remember the real reason for our celebration. Our Savior, Jesus Christ is risen! I love a hymn we sing,

 "He is risen! He is risen! Tell it out with joyful voice. He has burst his three days' prison; Let the whole wide earth rejoice. Death is conquered; man is free. Christ has won the victory." (LDS Hymn 199 'He is Risen!', text by Cecil Frances Alexander).

painting by Simon Dewey

I know that our Savior died and was resurrected for us. He lives that we may also live again! Through Him we can find peace and eternal life. Through Him our families can be together- not just until death do us part, but beyond through the eternities! I am so grateful for this knowledge and for the joy that comes by following Him and by keeping the commandments. Not only do I need to remember this every day, but I need to really live it- to do and become better and more like Him each day. Let us never forget that HE LIVES!  (To visit more about our belief's visit http://www.lds.org/?lang=eng )

Easter Fun

Lydia, our own Easter bunny. Doesn't she look cute?

One of my fond Easter memories growing up was making Easter candy! We had some little chocolate molds- bunnies, chicks, baskets, eggs, etc, which we used every year. I remember sitting down with my mom and sisters to make our chocolates pretty and "paint" them pastel colors (we melted small amounts of white chocolate, added a little coloring to them, and 'viola,' colorful, fun, and tasty chocolate). I can't imagine why I enjoyed this as a child because I never like to sit still for long and these can be quite time consuming. I really did love it though and have kept up the tradition. It is definitely not as fun without my family to be with, but it brings back lots of good memories! Another Easter candy I grew up making are marshmallow eggs. We'd make a batch of marshmallows, shape them into eggs, and dip them in chocolate. They are quite simple to make and are super yummy! After everything was made and set up, I dressed Lydia up as a bunny (in her white snowsuit and a bunny ears headband) and we took the treats to  a few good friends and neighbors. 

Saturday afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt at Neal's parents home. Since it had snowed the day before, we had the hunt downstairs. We discovered that Lydia LOVES plastic eggs- she will hold and play with them forever! Lydia was content with her couple eggs and played happily on the floor while the rest of us went hunting. 

Look Mom, I found some eggs!

Neal's mom had way too much fun finding crazy and difficult places to hide the eggs and it took us all quite a while and some hints to find everything. There were eggs in pockets, in laundry baskets, underneath the liners in garbage cans, hidden in boxes, in the filing cabinet, in the laundry soap, in the light cover (so you had to unscrew the light and take it out to get to the egg), and many more places. We all had fun and enjoyed being together. After all the eggs were found we wandered upstairs  to the prize table.

Some of the eggs had numbers on them, and for each eggs we had with a number- we got to choose a prize! We all got spoiled, especially because Brent and Bradley were gone, so there were less people for the prizes to go around to. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Lydia loving being with  Grandpa Johnson

Da-da, haircut, and more updates.

This blog is definitely due for an update. Lydia is growing and changing so fast. Babies learn how to do so much in just a few months. This past month she has really started to babble and make any noise that she can. It is so fun to hear her be so vocal- except one of her favorites is almost like a scream- still kind of cute but also very loud. She also loves to be heard during church meetings and anywhere else quiet. :) She gets really excited for almost anything and is so fun to watch as she jumps up and down and babbles/ screams with delight. She is also starting to get up on her hands and knees more. I've seen her crawl a little bit, but she doesn't do a whole lot yet (so my books on the lower shelves are still safe for the moment). I don't think it will be too long though before she is up and crawling everywhere. She also loves to pull herself up to her toy box and grab all her toys and throw them out. Sometimes she leans in too far- and ends up in the box instead. :)

The weather has also been nice quite a few days this month and we definitely take advantage of that. We love the outdoors and are so excited for summer! Here is a video of Lydia enjoying the sunshine early this month. (If I can get it to upload). This is also when she discovered she could make new noises with her tongue - so she spent most of the day practicing her new skills.

The next day she learned a new word- "da-da" and also practiced, non stop, all day. She was pretty happy (and so was Neal) when he came home and she greeted him with a big smile and "da-da-da-da"! It was too cute to not get on camera- so here it is. :) She still doesn't know what it means, but it is so fun to hear her say. Now if she would just say "ma-ma"...

We love Lydia so much and enjoy each day with her. She is so happy and we love making her smile, laugh and giggle. The other night she was being a bit fussy during dinner so Neal and I started pretend sneezing and she just giggled and giggled. It was so cute! Lydia also rode in the grocery cart for the first time this month (with out being in her baby seat). She was all smiles and loved being able to see so much more! Every day is such a blessing and brings new joy and happiness as our family grows and we are able to spend time together. Life is great!

We also got family pictures taken, but unfortunately we don't have the rights to them and can't post them on the blog. They turned out really cute and it was hard to just pick a few!

I also decided it was time for a change- so I cut my hair. Not just a trim, but a whopping 13 inches, which I donated to Locks of Love. Neal loves my long hair and has never seen it short before, so it is definitely a big change for him. He says he likes it (although he prefers it long) but it does grow fast and will be back soon. Meanwhile it is fun to have something new and different for a while- just in time for summer.

Photo shoot

I really wanted some pictures of Lydia for her 6 month mark (ok- by the time I got around to taking them she was 6 1/2 months)but didn't want to pay studio prices. I decided to take them myself so I pulled out the camera, found a fun chair and some fabric laying around (to make a backdrop) and got started. My friend Wendy also came over and helped a lot. It was so fun and we got some good pictures. I personally think they are as good as we could have gotten in a studio- and these were free! There were so many pictures I couldn't choose just one, so here are some of my favorites.

Our happy baby!

Lydia getting tired of posing for all of her pictures. Mom, are we done yet?

Projects and crafts

I really am not a very crafty person, but lately I have had a lot of fun with projects and sewing. I think a lot of the motivation came as I joined Pintrist a month or two ago. If I see cute ideas and projects that have already been done, I can copy the idea- making a few modifications with what I have and my style. Here are a few fun things I have made lately.

Wendy came over one day and we made this fun Valentine's wreath. Using wire coat hangers and scraps of fabric and ribbon that we had, it was an afternoon of fun at no cost!

After she left, I decided that my living room needed something for valentines day as well. This garland is just scrapbooking paper cut into hearts (once again- paper I just had lying around).


After Valentine's day was over and my heart wreath came down, the door looked bare again. I needed something colorful and springish to put up. After finding a plain wreath at D.I. for $1, I went home, dug out my fabric scraps, and make lots and lots of fabric flowers.

This project has also been on my "to make" list for a while. It is a bow/ headband holder for Lydia (made from an old frame, some paint, ribbon, and cup hooks). I am so glad I finally got it finished because it is so much easier to keep her headbands organized now.

Of course I made Lydia some fun new headbands. I love making a variety of bows and flowers for her- they are fast, easy, and so much fun! These latest flowers were more ribbon scraps and beads that I had.

My mother-in-law gave me a new sewing machine for Christmas and I finally pulled it out of the box and set it up. I have been wanting a new skirt for a while but haven't been able to find one that I like (that I am also willing to pay for) so I decided to make my own. It was the perfect project to test out the sewing machine out with. It is so nice, I love it! Now I just need to learn how to use all the cool buttons, functions, and stitches it can do. :)

After finishing my skirt I had even had enough fabric left to make Lydia one too.

Sledding and Standing

Last week Neal had Monday off (for Presidents day) so we decided to go sledding at a nearby hill in Bountiful. Neither of us had gone in years and of course it was the first time for Lydia. We went with Neal's brothers (Bradley and Dallin) and had so much fun! There was finally enough snow and the weather was perfect. Although the hill wasn't very steep I was a bit hesitant taking Lydia down. I shouldn't have worried though, she loved every minute!

Ready, set, sled!

Coming back up for another ride.

Neal and Lydia making their way back to the top.

Lydia having lots of fun.

Lydia also loves to stand at every opportunity. She can even stand by herself if she is holding on to something (the couch, her playmat/ jungle gym, etc). She does get a bit shaky after a while, but she is getting stronger and stronger each day. We'll see how much longer until she starts walking.

So proud and happy to be standing by herself.

Practicing her ballerina pose.

Lydia hits 6 months!

Today I took Lydia in for her 6 month checkup. I can't believe it has been half a year already. Where did the time go? Lydia is generally a very sweet and happy baby. She will play by herself for a few minutes, but is really happy when people are talking and interacting with her. She is our social butterfly and loves to be the center of attention. She sits really well by herself but also loves to stand. We recently bought her one of those jumpers you hang from the ceiling and they can stand and jump in because she loves bouncing and jumping. She likes it as long as she is happy when you put her in, and if she has a toy to hold in her hand. She especially gets into it and thinks it is funny if we stand next to her and jump up and down while saying, "boing, boing, boing." Outside is still one of her favorite places to be and she loves every chance to go out; going on stroller rides, getting the mail, taking the garbage out, watching the birds, or whatever else is going on.

Having fun in her jumper.

Dr. visit stats:

- length was 26 3/4 in (85th percentile)

- her head measured in at 16 3/4 in (60th percentile).

- Lydia has always been in the 90th percentile for her weight, but I think all her activity is catching up with her. Today she weighed in at 16 lbs 4 oz (she was 15 lbs 15 oz at her 4 month). That is only the 60th percentile. We did change doctors and our new pediatrician wondered if the two scales are slightly different, but she said to bring her back in about a month just to check and make sure her weight doesn't continue going down. Lydia is still very happy, still eats a ton (plus is still loving eating her solids), so I am not worried at all. I think she is just a lot more active now.

Lydia loved riding on this cute little horse when we got together with some friends.