it's been awhile.

Doesn't life just seem to be hurry up and wait? Well, blogging has become that way for me, too, "hurry up, get caught up, and then wait to get behind again." I last posted 3 in a week while Ben was at VBS in the beginning of the summer, and here we are at the end of summer, on the heels of school beginning. It was so easy, Ben was gone for a couple hours every night, and Lydia wasn't very much mobile. She was crawling, but having to keep two hands and knees busy, still manages to keep you out of some trouble. "Idle hands are devil's play?" or something like that. Well, now she can walk, and it is just insane. I keep telling her that she's breaking all the baby rules, along with my heart, because she's fast exiting babyhood, and it is making me sad. It just wasn't supposed to happen this fast. Sigh.

So since everything is going too fast. Here's a recap:

Ben learned how to swim! No life vest....although the accomplishment came late this summer, so I expect we will forget all about swimming by next summer! Here a picture of Ben and his clone trooper helmet, it was promised to him. Apparently, even clone troopers have tee times to make. :)
Ben learning to read. Ben learning has always been a theme in his life, and it just continues to amaze me at how quick he is. The first book he learned to read was Green Eggs and Ham. While I know the rhyming and repetition are helpful aids to reading, he has really shown word recognition with many sight words.

Lydia: oh where oh where do I begin? It was very much a blur. And now it is a blur, watching her walk all over the house. She LOVES Ben's room! The other day she was enjoying chewing on Captain Rex's helmet. She also takes to pulling the door stop rubber protectors off and chewing on those as well. (I know, Mom and MamaLiz, it's dangerous....) She also loves Rainey's water bowl...and Rainey too. Here is a progressive set of photos. It's really cute, and reminds me of how Ben used to play with Rainey as a baby.

Ben is determined to make her a Star Wars fan! And it's really bright in our bathroom ;)Here are some photos of Lydia:
First piggie: (can I just please mention how proud I was to be able to manage even a tiny piggy that sticks straight up in the air?) It is weird how changing what little hair she has makes her look so different to me.

She loves food much more than Ben did. But in Ben's defense, I was always too worried about his food/caloric intake, that I manipulated feeding him over self feeding MUCH more than I should have. I guess you live and you learn. And I definitely have learned. Here is Lydia loving grilled cheese. That day she ate a half of one!
Rainey: She is becoming quite the love of two little kids around here. She is so good and loyal to the both of them.
Sleepy times are hard to come by, but summer was busy and those long gone naps returned with a vengeance. That day, I carried two children one by one while on my cell phone.

You know you're too tired, when you can't even finish your lollipop. Ben has never been one of those kids who falls asleep eating. This photo below is for Lydia's Great-Gram. She gave Lydia the sleep lamb that her head is sleeping upon. It makes a few different sounds: whales, ocean, rain, a heart beating.

This picture is for Lydia's Auntie Em. The black bear she is sleeping on top of is made of super soft alpaca! So soft!
Jenny: I have been finishing up projects here and there that got started over the summer and then forgotten about. They eventually got remembered again, when I realized I was leaving project clutter all over the house. So, here are a few things I have started, forgotten about, remembered again, and finished. This baby quilt is for a friend, expecting her third child and third boy. This summer has gone so fast, and now it is time for fall. I am taking on the Moppets Coordinator position. MOPS is Mothers of Preschoolers. It's a Christian nonprofit, that seeks to meet the needs of moms with young kids through twice monthly meetings for a time of breakfast, fellowship, speakers, crafts, you name it. Since I am the Moppets Coordinator, it has been my goal this summer to rally enough workers to work with our kids to make MOPS happen, train/brief them on their importance and role, and plan the kids' curriculum. It has been a learning process, and I presume it will continue that way for the rest of the year. I am also planning on doing the St. Jude Half again this December, and I just might have a partner....TBD. ;) This year I would like to do the race as a "St. Jude's Hero" which is where friends and family donate money to St. Jude's cause. It's a great facility, and it is their aim to never turn away a sick child. I will send out more information once I become registered. Anyway, I am again toying with the idea of accomplishing the full that I have been aspiring to for a couple years now. I want to wait until Lydia's one and she's not nursing anymore. There's always time for running and other things in life, but some time, you just can't get back. She's already changing too fast. Shoot, both of them are for that matter.
Rob: My dear husband. He's the Check Flight Commander still, if I haven't mentioned before. He misses working directly with students and instead is the one that they all fear. We are extended a full year (no more, maybe less) here in Mississippi. Of course there are always mixed emotions, and feel like they all kind of level out in the end. Things could always be worse, things could always be better, but this is where we are. So we are going to enjoy it until the end!

We hope this update finds you well. While I haven't been much of a blogger, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your updates! So - don't be like me! ;)

Love,
Jenny