Almost 9 months old and other thoughts

Lydia is doing so well! We have been so blessed that she hasn't gotten sick yet. We have been really careful, but we can't shield her from everything. She will be 9 months old on Monday. She can sit...if she isn't being lazy( when you try to get her to sit up she will push against you to lay down), she scoots around, and has started to try to pull up on things. She isn't really that close to pulling herself up, but she is trying. She loves eating solids. She loves the green stuff the most. Her favorite is green beans but she likes peas a lot too. Lydia really likes having frozen fruit in her safe feeder. It is wonderful because she can feed herself and it's cold on her gums so it helps with her teething. She still has no teeth.

Liddy likes to hear herself talk..or scream. She can make sounds with the following letters: a,b,c,d,e,g,I,k,m,p,w, and y. She is pretty manipulative. If I leave her in her crib or leave the room when she wants me she will say, "mamama." It gets me every time. I can't resist this girl. She rules the house for sure.

Thomas has a med school interview on Monday. He is nervous, but I know he will do great. I can't imagine someone meeting him and not loving him. He is just too nice of a guy and such an incredible man. Anyone would be lucky to have him as their doctor.

There have been a few things on my mind recently. You can skip over this part because it will be pretty boring but I'm going to write it anyway. First of all, I have been extremely self conscious about my weight recently. I mean, I had a 2 pound baby for heaven's sake! Why did I gain so much, dangit? I know that while she was in the NICU I stress ate a lot and we were going back and forth to the hospital so much that we stopped and got fast food on the way to or from the hospital a lot, but still. I have been eating way healthier than I ever have before and running almost every day and I haven't seen any change in weight or appearance. I hate getting dressed. Most of my clothes don't fit me anymore and those that do make me look huge. I can barely stand to do my makeup because it means I have to look at my face in the mirror and I hate it. I am so glad we only have one mirror in the house and I avoid it at all costs. Sometimes when I am holding Lydia, I flip the camera on my phone to get a picture of her and I see myself and cringe. I'm disgusting. I guess all I can do is keep trying.

On a different note.. vaccines. Typically on hot topic issues, I don't really have a strong opinion and I can see both sides. The only exceptions to this are women and the Priesthood (such a silly debate), and vaccines. It shouldn't really be a debate. Vaccines are scientifically proven to work. I understand that those that are not vaccinate are trying to do what is best for their family and I respect that they are trying to do what is best for their child, but I have to think about my own child. If you want your kid to be a vegetarian, that's fine. It only affects  your family. But when you choose not to vaccinate your child, it affects my family too. The only place I take Lydia besides my parents house is to the doctor. I hate to think that there are unvaccinated children sitting in that waiting room with my baby that I have worked so hard to protect. She has a weak immune system and her lungs are not as strong as others. She goes to a high risk clinic and also at that clinic are children who have undergone surgeries and are at high risk for infections and sickness, kids that are undergoing chemo, etc. This goes for all doctors offices. If you choose to ignore your doctors advice to vaccinate your child, why are you trusting him with anything else? You already don't completely trust doctors if you are ignoring their advice so just stay home and figure something else out for your sick kid. Please. Don't expose my baby girl to your kid's sicknesses. Ok. That's all I'm going to say on that topic.

Lydia is the best and I love her dearly even though she drives me nuts sometimes when she refuses to take naps. Apparently, she thinks sleep is for the weak. I am so glad she is home. I am so glad I have her in my arms. It can be hard at times. She isn't a perfect child and she can be tough, but I am so glad that she is home that I don't even care. I can handle anything she brings at me. She is pretty stinkin' cute which helps too. :)

 Liddy loves her feet

 She fist bumps!

 Like I said, she loves her feet

 My lazy girl lays on the side of her high chair and just opens her mouth to be fed.

 Sometimes she waits by the door for her daddy. Just like a puppy!

 She loves chasing this little egg maraca around

 Lydia's cousin, Jack, sent her a letter with some cool origami things in it that he made. Above is her wearing the hat he made her and below is her playing the piano he made.

 Quite the drama queen

 Lydia likes to hold the bottle all by herself sometimes. She is growin' up too fast!

 Planking

 Liddy Biddy is not a fan of naps anymore. I was working to get her to take a nap for about an hour. I finally gave up and just put her on the floor to play. A few minutes later I looked over at her and she had fallen asleep.

 We went for a walk at the Woodlands Waterway! It was really pretty.

 Thomas' parents got to come and visit! It was so fun to have them here and Lydia loved the extra attention!

 Sometimes we just look at the outside world so she isn't in shock when we go outside.

 Starting to pull up on her bouncy seat..scary stuff

 Contrary to my sister's belief, I do NOT make Lydia do workout videos.

Such a cute, precious baby girl!