21 Months

21 Months old with Buster Bear!

She was not interested in taking this picture, and I'm late in posting it, but it was taken on the day. It's been one roller coaster of a month.

Father's Day ended with a spontaneous trip to The Big Mo - the Monetta drive-in. We were totally unprepared, decided to stop by a gas station for snacks and then headed over to Nadia's first full movie - Mr. Popper's Penguins. The drive-in was the PERFECT way to experience it - she was able to sit in our laps in the front seat and was sooo into the movie she bumped her head several times trying to get closer to the "pen-pens". The movie didn't start until 9:00 PM, so we thought she'd likely only make it through the first few minutes, but she stayed awake until the credits rolled! We put her in her carseat at the end of the movie, and she was sound asleep before we even got out of the parking lot, but she loved the whole experience which included her first skittles and candy bar.

Reading books on a blanket before the movie started. There was also a playground that she LOVED.

Sitting with Daddy as the movie started.

A trip to Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach - she loves the '"ish!"

Every squirmy - "down Daddy!"

Look at that big shark!

Nadia is our little gymnast doing sommersaults, tumbling around and bending so flexibly!

This ABC puzzle mat has become such fun as she can identify and stand on the letters for various key words. We say, "Show me the D for Daddy." She'll run over to the "D". She consistently knows A, B, C, D, G, J, L, M, N, P, S, T, V! (and we've only been playing this game for a couple weeks!)

4th of July week we were at Myrtle Beach on vacation. She truly enjoyed the sand - it was a wide open, pretty flat, HUGE place to run! She wasn't crazy about the ocean ("big water") but she couldn't get enough of the "little water" where the tide created a small pool a few inches deep where she could "splash" and play without the crash of the waves.

On the 4th we watched fireworks. At first she wasn't so sure about them - it was loud and crowded and very windy on the beach, so we took her inside where she could still see the fireworks from the window but wasn't so exposed. After she got used to them, she asked for "more crackers!" We took her out to the beach and she enjoyed lots more up close and personal! The next night as it got dark again, she asked for "more crackers", "boom, boom, boom!" Luckily, we were at the beach and there were more crackers for her to see.

Happy 4th of July!

Snuggling with Granddaddy on the 4th

One night we went for a walk on the beach and wound up at the boardwalk like area. Nadia rode the train and enjoyed some cotton candy.

Our vacation was originally planned to be spent with Bill, Anne and Stephanie but a week before we left, Anne's doctor decided that she shouldn't go. After her first heartattack, she was still having difficulty recovering and had been re-hospitalized with week before we were to leave. Everyone was disappointed but wanted us to still go. While we were at the beach, we received a call that Andy's mom, known by Nadia as Gamma, had had a second heartattack and died very unexpectedly. We were overwhelmed with shock and disbelief. The reality of it all is still sinking in. We returned home immediately for the funeral and were overwhelmed with the care and kindness of so many friends and family in sharing their sympathy. We are so saddened that Gamma won't be able to meet Lydia or watch Nadia continue to grow up, but we will share many wonderful stories with both of our girls of her deep love for them and for all of her family. She was a wonderful mom, mother-in-law and grandmother who will be greatly missed and long remembered.

The day after Anne's funeral, I had to leave for Passport Kids Camp. I returned home only to head back to NC to pick up Nadia from my parents, and spend a couple days with Andy before he left for a mission trip to Jamaica. Hours before he left town, I started having contractions which were very strong and lasted five hours. He left and the next day I proceeded to have much less strong but much more sustained contractions for 17 hours. The good news is that after some rest, with mom coming in the night to help with Nad and be here whatever was to come, and a doctor's visit later, everything has calmed down. No more contractions and everything is fine with the baby. We don't expect any more problems. The doctor said that the stress of the last two weeks was probably catching up to me - that we function in the "have to" mode as long as we can, but then our bodies hit a wall. No doubt, it has been a stressful time, but we are s0 thankful that everything is okay with Lydia and look forward to meeting her in 3 more months.