Lydia turned one!

I clearly should have posted this yesterday, but our little Squirt is a whole year old! See pictures of her birthday at her blog. If you need an invite, let me know in the comments or by emailing bonbonbassoon@gmail.com. Saddest thing in the world is that she got the cold that I've had for a week yesterday and was kinda sick all day.

Why I am not organized neatly

Have you seen the blog "Things organized neatly"? I can't help but laugh when I go on there. Yes, thing placed just so look nice and are pretty, but the only thing that comes to my mind is how much havoc Lydia would wreak (and how much fun she would have) if she encountered these collections.

She's my little Godzilla, leaving destruction in her wake everywhere she goes. Folding laundry is the most obvious example, but emptying the dishwasher and putting away her toys are also prime targets for her decimation. She sees piles of neatly piles clothes and laughs maniacally as she zips towards them, grabs several shirts, and flings them. So things take awhile to get done around my house. Cleaning up in the evening is the worst. I'll go to the bookcase to replace the volumes that she has spent so much time strewing about the floor. She might not notice while I'm lining those books up, but as soon as I move on to check the next tidying item off my list, she cackles on her way to put those books back where she wants them. Our CD collection gets pulled out of their slots, her toys and books are always all over, and her favorite thing to rummage in is the wastebaskets (what joy). I simply don't have enough arms or energy to keep things tidy. I cannot imagine what it will be like when (or if...) we have another.

See the little Destructomatic at her blog. Have I mentioned that I love her to pieces? It may come across like I would like a tidy house, but I'd rather have her.

I read a book!

I know, reading a book doesn't sound like an accomplishment, but I haven't had time to read and I haven't had anything I really wanted to read. But then I got a library card. Have I told you guys about the library in Bloomington? Awesome. The children's section has a play area with tons of toys that Lydia loves. The baby area is even fenced off so she doesn't get trampled by exuberant toddlers. SCORE! And their baby book selection is incredible. Lydia has started to like reading books (before it was more of a wrestling match to see if she would stay in your lap long enough to get through three pages) as long as they're interactive.

She likes to touch things, so anything that's got something to feel (Think Pat-the-Bunny, our favorite book) is great, but anything with flaps, like the Spot books, is awesome as well.

Also, she likes to turn pages (We just have to get it started for her) so we only read board books because she would rip normal pages. Anyway, we go to the library every week and get 10 new board books, at least half of which have to be interactive.

And then it occurred to me that there was a whole library there, not just the children's section. So, I placed a hold on "Catching Fire," book 2 of the Hunger Games series, which I had read the beginning of but not been able to finish. I was number 28 in line for the book, so I kind of thought I'd be waiting forever, but it only took a month or so.

Let's just say that I got the book one afternoon and had finished it by the next day. It was engrossing, but I have to admit that I was totally disappointed when I reached the end. I kept waiting for there to be something big to end it with and I feel like it ended before that happened. Maybe I was just so jaded by the people dying in the first book that the arena didn't give me that adrenaline rush I was hoping for.

Which is, I think, why I liked the first one. I'm not going to comment on it's merits as a piece of literature, but The Hunger Games was riveting. I couldn't put it down. And that's fun for me. I like when someone can tell a story in such a way that I care about the characters and want to give them advice about their life choices. Anyway, I've got a hold on Mockingjay (only number 33 in line!) so maybe that one will be more "exciting."

Have you missed the recent Lydia posts? Shame on you.

Two jack-o-lanterns, one hollowed-out pumpkin with a cap, and a baby pumpkin

Apparently Indiana grows tough pumpkins. Carving these was DIFFICULT. And I didn't even carve a whole pumpkin. Mine was the one that never got carved, only hollowed out, because I couldn't deal with the pain and agony and time-commitment of cutting a face on it. Actually, I wasn't even going to make a face. My pumpkin had a kind of divet around it's middle, like a snowman or something, so it was going to be something cool that I have forgotten at the moment. But my arm was sore the next day, even after just cutting off the lid. Yes, I'm a weakling, but both Mom and Adam agreed that these pumpkins were just plain hard. Adam, as you can see, kept with the theme of this year's Halloween and made a very scary pirate pumpkin (didn't you know that we dressed up as pirates for Halloween? There might be pictures of all 3 of us over at Lydia's blog. Or it could be scheduled for next week. We'll see) that cracked after it stormed overnight.

And Mom made a cyclops. Cool, eh?

Seriously, check out Lydia's blog. And tell me what your favorite picture of her is (not restricted to recent posts), because I need validation, guys. Even if it comes in the form of praising the cuteness of my daughter.

So, Thanksgiving is coming up, right? What are your plans? And this isn't just a ploy to get you to comment. Adam and I aren't used to this Thanksgiving-on-our-own thing, and we need some stellar ideas. STELLAR. Or just plain ideas. Those work too.

The forest on IU campus

On one of my walks with my Mom while she was here, we found the famed forest in the middle of IU campus (and when I say "famed" I mean Adam kept talking about it and I hadn't seen it yet, so clearly it was the stuff of legend). Yellow leaves covered all the pathways and it really was gorgeous. An honest-to-goodness forest just chilling on campus. Very Cool.

Tune in for pictures of our little punk, Lydia, here.

Blocks - good for the husband too

I'm so glad I bought these blocks for Lydia. It honestly is just nice to have something to pull out for her to play with that is more interactive. I wasn't expecting it to be entertaining for Adam as well, but he seems to enjoy building towers for Lydia to knock over. You have to be sneaky, though. If she sees you building one, she'll knock over the foundation before you can finish a creation.

Variety is necessary in our lives, I've discovered. I am running out of things to do with Lydia, and since it has gotten pretty cold, going on walks and visiting playgrounds is getting more difficult. I'm open to any and all ideas for entertaining an almost-one-year-old child.

I guess the real thing that's getting to me is the lack of social interaction I have. I feel so unconnected to the outside world (Or anything, really). I don't get much computer time, except in the evenings when I'd like to spend time with Adam. So I do laundry, do dishes, vacuum, etc., and Lydia follows along, undoing what I do. And then I lie on the ground and play with her as she uses me for her personal jungle-gym.

I need a hobby. One that can be done with a tiny person around. Any ideas?

P.S. See pictures of Lydia here. I like what my older brother texted me a couple weeks ago. "Lydia's not such a Lyddle anymore. She's more of a Byggle." Yes. Exactly. The baby is turning into a little girl.

Walking with Mom

I loved having my Mom come visit a few weeks ago. Living away from anyone we know has made us crave human contact. Or friend contact. I look forward to the next time I'm going to see family for several months.

It was awesome to just walk around our neighborhood with my Mom and talk.

So who else is coming to visit?

I have lost my blogging mojo. Okay, who am I kidding, I never had it. But now I seriously have absolutely nothing to post on this blog. But I'm pretty sure some grandparents still want pictures of Lyds to see. So...I've got a whole slew of Lydia posts on her blog scheduled for about two weeks. There are new ones up now as well. Maybe I'll post from time to time on this blog but it might just die...

I might just be out-of-sorts because Daylight Savings time SERIOUSLY messed up my household and it might be permanent. I have given up counting the hours of sleep I get because it's just depressing. I know that hate is a strong word and at one point in my childhood we were forbidden to ever use it (We must have been a bunch of sourpusses), but I HATE Daylight Savings, and here is why:

Lydia, angel child that she is, used to sleep until 9:00. She would go to bed at 8, wake up to be nursed at midnight, sleep until 6, when I would nurse her and put her back down, and then go BACK to bed to sleep until 9. I can do with that amount of sleep.

Adam and I are night-owls, so we'd go to bed after her midnight feeding and I'd get about 8 hours of sleep, give-or-take. Even if she was teething or something and woke up at 3 to be nursed, it was still manageable. But as soon as that cursed DST hit, Lydia turned my life upside-down.

She still goes to bed at 8, but she wakes up at 11, then 2, then 4, then 6:30, at which time it is LIGHT outside, and then she's just awake. Like Awake awake. Like "Let's play, Mom!" and then proceeds to grab my hair and try to drag it to her mouth. And then I sit on the floor to play with her, but my tiredness convinces me that I could just lie down on our gross carpet and still play with her, but then she crawls on my head, places her hand on my neck and puts her full weight on it, and gives me a bloody nose with her knee as she crawls the full length of my body.

I'm dying here, people. If it weren't light outside at that last feeding, she'd go back to sleep just fine (like she used to). But it is. So she doesn't. And then her naps are all messed up too (think: short. and often. so we can't go anywhere and I can't nap), but I won't get into that. Have we discussed how I'm dying here? Thanks for being on the other end of my rant! Hope your kids like DST too!

We walk. Sometimes.

It was too dark to take pictures without the flash. So I tried one with and it ended up looking like Popcorn was Popping on the...some kind of tree.

I guess we'll stick around for awhile and see how we like this place...

Any picasa wizards know if it's possible to post more than 4 photos at a time to your blog through picasa? Did that make sense?

There are several Lydia posts up. I have run out of things to put on this blog, also known as I have run out of pictures that are not of Lydia. Any suggestions for future posts? I'm thinking about one wherein I bash on the practice of organizing clothes in drawers. Sounds fascinating, eh?

Duck!

A friend of mine mentioned that she often takes her little girl to see the ducks in a nearby neighborhood. Now, I don't think Lydia had ever seen a duck before, and the one time she got even close to a dog she freaked out, so I didn't know what to expect, but as I am always looking for things to add to the "entertaining baby" arsenal, I thought we'd give it a shot.

She loved them from a distance and I didn't dare get too close. There were a lot of them, okay?

Pretty sure we were trespassing when we did this.

See Lydia near the ducks, here.

Evening Walks/Fall in Bloomington

I had heard that Bloomington has beautiful autumns. This year, it is certainly not disappointing. Lydia and I love the cooler weather (and I feel like we have cuter fall clothes for her than summer clothes - plus I get to put her in sweaters that just kill me) and have been spending more time outside now that I feel like we're not going to die of heatstroke.

Adam and I, in an effort to be less sedentary, have gone on a few walks in the evenings. I like the time we get to talk without distractions, and I've also gotten some pictures of the fall scenery.

Hopefully this tradition will continue and Adam and I will be less fat, and have more scenic pictures.

Yes, those are geese. I was unaware that Bloomington would bring me closer to nature, but it's true. The other day Lydia and I almost got attacked by a whole ton of ducks, and Adam (pushing the stroller) and I gave these geese a wide berth. Maybe it's an urban legend, but the word on the street is that angry geese can do some damage.

More Lydia pictures, for those who are interested, can be found here.

Family pictures

At the Walton family reunion in August, the Waltons hired a photographer to take family pictures. I think the funniest moment of the day was trying to get all three baby girls to smile at the camera at the same time (unsuccessfully, I might add). Lydia ate some dirt, Audrey ate some grass, and we all had a good time. I particularly liked this photo of Adam and I (along with a few of Lydia and our little family). Thanks, jesmyrickphotography.com

There are a few new Lydia posts, for those who are interested. If you need an invite, shoot me an email at bonbonbassoon@gmail.com.

It's been 10 months!

Lydia is 10 months old today! I cannot even believe how old she's getting. See pictures and an update on her in general here. If you would like an invite (don't be embarrassed - I'm generous with the invites!), or I somehow forgot to send you one before, email me at bonbonbassoon@gmail.com.

I love having a washer and dryer

And I love Craigslist. $50 bucks a piece, baby. Of course, that meant we had to get them home somehow.

Our little Nissan is surprisingly versatile.

Seriously, who needs a truck?

Both families we bought the washer and dryer from thought we were plumb-crazy. Maybe we are, and maybe I spent the drives home watching those appliances out the back window like a hawk. But hey, we made it.

New Lydia posts are up.

Farmer's Market

One of the things we were excited about when we moved to Bloomington was the Farmer's Market. On our trek there a couple weeks ago, we were not disappointed.

Sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, asian eggplant, Jonagold apples, plums, and a whole string of (extremely spicy) Asian chilis - aren't they pretty?

More of Lydia, the little bug, on her blog. As always, if you need an invite, comment on this post (with your email address) or email me at bonbonbassoon@gmail.com.

Our Indiana Place

We've had some requests for pictures of our apartment. Since the living/dining room is the only one that has pictures on the walls, here's what you get so far.

We really like it - a good amount of space for our little family.

To see Lydster in her natural habitat, click here.

Thanks for the visit, kids!

You guys are awesome! (And I couldn't find any pictures of Ali without Lydia, so there's a picture of her here)