A Walk in January

Last Friday was an unseasonably warm January day for Cincinnati, and Lydia and I decided to take advantage of it by getting some fresh air at Winton Woods.

We stayed until Lydia gave me her sign language signal for, "I'm ready for my nap".  On the way back to the car, we passed a flock of geese, some walking on the frozen pond and others taking turns swimming in a small unfrozen patch.  

I thought geese were supposed to fly south for the winter.  This is not far enough south.

Dress up

Aunt Cass came over the other day, and as she shed her outdoor winter gear, her scarf and hat landed on Lydia. The results were adorable!

Grandpa & Grandma's Anniversary

Last Thursday, on January 15, we went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma's Anniversary. This first picture was sent to me compliments of Aunt Jill, with a caption reading "Mommy and Daddy, look at my teeth!"

Here's Lydia with Grandpa Don and Grandma Phyllis! Happy Anniversary!!!




Aunt Krissy and I worked very hard to get a good pic. If you're wondering why we are off center, it's because the photographer said that's how you take a good picture. :)


Check out Lydia's expression in this photo...I laugh out loud every time I look at it! What do you think she is thinking? Maybe she's thinking, "Come on, not another picture!" :)

New Year's Day

On New Year's Day, Lydia and Harper got together for their first play date of the year. I can't believe they are both about 9 months old now! It's fun to watch them interact with each other as they grow. My how time is flying by!

Lydia's first Christmas

Everything about Christmas was more fun for me this year, and I think most of Lydia's family would agree - having a little one around at Christmas makes it 100 times better! Like most babies, Lydia loved the paper and liked the toys. But, now that all the paper has been thrown away, Lydia loves her new toys!

Around Christmas time, Lydia's favorite thing to do was imitate sheep - take a listen...

A new aunt

On December 22, Uncle Zak flew to Florida and got a new aunt for Lydia. (Read the whole story here: http://thezoneofzakness.blogspot.com/2009/01/status-change.html )Her name is Christin, but we like to call her CC, and now we call her Aunt CC. Lydia knew about Uncle Zak's plans to propose, but she did a great job of keeping it a secret! God has blessed Lydia with so many wonderful aunts, all of whom are amazing and beautiful women that will enrich the rest of her life!

Christmas Spirit

Stegman Chicks Christmas Pics

Pictures from the shooting of this year's Stegman Christmas Video.

Lydia's debut in her first Stegman Christmas Video...(drum roll please)...

Meeting Santa

Back in December, Lydia sat on Santa's lap for the first time! It went surprisingly well. I thought for sure she'd cry, but she didn't! She didn't smile either...she basically looked exactly as she does in the picture the whole time. After the picture was taken, she became very interested in Santa's facial hair. So I quickly uncurled her fingers from the death grip on Santa's beard, snatched her up and said thank you to the Santa with a fake beard.

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving, instead of going shopping at 4AM, we headed to Gatlinburg to spend the weekend with the Magnotta side of the family. Here they are on Thanksgiving day...we weren't there yet, but still a cute picture (even though Lydia's not in it) of the family making dinner.

When we first arrived, the weather was pretty mild. So, we went for a walk.




While in Gatlinburg, we did hit up some of the sales at the outlet malls. But, most of the time we hung out in the cabin and visited, played games, and played with babies.


Lydia had a playmate her size while there - cousin Harper!

Lydia liked playing with Harper, and her toys!

Thanksgiving

As the holidays came and went, so did the time, and now I'm really behind on blog postings. But, I figure the old cliche applies in this instance - better late than never! So, we'll begin the updates with Thanksgiving.

We began Thanksgiving Day at Grandma and Grandpa Stegman's house to have dinner with Grandma Lori's side of the family. When we arrived, we discovered that Lydia and Aunt Krissy secretly planned to dress alike.

Lydia met Uncle Russ's new dog, Sophie. She was soft, and luckily very patient with Lydia who liked to pet her.

Lydia had sweet potatoes for dinner, while her mom and dad had sweet potato casserole - Yum!

We took lots of pictures of Lydia and her second cousin, Colton, especially when it looked like they were holding hands!

Earhart Family Photo (Lydia, you're looking the wrong way!)

On Thanksgiving Day evening, we went to Great Grandma and Grandpa Stegman's house. After Lydia pulled off her socks, as she always does, Aunt Jill showed her how to make a sock puppet.Later that evening, Lydia sat with Uncle Ed and looked at the ads in anticipation of black Friday!