Where's Waldo... ahem, Lydia?

This is our Monday morning playgroup. We've been attending the playgroup since about 2 weeks after our arrival in Prague. I still remember attending playgroup for the first time exactly 2 years ago, feeling quite intimidated and not knowing a single person. Since then, it has become a very important part of our week. It is a wonderful cultural experience for me and a socially-stretching experience for both Lydia and me. This week it was at our house and we managed to make it through the morning without a single sharing struggle... I didn't even cry when the other mommies drank my coffee or sat on my chairs. Yippee!

Countries represented: Italy, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey, Slovenia, America.

Were you able to find my darling daughter? She's the one with a baby doll outfit for a face. And yes, this is how she looked in every one of the 5 photos that were taken.

The Grande Finale

We officially celebrated Lydia's 3rd birthday today. It was a long time coming, with the birthday season kicking off 2 weeks ago. Lydia sounded somewhat in denial tonight as she stated "My birthday is over". But what a celebration it has been. Today 10 adults and 6 children came to our house to play, eat and have fun. It's especially fun to see how the kids are growing up and finally interacting with each other and, on occasion, could even be heard carrying on conversations with one another! We are so blessed by the circle of friends we have come to know during our time here. Thank you friends, for making it such a special day for us!

Even with 14 nights of singing "Happy Birthday" to herself as she fell asleep, Lydia was somewhat taken aback by the live rendition. At one point I was concerned there would be tears, but she pulled through in style.

Life is better with good friends! Levi, Abbey, Owen, Lydia, Lucy, Clark, Magdalena

Solving the world's problems, one cracker at a time.

You know you are loved...

...when Lydia tucks you in to sleep at night. Not even her baby dolls, with their beautiful bed and blankets get such treatment.

Larry-Boy, you ARE that hero!

On a roll!

So proud!

Dear little Lydia, your toys will never be safe again......

got rice?

Mommy says because I'm such a BIG boy, I'm ready to eat cereal.


But I'm not so sure.....

Her Special Day

Happy 3rd Birthday to Lydia! We had a really nice day celebrating low-key with just our family. After church we had a special birthday lunch and ice cream at McDonald's. Then we opened a few presents, had a nap and just enjoyed spending time together. It's so fun to celebrate a birthday through the eyes of a child, with all the anticipation and excitement.

I won't lie, our little sweetheart definately had her share of ups and downs through the course of the day, but if she was calm and sweet ALL day long I might have called the doctor. Lydia is the true embodiment of "sugar and spice", but that's a good thing. Life would be boring any other way.

So, Happy Birthday, my little girl. We are so blessed to share this adventure of life with you.

Grandpa

Today my family said good-bye to an amazing man. But all of heaven is celebrating tonight, because Grandpa is home.

Day of Love and Friendship

and cookies!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Never-ending Birthday

We kicked off Lydia's 14-day birthday festivities on Monday morning by sharing cupcakes with our playgroup. I managed to find a box of Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix and vanilla frosting which left both mommies and kiddies in awe of our tasty treats. Ohhh, America the Beautiful! Land of pre-packaged easy-to-bake chocolately goodness.

Logistical reasons led us to plan Lydia's birthday party with our friends on Feb. 24th, but we'll celebrate as a family on her actual birthday on the 18th. I'm a little concerned about the precendent we are setting. Especially since Lydia was heard singing herself to sleep the other night and the tune came over the monitor loud and clear... "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Lydia. Happy Birthday to you."


Sorry folks. The recipe is ummmm... a top-secret family recipe.

Find of the Week

String cheese!!! When you're living in a foreign country it's the little things that make your day.

Merry Birth-mas

For the past two Christmases I have been on a mission to find a kitchen for Lydia. However, everything that I found was... well, European-sized. If you don't know what I mean by that, think washing machine that reaches full capacity with 1 shirt, 2 pairs of underwear and a pair of jeans. Or how about a freezer that holds 1 frozen pizza and 3 bags of frozen veggies. Yes, knowing firsthand the frustrations of life with European-sized appliances I just could not, in good conscience, subject my daughter to the same hassles in her play kitchen. I mean, really, how do I expect her to fit her "Big American" pizza into that little tiny 6 in. oven??? It would be sort of like trying to squeeze your Hummer into that parking space meant for a Ford Focus, you know? Oh, the humanity!

So..... I caved this year (or rather Brandon did) and I ordered the American-sized kitchen online. We had it shipped to Grandma's house and were able to take the majority of it back with us at Christmastime. However, our luggage allowance was maxed out so we couldn't take one important piece with us. That last remaining piece arrived in a separate shipment just this week, thanks to the shipping assistance of Grandma "Brugge". So, what was once a Christmas present, is now more of an early birthday present.

In the meantime, my little girl discovered Thomas the Train and if truth be told, she probably would've been more excited about Thomas and his Friends. Call it Mommy living vicariously through her daughter if you must. Thomas sure would've taken up a LOT less room in our luggage.

So please excuse me now, I'm going to go cook some wooden veggies and have a tea party while Lydia plays with her Legos.

Big Little Boy

Weighing in at a whopping 18.3lb (8.3kg) and measuring 26.3in (67cm), our "little" boy is, well... not so little. 100th percentile for length, 95th percentile for weight; that's how we grow 'em around here.

But that's ok. If he wants to have any say in which toys he gets to play with in the future, he's going to have to keep up with his big sister.