1 Month Old

Lydia turned a month old today! Kinda crazy! This month went by pretty fast!
Things we've learned this month:
1) Lydia loves to sleep.  If she doesn't want to wake up she won't and there is nothing you can do to wake her.  This is especially annoying when she falls asleep eating in the middle of the night.  We have tried everything...undressing her, tickling her, lotion, a cold wash cloth, holding her in front of a fan, etc.  Heck, the other night both Tyler and I were tickling her - vigorously - and it did nothing.  We have tried everything anyone has suggested and nothing works for this kid.
2) As I said, Lydia loves to sleep...but only if she's being held.  I kid you not...she will fall asleep in your arms or on your chest and the minute you lay her down she is wide awake.  Lucky for me I've learned to sleep sitting up or I would have way too many sleepless nights.  I won't lie though...I do like a cuddly baby.  Emma could have cared less if you held her or not as a baby so this is a nice change.
3) She is very noisy.  Lydia grunts all day long.  She does not like to be moved.  If she is in one position you do not move her to another position or she will tell you off...in her own language.  It really is quite funny though! :)
Basically she's a doll and we love her to death...well most of us.  Emma is on a moment to moment basis. :)
Here is an onslaught of pictures. :)

 Fun with Grandma!!

 Oh how we miss her...

 3 generations

First family photo.

Update! Had her 1 month check up today (10/9) and she weighs 9 lbs 12 oz and is 21 inches long!  Putting her in the 50th percentile in both categories!

Who's who?

Here are my two babies.  Same age (2 weeks old) and in the same outfit.

If you guessed Emma first then Lydia you are right!  If not...don't worry...Tyler mixed them up too. :)

Week 1

This week has gone by really fast.  It was this afternoon that I told Tyler, "oh my gosh! we have a 1 week old!"  Our days have just all blended together!  What a week it has been though!  Definitely had it's ups and downs and I admit that I have wished more than once that I was back in the hospital just holding my baby and enjoying the peace and quiet.  Lydia is such a great baby. She already brings such joy into our lives...and wonderful blessings too!  After almost 2 months of searching and applying and searching and applying for jobs, Tyler finally has one!!  Yay!!  It was such a miracle too!  We have truly gained a firmer testimony in the Lord's timing.  It would have been very hard having Lydia, wondering what to do with Emma and coming home from the hospital to no help.  We truly believe Tyler didn't get a job until after Lydia was born fora a reason.  And he doesn't start until the day after my mom comes!  Talk about blessings!
Anyway, Lydia is a wonderful baby. She is very calm and mellow.  Only times she has really cried was on the way home from the doctor's office when it was way past feeding time and during a bath when she's cold.  She sleeps through everything...and I mean everything: Emma screaming, Emma throwing a tantrum, the vacuum,  stupid loud cars from our apartments complex, etc.  Unfortunately this means she also sleeps through every feeding.  She eats long enough to fall back asleep and then there is no hope of waking her after that.  Yes, we have tried undressing her and changing her diaper in between sides, and no, nothing is working.  It makes for very sleepless nights.  Sometimes the tricks work, but usually not.  but other than that she's perfect...I have no complaints. :)
Emma on the other hand has been more difficult than I imagined.  She started the so called "terrible twos" terribly early and it has only escalated since we have been home.  Literally the minute we pulled into the parking lot when we got home from the hospital and went to get the kids out, she looked at us and pointed to Lydia and said "baby?"  with this look on her face like "umm...did you forget to drop that thing off?"  There are moments where she can be very sweet like wanting to give the baby kisses all the time, and not leaving her alone once we have Lydia in the carseat.  Then there are the other times where you wonder where your sweet little girl has gone.  I know it is a huge adjustment for her, I just wish I knew how to help her better!
Anyway, here are some pictures of Lydia's first week of life. (and as always a huge load of pictures...mostly for my madre)  :)
She LOVES her hands.  It doesn't matter how we wrap her in a blanket, she finds a way to get both hands free...usually in under 5 minutes.

She has a birth mark over her left eye.  Don't know yet if it is just a "stork bite" or what. Guess we'll see!

Matching outfits!!  So cute! (one of the many kisses Lydia gets from Emma all day long)

Emma also loves to rub Lydia's head.  Don't know where that came from.

I had to include this.  Emma's new movie-watching buddy.  She just stuck him up there.  Then when he was blocking the characters she just moved to the side to kind of see in front of him rather than just move the dog.  Silly girl!

1 week old!  Already almost back up to birth weight at 7 lbs 7 1/2 oz.  (someone came and weighed her today)  A lot of it is in her cheeks.  Love the chipmunk cheeks!

Introducing...Lydia Jane Anderson

We have a new addition to our family!  Lydia Jane came into this world at 6:49 am on Wednesday, September 4th, 2013...and what a way she came!  I woke up at 5:00am feeling some contractions.  They were 5 minutes apart but not very painful, and I didn't want to be sent home so I waited until they were closer together and more intense.  By 6:00 I told Tyler he needed to call someone to come sit with Emma.  My contractions were about 2 minutes apart and I was in a lot of pain.  He called a lady we know and said he'd go outside and wait for her.  I could tell Lydia was very low because my contractions seemed to be going all the way down.  When Tyler came back inside with Sister Schmidt I was screaming in the bathroom.  I had started bleeding and couldn't help but push...which freaked us out because I tested positive for GBS and needed to be on an antibiotic for 4-6 hours before I should deliver.  Obviously freaked out, I was rushed to get to the hospital.  We made it to the door before my water broke.  Then as we opened the door to the car my water REALLY broke (by now it is 6:30am).  We made it to the hospital in 5 minutes (thank goodness there were no cars or cops).  We quickly convinced the nurses that I needed a room and I needed it now.  They put me in the first room they could find (not even a labor/delivery room) and checked to see how far down the baby was.  Needless to say I was past crowning. I was in SO much pain I just wanted an epidural!  Delirious, I asked the nurse for one and she just said, "oh honey, you're way past that point.  You're going o-nat-ur-al here!"  I pushed maybe 5-7 times and she was born!
She weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and is 19 1/4 inches long.
We joke now to be careful, and specific what you pray for because we were praying I would have a smooth recovery and no catheter (like I did with Emma) and I got what I wanted, just forgot to specify about the whole I don't want to feel pain I want an epidural part!
Anyway, we have been very blessed and Lydia is doing wonderful, no signs of GBS and my recovery has been wonderful!
Here is what you all are really reading this post for...pictures. :)

More to come later...especially since we just realized the pics we have of just Lydia are on our phones. :)

Life Lately

Life as of lately has been super dull and boring.  Hence the lack of posts.  Tyler has been on the job hunt for several weeks now and still no luck.  Each day he wakes up, spends a few hours searching and applying for jobs then goes to his internship, comes home for dinner, and that is basically his day everyday...so any prayers on our behalf would be GREATLY appreciated. :)
I have been swelling and increasing in pain day by day.  I think I have a bit of sciatica because it hurts to walk, sit, stand, basically it just hurts to be awake!  I didn't have this with Emma so its a whole new experience for me! And one I really hope I don't repeat!
Here is my most recent pic.  This is last week before heading to zumba!

 Yes, I know I'm huge!

Poor Emma has had a fever the last few days which finally broke this morning...although she's still not her 100% self.  She's actually been begging to go "nigh night" the last few days which I'm not going to lie, is the silver lining in her being sick. :)   But here are a few recent pics of her.
She likes getting her picture taken.  Well let me rephrase.  She likes looking at pictures of herself so she will let you take her picture but will only stand still long enough to see you "snap" the picture.  So only half the time do I get a decent picture.  But she loves being pretty and wearing skirts, especially tutu type skirts.  She actually lets me get her dressed without screaming or kicking when I put her in a skirt.  Then she runs to her mirror, swishes her skirt around, says "pitty" and then runs to her dad so he can tell her she's pretty.  Its really cute.  Anyway...the pictures.

 My little diva

 Already running to see what she looks like on the camera.

And here is a small video of our new nightly routine.  Emma is so active, so she now started "jumping" onto the chair.  This happens every night after dinner...whether she's sick or not!

Well...until next time!

Making Cookies

To get E to stop crying one day so I could make dinner I introduced her to the step stool to sit on.  Now whenever we are in the kitchen she HAS TO sit on the stool.  Sometimes its very annoying and sometimes I decide to utilize it and have her "help" me cook.  The other day we made cookies.  She helped me stir and mix, but can you guess her favorite part?

Honestly, who's favorite part isn't eating the dough?  (I know its not healthy, but I promise I only gave her the spoon!)