Lydia - July 2016

Another month of summer gone!  

Lydia had fun with the Ten Clays' fireworks obsession.  She enjoyed throwing snaps, colored smoke bombs, watching Daddy run to catch the parachute, and seeing a few big fireworks from inside the car!

We had another busy month!  We went to the splash pad several times, caught candy in the Summerfest parade, went to the Sioux County Fair, visited friends, and had picnics/pool time, too!

Lydia loves to help shell peas from the garden!  Big helper!

Playdoh with Daddy!

Lydia's favorites this month:

Fireworks, helping with the garden, playing with cousins, strawberries, being independent, picnics, Pizza Ranch (is it normal for a 2.5 year old to recognize the Pizza Ranch sign?  Parenting win or fail?!), playdoh, French fries, going to Daddy's store, pushing the little cart at Fareway, building block houses with Daddy, and playing babies with anyone!

Having a sticker war with Grandpa M!

Yes, she's playing with her underwear...at least it's clean?!

 

Lydia's dislikes this month:

Being told the new baby will sleep in her crib, pooping on the potty, and napping in her crib (our bed now has a full-time resident anywhere from 2-4 pm...but at least she sleeps!).

 

We went swimming with Asher, Seth, and Macy!  Lydia loved it!

 

Oh, little girl...you are turning into one independent missy!  Your personality and antics can make us shake our heads in frustration and laugh out loud simultaneously.  You are growing up so quickly!  Sometimes we wish we could freeze time because this is (mostly) such a fun stage!  

We love you, Lydia Ruth!

Yankton 2016

We headed over to Lewis & Clark Park in Yankton for our annual Vermeer vacation over the fourth of July. It was unseasonably cool while we were there, and we didn't hit the beach until Sunday afternoon.  We never even made it to the pool.  Lydia loved playing on the beach and was content just to sit on the water's edge and fill up her bucket.  She had lots of helpers to build sandcastles.  We spent lots of time playing in parks, eating good food, playing games, and not napping/sleeping well :-)  

Just a girl and her daddy :-)

Lydia tried sparklers for the first time and wasn't necessarily a big fan.  She decided she would rather watch from a comfy chair!

This year's vacation was extra special, as we had the opportunity to celebrate my Grandma Vermeer's 90th birthday a few months early.  Every single family member (about 70 of us) was there for at least a few hours all at the same time!  

When I was really little (maybe 6 or so?), we had a Vermeer Family Olympics that provided a lot of fond memories.  We decided to have another round this year and had four generations present!  There was a lot of water, running, shaving cream, cookies, and laughs!

Lydia started the sack race out strong...and then decided it was too much work for her little legs!

Another fun thing we did was have April Van Rys come and take pictures of each family and the whole extended family.  It was no small feat to get 70 people to cooperate for a picture, but we made it happen!

Our family

Dad, Mom, and the grands!

Grandma & her six kids

The whole crew!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dan...times 2!

Lydia - June 2016

June was full of outside fun: fun on the farm, playing with the water table, swimming, and being at the splash pad.  We love it!

Grandma's shopping star :-)

Tea parties with Daddy are the best!

Boyden's splash pad is one of our favorite summer spots!

Picnic with these crazy girls!

Lydia's favorites this month:

Playing outside--anywhere!, water fights with Daddy, picnics, cousins, strawberries, talking on your play telephone and answering with "Hi-yo!," jumping, and taking bike rides to different parks around town with Daddy

Mommy's grocery shopping helper--she thinks she's big stuff!

Water fights with Daddy...but only if I close my eyes, first!

Lydia's dislikes this month:

Any food she doesn't recognize, pooping on the potty (you now pretend to gag--just like Mommy--when getting your dirty pants changed...it really helps the whole situation), going back inside the house after playing outside

Fun on the farm!  Lydia loves kitties!

New baby kitties!

"She's tickling me!"

 One month of summer has already flown by!  What should we do next?!  :-)