Learning to let things slide

A few nights ago some of Derek’s relatives dropped by for a visit. During the course of a pleasant exchange regarding holiday plans, our kids and the like, the wife said something that I’ve thought about periodically since. She mentioned that we don’t have any pictures of Lydia displayed around our house. This wasn’t said in an accusing manner, more observational. My answer to her at the time, and the one I’ve reminded myself of again and again since is: Such is the life of a mom. Sometimes you have to let things slide.

This is not to say we don’t have pictures of Lydia. As you’ve likely noticed here on this blog, her life is well documented with photography and we’ve even had portraits taken professionally for her 3 month birthday. (If you’re wondering why those haven’t been posted yet, I refer to the same answer mentioned above.)

But even with that answer perched on the tip of my tongue, I must admit, letting things slide is not something I am not accustomed to doing, nor am I comfortable with it. But alas, the pace of life seems to be preventing me from doing everything that I would like. Apparently framing Lydia's pictures for our wall has not yet made the "to do" list. Another example, if you didn't receive a Larson family Christmas card, don't think you were left off our list -- cards didn't happen at our house this year.

Perhaps my New Year’s resolution will be to get those adorable 3-month pictures on our wall before it’s time to take 6-month ones.

However, I will attempt to make recompense here as well by catching up on a couple of important things.

4 months old!

Lydia’s 4 month birthday was on Dec. 6. Much like her 2-month birthday, this milestone was “celebrated” with a trip to the doctor’s office for another round of shots. This time Derek was able to come with us and overall we all handled the needles fairly well :) For information’s sake, here are her 4 month stats:

Weight: 15 pound 14 ounces (91 percentile)

Length: 25 ½ inches (94 percentile)

Yep, we have a big baby!

However, the ideal weight for her height is 16.1 pounds and she is 99% of ideal, so pretty nearly perfect :)

Some of the things she’s doing these days include:
* Smiling and “talking” more all the time. She loves to squeal and jabber at the ceiling fan, her mobile and other toys.

* Standing on her chunky legs as long as we help her balance.

* Rolling over – both ways! She actually rolled from her stomach to her back on Nov. 1 and then not again until this month. Derek finally witnessed the front to back rollover on Dec. 19. She also rolled from her back to her stomach on Dec. 15 when my mom was tending her. She’s yet to perform that trick for me. (The knowledge that I missed one of her firsts is something else I’m trying to “let slide.”)

* Perking up when she hears mom's or dad’s voice over the phone. We love to put it on speaker when Derek or I call each other and let her hear the other person’s voice. Although she’s confused, it makes her smile.

* Sleeping like a champ. Love, love, love these long nights! You’d think I wouldn’t be so tired since I have no excuse for not sleeping. I just feel bad when I have to wake her up in the morning so I can go to work.

3 month pictures

As referenced above, we had these photos taken over a month ago.

A slippery slope

With all that said about letting things slide, I have to add that I don't ever want to become that flaky person who lets too many things slide, always using the same excuse that life is busy. There are important things I am trying desperately to NOT let slide, like dates with Derek, play time with Lydia and relationships with family and friends. And if there's time, I'm trying to keep up at work and I still like a clean house :) I am convinced that with help from Above, everything that is important will somehow fit.

Kicking off Christmas

During the past few weeks we've been getting into the Christmas spirit at the Larson home!
Derek still likes to pretend at times that he is a scrooge (too many years in retail prior to his current teaching job will do that to anyone) but when it comes to Lydia's first Christmas my self-proclaimed Grinch hubby is as Christmasy as they come.

Our first festive outing was before Thanksgiving when we attended the Jubilee of Trees in St. George. The past several years Derek and I have attended this event on the night of the gala dinner and auction (thanks to my office for footing the bill for the expensive tickets.) On that night there is only a medium-sized crowd so its easy to peruse the beautifully decorated trees at your leisure and really get into the holiday mood. This year, however, we went on the Family Night along with every other person in St. George. You've never seen such a throng, most of whom, like us, were pushing strollers. It was madness! Lydia seemed to enjoy all the commotion and the lights on the trees. Derek and I, however, breathed a sigh of relief when we left.
Next year we'll try a different night.

At the entrance to the Jubilee of Trees.

While in Cedar City for Thanksgiving, we attended the Festival of Trees. Similar to the Jubilee, this event also features amazingly decorated trees. The crowd was lighter though and we had a great time. I especially liked the "North Pole" area where Lydia had her picture taken with Santa.

The whole gang.

You can't have Christmas morning without a stocking, so it was priority No. 1 to get Lydia's stocking made this year, patterned after the style that I made for Derek and I when we got married. I think it turned out really cute!

And apparently it tastes good too.

Decorating the house for Christmas this year took a little longer because I was so easily distracted by Lydia who sat cooing, squealing and giggling on the floor while I put lights on the Christmas tree. I welcomed the distraction and stopped every strand or so to play with her on the floor and just revel in the absolute joy she brings into our home.


We went to our ward Christmas party last week. It was a nice dinner and auction to raise money for needy families in our area. We had a great time. Lydia seemed to be the star of the evening in her adorable Santa hat!

I'm sure there are more Christmas posts to come. Until then, Merry Christmas everyone!

Pump it up

The saying “you never know what you have until it’s gone” (or some variation of that) really hit home yesterday when I suddenly found myself without the apparatus essential to any working mom: my breast pump.

My day was going along fine. Work moving forward as it should, Lydia carefully tucked away with her grandmother for the day. I had just settled into the empty office provided by my employer that I have named “my pumping room.” I situated my clothes, set up the machine and hit the switch.

Nothing.

I panicked. Normally I try not to go too long between pumping sessions and I’ll spare you the details here, but suffice it to say, it was time to pump.

I began switching the machine off and on, off and on.

Nothing.

I flipped the switch on the power strip where it was plugged in, then tried another outlet all together.

Still nothing.

Immediately I called my mother-in-law to inquire after Lydia’s feeding schedule. Blast! She’d eaten just an hour before. My mother-in-law promised to call me for the next feeding. In the meantime I ranted to my sister about my horrid luck and the awfulness of having to be at work in the first place (something she understands all too well) and left Derek a voicemail venting my frustration.

Poor husband. Who really needs to get a message like that?

I made a trip to Radio Shack after I determined the problem could be a short in the power cord. I purchased a new cord, drove back to my office (where I had left the pump… duh. Should have had it with me.) The new cord wouldn’t fit the machine.

Foiled again!

I drove back to Radio Shack to return it and then came back to my office (where, by the way, I was actually supposed to be WORKING all day) and went online to see about ordering a replacement part. Bear in mind, I don’t have a private office — we’re all in cubicles — so anyone walking by could see me perusing the breast pump web site. Just imagine the kinds of pictures shown and decide for yourself if this is embarrassing for me yet or not… it was.

I ordered the part, paid an exorbitant fee to have it overnighted to me (hey, anything is better than springing for a whole new pump — they’re expensive!) and then spent the rest of the day and part of the next going back and forth to feed Lydia and trying to get work done at my office.

Exhausting.

Suffice it to say, I was THRILLED when I saw this on my doorstep.

And even more thrilled when I flipped the switch and heard the familiar motor whir.

Here’s to being grateful for life’s little blessings.

So thankful for...

My family!

We had a great Thanksgiving in Cedar City this year. As usual, my mom worked so hard to make everything amazing. It was a full house with Karen, Mike, Kate, Grandma Petty, Anthon Petty (some of the time), Mom, Dad and Brian, along with Derek, Lydia and myself. It was so fun to have Bri-guy back again this year! And of course Lydia seemed to enjoy her first Thanksgiving feast ... OK, only breast milk for her this year. Next year she can give it a try.

The four days in Cedar were spent playing games (Rock Band and Clue), playing tennis and at Park Discovery, taking in the Festival of Trees, a dinner date for Derek and I, making Lydia's stocking, baking Christmas treats and of course, sitting around enjoying the favorite Grady tradition: talking.

Lydia's Thanksgiving outfit.

Do these ruffles make my butt look big?

Ready for the meal

Kate and Lydia playing in the "kitchen" at Grandma's

Playing at Park Discovery to work up a Thanksgiving appetite.

Time with Uncle Brian.

Happy birthday Grandpa Petty! Nov. 28 We paid a visit to the Cedar City cemetery to leave holiday wreaths on Grandpa's grave and the other family graves.

On the job with Mom

I took Lydia on her first “assignment” with me for work last Monday. Every couple of weeks my job is to review a different restaurant in the area — one of the perks that Derek and I both love. This time, the assignment was Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Since it’s a totally casual spot, we brought Lydia along and made it a family outing. It was really fun!

If you're dying to read the review, you can click here.

Thanks to Kevin and Leslie Grady for introducing us to this place. Because of that, I couldn’t resist taking a picture to show them how much Lydia was enjoying Five Guys. Kevin’s response was, “I knew she was smart.”

Of course she is.

Little reporter in training?

She doesn't really look it, but I think she's a future Five Guys fan.

Mom Firsts

I've spent a lot of time in the past three months thinking about, and posting about, Lydia's firsts. It was only today that I realized that although the baby firsts are infinitely cuter and more fun to photograph and write about, motherhood comes with a slew of "Mom Firsts" -- some good, some not so good.
This past week I had a Mom First: My first time being sick as a mom.
While some might count the recovery from childbirth as the first sick time as a mom, I don't. I think this is because I was incredibly fortunate not to feel THAT awful afterward (just the normal amount of awful, I think) and I had a staff of doctors and nurses tending to my every need while in the hospital, plus my own mother doting over me for more than a week once we came home. Ah... blissful memories...
However, this week my mother was at home living her life (and battling an illness of her own. Hope you're feeling better, Mom!) My job was expecting me to be a hard working employee (Makes sense. Afterall, I've only just returned from a 12-week break) And my sweet daughter was expecting her needs to be tended to regardless of the hour of the night. (Rightfully so. She needs to eat). All of this led me to one realization: Being a sick mom is hard! And I'm not even on my deathbed or anything. No swine flu either. Just a bad cold/fever.
Even still.
Gone are the days of pre-motherhood illness when you can come home from work and collapse into bed, sleep soundly through the night and sleep in long enough on the weekends to nip the sickness in the bud. With motherhood illness, duty still calls.
Luckily, I have a super-hero for a husband; a man raised by super-hero parents and between the three of them, this not-so-pleasant Mom First is on it's way to being in the past. (Hopefully!)
Derek has pulled out all the stops to take care of Lydia (except for feeding her) and done his best to let me rest in between. He always takes good care of me! I especially liked the fruit smoothie he whipped up today and I've loved listening to him playing with Lydia while I rested in the next room.
Then, there's my in-laws. With the guilt only a mother can know, I sent Lydia off to Grandma Larson's (where she goes when I am at work now) even though I stayed home from the office for two days. I really appreciated the extra help!
And my father-in-law surprised us with dinners twice this week. Both meals were excellent!
So although it's been a while since I've had this kind of sickness wreaking havoc on my life, for a not-so-pleasant Mom First, I really have very little cause to complain.
Here's hoping I'm on the mend.

Maligayang Pagbabalik!

Or in other words: Happy Return! (For you non-Tagalog speakers out there.) My little brother just came home from the Philippines where he spoke this language and honorably served the Lord for two years on a mission for the LDS Church. I'm so proud of him!

We spent last weekend in Las Vegas awaiting the arrival of Elder Brian Grady, along with my mom and brother, Kevin, who traveled to the 'Pines to tour around with Brian for a week. Because their flight was delayed Sunday night it felt like we did a lot of waiting :) Finally, he arrived! He looks great and it was so fun to have all four siblings together again -- if only for a couple of hours.

Brian was able to meet Lydia for the first time

Elder Grady and Dad

Also this weekend, Lydia spent some quality time with her cousin, Kate, who was so eager to play with Lydia. Unfortunately, Lydia's not much of a playmate for a 3-year-old just yet, but I'm sure she enjoyed the attention and the use of many of Kate's blankets and other supplies that "I used when I was a baby," Kate said numerous times. So sweet.

Cute cousins!

Happy 3 months little one!

Also last week, Lydia celebrated her 3 month birthday! I can't believe my adorable little girl! She is such a joy to me! And look how big she's getting -- sitting up with only a little help from Dad.