Lydia's Birthday in Pictures

 I am heading to bed after a wonderful day of celebrating my beautiful little girl turning 2. Here are some snap shots of all the fun we had celebrating with dear friends and family.

First, we have Baby #2 perched on Baby #3. It is one of Lydia's favorite spots, and right now, its pretty roomy.

Here is Lydia's cupcake. The theme of the night was ladybugs for our Lydi-bug.

She was both perplexed and impressed by everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Eating homemade ice cream with Nana!

Shep and I had to do most of the unwrapping. Lydia just watched attentively. I'm guessing next year she'll be digging in!

It wouldn't be a Gensic party without Shepherd disrobing at some point and running into the room in just his underwear. Apparently, he suddenly really needed to put on his Batman shirt, but he couldn't find it.

Lydia made Donna read all of the cards to her!

All girl.

Lydia LOVED her new stroller from Mamm and Pap. She immediately strapped in her new doll from Aunt Marcy, and from that point onward, she didn't pay much attention to anything but walking her baby.

Both kids were taken with the Minnie Mouse doll. They are cuties.

Thank you to everyone who made the day special! It can be really depressing having BJ at school for two weeks at a time, but it is a huge comfort to have our friends and family around us on the big days!

For all the family who has sort of missed out on this pregnancy because BJ and I live close to exactly no one in our family tree, here's the view at 5 weeks-to-go.

Six Thoughts At Five Weeks To Go

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, but here we are again with the finish line of a pregnancy well within sight. So as I did with Shepherd and Lydia's pregnancies, here are a few thoughts swirling through my head.

1. I've always heard that no pregnancy is like the first. This statement has always been meant to convey that the first is somehow more special or fun. That is not my experience. While the first does have the intrigue of the unknown, subsequent pregnancies don't lack any of the joy. Yes, number three is less suspenseful, but it is no less blessed. I actually like the more relaxed ambience of this pregnancy.

2. This baby had better not come too early. BJ leaves Saturday for his two-week residency in Nashville at Lipscomb. I cannot imagine walking into a delivery room without BJ. We've done this as a team twice now, just the two of us, and I don't want to do it any other way. I figure if a strategy isn't broke, don't fix it.

3. If she does come before he gets home, she gets a time-out. Right after I'm done cuddling with her. It could take a while.

4. We are about to reenter the two-kids-in-diapers zone again. I suppose I could give Lydia a crash course in potty training over the next few weeks, but I like the wait-until-they're-super-duper-ready approach, the approach I took with potty training Shepherd. Here's why I'm in that particular school of potty training: I have a potty trained boy in my house, and yet my couch has never been peed on. This is one of the great success stories of my adult life. So once again, if a strategy isn't broke...

5. If you want the secret to staying cool during a summer pregnancy, here it is: Spend the hottest hours of the day in your kids' kiddy pool with them. It pretty much makes everybody happy.

6. And last but not least, I've mentioned before on this blog what a shock this pregnancy was to both BJ and myself. Now I've had 35 weeks to get used to the idea, and I still find myself shocked. I'm starting to think that when I sit in the audience watching this daughter walk across the stage to get her high school diploma, I'll still be shaking my head going, "I can't believe you exist. But don't get me wrong. I'm really glad you exist."

Shep's Confusing Morning

This past Sunday, BJ and I kept our neighbor's 2-year-old daughter. Due to some work scheduling changes, he needed a babysitter for Sundays. She was dropped off at around 7:00, so when Shepherd crawled out of bed 45 minutes later, he was surprised to see a little girl he'd never met on the couch. So he came into the kitchen where I was preparing breakfast and asked, "Mommy, did the baby come out of your belly last night?" Suffice it to say, he hasn't quite figured out this whole having-a-baby thing yet.