Holiday World and New Cousins!

Earlier in September, Lydia had her first experience with Holiday World. Micki had some free passes so we took Lydia and Lilly to check things out one Sunday afternoon. Lydia was a bit unsure about some of the rides, but really enjoyed the musical performances and the Nursery Rhyme train.

The past couple of weeks have also brought the addition of Lydia's two new cousins. Ian James Hollinden (Tom & Kristen/Chicago) and Leah Jane Hollinden (Andy & Erika/Indianapolis) were welcomed into the world on September 26 and October 1, respectively. We made a very quick trip up a couple weekends ago to see the new babies. Everyone is doing very well and growing very quickly.

Enjoy some pictures from the past couple of weeks!




Lydia had an exhausting day of day care.



Although her face doesn't show it, she really did like this ride (most of the time).


This was the before picture...anxiously waiting for the ride to begin.



This was the during picture. She was not a fan of this at all, in fact she screamed for 3/4 of the ride!



This train ride was by far her favorite.


If you look closely, you can see Lydia in the stroller....glued to the dancing characters.


Her first meeting with Santa.


He let her pick a toy out of the basket, again she was a bit unsure.


Notice Lydia's lack of enthusiasm.


New Cousin - Ian James Hollinden!


New Cousin - Leah Jane Hollinden!


Posing with the new snail that Uncle Tom and Aunt Kristen gave to her. She has learned that Magoo (dog) is afraid of this toy when she pulls it behind her.

Back to School!

It has been a bit busy in Tell City the past couple of weeks with everyone starting back to school. Lydia is back in full swing at daycare. It took her a couple of days to get used to the idea again, but now she is crying when it is time to leave. Chris has started a new job within the school system, he is the literacy coach in charge of math. He is still trying to figure out all the ins and outs, but is enjoying the new opportunity.

We are anxiously awaiting the births of Lydia's two new cousins. Tom and Kristen are about a week away and Andy and Erika are about three weeks away. We are hoping that once both babies arrive, we will be able to make a quick trip up I-65 to see baby girl and baby boy Hollinden.

We enjoyed a three day weekend with the Labor Day Holiday this past weekend, which included a Chinn family reunion and a lot of just being lazy. Enjoy the pics below!



Hanging out at Adam and Julie's Wedding Weekend



All Chinn's are runners at heart!


16/17 Great Grandchildren on the Chinn side





Lydia's new obsession is holding more than one of her "silkies"

Vacation!

Since my last post, we have been quite busy. We ended off the month of June by heading to Tampa, Florida for a week with my family. After a week there, we headed north to Navarre Beach to meet up with the Hollinden's for a week at the beach. Lydia did pretty well with all the traveling, but by the end of it, she was ready to be home! She loved our pool in Tampa that was called "Loch Ness" (it was shaped like the Loch Ness Monster!). It had a couple of sand pits and an area with water sprinklers and waterfalls. In Navarre, she decided the sand was alright at first,but became very frustrated whenever it would stick to her hands or legs. We learned first hand that vacationing with a toddler is a lot more complicated than when it was just the two of us!

While we were away we experienced some "drama" as a result of a bad oil change, but we just found out this week that the company is going to pay to repair my car! Needless to say this has been a big worry for the past couple of weeks.

For now we are winding down our summer routines and looking ahead to the beginning of school in a couple of weeks. We are hoping Lydia has not forgotten what daycare is all about!

Below are some pictures from the past couple of weeks!



At Honeymoon Beach, and not too excited about it!



Disney's Animal Kingdom



Clearwater Beach, Florida - first time at the Gulf!


At the Loch Ness pool



Last night there, walking at Copperhead Golf Course


Beach Babe in Navarre


She learned very quickly how to watch Yo Gabba
Gabba on the IPOD.


Just before getting in the car to come home

Summer is Here!

Summer break has officially begun in Tell City. So far during the summer we have enjoyed swimming, swinging, falling asleep standing up, and going for rides on the back of the bicycle. I will post some pictures of Lydia riding on the bicycle soon, she really enjoys doing that! We have had some great weather and Grandma Rhonda's pool is heating right up!

Enjoy the pics below!


We are trying a new method of putting her down for her naps - letting her cry it out. Yesterday, she was quiet for a few minutes, and when I went in to check on her, she had fallen asleep standing up!




We got to enjoy her small pool today in the back yard. She was more interested in the grass than playing in the water.


Jake Noble came to visit and Lydia wasn't too sure about him being in her exersaucer.



Floating in the big raft!





She sat like this for about 2 hours in the pool this week. She even kept the sunglasses and hat on the entire time!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lydia!

On May 2, 2009 we celebrated Lydia's 1st birthday. It's hard to believe it has already been a whole year! She enjoyed her Mickey Mouse themed party and especially enjoyed eating her cake!! It has been a busy couple of weeks around here with track meets, weekend trips to Chicago and Indianapolis, and baseball games. Enjoy some birthday pictures below!

Cold, Winter Days

After getting back into the routine of school, daycare, and track practice we are officially ready for warmer weather. We have been busy during the past couple of weeks going to many of the basketball games to watch Uncle Greg and Uncle Andy play for the Marksmen. Lydia enjoys the games and has done a wonderful job of handling the noise, change of routine, etc.

We keep waiting for her top two teeth to arrive, and thought sure after an ear infection last week that we would see some new teeth this week....nothing yet. She is trying to figure out the art of crawling, and can go backwards fairly efficiently. While she has moved a few "steps" in any direction, she still is not to a consistent crawl. She enjoys playing with all her toys, and likes seeing how many of them she can pull out of the baskets.

Lydia had her 9 month check-up where the doctor gave her the OK to eat the 3rd foods and any other table food that she can handle! He also said that she was in the 70th percentile for height and the 40th for weight. Chris was excited to know that although everyone thinks she looks like a "Chinn" that maybe she will be tall and skinny like the Hollindens. We shall see!

Enjoy the pictures from the past couple of weeks!


Showing off her semi-crawling skills and her bottom teeth.


What can I pull out of this basket??


Napping with Uncle Andy after basketball
practice and a hard day at daycare.


She enjoyed hanging out in an empty diaper box.

Holiday Season 2008

Lydia has officially experienced her first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day. We have been quite busy, but still have had plenty of time to relax and do nothing! School starts back up tomorrow, which means Lydia will head back to daycare.

Our Christmas season started off with the Bentley family Christmas the weekend before Christmas. It was a bit hectic, however, because that was the same weekend at Stephen Waters' wedding, in which Chris was an usher. That weekend was also the only chance we had to see Tom and Kristen and Andy and Erika as they were all going to be out of town on Christmas Eve.

As Christmas Eve rolled around we headed to the Hollinden Christmas followed by midnight mass. We spent most of Christmas Day with the Chinns and then ended Christmas Day by having everyone to our house. It all went by way too quickly, but we had a great two days.

Also during our Christmas break, Lydia broke through her bottom two teeth! We were at a basketball game and discovered that she had two bottom teeth. Lydia also got a chance to see Will and Max Anderson, who were in from Virginia. Will was annoyed with her everytime she touched him, as you see in the pictures below. Another highlight from the trip was getting to meet up with friends Stuart, Harriet, and their son Jude. They were visiting from Switzerland and were in Greenwood, IN for a family Christmas. We drove up one day to meet Jude and hang out for a bit. Finally, Chris got to be on the radio during the Tell City Holiday Tourney. We was on for two different games, and I think he found his calling!

Enjoy the pictures below!

St. Nick's

Grandma Chinn made this sweater.

Daycare Christmas party.

Stephen & Jayme's Wedding

Lydia & Will

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning at the Chinn's

Chris on the radio during the Holiday Tourney.

Cousin Macy and Lydia