Lauren had a conversation with a random grocery shopper the other day:
Lauren: Hiiiii!!!! (waving)
Shopper: Hi There! (waving back)
Lauren: This my Mommy! (pointing at me)
Shopper: Hi Mommy! (waving at me)
Lauren: My Mommy SO beautiful.
Awwwwwwwww.....I love Lauren.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
What's more fun than baking cupcakes?
Using fun tools like these Mickey measuring cups....
....and having a cute little helper
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
....and having a cute little helper
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I miss my Daddy
Yesterday was my Dad's birthday, he would have been 75 years old. I can just imagine what the day would've been like if he were still alive. We would've had a HUGE party...probably something goofy like a luau. There would've been karaoke, lots of food, lots of family. He would've blown out his cake with his grandkids surrounding him, Lauren sitting on his lap. He would've fed her lots of cake and ice cream and she would've not wanted to go home and begged to sleep at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It's a lot of "Would Haves" and I need to stop thinking about that kind of stuff. It's not gonna make me feel better, just sad.
This year seems to be a much more emotional remembrance for me, probably because it's a milestone year. I really miss him...and I'm so sad that Lauren never got to know him. We went to the cemetery and brought him some birthday flowers. We sang Happy Birthday and just as I was going to get teary Lauren said, "Oh no! Where's the birthday cake?" Silly girl knows how to make me smile.
A salute for Grandpa
In his honor, I sang her our Lullabye. I was getting all emotional again, but right on cue, Lauren turned towards me and put her hand on my mouth. It was her not so subtle way to tell me "shhhh..I'm trying to sleep." Like I said, silly girl knows how to make me smile.
This year seems to be a much more emotional remembrance for me, probably because it's a milestone year. I really miss him...and I'm so sad that Lauren never got to know him. We went to the cemetery and brought him some birthday flowers. We sang Happy Birthday and just as I was going to get teary Lauren said, "Oh no! Where's the birthday cake?" Silly girl knows how to make me smile.
A salute for Grandpa
In his honor, I sang her our Lullabye. I was getting all emotional again, but right on cue, Lauren turned towards me and put her hand on my mouth. It was her not so subtle way to tell me "shhhh..I'm trying to sleep." Like I said, silly girl knows how to make me smile.
Shopping
Lauren has this little shopping cart, I think it is a hand-me-down (as most of her toys are, lucky girl!). She zips around the house pushing it. Picking up random items around the house to throw into it (a block, a magazine, a sock). She pays for her items with an old gift card that has her picture on it (her "Babycard" as she calls it). She keeps this card in a small old leather wallet that she carries around in her "purse" (My Little Pony easter basket). She'll occasionally stop to make a quick call to Grandma on her (toy) cellphone.
Power shopper whizzing by
If you ask where she's going, she will always, ALWAYS reply "going to Walmart." Now, Lauren has only been to Walmart ONCE (ok, maybe two times) in her life....I don't know why she insists on going to Walmart every time to go shopping. I try to tell her to shop at Target instead, "They're stuff is cuter," I say. "Have you seen the new "Liberty of London" stuff they've got? SO much better than Walmart. Wanna go to Tar-Zhay?" I asked, trying to trick her into thinking it's European.
Nope didn't work. She loaded Stitch into her cart and off they went...to Walmart. I bet it's because there's a McDonald's in every store.
Off to Walmart with Stitch
Power shopper whizzing by
If you ask where she's going, she will always, ALWAYS reply "going to Walmart." Now, Lauren has only been to Walmart ONCE (ok, maybe two times) in her life....I don't know why she insists on going to Walmart every time to go shopping. I try to tell her to shop at Target instead, "They're stuff is cuter," I say. "Have you seen the new "Liberty of London" stuff they've got? SO much better than Walmart. Wanna go to Tar-Zhay?" I asked, trying to trick her into thinking it's European.
Nope didn't work. She loaded Stitch into her cart and off they went...to Walmart. I bet it's because there's a McDonald's in every store.
Off to Walmart with Stitch
Saturday, April 3, 2010
What's up Doc!
Lauren went to the Docs (plural because it's a father/son practice) on Wednesday without me. I think it's the first time I've missed out on an appointment. Daddy and Grandma went and the Doc reassured Grandma that Lauren was healthy and right on track. She also got part two of her H1N1 vaccination (never too late, says the doc!).
A pleasant surprise in the local paper was this nice article about her doctors. The story printed on the day before her appt, so Peter brought it in for Doc's autograph. Heh.
I'm glad we're in as patients because after this article, I'm sure they'll be bombarded with new ones. I really like her doctors and even though it would save us a lot of money to switch health plans, we decided to stick with what we've got so that Lauren could keep the doctor that's taken such good care of her since day 1. I like the idea of her growing up with the same doctor who checked her out on the morning she was born.
A pleasant surprise in the local paper was this nice article about her doctors. The story printed on the day before her appt, so Peter brought it in for Doc's autograph. Heh.
I'm glad we're in as patients because after this article, I'm sure they'll be bombarded with new ones. I really like her doctors and even though it would save us a lot of money to switch health plans, we decided to stick with what we've got so that Lauren could keep the doctor that's taken such good care of her since day 1. I like the idea of her growing up with the same doctor who checked her out on the morning she was born.
2.75 Years
I haven't posted an update in a while. We've just been so busy and lazy (at the same time..).
Lauren is now 2 years and 9 months old. Wow. Even though I still call her "baby" she is at the tail end of toddler-dom and almost a preschooler. I now believe everyone that has ever told me that "time flies" and "it goes by so fast" and "before you know it, she'll be in ____ " (preschool, highschool, buying her prom dress. ack!)
I watched Lauren as she slept tonight and tried to remember what she looked like when she used to fall asleep in my arms as an infant. It almost brought me to tears that I couldn't remember. I had to look back on old photos to reacquaint myself with her baby face: the big cheeks, her teeny little nose, those hairy ears. I can still see a trace of that chubby cheeked baby but now I can also imagine the beauty that she will become. Daddy better get ready, she's gonna be a heartbreaker!
More than just a beauty, this baby's got brains and personality to boot! I'm not just saying that 'cause she's MY baby...well, maybe I'm a little biased. Just a little.
Here are her favorites at 2 years and 9 months
Food: corndogs, chicken nuggets, french fries. I hang my head just thinking about it. How did we let this happen? We're working on getting her to eat healthier. She also loves chicken adobo, rice, and fruit. That's a little better. Oh, and she loves oreos. So much so, that she has named a dance after it.
Activities: Running around our house (we have a path around the living room and kitchen that we routinely run during commercial breaks), painting (with brush..not finger paints. She hates those), coloring, and drawing. She also loves to cook in her play kitchen and the real kitchen. I often let her measure things out when I bake and she likes to stir things. Is positioning refrigerated biscuit dough on a cookie sheet considered "cooking?" If so, she does a lot of that.
TV: She's not so into Barney anymore. She loves Little Einsteins now and I don't mind it so much because there's a lot of music and art in it. Every now and then she likes Blues Clues or Veggie Tales and of course her favorite Pixar movies: Finding Nemo, Cars, and Bugs Life. Admittedly, she watches a lot of TV...but it's pretty much the same shows over and over and over.
Books: We read to her every night and for naps. She especially likes Richard Scarrey books and I've been lucky to find lots of them at used bookstores.
Puzzles: She loves puzzles. LOVES. Whether it's the wooden puzzles or the puzzle apps on my phone, she's a wiz and sometimes puts the pieces together faster than I can.
Dancing machine. Lauren has been a dancer from the time she could stand. She does this adorable butt shaking thing and it's cute now, but it won't be cute when she's 16 and doing it in front of boys. Most nights, she and Peter have a little dancing session in the office. He blasts the Stevie Wonder Pandora channel and they dance around for about 15 minutes before bath time. I just smile when I hear them stomping around upstairs. It's the sweetest thing. Here's a sample of her happy feet, taken during a wedding reception in Orlando:
Sleeping: Gone are those days when we struggled to get her to sleep. We've got a pretty well-established routine so bedtime is a snap: Bath (lately, she's been into bubble baths), brush teeth, pajamas, read books, dim the lights, say prayers, and then she says "Good night, go sleep mommy!" She pulls up the covers and rolls over on her side and is out within 10 minutes. This all goes smoothly every night as long as the following are present: Big blue blanket, pillow---the one with butterflies pillowcase, her stuffed animals "Teddy" and "Puppy." (Can you guess what kinds of animals they are?) She needs someone in the room with her to fall asleep, but once she's out, we slip out of her room quietly and she's on her own till morning.
Potty Training: We're not there yet, but hopefully by the next update, there will be something to write about.
Lauren is now 2 years and 9 months old. Wow. Even though I still call her "baby" she is at the tail end of toddler-dom and almost a preschooler. I now believe everyone that has ever told me that "time flies" and "it goes by so fast" and "before you know it, she'll be in ____ " (preschool, highschool, buying her prom dress. ack!)
I watched Lauren as she slept tonight and tried to remember what she looked like when she used to fall asleep in my arms as an infant. It almost brought me to tears that I couldn't remember. I had to look back on old photos to reacquaint myself with her baby face: the big cheeks, her teeny little nose, those hairy ears. I can still see a trace of that chubby cheeked baby but now I can also imagine the beauty that she will become. Daddy better get ready, she's gonna be a heartbreaker!
More than just a beauty, this baby's got brains and personality to boot! I'm not just saying that 'cause she's MY baby...well, maybe I'm a little biased. Just a little.
Here are her favorites at 2 years and 9 months
Food: corndogs, chicken nuggets, french fries. I hang my head just thinking about it. How did we let this happen? We're working on getting her to eat healthier. She also loves chicken adobo, rice, and fruit. That's a little better. Oh, and she loves oreos. So much so, that she has named a dance after it.
Activities: Running around our house (we have a path around the living room and kitchen that we routinely run during commercial breaks), painting (with brush..not finger paints. She hates those), coloring, and drawing. She also loves to cook in her play kitchen and the real kitchen. I often let her measure things out when I bake and she likes to stir things. Is positioning refrigerated biscuit dough on a cookie sheet considered "cooking?" If so, she does a lot of that.
TV: She's not so into Barney anymore. She loves Little Einsteins now and I don't mind it so much because there's a lot of music and art in it. Every now and then she likes Blues Clues or Veggie Tales and of course her favorite Pixar movies: Finding Nemo, Cars, and Bugs Life. Admittedly, she watches a lot of TV...but it's pretty much the same shows over and over and over.
Books: We read to her every night and for naps. She especially likes Richard Scarrey books and I've been lucky to find lots of them at used bookstores.
Puzzles: She loves puzzles. LOVES. Whether it's the wooden puzzles or the puzzle apps on my phone, she's a wiz and sometimes puts the pieces together faster than I can.
Dancing machine. Lauren has been a dancer from the time she could stand. She does this adorable butt shaking thing and it's cute now, but it won't be cute when she's 16 and doing it in front of boys. Most nights, she and Peter have a little dancing session in the office. He blasts the Stevie Wonder Pandora channel and they dance around for about 15 minutes before bath time. I just smile when I hear them stomping around upstairs. It's the sweetest thing. Here's a sample of her happy feet, taken during a wedding reception in Orlando:
Sleeping: Gone are those days when we struggled to get her to sleep. We've got a pretty well-established routine so bedtime is a snap: Bath (lately, she's been into bubble baths), brush teeth, pajamas, read books, dim the lights, say prayers, and then she says "Good night, go sleep mommy!" She pulls up the covers and rolls over on her side and is out within 10 minutes. This all goes smoothly every night as long as the following are present: Big blue blanket, pillow---the one with butterflies pillowcase, her stuffed animals "Teddy" and "Puppy." (Can you guess what kinds of animals they are?) She needs someone in the room with her to fall asleep, but once she's out, we slip out of her room quietly and she's on her own till morning.
Potty Training: We're not there yet, but hopefully by the next update, there will be something to write about.
Potty Training Chart. I've invested in lots of stickers. Lots.
There really is nothing to complain about this kid. She's happy, silly, creative, funny, loving, and oh so entertaining. She does have her moments, and there are some things she does that could drive me nuts if I dwell on them. I won't though, so I can focus on the good things....how she told said today that "Mommy and Daddy are my best friends!" Awww...
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