Have a slice!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Poop Art

No wonder she was sooo quiet in there. I should be mad that i
have to wash crayon off the wall but the expression on her face was so naughty-- it was cute!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Lauren started "Magical Ballet" class today. It's a 6 week class for 3-5 year olds offered by the city parks and recreation. Is there anything cuter than a little girl in a tutu? Try 12 little girls in tutus all in one room. Argh, the cuteness was almost unbearable.

As she did in last years ballet class, Lauren spent a lot of time running off on her own and staring at herself in the mirror. This time, mommies were not allowed on the dance floor and could only watch from the other side of the glass doors.

Too. Much. Cute!!!

Afterwards, we headed out to my brother's place where Lauren showed her Uncle Kintin the fancy new moves she learned in class.

And...bow.

We got to feed some goats too.

They liked asparagus, broccoli, and ivy. And they smelled like cheese. Goat cheese, that is.

Oh, and birthday cake. Yum.

Happy Birthday Uncle Deeby!!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

First Day of School!!

Rise and shine! It's time for SCHOOL!

Getting Dressed

Packing up her lunch box.

Looking adorable in her back-to-school ensemble.

SOOOO excited!!!

I had tried to prepare her and let her know ahead of time that I wasn't going to be staying in the classroom but that didn't help. During orientation, her teacher told us the best thing for both of us was to sign her in, kiss and hug goodbye and then WALK AWAY AND DON'T LOOK BACK.

Picking out a special spot to hang her lunch box.

Not so excited anymore. Whaddaya mean you're leaving me here, Mommy?!

Lauren seemed fine at first, she even picked out a special hook on the wall to hang her lunchbox. She was looking around the classroom , pointing at things she was going to play with. I was hopeful that the drop-off would go smoothly. But then it happened...another classmate started to cry. Lauren followed suit and started crying too. HARD! She reached her arms out to me and begged me not to leave. Her teacher swooped right in, picked her up in her arms and carried her over to the art table with the other kids. I did what her teacher said and walked away. I had tears in my eyes by the time I got to the car..luckily my sister was there and she helped by making fun of me and I ended up laughing at myself rather than bawling in the car.

At pickup time, Lauren was sitting in a circle with the other kids, looking happy and relaxed. As soon as she saw me she jumped up, gave her teacher a high five, and ran to me. She was so happy to see me she started crying again and was quiet all the way home.

Telling Daddy all about her first day of school.

First day art project

Sunday, August 29, 2010

3 years old?! NO WAY!!!

Lauren's three. Oh..my...goodness! When did that happen?

What's she like? She's a hoot! She loves loves loves to perform and is an attention hog. She sometimes will ask if it's time for a "show." Showtime for her is dancing in front of whoever will watch..mostly dances she's learned from her favorite show, Little Einsteins. She does ballet steps while screaming out their names ("Arabesque! Arabesque! Port de Bras!j) and then she twirls, claps, sings "La la laaaa!" and of course..a bow at the end.

Favorite shows: Little Einsteins, Backyardigans, Blues Clues

Favorite Food: Chicken Nuggets, Popsicles, chicken noodle soup, adobo and rice

Favorite Movie: Toy Story (1, 2, and 3). We've seen TS3 in the theaters 3 times!! 3!!!!

Favorite Toy: Woody and Buzz dolls. They go with her EVERYWHERE! Ipad/ITouch/Iphone

Favorite Activities: Dancing, Singing, Running, Digging around in the garden, painting.

One of my favorite things about her is that she is so social. She's always chatting up whoever we meet on the street, in the store, at the park. She strikes up conversations with everyone and says HI to everyone she sees. She especially loves talking to waitresses/waiters and cashiers.

She's sleeping well on her own and is on her way to being fully potty-trained. She still wears pull-ups at night and sometimes when we go out. Just in time for starting pre-school in two weeks! Preschool?! Whatwhatwhat?! Yup, more on that later.

Three years gone in the blink of an eye. Sigh....

Mid-year resolution...

Ok...I have just spent the last 2 hours reading this blog. Yup, I read EVERY post from the very beginning. It was wonderful to read the old posts and relive Lauren's early days from her first steps to her first tooth. I'm so grateful to have this blog so that I can look back and remember.

Sadly, my posting has become so infrequent (1 post in July?!) It's kinda sad. I guess I do most of my updating, silly stories, photo posting on Facebook now. Until today I felt like that was sufficient for keeping family and friends abreast of what's going on in our quiet but blessed lives. After reading the blog, however, I realized that this blog is far more satisfying for ME! It was so fun to relive the holidays, birthdays, and regular days of the last 3 years.

My mid-year resolution is this: I will post more often. At least once a week, even if it's just posting a picture. I promise!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Mission Celebration!

Lauren's 3rd birthday party was a success! We incorporated her favorite tv show, the Little Einsteins, into the decorations and activities. If you're not familiar with them, the Little Einsteins teach kids about art, music, dance, and traveling the world. It's a cute cartoon and Lauren just loves..I mean LOVES it!

I went a little nuts with the streamers...like this curtain near the entry way and in the dining room...

I love this dress..so pretty, and it went well with the pretty party hats that we made. The dress was a gift from a friend (Thanks, Megan!) and the hats are just regular ol' party hats that I dressed up with crepe paper (I got a lot of use out of those streamers!)

My nieces and nephew helped me put up these construction paper balloons which ended up being a favorite photo spot of kids and adults alike. (Inspiration from Color Me Katie)

We had lots of food as usual. The usual suspects: pancit, lumpia, Hawaiian bbq chicken from L &L, spam musubi. Most people are closet spam lovers...they are always best sellers at our parties. Come on, admit it, YOU LOVE SPAM!

The kids painted in the outdoor art studio that we set up. Some of them stayed indoors and worked on the 'masterpiece' coloring books that I put together (famous works of art that the kids could color). For party favors, the kids took home the coloring books, crayons, colored pencils and a Little Einstein's classical music CD.

Cake! According to Lauren the "3" candle was upside down and we HAD to turn it over before she even considered blowing it out.

Pre and post meltdown. It was all good in the end. Not so much in the middle.

Pinata! We had the ribbon-pull kind. Not as exciting as the swing-and-beat-up kind...but much safer..especially the little ones who aren't so coordinated yet.