Happy Half Birthday, Lauren!

Hi again, World!

My first blog post got rave reviews, so I thought I'd sneak another one in on Mommy. It's the day after I turned 6 months old, so I thought I'd catch you up a bit on what has changed since my last update.

First, I should say that the months are just FLYING by! Actually, Mommy says they're flying by and she wishes time would slow down a bit. For me, every day is just about the same and I really don't have much understanding of time going fast. But Mommy makes a big deal about it and is always saying things about me growing too fast and turning into a big girl right in front of her eyes, so it must be true. I've never known of her to tell me fibs.


With the big deal that was being made about me turning six months old, I was fully expecting some type of a celebration...a cake, maybe. In fact, I had my hopes up for a nicely decorated cake something along the lines of the one that Mommy made for Joshua on his birthday....the tractor cake...remember? I sat patiently in my high chair while Mommy set up the video camera and got out her regular camera, and I was sure this was my moment. Any minute there was going to be a cute pink cupcake with my name all over it, right? Much to my dismay, Mommy gave me a spoonful of peas. PEAS for goodness sake. You might notice from my initial reaction that they weren't my favorite.



Mommy said something about how she had to give me peas first out of fairness. That's what she gave to Joshua on his six month birthday and she didn't want us forever hanging it over her head that he had to eat peas first and I got something good like pears or sweet potatoes. Then she mumbled something about there being no secrets anymore with your kids since everything is recorded on video and digital pictures, so she wasn't taking any chances. I don't know.....but I wasn't digging the peas. In the spirit of being cooperative, which I usually am, I ate about 10 spoonfuls, but eventually I didn't open my mouth for more. When Mommy got the hint and made me my oatmeal, though, I opened as wide as I could and smiled really big. I sure do like that oatmeal. I usually get to eat that two times each day- once in the morning after Mommy feeds me and then heads to the office, and one after supper time. That stuff is awesome!



In other news, I've really been working on my sitting. I'm still pretty wobbly and topple over a good bit, but I can do a pretty good job if Mommy puts that Boppy pillow around me. We sure do use that silly green pillow for a lot of things. I think once I get a little bigger, I'll have an easier time sitting up. My rump is pretty skinny, so there's not much there to balance on right now. But I'm trying.

My favorite things to play with (or should I say, chew on) are my taggies blocks that Santa brought me and my flower rattle and little cloth purse that Daddy got for me one day. Joshua and I just love it when he comes home from work with a bag.....we just know he was looking for something special to make us smile. I'm starting to get interested in my little cell phone toy, but mostly I just like to try to eat it.

I'm still loving my Exersaucer and like to play in that several times each day, sometimes for as much as 15 minutes at a clip. As long as I can see Mommy and she keeps talking to me, I'm usually pretty content there. The pink seat is just about to be returned to Aunt Libby because I'm spending less and less time in it. When Mommy puts me in it, I immediately try to either sit up on my own or try to roll out of it. It makes everyone nervous, so they don't put me there much anymore.

I've graduated into wearing six month clothes and am just about ready to change to 1-2 size diapers. Mommy is hoping I can make it through her stash of 1's before I grow too much bigger.

I still don't have any teeth, although everyone keeps peeking in my mouth to check for them with the way I've been chewing and drooling lately. Mommy always says, "Nothing yet!" I hope they come in soon because I'm tiring of having people pry my mouth open to check.

I go to the doctor on the 13th of April, so I'm sure Mommy will report how big I am after that. I know I've grown, but I guess it remains to be seen just how much.

I'm really looking forward to a trip to Lewistown this weekend for Easter. Mommy picked me out a really special little outfit that she just knows is going to be cute enough to justify the small fortune she spent on it. She declares that Gymboree is to blame for the cost of it because if they don't want you to fall victim, they should limit the cuteness and not make everything coordinate. She says that she finds it impossible to turn down things that match....and that it's part of her sickness. Whatever that means. I just know I'm going to look gooooo-ooood.

Talk to you all again soon!

Nursery School Easter Celebration

Visit #2 to nursery school went MUCH better than visit #1. What a relief. Joshua and I had talked a lot about how it was a special day at school yesterday because they were having their Easter celebration, and the teachers had asked for parents to come and assist. There were just as many parents as there were children....which was definite overkill...but I've never met a mom or dad who wouldn't revel in the opportunity to share a school experience with their child. I had a chance to meet a few more of the parents of kids in Joshua's class, so that was great.

Their Easter celebration consisted of making a special Easter craft (a lamb basket which turned a gallon ice cream tub into a lamb by virtue of adding about 5 pounds of Elmer's glue to it and then covering it in cotton balls). You can imagine the stickiness that ensued! Then the kids sang their songs and did their pledges and worked on their Resurrection Eggs to tell the Easter story. I continue to be amazed at the comprehension level of the Easter story by way of these little eggs. Granted, they've been working on them each day for about a month, but these 3 year olds have an understanding of Palm Sunday, Judas' betrayal of Jesus (and they're quick to point out that he sold him out for 30 pieces of silver), Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemene (and yes, they say Gethsemene) and the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. All of the kids pointed out, upon reaching the end of the eggs and the story they tell, that Jesus didn't do anything wrong, but he did all of that because He loves them. And if that isn't the bottom line to this whole season, I don't know what is. Amazing Love.

After the story, we prepared their snacks for them and they gobbled them up like champs. Then we went on an egg hunt to find baskets that were hidden around the school. At each basket, the kids had to answer questions about the Resurrection eggs and upon giving a correct answer, they could choose an egg to put into their bags to take home. It was really cute.

Joshua seemed pleased to have had me there with him, and it was such a blessing to be able to do so. I love watching him learn. He was raising his hand and asking questions during story time, said the Pledge of Allegiance like a champ, sang his little heart out, and got all of his questions about the Easter story right. What a big boy he is.

He's now learned so much that he needs to have Easter Break. He'll be off school until next Wednesday. I'm pretty sure the first concept I ever had about Spring Break was in college, but evidently, now you need one when you're three. The only good news is that I'm hoping since there will be a whole week+ in between my attendance at school and his return to school where we'll drop him off, there won't be any confusion about whether or not Mommy gets to stay for the day.

I've spent the rest of today wrestling with the fact that my baby is 6 months old today. Really? How can that be? Rumor has it that she's working on a post that she wants to put up tomorrow about her half birthday, so we'll see how that goes. All I know is that she's babbling and cooing up a storm, so she clearly has some things to say. I'm looking forward to letting her try some baby food for the first time tonight at supper. Happy six month birthday Baby Girl!

Hunting Eggs like Eskimos

I don't know what I think about having to dress in multiple layers to attend an Easter egg hunt, but that's exactly what we did yesterday afternoon. I think it's safe to report that a good time was had by all. Joshua remains on a sugar high from the candy he ate following his scavenging and I imagine that will continue pretty much through the end of next week when the novelty of sugar and Easter treats wears off. I have a million pictures of the egg hunting that look much like the one above- children scattering, parents taking pictures, etc. Most of the ones of Joshua show him opening each egg as he finds it. Many are blurry from the motion and my one handed camera action since Lauren in all of her bundled-ness was in my left arm as usual. Jason took the picture of her just to prove that she was, in fact, there. She was asleep on my shoulder before group 2 took off from the starting line.

Weather reports are showing 80 degrees for the weekend.....which upsets me. I really don't want to skip spring, and 80 is pushing summer for my liking. But the good news is that we'll surely be spending lots of time outside at Nana and Pap's this weekend, and I'm pretty sure that's good news for everyone. Especially one little boy I know who likes dirt, his Gator and taking tractor rides with his Pap.

And just to round things out, here are a few pictures of Lauren. She graduated into the land of big girl clothes this weekend and tried out her first 6 month outfits. She also fit into her little brown Pedi-Peds that I've been saving since before she was born. Oh goodness....the cuteness was almost too much. You can see in the picture that she wasn't so sure about having shoes on her feet---- she just kept grabbing at them to try and figure out what they were. And then, you'll see her modeling Joshua's sunglasses on Saturday. She's the coolest kid around for sure!

Leave it to Joshua.

"But Daddy.....that's decide to point."

Said Joshua to Jason last evening when Jason was attempting to convince him to try to go to the potty before going to bed. Every time Jason would come up with a good reason why he SHOULD go, Joshua would counterpoint with a reason why he SHOULD NOT. When he said Jason's idea was "decide to point" (beside the point) I nearly lost it.

He's 3. Going on 43. And evidently with a pre-disposition to being an attorney. In which case I had better ramp up his college savings plan account contribution.

What a weekend!

I wouldn't call myself a warm weather person....not even close. But there's something about the arrival of spring that just revives the spirit. As the world is bursting and budding and all of a sudden you realize that you once again can leave the confines of your own home without bundling up like an eskimo, there's just something refreshing about that. I especially love the part where we once again realize that we DO have neighbors. The development was alive this weekend with people walking and saying hello and working in their yards. Let's not forget to mention how well children rest when they crash out of sheer exhaustion.



Let's just say that if fun was measured in pounds of dirt collected from the children, we'd have been on the "WOAH!" end of the scale this weekend.

After a quick trip to the park in Lewisburg on Saturday afternoon where I thought I just might lose my mind, Joshua had the chance to go to Sydney's house and play with her. Darla and I have long talked about the time that would one day come when the kids would actually play together. We used to dream of that day when we were walking around the neighborhood with our big pregnant bellies thinking we had it all figured out. And we both sat in amazement on Saturday afternoon as we had more time to converse than we spent chasing or yelling at or rationing toys between Josh and Sydney. They had the most fun when they got the snakes/turtles/other extraneous creepy crawlies out and started digging in the dirt with them. Suffice it to say that although we had Jump Fest 2010 last week, this was Dirt Fest. Joshua went straight to the bathtub BEFORE supper on Saturday evening and I spent the better part of 15 minutes digging the dirt out from under his nails. When you're a three year old little boy, I'd say that's a pretty awesome Saturday afternoon!

And since I mentioned losing my mind at the park, let me expand on that (since I'm sure everyone is dying to know what nearly did me in this weekend). Joshua, Lauren and I were only three of the 17,000 people who had the same idea on Saturday early in the afternoon. Lewisburg has a gorgeous park.....the kind that would make you drool if you were a kid, seriously. There are bright colors and climbing thingies galore. More slides than you could ever want. A fire truck that you can drive. Literally just about every cool toy you can even dream up. Well, every single thing had a line about 6 children deep to use it. Add to that the fact that most of the equipment sits perched atop a contraption that the kids could very easily take a nose dive off of that would clearly result in a frantic call to 911. I make it my goal to avoid that during most days. Just saying. Add to that the fact that there were so many children that you could not keep your eye on your own child, and had to rely on the fact that somewhere on the other side of this mess was a mother who would not let your son fall to his death. And you just hoped that the people on the other side who you were counting on were also not kidnappers or child molesters who had ulterior motives. Perhaps I've watched too much Criminal Minds.....but really, it was a little much to take. With Lauren strapped to me in the sling, I was moving as quickly as I could. But I left there sweating and never was so happy to get an invitation to play at the Bingamans. The crazy part is that we'll go back to the park....likely a lot this spring/summer, but it won't be the first nice day of the year when every child in the greater Susquehanna Valley is blowing off the stink that they've had all winter long. Joshua was none the wiser to any of my stress, and said about 50 times on the 6 mile drive home that he had "so much fun at the park!" The things we do for our kids.

Sunday marked yet more time outside after church. Joshua helped Daddy clean out the cars and was even working with the Shop Vac in the back of the Highlander when Nana and Pap pulled into the driveway for a visit. We played ball, giggled a whole bunch, drank a juice box and ate Oreo cookies in the garage. It was a great afternoon.

During all of this, Lauren was right there with us, enjoying the fun. She's a trooper and seems to enjoy herself as long as I'm within reaching distance. I think the fresh air did us all a whole bunch of good.

Look who's sitting up!!! With some assistance from the Boppy pillow to keep her from toppling over, Lauren sat for a pretty long time this weekend playing with toys. I'm imagining that she's liking the independence from being held in our laps. She loved these little Taggies blocks that Santa had left for her at Christmastime.

We're about to beging our next round of "shopping" in Brooke's clothes as the next tub of treasure was delivered by Nana and Pap yesterday afternoon. I remember getting bags of clothes when I was a kid from Jeannine and feeling like I had won the lottery. And now being able to share clothes with Libby and Brooke really IS like winning the lottery when you add up the money saved. And I'm pretty sure I'll just want to melt with all of the adorable things that Brooke wore. 3 month pants are getting awfully short, and 3 month shirts are starting to get snug on our little cereal lover, so we'll be digging for the 6 month goodies in a hurry.

More fun to come, I'm sure!

Too nice outside to blog!

Lauren spent the afternoon at the office with me on Wednesday so that Joshua and Grandma could have some outside play time.

And after a hard afternoon at the office, this is what happened!

In other news, Joshua discovered a new way to eat mashed potatoes. Like an "ice cream cone". See the beater? If only I'd known about this method sooner...I would have saved myself many a fight over making mashed potatoes disappear from a plate!

Since it's far too nice outside to spend time blogging, I thought I'd at least put up the few new pictures that were hanging out on my camera. We've been spending as much time outside as possible this week, and hope to continue that trend through the weekend. Last night we had the first of what will hopefully be many Jump Fests at the Bingamans...and effectively played out the kids. Joshua crashed HARD and was still asleep at 8:00 this morning. The fresh evening air helped Lauren as well, and after a quick feeding at 4:55 this morning, she also was still dreaming at 8:00.

Hope you all are also enjoying the nice weather!

She gets it...

First, let me start off my post by saying that I should know better than to say something about Joshua and sleeping. It's as if any ounce of confidence on my part about good sleeping habits has to be immediately corrected. And corrected it was last night. Joshua and I met about every 15 minutes between 11:30 and 3:00 when I cried "uncle" and woke Jason up to help me. Lauren was also awake to eat and we were playing a very painful game of let's-work-together-to-drive-Mommy-right-over-the-cliff. Just as I would get one of them to sleep, the other would make a noise and the game started over again. Our friend Zyrtec wasn't doing a very admirable job last night, and poor Joshua was having trouble. Every time he'd have trouble breathing, he would wake himself up. And we all know that if he's up, I have to be too. We finally had to go to man-to-man defense and Jason laid down with Josh while I rocked and bounced Lauren back into dream land.

I guess that's what I get for saying anything yesterday. I won't make THAT mistake again.

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Yesterday, I neglected to mention another highlight of the weekend and that is that I finished another book. You might recall that the last time I read a book was last June when Jason and I took our trip to Nemacolin to sit around the pool, get massages, eat too much and spend time together. At that point, I stumbled upon a book called The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I haven't been captivated by a book like I was with that one in quite some time. Honestly, I couldn't put it down. It is still in plain sight at the house, pages all marked up and underlined, corners turned down for quick location.

I sometimes feel like motherhood is a little bit isolating. Do you? I mean, we all have our support network of friends and family and people we can vent to, or share ideas with, but I sometimes wonder if anyone feels the same way I do about things. Oftentimes the things you don't really talk to anyone about, like your insecurities as a mother, your fears of doing things right or wrong, the guilty feelings you have when you know you made a bad choice or really screwed something up. For the first time, I really felt like the author and I felt the same way about a lot of things. The Middle Place talks about the place in your life when you are both someone's mother and you're still someone's daughter, where you find yourself balancing the independence of being a mom and making decisions about your children, but still wanting to run into the arms of your parents for that safety and security and belonging that means so much. I TOTALLY get it. She talks a lot about her relationships with her father which so deeply reminds me of my relationship with my dad. In fact, there are times in the book that I felt as if she was describing my Dad...the magnetic personality, the shaping influence he has had in her life, and her need for him even as a grown up. I get that for sure with both my mom and my dad...and the dependence and need for them seems to grow instead of fading the older I get. So anyway, if you haven't read that book you need to.

Well, Kelly Corrigan has just released another book called Lift. It's a letter to her daughters, and I once again couldn't put it down. It's a short read and I was done with it in about 2 hours, although I keep revisiting the notes I made and the pages I marked since finishing it. Here are a few passages that I keep coming back to and thinking about (emphasis mine)...

"You'll remember middle school and high school, but you'll have changed by then. You changing will make me change. That means you won't ever know me as I am right now-- the mother I am tonight and tomorrow, the mother I've been for the last eight years, every bath and birthday party, gone. It won't hit you that you're missing this chapter of our story until you see me push your child on a swing or untangle his jump rope or wave a bee away from his head and think, 'Is this what she was like with me?' "

"My default answer to everything is 'no'. As soon as I hear the inflection of inquiry in your voice, the word 'no' forms in my mind, sometimes accompanied by a reason, often not. Can I open the mail? 'No'. Can I wear your necklace? 'No'. When is dinner? 'No.' What you probably wouldn't believe is how much I was to say 'yes'. Yes you can take two dozen books home from the library. Yes you can eat the whole roll of SweeTarts. Yes you can camp out on the deck. But the books will get lost, and SweeTarts will eventually make our tongue bleed, and if you sleep on the deck, the neighborhood raccoons will nibble on you. I often wish I could com eback to life as your uncle, so I could give youmore. But when you're the mom, your whole life is holding the rope against these wily secret agents who never, ever stop trying to get you to drop your end. This tug of war often obscures what's also happening between us. I am your mother, the first mile of your road. Me and all my obvious and hidden limitations. That means that in addition to possibly wrecking you, I have the chance to give to you what was given to me: a decent childhood, more good memories than bad, some values, a sense of tribe, a run at happiness. You can't imagine how seriously I take that- even as I fail you. Mothering you is the first thing of consequence that I have ever done."

If anyone wants to borrow the books to read, let me know. All I can say is that I've enjoyed reading the books and I'm enjoying The Middle Place just as much the second time through as I did the first. Kelly Corrigan gets it....she really gets it. And it's not that we need validation as moms...but it sure doesn't hurt to feel known.

The weekend where I got a whole bunch of things done & Joshua was full of it.

I was really on my game this weekend. And if that sounds like I'm bragging, I apologize. It's more sheer astonishment on my part since it's been since prior to September 30th that I've had a feeling like that. I was beginning to think that the days of having a plan and accomplishing it in the time frame I had worked out in my mind were gone forever, like the days where pegging our jeans was cool or making a rainbow with our bangs was a good idea. We're talking LONG gone, folks! But this weekend I had a glimpse of having my act together. It was a beautiful thing.

Saturday morning I slept in until 7:30. 7:30! This just shows you how far removed life as a mother has taken me. I can't imagine that I had any inkling that I would ever, in my entire lifetime, consider 7:30 sleeping in. But I do now. And it was fabulous. When Lauren first stirred, I got up, fed her and began working on my to do list that had 16 things on it. I managed to cross them all off by day's end. I must confess that both Joshua and I were still in our pajamas, but he considered it fun and I didn't care that I was dirty. A day like that every now and then isn't all bad if you ask me. Had I needed to step out of the house, people may have questioned my "style" but luckily that didn't happen.

The children were angels. Joshua's latest prescription for allergy medication has turned him into a sleeper. Either that or he is now catching up on the past three years of rotten sleep he's had because he's been waking between 8-9 for the past few days. We're so thankful for dodging the bullet that we thought was going to be the necessity of a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy that was causing what amounted to sleep apnea, but it appears that his airways were just inflamed from allergies and a touch of Zyrtec before bed has his breathing through the night and sleeping well. Amen to that. I won't even go into the panic attack I was having over the thought of sending my baby to the operating room. Really, that kind of worry shouldn't even be given space in my life, but it was uncontrollable and horrible. The relief I felt when our pediatrician said that we didn't need to see the ENT doctor and that he was optimistic that some allergy meds would do the trick was amazing. And despite having a cough and a bit of a stuffy nose, Lauren remains as sweet as ever. Both of them played nicely on Saturday while I worked methodically at my jobs. Joshua imagined he was everything from a firefighter to Mrs. Mabus and did a pretty good impression of all of his chosen characters, I might say. When he wasn't playing, he was right at my heels asking me a thousand or a million questions. But God granted me patience and appreciation for it this weekend, so we both enjoyed our day immensely. Lauren took 3 good naps in her crib allowing me two hands to do some of the messier jobs, and played nicely in her saucer the rest of the time.

Sunday was church and cooking day and then another meeting at the church. We did a rousing version of "Hallelu Hallelu Hallelu Hallelujah....Praise Ye The Lord!" to open worship yesterday. Everyone seemed to enjoy that. And I have to say, seeing a church full of 100+ doing the stand-up sit-down exercise a few times was comical to say the least. Lauren snoozed through the sermon--- that's two weeks in a row. She was well behaved at the meeting last night despite the fact that she was hungry and sleepy. But we made it without a meltdown, so that's a plus.

Everything just worked out. And I've had enough times where that was NOT the case to appreciate it when it is.

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As for Joshua being "full of it"...I'm not sure I can do it justice, but suffice it to say that I started making a list. Evidently being well rested makes him even wittier than usual. We found ourselves cracking up at his little statements and the silly things he was doing.

In my opinion, the best was yesterday when we were getting ready for church. He asked if Nana and Pap were going to come after church. When I told him, "No, not today" he looked at me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Mommy, you just have to believe. You gotta believe!" I believe he missed his calling in Field of Dreams. If you believe hard enough, evidently Nana and Pap will appear.

He told us that he refers to Emma in his class as "Honey Bun Bun". I feel sure that he doesn't or else I'm betting we would have gotten a note in his folder about it. And if he did, perhaps a good swift slap across the face from Emma would have been in order. Honey Bun Bun.

He repeatedly told us that we were "driving him nuts".

In the midst of Sunday afternoon playing, he turned around to us and said, "I wonder how Mrs. Shaffer is doing?" as if he hadn't seen her in ages. It had been since Friday afternoon at 2:15.

And finally, does anyone know what Captain Hook's first name is? That was the big stumper of a question this weekend. He was quite concerned that his name is Joshua Robert Dugan, but Captain Hook only has his last name. Why doesn't he have a first name? Didn't his Mommy and Daddy give him one? Did he lose it? What do people call him if he doesn't have a first name? No amount of explanation on my part was helping.

See what happens when he SLEEPS??????


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And finally, as if I haven't rambled on and on long enough, here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

See how chubby my cheeks are getting? That's what two bowls of cereal a day will do to you! Mommy said the same thing happens with her and bagels...or ice cream. Or both.

Man, I sure do love this thing!

Looking awfully serious. This little dress won't fit for too many more wears, so I had to capture it one more time in case the growth spurt takes it out of rotation before she wears it again.

Our little character dressed for church yesterday.

And this is how I found him this morning at 9:30 when I woke him up. I believe that is the first time EVER that I have had to wake him. Thank you Zyrtec.....thank you!

It might have been a bad idea.

Last Friday, I was invited to attend Nursery School with Joshua. Evidently all of the kids' parents had a chance to spend a day with the kids during the month of February. Since we were new, the teachers wanted to offer the opportunity to us as well. The first thing I asked Mrs. Mabus and Mrs. Shaffer was whether or not they thought it was too soon for me to stay with Joshua during school. Knowing his past history of separation issues, I was a little worried. They both said that he has exhibited no signs of separation anxiety and they thought it would be just fine.

As it turns out, this may not have been a good idea. At all.

I was really excited about being there, and Joshua seemed to be as well. He told me he was going to show me everything about Nursery School--- and he had a huge smile on his face at the mention of Mommy going to school with him. (As I look back on it, he was thinking, "Awesome! Now Mommy gets to come WITH me to school. No more dropping off and coming back for me later.")

He acted really strange during my visit. In the beginning of the class, he was sitting at the table playing Play-Doh and suddenly burst into tears. No one could figure out why, and he was in no shape to explain it, other than to say that he wanted me beside him. So I sat down and played some Play-Doh with him and the other children. Then, when it was time to sing songs and do the pledges, he insisted that I sit with him. He wouldn't participate with the other kids and cried when I tried to get up and sit in the back of the room. Odd. The teachers both seemed really puzzled, assuring me that this had never happened before.

Things got a bit better by milk time and play time and Joshua went about his business with the other kids while I sat in the back. This was good news since my legs were officially numb from either bending down or sitting indian-style on the floor. These 31 year old legs haven't been indian-style in quite some time and certainly not for that length of time. And even though things looked up as the day went on, I was getting a sinking feeling in my gut that we were in trouble when it came time for drop off on Monday.

And we were. I was at a meeting in State College all day Monday, so Daddy had drop off and pick up duty. My text message at 12:25 read "That did not go well." Evidently, Joshua was insistent that Daddy stay at school and burst into hysterics when Jason left. He had calmed down by the time Jason came to pick him up, but the teachers said he had a rough time.

I can hardly wait to try again tomorrow. Sense the sarcasm? We've talked a lot about how Friday was a special day and that Mommies and Daddies don't get to go to school usually. He seems to understand, but I'm guessing the tears aren't coming from a lack of understanding. They're just coming from a three year old little boy who would rather have his Mommy and Daddy close by if given the opportunity.

Say a prayer for us tomorrow around 12:15.

Fast weekend...

It seems like this weekend went by in fast forward. Too bad the work weeks don't often go that way! I don't have a whole lot to report from our weekend activities. It was two days of cleaning up, scrubbing, sweeping, playing, snuggling, feeding, cleaning up, tubbing, dressing, changing, etc. of the house and the kids. We were lucky enough to finally be well enough to go out to dinner on Saturday evening to celebrate Jason's dad's birthday. And then, after church today, we were happy to see Nana and Pap when they came to visit.

But here are a few pictures. And they're the good stuff anyway, right?

It's exersaucer time at our house! I will continue to declare that this was the best $79.99 we've ever spent. I felt that way with Joshua and after just one day of watching Lauren play in it, I've fallen in love all over again. She is a chewing, spinning, playing machine in this thing. And it's somewhere I can put her that she won't roll away or scrooch out of, and that she's not bored to tears (literally) in. So, welcome back Saucer.....so happy to see you again!

Another favorite find lately---- window crayons. I nearly had a stroke the first time I let Joshua play with these, wondering if the claims of "easily washable" would hold true, but they really do. A couple squirts of Windex, and the windows are as good as new. These kept Joshua occupied for the better part of a half hour today. And that, my friends, is what we call victory.

This was our pre-church concert. He looks so intent, doesn't he? Too bad he doesn't sing with the other kids at school. He says he gets nervous.

And we're back to the Saucer! This was her first time getting in it. I'd say she liked it, wouldn't you?

Never say never.

Remember yesterday when Lauren talked about how she'd "never" do to me what Joshua was infamous for....you know, keeping me up all night? Well apparently she lies.

Never say "never". Last night wasn't one of our good nights. Not even close. Let's just say I've already had a caffeinated cup of coffee (not the half-caff stuff I usually drink) and it's not exactly doing the trick.

When we awoke this morning, Joshua was up and pretty happy. Lauren, of course, was still sleeping. (Well sure she was. She hardly slept during the night time hours one is supposed to sleep during!) Joshua had to check on his sister...usually she's up before him.

And in case you're wondering, yes it is bothering me something fierce that her quilt is crooked in this picture. With all of the "put in the crib" and "take out of the crib" action that we had last night, if this is the worst it got, I should consider it a victory.

Here's what we saw when we checked on her. Looks sweet, huh? She was super sweet even through the night, she was just AWAKE and evidently ravenous. She ate three times through the night when she's normally only been eating 6-7 times all day long lately. All I can blame it on is a growth spurt and her teeth that still haven't popped through.

But, as is always the case, even after a bad night (or three years of them in the case of Joshua), there's nothing like a happy, smiley baby in the morning to perk you up. You can't be mad about it for long...and I certainly wasn't as soon as she flashed me that precious smile in her crib when she woke up. The night shift is just part of the deal...not the best part of the deal, but part of it nonetheless.

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And Joshua gave me a whopper to share with you too. I can see the tides turning from my sweet little boy to the little boy attitude that I feared was under the surface somewhere. It's beginning to rear its ugly head. Our conversation yesterday morning when I was leaving for the office went like this:

Me: "Bye Josh. Mommy loves you. I'll see you later."

Josh: "You.....GET OUT!"

Me: "Uh...would you like to try that again with nicer words?"

Josh: "Out.....now."

Me: "You'd better change your tone in a jiff little man. That's not how you talk to your Mommy." Here's where I was expecting a silly giggle and an "I love you too Mommy."

Josh: "Get out....pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease."

I'm not sure if that was an improvement or not. Oh Heaven help me.

Hi world!

Hi world! It's me, Lauren.

Now that I've just turned 5 months old, I thought it was time that I did some speaking for myself. I know Mommy likes to type for me and tell you all about my latest tricks, but I think it's time I took a turn.

I spend my days a lot like this....rolling around on the floor. I've mastered rolling both ways now. It must be a big deal because of the way Mommy always claps and says "YAY!" when I do it. The novelty has worn off for me now, but I continue to do it to make her happy. Sometimes, just for fun, I'll roll from one side of the room to the other when Mommy and Daddy aren't watching. I like seeing the surprised look on their faces when they find me in a completely different place than they put me down. I love my play mat. Mommy tells me that it used to be Brookie's toy and she's sharing it with me. I always look confused until Mommy reminds me that Brooke is my cousin.....the one who likes to kiss me.....a whole lot. Then it all comes rushing back to me.

I probably am getting close to weighing 12 pounds now. Everyone has been commenting lately about the fact that I seem like I'm growing. I'm pretty lucky not to have had to see the doctor lately, so I don't know for sure. Hopefully we'll make it to our 6 month appointment before I have to go back to that office where they tend to jab me with things that both Mommy and I dislike. I'm still very comfortably wearing 3 month clothes. Mommy told me I better hurry up and grow if I want to keep pace with Brooke and get to wear all of her pretty clothes. I'm still wearing size 1 diapers.

I've taken a real liking to rice cereal. Mommy keeps telling me that the good stuff is coming. I have no idea what that means, but I smile at her and giggle when she says it because I know it makes her happy. She keeps saying that if I like rice cereal (and then she makes a yucky face), she can't wait to give me something called pears and applesauce. I'm just glad to be widening my food repertoire (Mommy had to help me spell that one...I'm only 5 months old, you know) and filling up my belly before I go to bed at night. I've started getting back into my good sleeping habits and only wake once at the most during the night to eat and make sure Mommy is still around. Then I quickly close my eyes and go back to dreaming for a few more hours before it's time to rise and shine again. Mommy continues to tell me how thankful she is that I'm a good sleeper and an excellent eater. She says something about my brother and how hard he was on her. I'd never do that to her!

I do lots and lots of smiling and giggling, babbling and blowing raspberries. The most entertaining thing I've got going during the day is Joshua. That kid is a riot! He's always doing silly things like dancing and singing and making silly faces at me. Most of the time he doesn't pay me too much attention, but I still watch him constantly. Mostly I think I should keep an eye on him to help Mommy and Grandma, but I also love him a whole bunch and like to see what he's up to. I can't wait until I'm big enough to join in his fun.

Mostly, I get lots and lots of snuggles and kisses from my Mommy and Daddy. Mommy says she loves my chubby cheeks the best and always kisses them. I love that. She tells me that she loves me as high as the sky. I don't know much about skies, but I sure do love my mama and I'm glad she loves me.

I'll talk to you all again soon.