An extra half hour...

...means some extra time outside! And since Lauren has been working so hard on her sitting-up skills, she even got to spend some time on the blanket with her toys while Joshua dug up my flower beds.

And one from this morning for good measure.

Goodbye 1996!

1996 was a fine year. I'll recall chanting cheers of pride with the rest of my graduating class in the Lewistown High School gym for all of my days. "Ninety-six! Ninety-six! Ninety-ninety-ninety-ninety-ninety-six!" Fashion, however, left quite a bit to be desired. Both in terms of clothing (I could scan in some yearbook photos here for dramatic effect, but I believe I'll spare myself the humiliation) and apparently in terms of home decor.

Not only was I graduating high school in 1996, but I would also come to own a home that was being constructed just as I was tossing my cap and giving my salutatorian speech. And the nice folks who made the construction decisions certainly were smitten with the home styles circa the mid-nineties. And when I say that, I mean that they loved mauve and country blue.

When we first saw the house, we couldn't help but be knocked down by the amount of mauve and blue---- stencils, light fixtures, bathroom colors, and the kitchen. We've effectively removed it little by little and piece by piece. And this past week was the time for the 1996 to be removed from our kitchen. Oh happy day.

Here's a look at Joshua working in the kitchen after they had removed the old countertops. He was "all up in the business" of the contractors who were working at the house on Friday. And by that I mean he was under the sink with the plumber and right beside the carpentry contractor who was attaching the counters and backsplash. As you can see, his Longaberger basket full of tools was at his side. And yes, it does irk me to no end that he is using one of my favorite baskets as a tool box. In case you wondered.

After an extra month-long wait and a couple of thousand scolds of Joshua to "get out of their way" and "get out of the kitchen", this is what we ended up with. New counters. New sink and faucet. As I'm sure you'll notice, the rugs don't come anywhere close to matching, but I need to get some new ones. I've since added (thanks to my mom who most certainly knows how to outfit a kitchen) towels and placemats for the table that match perfectly. I believe it's safe to say that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree in terms of wanting things to go together....hence my issue with Gymboree.

So that was Friday.

Saturday was a long awaited day....the day that Mom, Libby and I were headed to the Hotel Hershey to enjoy a morning at the spa courtesy of our husbands who were so thoughtful as to purchase gift certificates for us for Christmas. What a special day we had. The chocolate massages were heavenly, but I'll tell you that what I most enjoyed was being able to just talk to mom and Libby (albeit over the whir of a Medela pump during some of the time) without having to interject something to the children. Not one sippy cup was filled during our day together. Not one potty chair emptied. Not one diaper changed. We just got to be grown ups. We giggled. We ate sandwiches and whoopie pies out of Mom's packed cooler. We spent too much money at the outlets. We had a ball. And we're already hoping that the guys will make this an annual event. That one will go down in history as one of the most fun!

And to wrap things up, here are two pictures of Lauren. Have I mentioned how smitten I am with her?

An update on our little runt...

When I last posted, I was about to embark on a cold turkey intervention with Lauren by taking away her miracle blanket. I have to say that I have never failed more horribly at anything in my entire life. Except maybe gymnastics when I was about nine. And Accounting 211 at Penn State.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I am weak, and perhaps I have enabled her. All I can say is that she was awake screaming 7 times between 9:00 pm and 11:30 pm on the evening of my last post. She finally fell asleep (on her tummy) from 11:30 until 2:00, at which point the screaming began once again. I caved at 5:15, wrapped her back up and watched as she magically closed her eyes and then had the gall to smile at me. It was at that point that I got in the shower and started my normal morning preparation, grumbling at my inability to stand firm and my stupidity for thinking that standing firm with a newborn is even a good idea.

If there's one thing I learned with Joshua it's that transitions like this work best when I don't try to impose my timelines onto him. I could cite multiple instances--- the bottle, his pacifier, moving him out of his crib, having him stay in children's church without me there, potty training--- all of which end the same way. In his own time, things go pretty darn smoothly. I don't know what I was thinking to assume that Lauren was going to be any different. And so, it appears that we'll wean s-l-o-w-l-y from the miracle blanket.

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Yesterday, Miss Lauren had the pleasure of going for her six month checkup at the doctor's office. We were a few weeks late in getting there...but it didn't take long of sitting in a jam packed waiting room to figure out why it was hard to get scheduled for an appointment. I will say that I was sitting across from a very sophistocated Mom who was working on an iPad and it has sparked in me an intense desire to have one of my own. For what, I'm not sure. But goodness, was that thing ever cool!

Anyway, Lauren's dislike for the pediatrician's office has now been firmly cemented in her adorable little mind. At the sight of the exam room, she broke out into hysterics that ended only when I picked her up. They began again when she got within a foot of the examining table.

In terms of stats, I will sum it up by saying that we officially have a runt on our hands. Or a leprechaun. Or the Mayor of Munchkin City. She weighs 13 lb 5.5 oz and was 25.5 inches long. Her weight puts her at the 5th percentile, down from the 25th when she was born. And her length puts her at the 35th percentile, down from the 50th when she was born. Both have steadily declined over the past six months. The nurse was concerned. The doctor was not. He told us that she's well within normal range, she's hitting developmental milestones ahead of schedule, she's generally happy and content and a good sleeper (ahem) so we're not to do anything differently. He must have seen the panic in my face when we talked about her eating habits and he assured me not to change a thing and that she just might be little. I suppose that's not a bad thing. She'll get to wear whatever size heels she wants to the prom and she won't struggle to find a boyfriend who is taller than she is.

I can't honestly tell you that it doesn't shake me a bit to have her be so small, as though a chubby, roly-poly baby is the sign of a good mother. That doesn't even make any sense. But I'm struggling a bit with the same insecurity we all face as moms. Are we making the right choices? Are we giving our kids the absolute best? Could we do anything different or better to give them more? I have to knock that off....because it's not productive at all. But I do think it's normal.

My sweet girl earned herself two shots, even though she was still at the tail end of the sickness that we have had (and effectively shared throughout Mifflin County on our visit home at Easter). She seemed to be doing fine until I sat her in her high chair to eat some cereal and carrots last night around 7:00. All of a sudden she broke out into hysterics and I realized that she had spiked a fever. I gave her some Tylenol, ditched the solids for the night and attempted to get her into her pajamas so that she could just cuddle to sleep. It was then that I realized that her right leg wasn't moving at all. It was just hanging limp and she screamed bloody murder at the approach of a hand anywhere near it. Once she nursed for a good long time, mostly for comfort I believe, she drifted off to sleep and slept pretty well. I did need to give her some more Tylenol around 3 because she was getting warm again. She seems happier and not as fevered today. Her legs are moving fine, so that's good news.

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And Joshua. Oh Joshua. He's doing great. Loved a trip to Camp Victory this weekend to visit with our Key Club friends. He was officially tasked with gathering twigs for the camp fire and did an outstanding job. I honestly think he'd still be there if we would have allowed him. He has been full of anectdotes and stories lately too, but any specific ones are escaping me at the moment. I'll have to put a just-Joshua post together here soon.

If you made it this far, God bless your heart. More to come soon!

It's the end of an era.

It's a sad day. I'm somewhere between a state of mourning and a state of feeling like I'm staring at a freight train as it's about to flatten me.

The day I've been dreading has come to pass---- the day when we need to say goodbye to our cherished friend, Miracle Blanket.

My love affair with these sewn together flaps of pink fabric began just a few short days after bringing Lauren home from the hospital. It has been my rock, my source of good sleep, my only sanity some days as I have a great sense of security in the fact that, more often than not, when Lauren is wrapped up like a cocoon she's going to drift off into dreamland (and stay there) without too much incident. I count on it like I count on having to argue with Joshua to get him to eat his dinner. It's as sure a bet as just about anything.

The night before we headed home to Lewistown to celebrate Easter, I was terrified to find Lauren on her tummy in her crib, albeit fast asleep and looking quite comfortable. She was, however, still wrapped in her baby straight-jacket, and would have been unable to roll herself back over if she needed to. Once assuring that she was breathing, I rolled her over and of course woke her up. I declared that we would no longer use the Miracle Blanket anymore and quickly retracted that statement upon Lauren waking up 30 times between 11:00 and 3:30 am the first night we were at my parents' house. She hasn't been rolling over, so I thought we were smooth sailing.

Until last night. I couldn't keep her on her back for anything. She was resting comfortably and sleeping well, but she just kept finding her way back to her tummy, despite the fact that she had no movement whatsoever in her arms. It's not so much the tummy sleeping that freaks me out, but more that I can't be sure she could get herself out of trouble if she couldn't breathe. And so, I believe the time as come to begin the process of seeing what night sleep is going to be like at our house sans Miracle Blanket. As I type that, the tears are rolling down my cheeks and hitting the keyboard. (Not really, but I feel like I want to cry....plus it sounds more dramatic, doesn't it?)

I've begun a strict caffeine regimen in preparation for what tonight holds. If you wish to pray for me, it would be appreciated. God and I are already in deep talks about this. And who knows, maybe she'll surprise me and appreciate the freedom of movement and sleep BETTER (as in, skipping the feeding in the middle of the night), but I'm a realist and I have to tell you that I'm not counting on it.

Farewell Miracle Blanket. It's been a good run.

Was that a weekend or WHAT?

My camera is just about to burst with pictures from the Easter weekend. Somehow it feels like we squeezed about a month's worth of activity into three days. And maybe that's why I'm so tired! But it was a fantastic weekend and a fabulous couple of days with my family.

Our plans were a little up in the air when Joshua took a turn into the under-the-weather club on Thursday. By a stroke of good luck, I was able to get him an appointment at the doctor's office on Friday morning to have them take a look at the sore throat and sore ears he was complaining about. One prescription for pink antibiotics later and after a few doses of Tylenol, he was on the mend. We were so glad that we were able to get him some medicine so that he could still make the trip to Lewistown. He had been looking so forward to it for so long.

Since Joshua was under Daddy's care at home, I decided to still go over to our church's Maundy Thursday service. Oh am I glad I did. My Easter blessing was being able to be there, and have some time for quiet reflection as I shared Communion with the rest of the church. It was a really special service that I will definitely make sure that I attend each year. Lauren was relatively good until it got close to her sleepy time, so we left a little early. But it was worth it by a long shot.

We spent most of Friday afternoon out in the driveway letting the kids play. And play they did! There was no shortage of ball throwing, dirt digging, Gator riding, bubble blowing and everything else that you can find to do in Nana and Pap's driveway.

Saturday we all got dressed up to go to have our pictures taken at Mom and Dad's church. They're doing a new pictoral directory for the church and were offering sittings at no charge. My mom wanted to try and get a whole family shot, which we actually succeeded in doing. It was a bit of a circus, but actually could have been A WHOLE LOT worse than it was. All three of the kids were relatively happy. We were all pretty tired after the photos (as you can tell from Lauren's picture!) but started our outside playtime again as soon as dress clothes had been exchanged for play clothes once again. Joshua and Pap also had their first guitar lesson on the Martin backpacker. Pap would play the chords while Joshua strummed with his guitar pick that Pastor Dave gave to him last week. He was so proud of himself!

We christened Brooke's roller coaster in the driveway on Saturday afternoon. I'll tell you what---- if I was little enough to ride on it, I would have! Once the little car got rolling down the ramp, it went ripping down the pavement! Pap stood at the bottom of the hill to catch the car before it ran away down the BIG hill, but the kids giggled and had a blast. And then, Gator rides continued. We strapped Brooke and Joshua into the Gator with a bungee strap. Brooke absolutely cracked us up--- she was giggling like she had never had more fun in her life, smiling ear to ear and waving at everyone as they went around in a circle together. It was precious. Along with all of this outside fun, we also had a chance to visit with Pappy Ray, Pappy Fred and Freda, and Grandma, Bill and Aunt Pat. Pap's garage makes an awesome gathering spot to watch the kids run amuck, and that's just what we did.

Brooke's love affair with Lauren certainly hasn't cooled off. She just can't get enough! And Lauren is seeming to really get a kick out of Brooke too. The more Brooke kisses and hugs her, the more she wants to touch Brooke and smile at her. I just loved seeing the two of them together this weekend, and hope so much that they'll always love each other this way. I don't know what I'd do without my cousins....and I just hope and pray that they'll have the same kind of relationship with each other and their extended cousins one day. Who knows...maybe our Cousins Day tradition will go on into the next generation!

Saturday night marked the second annual Easter egg hunt at Nana and Pap's house. There were lots of pictures, none of which were good enough to post here. There was a whole bunch of running around and egg collecting, just as you would suspect there should be. Suffice it to say that we have enough candy to last until three Easters from now. Maybe four. It's a lot! The kids had a great time, though, and it was lots of fun to watch.

And THEN it was Easter! Doesn't it feel like we already had a full weekend BEFORE the holiday even got there? I was lulled into a false sense of security by being awoken by Lauren early in the morning. I thought for sure we'd be up, dressed and ready for church long before we needed to be. So maybe I got a little lazy. I don't know, but I did panic when I looked at the clock and noticed that it was 10:10. I was dressed, but both of the kids were still in their pajamas! And church started very very soon (like we were supposed to LEAVE the house at 10:10). So, a whole bunch of rushed panic happened in the next 15 minutes. We did manage to make it to church and were able to sit with the rest of the family, so that was good. However, I was sweating and very frazzled. A small price to pay, I guess, for having gorgeous little munchkins for Easter Sunday.

We managed to snap a picture that is slightly better than the one we took of Joshua and Brooke (both crying, I believe) last Easter morning. Perhaps with a few more years of practice, we'll get a good one. We were so excited to be able to add Anna into the photo! Are these kids not precious beyond words? I just wanted to eat them all up!

After church, the real whirlwind began. It's always a nightmare when we try to get ready to leave my parents' house. No matter how hard we try to make it less chaotic than the last time, it always is MORESO. The baby needed to eat. Joshua needed to change out of his church clothes and eat some lunch (this is a meltdown point on the best of Sunday afternoons, so you can just imagine how it went with a tired, cranky, still not feeling well little boy after the commotion of Easter Sunday). We had to gather up and pack all of our stuff. We all had to eat lunch. It was a mess. And I'll tell you that the only reason we get to keep coming back to my parents' house at all is that they're saints and they love us regardless of the three ring circus we bring to their otherwise calm and reasonable lives. Even though they'd never say so, I just know they're relieved to see the Highlander rolling down the hill pointed in the opposite direction of their house!

We returned home mid-afternoon to start the unpacking, putting away and laundry doing. Needless to say, I'm still working on laundry and finding homes for things that got shoved into things that they didn't belong in. But that's the fun of a weekend trip. Joshua ate about 17 pounds of Easter candy and modeled his bunny ears like a pro to keep us all in the Easter spirit amidst the rushing around. Goodness, I love him!

So that's the Easter weekend recap. See what I mean about it seeming more like a two week vacation? Weekends like this make me remember how lucky we are to have opportunities to spend time with our family out of town. It also makes me wish that we were able to do it more often, but we sure do make the most of it when we have the chance to be together.

I hope your Easter was just as blessed. And I hope you had far less laundry to do than I did!

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!