SUMMER... FINALLY!!!!!!!

So it was pretty hot and humid here today. After Lauren took a super long nap when we got home from Marcia's, we went swimming in the pool. I think Lauren needs a bigger pool. It was kind of cold (the water) but she splashed her hands first, then put her feet in, and then next thing I knew it she was dumping buckets of the water on herself. She had a blast. It's so nice to be outside, doing things together and getting fresh air and sunshine. After swimming, we came inside and dried off and Lauren and I watched a few minutes of hockey since Ryan and Tyler (Marcia's sons) have "taught" her to play hockey. I said, "Oh, Lauren, look! They are playing hockey!" to which she said, "Hockey? Nooooooo." She was so serious that they were most definitely not playing hockey. It was pretty funny.

A cool note for me, I got a job working as a teacher's assistant for summer school this summer. It will be nice because it's only 8am-noon Monday-Thursday and it's only from June 23rd-July 31st. It will be nice to have some extra money coming in. We had to change the date for our Michigan trip, but we are still planning on going, so that is exciting. Only a half day left of school and I'm outta there! :) I got some really thoughtful gifts from the kids/families I work with today and it was kind of overwhelming. The kids at my school are amazing. I wish things would work out so I could stay there. We'll see. Nathaniel is doing well. He is looking forward to us all having more time together now that school is out (me too!). He's been super busy with overtime, and he has been helping out around the house more since I'm supposed to be off of my feet more (doctor said). I really appreciate how hard he works for our family! Hopefully I can work out something cool for Father's Day! He really deserves it!

BUBBLES!!!!!!

Here are some new pictures of Lauren doing what she loves to do best now on lovely, sunny, breezy days... BUBBLES! It's pretty much all she talks about. She has been loving getting to be outside lately and has had fun with her sidewalk chalk, too. She also loves hanging out outside with the babysitter and her sons. Lauren is talking up a storm now and starting to ask and tell the silliest things. Tonight she kept saying "Gracie mowing?" I had mentioned that they had mowed the prairie grass behind our house and I guess Lauren thought Gracie was out doing it. I couldn't get her to understand that Gracie didn't do it. LOL. She's been very huggy lately, too, and is asking for hugs all of the time which is fun. She also had her first "international teleconference" the other day when we did a video call to her friend Claire in the UK. Claire was teaching Lauren the ABC song which was super cool and now Lauren can sing it up to ABCD. :D Thanks, Claire!

The rest of us are all doing well. Only a day and a half more of school for me... WOO HOO! I'm ready to have some Lauren time! We've got some fun things planned for June, so we'll keep you posted!

Skywalker update

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. It went well. Blood pressure is good, baby's heartbeat was good (in the 150s), and that was pretty much it. My "big" ultrasound is scheduled for June 16th at noon. I have a follow-up appointment with the perinatologist (the Dr. who did my cerclage) on June 9th and my next Dr. appointment is the end of June. Things are looking good. I'm 17-18 weeks now depending on what due date you go by.

Lauren is doing well, although she isn't sleeping the way she usually does. She's been skipping naps which makes for a very hysterical and crabby little girl. Hopefully once school is out (NEXT THURSDAY!!!!) she will get back into a sleep pattern that is a little better.

Fun in the Sun

This weekend we went down to visit family on Sunday. We started out at Grandma Lois' house and Grandma Lori came over to visit too. We had a really nice visit, although Lauren got rather grumpy because she refused to nap! From there, we went over to Uncle Rich and Aunt Linda's to stop in and see Lauren's newest little cousin, baby Parker, for a few minutes. He's adorable and stupid me had no batteries for the camera! I'm telling you, those batteries are the bane of my existence! AUGH! Anyway, then we went and got some Happy Joe's pizza (Taco Supreme!) and went over to Grandma Patsy and Grandpa Richard's to help celebrate Grandpa Richard's birthday. Lauren loved her pizza, and then was so delirious from no sleep that she was up until after 10pm... over 15 hours of no sleep for a 21mo old is not GOOD!!!!! The next morning we got up and got ready for the Memorial Day parade. I took some pictures of Lauren at the festivities and then a few pics from playing in the back yard at Grandma and Grandpa's. She also celebrated the humid heat today with some yummy vanilla ice cream! It feels like summer (although I think tomorrow is supposed to be chilly again...) Lauren started saying "Nathaniel" and "Carey" this weekend which has provided for some good laughs. She's also getting more articulate in saying "Grandma" and "Grandpa" which is good since she has several of those! We're praying she starts sleeping again (she went to bed at 8pm tonight, thank goodness!) Hope everyone had a beautiful day. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and Nathaniel and I will be back to work (only 8 more days for me!). Lauren's looking forward to spending some more time with Marcia, Mr. Steve and Ryan and Tyler (the sitters) before I am done with school. Take care and have an awesome week! Lauren sends loves to everyone!

Thank you.

I get emotional on Memorial Day. I don't understand war, nor do I think I ever will, and taking a day off to cook out and attend parades in honor of people who have died at war and who are currently fighting seems odd to me when the people fighting don't get a day off. I didn't originally want to go to the parade today, but changed my mind at the last minute and I'm very glad I did. Here is the spot where I'm going to put just a few pictures of things from the day that moved me. The first is of the beginning of the parade with the color guard, the second is of Janet Wehrly, wife of SSG Kyle Wehrly who died in Iraq in 2005 (I went to church with Kyle in high school and ended up finding out we were distant cousins) and the last one is of the boy scouts carrying the flag. I hope everyone, regardless of their view on the war, was able to take time to reflect upon what today meant and the sacrifices that are made by soldiers, spouses, significant others, siblings, parents, children and anyone who may have a veteran/soldier in their life.

Opa!

Well, we went to the Greek Festival at the fairgrounds today. We didn't quite know what to expect, but it was smaller than we thought it would be. There were a few stands selling goods like jewelry, t-shirts, Greek fun stuff, etc, and then there was a large room with Greek folk dancing and music and TONS of food. Lauren really enjoyed watching the folk dancers and got her own dance on and had a blast shouting out "Opa!" every time the emcee did. We had some good food and just enjoyed the sunshine coming in and the cool breeze and each other's company. I took the camera, got it out, and the batteries were dead. I swear those batteries are the bane of my existence. So, sorry no fun Greek festival pics, but I will have Nathaniel charge up some batteries for me so we can take some Memorial day pics.

I haven't been posting much as I am exhausted lately with the craziness of the end of school getting so near. Hopefully as school ends (8 more days!) I will be able to post more. Skywalker is doing well, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Send me some ultrasound vibes! I want to get my "big" ultrasound scheduled so we can find out if Lauren will have a brother or sister!

Nathaniel is doing well. Work keeps him busy. He is excited to have taken this weekend off and Lauren and I are thrilled to have Daddy home with us. We did bubbles and sidewalk chalk tonight when we got home, so Lauren was definitely ready for bed when 8pm rolled around. Hope everyone has a great Memorial day weekend!

Random new pics

Lauren loves hats. Here are a few pics of her wearing her "birthday hat" and Daddy's Cubs hat. She's been talking up a storm and saying "please", "thank you", "you're welcome" and "bless you". We've got a polite one on our hands! She is also starting to put two and three words together which is cool. We had a wonderful Mother's Day today and would like to wish all the awesome Moms in our family a wonderful Mother's Day!

Skywalker update

I had my cerclage yesterday and everything went well (surgery wise... we were stranded at the hospital forever because they wouldn't let me leave without eating, yet wouldn't bring me food, but that story is for another time). We got to see the baby twice, once before and once after the cerclage and he/she was waving at us like crazy and looked so cute. The nurses and doctor couldn't get over how active and "happy" the baby looked. Lauren had a great day with Marcia and was a good little girl. She even napped! Today we have been relaxing and taking it easy. Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. They totally worked (of course!).

Gracie love!

Lauren absolutely adores our cat, Gracie. Gracie was one of Lauren's first words she learned. Lauren walks around all day meowing and "talking" to Gracie. So here is a little video from tonight of Lauren giving her best friend some loves.

FINALLY!!!!! PICTURES!

Ok, so finally we got the batteries going (I have no idea why the charger won't work for me) and so here are the pictures from one of our sidewalk chalk evenings. Lauren loves being outside and drawing with the sidewalk chalk or blowing bubbles. She loves going on walks in her wagon, too. The other day, a woman in our neighborhood who walks her beautiful dog and who Lauren waves to all the time and says "Hi, Puppy!", well, she stopped and asked if Lauren would like to pet her dog. We found out her dog's name was Sadie and Sadie let Lauren give her some love. I swear, if Lauren doesn't go into performing, I think she would make a good vet with how much she loves animals! Thanks to everyone for being so patient and waiting for pictures. I swear it wasn't because I didn't want to post!

Update

I still don't have the batteries for the camera to put up pictures. I'm hoping to work on that this weekend and to be able to get a video of Lauren and some of her "skills". I had a doctor's appointment today and the baby's heartbeat was 150, so that's really good. Lauren had fun exploring the exam room while I was getting checked out, although she didn't really like when they put the blood pressure cuff on me for some reason. Lauren has been busy talking and playing and reading her stories/books. She's looking forward to the warmer weather as every day she says, "Bubbles? Side?" Which is Laurenspeak for "Can we go outside and blow bubbles?" Nathaniel's birthday was Sunday and we were able to spend a bit of time together, so that was nice. He's going to take some time off next week to stay home and help me after my cerclage surgery, so it will be nice to have five days of family time since we don't get much right now. I'm still searching like mad for a job for next year (anyone want to help hook me up?) but I haven't heard anything yet from anyone. Last interviews I had were at the job fair I went to in February. That's about all the news for now. Thanks for all the good thoughts and well wishes and prayers in regards to the baby... Skywalker is doing great! I'm starting to get excited for June and to figure out if it's a Luke Skywalker or Leia Skywalker (no, Luke and Leia are NOT the names we have picked...). Haha. Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for checking in. I hope to have video and pics this weekend.

Argh!

So I took some pictures yesterday (and would have loved to have gotten some video of this evening) but the batteries died in my camera and I have no batteries currently charged up so I can't upload my pictures yet or take more. I will add them as soon as I can, though.

I have been trying to make a more conscious effort to not have the television on around Lauren (actually haven't been watching it much myself either) and so we've been spending a lot of time outside. Last night, we went out and turned the cement in front of the stairs to the front door into art with our sidewalk chalk. Lauren enjoyed yelling "BYE!" to every car that passed by the house and saying "HI!" to all the people who walked by who were out enjoying the sun. She also had fun shouting out to all the "puppies" that walked by and blowing them kisses. We also talked about the sky, clouds and trees and she is able to say and point to all of those things. She also learned the word empty which was kind of funny to me. Tonight we had a dance party in the backyard. We took the cd player out and I took some of Lauren's cd's out and let her pick what she wanted to listen to (she picked Hannah Montana, go figure). We danced and laughed and had a great time. Lauren loves music so much and loves to clap and dance. Wish I could find a little dance class for kids her age! Lauren also has been working on her colors and can say blue, green, orange, purple, red, yellow, pink and white and can identify blue, yellow and green. We're working on it! She also got to play in the sand at the babysitter's today and had great fun. We have a great sitter and Lauren loves being over there and spending time with their family.

Like I said, I will try to get the pictures uploaded soon. I've been feeling pretty tired and still really sick to my stomach. I've been having trouble making it through the days at work, but keep trying to tell myself that school is almost over! Nathaniel is doing well and working hard as usual. He is hoping to have this weekend off (Lauren and I are hoping that too!). Hopefully we will get to have a couple of good "family" days together.

Introducing "Skywalker"

I had my consult for my cerclage today. The baby (which we have dubbed Skywalker as we feel the force is strong with this one) was kicking and jumping up a storm and looked very healthy! The baby is measuring 13 weeks which fits more with the dates I knew to be true (I don't really think my doctor's office has it all together) and so that was good to hear and my cerclage will be done on May 7th.

Lauren is doing well. Still talking up a storm and learning new words like crazy. Her favorite past-time right now is making Teddy dance and singing "Dance, dance, dance." She is still loving the warm weather and being able to go "side" (her word for outside). This morning she gave Nathaniel a kiss on the tummy and said, "Baby, aw!" and then hugged his tummy. She's a pretty silly girl!

Sunshine Sunday

Lauren has been picking up so many new words lately. Today on the way to church, I said, Lauren, "Look at the beautiful sunshine!" to which she replied, "SUNSHINE!" This picture is of her on in the parking lot of church. After church today we picked her up in Waumbaland (the children's program Lauren attends where she is in the 1's and 2's room) and I asked her what she learned about today and she said, "God." That was pretty cool and made her teacher (Auntie Jen) very happy when we told her later. Also today, we went to Lowe's for a while and while we were walking through the Garden Center, Lauren happily pointed over to the tulips and shouted, "FLOWERS!" And last night she started saying Grandma Patsy's name, so we called Grandma and Grandpa tonight to tell them that. She now can name Mommy, Daddy, (Uncle) Cory, Grandma Lori, Grandma Patsy, Papa (Grandpa Richard), (Auntie) Jen and Gracie. She also says Ryan's name (the babysitter's son and can sometimes say Tyler (her other son) and tonight for the first time she said Marsh for Marcia, the babysitter. We're working on other family member's names too, and she can say the names of some of her favorite tv characters Hannah (Hannah Montana), Jackson (Hannah's brother), Ferb (Phineus and Ferb), Elmo, Abby and Cookie (Monster). I haven't counted, but I'm pretty sure she has over 100 words at this point and I'm pretty sure speech will never be a concern for her. She also has started talking about the baby and if you ask her now where the baby is, she will pat my tummy, or her tummy or her teddy's tummy and say "baby". Also if you ask her if she wants a brother or a sister (or sister or a brother) she says "sister" which is kind of funny. She also likes to say things are funny now and then crack up laughing.

In other news, I have my consultation for my cerclage tomorrow so I will get another ultrasound and we will schedule my procedure then. I'm nervous and excited. Today was two years ago that I had my emergency cerclage with Lauren and it has brought back some scary memories. She's here, though, and beautiful and I have so much to be thankful for. According to most of my ultrasounds to date I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow, and according to the "biological" dates/timing, I should be around 14 weeks, so I feel positive about that, having reached this milestone. I'm still really nauseous and I have been really exhausted this week, but I'm counting that as good and telling myself that that means I'm growing a healthy little baby!

Nathaniel is doing well and working hard as usual. School is winding down for me, and as it does, I'm in the race to try to find a job for next year. I've done lots of applying and went to a job fair in February, but haven't heard from any schools yet. I also applied to work summer school in a few districts, so hopefully I'll hear something about that soon.

As the weather warms and the sunshine increases, we wish you all many hours of enjoying the beautiful outdoors and all the gorgeous and beautiful things that God has blessed us with. Lauren loves the outdoors and we are so thankful and blessed to see her running around outside so healthy and happy right now. Have a great week and we'll update soon!

These are the Days

My friend, Stephanie, just started a new blog kind of documenting day to day life for her and her family and I thought I would make the transition from just blogging about Lauren exclusively to blogging about some things that are going on in our life as a family. As many, if not all, of you know, we are expecting another baby around the end of October/beginning of November. Stephanie has encouraged me through her blog to keep track of how Lauren is growing and what she is learning as well as how our new addition is growing and preparing to come into the world. In thinking of what I wanted the title of my blog to be, I was reflecting upon how I feel lately with the tremendous blessing of this new baby that we honestly didn't know we would ever be able to experience, as well as the amazement and wonder I have every day in watching Lauren become the phenomenal person she is. One thing kept ringing through my mind and that was a song that I used to listen to a lot when I was in junior high/high school. So for this first post, I'm going to leave you all with these lyrics that pretty much capture how I feel at this moment.


These Are the Days
by 10,000 maniacs

These are the days you'll remember.
Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.

These are the days you'll remember.
When May is rushing over you with desire to be part of the miracles you see in every hour.
You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.

These are days.

These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break.
These days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face.
And when you do you'll know how it was meant to be.
See the signs and know their meaning.
It's true, you'll know how it was meant to be.
Hear the signs and know they're speaking to you, to you.