Andrew . . .

Just so he doesn't feel left out!

From this . . .

To this at one year old. . .

Birthday Girl

So Lauren's 3rd birthday was on Saturday. We're having a party for her next weekend so we just kinda hung out here and had a 'Lauren' weekend. She got to pick the activities she wanted to do and the food she wanted to eat. I think she had a good weekend but then again is there really a bad day in a 3-year-olds life??

We did a practice run on blowing out the candles. That went just fine but she still isn't too into the whole cake thing. She had a good time helping me bake the cupcakes, frosting them and shaking sprinkles on them but just doesn't care to eat them. Really, she isn't into sweets that much. If it ain't a cookie or a peanut butter cup then don't bother giving it to her. She isn't going to eat it.










She got this kite for her birthday and talked all weekend about flying it. So for the first time in my life, I prayed for wind. Unfortunately it didn't happen. We tried to fly it on Sunday but it was a no go. Maybe some evening this week we'll get it up. She can't wait.

She's THREE!!

From this . . .

to this . . .

Wow!! What a difference three years makes.

Spoke too soon . . .

I spoke too soon about the clothes still being in her drawers . . . they are all back out. It is partially my fault as I went to the basement to work on some things when she went to her room to take a nap so I couldn't hear her opening her drawers. I guess we'll just chalk it up to a lesson learned on my part and hope for a better outcome tomorrow. :)

Lauren & I go tomorrow for a playday at her preschool. It lasts an hour and I'm sure she is going to love it. She is convinced that she will get to play on the slipper slides but I don't see that happening! She also thinks that two of her friends are going to be there and they aren't. Even with all of that, I know she is going to love being with all the other kids. Last weekend I dropped her and Elliott off at a school playground while Andrew & I ran an errand. When I came back and parked I could see Elliott sitting off to the side but I couldn't see Lauren. I thought that was kinda odd as she usually requires you to be up and going with her. Well when I got closer I could see that she was playing with a group of girls, 3 sisters actually. She was having the time of her life as the oldest sister was pushing them all on the merry-go-round. She has talked about how much fun it was to play with 'the girls' all week so I can only imagine what we'll be hearing about once school starts.

Nap Time Fun

Lauren hardly ever puts up a fight when it comes time for her afternoon nap. She enjoys playing alone in her room and then crawling up into bed and falling asleep. She has been known to destroy her room in the process but this one takes the cake . . . that is EVERY single piece of clothing in her dresser drawers.
Unfortunately this hasn't been a one time event this past week. She has proceeded to unload it each and every day. I finally gave up and left them all on her floor for a couple of days. Last night I put them all back in and as I type, they are still there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this little fun time activity has run its course.

County Fair

Lauren, Andrew & I met some friends at the fair last Thursday. It had been raining earlier in the day so you can imagine the muddy mess we encountered. Even though, the girls enjoyed the petting zoo and seeing the exhibits. After touring the fair grounds it was on to the park.

Then on Saturday, Elliott & Grandma Michell took Lauren to the draft horse show. Andrew & I joined them after the show to take in the carnival rides. Lauren had a great day! She rode all the rides at least twice and would have went for another round if it weren't for us insisting that we all needed to eat supper. Mind you it was 8:00 pm by this time. . .

On the way to the car the kids got a chance to be up close and personal with the big draft horses. Lauren thought they were pretty neat and Andrew did too, until one leaned in a little close to him. The poor kid jumped a mile and was scared to death. I can only imagine what was going thru his head . . . "This huge 'ole horse is going to eat little 'ole me."

Andrew's Party

We had a birthday party for Andrew on Saturday evening. He doesn't actually turn one until the 8th so he'll get to have another party with just mom, dad and Lauren. He got great gifts and I'll post pictures of him and Lauren enjoying all of them later.

Andrew also enjoyed his cake. Lauren wouldn't even touch her cake at her first birthday (or her second, we'll see how 3 goes!) so Andrew diving in was great. I finally got to get some cake eating pictures. The pictures don't really show you all the details. He had frosting smeared all across his face and down both arms before he was done. We were excited to be partying at my parents house so their carpet could reap the benefits of Andrew's cake throwing. When Saturday morning rolled around, I was even more glad we were there as I had a touch of the flu and spent most of the day in bed. So if it hadn't been for my mom, we wouldn't have had a party. Thanks, Mom!!!

Andrew had his one year pictures taken last Thursday. He also had his first haircut that day. I didn't get any pictures of the haircut as I ended up holding him. Brooke did great with him though. No matter if he was standing, sitting or lying down she just kept cutting! Today Lauren will be taking her 3 year pictures and some of her & Andrew together. I know that I'll be wore out after this event. Thankfully, we have a great photographer as well. She is so patient with the kids and just keeps clicking away. We even had to go back into the studio after reviewing the first set of pictures from Andrew's one year photo shoot. She got a great pictures on the second try. I can't wait to get them back.