All about Lauren

I figured I should take some time and write about Lauren since it seems that most of the past posts have been about Ryan, so here goes . . .

Lauren is now 5 months and she is just the happiest baby ever. Trav and I were talking about this the other day and we both agree that she spends at least half of her day laughing or smiling - it is so fun to see. When we get her out of her crib in the morning, she is smiling so big that her little eyes get all scrunched up and you can hardly see them. Then she starts to kick and wiggle her body - it is a great way to start a day. Trav loves to hold Lauren up and have me talk to her. Once I start talking, she kind of does this thing were she smiles, bobs her head, then turns and buries herself into his shoulder - he thinks it is the funniest thing ever. And she could do this for hours if we let her. If we really want to get her giggling, there are usually two things that always work . . . get her naked and play peek-a-boo or tickle her, or have Ryan perform some dance moves, or jumping, or pretty much anything - she just thinks he is a hoot (she doesn't have to be naked to laugh for Ryan, just for us). Ryan of course loves the attention and keeps on going.

Tooth number two is coming in. I started to notice her sucking on her lips a lot more this week, and there's been some additional drooling so I figured something must be happening and sure enough, when I ran my finger on her bottom gum, I felt another little guy starting to pop out - let's just say I'm very happy that I decided to quit nursing at the end of May - those little suckers are sharp!

Lauren is really working on rolling over, but just can't seem to get it down. She gets all the way onto her side, but her arm gets in the way, and she just can't figure out what to do with it - no big deal though, it will happen soon enough. She is also working on sitting up more. We have our neighbor's Bumbo chair (or bumblebee chair as my mom says) - she is getting more and more used to it each day. We set her in the middle of the table when we are eating - she loves being able to see everything that is going on.

Lauren continues to eat like a champ. So far she has eaten everything we've given her - not like her brother who has a diet that consists of probably 15 things he'll eat. I wasn't too sure when I gave her peas and green beans, but she just licked the spoon a little and opened wide - it is so nice to have someone who eats what you give them.

That about does it. We have her 6 month check-up later this month so I'll have some stats to list then. For now, I'll leave you with a couple of Lauren pictures. Notice how flexible she is - she certainly does not get that from me, I think I would snap if I tried to suck on my toes - not that I would ever want to, but it wouldn't be pretty.

Getting her daily exercise - did you see the size of those cheeks?!?

Ryan's new "friends"

Ryan has been very interested in bugs lately. Luckily, we have a family of ladybugs that live in the window in our laundry room so Ryan has plenty of time to poke and prod at them. When he first saw them, he wanted nothing to do with them. Trav finally convinced him to hold one in his hand, and since then, he can't get enough of them. He actually wants to go in that room just to "play" with the ladybugs. Unfortunately for one of the ladybugs, the play got a little physical one day. For some reason, Ryan decided to step on one and boy was he made when he lifted up his foot and the ladybug was no where to be found. I told him to look on the bottom of his shoe and once he saw it smashed to the sole, he started to cry. He told me to take it off, so I did. When the bug didn't start moving, he looked at me with a look of complete horror and said, "Mommy, it's dead?" When I said yes, he cried even harder. He wanted me to make it move again so bad, but I told him that just wouldn't happen again. After he finished crying, we made a rule that there would be no more stepping on ladybugs. So, if you happen to be around Ryan and a ladybug in the near future - do NOT step on it or he'll let you have it. Here are some pictures of Ryan and the bugs. Ryan has also taken a liking to some outside bugs - worms actually. With all the rain, there are always plenty in the driveway - I'd say he's touched about half of them so far. Here is one of the lucky ones who got to ride in his car with him - lucky little fella.
In other news, Ryan and I have been checking out preschools for next year. We visited two in the past week and both were great. Ryan had a chance to participate in each class for about a half hour while I observed. All the teachers were great and Ryan had a blast at both. The final choice was made based on the school size and "cirriculum." One of the schools was actually in an old middle school and there were tons of different classes going all the time. This preschool was run more like an acutal school - they stuck to a strict schedule, had a recess time, snack time, and sessions each day that focused on science, math, and reading - to me it seemed a bit much for a 3 year old. So I opted for the other preschool that was a smaller group located in a local church. There are only two classes in the building at a time, and the teachers really seemed to know a lot about the kids, and not just "school" stuff about them - they knew about their families, the child's likes and dislikes, etc. This school also stuck to a schedule, but were more flxible if things didn't get done exactly on time. I also liked that this preschool focused on a new subject every week, but weren't so focused on getting the math, science, and reading part in everyday. I figure if he learns all that stuff in preschool, what will he have left to learn in kindergarten? After all the visits were done, Ryan of course wanted to start going right away - I have to keep reminding him that school doesn't start for a while yet. I'm glad he is so excited though.

Wedding weekend

We attended the wedding of Stefanie and Stephen this weekend back home. It was great to see everyone again and have some adult time. The kids skipped the wedding in order to take naps, but we made sure to get Ryan up in time to get to the reception with us. When we got home from the church, he was out cold, but the minute I said, "do you want to come dancing with us?" he was up in a flash. He literally jumped out of bed and started walking around signing - it was pretty cute. We took a couple of pictures of the family since we were for the most part all dressed up (with the exception of Lauren). Ryan had a great time dancing the night away. He can hardly wait for the next wedding!

Grandpa and Grandma Loken, Uncle Aaron and the family

I also thought I would throw in some pictures from the bachelorette party from two weeks ago. One of our friend's grandpas drove us around in a large school bus - talk about good times!

He is so helpful

Ryan has been asking to help me a lot lately with Lauren so I started thinking about all the ways Ryan has "helped" me since Lauren has been born - I thought I would list them out for your pleasure. Things started out really basic. When Lauren cried, Ryan would say "Mom, Lauren is crying." After a few days, he started taking a more hands on approach and would rub Lauren face and say "it's okay, it's okay, it's okay" (always 3 times) when she would cry. During these times, he was also very helpful in getting burp rags when Lauren spit, and handing me diapers when I was changing her. Unfortunately Ryan's helpfulness came with a price for him as he would usually start gagging at the sight of her puke or dirty diapers - what a trooper. As Lauren got older, he realized he wasn't getting the results he wanted so he started giving her toys to comfort her - what a good big brother. After that got old, he got a bit more creative and started feeding her invisible candy when she cried. I have no idea where he got this, but let's just say Lauren didn't really like the idea. By this time, I think Ryan was running out of ideas so one day while we were taking a walk Lauren started screaming. Ryan tried the old candy bit with no success so he took things into his own hands literally and covered her mouth. He was so proud he finally got her to stop crying that he told me to look. I of course laughed like any good mother and told him that was not a nice thing to do and it has never happened again (so far). The last example of Ryan's help came as we were driving. Lauren was screaming again (I promise she doesn't cry all the time) and Ryan had had just about enough. He gave her a toy, some fake candy, even broke out the "it's okay", but nothing worked. He finally asked me, "Mom, can I hit her?" What a sweet little boy. I guess I should just be happy he asked before he did anything. I obviously said no and he said okay and left it at that. To date, there hasn't been any hitting - let's hope it stays that way.On a sad note, my parents had to put down the family dog, Bailey, yesterday. She was getting old and having some health issues so it was time. Ashley went home to spend the day with her and then they took her to the vet - Ash said it was the worst thing in the world to see, but at least Bailey had someone with her as she passed. I'm sure she is in dog heaven having a blast right now - may she rest in peace. Here are some pictures Ash took on her last day.

Finally some nice weather!

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day and we made sure to make the most of it. We took the kids outside after their naps and pretty much the entire neighborhood was out and about. There were kids running around everywhere - Ryan was in heaven. To top of the good times, our neighbor got out his riding lawn mower and was giving rides around the cul-de-sac. Auntie happened to be driving back to school so she stopped by as well to spend some time with the kids. Let's just say Ryan got plenty of attention. After all the running, we ended up having the neighbors over to grill some steaks and brats and then it was off to bed for the kids. I think everyone was tired after the action packed day. Here are some pictures of the kids from the day.

Hanging out on the deck (this is oneof Ryan's old outfits)

Ryan hiding under the table

Doesn't he remind you of Wilson from Home Improvement?

Cleaning up after a long day

I almost forgot, Lauren is cutting her first tooth. She had been having a couple of rough nights lately - I really didn't think anything of it, then today, I was changing her and saw a little white popping out of her gums. When I saw that, I figured out that the sleeping issues coupled with the constant drooling and messy diapers probably should have tipped me off earlier, but they didn't. I missed Ryan's first tooth signs as well - I guess I didn't get smarter with the second kid - sorry to put you through the misery Lauren. Now that I know what's going on I'll be sure to have the Orajel handy.

Fun little Saturday

We had a fun little family Saturday. The day started out as usual, Ryan wakes up and climbs into bed with us. About 15 minutes later, Lauren is up and ready to see everyone. Notice who is not in this picture - yeah, that's right, me. I lose my spot once the kids get up and daddy is usually still comatose so he is not going anywhere. I get Ryan his morning cocoa and turn on some tunes and everyone is good for about 20 minutes. I use this time to catch up on bills, read some blogs, and grab a bite to eat - a real treat in the morning. Once Lauren gets sick of laying with the boys, she calls out to me with a cute little - "come get me now cry" and the day officially begins. Breakfast is had by all and we figure out what to do with the day.

Trav and Ryan head to the gym for a workout and "school time" (the gym's daycare) while Lauren and I stay home to get some sleep (Lauren) and do some major cleaning (me). By the time the boys are back, Lauren is still sleeping and I'm in the middle of a good Lifetime movie. Unfortunately I have to spend the last half and hour watching through Ryan, Trav, and Lauren (who is awake by now) - luckily the movies on this channel are usually shown about 100 times over and over again so I should be able to catch the ending uninterrupted some other time. After the movie wraps, we grab some lunch and get ready to go back to the gym for some swimming. I think Ryan has forgotten what swimming is when he initially gets in (as shown in the picture below) - he is scared, but overcomes that very quickly once he remembers what he is doing. Trav and I took turns swimming and sitting out with Lauren - a good time was had by all. Ryan used some dumbbells floats and even swam by himself a couple of times. Summer should be a blast once we get to the pool and lake - I can hardly wait.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house and just relaxing - something we all needed after our busy weekend and long week with colds. I hope everyone else had a fun, relaxing Saturday as well.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Why is it that when Trav gets Ryan ready for bed at night, he always throws his dirty clothes on the floor right next to the hamper, or puts them on the dresser? I've been curious about this now for quite a while so I asked him tonight, and he just laughed a little and said, "I don't know if you want to use them again." Really Trav, like I'm going to put dirty underwear on our child for a second day, or let him wear the clothes that he just spent the last hour and a half in at some germ infested playground again - nice try, not going to happen. For future reference, I went ahead and told him to go ahead and put everything in the hamper and that if I need anything, I'll just dig it out - I'll be sure to write about it when that happens. I also asked if he knew where the hamper was (just to be sure) and how to use it. Hopefully I won't need to write about this again.

Onto more important things . . . the kids still both have their colds, although Ryan seems to be doing much better than Lauren. She got this nasty cough today that will last for minutes on end. I feel so bad for her, but I called the doctor today, and they said there is really nothing I can do for her other than comfort her and wait for it to pass - poor thing. We were able to get outside today for a couple of hours and burn off some of Ryan's energy. We walked down to the park after the kids got up from their naps. Ryan had a blast and was even more excited when daddy came and met up with us after work. He even got to help Trav drive the car down the cul-de-sac and into the garage - talk about fun! I have some laundry to finish up and then it is off to bed. Until next time . . .