This baby has attitude!

So Lauren has been having severe attitude issues these past few days. At first I thought it was just her adjusting to being back home after a long weekend, but now after two days, I'm starting to think it is something else, but what? On Sunday Lauren had a bit of a rash on her back/shoulders which I assumed was probably just a heat rash - maybe that's why she is so crazy, but then it goes away. Does the attitude go with it? Of course not. Next she starts drooling and biting on things and has a bit of a diaper rash - now I know what's going on, she is cutting a tooth. Simple enough, a little orajel and some Tylenol and she'll be good - not so much. After all that, Lauren also gets a scratchy voice (which is super adorable to hear by the way) and I assume it is because we've been running the air conditioner the past few days and because she has spent the last few days screaming at the top of her lungs, who's throat wouldn't be sore. Now it is Tuesday night and we've had another rough day - no naps, lots of screaming, more of that crazy rash (which looks worse by the way), and one super cranky babe - god please make it stop! Luckily Lauren finally crashed - she was out cold at 6:30pm - no crying, no fussing, nothing, just a peaceful little sleeping baby - I'm so HAPPY! Please let her wake up rash free, smiling, and just back to her normal self - we'll see.

Look how peaceful she looks

4th of July

We had a very busy and very long 4th of July celebration. The kids and I went back to my parent's place on Tuesday to spend time with Aunite and Grandma and Grandpa. Aaron, Ann, and Trav joined in on the fun on Thursday - it was a full house. We did a lot of swimming with the warm weather. Lauren of course loved it and could hardly wait to get in everyday. Ryan took a little more time to warm up to the water, but once he was in, he usually did a good job. We even discovered Ryan could touch in the shallow end this year which was nice because that means someone doesn't have to hold him all the time. Besides swimming, we also participated in a few of the 4th of July events offered by the city. We took the kids to the parade on Friday morning. Ryan and Grandpa sat on the curb with hopes of getting a little candy. About five minutes into the parade he had a good pile of candy, by the end, he had a bag stuffed full. Luckily everyone at the house helped him eat it so he shouldn't have too many cavities. After the parade we headed back home and just hung out for the remainder of the day. We ended the 4th watching fireworks from Grandpa and Grandma's backyard while we had a bonfire. It was a very long day, but Ryan really seemed to enjoy it which makes it all worthwhile. On Saturday the adults got to have some fun, well, everyone but Grandma and Grandpa who volunteered to stay with the kids. The rest of us headed out to a friend's 30th birthday party and then downtown for the all school reunion street dance - a good time was had by all. With so much action this weekend, I decided to do a slide show to show some of the fun we had - enjoy!

He asked, she said YES!

It's been an exciting weekend for the Loken household - my big brother is finally getting married! I must admit, I used to wonder if this day would ever happen, but now I realize Aaron was just taking his time to make sure he found the right, no, the perfect woman - Ann - to spend the rest of his life with. I/we (I'll go ahead and speak for my entire family) are so happy for both of the them.

To Ann: from what I know so far, Loken men are a handful - have fun!

Congrats Aaron and Ann!

Is it too soon to ask when we will hear the pitter patter of little feet?

Fun Friday

We were supposed to go to another event hosted by the city today - create your own bugs and butterflies, but Ryan wasn't too interested in making his own bugs or butterflies - apparently he was all crafted out. So instead, we made up our own Fun Friday full of little activities to keep us busy. We started the morning off with a little four wheel ride down to the mailbox to check for any goodies - no luck, just junk mail.

After a little more four wheeling, we changed things up and decided to do some "road racing." We didn't actually want to run on the real road so we drew one on the driveway with some chalk and raced until we were both tired and thirsty. Ryan of course won all the races - he had his Lighting McQueen shoes on so he was super fast!

After a quick drink, Ryan moved onto another one of his favorite outdoor activities, peeing on the bushes. I swear he'll force himself to pee whenever he is outside just because he thinks it is so cool - whatever works, it is actually easier then having to run into the house anyway. Luckily most of our neighbors have witnessed him doing this already so they are not shocked by the sight anymore.

When Ryan was finally tuckered out, we went in and had lunch just as Lauren was waking up from her nap. After lunch, Ryan went down for his nap, and I took Lauren downstairs to do her favorite thing as of late . . . rub her hands in the beautiful carpet - see how happy she is! Oh to enjoy the simple things in life.
Now it looks like the rain is coming in so I'm glad we got outside for a while already. It has been tough getting out the past couple of days with the super hot and humid weather so Ryan really needed to get out and burn off some energy. Until next Friday . . .

"I don't want a shot"

Ryan had his 3 year well-child exam this past week and it was a memorable experience, and not in a good way. Ryan has never been a fan of the doctor, but I was totally unprepared for his reaction. We bought him a toy doctor kit a few years ago and have played doctor countless times in preparation for his next visit. During our play doctor time, we check each other's blood pressure, use the stethoscope to listen to our hearts, and even give shots and cover them with a band-aid to make it feel better - he loves it. Now, I know that playing doctor and actually going to the doctor are two very different things, but I still thought it would help and keep him more calm then he usually is - not so much. To top it off, he has been to the doctor so many times for Lauren's check-ups and is always very good and loves to see what the doctor is doing. When Lauren gets her shots, he is always right there telling to stop crying, it's okay - too bad this didn't hold true for him. From the moment I told him he was going to the doctor, he just kept saying, "I don't want a shot." I just tried to ignore that statement and told him we had to go and see what the doctor said. The appointment started with some simple test - a fun eye exam which he actually did good with, a hearing exam which he never actually got to do because he screamed every time the nurse tried to put earphones on him, and a quick check of his blood pressure during which he did fine until the armband got too tight and he freaked out - and that was just the easy stuff! When he nurse was finished, she pulled out a little hospital gown and told me to strip Ryan down to his undies and put it on - simple enough, but not this day. As I was trying to take off his shirt, he screamed, kicked, and just plain had a fit - at that point, I decided the doctor is going to have to work around his clothes because I'm not dealing with this. Here comes the doctor and here comes psycho Ryan. He was good talking to the doctor, but the minute she tried to check his heart with the stethoscope, he just flipped out. The only way the doctor could get anything done was to have me hold Ryan down while she did what she needed to do. It was no more then five minutes, but it was pure hell. With that done, Ryan just kept asking, "can we go home now?" Unfortunately the real bad stuff was yet to come - the shot. So we sat there and waited for the nurse to come back in, and when she did, Ryan knew what was coming and was having none of it. He tried to run, but I grabbed him and we managed to get him on the table and got the deed done as quick as possible. Now his screams were coupled with tears and I actually felt bad for him, but I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Once he calmed down enough, we made our way to the hall where a nurse saw him and said, "oh no, did you get a shot?" I know she was just trying to be nice, but it set Ryan off again and he started crying and saying, "it hurt real bad" while grabbing his leg and limping down the hall - what a little drama queen. I was so happy to get out of that place and have Ryan go back to his normal none-psycho self when we got home. Thank god we don't have to go back for an entire year. Maybe by then he'll change his ways.

Here are his stats: Weight 34.1 lbs, 75% Height 40 inches, 94%

He put on 4 whole pounds since his 2 year exam - most people can put on 4 pounds in one week and it takes him a whole year! He also grew 4 inches during the year, the same amount he grew from his first year to his second year. If he keeps growing at this rate, he should be well over 7 feet by the time he is 16 - I'm crossing my fingers that that doesn't happen!

To my lovely sister . . .

I had a brief, but very insightful conversation with my sister this morning. For those of you who visit the blog frequently, you may have noticed some changes in the last few days. I was so proud of the fact that I figured out how to change the layout and background that I called up the one person I knew who would be super supportive and excited as well, my little sis, Ashley. Turns out I was wrong. When I called, I tried to play it off just like any other call I make to her, but about two minutes into the conversation I asked if she had checked out the blog lately - her answer "no." I was a little bummed, but figured I was just tell her about some of the changes I made so she would want to get right off the phone and go check it out. Turns out I was wrong again, she basically called me a blogging nerd! She didn't stop there either, she went on to tell me that she might actually be embarrassed to tell people I was her sister! You can imagine my heartbreak at hearing these devastating words of non-encouragement. All of my hard work and dedication to this blog only to be called a nerd. After I hung up, I started thinking, maybe I am becoming too involved with this blog. What if someday I start ignoring my family and friends just to find the newest widget (blog tool) or latest background? Then I thought back to last night when I was out with some girlfriends. It had been a while since I had seen them so they asked what I was up to. I told them about my days as a stay-at-home mother and all the amazing things that my kids have been doing - usual mom talk. Then my friend asked what I would have been doing if I hadn't come out tonight . . . my response, "probably working on my blog!" That is when I realized it, oh my god, I am a blog nerd!

Thanks for the insight Ash.

He rides!

Ryan's hard work has finally paid off - he can pedal! It may seem like a minor accomplishment, but he has been trying so hard the past few weeks, and once he finally figured it out, he was so proud of himself (as were we). Now he can ride all the way to the end of the street and back without help. The other night he had to "rest" a few times on the street as he must have pedaled down and back about 10 times. He was also very surprised when he took off his bike helmet and felt his wet head. He asked me why his head was wet and I told him it was because he was working so hard - his reply, "yeah, my big muscles make my head wet." Not exactly, but he thought it was pretty cool. My back thanks Ryan for finally figuring it out - having to constantly bend over and push him was getting old.

Lauren of course was her usual self sitting in her stroller and watching Ryan. Apparently she wasn't too interested in his accomplishment as you can tell from the picture below - toe sucking is a talent too isn't it? Ryan is going to have to start trying harder if he wants Lauren to continue to watch his every move.

I would snap in half if I tried this!