Ryan had his school Christmas program on Friday, and boy was he excited! He has been practicing his songs at home for the past couple of weeks and has reminded Trav and I (and pretty much everyone else he has talked to lately) that this Friday was the big day, and that they were all invited to watch him. Well, as it turns out, he had a pretty good following. Two grandmas, one grandpa, two parents and two sisters - not a bad turn out for his first school program (and thanks again to the grandparents for taking time out of their busy days to watch - he loved it). Once we all got ready, we headed out to watch the boy do his thing. Here are a couple of clips from the big event (for some reason the videos are off center - not sure why, but you can still see him so I guess that works).
After the great program, Ryan invited us to join him and his classmates for juice and cookies in the school cafeteria. Here is the singer with some of his followers.
Once everyone was good and full, we headed off to Ryan's classroom so he could show everyone pretty much everything in the room . . . the floor mat that he sits on, the board that they use for "writers workshop", his table, his locker, you name it, we saw it! He loved having all the attention focused on him - go figure! Anyway, it was a great day. Ryan did a super job and we were all so proud of him. Can't wait for many more programs in the years to come!
Trav had a quick business trip to Texas today so the kids and I decided to have some fun of our own while he was gone. Since it was freezing (for like the 100th straight day), we had to have all of our fun inside. We made a huge tent, played cars, and just goofed around. To end the fun for the night, the kids decided to have a sleepover in Lauren's room (I like them all close while Trav is away so this worked out perfect). They each got out their sleeping bags and stuffed animals and hit the floor - not exactly my idea of fun, but they love it! Here are a couple of quick pics from the day. You'll notice Ellie is missing in all of them. She is teething right now which translates to lots of sleep in her world - her crib is her best friend at the moment!
Lauren had her 3 year well child exam today and as usual, she was a real trooper! She did a great job of listening and following directions while she had her weight, height, ears, and eyes checked. Her vision is good, her hearing is good, and she is indeed growing like a weed. Here are her stats: weight: 38 lbs; 95%, height: 41 inches; >97%, BMI: 15.8 (normal range). This means she has put on 6 pounds, added 3 1/2 inches to her height, and stayed just about the same for her BMI (15.9 at 2 year) in the past year. At least I know I'm not crazy now when I say she outgrows everything so fast - 3 1/2 inches makes a big difference when you are shopping for kids pants! In comparison to where Ryan was at this age, she takes the lead in both the height and weight categories (they didn't do BMI for him back then). He was 34 pounds, 40 inches - she has a good 4 pounds and 1 inch on him - not bad for the "little sister." After all the routine stuff was done, it was finally time for her shot (she only needed one this time). And in true Lauren fashion, she stayed braved, didn't scream, and just turned her head and a cried a little once the nurse left. She did ask me for a hug and told me she doesn't like doctors anymore, but once she got her sticker, all was good in her world - such a tough little girl!
It has been a while since my last post so there are a few things to catch up on. First, and most exciting is that Lauren is no longer wearing pull-ups for naps or bedtime - yay!!! I started letting her go without one during naps early in the week, and by the end of the week, she wasn't wearing one to bed either. And the best news . . . she hasn't had any accidents. We officially have just one kid in diapers and her days are already numbered (we'll probably start potty training her after the holidays - I wish!). Speaking of Ellie, she has also had a big achievement this past week - her bottom two teeth have finally cut through and we can see little white nubs ready for eating. All she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth - check that off Santa's list! Ryan has been staying busy with school and his upcoming Christmas concert. He has been practicing his songs and his poem and even made a Christmas chain to count down the days until the big show this Friday - we can hardly wait! Other than those exciting things, we haven't been doing much, just trying to stay warm in this frigid weather. We did venture down the street last night to a neighborhood Christmas party. I'm glad the party was just down the road though otherwise I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have made in through the 21 inches of snow that fell over the past couple of days. That is all the news for now. Lauren has her 3 year well child tomorrow so it'll be exciting to see how much she has grown in the last year. I'm guessing it is a lot based on the fact that she seems to outgrow everything I buy her these days! Here are some recent pictures to enjoy.
The other day after nap Lauren is standing in the kitchen by me when she tenses up, looks at me and says, "I got to toot, pull my finger." Such a cute little girl we have! Now, I'm pretty sure I haven't uttered those words in a good 15-20 years so I'm guessing maybe Daddy and Grandpa are the culprits here. Let's hope it was just a passing thought and we won't here it again from the little lady!
The kids and I had some time to kill the other night so I pulled out the camera and started taking pictures. I'm hoping this will be one of the last times I use this camera - my new one is on the way - I can hardly wait! Ellie was quite festive this night - complete with the "Happy Holiday" jammies and the "My 1st Christmas" hat - so much spirit for such a young little girl.
