Lauren turns 7

I wanted to make Lauren's birthday as special as she is. On December 29th, she turned the whooping age of 7. And as I do every year on my kids birthday, I want to write down my thoughts and feelings for her.

Dear Lauren,
The 7 years that you have been in my life have been the most amazing, frustrating, wonderful, stressful, roller coaster ride of my life. You have made me grow as a person like nothing else in this world can. I have known what it is to want an other's comfort above my own. I wish nothing more then for you to have all that life has to offer you. I want your smile to continue to light up rooms as it does now. I want you to never loose that scene of wonder for the world around you that you exhibits on a daily basis. I hope you always want to question the world around you and continue to thirst for knowledge. I want you to drink in the marrow of life and never get your fill. You amaze me. You are such a caring person, a natural nurturer. Both of your brothers light up when you speak to them. I still remember your little hand in mine, your princess dress falling below your feet, and your million wat smile. I can't believe how fast time is flying and all I want is to hold onto you, on to this time in your life, and I want to watch you grow into the person I know you are going to become. I can see her now, she is you, all the wonderful things you are today. And she is you, all the things that you will add and grow and mature into. I love you and I am so proud to be here on this journey with you. You are so loved, more then words can express.

Love Mom

For Lauren's birthday, all she wanted was feathers in her hair :). So we went early in the morning and got her some. She loves them and has let me know that she wants more.


She has been asking for a long time now to come to my work to eat. So on her birthday, we went to McGrath's for her birthday lunch. She had Fish and Chips and loved it when they sang Happy Birthday to her.





She is showing off the ring that Evan got her for her birthday. I love how close they are. They are each other's best friend. I feel lucky to have kids that love to be in each other's company.


She is so pretty, she can even pull of a giant fish on her head and still look so chic.

She also got a pair of her very first high heel shoes, which, I might add, has rarely left her feet since.

While we were there, I had the cooks get a lobster out of the tank so that Lauren and Evan could touch it. I didn't think Evan would, but he surprised me and did.
Later on that day, we all went to Applebee's with Chad's mom for an other birthday dinner.



Lauren loves to be the center of everything. And so, of course, she loved it when they sang to her at Applebee's too.


Some of Lauren's likes at 7 years old are:

Zebra print and bright pink
Make-up
Jewelry
School
Science
Art
Junie B.Jones Books
Evan and Reece
Tangled
Tootsie Rolls and Cotton Candy Ice Cream
Root Beer and Chocolate milk
Kittens
Grandparents
Playing with her best fiend Marley
Her Treehouse
Vampire Diarys

Her dislikes at the age of 7:

fights
tomatos and eggs
time out
reading "10 hour words"
the cold
toy cars
getting her hair combed
the taste of Reece's food
the color orange
glass
rasin bran cereal
Bananas
mornings

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Christmas 2011

It has been a minute since I visited the blogging world. I do want to get back in it. A little less facebook and a little more blogging, since blogging really is a good way to keep a record of what is going on in our family and lives. This Christmas, we were again blessed with anonymous strangers who generously gave to our kids what we couldn't. Chad has been laid off from Hill Air Force Base now since just a month before Reece was born. (Thanks Obama for all of your government set backs..we sure love all of your change). And with things the way they are, it has been difficult to find a job. (again, thank you Obama, for your great recovery plan. I really do feel the difference in our economy since you became commander and chief). And this Christmas, we had three little ones instead of two, although Reece slept through it all. Christmas was fun. It was relaxing this year. We did all our family partys before Christmas, so we didn't have anywhere to go. We opened gifts and let the kids play with their now acquisitions all day long.



These pictures remind me of that part in a Christmas Story on Christmas morning. I could almost hear the narrator saying "We plunged into the cornucopia quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice." Every year I try and control the chaos, but I soon give up. The call of gifts under the tree is to strong, I just have to let them plunge in a destroy.




This is what our living room looked like after the onslaught. It took hours to clean up their Christmas joy. Just when I thought I had it all clean, I would turn around and find something else that they had gotten out to play with. Cleaning up when you have kids is like shoveling the driveway during a blizzard!!



While we were opening up gifts, our kitten, Fat Louie, had a front row seat. She climbed into the Christmas tree and took a nap on the branches. She has been climbing in the tree ever since we had it out.

Lauren and Evan had a great Christmas this year. They spent the rest of the day playing with all their gifts.



I hope everyone out there had a nice Christmas too, and I hope that the new year brings lots of joy and opportunity to our family and yours as well.

Arizona 2011

We recently got the opportunity to go to Arizona for a mini vacation. It was so nice to get away for a little while. We really didn't do much. If haven't heard, Arizona is stupid hot. It was way to hot to do much. All my energy leaked out of me with all the sweat. Crazy stupid hot!! How do people move and live in Arizona?!? Crazy! Anyway, we didn't go to Arizona for the weather. We went there to visit Chad's dad who was doing a convention there that week. Mimi and Pop Pop hadn't had the chance to meet Reece, and besides, we just love any excuse we can come up with to be able to see them again.

So off to Arizona we went. As with the last trip to Arizona, the best part of the drive out there and back. One of these days, we are going to have to camp somewhere along that stretch of high way. It really is awesome. We also got the chance to visit the Hover Dam. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of that.







You can see how hot it was there in Lauren and Evan's faces. I am sure that if we visited Arizona in October or December, we might just love it. But in July, it is just to hot. We did get a chance to visit with Doug and Debbie, which was kind of the whole point of going out there in the first place. We are grateful to them. Without them, we would have never gone to Purto Rico, Catalina, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Antonio, and so many other places, including Arizona. We love them. They were working while we were there, so we didn't get to spend the whole time with them, but we were able to go swimming with them one night and eat dinner with them an other.

Pop Pop meeting Reece for the first time. It was love at first sight.

In the end, whether your in super hot Arizona or some other place, it is always nice to get away from the real world, to take a pause on all your troubles and stresses, and just be. And no matter where I am at, as long as I have my family around me, then I am in Heaven.

Lauren's First day of First Grade

It happened once again. Where did the summer go? Where did my little girl go? I couldn't help but think just how mature Lauren is looking lately. I thought that this year, I wouldn't get all emotional because it is something that I have already been through last year. But I totally got all misty eyed watching her walk in all confident and excited. She is getting so big and I am completely in awe of her on a daily basis. I love my little girl who is rapidly becoming not so little anymore.

Here is Lauren looking oh so chic in her "Back to School" outfit.





I feel so lucky that we live in walking distance from Lauren's school. I am not sure how I would handle putting Lauren on a bus and watching that bus drive away every morning. This is a much better arrangement for me, anyway.



Lauren in front of her school. She won't let me do her hair anymore. She is all about the head band. I might get to talk her into letting me do her hair once in a while, and I think she lets me because she loves me, not because she wants her hair done all fancy.


Lining up with her class. This year, all her friends ended up in other classes. I am not worried though. Lauren has never had any trouble making friends. And it doesn't seem to bother her either. She loves school. Loves it!



I feel so blessed to be able to be a witness of Lauren's life. To watch her navigated all the peaks and valleys of childhood is such a gift to me. I am filled to the brim with bittersweet wonder and I can't help but remember a night not so long ago when I tucked in a two year old version of this amazing little girl of mine. That two year old incantation adamantly declared that she would always love and wear princess dresses everywhere. Now her collection of princess dresses hang in a dark corner of her closet. Every now and then, I catch glimpses of that same two year old princess. She has never left, she has just added layers of personality on top of previous layers. I hope she always hangs on to that little girl princess and I hope she never stops adding layers of beauty on top of layers of beauty to build the young women she will one day become. I love you my little Lauren, and I am so proud of all you are becoming.