If you haven’t heard by now, we’re expecting again! Baby #2 is due March 28th and so far it has been an uneventful pregnancy. I’ve been feeling good, just tired, and this past week I’ve been feeling definite kicks and movement of the baby. The ultrasound is Friday so we are looking forward to seeing the little one and we’ve decided to keep the gender a surprise again. Lauren will occasionally ask if there is a baby in my tummy and pat my growing belly, but she has no clue what she is in for- hopefully she loves a brother or sister as much as she loves her baby dolls!
Lauren had a fun Halloween- although she told her daycare teachers that she was going to be a dinosaur, she didn’t seem to mind her Snow White dress. She was very excited about all the candy but has mostly forgotten about her stash… we’ve found that a couple peanut butter cups before bedtime does not help her settle down to go to sleep!
May has been a kind of a slow month for us- we’re just enjoying the nice weather, going out on our rollerblades, getting the yard cleaned up… basically just relaxing before the craziness of summer begins! We’ve also spent an afternoon at Canterbury, visited the zoo, and spent a weekend in St. Cloud where Lauren had a fun time playing with cousin Annie.
It’s hard to believe that Lauren will be 2 in just a month! She loves to sing and, with a little help, can get through the ABCs and counting to 10 (we hear the number 5 a few extra times). We’re a little slower with colors- everything is “blue” or “orange” right now. She plays hard at daycare and comes home with sand everywhere which has moved bath night to almost every night. And just like her mom and Bumpa, Lauren loves her chocolate!
This past month has been pretty quiet and uneventful so we’ve been tucked in at home staying warm! The weather was really nice over the weekend, but Lauren has a terrible cold/cough so unfortunately we weren’t outside enjoying it. Grandma Mary has been down a couple times and Lauren always loves her visits- and hates to say goodbye!
Lauren is becoming more independent every day and we can see her little mind working to process all the new things she learns. She loves to read out loud to herself and can sing along to a few songs. We still have frequent communication breakdowns as she just can’t get the words out that she needs to say. And where she used to say “yeah!” to everything we asked her, Lauren now runs around repeating “no, no, no, no!”. Our patience and parenting skills are definitely being challenged several times a day!
The poem I wrote to her on her Valentine for daycare follows:
Your smile is contagious; you’re smart and funny, too.
You may throw a lot of tantrums, but we always love you!
What a wonderful holiday season we had with our families! We spent Christmas in Grafton and it was great to see my brothers, mom and dad, and lots of extended family. Lauren especially had fun with my cousins’ kids and loved being part of the gang. She received a harmonica from her uncles that she learned to play very quickly- I think she’s inherited the same musical genes!
After a brief stop back at home for a few days, we headed north to the cabin for New Years with the Kecks. It was beautiful with lots of fresh snow and between sledding and snowmobiling, we got to enjoy it! Lauren thought sledding was pretty fun until we wiped out on the sled a few times- she did enjoy a slower ride with Erin and Annie. She loves to hold Annie, kiss Annie, and play with all of Annie’s toys. We got a preview into the “mine” stage and realize we need to start stressing “share” more!
As much as we love going home for the holidays, it is nice to be back at our home and settling into routine again- Lauren was very excited to get back to daycare and to see her friends. It was a little harder for me to get excited about working a full week again, but I’m managing okay :)
Wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year!
We had a fun Halloween and although Lauren didn’t really understand trick-or-treating, she sure liked her kitty costume after several dress rehearsals! She didn’t want to wear her costume at daycare, but seeing all of her friends in their costumes must have gotten her excited to wear it for the night. We had our friends, the Klabos, staying with us for the weekend- we all ventured out for trick-or-treating in the cul-de-sac and then at the mall. Lauren would hold a piece of candy until the next stop and then try to trade that one for another piece… she didn’t understand that it was all hers to keep!
