catching up and TONS of pics

Yay! My camera software is re-installed, so now I can upload a bunch of the pictures I've taken in the past few weeks.  Since I use this blog to record things for our family, this post is going to be a "catch up" one....which means lots of pictures and probably a good bit of randomness! :)

First of all, in the past month or so, Lauren has not been wanting to get in her crib at night or for naps.  We had thought about converting it to a toddler bed, but I liked the fact that she couldn't get out of the crib on her own, and she sleeps until 8:30 or so every morning.

However, I realized that I was being selfish when Lauren wanted to nap on her Dora couch.  Jason pulled it into her room and we made it into a bed and sure enough...she slept there for her whole nap.  This happened for about a week before I realized it was time for a big girl bed.

We would love for her to have a twin bed, but we agreed to wait to make any big furniture purchases until we know whether we are staying in KY or moving.  So for now, I asked Jason to just convert her crib.  I went to Walmart and bought a little guard rail to keep her from falling out (thanks, Kelli!) and just used the quilt and pillow that I had bought to match her crib bedding.  

On Sunday night, we unveiled the big girl bed, after talking it up all day.  Lauren was super excited, to say the least!  She was so thrilled to be able to climb up into it by herself! 

In fact, she was so excited about her bed and getting all her dolls and flashlights in the bed, that she forgot about asking for a "papi" (paci).  We prayed with her and gave her kisses and left the room for her to go to sleep. 

I couldn't believe it!  She forgot about the paci?! 

For 5 minutes, maybe!  Then on the baby monitor I hear, Mommy?  My papi, please! 

So I came in her room to talk to her about pacis.   I said, "Lauren, now that you are 2 and have a big girl bed, you don't need a paci anymore.  They are really for babies and you are a big girl."  Lauren says "baby pacis?" 

"Yes, Lauren, pacis are for babies and you are a big girl."

 

(Then I have a stroke of genius. I know how much Lauren LOVES babies and she always likes to give them a paci when they are crying)

So I tell her, "we gave your pacis to all the little babies that were crying and now they are happy."  Lauren says "babies happy?"  And she stops crying to think about this. 

I tell her goodnight again and close the door. 

She sniffles and whines a little bit.  Within 15 minutes, she is asleep!

The same thing happens the next day at naptime.  She asks for her "papi" and I remind her that we gave all her pacis to the little babies that needed them.

And with that little lie, those pacis were forgotten. 

I feel sort of guilty for telling Lauren that fib, but maybe she will forgive me when she is old enough to understand!

As a prize for being such a big girl, I pulled out this bag of plastic balls that I had found recently on clearance at Target.  I put them in her inflatable pool in the living room.

Lauren was soooooo excited!  Literally, she played in that pool for about an hour.  I gave her a big plastic bowl and soup ladle and she would scoop the balls into the bowl and then present me with "soup."  It was hilarious!

The only down side to the pacis being gone and the big girl bed........ Lauren now wakes up at 6:00am and comes into my room to wake ME up!! She stands next to my bed and says "Hi, Mommy!!"  (Did I mention I am NOT a morning person?!)

One day last week, Jason came home from work with a 10 pound box of blueberries that one of their customers had brought him.  Thankfully, he had shared with some of the other guys at work, so we only ended up with about 6 pounds! 

Lauren ate blueberries for days! :)  She loves them!

She also loves chocolate pudding, and I have to remove her shirt while she eats it to keep her clothes from being ruined!

Anyway, with all those blueberries left over, I decided to try my hand at making some blueberry jelly for the first time. 

It actually turned out pretty well.  But canning is a lot of work!  Goodness!!

These are just random pictures of Lauren on the couch in her new shirt and matching sandals I bought on major clearance at Crazy 8.  I had never shopped there before, but they had HUGE red "clearance" signs in the store windows when I walked past, so Lauren and I went in to check it out.

Lauren was ECSTATIC because they had a tv and a little bench and "Word World" was on!  So she sat happily and watched WW while I shopped. 

Jason had to go out of town for a work trip and so Lauren and I tagged along.  His trip happen to be to his old plant back in TN, so we got a hotel in Athens (it had an indoor pool!) and Lauren and I went swimming while Jason worked on Friday.

On Saturday, we went over to the Amish Farmer's Market in Delano.  (we used to go once every few weeks when we lived there)  We bought TONS of cucumbers and some canteloupe and a yellow watermelon.  Best watermelon ever!

We made pickles from all the cucumbers when we got home and they are Yum-O!

These are the sunflower fields in the Amish community in Delano.

It is so beautiful there!  I love taking Lauren and letting her see all the fruits and vegetables (she was busy telling me what color they all were) and she also loves to see the horse and buggies (she calls the horses "yee haws")

I could totally be Amish if it was not for

the whole "no electricity=no air conditioning thing....)

We also made a couple of trips over to Russellville to visit my mom and Royce.

Lauren LOVES their piano!!

Here she is singing "Row Row Row Your Boat"

Future Mozart?  Maybe so!

She sleeps so well after these trips, I think they wear her out! :)

She's a little angel...while she's asleep! :)

She also LOVES to climb into boxes and laundry baskets. 

Special Delivery!

One day, Lauren put her Dora couch on our regular couch and then climbed up there to watch tv!

I love her little pony tail!!

Cheeks full of grapes!!!

She's so silly!

And this is Katelyn, (or "Baby Kate" as Lauren calls her) the little girl I babysit.  She and Lauren and are good friends, and it cracks me up that Katelyn is such a diva.  When she saw this little purse of Lauren's, she knew just what to do with it!  She walked around with it on her arm all day! :)

Well, summer is over for us, and it's back to babysitting everyday and getting into a routine again!!

Maybe Lauren's hair will get into a routine, 'cause right now, it's kind of a mullet!!

And these last pictures are so sweet to me....

I put Lauren down for a nap yesterday and when I went to check on her,

she had her little boy and girl baby doll tucked in next to her side.

 (they were no where to be seen when I covered her up for her nap)

She's such a good little mama! :)

And, yes, she sleeps with those flashlights! :)