Lauren and her big girl bed

Lauren has been asking for several weeks now to have a big girl bed “like Alex’s”. So this weekend, we turned her crib into a toddler bed. We took out the changing table, put some Strawberry Shortcake sheets on her bed and let her see her new room. She was thrilled. Beyond thrilled. She didn’t want to get out of bed to go to a friend’s party and that night, she couldn’t wait to get into bed. Normally, she wants me to rock her for a few minutes but since the new bed, she looks at me and says, “No rock, me sleep new bed.” So it’s going well though naps are still a struggle in the new bed but we’ll get there. However, last night I went to check on her before I went to bed and she wasn’t there. I slightly freaked and then looked around and found her sleeping UNDER the bed. Here’s a picture of that too. She was peacefully sleeping under her new bed. We’ll see if she ends up there again soon!

Lauren is 2!

Our little girl is the big 2! We had a great day on Saturday with her. Her dad took her to the zoo for a couple of hours (special daddy-daughter time). And we went to the park, flew kites for the first time, and had a bib on our deck with just the 4 of us. Alex made her cupcakes (with mom’s help) so the kids demolished those as well. We had a very great day and it’s really hard to believe that she’s 2 already. Time just flies.

We love that warmer weather has arrived! We’ve been spending lots of time at parks (almost every day), done some bike rides (Alex is getting to be a pro at biking and Lauren loves riding in our bike trailer), and playing outside all the time. This past weekend, we even had our first day at Nana and Grandpa’s house and enjoyed a long boat ride (both kids actually like it this year – hallelujah) and Alex and Lauren both enjoyed some fishing with Dad – nothing was caught, but I know next time, they’ll get the big one! Both kids are absolutely hilarious right now. Though as I’m writing this, it’s the end of a not-so-good day with both kids fighting nonstop, both kids overly tired which makes them overly emotional, and a day that seemed way too long. However, most of the time, they are an absolute blast and so loving and funny. They are so good to each other (again, most of the time) and so fun to watch. Some funny things that the kids have said lately…
Alex: The other day we were on our way to go and pick up Lauren, who had spent the night at Nana and Grandpa’s. On the way there, Alex said, “Mom, my feet are trying to tell me something. They are trying to tell me that I need Lauren back so hurry up and get her.” Apparently he missed her, including his feet!
Alex: He’s starting to try to do more things all by himself, like put on his shoes for example. And he gets so excited when he’s successful and then he’ll look at us and say, “Aren’t you so proud of me?” with the biggest smile you have ever seen.
Alex: One day last week, I was hanging out with him and we were having a great time together. Then, he all of a sudden looked at me and said, “Mom, I’m going to call you Dad.” And I was asked, “Why?” And he exclaimed, “Because you’re the best!” WHAT?????
Alex: Last week he said, “Mom, I’m not even a boy yet, I’m just growing so slow.” He was so disappointed.
Alex: Alex just got a big haircut – his first buzz ever. They used the clippers this time, not the scissors like all of his other haircuts. And when we were in the car on the way home, Alex was shaking his head and looked at me and said, “Mom, I can’t shake my hair anymore!!!!” But he looks adorable.
Lauren: She is a pistol lately, alternating between hilarious, charming, manipulative, and a diva. The other day she said, “I Princess.” She’s obsessed with princesses and she thinks she is one of them as well. Can only imagine how life will be when she is 13.
Lauren: She is so loving. She always runs up and will hug your legs tightly and look up with her big blue eyes and say, “I love you mama.” Or dada or whoever she is hugging. And now lately, she’s been walking up to Alex with her arms wide open and saying, “Hug Alex.” He just beams and gives her a huge hug and then he always runs to us to tell us that Lauren hugged him. It’s precious.

ECFE

This past week was Alex’s last ECFE class ever. For those of you who don’t know, ECFE is Early Childhood Family Education classes that Alex and I have been doing together since he was 7 months old. This past school year, Alex had it twice a week and Lauren had it once a week. It has been a great experience; he has learned a ton and met some very wonderful friends. And he’s heading to preschool with a couple of them next year so that makes mom happy about the transition! Of course, I forgot my camera for Lauren’s last day (sad), but she will have it next year so I guess I’ll capture it then. But here are some pictures of Alex on his last day ever.

Nickelodeon Universe Again

Another trip to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America for Alex and me – he just loves that place and he’s fearless when it comes to all the rides! However, this time we went with his friends from school (ECFE) and he had a blast! Come to think of it, so did I! We love spending time with this group of friends. Lucky for me, I adore their moms as much as Alex adores the kids!

Mother's Day 2009

Well for Mother’s Day, we ended up heading to Des Moines last minute to surprise my mom. Or from the kids’ perspective – we surprised Gaga. Uncle Mike flew in from California (Alex wondered where his jeep was and why he didn’t bring it on the plane) and Aunt Kristin headed home as well. My mom was incredibly surprised and she told Alex that it was her best Mother’s Day ever so I guess we did our job. Amazingly enough, it was my best Mother’s Day ever as well. I love when my whole family is together, which unfortunately does not happen enough. And it was a gorgeous day, so we were able to spend it outside with the kids. And my grandma headed over to my mom’s house too so she was even more surprised when she saw all of us. And it was good for the kids to see their GG (as Great-Grandma Betty likes to be called) as well. We had a fantastic weekend. And we were able to get some family pictures taken as well, another surprise we had in store for my mom as she has previously complained that she doesn’t have any pictures of all of us together and she really doesn’t. So, that turned out good too! Hope all the rest of you moms had a great day too!!