Deanna Rose

This weekend the weather was gorgeous (we thought, turned out it was HOOOOOOOTTTTT), so we loaded up the Pilot and headed to Overland Park, to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead (also discussed here). Lauren had been talking about giving the baby goats a bottle for awhile, and who are we to deny a "feed the baby goat a bottle" craving?

Besides goats, we also saw a buffalo, ducks, chickens, prairie dogs, koi fish, bumblebees, butterflies...the list goes on and on.

(The one above is for you, Aunt Jane.)

Finally, the goats. Lauren fed some baby goats a bottle or two (we're really proud of her, those goats are persistent and she manages to hold on to the bottle and fend off other greedy goats once she's selected her favorite...this is probably because she has to play defense with Stella to get out the door).

Lauren was a little grossed out by this adult goat with the long beard. Me, too, kid. Time to wash your hands.

We also visited the Kanza Indian encampment that's located on the Farmstead, which included a pond of bullfrogs (photo above).

Lest you think that I only post perfect photos of my children, or rather photos of my children being perfect, check out the shot below. It's a fairly new thing. Everything we read says that you're not supposed to tell them that it's wrong, it encourages them to continue, blah blah blah. Ugh. So there you have it, my beautiful little girl with her finger up her nose. Welcome to twodom.

End of Summer Randomness

Here are some random photos I snapped recently around our house, out and about, etc. Lauren is pretty obsessed with Sean, and perhaps even more obsessed with "helping." So she was happy as a clam in the photo below to help Sean put together a dining room table we snagged on Craigslist (Burke, circa 1960, if you're wondering).


Sean celebrated his 40th (!) birthday in August, and Lauren was the happiest of anyone about it, for obvious reasons (below). Happy Day cakes for everyone! Or just Lauren, whatever.

Below, witness Lauren and Jack's first fight. Jack mostly sits in the stroller like a normal kid now (instead of using the bar you see to snap in his carseat and ride backwards). Which we thought would be great, because it gives Laur a little more room to ride on the front (not a sanctioned seat, by the way, but it works, so we roll with it). Unfortunately for Laur, however, Jack has long legs, and little control over them, and so he just sits there and kicks her. If Lauren's screams are any indication, constantly. Below, she pretends to ignore him.

And finally, below, Lauren and her umbrella. Or "uhn-a-brella" as she calls it. These are the days when Lauren looks like a child genius: umbrella and rain boots, on a rainy day. But don't be fooled, she still wears the rain boots every day, and if it was up to her she'd carry her umbrella every day, too. Her school, however, does not enjoy our permissiveness and prefers that she not bring this "weapon" with her to school anymore. They didn't say that, it was implied.

There you have it, some end of summer randomness. Some of our favorite things that she's saying lately:

(To a housefly near her cereal bowl): "Walk away, dragonfly!"

(When the sun shade on Jack's car window fell off): "Don't worry mommy, daddy will fix it."

(Negotiating her breakfast menu): "How about candy?" Me: "no, cereal." Laur: "no, candy."

(In an attempt to visit the doctor, where she remembers there being Buzz Lightyear stickers): "My stomach hurts. Need to go to the doctor. My head hurts, too. Need to go to the doctor. Buzz Lightyear sticker."