Just some random snaps of one Ms. Lauren Rebecca Power over the last couple of months. She is talking a lot more, and understands so much. There are moments of frustration when she's trying to communicate and we just don't quite get it, but we're learning Lauren. Her favorite topic of conversation is still Stella. Where is Stella? There is Stella. I see Stella! Stella, back. Stella, no. Stella, not nice. Stella is sitting. That kind of stuff. There are very sweet tender moments between Lauren and Stella, like when Lauren lays down with her on the floor, or walks over to give her a kiss. Then Lauren throws a sippy cup at Stella's head, pulls her tails or ears, hits her for no apparent reason...we're working on it. To Stella's credit, she just takes it.
Weekend activities continue to be a challenge. We love spending so much time with Lauren, but if we're being honest sometimes we run out of things to do and it becomes a struggle. It doesn't help that she's been waking up at least once during the night and then for good in the morning between 5 and 6. The pictures above and below are from one of our weekend attempts to both do something fun and ensure a long afternoon nap. There's this place called Monkey Business about fifteen minutes away, and it's basically just a bunch of jungle gyms and things for the kiddos to climb on. Oh, and there's a coffee shop for the moms and dads. Not bad. Lauren loved it. Unfortunately, she became so proficient that she taught herself the skills necessary to crawl out of her crib (see photo above). So far she's only done it once at home, but our crib days might be drawing to a close (which we wouldn't complain about, we've got another monkey coming in right behind her, you know).
The picture below is a photo I snapped before we took her to school the day of her Xmas program. This was the day that Sean and I looked at each other and realized that we no longer had a baby, and instead had a little girl. Which is soooooo cliche, I know that, but seriously, that's a little girl there, and it happened overnight (more cliches).
The photo below kind of sums up Lauren. Part of her is only a year old (binky, playing around on a little ladybug scooter) and the other part of her is around 20 (skinny jeans, that "I've had about enough of you, Mom" look). She continues to be our serious baby a lot of the time, but has started to be really playful, too. She loves to be chased around the kitchen island, to have Sean spin her around until she's so dizzy she can't stand up, and to run away giggling when it's time to put her coat on. She likes to talk about "Mama's baby" and is very curious about the whole thing. At the end of the day she goes from her regular room into the baby room for the last 15 minutes or so and her teacher tells me that she's wonderful with the little babies and is going to be a great help when our baby comes. Fingers crossed. We're trying to soak up this last little bit of Lauren only time before our lives really change forever. Again.
