Sunday at Powell Gardens

This 4th of July weekend, as most if not all since we moved into this house, was unseasonably tolerable, weather-wise. Saturday was still mind-numblingly hot, so off Sean and Lauren headed to the pool, while Jack and I went to a friend's house to stay cool (Jack inherited Irish skin from his father and breaks out in a heat rash every time he's out of A/C).

But then Sunday morning, rain, and a heat break. Off we headed to Powell Gardens, a botanical garden about 40 miles outside of Kansas City, for their Jurassic exhibit.

I should note first that really this is a post for our new Power Family blog, but as Sean and I have yet to come up with an awesome name, such Power Family blog does not yet exist. But it will. In the meantime, let's be honest, even with a new baby in the house it's still all about Lauren. So her blog gets the post. Also, I forgot my camera for this adventure (insert gasp from Aunt Jane, on behalf of both herself and my mother), so these were taken with my phone. Apologies for the photo quality, but what would we do without camera phones?!?

First, a stop at You Say Tomato for brunch. You need lots of energy to spot dinosaurs.

Lauren attracts quite a bit of attention with her green rain boots. Some of you might be thinking, "smart girl! It's raining!" But you would be ignoring the fact that she's worn them for three months straight, rain or shine. This is her second pair, she literally wore the soles off of the first pair. Here, Sean and Lauren head back to the car...Lauren insisted on carrying her own 'brella:

Baby Jack arrives at Powell Gardens.

Sean and Lauren spot a dinosaur. Pretty sure it's a T-Rex. Also pretty sure that 1) Lauren thought they were real and 2) she obviously doesn't understand the ferocity of a T-Rex, as she asked to "pet him."

Honestly, water features were just as good as dinosaurs.

Waiting for the trolley...in case you can't tell, Lauren is in full meltdown mode.

They also had this cool harvest garden exhibit, and of course it included Lauren's favorite fruit: apples. Not necessarily to eat, although she like them, more just her favorite fruit to spot out and about.

Today for the 4th we drove around a bit, hit Home Depot, made pizzas...you know, the typical 4th of July traditions. Currently our neighborhood is celebrating the 4th in true Westside style...there are a billion fireworks shows all across the horizon, and our neighbors on either side are putting on quite a show of their own as well. Our street is packed with partygoers and Sean and I realize that we've gotten old, or gotten old enough to have children, rather, as we wonder aloud when is an appropriate time to throw open the windows and yell "enough already! We have children sleeping in here!" as quarter sticks of dynamite explode outside Jack's room. So far we have exercised great restraint.

Hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and everyone still has their fingers and eyeballs. And now off to bed to the sounds of Chinese-manufactured explosives....

Lauren is a Big Sister!

Not to detract from Lauren's blog, but of course it wouldn't be fair if we didn't do the same for baby brother Jack (affectionately referred to as "Baby Jack" around our house). You can check out photos and info about Jack at http://www.jackclaytonpower.blogspot.com/.

We'll keep a separate blog for Jack for the next two years (or at least that's the plan), and we'll probably transition to a Power Family blog soon and eventually after Jack turns 2 all of our posts will be there.

Lauren is an AMAZING big sister. She's very gentle with Jack, doesn't touch his face or hands (sorry, we're practical. Lauren is at daycare, otherwise known as Germ City), and gives him sweet kisses on the back of the head. When he cries she demands "Mama, pick him up!" Things are going really well considering the fact that I still can't pick Lauren up. In fact, they're currently napping together (OK, in the same room, Jack's in a bassinet). Bliss.

Enjoy Jack's blog!

Lauren is 2!!!

Lauren turned two years old on May 4th! It was a weekday, so she went to school like any other day, and wore her birthday crown of course. There was some extra excitement since I was due just two days later, and the possibility that she would share her birthday with who we now know as Baby Jack. So we weren't sure if we'd actually celebrate her birthday on her actual birthday, because I didn't want her birthday celebration to be cut short because I was in the hospital.

But the morning of May 4th came, and I just knew that there was no chance that the baby was coming, so on we went with the celebration. Lauren's BFF Ada had recently celebrated her 2nd birthday, so Lauren was very confused when we kept telling her that it was her birthday and asking "Happy Day Ada?" I'm still not sure if she understood that it was her own "happy day."

Below, Lauren on her way to school dressed in her birthday crown, wearing her yellow rain boots (no, it wasn't raining, and no, she hasn't worn any other shoes in over a month) and carrying "turtle" (for those of you who are wondering, turtle is a sprinkler head that we bought because we thought Lauren would enjoy it this summer. Instead, Lauren refuses to put it down and even sleeps with the hard piece of plastic).



Around 3 o'clock, their snack time at school, Sean and I headed to school with a couple dozen cupcakes (Lauren calls them "happy day cakes"). Lauren seemed a little confused as to why everyone was singing to her and looking at her, and was actually pretty shy about it, which surprised us.

She was pretty happy to shove that cupcake down her throat, though.

We had planned to celebrate Lauren's birthday with our families the weekend before my due date, the last weekend in April, but we were kind of behind in getting everything together at our house, so we postponed and planned on having the party three weeks later, when, we assumed, the baby would be a couple of weeks old. However, Baby Jack's late arrival meant that the day we planned for the party was the day that we came home from the hospital. But all of our family was here anyway, and so Sean went out and picked up another round of cupcakes, and we held a somewhat impromptu ("somewhat" impromptu because we had planned to have it that day, but I hadn't considered that I might have arrived home from the hospital just hours before the party) birthday party for Lauren. She loved it.

Above, opening presents.

More Happy Day cake!

We had a great birthday celebration, and Sean and I were just as shocked at her second birthday that we'd kept her alive this long as we were at her first. I have to say, two is the absolute best age so far. We're huge fans. Lauren is talking up a storm and is so much fun to be around. We love our Laur Laur.

Swimming Lessons, Round 2

We enrolled Lauren in her second round of swimming lessons (she took her first round this time last spring when she was around a year old). If possible she loves it even more this year than she did last year. She looks forward to visiting the turtle (below) and then cries when she has to leave the turtle. There are long, tearful goodbyes. "Bye turtle..." (sob, sob) "see you later, turtle" (panicked breathing as she looks over her shoulder and waves goodbye).

We just have a few lessons left, and I think we'll all miss them, but we're looking forward to some serious pool time this summer.

She is the most amazing kicker you've ever seen. I know I'm partial, but seriously, the best kicker in the class. Hands down. Flutter, of course. Which is good because she'll be a backstroker or freestyler all the way, it's a no-brainer.

Look how happy she is. And look how happy Sean is. He told me it's his favorite hour of the week. What a dad.

Even though this photo is terrible I had to include it. At the end of each class they get to take a trip down the slide. Lauren loves it, and always requests another turn, but if I had to judge from only her face I would say she finds it terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.

Easter 2011

Chalk Easter up as one of those holidays that is infinitely more fun to celebrate when you have a kid. I don't think we did anything special last year, Lauren was probably too young to be into it, but this year was different. She had an Easter egg hunt at school and then it was on. All she could talk about was "I find eggs!" So on Easter Sunday we gave her a small Easter basket, then while she and Aunt Arie took a nap (take note: Aunt Arie is the nap whisperer) Sean and I filled eggs and hid them, and as soon as she woke up we had an Easter egg hunt. Also on the agenda: dyeing Easter eggs.

The Easter Bunny brought Lauren an Elmo DVD. He's very hip like that.

Things started out well: look at her wield that egg retriever!

But let's be honest, even Aunt Arie doesn't know how to use that thing and she's 30. So Lauren went straight to retrieving eggs from dye with her hands.

And then panicked because she hates to have messy hands. I, much like my mom and Aunt Jane, cared more about the shot than helping my poor helpless daughter.

Some of the finished product.

Don't let her tentative face fool you, she knew exactly what she was doing.

We had great weather, and a great Easter egg hunter. She announced to everyone she saw for several days "I find eggs!" I'm already excited for Easter next year.

Portland

I'm making up for not posting enough lately by posting a ridiculous amount of photos. We just got back from a nice little trip to Portland. Sean was out on the West Coast working for the week, so Lauren and I hopped on a plane on Friday and joined him in Portland for a long weekend. Our last family trip before we are officially a family of four. I'd never been to Portland, but Sean had been telling me for a long time that I would love it, and I did. Great city, amazing food, cool neighborhoods...I highly recommend. Most of the trip revolved around eating (I'm pregnant, y'all), but we also managed to hit the Portland Zoo, Multnomah Falls (Lauren BAWLED when we finally pulled her away) and do lots of shopping.

Lauren's favorite part, besides the waterfalls, was the goldfish they put in our room (the real kind, not the crackers) and pushing the elevator buttons. Oh, and it was a dog friendly hotel, so every trip to the lobby was an adventure. We learned that not everyone appreciates a toddler running up to their dog squealing. Who knew?

I was told we had to go to Voodoo Doughnuts, this little hole in the wall doughnut shop downtown. It was pretty funny, and of course I had to get the voodoo doughnut (see below). I should have named it "Lauren" after the temper tantrum she threw outside the store because she wanted to eat the doughnut immediately. Trust me, a throw yourself down on the sidewalk and pound it with fists and feet screaming tantrum is not pretty on a downtown city sidewalk when it's raining.

Above, a serene Lauren at breakfast at Bijou Cafe before the meltdown at Voodoo Doughnuts. She'd just had pancakes for Pete's sake!

Above and below is Bridal Veil Falls...there was this scenic highway that took you right by six or more waterfalls...absolutely gorgeous. Lauren had a great time waterfall spotting from her carseat.

The next three photos are from Multnomah Falls, the big one. Absolutely gorgeous. My favorite part of Portland might have been the moss. Not kidding. I had no idea, but I love moss.

Lauren sees my baby bump as less of a being that will rock her world, and more of a comfortable resting spot. Comfortable for her, mind you. Not for me. And not for her brother or sister, who lets me know that s/he doesn't care for the sitting, kicking and punching that Lauren often inflicts.

So this was a great lunch. Below, the menu from Pok Pok, an award-winning Thai restaurant in Portland (Ike's wings changed my life), and then after, just walk across the street to a parking lot full of food trucks (Portland is crawling with food trucks, in the best possible way) for some dessert. We ate like kings.

The rest of the photos are from the Portland Zoo. Lauren loved the monkeys, as usual, and the penguins (which we don't have in Kansas City).

All in all a really fantastic trip. Lauren even did great on the four hour plane rides to and from Portland. Not without some advance planning on our parts; turns out, much like her father, Lauren needs only snacks to be happy. She entertained the plane every time we went to the bathroom (did I mention that I'm pregnant? So that was about eight trips or so), smiling and waving as we went up and down the aisle.

She slept great in the hotel room, we had a bedroom that could be closed off so she slept in there in a pack 'n play with her noise machine, blankie and lovey and was perfectly happy. Oh, and we napped together on the big bed every afternoon. Every afternoon. For at least two hours a pop. Bless that child. That might have been my favorite part of the vacation. Scratch that, that WAS my favorite part of the vacation.

As of yesterday I'm six weeks out from my due date. I'm already bigger than I was with Lauren at the end of the pregnancy, and I'm starting to waddle. We are feeling the time crunch and now making lots of lists of things that we need to do before s/he arrives. Some priorities: pick out names (four of them, first and middle for both boy and girl) and buy bed for baby (Lauren is still in her crib, so we're going to try to buy some time with a bassinet). We'll probably make it. But in order to do so this baby needs to stay put for awhile. Wish us luck!