She's a Rolling...

It's official... Lauren is rolling over! I can't believe it! She seemed annoyed today while I was making James his lunch and was starting to fuss. Then she was quiet, so I peeked over at her and she was on her side and then on her belly and loving it! She was pretty proud of herself. I thought is might be a fluke, but she has continued to do it all day! Where is time going? It's so fun, but I catch myself getting a little sad too. She and James seem to both be changing daily... I feel so blessed to be able to be home with them sharing each of these special moments...

I'm A Big Kid Now...

He's showing you his Pull-ups

So after my episode with James and the crib a few weeks ago (if you don't know what I'm referring to, look at my past blogs :) )I decided maybe this was a good time to potty train James. He has done extremely well with it. He enjoys going potty, but only wants to on the toilet (as opposed to the potty chair). He doesn't let you hold him and in fact tells you to, "Move." I am often times afraid he will fall in. The toilet can be a large, scary place for a 2 year old! We've had some close calls. Oh and he doesn't like wearing diapers at all anymore, just "Poo-ups." (pull ups) He is definitely "growing up."

Mommy's Helper

He's holding up the green pepper for me to see.

James loves to help me do things and especially if it involves being in the kitchen. I'm not sure if it's the fact that he likes helping or he enjoys standing on a chair! :) I cut up various vegetables today and he helped me bag them up. He wanted to do the green peppers all by himself. It was precious and I had a difficult time not laughing too hard. His little hands couldn't get the bag open well and the peppers all in. And then the outside of the bag was getting wet, making it slippery and even more difficult. He stuck with it though and all of the green peppers made it in the bag. Well, except for the one he decided to eat.

Another Favorite...

Little girl shirts-they are precious! They even have little ruffle sleeves!
Makes me smile every time!

A Few of My Favorite Things

This smile...

Flip-flops on little kids or as James calls them, "Foo-pops."

How James always wants to look out the window to see
everything going on outside. People probably think we're nuts! :)

The way James' hair is already bleaching blonde around his
hairline. And the way he WON'T look at the camera!

Hurry Up Daddy!

He's handing Luke the screws! What a guy!!!

James actually uses the drill very well. He can get those screws in
and of course loves to pull the trigger!

Luke is building James a sandbox-a very large one! James is very
excited about it and eager to help. He LOVES using the tools!
Hopefully it will be finished soon!

A Mover and a Shaker

Lauren has recently begun squirming her way out of her bouncy seat. Today, she made it completely out! Guess we need to put those straps to use! She usually likes to wiggle her way to the bottom and grab her toes, but today she just decided she had enough! :) It's a hard life...

Yes, My Son is Naked in His Crib

Ok, so we are officially parents of a full-blown 2 year old. James has always been a very pleasant, compliant, well-behaved little boy. That is until Monday morning. He woke up out of nowhere and just decided to go ahead and bring truth to the stories you hear about 2 year olds. We didn't see it coming at all. We put him to bed sweet James and he woke up 'I'm going to push every button possible' James. Anyone relate? So this picture was taken when I had put him down for his nap. He called me in there twice and I told him I wasn't coming in again. Well, I did and it's a GOOD thing! He was yelling, "Shel!" Oh yes, he is calling me by my first name. I went in and much to my surprise, there he was standing up-buck naked. I knew that probably wasn't the worst of my problems either. I flipped on the light and discovered that everything his bladder had been storing for quite some time was on the crib, pillow, blankets, all the stuffed animals...everywhere. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh. So, I did both. I decided to take a picture and that gave me a few seconds to gather my thoughts. Needless to say 20 minutes later: a bare crib, and a two year old who THOUGHT he got out of his nap, I proceeded to put him back down for a nap... Then I spent the next 15 minutes wondering if I handled the situation correctly. "Did I come down on him hard enough? How can I avoid this from ever happening again? Will I be able to salvage the stuffed animals? WHY? WHY WHY?" It's just funny how you can try to do all the "right" things when parenting and yet you just can't avoid a child's instinct to test the limits. And he did... :) I'm sure there will be more stories like this to come, but hopefully not too many more!

We Love You Uncle Tim

My brother came home for a quick visit before heading out to sea. He shipped out on Tuesday and is headed to the Persian Gulf with the U.S. Navy. James and I pray for his safety before each nap and bedtime. James loves his Uncle Tim. Next time he sees the kids, they will have grown and changed. We love you Uncle Tim!!

Our Future Scholar

This look is courtesy of fashion guru- James. James loves putting glasses and hats on Lauren and I found this look to be quite striking! =) She doesn't seem to mind. I'm sure that will change soon...

James the Baker (no more)

if you look closely you can see the half eaten pepperoni

Ok, I laughed so hard at this entire experince and I hope you will be able to picture and appreciate it. I was making homemade pizza for dinner and thought it would be fun for James to help me make it. He is usually up on a chair "helping" me make dinner anyway. He wasn't real interested in spreading the dough out (too squishy) or putting on the sauce. So I gave him the pepperoni to put on and he loved that. Until...he decided to go ahead and give one a taste. He LOVED them. So he would eat all but a sliver and then put it on the pizza. I couldn't stop laughing. I knew it was just us eating it so I didn't care. He probably ate 15 peices of pepperoni until I took it away. He wasn't real successful in getting the cheese on the pizza either. What you see in the picture is what was left of what he was supposed to put on the pizza. Yeah... it never made it to the pizza. We had a great time and I laughed hysterically. He wasn't too hungry when dinner time came. He got filled up on pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. Mmmm.....

Happy Baby Girl

Lauren is a very happy girl these days, especially if we are playing with her. She LOVES to be entertained. This is a smile she gave James. She adores her brother. Often times when James talks to her she just belly laughs. It is so fantastic!! Of course James repeats himself and soaks up the attention. :) We love our kiddos.

Things Lauren enjoys:
- attention
- James (hope that lasts for a while)
- funny voices
- her back being tickled
- being nuzzled on her face
- sleeping on her daddy

Spring Has Sprung

We are really enjoying these first spring days. It is difficult to get James back inside once he is out.
These are some of the few times we get to experience "meltdowns." He loves playing with Luke's golf clubs
(not sure how much Luke likes it), but I have him play in the grass so they don't get scraped! :) I'm lookin out for
you honey...