Lauren's haircut, hat, and doll

We're gearing up for a trip to the family reunion and Little Miss is getting excited (about her outfit).

Edit. Upon further consideration I must state that I love this picture. Sometimes little snapshots give you a great glimpse at a person, and this is one of 'em. She's just so little, and cute, and girlie, and she loves her doll and dressing up and smiling for her daddy. Ah, this is a good time of life for all of us.

Lauren and Pauline

Sleepover last weekend at Pauline's house. Those girls sure do like to hang out together!

It's an absolutely beautiful day here today... Patrick took the kiddos for a walk after breakfast... lucky ducks.
Last Thursday was the Children's Hospital follow-up appointment, and no murmur was heard. Seems the little man's ticker is doing just fine. And, yesterday he very clearly said "Da-da" though not directly to anything or anyone... but we're working on it.
Lauren spent the weekend with her cousins in Athens, and had a great time. She wasn't too pleased to be home at first, but seems to have acclimated. We're glad she's home. Trevor definitely noticed her absence, and he just glowed when he saw her on Sunday.

4th

We had an exciting 4th of July weekend.

Here's Trevor sporting his festive wear, courtesy of Aunt Ellen and Uncle Dave. No fireworks for us this year, but we did Doo Dah... Trevor fell asleep during the parade. It rained, but Patrick and Lauren stood streetside with umbrellas and ate all the candy. Trev and I had a spot on a lovely porch, courtesy of some new friends--Paul and Amy (I think?). Then we visited the Lynaugh's for a while, and Lauren thoroughly enjoyed playing with the available OPT (other peoples toys).

Trevor had his 6-month appointment last week. He now weighs 19' 13", and is 28" tall. He's more height / weight proportioned now, so doctor lady is happy. He can sit, he can scootch backwards, and just yesterday managed forward motion while up on his hands and knees. Full on crawling is nigh. Still just two teeth--they emerged on 5-29, so we're expecting some top teeth any day now. He continues to babble, squeel, drool and smile a lot.

Tomorrow he goes back to Children's for a follow-up listen to his little ticker. Wee dude has a heart murmur, but his doctor barely heard it last week. Tomorrow's appt. is with a heart specialist... so we'll see (or hear rather).

calling on nannies

Dear Ms. Poppins,

Patrick is hoping you will have an opportunity to visit today to play with the children. He is very tired, and believes you the most practically perfect person available to entertain and care for our lovely children.

Lauren particulary enjoys playing dollhouse and can be entertained easily if you permit her a computer turn. Trevor enjoys bouncing, smiling and drooling.

Please call soon to let us know your availability. If Lauren answers, than Patrick is most likely asleep on the couch and Trevor is upstairs waiting for someone to get him up from his nap.

We have chalk, a great love for laughing, but no kite.

Sincerely,

Beth

Comfest 2008--Saturday

Well, Friday I went to Comfest with Ryan.  Patrick and kiddos stayed home, Lauren taking a 4 hour nap... it was strange to be there without the family, without Patrick.

Saturday, Patrick volunteered from noon - 4 (way to represent!), so we three headed down around 3:40.  At approximately 3:42 the skies opened, and the rain came down.  Lauren was most displeased, as the KidsART tent was transformed into a shelter for the weary... all the games / paints / t-shirt art / etc, was pushed aside to make way for people hiding from the storm.  Patrick showed up, tried to lighten the mood... I mean who doesn't like running in a summer rain storm?

You guessed it... even in Patrick's big t-shirt for warmth she wasn't impressed at all.

Trevor seemed unplused.

As soon as the rain stopped, we walked around a little bit, but then just headed home. Lauren was most displeased, and I worried she might not want to return the next day. But on Sunday morning she declared that it seemed a good day for Comfest. Right on, honey!

Patrick stayed on for the evening, and it didn't rain another drop. Next year we're going to manage at least one night for the adults... get ready Grandma & Grandpa, Nana & Papa... I think there's a slumber party adventure in there for you somewhere!

Comfest 2008--Sunday

What a difference a day makes.  We landed a great parking space, and the sun was shining. It did rain a little off and on, but nothing like Saturday. Lauren finally got to have some quality KidsART tent time, followed by funnel cake and spin art. Gotta love it. 

I didn't sit and watch a single band. Comfest with kids is a different world, but just makes me realize how truly wonderful it is. Lauren had a blast, and she's ready to go again! Trevor's first Comfest was a little damp, but I suppose that's better than 95 degrees and melting. I didn't have to worry about either of them overheating, and we have a great stroller that fits nicely under a poncho.  So, even in the rain on Sunday... the kiddos were dry, and Lauren entertained Trevor under the big red tent. 

I didn't see many of the usual suspects, but there's always next year. Here's a belated 'Happy Comfest' for those I missed between the rain drops.

Catch Up--post 1

Well, the Monday after Comfest is always a little rough. I worked, everyone else slept in a little later than usual. Feeling tired, and my voice is pretty raw. 

Last week Lauren had a bout with Roseola--high fever for a few days, followed by rash. She finally seems to be bouncing back--though last week was pretty tough.  She didn't eat much, napped all the time (and this girl does not like naps), and pretty much only wanted to be home.

My mom wanted to take her to Vacation Bible School last week, but Lauren missed 3 days of it with the Roseola.  I went with them on Friday, and was pretty impressed by the ship / stage that was the setting for the drama.... something to do with penguins and pirates, right out of the bible I tell ya.

We Can Haz Playstation Blog?

Lauren and I are now officially, for all to see, nerds. And by nerds, of course I mean "front-page-of-THE-official-PS-Blog" nerds.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Here is a link to the blog post if it moves off the main page before you see it. UPDATE: Which it has. A long time ago. Disregard that first link.

Insider Info alert: This picture is photoshopped together. I took the best one of us with the best one of the TV in the background and worked a little magic to blend 'em together.

Ballerina Baseball

So we played a game which was a huge "hit": ballerina baseball. Lauren and her cousins Pauline and Ashley were wearing ballerina and princess costumes, and we played some baseball with my new father's day presents of rubber bases and bat/ball set. The girls had a great time, and the adults liked it too.

Lauren and Trevor Play

In the crib for wake-ups or at the doctor's office at COSI, I think these kids are gonna be friends.

Mega-Post pt.I

We've got a backlog of pictures and videos, let's start with a couple of videos dealing with Trevor's mad bouncing skills...


He's a happy kid, but nobody makes him laugh like his sister!


He loves this exersaucer...

Mega-Post pt.II

Lauren, Hannah, and Reagan in Lauren's new little pool.

Hannah likes the slide.

Reagan loves our little playhouse. She kept getting out of the pool and wandering over and playing in it. Lauren was only too happy to play along.

Mega-Post pt.III

The pretty mommy and her lil 'un

Trevor and Papa

Trevor can fly, for reals

Maybe he'll be a drummer? Please god, no.

German Village was underwater on Friday. Our band practice space is wet enough that we're trying to find a new one.

From the Vault...

This is from December 2005, so Lauren would have been about 16 months old. She used to do this hilarious peek-a-boo where she'd look through her fingers before the dramatic reveal. She's a funny kid.

I've been cleaning my computer of all the junk tonight, and stumbled across pictures I hadn't seen in ages. Some advice: Never clean your computer. It's boring. Beth is out of town, and this is what I'm doing. Sitting here for 4 hours re-arranging files. Ugh.

Carey and EMO visit!

Trevor and Eric.  6 days apart... 

Hey dude... what are you doing?  Just chillin...

Yeah man, that's my sister...

Wait, where is she going?  And, how did she do that?

As is typical I suppose, no pictures of the mommies... but needless to say it was great to see Carey.  Once upon a time we had a picture taken together when we were pregnant with these dudes... though I never saw the photo.

All growed up...

Two teeth, sort of sitting (see how he's got a grip on Big Bird... he'd be on his stomach without the yellow dude)... what's next?  Lauren was exclaiming, "Daddy, come look, you won't believe it... Trevor is sitting!"  So far these two are excellent buddies.  Guess we have to think about childproofing again...

Wet Cats

Hooray! Cosmos and Playstation love bathtime!

Just kidding. Washing cats is no easy feat, but Beth has discovered a great tip: If you do it in the sink with the little sprayer attachment, the cats don't think you're trying to drown them in a bathtub. So there's that.

Zoo (Trevor's 1st time)

As Beth mentioned, we did go to the zoo. Watch this little video to see how it went.

Tooth!

As predicted yesterday... there is a tooth. It's on the bottom, middle, his left. Based on his level of stuffiness and drool, we'd been expecting this. To celebrate the milestone, Patrick and Lauren are taking Trevor to the zoo today. It's beautiful, I wish I could be there too... alas. I'm sure there will be zoo pictures later today!