Giving Thanks

I know it is a day early, but this evening, when we sat down for dinner, I asked everyone to talk about what they were thankful for. This was actually prompted by Max's teacher, who mentioned to me at pickup that I would really be happy to see what Max had said he was thankful for when they did that at school today. Unfortunately, I have a very short memory these days and forgot to check his backpack to see what it was, so I just figured I would ask. Max said he was thankful for the baby growing in my belly. I can not begin to tell you how that made me feel. Tears welled up in my eyes. He is one of the sweetest children that I know, and I am very thankful that I am lucky enough to be his mother.

Funny Things Kids Say:

Max, while explaining that the ancestors of one of his classmates "were Pilgrims:"

"They came over on the Cauliflower."

Picture Day - Lauren

Today is our very first picture day. Max missed his last year because he started school so late, so we have never done one before. They said put on your best outfit or something like that, but we just don't have a lot of dressy girl stuff, with the exception of the dress Lauren wore to Greg's wedding (which will be posted about one of these days) which is sleeveless, and with the pixie cut, there was no doing a fancy haircut, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. However, Lauren got up and had plans. She dressed herself. It definitely wasn't what I had in mind. I spent the next 30 minutes requesting, suggesting, begging, pleading, and bribing Lauren out of her chosen outfit. We finally managed a compromise, a dress that I think looks nice on her, some leggings that actually match, and socks and shoes chosen by Lauren. I don't think that part of her will show so that shouldn't matter. It took another 15 minutes to get her hair brushed and calm down the fuzz in the back. We got there and all the other girls had hair bows and fancy skirts, but let's face it, that is not really Lauren, so it is probably better to just let her personality shine through. I just didn't want it to shine as much as it would have had I let her go to school in her chosen outfit. In case you can't figure it out, the first outfit pictured is what Lauren chose, the second, my choice. I am not sure I am looking forward to another 15 years of this....

Super Lauren

Lauren has always seemed to get the short end of the stick around here. (I probably shouldn't write this or she will use it against me in about 12 years.) Just when she was starting to develop her own personality, Max got sick, and life became all about Max. She has never had a real birthday party. Her first one got cancelled because of Max's illness, I just wasn't up to throwing one for her second because things were still stressful because of Max, and this year, her uncle got married two days after she turned three, plus, I am pregnant and tired all the time and once again just wasn't up to doing much. Yet, she is one of the happiest children I have ever met, and a total joy to be around. She makes me smile every day with her humor, hugs, and laughter. She seems to enjoy pretty much everyone, even giving total strangers hugs (we may need to work on this one, but she is still little and it is so funny to see the confused looks on people's faces). She is still into everything and so strong, especially for her size. When we met with her teachers, they laughed that she was the youngest and smallest child in her class and yet nothing phases her. They did mention having to tell her to get off the table on a regular basis. I was really hoping she wouldn't do that there, but they said it with a smile. She is definitely my little tomboy, spending hours playing with trains and trucks, though her "babies" don't get ignored. Josh brought home a Hotwheels for Max and a Barbie for Lauren (from a super rare visit to McD's) and while Lauren did spend time playing with the Barbie, the car was much more popular. She was a pirate again this halloween and it was the perfect costume for her personality.

Even now that Lauren is 3, she is still a pleasure to be around most of the time. Yes, she is stubborn, but she has always been that, and she has hit the "it didn't go exactly as I wanted so the world is ending" phase, but compared to many 3YOs that I know, it hasn't been too bad. I still do think I should have had her in my 20s, though. Her level of activity often leaves me worn out. But, I can set her up with paints or crayons or trains, and she will play quietly for quite a while, so I do get a break. I am trying to do more to take advantage of the us time, and instead of just giving her things to do by herself, have been making an effort to do stuff with her. She seems to really enjoy puzzles right now, and often asks to "play puzzles, mommy" so we are doing them a lot. We only have three at the moment, but she is plenty happy with them. The dinosaur one seems to be her favorite.

I sometimes worry that having this new baby come along will stiffle her some, but I hope that it won't affect her. I think that her strong personality will survive the middle child syndrome, and can't wait to see her take care of her little brother. Another thought that just makes me smile.

Sibling Time

I have been getting complaints that I haven't posted in ages. I am so sorry. Since the kids started school, I theoretically have more time to myself. The results have been that the house is cleaner, I am behind on laundry less often, and I have managed to get my web work done, but I certainly do not feel like I have any more free time. I am not even sure what that is anymore. I decided to write up a lovely post about how much Max and Lauren enjoy each other's company, and keep getting pulled away to keep them from screaming at each other, hitting each other, etc. Oh well, Life is filled with irony. Anyway, the kids continue to enjoy school. If Lauren had her way, she would go every day. She just loves it there and asks to go on the off days. Max is enjoying it as well, and learning so much that is just amazes me. He is learning to write, spending more and more time sounding out words, and is picking up Spanish at an amazing rate. He has been taking enrichment classes one to two days a week, and really likes the women who does the science based enrichment classes. She was nice enough to put her science ones on Wednesdays going forward, which is the best day for me to have him gone all day. Boy does Lauren miss him when he is gone, though. She spends much of the day asking me to go get him. When he is home, they spend a lot of time playing together (though, as mentioned earlier, they do have their moments of unpleasantness). A couple of days ago, they had a lovely tea party, with real tea (lucky me). Baby and Giraffe joined in. They really seem very fond of each other most of the time, and I hope that they continue to have this relationship. I know that it will have to change as they grow older, as they will change, but in some ways, it should also improve. Max finds it frustrating when he wants to do things with Lauren that she isn't capable of doing yet. She does not always understand that fort building is for playing in the fort, not knocking it down, for example. But they are getting there. It always makes me smile. More often than not these days, I really enjoy their company and they fill me with happiness.