Lauren's Christmas

On the 23rd Lauren woke up with Laryngitis. Seriously, she sounded like a 60-year-old smoker. If she sang, it sounded like Janis Joplin or Stevie Nicks. So needless to say, she didn't feel good. She pulled a "Papa" and fell asleep while watching cartoons in her chair that morning. Very cute, but a little sad because mommy knew she was going to not be herself for Christmas.

So that evening, since she wasn't feeling good, mommy and daddy let her open her present from Ross and Melodee. She'd been trying to open it since Sunday! It was a remote control car! Daddy did the controlling, but Lauren chased it and picked up so it couldn't run. It's very colorful and entertaining.....even Biscuit got in on the action....Biscuit hates it!

Biscuit trying to take a bite of a tire as it zooms by!

This was our Christmas tree this year. It was very pretty for our first family picked tree! I already have it taken down and put the Christmas decorations away. It was quite dry since we got it fairly early.

Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and spent the day opening presents, playing cards and of course eating. Lauren really didn't feel well this day. She didn't nap well and is in the middle of cutting molars. She would wake up from her 20 min. nap screaming. So we didn't get a lot of pictures because she really wasn't into Christmas. She only spent about a half hour in her dress....bummer. But she did like the bows!

Lauren got a newborn Cabbage Patch from Gram Gram. She liked it and gave it loves...but quickly moved on to the bows and wrapping paper. Biscuit hates her Cabbage Patch too! BTW, the adoption papers say her name is Susann Josefina. What is with Cabbage Patch names?? Mine was Henrietta when I was a little girl. C'mon!!! At least we can shorten this to Susie Jo to make it a little cuter!!!


Christmas Day we spent at our home. Santa Claus brought Lauren 2 girlie bug cars, a horsey union suit and a little stuffed horsey. Nice Job Santa! Grandma, Grandpa and Gram Gram came over for dinner. Lauren was a little better....but we still spent the day in our PJs relaxing!

On the 26th we headed to MP. Lauren was much better that morning. And once we got to Nana and Papa's, it was time for some more presents. We will have to remember for next year to take all the toys out of their packaging for instant playing!

Here's Lauren with the 25th anniversary of the Fisher Price Farm. It brought back many memories for the adults! She was patiently waiting for daddy to take the barn out of the box. Aunt Emmy helped too.


This was a favorite and still is. She likes hammering the pegs, even though she uses the side of the hammer head! I figure it gives her good practice for "Whack a Mole" at Chuck E Cheeses. (We have a 2 year olds birthday to go to in a couple weeks!)




She got a Rody horse from the cousins and Auntie B. She first peeked in the bag, but really couldn't figure out how to get it out! Once daddy got it out, she really didn't get the concept that you have to hold it's ears to ride it....but she's catching on. She really doesn't bounce on it, just rocks. She'll get it. Cousin Sam tried to help her out by showing her how to use his.










Lauren enjoyed helping the cousins with their gifts too. (And helped played with them as well!) "Here ya go Sam, this is from my Grandma and Grandpa, it's a Hunter Dan and Buck, I already played with it!"


As soon as Cousin Sam went for the buck, Lauren snagged Hunter Dan. Looks like someone will need one eventually. Cousin Sydney also informed us that she would like a Hunter Ann. So needless to say for this hunting family Hunter Dan was a HIT!

Here's Cousin Syndey with her Littlest Pet Shops from our family. She was pretty stoked! And Lauren helped her play with them later by running off and misplacing them all over the house!

On Monday mommy finally took Lauren to see Dr. Davis. And as expected it was a just a virus. But I just wanted to be sure that she didn't have anything else going on with everything going around. She's 100% better and it will be interesting to see if she wakes up for the New Year tonight! Doubt it, but you never know! Depends on how many neighbors have fireworks!

Christmas Came Early

So yesterday, Lauren and I went to see Daddy for lunch in Eugene. We also made a quick stop at Toys R Us to do some last minute Christmas shopping for Lauren. She's at a difficult age, since it's hit or miss as to what she will REALLY like. She's really been into sitting on the couch or whatever to watch her cartoons. So we chose to get her a super cute Tinkerbell purple chair. We put it in a separate cart and she really never saw it. Daddy loaded her in the car seat while mommy put the chair in the back. When she got home, she went down for a nap and mommy unloaded it from the car and found a BIG red Christmas sack to place it in. She's done pretty well about leaving most of the gifts alone. But of course.....not this one......

First she found the package and climbed in it backwards. It has rockers on the bottom, so of course she rocked it. As she was rocking it, she put a huge hole in the red sack.

Lauren pointing out the big hole to daddy. "What is it daddy?"

Oh, daddy let me help.

Woooowhooooo, it's a chair just my size.

Yay me....I scored.

Sitting in her chair laughing at Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (probably her favorite cartoon).

She found out that it's fun to stand and rock in it. After countless reprimands, she finally tipped it over and fell out on the floor. Maybe she'll learn....eventually!

Gram Gram's Holiday Party

Gram Gram had her annual Holiday Part at Wiley Creek. She was pretty happy that all of her girls were able to make it. Lauren sat through the entire hour of music. She ates many snacks, we joked she ate all of our shares of the food! Her favorite was the watermelon, which made a mess of her dress....but it washes right!??

Mommy said to say "cheese"!




Sitting like a big girl in her own chair. She was the only little one in attendance. Everyone thought she was pretty cute, including the staff and the musicians.


A snowman that looked like it needed a hug. It got multiple hugs! This was just one of many.

Visit to Old St. Nick

Hopefully by now, many of you have received our Christmas photo for this year. If you didn't, it should be in the mail and delivered early next week. If you still don't, we don't have your address so let me know and I'll get one in the mail to you ASAP! And yes, we opted to not do a family portrait....but you did inadvertently receive a photo of each of us!

So earlier this week mommy took Lauren to visit Old St. Nick. He had flown in from the North Pole at the Valley River Center in Eugene and was around for a photo opt. I dressed Lauren in her Christmas dress that Nana had made extra early for just this reason! We got ready in the nearby bathroom....and every old lady oodled over her! She was very excited. And much to mommy's amazement, there was no screaming, crying, etc. when she sat on Santa's lap. She was a perfect angel....even Santa said "Mom, she did excellent!" Obviously he doesn't always have as positive of outcomes with other children's first visit to Santa.





So with these super cute photos, how could we resist using them for our 2009 Christmas cards??! Boy does Santa get ya at the pocket book though. I guess hay shipped the North Pole for the reindeer must have went up! Or maybe the elf union is demanding more benefits! The photos weren't cheap, but we are getting our use out of them. And it's NOT like I could say no to having her first visit to Santa captured for life!

O Christmas Tree!

This morning we bundled up in the 27 degree frost and wondered out to Thompson's Tree Farm outside of Brownsville. It was coooooold! We had originally planned that we would make the trip up in the snow to find the perfect tree, however daddy found a GREAT tree at 5500ft in August, which is impossible to get to right now. So mommy talked him out of going to a tree lot instead and into heading to a tree farm. It's hidden up Mt. Home Dr. off of Northern and has some great trees. And we thought they were VERY reasonable, $3.75 a foot for Noble firs.

After only 20 yards into the tree farm, mommy spotted one in the near distance and said "How about that one?" In which Daddy responded, "Which one?!?" Ya, I forgot there were only 100 other trees surrounding it. So we made quick work of the trip, which Lauren wasn't ready to leave! We came home with a great one....and once it's decorated after it THAWS, we'll post some pictures of it and you can be the judge!

Watching Mr. Thompson saw down our perfect tree.....daddy wished he could have chopped down his own.

Random Thanksgiving Pics

We spent the weekend before through Thanksgiving with the family in the Point. Lauren had a lot of fun with her cousins. Sydney shared dolls and other toys....even some that she didn't necessarily want to share! Lauren thought she was pretty special with a Barbie of Cousin Syd's.

Cousin Sam decided he wanted his picture taken...but wanted it with sissy. However Syd was having her hair curled for their family picture for their Christmas cards.....so she wasn't participating willingly!

Sam wanted "Baby Lauren" to be in the picture too, but she was to busy with her milk cup. Inadvertently, we got a photo of our "curler" girl!


One of her naps at the ranch. She had special sleeping arrangements....a porta-crib with a heater in her room and a VCR/TV with multiple Disney movies to help drown out the rest of the family! She did really well.

Thanksgiving night, mommy and Lauren drove home to hang out with mommy's family on Friday. I realized I only took 2 pics though. One of the cousin's from Port Angeles, David, gave Lauren his cell phone and thought it would be a good idea to show her the ringtone feature. She rocked out and I told him that I was NOT responsible for any calls to foreign countries!

Here she is with Uncle Dave. This is my grandfather's brother. We were all joking about those cheekbones coming from that side of the family. She's the only young one we have on that side of the family. I think the next youngest is over 10 and wasn't able to make it, so she was spoiled with ALL the attention!

Horsfall Beach

The Monday before Thanksgiving, Heather, Lauren and I went to Coos Bay to introduce the East Coast girl to the Oregon Coast. It was almost 60 degrees and NO WIND....I know, amazing right?! Definitely wasn't an honest perspective.

"Look mommy a wave!"


I'm so happy to be on the beach! This place cracks me up!


Thank goodness for Heather! She works at the day care on the Air Force Base in Jersey. She was great with Lauren and helped ramrod the running tyke! Lauren does have some good jukes....must be watching to much football.


Getting close to the water.....good thing we had on our rubber boots! Aunt Bethany bought us some super cute ones at a garage sale that didn't even looked used! Great find!




I'm not sure why, but Lauren wouldn't bend her legs to play in the sand.....it was pretty cute.


The pretty Pacific Ocean. Chris and Heather were stationed in Japan with Jake in the Air Force. Our beaches are MUCH different than theirs according to our three experts.


Heather and Lauren shell hunting!


Heather was nice enough to take Lauren and mommy's picture.


An East Coaster on the Best Coast....I mean West Coast!




I wonder what this tastes like?? Trust me, she didn't like it.


I told Heather on our way over that we better hit the beach while the weather is good.....and sure enough the clouds starting coming and they were DARK.....so we made haste for the car and off to Coos Bay for a Bay Burger! Yum.