Going to PA

September 20-When Lauren and I went yard sale-ing in the morning, I found her this Little Tykes slide for $5! I couldn't pass up the deal! Here's my little one, looking so big, as she tries out her slide.

September 20-Whenever Lauren hears a lawn mower, she looks for her daddy! This was Paul's latest purchase and sale. He was moving it to the front lawn to sell and Lauren had to go for a ride!

September 25-Lauren was so bored from the ride that she cuddled up with the blanket Aunt Sherry got her for her birthday and fell alseep. I was jealous...

September 25-We caught up with a friend of Paul's from 4-H, Katina, and her son, Donovan. Donovan is just 1 month older than Lauren. They became fast friends, trying to hold hands with one another!

September 25-Pymatuning State Park in PA. When I was little, my dad would take us to Pymatuning to feed the fish. There was a little stand that sold day-old bread cheap and we would buy the bread to feed to the fish. What I remember most is how enormous the fish were and how they seemed to be stacked on top of one another. There are also a lot of ducks and Canadian Geese in the area, vying for the bread.

September 25-If you look at Paul's knee, you'll see the day-old bread that we purchased for Lauren to feed the fish. We showed Lauren how to throw the bread. Lauren wouldn't let go. Then we moved Lauren's arm and tried to help her release the bread...no luck. When we let go of her, Lauren ate the fish's bread! We were thankful that the bread wasn't full of mold. Lauren enjoyed watching us feed the fish (and ducks).

Here are some of the fish in an area called the spillway. I think it's called that because the fish "spill" into this area. For some reason, the ducks and geese didn't really swim in this area. The fish seemed to dominate it more, and it was here that we were able to successfully feed the fish.

Yes, those funny looking ovals are the fish's mouths, waiting for food. It's really kind of disgusting, but it's a family tradition. Paul's dad said that the fish are carp.

Lauren enjoyed the ducks more than the fish. I think that she's been innundated with ducks from her baths and our bathroom's decor. She really enjoys the quacks.

Lauren and Daddy getting ready to leave the big fish.

September 25- Lauren discovered something new--picking apples! She had a blast picking them up and putting them in a pile.

September 25-Paul would gather apples and place them near the bag. Lauren would pick up the apples to put them in the bag. She did a really good job!

September 25-Lauren crawled under the apple trees to help her daddy find apples on the ground for cider. She really enjoyed being outside and helped us tremendously.

September 25-Paul's parents raise beef cows which reside in the pasture behind their house. Lauren was mystified by these creatures which she thought were enormous dogs. (When Kay fed the cows their grains, they came charging down the hill to their blue trough. When Lauren saw them, she squealed and began panting, just the way that she greets Buster!) When my dad heard about this, he began to make his expert mooing sounds (when he moos, cows beller back!). Lauren went hysterical and laughed so hard!

September 25-Lauren found Grandma Wade's cell phone...and decided to strike up a conversation! She looks like a natural!

September 26-Lauren and Grandma Bernosky enjoying the fall sun. We took Grandma lunch on Friday so that all of her coworkers could meet Lauren.

September 27-Lauren is dressed and ready to go for her Aunt Sherry and Uncle Luke's wedding. Here is Lauren sporting a dress very similar to the flower girls, toting her new purse that Aunt Sherry modified for Lauren. Lauren has become very taken with pocketbooks lately and tries to drag mine around. She was very excited to have one of her own!

September 28--Great-grandma Bunce holding Lauren. Grandma couldn't wait to get her arms around Lauren. Lauren, however, had different plans since becoming more mobile.

September 28-Lauren and her papa snuggling. You can see Lauren's grins behind her pacifier.

September 28-Lauren rocking on the horse Grandma Wade brought out to play. Lauren understood how to make the horse rock.

September 28-Grandpa Wade and Lauren getting in some last minute playing. There was laughter from both!

I'm sure that you gathered that we made a trip to PA. We went to see Paul's Grandpa McCaslin who had a stroke several weeks ago and has been in the hospital since. We had been prepared beforehand that Grandpa's appearance and demeanor were altered. We visited him, taking Lauren with us. Grandpa seemed to light up seeing her. He tried to hold Lauren's hand, but we think she was alarmed and she didn't really cooperate. Grandpa heard her walking around his room and told us that Lauren had Paul's attitude! We had a good laugh over that. After our visit, we got a phone call from Paul's aunt that Grandpa had started to eat solid foods for the first time in over 2 weeks! We were so pleased to hear this. However, the next day, Grandpa ate more solids and even swallowed a pill! He was supposed to be moved to a nursing home to get therapy on Monday or Tuesday, but we've not heard anything on that front.

Paul's Grandma Wade was doing better as well. She'd been having difficulty breathing and had swelling in her feet. She had been hospitalized for a few days prior to our visit. Grandma was up and about, taking it easy, but she was active while we saw her. That made us happy, too, to see Grandma in good spirits.

Our main reason for going to PA was to attend Luke and Sherry's wedding. Everything was so smooth and enjoyable. It was a successful wedding. I have pictures on Paul's camera that I will post later. All of the pictures I've posted from my camera have taken me about 2 hours to do, so I'm a little tired.

Lauren's been walking more and has even attempted to run! She's a bit clumsy at times. I was changing her diaper Monday on our return trip and found that she had a bruise in the shape of a circle on her tush! I have no idea how that happened, so I'm assuming that she fell on something round. She doesn't stop because of falls!

Lauren greatly enjoyed playing with her cousins, grandparents, and other family members while in PA. She was in great spirits more often than not. We received many compliments in regards to Lauren's good behavior and demeanor. That makes me feel like I"m doing a good job rearing her, but when we settled into our home, Lauren became whiny. I don't get it! Tonight was rough. She had a mommy complex. If I wasn't touching her or if I left the room, she'd cry and scream until I picked her up. Paul was shocked by her behavior and sent me out of the house for a half hour to have a break. She was fine with Paul, but as soon as she saw me pull into the driveway, the whining began again. I'm perplexed.

Sorry for such a long post, but it's been a while since I've written. Have a great week!

Update!!

09-11-08: My friend Heather had her 2nd little girl on this day! Kylie was born around 9:45. Isn't she a doll?

09-11-08: Kylie Brown

09-13-08: We had run out of the cat's normal dry food. They were acting as though they hadn't eaten for months when, in truth, it was probably a couple hours. I opened two cans of the wet food for them. Normally Catlyn makes a mess of the wet food, but when I got to investigating, LAUREN was playing with the food...and eating it! Needless to say the canned food was put up, Lauren was washed, and I cursed under my breath...at least she's not eating worms!

09-13-08: Lauren's supporting Kim by wearing her US Air Force t-shirt that Paul got for her when in NJ during July. It's hard for me to get good pictures of Lauren standing still because she usually comes charging toward me when I'm in front of her!

09-14-08: We were all kind of snotty over the weekend so Paul set us forward to do a massive house cleaning. We started in our bedroom which is one of the worst because the cats enjoy living in there, too. Lauren found a dust rag and began imitating me! I melted! She can vacuum and now dust!

09-14-08: The Workmans kept Lauren on the 13th so that Paul and I could have a date night. We went to dinner in Hickory and then to a play called The Producers. We had a great time. Lauren had a blast going to eat at Dos Amigos where she devoured an ENTIRE kid's plate of food! She had the neighbors in hysterics all evening long.

The next day, Tracy called to ask if Leah could come over to make a rap video. Apparently when the Workmans got home, they came to our house to give Lauren a bath because she was head to toe in food. Leah thought it would be funny to climb in Lauren's crib...so the video was called "Kickin' In My Crib". Lauren couldn't resist being left out, so you'll see Lauren and Leah chillin' before the video was shot.

09-15-08: Noodle Noggin. Lauren was eating spaghetti and thought that throwing the noodles was great fun. I'm not sure if you can see it or not, but she has a noodle stuck on her head!

09-16-08: Lauren's 13 month birthday! We celebrated with Paul giving Lauren a piggy back ride in the living room. She loved it! (She also likes spinning, being tossed in the air, being tossed on the bed, pretending she's falling, doing somersalts, and any other rough-housing that involves getting a little dizzy!)

09-19-08: Exploring different textures during our art time. I found these really neat markers for toddlers while at Kohl's today. There aren't lids and the markers are fat animals to help the child grip the marker in the palm of the hand. They were a little too big for Lauren right now, but we were able to make some scribbles with them. Lauren was more interested in the paint which was on sale at AC Moore. And let me tell you, it really was washable! I was impressed!

09-19-08: Making handprints in the paint.

09-19-08: After having fun with our painting, Lauren helped me clean up the mess we made all over the floor! I think that starting this cleaning up after yourself bit so early will really make an impact!!

09-19-08: Lauren helping with laundry. She likes to pull laundry from the basket to give herself enough room, then she climbs in.

It's been a long two weeks. School is still going great for me. I love my students and my assistant and therapist. We're such a great group! (I think I have the best group in the school, but that's my opinion!)

On Tuesday of this week, I didn't feel so good. I opted to leave school after a half day to go to the doctor--strep, of course. I was put on an antibiotic and bounced back to school Wednesday, feeling SO much better. When I woke up Thursday, I had no voice! I went to school and attempted to teach. We got a lot more covered than I had expected given the circumstances, but I chose to take Friday off as well to rest my voice. Lauren's daycare was also closed Friday, so we had a fun day together. (I had been trying for over a month to find someone to keep Lauren. However, I think it was meant to be that Lauren and I spend the day together with me getting sick.)

My voice is coming back, but if I talk too much, it weakens. Lauren and I ran errands in Hickory in the morning after we ate and showered. Then we went to my school so that she could meet the other teachers, therapists, assistants, and children. She met some of our central office staff and visited others she'd met previously. If I'd had a dollar for every time I heard, 'Lisa, she looks JUST like her Mama!" I wouldn't have to pay for her to attend college! I made sure to tell them that she has her daddy's eye color and long eyelashes and everyone ooh'd and ahh'd over these features.

My students were in love with her, especially Daniel. They wanted to hold her or let her play with toys that they were playing with. We were having such a good time at school that Lauren and I went to eat lunch with my class. Everyone tried to share their food with Lauren. Daniel offered her corn, Devin gave her a cheese puff, and Mrs. M (my therapist) gave Lauren some watermelon. Lauren didn't want to leave, but I wanted to get her home for her afternoon nap...which didn't happen until 3 PM! That little stinker refused to nap. Apparently she was having too much fun with her mama!

I'm feeling better, too, thank goodness. Paul has to work Saturday, so I think Lauren and I may try to go yard sale-ing in the morning and run into Hickory to get more tempra paint since I now know how much she enjoys painting!

The Past Two Weeks

08-31-08: Lauren has figured out how to climb under the drawer areas and into the cupboard. It's difficult to get her out because she fights us to sit and then be pulled out the bottom drawer. However, she likes to show us that she can get in!

08-31-08: The Cadwalladers came over for dinner after Paul and Chris cut more plywood for Paul to make cabinets for the other part of the kitchen. Since we only have one highchair, we manufactured a highchair for Harris out of a folding chair and belt. He didn't mind, as long as he was able to have his share of lasagna!

09-01-08: Lauren's first trip to a fair and a petting zoo! She wasn't sure what to think of the goats who eagerly came to see her. She thought she'd try petting them though. I bet they reminded her of Buster!

09-01-08: Lauren didn't really like this goat to be in her space.

09-05-08: I was vacuuming the couches and Lauren wanted to try. Here she is, cleaning up the mess she made from her snack! I think her eagerness is great. Hopefully she will grow up learning to pick up after herself. especially if I have anything to do with it!

09-06-08: Our neighbor, Danny, called to invite us to his mother's house to pick grapes from their vines. Lauren helped me pick some and moved the basket around.

09-06-08: Lauren also enjoyed taking the grapes out of the basket and tossing them on the ground! She didn't like to eat them though.

09-06-08: Lauren is picking grapes. Believe it or not, this picture was actually taken the correct way, but when I posted it, it turned on me! It's still a cute shot.

09-07-08: Lauren has found a new way to entertain herself: climbing into things such as baskets or bowls. She emptied her toys out of this basket then climbed inside to sit. She then began to put toys into the basket with her! She also did this with a basket of clean laundry. She took out enough so that she could climb in, then she placed the laundry she removed over her lap!

09-07-08: Later in the day, Lauren played with the kitchen bowls while Paul and I cooked. She found that she fit into this bowl, but it was a little too big...

09-07-08: She found that she fit into this bowl (only when Daddy helped her), but it was too small...maybe next time she'll find the bowl that's "just right"!

09-09-09: Lauren received her first human bite from another toddler. The daycare teachers are not permitted to tell us who was the aggressor, but they are required to tell us that a bite was given. From Lauren's report, Lauren and another toddler were playing. The other child had a toy truck that Lauren wanted. Lauren took it away from the toddler. The toddler bit Lauren. Ah, parenthood!!

Lauren's added another "word" to her vocabulary: meow. I was playing with Catlyn on Monday and said, "Here, Catlyn kitty! Meow, meow!" Lauren said, "Meow." I laughed so hard! At least she knows the correct sound cats make. When she hears Buster's name or sees him, she starts to pant!

No new teeth to report. Lauren is really chomping on that pacifier and her hands trying to help them come through.

Lauren is walking up and down stairs better. She's been good going up, but going down is hard for her. She also slid off of the bed feet first tonight--a milestone for her! She plopped on her bottom, but she didn't get hurt. Lauren's walking is also becoming more frequent, steady, and speedy. If Lauren sees something she wants, though, watch out! She's on her knees and crawling as fast as she can (like when I pick her up from daycare!).