Baby Harper had a shower in December. Here is the proud mama-to-be with her cake! (This is Carrie.)
Harris and Lauren's class had a Polar Express PJ day. Lauren and Harris are the BEST of friends, can't you tell?
Posing with favorite teacher, Ms. Nancy. (I've been called Ms. Nancy SOOO many times this year!)
December 22--We trekked north to Ohio to visit Jon, Jess, and Evie. Lauren and Evie are EXACTLY 4 months apart and the only females from this generation of Wades. Of course, they love each other! The kiddos were snuggling as they watched a movie while Jess and I cleaned up the kitchen to get ready to bake!
We thought we'd make sugar cookies. We started with the girls in their own spaces in small parts of the table...
But it didn't take long for our efforts to expand!
The girls decorated the cookies but then wanted to do art. Here they are making cards for their stuffed kitties. Talk about two peas in a pod!
Dec. 23--And as soon as we got to PA, off go Grandpa Wade and Lauren for a 4-wheeler ride! She was in her glory!
Dec. 24--Our McCaslin Family Christmas. Lauren was amazed to learn she had so many cousins. (There were 4 cousins here. Others are out of state.) This was the first year she really recognized that cousins are family. She thought Evie and Logan were her only!
THEN she discovered that OLDER BOY cousins can be a TON of fun...
Dec. 24--Lauren left sweet treats for Santa at Grandparents Bernosky's house! She even dictated a note which was cute, too.
The annual Night Before Christmas with Grandma Wade. There was a new book this year, though, with the Charlie Brown Christmas.
Santa brought Lauren a stocking at the Wade's and we took hot chocolate to Daddy.
YUM! H-E-R-S-H-E-Y'-S is how we spell choclate!!
OOH! Santa brought me a present!
My purple robe! (She was pretty pissed that she didn't get purple slippers, too. I told her that she cannot be greedy and that Santa did the best he could. He could only bring her 1 gift this year, but we'd look for purple slippers and get them for her later. She ended up with 2 pairs--one Tinkerbell and another knit purple and fuzzy!)
Enjoying Christmas morning with Grandpa Wade!
Lauren played Santa for our Wade exchange and enjoyed crawling under the tree.
A lovely porcelain tea set!
And a princess tower, just like Rapunzel's!
LEGOS from Papa! (We've made SO many creations with them, too!)
MORE cousins! Here are Maydison and Kyleigh, Nicole's 2nd and 3rd children. Alyssa wasn't feeling well.
Lauren got a Barbie from her cousin, Evie!
The girls made a tent from blankets and chairs, used flashlights as their light source, and played Leap Pad and Leapster.
Dec. 26-- Lauren was SO exhausted from all of the family time and running to and fro that she crashed before we made it to Papa and Grandma's house in town! We dropped Lauren and grabbed dinner out. She was still asleep when we returned. Grandma did not mind snuggling her baby granddaughter and enjoyed the comfort while we were gone!
Dec. 27--We stopped in Pittsburgh to visit Justin and Jacob briefly for the evening and trekked on to Wheeling, WV to Cabela's. Now, I really was dreading this manly mecca of dead animals and...I didn't know what else. However, this enormous store was very tastefully done. There was a huge aquarium, an African plain, mountains, polar areas, and a hall probably 3 times the size of my house or larger with deer. They had an arcade upstairs next to the cafeteria that you could play games or do a shooting gallery that when you made your shot, the animals, cans, objects moved. Lauren and Paul had a "blast".
Dec. 30--Paul's friend, Nathan, adores Lauren and the feeling is mutual! He stopped by the house one day and gave her an amaryllis kit. When we got home, her flowers had bloomed!
Aunt Ivy got Lauren a makeup kit for Christmas...I texted a picture of Lauren to friends. I had some think she had a black eye! I'm thinking she's ready for a fight!
December 31--Our friend and school OT, Pam, had us over for a New Year's celebration. Lauren enjoyed playing with her cat, Baily.
Paul got on a kick that if when a 4 year old poops, the toilet stops up, it's time for a new toilet! We ended up with a Gerber. Before it got put in, Paul tricked Lauren. (Incidently, NO stops so far!)
Jan. 13--Harper Annabeth joined our friends/family at 7:50 am! Weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz. (exactly Lauren's weight!) and 20 1/4" long (exactly Cara's length), she is doing SO well! She is the BEST little girl! A great eater, a great sleeper, and a fabulous snuggler!
Jan. 14--We kept Harper's big brother, Chatham, while the family resided in the hospital. A trip to the science center to see the fish, sharks, turtles, and...
Stingrays! Lauren actually touched one this time! Chatham was happy to watch. We learned that stingrays have 5 sets of gills to help them breathe, as do sharks, while the rest of the sea creatures only have 1 set.
We went to Chik-Fil-A for lunch because they have a great indoor play area. (It's been cold and these kids had too much energy!) Look what we saw! (Carrie said another baby girl was born while her Harper was born, also named Harper! We aren't going to tell our Harper anything different!)
Jan. 14--Paul got a streak in him and put CUPBOARD DOORS on my cabinets!! While they are not stained, I DON"T CARE! THEY ARE UP!! The drawer just below my sink tips out and I can store my sponges, scrapers, and drain stops! It's awesome! On the sink door, I have a little organizer thing that stores my grocery bags!!
Jan. 20--Lauren looked like SUCH an adult! I had to snap a picture!
Jan. 21--Lauren was thrilled to hold baby Harper! Here they are! Aren't they both beautiful? Then Lauren and Chatham ran off to play.
Last week I was looking on my school home page (www.nccs.k12.nc.us ) and saw that KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION for Lauren will be March 9!!! I made a morning appointment and got her after school care by her current daycare arranged. She will be going to Thornton Elementary. Lauren is THRILLED! After I had that arranged, we ordered her a personalized lunch bag from Thirty-One with pink and cupcakes. School is rumored to be starting AUGUST 2nd for me this year, 7th for kids! YUCK~! So, a short summer is in store for us!
