Not so little anymore

Owen and I just dropped Lauren off for her very first day of preschool. She's got four of her little girl friends in the class with her, so she wasn't worried at all. Well, once we got there, at least! She didn't so much want to get out of bed this morning: "Just tuckie me back in, Mama!"

I got a little teary eyed getting her dressed this morning. Not so much that I was worried about leaving her or how she'd do, more just thinking about how grown up she is and how fast it is happening.

When we got to school we went in and found her cubby to hang her bag, and made a name tag for her to wear. She headed to the playhouse and starting cooking straight away. When I went to say goodbye she gave me a tight squeeze and said, "Take Owen with you. This is for big kids only." I know, Sweetie, I know. I miss you already!

Repeat after me...

Here's a sample of things Lauren has said this week:

"Hey, what's the fuss all about?"

"What are you babbling on about?"

"Just calm down."

"You know what? You're pretty crazy."

Surprise visitor

Adam's 87 year old grandfather surprised us and showed up yesterday for a quick visit - all the way from Southern California! Not only that, but then Uncle Aaron blessed us with his presence. Pretty sad that we live within 5 miles or so of each other and don't see him unless relatives are in town - how horrible are we?! Anyway, we all went out to dinner and had a good time together.

Coffee house

Mama: "That silly daddy of yours left his coffee mug on the front porch again. He'll be sorry when he gets to work and realizes he doesn't have it."

Lauren: "He's a nut. Ladies and gentlemen, my daddy's a nut!"

You are what you eat

Lauren was climbing a pine tree yesterday with her buddy Caleb and got sap in her hair. I'd heard that peanut butter was good for getting sticky stuff (sap, gum, etc.) out of hair, so we tried it. As I was getting the peanut butter out of the cupboard, I was explaining to Lauren what we needed to do. She got a terrified look on her face and said, "No, Mama, no peanut butter in my hair. I might turn into a sandwich!"

P.S.
It worked marvelously - and fast, too!

To my twin

Happy Birthday! I love you!

The Great Outdoors

We went camping this past weekend with some good friends. Lauren and Kove are only 8 days apart and are best buddies. They had a blast, riding Kove's Gator and generally being little monkeys. Owen and Sierra much preferred emptying the ice chest, ice cube by ice cube! We also visited a train museum and enjoyed a (short) ride. You can check out some of our pictures here when you get a minute. In the meantime, here's a preview:

Daddy is gonna love this

Overheard by Mama just now while Cowgirl Lauren was riding her wild caterpillar and singing a song she was making up as she was going:

"My favorite word is the letter apple!"

Look who's talking

While playing in the backyard this afternoon Owen was trying to drink the water in the water wheel play table. Water that has been in there for a week or so. Water with bugs and leaves floating in it - and God knows what else. I took away the watering cans he was using and he grabbed a sailboat to drink out of. I took the sailboat and he grabbed a toy shovel to drink with. I took the sailboat and he picked up a frisbee to use. I sit down on the back steps, defeated, and this is what I hear:

"Be nice to Owen, Mama, be nice to my brother. He's a good boy. Don't say 'ugh'. You've got to be nice to him, Mama!"

The grass is always greener...

They both were more interested in watching the big kids play soccer than play on the swings themselves.

Girlfriend!

Lauren and her friend Genna are so cute together - when they aren't bossing each other around! Here's a shot of them at the library last month:And here's one from the park today:

I'm so glad they're going to preschool together, it should help if they have any first day jitters. 21 days to go, big girls!

Unlicensed contractor

Lauren is helping Daddy put together a new storage shed in the back yard today. She grabbed the measuring tape, a favorite tool of hers, and proceeded to announce the measurement of "two hefty seven!"

Smarty pants or red neck?

Lauren was playing with an old doll at Noni and Papa's house the other day and she somehow popped the doll's head off. Noni told her that wasn't nice and asked her how she'd like it if she popped Lauren's head off. Lauren responded, "You can't do it, Noni, because I have a neck!"