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Fall Photos

Just a few from Halloween

Learning to Drive with Barbie

The girls got a Barbie Jeep for their birthday two years ago from Grammy & Pa but the little buggers have either been afraid of it or just not interested until late this summer.  Lauren decided to take Lilly for a spin around the yard after Lilly got it stuck on the sandbox.  Lauren has begun to master reverse, turning and stopping.  Still it is funny to see their two little heads as they rumble away in their cool jeep.

Who Gives This Child....

Today is our first no school day due to the teachers having a professional development day.  Nice.  We slept in and played with my awesome nephew Derek.  Lauren loved playing with him and helping him.  You could see how much they loved hanging out with each other.  After Derek left, the girls asked if they could get out their mini La LaLoopsy dolls.  (They weren't allowed to have them out while Derek was over because they have some very small parts.)  They set up their "village" which consists of the boxes they came in all strategically lined up in our front bow window.  They were playing so well when Lauren got a little excited and a doll slipped from her hand that was waving around excitedly.  You know the correct physics law that applies to this one, right?  An object in motion always comes to rest on the top of a siblings head.  It didn't hurt Lilly but she acted the part.  Lauren said, "I'm sorry, Lilly.  Do you give me?"
Lilly says nothing.
Lauren"  "Do you give me, Lilly?"
Me:  "I think you are trying to say forgive me."
Lauren:  "Do you give me, Lilly?"
Lilly:  (Very matter of fact) "I believe I do."

Playing continued.

You Really Gotta Go - OH!

Lauren's favorite song forever has been Katy Perry's Hot n Cold.  When she first started singing it, she got a few of the words right but now, I am pretty sure she has begun singing an entirely different song.  I managed to get a little sample out of her complete with her own choreographed moves.  Good stuff.

Lilly

Lilly.

What can I really say about that girl?  She is a hoot!  Really.  Hilarious!  She does this funny thing with her eyes... think Chevy Chase.  She tells silly jokes and often adds a comedic wha wha at the end of something to signify a failure.

Tonight after her bath, I was trying to get her to focus on getting dressed.  She was too busy looking at a photo of me from when I was a little girl.

Lilly:  You were so cute when you were little.
Mama:  Thank you.  It looks like a picture of Lauren doesn't it?
L:  Yes..... You were little like me?
M:  Yup and someday you'll be big like me.  You'll be a mama with kids.  Do you want to be a mama?
L:  Nooooo!  That's silly!
M:  No, when you are older.  Do you want to have your own little kids?
L:  No.
M:  Why?
L:  I don't want to change all those stupid diapers!

(If you are aware of how difficult potty training has been with this stubborn little girl then you know how ironic her answer is!)

So now that my little darlings are in bed and actually sleeping for once, I need to head to bed myself.  I'm looking forward to week two of school and hoping that Lauren's bus ride home goes better this week.  She has cried every day this week.  She has one more week to stop crying or I am going to have to start picking her up.  Fingers crossed!

No More Preschool Tears For Lilly

Sitting on the carpet at school getting ready to read a book with Mama and Lauren

Sitting in the car super excited to go in!

Posing pretty for me

This outfit is so awesome on her!  And yes, that is a Toy Story backpack filled with a T.S. lunch box, thermos and snack container.  Do you see why boys love Lilly?  They love her T.S. stuff!

Outside her classroom waiting for the doors to open!

Kindergarten?!! When Did That Happen?

Lauren started kindergarten!!!

Daddy and Lauren

Mama and Lauren

Grammy surprised Lauren by showing up to watch her get on the bus!  (Lilly saw her and said, "what does Grammy need now?)

Sweet sisters

Lauren is the first kid picked up on Mr. Norm's route!  She did awesome on the way to school but the way home was another story.  (The school over crowded the bus - 4 kids per seat - and had to pull kids off the bus.  She was crying because she didn't think she was going to get home!  Thank God our neighbor Ethan stayed right by her side the whole time!)

Warrior Keith

I am so unbelievably proud of Keith.  Not only did he run his first race but he did it and then came home and continued to roof our house.  That is some amazing stamina! 

Keith raced in the first ever Michigan Warrior Dash held in Mt. Morris and did awesome!  The race consisted of 3 miles plus obstacles.  (You can check out the ins and outs of the race at warriordash.com )  He did it in a time of 35:17:65 which placed him at #99 out of #1048 in his age group!  Of the thousands upon thousands that raced, he placed 700-something! Right now (11:15 p.m.), he is still running high on adrenaline! 

(Oh, and for those of you who haven't seen Keith in a million years.... this is what he looks like now.  Yeah... I'm married to THAT.  )

I also have pictures from when my sister was visiting plus the Wiggles concert yesterday but let's just focus on Keith for now.  Way to go, honey!

My Little Mermaid

I know, I know, I am not cut out for this blogging thing. I got a bit obsessed with facebook... It is so much easier to share photos and stories on there and so many friends and family are on facebook. However, I am no longer there and I have no outlet to share how stinkin' cute my girls are or how ridiculously funny Keith is being so I am back to Blogger, again.

As usual, time has been flying. We have been camping and hitting the beaches this summer and today we are heading to The Wiggles concert so it is clear that we find ways to stay busy. We are also so excited to celebrate the girls' birthdays in the upcoming weeks. Lilly will be four. Yeah, let that soak in for a minute before I hit you with the fact that Lauren will be five! Kindergarten! School bus! Not at all a preschooler anymore. She is growing so much - even the attitude! One day earlier this week she laid out Lilly's clothes for the day all by herself. Plus, every night she puts the toothpaste on Lilly's toothbrush and sets it on the counter with a full cup for rinsing. While that is all very helpful, we constantly have to remind Lauren that she is not Lilly's mother and to leave her alone! But true to Lilly's personality, she just usually goes with the flow. Until one day when Lilly rises up...

Last weekend we celebrated Keith's cousin's high school graduation. (I'm still not really sure how he got old enough to graduate.) It was a pool party and I was a little nervous about that because the girls don't swim in deep water ever. Lil took a little tumble into the pool right away and Uncle Kurt saved her so she already had a bad feeling about the pool. Lauren, on the other hand, got right in there and would not come out. She was a little mermaid. She almost always had a big smile on her face as she swam back and forth across the shallow end of the pool which was three feet deep. She wasn't even phased but the little brat of a boy who nearly jumped on top of her three times! Keith and I were certainly phased... don't make the mama bear show you her claws!
Anyway, here are a few pictures of the pool party.