Keeping Track of Lauren & Jack » February 2009 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Tue, Feb 17, 2009 11:27 PM
Sunday we did make it to the Fair, despite weather predictions of scattered thunderstorms which thankfully never appeared. It was overcast the whole day but we still all managed to get a little sunburned. I must get back into the habit of applying sunscreen whenever we're outside. The Fair was fun, and I was thankful for the armbands because there were things they wanted to do again and again and again! We only lasted until abbout 3PM though. It was plenty of time, and I don't think Jack would have lasted much longer. They both fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.

Monday I took the kids by myself to Disneyworld. I figured it was the only day coming up that wasn't a weekend when I don't have rehearsal. It was very busy becase it was President's Day, but I'm still glad we went. We went to the Hollywood Studios park first to check out the Star Tours ride, as well as the Jedi Training Academy and the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. We also caught a parade which was fun because it was different charachters from Pixar films. Finally we headed back to the Magic Kingdom where we did the current favorite, the barnstormer rollercoaster, the teacups, the cars, the people mover. I think that was about it before the fireworks and then the kids crashed in the stroller. That's a lot of excitement in two days time!

Today we had music class, and at one point I look out the window to see a huge 5 or 6 foot alligator just sunning himself a few yards away! We've seen him here before, but he was even closer this time. I don't think I'll ever get used to just seeing them laying around like that!

Then this afternoon we had Jack's playgroup which was at a church playground where we'd actually never played before. There's a really nice sand volleyball court there which makes an excellent sand-box and we had lots of sand toys, so everyone was happy. Except we somehow lost a truck somewhere along the line! Lauren is very good with the smaller kids like little Gracie. She already seems to be preparing to be a babysitter! Or a mom! She keeps telling me she wants to have 4 babies. And she's not to be dissuaded even though I tell her that babies are a lot of work! One time she was telling me what kind of car she wanted to get, so I told her she should work hard in school so she can get a good job to pay for the car she wants. And she said, "I don't want to have a job, I want to be a mommy. It's very hard work, right?" Sometimes I truly don't know how to respond to what she comes up with!

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Sat, Feb 14, 2009 11:38 PM
Thursday I was planning for us to go to the Florida State Fair but then was dismayed to discover it's not an armband day. So I decided to go Sunday which is bound to be very busy, but I'm committed to going early and leaving early. Thursday we went to Story time at B&N at our new mall and ran some errands. There's a new train that rides around the center plaza area. it's actually on wheels, but it's very cute and the kids loved riding on it. We spent the afternoon getting their valentine cards and treats ready for all their school chums, as well as homework. I can't get jack too interested in homework yet. Unfortunately we alsways seem to get to it in the afternoons when he's tired and adamently not napping but cranky nevertheless!

Today the kids and I baked a huge heart shaped cookie for Mike, (well, 3 of them actually) and then decorated them with frosting. I cheated and bought a tub of dough, because I knew that decorating them would be the fun part anyway. They came out pretty well! We walked over to a nearby Thai restaurant for dinner and the kids did OK considering there was no mac-n-cheese on the menu! They loved the Thai donuts which had perfect little kid sized pieces and this wonderful sweet sauce for dipping. Yummy! It might not sound all that romantic to have the kids along for dinner, but as we were walking back in the darkening evening I felt very content and sentimental as I looked at my family and remembered back to the many valentines days I spent alone. And it's hard not to feel loved when you get reminded every other hour or every other minute by those little people with such very big hearts!

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Wed, Feb 11, 2009 11:21 PM
Monday I picked up Jack and Taylor from school and half-way home Jack fell asleep in the car.We took Taylor home and then soon enough headed back to school. Lauren had little Chefs after school and Jack stayed alseep until we picked her up at 4PM! Sometimes I feel bad that I didn't sign him up for that class, but he's usually pretty worn out by 2:30. He hasn't actually questioned it at all, but Lauren's asked about it. I feel guilty enough putting him in school a full day when Lauren was just going mornings at the same age. Most days he seems to be adjusting to going without a nap, and he definitely sleeps better at night when he doesn't nap during the day.

After we got Lauren we headed striaght to the airort to pick up Mike and all I can say is thank goodness for dvd's and leapsters! We ran around the cell phone parking lot a bit to let off some steam. They were especially thrilled when we saw airplanes taking off. Mike's trip seemed to go well and he seems to think they'll offer hinm the job, but the jury is out whether he's sure he really wants the job, and of course we don't know exactly what they will be offering. So we'll all be on tenterhooks for a few more weeks!

Tuesday we had music class and I've noticed that Lauren has been singing some of her favorite songs before and after class which always amazes me that she remembers all the words. The other thing that's been happening in the past few weeks is that she has been spontaneously reading. As in, not just repeating what I tell her it says, but knowing what it says without any promting or she figures it out, like she'll recognize 3 letter combinations. I am so proud of her!

I'd just like to recount the conversation in the mini-van on the way home from school today. Jack had mentioned Jhar-jhar who is a character on Star-Wars-The Clone Wars. He's some sort of hybrid creature, but I asked her what she thought he was.

Lauren: He's a chameleon. He can be the color of what he's sitting on.

Me: That's right!

Lauren: It's called camoflague.

Me: That's right, very good!

Taylor: Animals use camoflague to protect them- selves in their environment.

Me: . . .(speechless!)

Taylor will only be 5 yrs old in May, I'd like to point out! They never cease to amaze me with what comes out of their mouths!

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Mon, Feb 9, 2009 9:54 AM
Saturday the kids had their Mygym class. I noticed that Jack misbehaves more with Lauren in the class. He was doing a lot of tackling or wrestling with her when he was supposed to be sitting quietly listening and waiting his turn. Not quite sure what to do about that becuase they choose to sit next to each other, but then they are distracted by each other too.

After class we braved Target to get Jack's friend CJ a B-day present and I was surprised that Jack picked out the present and didn't beg me to buy him something! We did get them both some chocolates for their teachers for Valentines day. After we got home we had Sarah and Meghan over for a playdate. They mostly played outside on the cul-de-sac on their bikes which is currently thier favorite activity.

Sunday we went to CJ's birthday party. He's a classmate of Jack's and it was at his grandparents house, so they were gracious enough to let me bring Lauren along. Otherwise we may not have been able to go. They had a bounce house and a big swing set/slide thing which was really all you need with a bunch of pre-schoolers! I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Lauren is now able to swing herself by pumping her legs, which is so fabulous! Now I don't have to swing them both at the same time, (although I suppose it was a good workout!)

I had been planning to go see a movie in preperation for the academy awards (I like to have an opinion about who I think should win - Not that it matters to anyone but me!) but Sara was sick. Instead the kids played outside with Taylor and Hailey. At one point all 4 of them were rolling in the grass and playing leap-frog and it was very cute. Jack's favorite new thing is to ram his Big Wheel into anyone else, which is awful because he does it to Lauren on her big bike and she fell off once. Luckily she wasn't hurt, but it could be bad as they both get faster.

Jack has been doing breathing treatments for the lingering cough he's had for weeks and weeks. The mask of the nebulizer doesn't fit very well, so we just hold it up to his face. He does surpisingly well holding it by himself. I hope that he isn't developing some sort of asthma or something. At the moment he just seems to keep getting these recurring bronchial infections.

We web-conferenced with Mike in England via Skype a few times over the weekend which is so amazing! The kids do much better in front of a web-cam than on the phone. They seem to think that the computer moniter is just a window they're looking through. But it really is more like a visit when you can see the person you're speaking to in real time. I just think technology is so incredible, it boggles my mind to think of what the kids will be doing by the time they're teenagers, tele-transporting?

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Thu, Feb 5, 2009 11:23 PM
Tuesday we had a playdate with Lauren's friend from school Cameron. We baked sugar cookies cut into heart shapes and then I let the kids decorate them. Then after I dropped a few and burned a few (Martha Stewart, I am NOT!) I realized that I needed to make another batch so there would be enough for the bake sale on Wednesday! Then I was up into the wee hours doing that batch because I have foolishly gotten myself cast in another play and had to go to rehearsal, so I only started baking after I got home at 10PM.

Wednesday we took Mike to the Airport. First we went to the mall near there and had dinner so we would avoid the rush hour traffic, plus his flight was delayed. So he's off for his second interview at Oxford which is both a very exciting prospect and a terrifying idea, it's such a huge move to contemplate!

Today we were home all day because we had a slow morning and then we were waiting on the microwave repairman. You never realize how much you use that darn thing until it stops working! I tried out a new babysitter so I could go to rehearsal, since Sara wasn't available. Her name happens to be Lauren, and it seemed to go very smoothly. Jack was very suspicious of her at first,but told her that he had fun with her by the end of the night.

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Mon, Feb 2, 2009 10:37 AM
Saturday the kids had their Mygym class and then Mike took them out to lunch. When they got home they played outside on their bikes. Jack has been actually putting his feet on the pedals AND steering so he seems to enjoy it more than he used to, now that he can keep up with Lauren. Of course, Lauren's new favorite thing is to ram into him with her bike which is an automatic time out, but that doesn't seem to hinder her. Lauren agreed to try out her big-girl bike with the training wheels (as opposed to the Big Wheel tricycle types they've been riding where they sit low to the ground.) I realized somewhere along the line that her refusal to ride on it stems from her experience falling off of it once. She just fell into the grass and she wasn't hurt or anything, but she's been resistant to riding on it ever since. The problem is that she's outgrowing her little bike, her legs are growing so long. But on Saturday she did really well and she sees that she can actually go much faster on that one.

Sunday we went to Aref and Aseem's Birthday party, (twin classmates of Lauren's) where there was an appearance from a fire truck and they got to climb in it and ring the siren etc. If that was not exciting enough, we then went to a Superbowl party at Matt Bravo's house.(theatre friend) Tampa hosted the Superbowl this year, so it seemed odd how the nation had it's eyes trained on our little city for this huge national event. The kids did great, considering there were not any other kids there. I have learned my lesson and brought their portable DVD player as well as their Leapsters. They stayed relatively contained and then we left after the half-time show, so they were in bed about an hour late which was probably not the best thing for a school night, but not too bad. They didn't like the screaming that came every time there was a touchdown or a big play, but I suppose they are slowly getting initiated into these parts of American culture!

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