Lauren

There are so many stories about our wonderful Lauren. She keeps me so busy and on my toes. There is at least one story a day I tell myself I need to write down. I will see now how much I can remember. Lauren did well on our trip to SLC. She has all of her teeth in now and is growing up so much. She had fun with Grandma and Grandpa. One of her habits is to come and sleep on the couch which is OK with me as long as she is not in our bed. She usually waits until she thinks we are asleep and then brings her blanket and baby and sleeps on the couch. She doesn't do it every single night but she definitely has a bad habit. We found out she could unlock her door so it does no good to try and keep her in her room. She is sleeping in Landon's little toddler bed and the crib is set up for the new baby. We also put some curtains up in her room so it is starting to come together well. I have so much I want to do but I will have to do it a little at a time. She plays really well with her dolls and is always concerned about taking care of them. She loves to dance and move her hips. I think we need to put her in dance next year. Her and I have enjoyed spending our time together while Landon is in preschool. I pack her and I a lunch and we take it with us so we can eat in between our errands. Some events which have taken place in public.......I took her and Landon to Wal-mart last week. I asked Landon to use the potty at home which he did not do which meant he had to go right when we got there. I was helping him and Lauren ran in the huge stall and locked me out. I got Landon all set and started "encouraging" Lauren to come out. I noticed her pants, shoes and diaper were all on the floor but was concerned because of the size of my stomach and my inability to crawl under the stall. My encouragement turned to threats and at one point she opened the door and ran out towards the store with only a shirt on. I caught her right before she went out and then attempted to clothe her before having a nervous breakdown. We got everyone all together and were attempting to shop when Landon got a stomachache. He was told to get in the fetal position in the cart and try not to cry. The experience seemed much more traumatic at the time but I remember thinking that we should just stay at home from now on. When we took Landon to the doctor (on the third floor of the hospital) we went down to the basement to get Jerry. As we were leaving, Lauren ran outside of the office and I couldn't see her. I saw one of the employees with his arm in the door of the elevator and we found her with both hands over her eyes. I am glad he was there to save her so we didn't have to put the hospital on lock down in order to find her. I thought she was scared by this experience but she did the same thing the next day at BBBS and I got my arm in the door at the last second. She calls the elevator the "alligator" and apparently would like to ride on it all by herself. The other major incident involved "the moose." Jerry took the kids to Sportsman's Warehouse one day while I was working. He came home and when Lauren wasn't looking he bit her toes. Somehow he convinced her a moose bit her in the foot. He called me and said she was sobbing and wouldn't get off the couch. I told him to find some aerosol spray and tell her it was moose spray and the moose would be gone. This worked somewhat well although she ended up on the couch that night. We ended up having to go to Albertsons and get a can of brown air freshener which is our moose spray and we have to use nightly before going to bed and for naps. Things have been better the past week but we have at least one discussion daily about the moose getting a spanking from Dad and returning to live in the woods. If you ever have a moose, now you know what to do. Lauren talks extremely well and is very smart. She loves to read books and build with blocks. She loves milk wants to drink it nonstop. She just put a bowl of green chili dip on her head for some reason and I have to go put her in the shower. Like I said, she keeps me moving and I love her.