Spring is here!

It appears the nice weather has finally arrived, and we sure are enjoying it!  Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

  We went to the easter egg hunt at the zoo - sadly I hadn't pulled out the easter baskets before we headed out in the morning - so instead Maya collected eggs in a robot gift bag. 

Driving the tractor.

Races in the culdesac.  A favorite activity for them both.  And Maya is finally tall enough to reach and petal on her own!

We spend a lot of time at the neighborhood park - here Maya made Laurel and I 'birthday treats' with all of the woodchips.  I have also convinced her that all birds poop in the woodchips so that she won't suck her fingers until she washes her hands after playing with them.  So far it is working, she is sufficiently grossed out by the thought of bird poop in her mouth :-)

 Our little daredevil - she doesn't even hesitate after getting to the top - simply nosedives right down the biggest slide she can find.

We went to a really fun birthday party for one of our PEPS friends.  Maya got to hold and feed a guinea pig and a rabbit.

And the highlight of her trip to the farm was riding the horse!  My tiny little Maya is constantly surprising me with her bravery.  She was SO excited waiting her turn and then jumped right on the horse without hesitation.

We thought we were in the clear...

Not so much.  No hives the first time she was on amoxicillin, a small sigh of relief.  No hives the second time she was on amoxicillin, a large sigh of relief for that was the point Maya and I each broke out.  A third prescription for a third ear infection, bring it on.  Eight days later... a miserable little girl. These picture don't do it justice and she became much worse but I thought I would spare her and haven't pulled out the camera again.  The itching is driving her insane, she isn't really sleeping and the worst of it is on her face.  Hoping they go away soon!!!

We took her to Children's urgent care to get them checked out.  They put her in the cutest little hospital gown... she finally got in a little rest while we waited for the Benadryl to kick in.

First Birthday

Since Laurel's birthday falls at the end of March, we weren't confident enough to rely on nice weather for a celebration at a park.  We are busting at the seams in our house, so didn't want to crowd it with a party at home.  Instead, we took the family bowling!  Although Laurel is a bit young for bowling, the rest of the family had a great time and she enjoyed laughing at our bowling skills.  Picture are tough to take in a dark bowling alley, but here are few that turned out.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I can not believe you are already one.

Sadly, the kids were not the only ones to pull out the ramp.  Here Maya is showing off her skills.

Bennett, celebrating a great roll (???  I have no idea what you call it!).

Birthday girl practicing her walking.

Maya carefully placing the candle she picked out on Laurel's birthday cupcake.

She didn't eat a bite!

The fam.

One Year!

Hard to believe it but Laurel turned one a couple weeks ago. These last twelve months have flown by. We had her appointment this morning and everything looks great. She weighs in at 18lbs 11oz (15%), is 28.25 in tall (20%) and her head circumference is off the charts big! 

- She has taken a couple steps on her own here and there. She loves to walk around holding our fingers... I think she just needs to get a little confidence to know she can do it. I can imagine it can be tough to balance such a large noggin :-)

- I often find her mimicking our actions. I caught her trying to put her socks on her feet and she loves to try to color like her big sister.

- At her appointment her doctor asked if she is staring to show emotions... I had to give her a resounding yes. She giggles when happy, yells when angry or frustrated and asks for hugs when sad. She wears her emotions on her sleeve.

- When she sees something she wants she reaches out her hand and yells until you give it to her.

- She definitely takes after me and has a very shy streak. She teases by grinning at others than burying her face into my shoulder. But once she has warmed up to you she will give you lots of love.

- She is a carnivore at heart and given the choice would just eat ham, eggs, sausage and meatballs.

- Still NO teeth!!!

New glasses!

She picked them out all by herself - and although the sales lady tried to push her to get pink ones, she stuck to her guns and went with the blue.  These are more breakable than her other pair, but she really needed the nose pieces to keep them from sliding down.  An issue that has been frustrating her for some time.  I can only hope they don't break in a week!

I've got lots to catch up on so hopefully I can find some time to post soon.  Laurel turned one, we celebrated her birthday by bowling and just had a great easter weekend!  Lots of fun pictures to post.