Lauren

Lauren can pump on the swing!! She doesn't need a push at all. For those of you who either don't have kids or haven't experienced the pain that it is to constantly push a three and a half year old on a swing all the while being critiqued on how you are doing it, you cannot fully appreciate the greatness of this feat. To have her go to the swingset and start swinging all on her own is sooooooo wonderful!! And she basically started doing it by herself. My neighbor and I each worked with her teaching her when to bend her knees so she would start getting the hang of it. To not have to hear, "MOOOOOMMMMY, PUUUUUUSH MEEEEEEEE" is such a glorious feeling! Now, I just need to teach Josh how to pump his legs.......

Lauren is getting better at writing her own name, too. Brian drew the lines and she wrote the letters on her chalkboard. That tricky "R" sometimes gives her trouble, as does the "N" which often turns into an "M." But she is working hard (when she wants to) and is so proud of herself when she does write her own name!

Here are the latest Lauren-isms:

"Butterfly's are ridiculous" "Willow trees are special trees" "Gavin (boy at school) likes me all the time" "I need to put that on my birthday list" "That's amaaaaaazing" "We need to be 'sponsible"

Lauren is a wonderful big sister. She takes care of Joshua - even when he doesn't want her to! And Logan is just in love with her. She can make him laugh so hard and he watches her very intently whenever she is around him.

It is so fun to watch her grow : )