"I am two half!!!"

Lauren has been wanting to be 2 1/2 since about December when Katelyn turned 4.  Today her wish was granted.  We even had friends over to celebrate her big steps this week.  It is just so important to Sam and I to show each one of our girls just how precious, loved, and special they truly are in our family.

Along with being the big 2 1/2, she started an early preschool program on Wednesday.  It truly has been a full-blown Lauren week.  We have been showering her with love and attention, yes even her big sister :)  It has been so much fun for everyone.  

I took many pictures of Lauren's big events this week.  Here are what I think are the best of the best.

                    Lauren waiting to go to school with her 

                           new Dora backpack

                             Lauren is getting excited, but nervous :)

What I spent my time doing while both kids were in school for 3 1/2 hours!

                    At McDonalds with Daddy for sundaes
                           to end a great school day!

                                   "Mama, I two half!!!"

                    Lauren and her friends eating the yummy cake!

Rocking the Dentist's office!

Today was Lauren's first cleaning at the dentist.  Let me just say, she was so brave!  I prepped her by reading Dora- Show Me That Smile!  (I just love relating books to real life, so meaningful.)  Anyways, she did outstanding!  Katelyn did great too, but this was her third time so she is a pro :)

This week is a week of a few significant Firsts for Lauren.  Tomorrow is her first day going to preschool for a few hours.  So, I need to record all of this before it fades away into new experiences.

This is what I got when I said to both girls after their cleaning, "Smile!  Let Mama see your pretty teeth!"

The Gingerbread Boy

My girls and I have been on a fairy tale kick this past week.  Not the Disney version, but real fairy tales.  Perhaps even a Grimm here and there.  I borrowed a stack of fairy tales from the library with the intention of reading one a day and discussing it.  Well, when we finished The Gingerbread Boy, both girls were asking for it again and again.  How could I deprive them?  And of course I added some activities to do, culminating in making, what else...Gingerbread Boy (or girl) cookies!

I have received requests for describing the activities we do, and I love sharing!

Some of my best ideas were someone else's that I put my own spin on it.  So, for this learning adventure we read and reread the book so both girls could memorize the infamous, "Run run as fast as you can...".  Then I scanned the people the Gingerbread Boy ran away from and we worked on story retell/sequencing.  Lauren was able to do this too!  We then took the pictures and made a book.   This is where Lauren was no longer interested.  But Katelyn loved it!  With her she worked on writing and "First, second, third..", trying to keep in theme with sequencing but increasing in difficulty.  Finally, because they love baking, we made our own egg free, peanut free cookies.  And let me say, YUMMY! As we ate the cookies the girls began chanting the song again and their own gingerbread cookies went on adventures before they were devoured!

The Best and Most Beautiful Things...

"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

I cannot think of a better way to begin our family blog.  Many of the things I will be posting will be centered around the above quote.  I have found what penetrates my heart truly stays with me and becomes the most important parts of my life.  Not everything is a bed of roses.  We have a normal life over here, complete with our own set of trials and obstacles to overcome.  But if I am able to open my heart often, I have learned that the little things in life become the Big and Beautiful.  The little things are what our precious daughters notice and teach us to never overlook, to appreciate how incredibly blessed we are all.