waterpark!

this past weekend joel, lauren and i went to an indoor waterpark that was about 2 hours outside of minneapolis. we had gone to another one in december with my family and lauren loved it. so we thought we try another one to help tide us over until summer (it's been a LONG winter). lauren had a great time and thankfully her daddy was willing to pretty much do all the water activities with her. hey, someone had to watch our stuff and take pictures. :) she loved the lazy river, but it wasn't too relaxing for joel who had to continually change their course to avoid the waterfalls and squirting statues. they also did a few water slides together, but lauren wouldn't go any more once i had the camera out (of course!). but it was a great little family outting, and when we got home it was over 60 degrees and sunny! quite a change considering it was 0 degrees just the week before. summer can't come soon enough!

daddy and lauren hanging out in the kiddy pool.

this was about the extent of my water fun.

actually, i did manage to quickly plop in. but THIS was the extent of my water fun.

thank goodness for daddies!! :)

warming up in the hot tub.

a nice little back float.

just hanging out and having fun.

and the inevitable time to go home. :(

big girl bed

a few weekends ago, joel, lauren and i went to ikea to buy a big girl bed. lauren was very excited and was a great "helper" when we were putting it together. she slept in it the first night and did very well until about 6:30 am when we heard a thump followed by crying. sure enough she had managed to find the one area of the bed that didn't have the guard rail on it and fell out. so after that she decided the crib was a safer place to sleep. but she eventually gave the big girl bed another try and has liked it ever since. one night she came prancing out into the living room around 11:00 announcing to joel and i that she was awake. ( a definite plus to the big girl bed - more freedom). but for the most part she does very well and it seems her crib is becoming a thing of the past.

she likes to line up her stuffed animals, which she calls her "friends".

everyone is in their place and ready for bed.

at least i hope everyone is ready for bed! :)

best buddies

today we had 4 of my cousins (or cousins-in-law) over for lunch. we all have little girls that range in age from 18 months to 22 months. my cousin celia has 6 month old twins as well, but they obviously are too young to play with the "big girls", but it won't be long.... it has been so great watching the girls enjoy each other's company more and more. they are all so sweet and play very nicely together. they are all working on their manners and many times more than one of them will chime in with a "please" or "thank you" when a mommy says, "what do you say?" i feel so blessed to have this wonderful group of cousins/friends for lauren to be a part of for many years to come! :)

it's not easy to get a group shot! (l-r) katie, ian, lauren and ava.

katie and lauren playing in the "tunnel".

katie, ava and lauren playing catch.

ian was busy doing some very impressive coloring! :)

celia and baby kiera, who will be having fun with the "big girls" in no time.

it's not as hard to get them all together when there are cookies involved. :)

after a few hours of fun, it was time to say goodbye. they are all very good huggers.

and finally, little kiera and tegan all ready to go. bye, bye girls. we hope to see you all again soon!

daddy attempts to fix hair

this morning we were in a hurry to get out of the house, so i asked joel if he could get lauren ready. after getting her dressed, i informed him that she needs to have her hair fixed as well (a task joel repeatedly tells me he doesn't know how to do). I reassured him that it is not that difficult and since he has a little girl he has to learn how to fix her hair. so he bravely gave it a try.....

this is the before shot.

he begins with a little detangling spray. off to a good start!

he runs into a few snarls. lauren is not enjoying this too much.

"are we done yet, dad?!" obviously not.

so they continue on. and finally.....

..the after shot! i don't know what looks more funny, lauren's hair or her "smile". but i have to give joel some credit, at least he tried. and i'm thinking (and hoping) he'll only get better with time. :)

sewing with aunt missy

last week my brother and sister-in-law moved in with us as they are starting a new life in minnesota after living in south africa for the past year. we are really enjoying having them here and being able to spend so much time together, something we've rarely been able to do in the past. lauren is especially loving her uncle jeremiah and aunt missy time. they are both so good and patient with her. and joel and i are having fun watching lauren develop a relationship with them (which didn't take long to do). missy is a great seamstress and is always sewing something(she's promised to give me lessons). so the other night lauren wanted to take a closer look and see exactly what missy was doing with this strange machine. i think she was rather impressed.

our dancing queen

lauren loves to put on her ballerina tutu and dance. however, she prefers having a dancing partner as opposed to dancing alone. she's very lucky that her daddy finds her hard to resist. so the two of them had a little dance today, and i was able to get a couple of cute pictures!

surviving the winter

lauren asks to go to the park all the time, even when it's below 0 outside (which has been quite often). however there happens to be an indoor park just a few miles from our house. yesterday, after church, we met chad and celia and their 3 daugthers for lunch and some playtime. the playground equipment was geared more for older kids, but the girls had so much fun exploring and running around. with outtings like this, we may just make it through the winter after all!