Christmas!

Merry Christmas! This year Christmas was a little bit different for us. While I wish we were in our new house, we got to stay home this Christmas. Usually we are visiting Grandparents and Great-Grandparents on Christmas Day.

The weekend before Christmas we saw Papa Pooch and Great Grandma Dody.

This year on Christmas Eve at noon we went to Daddy's Uncle Gary's house for Great Grandma Thompson's Christmas. I had a lot of fun. I have a 2nd cousin Callie that I love playing with. I only see her once a year, but we get a long really well and I always enjoy seeing her. We are six months apart in age.

Christmas Eve late afternoon and evening we went to Papa Stew's and Grandma Marcia's. When we left Uncle Gary's house is was snowing...A LOT. Mommy was driving and thought we may just drop the gifts off and leave. We ended up staying until 7:00pm or so. It was a rough drive home. It normally takes us about 50 min. It took over 2 hours. The roads were really bad and in some spots Mom was only driving 20 mph.

Christmas Day we stayed home this year. This isn't something we normally get to do but we LOVED it. We stayed in our PJ's all day and played with the toys Santa left for us. The only downside was that we were in our 900 square foot rental house and not our new house, but next Christmas we'll be in the new house. Maybe we'll stay home Christmas Day then too...we'll just have to see. It was just really nice and we all had a great day together.

Halloween

I was Dorothy from Wizard of Oz for Halloween this year. I was so excited to be Dorothy. We had a great Halloween weekend.

Friday night we saw my Grandma Cindy and then went to a costume party with my other Grandma and Grandpa. I saw my cousin Riley there. She showed me some of her friends and we played. I won a cake in the cake walk and lots of other little prizes playing games.

Saturday we went roller skating. It was for a friends birthday party. Then Saturday night I went with my brother to a costume party for one of his friends. It was really fun. I ate pizza and chased the boys.

Today Mommy and I went to Zoolie Ghoolie and then we went Trick-or-Treating. It was a lot of fun.

My first dentist appointment

Tonight I had my very first dentist appointment. I was so excited and not scared at all. I wasn't sure what to expect but Brother, Mommy and Daddy go to the dentist, so I figured it had to be a neat place. I was right! It was so much fun.

First the nice lady called me back and I got to sit in a really big chair that lays down. Then she put some stuff on my teeth...flouride, I think. Then she sprayed my mouth with water and had me spit it into a tube. That was my favorite part. Then she brushed my teeth with a brand new princess toothbrush. I loved it.

Then the guy came in. I think he's the actual dentist. He guessed what my favorite colors are. He's so smart. He told me I had no cavities. Then I got to pick out a prize. They also gave me a new toothbrush, toothpaste, and cloth. Mommy says it's FLOSS, not CLOTH. Maybe I misunderstood what the nice dentist lady helper said.

Either way, I can't wait to go back in six months.

Haunted Hayride

Tonight Mommy, Daddy, Brother and I went on Haunted Hayride. Mommy and Brother went last week. They realized I wouldn't be scared so we all went this week. It was so much fun. When we were walking back to the car I said "It was really funny when...." Mommy thought it was funny that I thought the HAUNTED hayride was funny instead of scary.

I can't wait to go next year.

A walk with Mommy

This afternoon Mommy and I went on the trail for a walk. We walked just over two miles. That's quite a bit for my little legs. It was fun. When the wind would blow the leaves would fall off the trees. I said "Mommy, it's snowing leaves!" It looked really cool. After that we went and got and apple cider slush. YUM!

My new room - sort of

Tonight when we went to go look at our new house being built, they had a lot of the sub-floor in. That means I got to stand where my new bedroom will be. It was so cool!


(If you are wondering, my shirt says "Dad answers to me!")

A fun weekend

This weekend there was a Cub Scout camp out at Camp Cilca. We all went out there Saturday afternoon. It was very windy and it was a cold wind. Mommy and I decided not to stay all night. We stayed for the hot dog roast and then we decided to leave because the cold wind was really bothering me. On the way home I asked Mommy if we could stop by the mall to play in the indoor play area. She said I could. We did that for about an hour. Then we came on home.

Today, Mommy took Brother and I shopping this afternoon. Brother needed to finish getting the stuff for his Halloween costume. His costume is cool!!! I'll post a picture closer to Halloween. After we got done shopping Mommy took, Brother, Keegan (brother's friend) and me to the Fall Festival at the Baptist church. We played games and go our faces painted. It was so much fun!!

VACATION

We just got back from the BEST vacation. We went to Disney World, the Ocean and a baseball game.

Day 1 - Driving (8/7)
Today we woke up very early. We are driving all of the way to Florida so we had to leave bright and early! We left at 5:00 am. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's around 11:30. Then we drove until about 5:30 or so. We stopped in Macon, Georgia for the night. We ate at Golden Corral. It was very yummy. Then we came back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool. After we were done swimming, brother and I watched iCarly. It was a long drive today, but the drive wasn't nearly as bad as I thought.

Day 2 - More driving and arriving at Disney (8/8)
We woke up and were on the road by 8:00 am. We had the continental breakfast at the hotel. We stopped at Arby's around 11:30 for lunch. After that we only had about 1.5 hours left to drive. We arrived at Disney around 2:00pm eastern time.

When we got to Disney we went directly to our resort. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. That place is HUGE and BEAUTIFUL! We found our room, looked around the resort and then headed out to check out Downtown Disney and the Market Place.

The Market Place is cool!!! They have lots of stores there. My favorite was the toy store where I got to play dress up with Mr. Potato Heads and My Little Pony's. FUN!

After playing at the stores we ate at Planet Hollywood. This was one thing Ryan picked out. It was pretty cool in there. Brother loved it. He loved seeing all of the memorabilia from movies.

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios (8/9)
Monday we went to Hollywood Studios. Mom and Dad were sure Ryan would love this place. They were right. There was Indiana Jones stuff there, Star Wars stuff, lots of different movie things. We ate at the Sci Fi Dinner Theater. It was so cool. We ate in this car. Mommy and I were in the back and Daddy and Ryan were in the front.

While we were there I got to see a lot of characters, Mike from Monsters Inc, Mickey Mouse, Woody and Buzz from Toy Story and lots of others too. I got my picture taken with all of them. It was great!!!
Day 4 - Magic Kingdom(8/10)
Today was the big day of our trip! This was the day that I have been looking forward to for MONTHS. Today was meet the Disney Princess' day!!!!

There was one problem, Brother woke up sick. He had a bad tummy ache and was throwing up. OH NO!!!! It's Princess Day!!! What are we going to do??? Mommy and Daddy didn't want Brother to miss out on the fun, but they also knew that I'm only four and I couldn't miss out on the best part of the trip for me. So, after much discussion, Mommy and I went to Disney World without the boys. They decided to stay back and when/if Ryan started feeling better, they would join us.

Mommy and I got on the boat to ride over to the Magic Kingdom. Now, I must say that while I wish the boys could have been with us, this was some very special time with Mommy. Have I mentioned she's my best friend? Once the boat arrived at Magic Kingdom, we went in the park. The first thing we saw was Daisy Duck. People were in line for a picture with her. Mommy and I got in line. I gave her a big hug when I saw her.

After meeting Daisy Duck I just really really wanted to see the the Princesses. Mommy found the special place to meet them. By this time it was about 9:55. They weren't supposed to arrive until 10:00. That was PERFECT. We were third in line so we didn't have to wait long at all. Let me tell you this was by far the best part of the trip and one of the happiest days of my life. I was so star-struck when I saw them. It made Mommy cry. I got to see Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. They were all very nice and they talked to me.

After we saw the Princesses, Mommy's phone rang. It was Daddy. He and Brother made it to the Magic Kingdom. It wasn't without incident though. Brother threw up on the boat so he was really taking it easy. We caught up to them though and were able to enjoy the rest of the day together. Brother was really taking it easy but it was great that he got to join us.

We went on lots of rides and saw a lot of neat things. For supper though we ate at the Crystal Palace. This was a fancy buffet meal with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eyore. It was great!!!

After supper we walked around some more and rode some more rides then we watched the Electric Parade and the Fireworks. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11:00 PM. It was a long day, but a very very fun day!!!

Day 5 Animal Kingdom (8/11)
We went to Animal Kingdom. We had to get their early because we had reservations for breakfast. It was a buffet and we got to meet characters. We met Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse.

The food was really good. The restaurant was African themed, but the breakfast was traditional American food. They did try to give us some strange juice. I just had water.

After breakfast we found the safari ride. It was kind of neat. We rode in this vehicle similar to what they use in Jurassic Park and looked at lots of animals. After the Safari, we found some other attractions, a really neat Dinosaur ride, and a finding Nemo show.

Today was probably our shortest day so far. It was a neat park, but nothing can beat the Magic Kingdom.

Day 6 Epcot (8/12)
We went to Epcot Center today. This place was made for my Brother. There was a lot of science stuff here. I had fun too though. I got to go in the big silver ball. That was really neat. Then we watched a weather thing. The best ride was probably the GM Test track. We got to ride in a car and go through things similar to what they put cars through to make sure they are safe. It was neat and really fun. It went fast in the end.

The best part of this day happened in the afternoon. I got to meet SNOW WHITE! She was beautiful and so nice. She talked to me for about five minutes and we took lots of pictures.

After meeting Snow White we went to our dinner reservations. It was at the Garden Grill. This was another character meal. We got to meet Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto. The restaurant was really neat. We liked the atmosphere and stuff, but Ryan and I didn't care for the food. The served backed chicken legs and mac and cheese with crackers on top. It just didn't really hit the spot. Meeting the characters though was cool.

After supper we went and watched a Nemo show and then did a little shopping. It was then time to head back to the resort. We were all tired, but it was a fun fun day.

Back at the resort we spent our last evening swimming, relaxing and walking around.

Day 7 Ocean and a Baseball Game (8/13)

We woke up and checked out of the resort. We ate breakfast at McDonalds and then were on our way to St. Pete. It was time to see the ocean. We ended up driving for a couple of hours and stopped at St. Petersburg beach. It was so much fun. I wasn't expecting all of the waves. We got to build a small sand castle too. After we were done at the ocean we went to find a hotel to stay in for the evening. We found a hotel not too far from the baseball park. After checking in we walked to the Pizza Hut down the street for a late lunch. Then we went back to the hotel and rested for about an hour before heading out to the baseball game. We got to see the the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Oriole's play. Mommy and I got a free t-shirt at the game since we are girls. Since it wasn't a shirt that would only be for girls, Mommy gave hers to Brother.

After the game there was a Village People concert at the ball park. We stayed for two songs. Then it was time to go back to the hotel. We would start the drive back tomorrow.

Days 8 & 9 -- The drive home

On Saturday we made it to Chatanooga, TN. We found a really cool hotel on a mountain. It was decorated very modern. I got to play in the swimming pool and was the most brave I'd been in the water all of vacation. I actually walked in the pool all by myself.

On Sunday we finished the drive home. We had to make a couple of unexpected stops though. I must have gotten car sick because while driving through the mountains, I threw up in the car. I told Mommy and Daddy I needed to puke and Mommy pulled off just one mile down the road at the nearest exit but it was too late. Mommy and Brother took me to the restroom and cleaned me up and Daddy worked on cleaning up the car. I even got it in my hair so Mommy washed it for me.

We made it home around 3:30 in the afternoon. It was the best vacation ever. I can't wait until our next vacation.

Packing

So this moving stuff is really confusing. I thought when we sold our house that meant we couldn't take any of our stuff with us. Thank goodness I was wrong. I found out we even get to take our swing set!!! We don't get to take the landscaping though....I asked.

Mommy and Daddy have been backing a lot of the things that can go into storage. Mommy was packing up stuff in the closet in Phoebe's room Friday night. I said "How are we going to pack Phoebe?" Mommy explained that we can't pack Pheebs in a box we'll just put her in the car with us.

Today when Mommy was packing I started to wonder something so I just asked "How will we pack the bath tub and shower?" Mommy said those stay with the house.

Wow! This is going to be an exciting time.

Big Changes are a Comin'!!!

Big changes are starting to happen at my house. Well, they started happening about a month ago when my family bought land to build a house on. The thing was, we couldn't start building until we sold our house. Mommy and Daddy didn't want to be stuck with two house payments if our house didn't sell in time. I understand why. Mommy said I wouldn't be able to get as many new clothes and shoes. YIKES!!!!! That would be terrible. It happened Friday evening though. An offer came through on our house.

A Doctor moving from Arkansas bought our house. He wants to get his family here as soon as possible. He's asked a closing date on or before August 10. In this housing market there isn't really a lot of negotiating room for stuff like that. Our family leaves for Florida on August 7th. Mommy and Daddy don't have to be at closing so we can still take our trip.

All of this means though we need to move the weekend of July 1/August 1. This is where the sad part comes in. We aren't sure where exactly we are going. Mommy and Daddy will figure it out. Mommy said she will be saying "It's just temporary" A LOT! It's going to be an adjustment for all of us until our new house is actually built.

Gift Cards for My Birthday

I got two gift cards for my birthday this year. One from Aunt Hilary for Target and one from Aunt Emily for Toys R Us. Tonight Mommy took me out and let me spend them.

We went to Target first because it was on our way to Toys R Us. I was intending to buy a toy. When walking back to the toys you have to walk right past the clothes. When I saw the clothes I said "CLOTHES! I WANT CLOTHES!" I picked out a brown & blue dress and a yellow shirt. Then we walked back to the toys. I got a Snow White doll that is like a Polly Pocket. That is the only one that I didn't get as a gift for my birthday. Now I have all of them! Here is a picture. THANK YOU AUNT HILARY!!!!




Next we went to Toys R Us. I picked up a Toy Story figure at first. Then I kept shopping some more and found this really cool doll with an accessory kit. She came with LOTS of clothes for me to change over and over and over and over again....with Mom's help. I just LOVE this doll. Here is a picture. THANK YOU AUNT EMILY!

My Four-Year-Old Checkup

Today I had my four-year-old checkup. I'm a growing girl. Everything looked good. I'm a tall & skinny little thing. Here are my stats:

Height: 41 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 31 lbs (20th percentile)
BMI: 13% (1 percentile)

While my BMI is just in the 1 percentile, I'm still healthy. Technically I'm underweight, BUT my whole life I've not weighed much. I'm growing at my own pace. I'm just tall and thin, and that's ok. I don't look scrawny. My Dr. said it's nothing to worry about.

I'm FOUR!

Four years ago today my Mommy sat down at her desk at work and I decided I was ready to come out. Three weeks early! That's not too bad though. I tried to make my entrance into this world five weeks early.

At 2:00 pm Mommy went to the Dr. and at 4:18, I was born. Just after A-Rod hit a walk off home run for the Yankees.

I had a GREAT birthday. It all started with a party with my friends and Grandparents on Saturday at Midstate Gymnastics. We got to bouncy in a bounce house, slide down some BIG slides and go through a bouncy obsticle course. It was so much fun playing with all of my friends.

Today Mommy took brother and I to Knights Action Park. It was so fun. I still don't like the slides, but I like the kiddie slides and kiddie pool...and the Lazy river too. That's probably my favorite. Now, while we went to Knights today, it wasn't really part of my birthday. Brother and I have been wanting to go all summer and Mommy had today off from work so it was a perfect day to take us. Even though we didn't technically go to celebrate my birthday, it still helped to make my special day a lot of fun.

For supper tonight we went to O'Charley's. I love that place. It's my favorite. I had mini corn dogs, french fries and rolls. I love those rolls.

After supper we came home and Dave & De, and Brad came over for cake & ice cream and they gave me some presents. It was a really good birthday.

I got a lot of Disney Princess stuff. Mommy, Daddy and Brother got my the Bitty Twins. The girl looks like me with brown hair and the boy looks like my brother with black hair. I call them my Ryan and Lauren babies.

Girl's Weekend

Guess what? Mommy and I had a weekend just for us! It's was just the girls. The boys went to Cub Scout Resident Camp so Mommy and I spent some time doing girl stuff.

On Friday, we went out for supper and did some shopping. Then we came home and I got to sleep in Mommy's room. I chose to set up cot up in her room and sleep on that. It was so much fun.

On Saturday, we went to town-wide garage sales in McLean. Mommy had taken some stuff up to try to sell. When the garage sales were over we came home and did a really super fun thing. We got PEDICURES!!!!!! Look at the pictures.





After our pedicure's we went out for pizza and then came home and just relaxed. I got to sleep on my cot in Mommy's room again.

Sunday we ate breakfast, got a paper, watched a movie on TV and then played with my dollhouse. It was a GREAT weekend.

Soccer Time!

I'm playing soccer again this spring. I have a different coach this time. His name is Tom. He is so much fun. We have a lot of fun at practice. We kick the ball, try to score a goal and we even play duck-duck-goose. We all try to chase Coach Tom! Here are some pictures from a game.

Papa Twin is in Heaven

Something very sad happened today. My Papa Twin passed away. He had Parkinson's disease for about 10 years. The past few years he has slowly gotten more and more sick.

Twelve days ago, Grandma needed to put him in a nursing home because she just couldn't take care of him anymore. She was getting ready to go through six weeks of radiation for breast cancer and she needed help. Daddy supported her decision and was by her side the entire time.

The past 12 days have been so hard on everyone. God needed another angel though and the only way my Papa twin would not be in any pain anymore was to go be with him. Papa is an angle now. He's watching over us now.

I miss you Papa. I love you!

Pa Pa is sick

My Pa Pa (Daddy's Dad) is sick. Grandma and Daddy had to put him in a nursing home this week. He has Parkinson's Disease and was just having a hard time getting around. We went and saw him yesterday. Daddy helped him drink a can of Pepsi and he ate FOUR of my oreo-like cookies. I shared with him. He was sitting in a chair with wheels because he can't walk. It was really sad. I thought when people got sick then, they'd get better. Daddy said he's not going to get better though. Does that mean he'll be like this all week?

I think since I'm three, I just don't understand all of this.

Note from the editor: Lauren actually said to Mark "So Pa Pa is never going to get better? Does that mean he'll be sick all week?" There is something so sweet and innocent about all of that. Oh to be three again.

Guess what was on the Mac Book?

You'll never guess what I saw tonight on Mommy's Mac Book? A picture of Cinderella's Castle. I could not believe it. Mommy says we are going to go there in August. OMG! It's a dream come true. I asked her where the Little Mermaid's Castle and the Pink Princess' Castle is but Mommy didn't know. She said they may not have a castle at Disney World.

I was just in awe. I could not quit looking at the picture of the castle. This is so exciting!

NO KISSING on the lips

Guess what happened today? Matty tried to kiss me -- on the LIPS! I told him "You can't kiss me on my lips - you're not my mom or dad, and we're not married." Jeez! What was he thinking? Besides, he wants to marry Jenny.

Banana Bread - YUM!

Tonight my Mom and brother were making banana bread. Brother said he needed 3/4 cup of water. I decided I could help with that. I quickly grabbed three forks from the silverware drawer. "Three-forks for the cup of water".

In Memory of Great-Grandma Nete

Something very sad happened last Sunday (January 24). My Great-Grandma Nete passed away. She was sick and God needed another angel so he took her. Mommy has been very sad. I keep telling her not to worry though because Great-Grandma is in Heaven now. That's where Glory-Bug is. That means Great-Grandma can feed Bug dog biscuits. When I say that, it makes my Mommy smile.

This is the last known picture of my Great-Grandma. It was taken on January 17, 2010.



This is a picture of my Mommy with her when my Mommy was a little girl

2009 Year in Review

2009 was a big year for me. Here are the highlights...

• I started my blog
• I got headlice - YUCK! I hope that never happens again.
• I got potty trained - no more diapers.
• I went roller skating for the first time.
• I saw my first movie in the movie theater -- It was "UP".
• I got my first Pedicure.
• I turned three (weighed 27 lbs and was 37 inches tall).
• We went to Wisconsin Dells on vacation.
• On a sad note, Glory-Bug my Pug passed away. She's in heaven now.
• I got to play on a soccer team for the first time.
• I was the Wicked Witch of the West, from Wizard of Oz, for Halloween.
• Mommy and I had a few "Mommy and Me" days. I loved those days.