County Fair

Lauren, petting the goats at the fair.

Lauren has a book called “Peekaboo Farm” and learned about cows, sheep, and pigs from it. Her “oink-oink” is adorable. So the three of us hit the fair to see these animals brought to life. She was OK with this goat until Dad bought some food to feed it, and she wasn’t sure about the curving tongue lunging toward her. But she enjoyed seeing the horses (getting ready for a dressage clinic) and the cows. The pigs’ enormous size scared her, and by the time we hit the roosters and rabbits, she was more interested in pushing her stroller around the barn.

Lauren is still well-behaved but terrible-two-like behavior is slipping out. She’ll occasionally toss part of her dinner on the floor, making sure that we are watching. I think it’s a combination of, “Pay attention to me,” “I’m bored,” or “I really don’t like these veggies you are giving me.” That’s when we say “No,” tell her that dinner is over and pull it away. Nick or I explain that we don’t throw food. It’s not really a big deal, just a disciplinary issue that we are working through, but the first time she did it, dinner was Spaghetti-Os. The second time, it was leftover lasagna. No more Italian food, haha.

At Kaye’s, Lauren learned to say, “Help me,” to politely ask for something, and I like this. It’s used when she wants to be picked up, or to hold my hand to walk down the stairs. She says “please” when prompted and she’ll repeat new words if we ask her. But, out of left field, “Oh, my God.”

“Nick,” I asked. “I don’t know if I say that, or where she learned that!” Again, not a big deal, but it’s not like she’s learning it from television. Kaye and I talked about it, and we decided she and I both say it, and we need to work on “gosh”. Just a wake-up call before Lauren learns “sh**”.

Car trips can get unhappy, but when we flick on this particular CD by Sharon, Lois and Brahm, it’s like turning on Lauren’s Happy Smiley Button. Tired of predicting every lyric, I found a Seseme Street CD filled with bands from 1998. My kind of time. Nick is especially enjoying Steven Tyler’s version of “I Love Trash.”

The Last Swim Lesson

Lauren and I finished up Lauren’s six-week swimming lesson session last week. The lessons was more valuable than the rec center music classes, since it was fun songs and swimming skills all in one, and I’m sure we’ll do another swim session again. Our teacher, a daytime kindergarten teacher, was pleasant with all the children but recognized they were most comfortable in their parents’ arms. And even though this particular class was offered for 6-month-olds through 2-year-olds, I’m glad we waited until Lauren was at the latter part of the age range.

In the last class, we did a little water “Hokey Pokey” and “Wheels on the Bus” dance as we always did every session (illustrating the importance of repetition for young kids), and then we went over to the side of the pool to practice ”jumping” in. The kids usually sit at the edge of the pool, you tell them “1-2-3″ and you grab their sides and “jump” them into the pool. As the sessions went on, you were supposed to give them the option to stand with their toes at the edge of the pool. Lauren never wanted to, but at the last session, I propped her up, she stood, holding out her arms, I grabbed her sides, and we “jumped” into the pool, giggling all the way. My friend Jess told me about a particular 2-year-old she knows who jumps in by herself and an adult grabs her in the water. I couldn’t believe it, but now I think it’s possible for some kids.

Each child received a report card at the end with “pass” or “achieve” marked for each skill. I love this because we can work on each skill independently now. Lauren is a little nervous to float on her back, even when her head is securely on my shoulder; her legs pop up in the air reflexively. And she won’t blow bubbles, but she’ll happily watch Mom do it! My favorite part: I learned the appropriate way to dip her underwater. I hold her at arm’s length and gently swoop her in horizontally, pulling her towards me. Lauren’s surprised, but is getting used to the technique.

I’m back to full-time hours at work with plenty to do. Well, everyone else at the company is getting “summer hours”, every other Friday afternoon off unpaid, so I’m back on that schedule until Labor Day. We had to pay for Kaye’s hours whether I stayed home with Lauren on Fridays or not, so at least this way I can save the extra pay I learned to live without for six weeks. The upside to this recession: Nick and I always had a emergency fund as a couple, but I have my own emergency fund, and I’ve been saving more since September 2008. This brings immense peace of mind to me!

Squirmy Fourth

Lauren at the beach. And watching Rhinelander’s fireworks with Dad and Grandma.

Madison’s fireworks display was June 27. That day, typically squirmy Lauren sat still in church. But, as we sat on a blanket and the fireworks started, Lauren switched from my lap to Nick’s lap and back again, never stopping moving, pointing, and shouting “oooh”. And “boom”. She loved them, but I felt like I’d participated in a wrestling match by the end.

The next week, we headed back up north, as Nick helped his dad rebuild a pontoon boat and Grandma, Kayla and I watched Lauren. We caught the Eagle River Fourth of July parade, and Lauren didn’t like the police sirens, but thought the band was nice. Funny things: Lauren calls cats “mimi” now – Nick thinks she’s trying to recreate the meow. Instead of saying “Y.E.O”, she does say, “A.B.C” too. And she does say “yes” or “no” to answer certain questions; I try to ask them like she understands, and she surprises me.

Kayla wanted to do some water skiing, so I took Lauren in the boat to act as the spotter. Later that day, we were going to go out again, and I said, “Lauren, do you want to go for a boat ride?” and she said, “Boat ride?” I was excited: her first two-word sentence! Kayla remembers good times we had swimming together when Kayla herself was younger, and it’s neat to see her playing with Lauren near the water.

This week, with Kaye on vacation, Nick took Monday off, and we brought Lauren to our sub Tuesday-Thursday, and I’m taking Friday off. The sub, Erin, is great. She has a young daughter a few months older than Lauren (and two sons) and is a stay-at-home mom. Lauren wasn’t perfect (and what kid nearing 2 is?); she argued with Erin’s daughter over a doll. But her good points: Erin loved how she ate her vegetables and wanted to interact with the other kids, and even said she’ll miss Lauren next week. And the quote of the day came from Erin’s 7-year-old son: “Lauren’s parents must never get mad at her, because she’s so cute!”

Madison Heat

Lauren enjoys a bite of a Drumstick, but she’s more of a Popsicle girl. Lauren at the Union Terrace.

On the day of Nick’s birthday, we went down to State Street as a family, shared a pizza and fruit dinner, and strolled around the Union Terrace. Warm weather in the 80s made it a perfect day to get out of the house.

Strawberry Picking

I’m a pretty regular strawberry picker; I love getting a flat, freezing and having berries for my Cheerios all year long. This year, my supply ran out in March. I experimented with store bought frozen and fresh strawberries, but there’s nothing like a bright red center.

What a difference a year makes. Last year, Lauren, at 6 months, was pretty quiet, and we took a breastfeeding break at the car in the middle of picking. This year, she was happy to get a tractor ride out to the field (here she is with Dad). She moved swiftly from helping Dad put berries in our flat, to throwing straw in the flat in exasperation, to taking that first bite of a ripe berry. She covered herself in juice!

A Very Special Birthday

Nick and I turn 30 this year, so in June we held a joint birthday cookout. Here’s a picture of Sam and Lauren in the pool, and Lauren helps Nick on his actual birthday with a chocolate cake.

It was one of the first really hot days of the year. We decorated the house, cooked food outside, and had a fire in our new fire pit. Guest lounged in our hammock. It was great to see everyone.

I don’t turn 30 until August, so for now, there have been lots of jokes about Nick being an old man!

Letters, Numbers, and Animals

Lauren was eating breakfast the other day, and she was saying something that sounded like “Y. E. O., Y. E. O.” I asked Kaye about it, and she said that Lauren is doing her own spelling, like she sees on Sesame Street. The Letter of the Day “Y” day, and the “E” day must have been very impressionable. We’ve loved how she pages through books gently, but it is amazing seeing the English language take. With the Muppets, Kermit is “Ernie” and Animal is “Elmo”, for now.

She loves it when five items are on a page, and you take her index finger, point it, and count 1-2-3-4-5. It’s automatic now, except she likes 3, 4 and 5 the best, so she’ll skip the 1 and 2. She recognizes they are said in a sequence, but I don’t think she knows what the numbers represent.

Animals: A sheep is a “baa.” A cow is a “moo.” A duck is a “duck”. A horse is a “neigh”. And she said “Owl” for the first time because owls are in a book we have at home, but also in her favorite book at daycare. I caught a glimpse of her reading the latter with Kaye, and it also includes a skunk. At which point she holds her nose. Adorable.