Chinese New Year 2009

Today was the CNY celebration at the Chinese Cultural Center, to say it was crowded is a huge understatement. Lauren's favorite part was catching fish that she got to keep, she named them Pokey and Rain.

I put a 2008 and 2009 comparison picture up so you can see how she has changed, she is wearing the same outfit this year as last year because this year it actually fit, last year it was falling off of her :)



Lauren CNY 2009

Lauren CNY 2008

Pokey and Rain

Lauren Reading to Steve

Lauren checked this book out of the library this week and stunned us when she sat with Steve to read it. I have to remind myself that she just turned 4. she truely amazes us sometimes.

There's Two Of You

So here's Lauren's new thing, she will cross her eyes and say " there's 2 of you ", it totally cracks us and the people around us up when she does it. We were at a restaurant with some people from church today and she started doing it and people around us were howling with laughter. Such a comedian :)

A Nashville Weekend

We headed to Nashville for the China travel group reunion this weekend, it was a great trip and the girls are all as gorgeous and funny as ever. We also surprised our old church with a drop in visit on Sunday and we were the ones surprised that not many were there :( but the afternoon was better as we got to have lunch with my best friend Vicki and her hubby and son so it turned out to be a great weekend. We miss our friends in Nashville and are always glad to go back and see them all.



Annslee & Lauren the Hubei Chicks

The Girls

Coby, Annslee, Lauren, Steve

Stacie,Lauren,Ryan, Vicki



Crazy from all of the partying :)

That's Not Steak !!!!

Here's a little story about dinner time tonight, Lauren's all time favorite food is steak, well we had meatloaf for dinner tonight but we tried to fool her by cutting it into little bites and told her it was steak, she took one bite, spit it out and said " That's not steak, that's hamburger" " I don't eat hamburger" It was hilarious.....

So much for fooling her :) Here's a picture of her showing off her new boots.

Fur Real Panda

Lauren got a Fur Real Panda at Christmas and apparently motherhood is stressing her out, the panda has sensors in it so if you pick it up or lay it down and it's awake it cries. well, Lauren wanted to wash her hands so she set it on the bathroom counter until she was done and it started to cry, she let out this big "UGH" I am coming panda". So funny, she is exasperated with being a panda mama :)

p.s. excuse the mess in the background, they still have not come to replace her floors in her room so it's all in the playroom. :(

4 Year Old Stats

We took Lauren to the doctor today for her 4 year old checkup and she is doing great, she is 36" tall and weighs 30 lbs. she is in the 10th percentile for weight and she is not on the charts for height. :) They did say that if her speech hasn't improved by Fall then they will put her back in speech therapy but they want to give her a while longer to see if working with her more at home will help her speech. She no longer naps and they said that's normal for her age but man do I miss nap times. HA



I went in my room last night to check on her and found her and Jake like this. :)

Guess Who We Saw Today ?

We went to the High Museum today to see the Terracotta Warriors, to say it was great is a huge understatement. No soldier is alike and each has intricate detail. We bought a mini replica set that came in a silk box for Lauren to have when she is older, we figure she may never see them again and it's part of her heritage that we want her to be able to keep. We also bought her the book explaining the warriors and how they were found and what their purpose was. Such a neat thing to see and something that we may never have the chance to see again. We couldn't take pictures inside so I don't have any to share :(

So Worth The Money Spent

$39.99 Price of an exercise trampoline at Sears
1 small spot in the living room, zero problem
1 little girl absolutely exhausted from a day of jumping=PRICELESS







( seriously, when this one breaks we'll buy another one because it wears her completely out and she LOVES it)oh and on this one from Sears the legs fold under it for storage, another bonus. :)

FLOOD!!!!!

We got home from Florida Saturday evening and at 2:15 on Sunday morning Steve heard a noise and went to the hall to find our house was flooded. The guest bathroom had a pipe bust and lots of water was quickly coming down the hall. in a nutshell Lauren's room is a total loss, she has to have a new bed, dresser, desk, hamper.etc, etc. her floor, the hall hardwood floor, the dining room, our closet and the living room floors all have to be replaced. I am so glad we came home from Florida when we did or the whole house would have been a total loss and we have insurance but it's frustrating none the less. I am trying to look at the bright side and at least we'll have all new floors and Lauren will have a brand new room :) We do need prayers though because this is a stressful time dealing with insurance adjusters and so on.

A Florida Christmas

We are back.....We had a great trip to Florida to see family.It was 82 degrees for Christmas. Wahoo...even our dog Molly loved the warm weather. HA

Lauren had so much fun with the cousins and she had a bounty of gifts. Her all time favorite gift this year was a leapster, she got a leapster and 6 games for it and she has not put it down since she opened it. it made for a nice ride home. :) she also got 7 new board games so we'll be busy for a while playing those. She LOVES to play board games. We had a great visit but it's so nice being home and in my own bed. :)



The Dudley Cousins




playing leapster with Heather

Merry Christmas !!!!

We are leaving for Florida tomorrow but wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas....

lauren and the piano

Lauren got a mini baby grand piano for her birthday. This is her mini concert :)

Childrens Church Christmas Program

Lauren was in the childrens Christmas program at church on Sunday, her job was to hold the letters C and H which were helping to spell out Christmas. She did well for a few minutes and then got the urge to spin and so there was no being still after that, she spun on stage and twirled. then the ball on her hat was between her eyes so she started crossing her eyes trying to see it. :)

Party Pictures

The birthday party was alot of fun, 8 friends came and they wore themselves out bouncing,playing with the train tables,running and twirling . Lauren was so tired she crashed on the way home, that's the sign of a good party :)