Lainey Bug Happenings

The Park

2012-02-12T14:12:00.002-06:00

Not a morning person

2012-02-12T10:19:00.002-06:00

Peanut is definitely NOT a morning person.

Do not touch her or look at her and by no means talk to her before she has had her mimi (aka milk).

Our morning ritual goes like this:

• I go get her sleeping little body and put her in bed with Ron and me

• She snuggles with me until I get up to prepare my coffee and her mimi

• About 5 minutes after I return to bed a little arm sneaks out of covers doing sign language for milk (squeezing motion with hand--looks like milking a cow).

Note: every other inch of her is covered.

Any deviation from this protocol is NOT allowed.

Unless we are not at home then there's a different protocol that must be adhered to.

2012-02-10T17:33:00.001-06:00

Cool! I figured out how to post from my phone! Yay!

Christmas pics

2011-12-09T14:38:00.001-06:00

Pix from Lainey's 5th B-day

2011-11-21T12:36:00.000-06:00

2011-11-08T22:18:00.002-06:00

Today I got to observe Lainey's ballet class. She did really really well. I am so impressed with her ability to focus with so much distraction. I am anxious to see their Winter Recital!

Today we also went to the dermatologist to have Lainey's index finger examined (mostly to assure me it wasn't melanoma). Well... I'm not assured of anything. The dermatologist basically said she couldn't say "yes" or "no" definitively. She suggested a wait and see approach. She measured it and took pics and we will follow up in 3 months. I am quite distressed and apparently will be for quite awhile. I am only comforted by the fact that melanoma is VERY rare in children. But, my baby is special. I only hope she isn't THAT special.

We also recently learned Lainey can tie a bow! Ron worked with her on this months ago with no real progress. Apparently, she's been practicing. She insisted on tying Ron's laces and she did it!! So, of course now she needs shoes with laces to tie!

Finally, we received the results of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale today from her preschool. It seems positive. She scored "Advanced" with an age equivalent of 6 years old. We're not sure what exactly that means or how valid it is but we're choosing to view it positively.

About Unicorns

2011-11-04T20:54:00.002-05:00

Unicorns are real. They live in the deepest woods ever that's why we don't see them.

If you do see a unicorn don't try to ride it unless you are really brave and have nothing in your hands (like a wand or purse) unless the unicorn has a saddle with a seat belt.

One last thing on unicorns--their horns have sharp edges and the tip will stick you like a needle so be careful not to touch their horns!!

Birthday Pics!

2011-10-03T22:41:00.002-05:00

PaRtY

2011-10-01T21:32:00.010-05:00

We had Lainey's 5th birthday party today. She and 10 of her friends painted pottery at a local paint it yourself ceramic shop.
She had the birthday cake she's been eyeing for months--a basket of roses cake with edible glitter. We also had gourmet popcorn in "cheddar" and "hannah's caramel". Much to our surprise all the little ones wanted "cheddar".
Pics to come soon!

Bad Dreams

2011-09-29T22:03:00.002-05:00

Since starting my new job I've been super good at getting Lainey to bed at a more appropriate time for a 5 year old. She's been in bed AND usually asleep by 9:30 (as opposed to 10:30).

Great, right? Not so much. Every night she has gone to bed early she has woken up between 3:00 am and 4:00 am crying about "bad dreams". Luckily she will fall back asleep quickly once nestled next to her daddy.

Eating

2011-09-27T21:09:00.003-05:00

Lainey is a terrible eater. Not picky. She just can't be bothered. Even with sweets that she loves she takes a bite and is done. It took her 3 days to eat 1 Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chunk Cookie.
Luckily, she has found a fondness for salted and buttered noodles and vegetables. A couple of nights ago I made her noodles and peas and put a bit of butter and some salt on them and she couldn't stop raving about them. She kept telling me "Mom you make the BEST dinner".
Tonight we had hamburgers. Lainey had hers "naked" (just the meat) with buttered and salted noodles and peas and she ate EVERYTHING. AND, again she raved.
I hope this lasts.

New bedroom

2011-09-27T09:14:00.003-05:00

So, for the past few months I've been gathering items to redo Lainey's bedroom. Ron has not be on board with this project. Basically, he's just been complaining about the amount of money which I have kept to a minimum. I actually should call it a face lift not a redo. Anyway, I completed the face lift a couple of weeks ago. Lainey loves it. We swapped her double bed out for a single with a pink net canopy. She got some new wall decor to support the princess theme and some new bedding.
Less than a week after we are complete, Ron comes home and shows me a princess carriage bed the girls at work showed him when he mentioned we had redone Lainey's room. Now, he's interested?! Out went the budget and in comes the princess carriage bed and accessories. We're even painting! Per Ron: "a princess bed needs pink princess walls". Above is pic of bed. I'll post pics of her room when we complete the redo!

Booty

2011-09-23T22:35:00.003-05:00

So, Lainey loves the word "booty" for whatever reason. She'll just hang out saying "booty, booty, booty", etc. She gets in trouble for this.

Well, while at the grocery I said I was going to get some Pirate's Booty (the snack for those who don't know) and Lainey said "Ewww".

I explained to her that "booty" also means "treasure".

Later when we were in her room she made a sweeping motion with her hand and stated "this is ALL my booty" with a big ol' grin and then busted out laughing at herself.

2011-09-06T15:54:00.004-05:00

This is what Lainey has been up to for the past few months:

A Little Bit of Lainey

2011-05-04T21:19:00.001-05:00

Family Portraits

2011-01-22T17:14:00.000-06:00

2011-01-12T11:13:00.000-06:00

2011-01-12T11:03:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted.

We kicked off December with a visit to the zoo. It was the perfect day. The weather was beautiful and all the animals were out. Lainey liked the orangutans the best.

Lainey saw Santa a couple of times. She does not like the Santas with fake beards. She seems to understand the need for mulitple "Santas".

For Christmas we had homemade Chinese dumplings, spring rolls, krab rangoons, fried rice. I would give the meal an "o.k." Hopefully, my Chinese food cooking skills will improve.

Lainey got everything she wanted for Christmas. Her favorite gift was the Rapunzel Tower from Uncle Kurt.

At the beginning of January we made a trip to visit the cousins. We all had a great time visiting with family. Lainey was not quite ready to return and head back to school.

The slide show has pics from the zoo and from visiting with the cousins.

The Elf on the Shelf and more

2010-11-25T22:19:00.003-06:00

Last year Lainey's Great Aunts gave her "The Elf on the Shelf". It was past Christmas so we didn't get to start the tradition until this year.

For those not familiar "The Elf on the Shelf" it is a book that comes with a little elf doll. Basically, the elf is sent by Santa to kept an eye on your little one(s). Every night the elf flies back to the North Pole to inform Santa of the kids behavior and anything else he sees/hears. When the elf returns he takes a different location (the bathroom, the living room, etc.). In the morning, it is a game to see who spots the elf first. There are a few rules: 1. children are not allowed to touch the elf or the elf will lose his magic 2. the elf is not allowed to talk to children. Children are encouraged to talk to the elf so the elf can relay what he hears to Santa. Oh! And immediately upon discovering the elf for the first time in your home you must name him. Fun, right?

I was super excited to start this. During her bath I began telling her about the elf. I told her now that she was four Santa would probably send an elf so we needed to go see if we could find one. Great! She was thrilled--her own elf! So, we ran down stairs to see if Santa had sent an elf. He did! Before I got to the naming part she had already anointed him "Tiny Tin". Yes, that is an "n" NOT an "m". I was scolded for making that mistake.

Next, we sat on the sofa and read the story. We went over the rules. Of course she had questions. She needed clarification on one point: she understood she couldn't touch Tiny Tin but could she touch "that decoration over there" (as she points to the "Elf on the Shelf" doll). Argh, really?

Oh, and she needed to know if Santa would lose of his magic if she touched him. She was worried about touching Santa when she went to the mall to take pictures with him.

Other events of the day:

We went to see Tangled. We were the first people to arrive at the theater- literally we were the first car in the parking lot.

We were there so early and there were so many previews Lainey was ready to go after about 20 minutes of the movie. She liked it but she was just tired of sitting in the theater.

Mom and I really liked it.

I am so impressed with myself- I put up ALL the indoor Christmas decor today!

Gigi kept Lainey busy baking sugar cookies. The kind you roll out and use cookie cutters to make. Yum, Yum!

Gigi also learned why men despise those blow up lawn ornaments. She braved the windy cold to put a Tigger decoration up.

We also sorta watched the Saints/Cowboys game. It was a bit distressing at the end but the Saints won!

Great day!

2010-11-25T15:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving and on to Christmas!!

2010-11-02T21:11:00.001-05:00

Self Study

2010-09-18T21:06:00.002-05:00

2010-09-15T06:26:00.002-05:00

Well, the lab visit did not go over so great. They did manage to get all the blood they needed and Lainey seemed to recover quickly from the trauma of it all. Unfortunately, we get to go back. Her thyroid tests were all out of wack so we must retest.

The dentist, on the other hand, went great. Dr. Tim and his staff are awesome with kids. She wore her "bubble gum nose" and watched Disney's Robin Hood. She accepted the gas pretty readily and they were able to fill both cavities. She got some silly banz and a balloon afterwards. She thinks Dr. Tim rocks!

In other news-

The post below is a slide show of her latest pics. I think they all came out pretty good. She is becoming really cooperative when taking pics now.

After taking the pics we spent the WHOLE day at the mall. She loved it. I let her play in the "germ factory" for hours. She made several friends and of course was soaking wet with sweat by the time we left. She also got to ride the carousel-she even rode on a horse this time.

Disney is coming up soon and I am soooo excited. I hope Lainey enjoys the trip as much as I think she will.

More later...

Lainey Fall '10 Photo Session

2010-09-12T13:16:00.002-05:00

The Dentist and the Doctor

2010-09-01T16:18:00.004-05:00

The Dentist

Lainey went for her first dental appointment in the Spring. She did very well following the dentist's instructions and keeping her mouth wide open for the exam. Unfortunately she left with another appointment to have a cavity filled.

The cavity filling appointment did not begin well. She was not a fan of the "piggy nose" (aka nitrous). The dentist did his best but it was a semi-traumatic event for everyone.

We cut out the majority of her sugar snacks and converted to a lot of sugar free stuff. As Lainey will tell you she "just LOVES candy". We also made sure she brushed EVERY night.

We returned to the dentist for our 6 month check-ups and again Lainey left needing cavities filled. Argh!

We went to the pediatric dentist and are scheduled to have the cavities filled next week. I broke the news to Lainey that she had "sick" teeth again and she would have to wear the "piggy nose" again. She took the news pretty well--especially when the dental assistant whipped out a kid sized pink bubble gum scented "piggy nose".

She got to bring the "piggy nose" home to bond with it so she won't be frightened by it next week. They also told her she could wear her jammies next time if she wanted--she found that hysterical and kept exclaiming "we don't wear jammies to the dentist!"

The Doctor

Lainey has the crazy little bump thing under the skin in the center of her chest just below her collar bone. It has been there for awhile but it has gotten bigger and she messes with it now so we decided to go back to the Pedi to see what's up with it and what to do about it.

Great news! We get to go to a pediatric surgeon to have it removed. Argh! The good news part is that it is harmless.

While we were at the doc we revisited her sweating issue. Poor kid is soaking wet ALL the time. When she is tired it is the worst but pretty much if she is moving she is sweating.

So, more great news-we get to have a whole mess of lab work done. That means getting blood taken. I'm planning to go Friday--I can't wait! I'm not sure there is any good news part to this news. Depends on what the labs reveal.

The Latest Lainey

2010-05-18T11:28:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pics of our princess:

Makin' cake bites with Gigi

Don't I look like I LOVE this fairy??

She resides under a rug in the living room now because I caught her lookin' at me!

Lovin' a lamb

Lainey at Christmas

2010-01-06T22:04:00.001-06:00

The latest...

2010-01-06T13:56:00.005-06:00

The Tux...

Ron's cousin, Travis, got married the Sunday after Thanksgiving so we enjoyed a week in BR for the event. The week was packed with activity. We arrived late Tuesday night almost in to Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning Ron tried on his tux for the wedding. He looked like Pee Wee Herman so we began the task of getting him a tux that he could wear in public. After several phone calls we landed in the tux place. It was ghetto fabulous minus the fabulous.

Here is some of what he modeled:

* a jacket with no middle button

* a pair of pants with one leg longer than the other

* a pair of pants with a hole in the crotch

* a pair of shoes with the soles flopping off

After several wardrobe changes we were able to put together an ensemble that would be acceptable.

The Wedding...

The days before the wedding were increasingly chilly. This did not look good as the wedding was to take place outdoors. By some miracle the weather was beautiful. I think there was one rogue rain drop. But, that's good luck, right?

As usual I teared up. I've never been to a wedding that I didn't shed at least a tear or two. Travis and Veronica added so many personal elements to the ceremony it just upped the chances tears were going to fall.

The Food...

Wednesday for lunch Ron and I ate sans Lainey at Cafe Roux. Yummy! Seriously, THE best hamburger and onion rings EVER!

Wednesday night we ate a Sammy's. We had quite a crowd and as usual the food was delicious.

Thursday, Thanksgiving, was a feast of course. Karl and Kelsey came by which was a nice surprise. It went by crazy fast though. By 3 pm everything was cleaned up and we were lounging.

Friday night we dined with Aunt Jan. We attempted to go to Parrains but the wait was...well...there was a wait to park! So, we opted to eat at a pizza joint that Kurt's friend is involved with that I can not for the life of me remember the name of. Anyway...it was quite good as well. Kurt had told me about the crab au gratin calzone (which isn't on the menu) so I inquired and they agreed to prepare it for me. It was a cheese and crab bonanza. It was yummy but too cheesy (yes, it's possible!). Karl had the shrimp au gratin pizza which was fabulous. I also had their french onion soup which was probably the best I've ever had.

Saturday night was the rehearsal dinner. Two different gumbos (chicken and sausage and seafood). Delicious!

On the way back we stopped in Lafayette at Prejeans (our favorite on the road eatery). A final seafood meal before heading home.

Black Friday...

Lainey and I joined my in laws at the crack of dawn on Black Friday to shop. We hit Target first where I purchased a 99 cent box of gold fish crackers.

I then spent 45 minutes in line at Best Buy to purchase Ron a Play Station 3 game that was on sale. Considering what my time is worth I'm not sure we saved a cent.

We then made a pit stop at Chick-fil-a for breakfast then headed to the mall.

When we passed Santa's shop Lainey immediately wanted to see him and was not pleased that she would have to wait until 8 am to see him. Luckily when we made it back around to his workshop there were only 2 people in line. After all that waited Lainey almost fell asleep in line. When it was her turn she went up and sat on his lap and started chatting him up. I couldn't hear what she told him but she told me she asked him to bring "toys".

On to December...

My B-day...

I turned a year older and had really good birthday although the whole day was spent at work. My intern, Priti, made me a homemade Indian meal. Chicken curry with naan and a homemade birthday cake to complete the meal. She served it to me on china set on a fancy tray. Then, Jay, one of my techs, brought me a pumpkin spice latte and slice of pumpkin bread when he came in at 3 pm.

My husband, however, forgot. I had to have the receptionist at his work go and tell him "happy birthday" to jog his aging memory.

Santa...

Lainey was all about Santa this year. After meeting Santa for the first time on Black Friday she again saw him at breakfast and the health club. At that time she told him she wanted "toys" again. Very nonspecific toys.

Then the weekend before Christmas she got REAL specific. Santa was going to bring her a Cinderella costume and a Sleeping Bleauty costume. Cinderella for her and Sleeping Bleauty for Mary. GREAT! Santa went scrambling.

Christmas...

Gigi spent Christmas Eve with Lainey making cake bites and cooking dinner. Kurt came over and we had Christmas dinner. We then set out snacks for Santa and the reindeer and headed to bed.

Santa and his reindeer are quite sloppy snackers and left a mess by the Christmas tree.

After one gift Lainey was done. This Christmas business was messing up her routine. She wanted to sit on the sofa and drink her "mi, mi" while I drank my coffee and watch Disney. So, Christmas halted.

After she had had her "mi, mi" and watched OSO, we brought a gift to her on the sofa. It was the prized Cinderella costume. The Fat Man delivered! And, she was thrilled. She pushed back her blankee and started unzipping her jammy shoes. Christmas was back on. She opened the rest of her gifts princess style.

After we opened the gifts we got ready to go to the Chinese buffet we go to every year. Then we came home to sleep off the MSG.

The here and now...

Lainey has been sick since we welcomed in 2010. Fever, congestion, coughing the whole bit. Today she seems to be back to herself. She will return to school tomorrow.

Snow!

2009-12-02T22:35:00.002-06:00

So, I REALLY don't like cold weather but this morning seeing how excited Lainey got at the sight of the snow I didn't mind it one bit.

When she saw the snow her eyes lit up and she grinned from ear to ear exclaiming "It's Christmas time!"

This is the earliest we've seen snow since we've been here. Usually we get a bit late in the winter around February or March. I hope there is more to come!

2009-10-30T22:54:00.001-05:00

Halloween I

2009-10-26T22:11:00.003-05:00

Gigi and I brought Lainey to Ghouls on the Lawn. She got to paint a pumpkin, roast marshmallows and trick or treat.

Just so everyone knows Lainey does NOT like skeletons. And she will tell you so.

She was so cute as a fairie. She walked almost the whole time--I was so proud. She only asked to be held when there were scary things and skeletons.

I'm very excited about bringing her trick or treating this year in the neighborhood.

Check back for pics!

And, Now Lainey is Three

2009-10-21T10:32:00.002-05:00

We celebrated her b-day a few weeks early so Maw Maw and Paw Paw could attend. On her actual b-day she had to go to school =(. I hardly saw my "baby" because I had to work 12 hours but she had a good day at school and with her daddy later that night. The next day we went to her school for her "Celebration of Life" (the b-day celebration at school).

The "Celebration of Life" is a really cool ceremony.

The teacher places a tray of candles (the number lit corresponds to child's age) in the center of the rug. Around the tray of candles little strips with the months of the year are placed. The birthday child holds a mini globe and stands next to his/her birth month.

The teacher begins by reading the details of the child's birth (weight, length, date, etc.) and shows a baby pic of the child.

Then the whole class sings:

"The Earth goes round the Sun, the Earth goes round the Sun, Hi Ho something something (can't remember), Now (insert child's name) is One"

while the birthday child walks around the candles holding the globe. The teacher then reads a bit about the child's first year and shows a pic from that year. Then the class sings again. This keeps up until the child's age is reached. Then the child gets to blow out the candles and the whole class shares a snack.

Lainey broke down immediately when we walked in the door. She clung to me wailing. ??? Argh! I asked the teacher if she'd been having a bad day and the teacher said "no". Crazy little peanut! So, I walked the months with her. She liked walking around the candles but wanted to blow them out the whole time.

When it was time for the snack Lainey looked at me and said "I want cake". HUGE no no at the school. NO sugar allowed. Her snack was grapes, strawberries, cheese and these bread stick cracker things. She seemed pleased.

She sat with her friend Annali at the special birthday snack table and enjoyed her snack. I thought I had brought too much but those kids can eat!

I dreaded our departure considering what happened at our arrival but it was uneventful. She hugged and kissed us and sent us on our way.

And now Lainey is three!

Scalded Monkey

2009-10-16T21:55:00.002-05:00

We had to get Abby shaved down because her hair had become matted. Now she looks like a scalded monkey. A lady in our neighborhood asked if she was a rescue dog =(.

The Bride and Dorothy

2009-10-08T21:44:00.001-05:00

2009-10-07T10:14:00.002-05:00

The Barbie Cake...

The Barbie cake was not quite what Lainey expected. She talked about the Barbie cake and had pretend birthday parties for a good month before the actual event so she had expectations. When she saw the Barbie cake she just looked at it. No expression. I half expected her to look behind me for the real Barbie cake. She never did get very excited about the cake but she blew out her candles and smiled her fake jacked up smile.

Then came the presents. We thought we were going to go small this year but somehow our whole dining room table was covered with gifts. After about the second gift she kind of glazed over. All the "to do" I think was a bit much for my little peanut. We rapidly went through the rest of the gifts and then she and her friend Mary went upstairs to dress up.

Lainey got a wedding dress complete with gloves, veil, shoes and bouquet. She also got a sparkly Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz) dress. Of course both girls wanted to be the bride. Luckily, Mary is a bit older and she understood (after a little explanation) that since it was Lainey's birthday she should wear the dress first. So, Lainey was the bride first and Mary was Dorothy. They were adorable. Then, to my relief, Lainey agreed to share and let Mary be the bride.

The first week of school...

The first 4 days went wonderfully. Then came Tuesday. Tears. Lots of tears. Lainey cried her bad cry and I just plain cried.

Everything was fine until we went to say good bye. She clutched me and her face was not a happy face. I tried to talk her down and whoosh... Mrs. B ripped her from my arms like one would rip a Band-Aid and told us "Bye Bye". The wailing began. Lainey was crying her bad cry and Mrs. B held her. I kept it together until we left the room. Then Ron held me much like Mrs. B held Lainey and I cried. He told me it was going to be o.k. just like Mrs. B was telling Lainey.
We went to the monitors to check on her and indeed it was o.k.

When Ron picked her up at 3:30 Mrs. B told him Lainey had a wonderful day. Then Ron brought Lainey to see me at work so I could see her.

It was a wonderful day!

Coming soon: Pics from the b-day!

First Day of School

2009-09-30T21:42:00.003-05:00

Today was Lainey's first day of school. We have been prepping ourselves and her for weeks for this day. She went today for half a day and was ready to go when I got there to pick her up. Her teacher said she did very well. She didn't cry and she went to the potty by herself.

We asked if she was going to go to school tomorrow and she said "nope". Then we were shopping and she told me "going to back to school tomorrow".

In other news...Kurt turned 40 and we celebrated in a large way. He got ribeye, king crab legs and lobster. Mom made these crab puff pastry things and we had cheese and pate for appetizers. It was a really really nice time.

Crib Retirement

2009-09-01T22:02:00.002-05:00

The crib came down today. Lainey helped dismantle it. I am happy for her to have more room but she is officially not a baby anymore =(. She looks so tiny in her big girl bed (its a full).

Other news...She is pretty much potty trained. She needs help of course but no need for diapers except for when sleeping.

First Mani-Pedi

2009-08-31T13:08:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, Gigi, Mama and Lainey had a girls day. First we went for manicures and pedicures. Lainey was exceptionally good. She sat very still while they painted her toe nails GREEN and her little finger nails with pink glitter.
Then we went to lunch where she had her favorite meal, noodles.
Later that evening we went over to Gigi's and had noodles again and went swimming.
It was a very good day.

I am a troll

2009-08-25T22:41:00.002-05:00

I slammed Lainey's fingers in the truck door today.

Yes, fingers--plural. All four of them on her right hand.

She wailed and wailed. She cried so hard she started gagging and almost threw up. I almost threw up from guilt.

Her chunky little ring finger and middle finger are even chunkier and bruised.

I can't believe I hurt my baby.

When she woke up from her nap she told Ron "Momma hurt baby's fingers". I wanted to cry all over again.

Ron assures me she is fine. I am still sad =(

I am a troll.

Potty Training

2009-08-18T22:09:00.002-05:00

First, a little more drama...

Ron's computer melted down last week. ALL of our China pics were on his hard drive. Gone.

Mom has some of our pics but not all. I have to go look through them to see if we need to spend the $500 its gonna cost to recover them.

Now for the potty training...

Going decent so far. Little stinker likes to wear diapers so there has been a little resistance there. At first, she refused to wear the panties but would take the diaper off herself and go tinkle on the potty. I have forced the issue and now she wears panties about 70% of the time. We've even had two successful trips out of the house with panties on and no accidents.

She has even pooped on the potty. She got out of bed one morning and told Ron she had to go potty. She was gone a long time so he went to check on her and she was squatting on the potty saying "poopin' like Abby".

We take every opportunity to convince her the panties are a good thing. She tells me all the time she is going to school and going to get books. I've told her she won't be able to go to school until she wears panties. We've even upped the price of chocolate to tinkling on the potty AND wearing panties. She also likes to have her toe nails painted and of course only big girls who wear panties can have their toe nails painted.

The goal is potty trained by 3! We're off to a decent start but we've only got 2 months left.

In other news...she has graduated to the big girl bed. We've been asking her for months if she wanted to sleep in it and she always said no. Last week sometime she said "yemp" (Lainey for "yes") and she hasn't looked back. We asked if we could take down the crib and initially she said "no" and looked horrified. I asked again yesterday and she said "yemp".

She's growing up so fast.

Trauma and Drama

2009-07-30T07:11:00.002-05:00

The past week and a half around here has been filled with trauma and drama.

It all began with Mom's move here. Needless to say it was filled with lots of drama before they even arrived here.

On that Saturday after Mom arrived we began to help get her settled.
In the process we...
We poked a hole in her bathroom ceiling trying to install a bath caddy.
After unpacking and beginning to assemble some stackable shelves it turned out they weren't stackable so back in the box they went.
After assembling an under the counter shelving unit it wouldn't fit. Argh! Back in the box.
Her computer monitor wouldn't work.
They're were ceiling fan issues, flooring issues, issues, issues , issues!

Enter MawMaw, PawPaw and Forrest on Sunday and then the girls on Monday.

We had one drama/tauma free day.

Tuesday I return home from the grocery at about 10:00 pm and open my car door to hear Lainey wailing and a bunch of yelling. I enter the house to see Ron comforting Lainey and lots of yelling going on. Apparently, Lainey had decided to go down stairs by herself and wasn't quite successful. She rolled down on her side and landed on all fours. She was fine but everyone in the house was shaken.

Wednesday went relatively smoothly until Lainey smacked herself in the face with her Disney goblets with snow globes on the bottom. Now she has a gash on the bridge of her nose.

Thursday Lainey puked all over Ron then went to bed at about 7:30 or so.

Friday she was clingy but seemed o.k.

No more drama/trauma right?

Saturday evening Ron went to bed talking about how full he was. Full enough to puke. After about 10 minutes he was. He spent every 15 - 20 min for the next 5 hours in the bathroom.

The Roubiques, Kings and Grahams were supposed to leave at the wee hours of Sunday morning so it was quite the surprise when I got up to see they were all still asleep at 6:00 am. I ran in to Penny coming from the bathroom. Apparently the whole house was sick. The only people spared were me, PawPaw and Kennedy.

I went to work fearing I would be hit at any moment but I was spared.

The girls headed out mid day and Mawmaw and PawPaw stayed until Monday morning.

Whew! What a week.

But hold on there's more.

Wednesday I was all excited because our new housekeeper was coming. Since we'd had visitors (sick visitors, at that) I was thrilled to be getting the house clean.

She stood us up! ARgh!

So all day Wednesday I cleaned.

Around 5:00pm I went to move around laundry and my laundry room, pantry and kitchen were filled with water. About an inch!

Seriously! Argh!

Apparently the drain hose had removed itself from the hole in the wall.

So, now I'm off to do more laundry!

2009-07-29T13:10:00.001-05:00

2009-07-05T23:57:00.002-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAW PAW!!

(actual b-day the 4th of July)

2009-07-05T23:50:00.001-05:00

Poor Abby

2009-06-27T22:24:00.003-05:00

Ron brought Abby to be groomed today and now she looks like some alien poodle mix instead of the labradoodle she is. He told the groomers to cut her short and they cut ALL of her hair REALLY REALLY short. We really only wanted her body hair and beard to be short and her head and legs to be a bit longer. Oh, well! It'll grow back and until it does she'll be comfortable in this awful heat.

2009-06-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday

Aunt Terri!!!

(a wee belated)

***

Happy Birthday

Aunt Carey!!!

(today, actually)

***

GO TIGERS!!!

(Big game tomorrow night)

An Update

2009-06-17T22:06:00.003-05:00

Sorry no new pics right now. It take sooo long to create a slideshow. Up load to Photobucket then share. It takes forever. There has to be an easier way I just haven't had the time to find out. Anyway...
Life has been quite busy. We were hoping to put the house on the market this year. Not a "have to" situation but we want to downsize and upgrade. So, we spent a lot of time and money doing stuff around the house. What we found out is we paid too much for the house and we bought at the top of our neighborhood and with the market the way it is we would lose big right now. So we're staying put for now. The best thing to come out of the prep is I'm getting a housekeeper!! Yeah, me!! Just twice a month but I'm sooooo excited.
My job is making me NUTS! I DO NOT like management.
We still have made NO attempt to potty train Lainey. She will be 18 wearing a diaper while I'm packing her on my hip! She talks a whole lot more and cracks us up all the time.
She is the clumsiest individual EVER. She will be standing and just fall for no reason what so ever. But, boy can she run in those little princess heels.
Abby is growing like a weed and is spastic as ever. She loves the dog park. She is the wildest dog out there. Everyone always says "Wow, she's got a lot of energy". They smile while saying it but it's pretty much the same tone and facial expression as when they say that about your kid.
Anyway, Ron is home pitching me some investment. I should probably pay attention!

2009-05-19T22:08:00.004-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHASE!!

(belated)

Pics from Gigi's visit

2009-05-12T21:34:00.003-05:00

Giving Gigi "treats" in the "kennel"

Face painting at Scarbourogh Faire

Helping Mama make breakfast

Just being silly

2009-05-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT JAN!

Lainey's ECI Year Evaluation

2009-04-30T11:59:00.002-05:00

So, she still qualifies for services. Mostly due to her parents' lack of child development knowledge.

Her evaluation covered 5 areas: cognitive, communication, social emotional, physical and adaptive

Brief recap of her scores:

Her scores:

cognitive: 32 months
*the evaluator quit measuring this because she was obviously not delayed
*the evaluator felt she would have scored higher if the evaluation continued

communication: 28 months
*things she should be doing that she is not: rhyming, asking questions, able to give her first and last name

social emotional: 32 months
*the evaluator quit measuring this because she was obviously not delayed
*the evaluator felt she would have scored higher if the evaluation continued

physical: 29 months
*things she should be doing that she is not: walking up stairs alternating legs, swings arms while walking

adaptive: 27 months
*things she should be doing that she is not: potty training, no naps, dressing/undressing, self help stuff

Since Lainey is 30 months she has to be 2 months delayed in an area to qualify for services. She still qualifies in communication and adaptive.

Even though she technically qualifies both evaluators agreed there was really no cause for concern and no need to continue services.

I agreed with their recommendation. There are other kiddos out there who truly need services and they should focus on them. Since Lainey will probably never enter a formal day care, I did ask that they provide us with some resources to know what she should be doing at what point so she doesn't get behind.

It seems by kindergarden a lot is expected of the little ones these days. We may need to get Lainey into a preschool where the teachers know what is expected and help keep her on track. But, we're not ready for that just yet--after all, kindergarden is 3 1/2 years away.

So, there we have it.

Better Than Chocolate?

2009-04-28T21:30:00.002-05:00

Lainey is definitely a chocoholic but she's found a new addiction. Fruit Cheerios.

Tonight she asked for her cereal and I gave her a paper boat full. As I placed the boat on her tray I took a few. I was promptly told to put them back. I then asked if I could have some. I was told "NO!". I begged. "NO!" She then offered one to me placing it at my lips only to snatch it back and eat it herself. Stinker.

Easter Sunday Pic

2009-04-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

2009-04-12T21:35:00.001-05:00

Happy Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T22:42:00.003-05:00

Today we went to the community Easter Eggstravaganza and Lainey had a great time. She met the Easter Bunny and participated in the egg scramble.

The egg scramble:

Basically they litter the soccer field with tons of colorful candy filled plastic eggs and the kiddos rush out to snatch them up! Lainey did great. I held her basket and she filled it up. At one point she was two fisting it. Next year she'll be ready to go solo.

Easter Bunny pics:

I was all prepped to have to take a pic with the Easter Bunny holding Lainey hoping she wouldn't melt down. To our surprise while waiting in line, Lainey pushed her way out of Ron's arms and tried to skip over the people ahead of us to get to the Easter Bunny. When it was her turn she ran to him and gave him a hug. Then she let him pick her up for a picture.

After the scramble we took pics in a patch of bluebonnets. Lainey seemed to enjoy that too. She chased me and I'm afraid we trampled the beauties.

Before bed we reminded Lainey that the Easter Bunny would be coming tonight to hide her basket. Ron asked her what the Easter Bunny was going to bring and without hesitation she said "chakit". They learn so quick.

Pics to come!

World Autism Awareness Day

2009-04-02T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hugs to all affected by Autism!

Surprise Visit

2009-03-28T23:07:00.003-05:00

Aunt Jan made a surprise trip up here on Tuesday and stayed until Friday morning. Unfortunately, I had to work most of the time she was here. She did get to hang with Lainey a good bit and we had all of Thursday to hang out. Here's a few pics from her visit.

"Night, Night"

American Idol

2009-03-22T21:40:00.003-05:00

Lainey's favorite show is American Idol. In the evening when we settle in up stairs she starts the chant "idol, idol, idol". It doesn't matter what night it is we watch "idol". And, she has an opinion. She's not a fan of slow, ballad type songs and barks "nother one". If she had a gong she'd use it.
She has also taken recently to singing herself. We used to sing this duck song and that's her chosen ditty. The only part she sings is "wiggle, waggle, to, fro". Too cute!
Ron observed her today singing into her maraca watching her reflection in the garbage can. I'm anxious to catch it on film but she's hard to catch.

Sleep Obsessed

2009-03-18T21:54:00.002-05:00

It's official. I am obsessed with sleep. Why? Why? Why will my child not sleep?

She finally quit fighting us on going to sleep and now she wakes at 2:00 am barking orders. "mama cook biskit", "cawtee", "mi mi", "no seeping". Argh!! Seriously?!

I think you can store sleep and I think I'm running out. Pre baby I got between 10 and 16 hours of uninterrupted joyous sleep. Now I'm lucky to get 5 hours of broken sleep with a toe in my nose.

Tonight she went down relatively easily. Of course we had to hug Lainey's chair night night and wave night night to Daddy's chair. We also had to account for all the crib residents: Roscoe...check, Tigger...check, White puppy...check, Pluto...check. And, finally we could not forget the Gigi blanket.

An hour later, she is wailing. I enter her room to the cry "Daddy chair, Daddy chair". She is sobbing barely able to catch enough breath to utter the words. Really?? Seriously?? O.K. We wave night night to Daddy's chair yet again. She calms down and I tuck her in. Again. She is at peace now. Well, at least for now.

One day I WILL blog something not sleep related!

I love this background!!

2009-03-17T14:59:00.001-05:00

A Good Night's Sleep Or A Million Bucks?

2009-03-16T22:55:00.005-05:00

That was the question posed in a parents magazine. At the time, I thought "a million bucks, of course!" Now...I'd have to ask more questions. Like "just one night or the rest of my nights?". I would so take the sleep option if it meant my little noodle would sleep soundly through the night too. If I only got one night out of the deal I'd have to take the dough and hope I could buy some sleep with it.

The General

2009-02-28T21:46:00.003-06:00

That's what they called our niece, Kennedy, when she was a tot. Lainey has taken the title.

Last night Lainey woke at about 1:30 am ready to go. Go where? Anywhere but to bed. She tossed and turned, she flipped and she flopped.

She flopped so hard we whacked heads. I have the knot to prove it.

Ron couldn't take it anymore so he tried to take his afghan and move upstairs. Not so fast, daddy. Lainey sobbed "banket, banket". Ron returned the afghan. He was not pleased.

After the return of the "banket" I tried to sleep. With Ron gone Lainey took over his side of the bed. She tucked herself in and clasped the afghan in one hand and stroked it with the other whispering "banket, my banket, my banket". I was in bed with Gollum!!

With Ron gone there was plenty of room in the bed so she could toss and flip and whatever with out really bothering me. But, of course, I was only half sleeping because I was terrified she'd fall off the bed.

At about 5:00 am she woke me to let me know "jammy shoots wet". Great. So, she got a complete change and snuggled up to me to sleep.

Enter Ron at about 8:00 am.

"Why is my pillow wet?"

Yes, Lainey had peed on Ron's pillow.

Frustrated Ron curled up at the foot of the bed with the afghan. I know, what was he thinking?? Blood curdling screams erupted from The General. "NO, NO, NO". "MY BANKET, MY BANKET". We begged and pleaded for her to share with Daddy since his side of the bed was soiled. "NO, NO, NO". "MY BANKET, MY BANKET". She was so distraught she was crying the silent cry.

Ron gave in.

He circled around and got in the bed on my side.

"NO, NO, NO", "NO, NO, NO"

Apparently it was unacceptable for Ron to enter the bed from my side.

Ron was very displeased but he had to obey The General.

So, he circled back around and climbed over the pee pee linens.

We were now ALL on my side of the bed. Momma, baby, Daddy. In the right order. All in the right spot. The General was pleased. She fell asleep. Not so fast, baby. Daddy has other plans...

My Pretty Girl

2009-02-26T23:19:00.001-06:00

Mardi Gras 2009

2009-02-24T15:06:00.001-06:00

Happy Mardi Gras!!

2009-02-23T21:14:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T12:06:00.002-06:00

Sleep Talking

2009-02-10T20:30:00.004-06:00

Someone tell my husband to quit talking to me when I'm sleeping. A few weeks ago while asleep I asked him if he knew if the dancing bird put itself to sleep. Then last night after I'd been asleep for quite a while he decided to initiate another conversation. This time I spoke of a man in slippers and about needing to fill out a change of address form. I also told Ron we needed a new rule about putting stuff at the bottom of the stairs up. Finally, Ron asked if I had taken any drugs I said only some for empowerment. All I could remember this morning was him talking to me and me wondering why the h--- is he talking to me right now.

Random Happenings

2009-02-07T20:49:00.002-06:00

The past month we've had many many visitors. The end of December brought the Kings, Grahams and MawMaw. Then MawMaw returned with PawPaw for a few days. Gigi came for an extended stay beginning the Thursday before the Lunar New Year and continuing through to the Super Bowl. Gigi will be back again next week for internship interviews and to enjoy the weekend with Lainey.

In a couple of weeks we'll head down to NO for MG!! I'm anxious for Lainey to attend her first parade. Also a little nervous.

I entered Lainey in the Regis and Kelly Beautiful Baby contest but don't have any high hopes. Although, I know Lainey is THE most beautiful baby I didn't have a very good pic taken in the past 30 days that wasn't taken by a professional. I'm already jealous of the winner--$125,000 for college!

I got a promotion. I think. It's all quite cloak and dagger. Corporate America is so VERY weird.

Abby got spayed and has to wear that cone collar thing. She looks like a satelite dish. Poor pup!

Lainey's speech is moving right along. I think if she were evaluated today her expressive speech would probably fall in the typical range.

Lainey is finally starting to play with Abby. Its funny to watch them together. Lainey bosses poor Abby around. She commands her to "sit", "mouch" (aka "move"), "kennel". She chases her and runs from her. She snatches up her toys and Abby takes it all. Lainey doles out the love too. She pretends to give Abby a bath (which amounts to a whole lot of petting) and she hugs her a lot.

We put the bed rails on Lainey's big bed but she isn't jazzed about spending the night in it. She doesn't try to climb out of the crib so we'll let her use it until she decides she wants to sleep in the big bed.

Some of our favorite Lainey quotes:
"NO MON EE" translation: we have no idea
"Jammy shoots" translation: "jammies with shoes"
"chakit" translation: "chocolate"
"wickle wackle" translation "wiggle waggle"

Happy New Year!

2009-01-26T20:37:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year! Today begins the Year of the Ox.
We kicked off the New Year a bit early. Last night we dined compliments of Kurt at Kobe Steak House. We sat at the hibachi grill and enjoyed some yummy food and a good show. Lainey wasn't quite sure about the fire though and scrambled to my lap. She did however love the onion and mushroom soup and she ate it solo! We think she consumed more than she wore.
Today we decorated with paper lanterns and some door hangings. All of course will bring us "good fortune" and "good luck" in the coming year.
In other news, Abby came home on Saturday and is a different puppy. Before she went to school I feared we would have to Craig's List her like Ron kept joking. She was terrible at nipping and jumping on Lainey. Now, she is awesome around Lainey. Lainey has really been testing her: sitting on her, pulling her by her tail, messing with her food. Abby takes it all. The training was soooo worth it!

Got Rats?

2009-01-17T21:30:00.002-06:00

We do! One little guy met his maker on a sticky trap in our pantry this morning. The pest guy inspected all inside of our house for signs of the nasty critter's buddies and found none. He said it is quite possible our friend was a loner because that's just how rats are. He thought we were lucky it was a rat and not a mouse. Apparently mice are quite the social beings and reproduce approximately every 35 days. Needless to say, I learned more than I should have to know about rats and mice today.
In other news...Lainey has tinkled in the potty twice now! Yippee! And, she announces when she goes and when she needs to be changed. At McDonalds today she stopped in the middle of the play area, grabbed herself, squeezed her knees together and announced "POTTY". While in that pose she waddled over to me repeating "POTTY, POTTY". I can tell this is going to be fun!
Well, that's our big news for today.

A Battle of the Wills: Momma vs Baby

2009-01-07T12:51:00.004-06:00

Momma lost.
It started at approximately 1:30 am and drug on until approximately 5:30 am.
Ron evicted us at 2:00 am and we headed upstairs. Lainey did a stint in time out and then I locked us both down in her room.
She played for a bit then went nuts when she couldn't leave the confinement of her room. She body slammed me and the floor. She spit. She beat on the door. She called for Daddy and Abby. She swore at me in toddler babble.
I tried to ignore her and sleep.
At 5:00 am I caved. She had been asking for milk so I threw out a bargain. I would get her some milk but she'd have to get in bed with me with the lights out to drink it. She agreed to the terms with an "ok". I retrieved the milk and we went to bed. She drifted off to sleep at around 5:30 am.
She has crazy determination. I'm convinced she could have lasted days.

In other news, Abby went to boarding school today. She'll be gone for 15 days and Lainey is NOT happy about it. It's only been 3 hours and she's asked about Abby about a hundred times already.

Grahams, Kings and Roubiques

2008-12-31T22:16:00.001-06:00

The Princess in Pigtails

2008-12-31T21:28:00.001-06:00

Christmas

2008-12-25T22:35:00.001-06:00

Quick Update

2008-12-20T13:44:00.002-06:00

A quick note to let everybody know what we've been up to.

Mom is here for a few days to celebrate Metcha Day and Christmas so Lainey is in 7th heaven (and so is Gigi!).

So far, this Christmas season has been packed with a lot of activity.

We started off the season with our final homestudy and an attempt to hang with Santa. The homestudy went quite well. The hanging with Santa, not so much.

We've seen Santa several times: the mall (many occasions), the fest, Sam's. We drove through Deerfield to see all the houses decked out with lights. We take night time walks almost every night to see the Christmas lights in our neighborhood.

We also attended the "Dickens of a Christmas" festival downtown. We were there for the tree lighting kick off and then spent most of the next day at the fest. While there, we managed to spend $60 on 4 meals that we consumed in 2 hours.

Our Metcha Day was pretty special although Lainey got injured. We started the day with a walk through downtown and had a very nice lunch at Rick's Chop House. Lainey was quite well behaved and enjoyed a variety of food (crab cake, mac and cheese w/shrooms, ham and crawfish, spinach, bourbon ice cream). We then headed over to the salon for Ron and me to get haircuts. That's where the day took an unfortunate turn. Ron and I were not paying as much attention to Lainey as we should and she grabbed a flat iron. Two days later her little finger pads were liquid filled bubbles. Ron drained them and she doesn't seem too bothered by them anymore. I, however, am still quite traumatized by it. Growing up is VERY hard for a momma.

We'll be posting more pics in the next few days.

The "time out" tale

2008-12-15T22:19:00.002-06:00

I didn't have time to tell the tale last night so I will now. Lainey can be quite the stinker. She has a bit of a temper tantrum problem. She has for a while but it has escalated recently. Whenever she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it she goes in to hysterics. This particular episode involved iced tea (interestingly, my older brother's first spanking involved iced tea). We decided it was time to take action to curb these tantrums so time out was introduced. She was none to pleased to have to sit on the stool. She yelled "NO", she wailed and she spit. The climax of course was the vomiting. Anyway, don't feel too sorry for her the event ended with her getting a cookie. We're not sure who learned what in this lesson.

Lainey's first "time out"

2008-12-14T20:27:00.002-06:00

AARGH!

2008-12-06T13:41:00.001-06:00

So, I tried to spiffy up the blog and muffed it up instead! AAARGH!

update: I fixed it!!

Santa Live!

2008-12-04T23:45:00.003-06:00

O.K. All of you out there with i-Phones really need to get this app (Santa Live). It is so cute. Every day until Christmas you get a new animated clip of what Santa is up to. Then, on Christmas Eve you'll get hourly updated clips. Lainey loves it! First thing in the morning we whip out the i-Phone to see what Santa's doing. Then, Lainey has to replay it over and over. Best part-it's only 99 cents! Check it out!!

How cute is our kid??

2008-12-03T21:10:00.002-06:00

The Ginger Alien--actually the Snow Alien

2008-11-30T22:03:00.003-06:00

Our gingerbread house and ginger alien.

The Santa circuit

2008-11-30T21:46:00.004-06:00

Lainey hasn't quite taken to Santa. We're following him around town though hoping she'll warm up. So far, we've seen Santa at the mall, at the Christmas festival and at Sam's Club. The pic here is from the Christmas festival and as you can see she doesn't trust the jolly guy at all. At the mall she clung to Daddy and today at Sam's she cried out in desperation for Daddy. I'm not giving up though. I've heard through the grapevine that when Santa visits a certain mall he is exceptionally good with the kiddos so I will try one last time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T20:59:00.002-06:00

Happy Turkey Day!! We didn't exactly have turkey, but, whatever. We went semi non traditional and had brisket, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, sausage dressing, cream corn and apple pie.
This morning Ron, Lainey, Abby and I went for a long walk. Then, while Lainey slept, Ron and I made (by made, I mean we decorated) a gingerbread house. Kurt came over after Lainey's nap and we had dinner. We checked out the new "Santa Live" update on Ron's I-phone and Lainey had to replay it about 5 times! Kurt stayed for a few hours and chatted (I know...those who know Kurt do not believe this but its true). Lainey is now bathed and in bed.
It has been a very good day!! Hope everyone else's day was just as perfect!

2008-11-25T22:36:00.002-06:00

Thanks so much Donna for recognizing me with this award. For those who don't know Donna-Ron and I met Donna and her husband on our flight to China. I've been following her blog since and she is an amazing mom!

What is a Smile Award you ask?

1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life. Definitely. Absolutely.
7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for the Smile Award

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator.
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must choose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award.
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

I pass this award to:

1. Laurie

I know I'm breaking the rules but my blog isn't linked up to many other blogs. Laurie meets all the requirements above and more than makes up for my lack of other recipients.

Lainey's stats

2008-11-21T06:22:00.002-06:00

Lainey finally went for her 2 year well visit on Wednesday. She is in the 50th percentile across the board. In the 10 months we've had her she has gained 4 inches and 4 1/2 pounds! She has met all of the 2 year milestones and some of the 3 year milestones with the exception of expressive speech. Her speech is coming along but she still lags slightly behind typical.
In October she finished her INH therapy. Yippy!! Now we're waiting on a letter from the peditrician that she completed the therapy for our records.
Her in home speech therapy wrapped up yesterday and now our therapist will follow up with us monthly over the phone to see how Lainey is doing. Although she is still slightly delayed she has made incredible progress these past 6 months and we think the phone follow up is appropriate at this point.
She has returned to the childcare center at the gym with no more altercations and she seems to be healing up pretty well from the scuffle last week.

Some more pics of Abby

2008-11-20T13:57:00.002-06:00

Toasting marshmallows

2008-11-18T21:57:00.002-06:00

A week in the Life

2008-11-16T07:41:00.004-06:00

We've had Abby for a week now. She's doing really well with the kennel training. I get up once maybe twice in the night. She's seems to understand that it's potty time and she better be quick.
Today Abby had a very busy day. I brought her out for 30 minutes this morning then Ron brought her and Lainey to the park for 2 hours and then over to the neighbors for awhile.

Facts about Abby:
She was born 09/15/2008
She is a 3rd generation Labradoodle (for those who don't know-1/2 lab, 1/2 poodle)
Her coat color is cream/apricot

An update on my little noodle, Lainey:
Yesterday Ron was called back to the childcare center at the gym minutes after starting his workout. He arrived in the childcare center greeted by a sobbing Lainey. She had been assaulted. The "story" is that some child about Lainey's age or younger scratched her face. The scratch was so bad it bled and her face is also bruised.
I first learned of the incident when Ron called me at work looking for Neosporin. I wanted to cry.
Ron said he didn't go to the gym today to give Lainey a break. I think he's concerned (like I am) about happens when we're not around.
Interestingly, this morning my radio was tuned to a radio station talk show about bullies and helicopter parenting. Apparently, my reaction and Ron's, to gang up on some 2 year old little girl, is NOT appropriate. Neither is not ever letting Lainey out of our sight-that's considered helicopter parenting (not a good parenting style).
I'm learning growing up is REALLY hard for parents!

Christmas came early...

2008-11-09T21:21:00.002-06:00

Meet the newest member of the Roubique family:

You can help us name her in our poll. Abby is a strong favorite (Lainey can actually say it).

Happy Halloween (and election day)

2008-11-04T21:38:00.003-06:00

Lainey Bug

2008-10-26T21:23:00.001-05:00

Fall Fest Time

2008-10-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

Lainey's actual birthday

2008-10-23T23:18:00.000-05:00

2008-10-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

Below are the slideshows of Lainey's b-day party

The Guests

2008-10-23T23:04:00.001-05:00

Lainey's Loot

2008-10-23T22:55:00.001-05:00

Lainey enjoying her birthday cake

2008-10-23T21:59:00.001-05:00

Lainey's birthday

2008-10-21T21:44:00.003-05:00

I'm having difficulty with the pics so this will just be narrative.

Lainey's birthday party was a great success--Thanks Aunt Amy and Christy! She had a great time thanks to those who were passing her M&Ms all day and all night. She had a little difficulty sharing her things with the boys. She has always been pretty good about sharing so I was a bit bummed that she was so distraught over the boys playing with her stuff. Then on her birthday her friend Mary came over and Lainey immediately wanted to go upstairs and play. She had no problem with Mary playing with her stuff so I guess it is just kids she doesn't know very well who stresses her out.

On her actual birthday we went to breakfast with Maw Maw and Paw Paw. Lainey got the candy bar pancakes (3 huge pancakes covered with M&Ms and peanut butter cups). She pretty much just ate the candy and of course drank coffee. -We are such good parents- When we got home from breakfast Lainey got a delivery of balloons from Aunt T and Aunt J that she is still knocking around. Later that evening we invited our neighbors over and had another mini party with a small cake and some ice cream.

The celebrating didn't end on her actual birthday either. Friday she got a birthday package from Aunts T & J. We have to celebrate Ron's birthday all May long and it looks like we are going to be celebrating Lainey's all October long.

Other news:

Lainey witnessed Mary go to the potty so now she is all about the potty. We have to go to the potty several times a day. I have to take her diaper off, she sits on the potty for a few seconds, then she needs toilet paper to wipe, then she flushes and washes her hands. It is all very serious. It would be fabulous if she actually tinkled in the potty. I got a little toilet seat and some panties so we're prepared.

Lainey's speech is coming right along. Most is unintelligible which is really frustrating for her (and us). She will say something and we just look at her trying to figure out what the heck she said. She will repeat herself louder and louder as if her volume is why we haven't a clue what she's saying. The most important thing is that she is grunting less and less.

Lainey favorite things:
*puppies
*M&Ms aka "the unspeakables"
*cooking
*balloons
*Mary
*watching people dance

LAINEY IS 2 YEARS OLD TODAY!!

2008-10-15T20:45:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my baby is 2 years old! She is getting so big and so busy. Look for more pics by the end of the week!

Mid-Autumn Festival

2008-09-14T20:57:00.003-05:00

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival. We celebrated on Friday because Ron had to work today. We had dinner at our neighbor's and shared moon cakes with them for dessert. None of us were big fans of the moon cakes--they were fig newtonish...kind of. I bought them at the Asian market in Plano. Next year I'm going to get crazy and try and make them.
Also, today Lainey and I attended the Baptism of Amy. She was beautiful in her gown and didn't seem to mind the water drizzled over her head a bit.