Blocks, blocks and Bumps!

Aunt Mandy sent Drew some blocks and he has played with them daily for two weeks. We have so much fun with them. I was getting by with building just straight towers until Grandma came for the weekend and she builds entire cities so I have to up my game to keep him interested! ;) Drew tells me what to build and then we build it together. He loves to pretend with the blocks and has a great imagination. This first picture was a parking garage. Then we played dominos with them. I think we played dominos for about an hour! Next we moved on to a car wash and later added a library. Everyone needs a good car wash after they leave the library, right?! Thanks Mandy, Adam, Kyle and Brandon.... he loves your gift!








Here he got so excited about the car wash/library that he threw his head forward and hit the edge of the couch and put a knot on his head! Poor boy.

Cuteness just comes natural for her!
(I don't have any of Drew sitting still because that doesn't happen too often). ;)

I am very aware that parents are more entertained by their children than other people but I still wanted to add a couple videos. Lauren is great at sitting by herself now and Drew is a tractor driving maniac! Enjoy!

Hoovers Wedding

Okay so I had every intention of getting a lot of pictures and a great family picture while we were all dressed up for the wedding. The reality is, we barely kept everyone in building let alone standing still for a picture! Drew had a blast, he ran as fast as he could all over the dance floor. It would have taken some super glue, ropes and a large body guard to keep him standing still for a picture. He loved his outfit because he thought he was going to the bank. Here are the few pictures we got in their wedding clothes. The last picture Drew was trying to get Lauren to show Grammy how we danced at the wedding!

Brother is Funny!!!!

Lauren has been getting a kick out of Drew sneezing for awhile now and I just now got it on video. Before this one, they would stop every time I got the camera. It takes awhile for him to start sneezing again so be patient. She doesn't seem to mind even when it gets a little out of control. I love these kids!

Stages

Just wanted to show her beautiful eye lashes!!!! I LOVE THEM!

Having a family is sooooo much fun!!! Days are full of tantrums, dirty messes, tears, diapers, spit up, clutter, laundry and housework and I love it! I love it because the hugs, kisses, songs, smiles, and giggles make up for any hard parts of being a parent. Don't get me wrong, by 7:00 I am ready for them to go to bed so I can recharge by batteries and get ready for the next day. :) I am a women of many talents now that I have a family. I can finger paint (toddler style) with the best of them, build things with legos and blocks, sing and dance to any child song, play tickle monster, doctor boo boos, cook up a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich, perform surgery to insert batteries to any toy and much more!!!!
Each stage keeps getting more fun than the last. Right now the kids are starting to interact and that makes me smile. Lauren loves when Drew talks to her or even looks her way. When Drew will slow down to look at her he gets excited to see her smile at him. Lauren has already started the "Daddy's home" smiles and kicks, she gets so excited to see him and tries hard to get his attention before Drew can get to him!!! Poor mom just sits there and gets ignored when Daddy comes home, boo hoo for me.:) Both kids are still at the age where Mommy and Daddy are the best and know EVERYTHING so we take full advantage of that because I understand it will not always be the case. Drew is starting to LOVE puzzles and coloring, these are things that before now he couldn't sit still long enough to do. It is fun to watch them go through different stages and sad to see them pass through some of the stages. (True story: As I am typing this up, Drew just came out from his nap, hugged me and said "I love you Mommy!). That is why I love my family!!! I can put up with the days that we have a screaming fit in public when it is followed days of hugs and "I love you Mommy"! Well he is up from nap so I have to get back to building a "BIG HOUSE" out of blocks per Drew's request! I added a couple videos so the out of town people can see a little of Lauren!

Fancy Feet

Lauren's feet look wonderful, adorable and perfect!!!! Here are some pictures of the process it took to get there. I didn't put pictures of her before feet until now because I didn't want to worry people and we knew it would get better. You will be amazed in the change of appearance in a short amount of time. We are so thankful for Dr. Sinclair at Children's Mercy Kansas City.

Both of her feet were turned in.

This is Lauren.... 10 days old getting her first set of casts put on. As you can tell in the picture, I was overwhelmed watching my newborn get casts put on both feet. I wish I knew then how simple the process was going to be.

After week 1

After week 2

After week 3

After week 4

We didn't get any pictures of after week 5 because they took the casts off in the surgery room and she had new casts put on. She wore them for three weeks and yes they were dirty and stinky!

Aunt Mandy and cousins Brandon and Kyle decorated her casts right before we took her to get them off! She felt very punk rock and proud of her ink!

Here are her beautiful feet today!!! She still wears the brace (I will add a picture of that below) for 20 hours a day, but after August 17th she only has to wear it at night. This process seems like it flew by and she is putting weight on her feet already!

She even looks adorable with this brace on her feet!

Happy Fathers Day Sam!!!

My kids are lucky to have Sam as a father. He helps with everything and spends a lot of time with Drew and Lauren. He has taught Drew to peddle his bike, use his tools, mow the lawn and many other things. He wakes up for middle of the night feedings or middle of the night cries. He does baths, diapers, dinners and nights alone with kids. The thing that I am the most grateful for is he teaches by example. He is a great example to Drew how to treat a lady, which will guide Drew to be a good husband and father. He will show Lauren how a lady should expect to be treated by a man. He is my partner in everything we do and respects me and that is a great father. He treats me as an equal and I am thankful that my children are watching that and will expect that in their relationships. Thank you Sam! Happy Fathers Day!!! We love you!!!