Fatherly thoughts: Two and terrific!

Today, Laura officially turns 2 years old. Stephanie and I couldn't be happier. She's made parenting a lot of fun and a tremendous blessing with her smile, her sweet personality and all the ways she touches our lives. Thank you, Laura, for being such a wonderful addition to our family. We love you. Below, is a little story from our recent adventures.

On Fridays I take Laura to nursery school for half a day. I'm responsible for getting her ready. It can be quite a challenge ... including putting her hair up in her signature ponytail. Thank the Lord for Sesame Street to keep her occupied. I've gotten to where it only takes me two or three tries where her hair looks semi-presentable. The other day I finished it on the first try, and we were looking like we were going to be ahead of schedule.

Steph had helped pick out her outfit for me before she left for work. It was one of Laura's nicer pink outfits, and I was careful to put a bib on Laura when she was eating breakfast. Too often I forget but not this week.

It was looking like a smooth morning.

As I opened the front door to load the car, I remembered that Steph had put a fresh coat of paint on the porch the night before to touch it up for Laura's birthday party. I touched the wood to see if it was dry. It had a slight stick, but overall, it felt dry. I decided to walk softly on it to save time, instead of going around back. I told Laura to wait at the door. She usually is pretty good about staying on the porch and just watching.

As I finished putting her school bag in the car, I could hear her singing "twinkle, twinkle" ... or something like that ... as she walked down the steps. I figured this was no big deal since the porch felt dry. As she stumbled along in the yard closer toward me, a dark something appeared on the back of her pants. My first thought was that she had slipped in the grass and got a little dirt on her.

I took a closer look and realized ... I was soooooooooooo dead.

Laura had brown paint all over the back of her pink flowery pants. I knew right then that Stain Stick, Oxiclean or whatever super stain-fighting formula wasn't going to save me this time. The first words out of my mouth were, "Laura, your mother is going to kill me!"

I ran her back inside, lightly scraped off the paint that had gotten on her leg and sprayed her pants with some stain stuff and put them in a sink full of water ... knowing full well there was no hope for them. They were dead on arrival. Laura pointed out that her pants had a "boo boo" or "poo poo" ... something like that.

I took her upstairs and grabbed the first thing I could find ... jeans (that were a little too long), a blue T-shirt with fish on it and kept her pink bow in (I still contend the bow went with the pink fish on her shirt). I made pretty good time changing her into another outfit ... and we were out the door. When I called Stephanie to tell her what had happened she was rather understanding ... until I told her what I had changed Laura into. She wanted me to go back and change Laura into a nicer outfit, but we were already late and too far down the road. We still got to her school with a couple minutes to spare ... Yea, daddy!

Laura, I'm still learning as I go. Thankfully, daddies get a pass for their lack of fashion sense ... at least for the most part.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Laura!!

It's hard to believe our baby turns 2 tomorrow...time sure has flown. It seems like just yesterday she was a little immobile ball of joy with spiky black hair. Now she can't sit still for more than a few seconds at a time and her preferred gait is running (she seriously never walks anywhere!). Anyway...enough reminiscing!! We celebrated her birthday with a big backyard bash yesterday afternoon. The rain was threatening the whole time, but fortunately all we got was a little wind and thunder. Enjoy the pictures!

Mommy and Laura are all ready for the party to start. Laura spent most of the day pointing at decorations saying, "O Wowah's burday pody?" (Translation: For Laura's birthday party?) and singing Happy Birthday to herself. It goes something like this: "Hoppy to you, Hoppy to you, Hoppy Wowa, Hoppy to you. Yaaaay!"

She just couldn't wait to get in the pool. I had hoped we could keep her cute outfit on until all the guests arrived, but after the first guest she ended up in her swimming suit. It was only about 75 degrees out and overcast, but the kids played in the pool until their little lips were blue and they were all shivering.

The kids eating their dinner. We had 13 kids, age 5 months to 4 years (and their parents). I'm so glad the rain held off since I wasn't sure how we would fit everyone inside!

Granddad graciously posing while filling his plate.

Trying to light birthday candles in the wind isn't easy! We finally got them lit, though, and Laura tried really hard to blow them out. She kept getting her little lips closer and closer to the flame before I just blew them out. I was afraid she was going to get burned!
Laura enjoying the icing on her cupcake. All day she had been asking for a cupcake ("Cake, mommy?") so I thought she would devour it once she was given one. After licking all the icing off, though, she told me "All done, mommy! Don't yite dat!" (Translation: Don't like that!)
Opening presents is always fun. This is when the weather started getting really stormy looking, so I rushed us through. I actually think that worked well because she didn't have time to get attached to a toy before we moved on to the next one. But today she had a great time playing with everything. I took it all out of the boxes and packaging last night and laid them out in the center of her playroom. She was in awe when she came downstairs this morning to play!

After a lot of the guests were gone, Laura started playing around the pool again even though she was dressed. I kept an eye on her because I figured it was very likely she would fall in -- and she did! She thought it was great fun to play in the pool in her clothes and shoes. Mommy didn't think it was quite so funny!
After she got all dry with new clothes (and mommy and daddy dumped the pool!) she had a good time playing on the swing set until the last family left.

Overall, we had a great party. When I asked Laura this morning if she had a fun birthday party she said a very emphatic, "uh-huh, mommy!!" Thanks to all our friends and family here and far away that helped make this 2nd birthday so special! Laura loves you all (and so do her parents:)

Fatherly thoughts: getting the splinters out

Ok, it wasn't brain surgery ... but you try holding a 2-year-old's hand still while removing a splinter.

It took both Stephanie and I working together to perform our first "de-splinterization."
I spotted it while washing Laura's hands after dinner. She must have gotten it playing in the yard yesterday.

Armed with a needle and peroxide, I lightly scraped along the skin trying to loosen the splinter. Let me just say ... Laura is one strong kid, and she didn't want to sit still as I poked around on her little hand. The "procedure" took about five minutes. It felt like an hour. After much work, we finally were victorious and removed the splinter!

Just as Stephanie and I were putting everything away, consoling Laura and patting each other on the back for a job well done ... we spotted another splinter on the same hand. This one was longer and deeper. Oh, good grief!We decided to take a break, and let Laura watch a cartoon. After a few minutes, it was time to get serious. I grabbed my cap with built in flash light. With the help of Clifford the Big Red Dog playing in the background, the second splinter wasn't as tough to remove. It only took a minute or two, and Laura seemed to hardly notice as her eyes glazed over in cartoon mode.

So ... sometimes there are things parents have to take care of even though they're not popular. Laura, I know you're not always going to appreciate your mommy and daddy's attempts to protect you from bad things ... like splinters... but just know that we love you and are doing the best we can.Hopefully, we didn't traumatize you too bad with that needle ... or that goofy hat with the light.

Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day weekend. My parents came over on Saturday to help us finish building Fort Laura. Granddad's expertise was needed on some of the final details of making the fort strong and secure. (He also was a big help getting us started -- Shawn and I aren't the most handy people when it comes to building things!!) Laura was thrilled when she was finally able to swing, slide, sit at her picnic table and play in the playhouse.

Granddad and Shawn bracing the picnic table bench.

One of Laura's first rides on the swing.

Our family:)

On Mother's Day I was woken up by Shawn and Laura bringing me breakfast in bed and singing me a song -- it was very sweet. My gift was two beautiful hanging baskets of petunias for the front porch. We met Nana and Granddad at church and had a good time worshipping with them. We enjoy having grandparents so close by -- Laura just loves her Nana and Granddad. After Laura's nap, my parents came over again for a barbecue for Mother's Day and my dad's birthday. We had good food and good fun! At the end of the day, Laura was able to Skype with her MeMa and sing her a few songs. Laura has definitely turned into a performer. All I hear lately is "O mor son, momma!" (One more song, momma!)

Laura with her daddy and Granddad.

All of us dressed up.

A great picture with Nana and Granddad.

Laura loving her new swing set.

Swinging with Granddad.

Reading with Nana.

A fun game of Ring Around the Rosy.

Daughterly thoughts: Happy Mother's Day, Mama!

Dear Mama,

You think I'm taking a nap right now ... but I snuck away to write something just for you. Daddy says I'm a natural.

I just wanted to write you a quick note to tell you how special you are to me and wish you a Happy Mother's Day! You're the best mama a kid could ask for. You take good care of me and make me feel special. You clean up after me ... and daddy, too. I love your hugs and kisses.

You've also taught me to be a good mommy to my dollies. I even know how to give them a "time out" when they don't obey, but I always give them a hug and tell them how much I love them. Thanks again for being a wonderful mommy.

I love you!

-Laura, guest writer

Fatherly thoughts: Through a child's eyes

Dear Laura,

You remained so still ... so quiet. You didn't seem to know exactly what was happening.

The other day a friend had just found out his father had passed away. We just arrived at his house after he and his wife had heard the news. The family was visibly grieving and packing to leave town for the funeral. You had never seen anything quite like this before. You sat in your mother's arms and leaned into her as close as you could. You weren't scared, you were just watching and taking it all in. You seemed to sense that something had happened ... something sad. I was impressed with how calm and somber you were. You appeared to read the moment perfectly. As you grow up, there will be times when you don't understand what is happening.

Your mother and I will do the best we can to answer your questions ... some of which, I'm sure, will be tough to answer. We don't have all of the answers. We do hope that we can point you to the one who does. Our faith in God and His Word definitely helps give us the foundation to answer the tough questions in life. Laura, we definitely look forward to helping you find the answers.

Fatherly Thoughts: Fort Laura

Dear Laura,

Your mother and I are building your first swing set ... or as I like to call it, "Fort Laura." It's the thing you call a "weeeeeeeeee" every time we pull in the driveway. (Not to be confused with a Wii video game system ... which would definitely be easier to set up.)

It's been quite a challenge to put your fort together ... with its slide, swing set, some other swinging contraption, its fort-like structure, and a small picnic table (no, I'm not kidding). We'll eventually add on the monkey bars when you're old enough to play on them. We might as well add on a garage at this point.

Your mother and I have been working on it here and there for several weeks. The directions said it was a two-day project. Yea, maybe two days for the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crew.

OK, I admit it. Your daddy stinks at building stuff and just about any home repair project. It's never been my thing ... just something to avoid. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We've made a ton of progress with your fort, but it's getting down to the wire before your second birthday. Your mommy is beginning to wonder if we're going to complete it in time. It will work out fine ... but it hasn't gone as fast as we had hoped.

Your mother and I actually make a pretty good team with this kind of stuff. She reads the directions. She tells me what to do next and I do it. It will definitely be worth all of the work - and a few headaches - once it's completed simply because we love you.

We know you'll love it once we're all done. You better ... or no monkey bars for you!

Comparison and Laura Sings!!

We took this picture last year when the tulips were blooming:How little she looks! And she was perfectly content to sit there for the pictures.

I tried to take a similar picture this week with the tulips and this is what I got:

It was impossible to get a picture of her sitting AND looking at the camera. She is a girl constantly on the move!! And how much she has grown in a year!

This week, Laura has really started trying to sing along with some of her favorite songs. This is a video of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I'm singing a little louder than I thought, but I couldn't get her to cooperate for another take. Also, it stops very abruptly with her running toward the camera saying "I wanna see!" She just couldn't sing another word without seeing herself in the screen!

Check back soon for the pictures taken recently when my grandparents and aunt were in town.