Erin

Whether I like it or not, Lauren has taken to referring to me as Erin several times a day. She still calls me mommy most of the time, but for some reason it is really neat to her to call me Erin. I correct her and tell her my name is "mommy", but honestly, I have bigger battles to fight...!

The other day she told the gym child care workers, "I want Erin."

She tells Colson all the time, "your mommy is Erin and my mommy is Erin".

Tonight as I was leaving her room, I said, "good night honey, I love you." and she replied, "good night Erin. I love you."

pet store tour

Our mom's group set up a tour of a local pet store today, so we had to go check it out. Lauren and Colson enjoyed loving on the puppies! They were just so darn cute! I joked with Jason that we were bringing one home for Loudoun, but we all agree we are quite happy as a one dog family again. 

Lauren and Violet waiting for the next pet to get passed around...they got to pet and hold all kinds of critters- bunnies, mice, chinchillas, ferrets and a few reptiles! 

and one more puppy...

good morning

We had a late morning at the house today so I took a couple pictures of the kids 

a new park

I took the kids to a new park today. It wasn't very big, but it has an impressive rocket ship structure and slide. Lauren climbed all the way to the top by herself! 

The tire swing...a favorite!

"wook at my bow-ance mom"

I was not surprised that Colson enjoyed this car! 

he is way too cool for this ride!

uncooperative

My two little ones were a bit uncooperative for the pictures I tried to take today...

like

Facebook and Lent

This year for Lent, I gave up Facebook. I thought it was going to be so hard to give up and that I would miss it terribly, but even though it has only been one day, I am really enjoying life without it! It was like one less thing on my to do list today! I was really relieved to have the break (even though I was sure I would be in withdrawals today!)

I did have some status updates that I thought about today as things were happening, but instead of rushing to my phone to update, I just reflected and enjoyed the moment.

I still have 6 weeks to go, but what I thought was going to be a very difficult challenge and a huge sacrifice may just turn into one of the best changes for me! I think I may like life without Facebook a little more than I had imagined!

More post bath playtime

park fun

What did we do on this February day in the mid-70s? Go to the park (along with everyone else in town!)

Lauren and Kalle loved playing in the fresh air and blowing bubbles for Colson. 

Colson is 10 months old!

double digits...my baby is 10 months old today! I can't believe it. This year is flying by and I am loving (almost) every minute of it!

I went back to look at Lauren's entry at 10 months so see how alike or different my babies are at this age. It was so interesting I wanted to share. Below is Lauren's top 10 at 10 months in italics along with commentary for Colson in capitals: 

1. BATHTIME!! She cannot get enough of the water
COLSON LOVES BATHTIME ALSO! HE LOVES TO SPLASH AND PLAY AND REALLY LOOKS FORWARD TO BATHTIME EVERY NIGHT.
2. Beans – this child will eat any kind of bean. She loves beans and wants them for every meal… 
COLSON LOVES BEANS ALSO, BUT HIS FAVORITE FOODS ARE AVOCADO, CHICKEN AND MACARONI! 

3. Mickey Mouse anything – not just the TV show- books, dolls, clothes… it is insane. 

COLSON HAS NO IDEA WHO MICKEY MOUSE IS AND RARELY PAYS ATTENTION TO THE TELEVISION. HE WILL LOOK AT IT FOR A FEW SECONDS WHEN THE "GO DIEGO GO!" SONG COMES ON AND FOR A FEW RANDOM SECONDS DURING BABY EINSTEIN, BUT HE HAS NEVER "WATCHED TV" AND DEFINITELY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ANY CHARACTER. COLSON HAS A FEW FAVORITE TOYS THOUGH- HE LOVES HIS COZY COUPE AND CAN SPEND HOURS IN IT WITH DAD. HE ALSO LIKES HIS MOBILE IN HIS CRIB AND THE MUSICAL DRUM.

4. Little Gym classes- she LOVES THEM!

COLSON HASN'T TAKEN A LITTLE GYM CLASS, BUT GIVEN HIS ACTIVITY AND ENTHUSIASM AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM'S GYMNASTICS EXHIBIT I WOULD GUESS HE WOULD LOVE THEM TOO. HE IS JUST AS ACTIVE, FEARLESS AND CRAZY AS LAUREN WAS AT THIS AGE! 

5. “Cleaning” wiping anything off with washcloths, baby wipes… 

COLSON HASN'T "CLEANED" MUCH FOR ME, SO IT IS HARD TO COMMENT ON THIS, BUT HE DOES LOVE TO BANG!! JASON CALLS HIM BAM BAM.

6. Having her teeth brushed- she smiles so big and opens her mouth for me when I get the toothbrush out. It is adorable.

YEAH, COLSON HATES HAVING ANYTHING IN HIS MOUTH HE CAN'T EAT...HE HATES BRUSHING HIS TEETH (ALTHOUGH I AM BAD ABOUT REMEMBERING SINCE HE HAS HALF THE TEETH LAUREN HAD AT THIS AGE) AND HE HATES ME RETRIEVING PAPER AND OTHER ITEMS HE TENDS TO PUT IN HIS MOUTH. 

7. "Talking” to the appliances while they run especially the dishwasher, washer and dryer

COLSON ISN'T TOO VOCAL WITH THE APPLIANCES, BUT HE LOVES TO WATCH THEM AND BANG ON THEM...HMMM I AM SEEING A PATTERN HERE! 

8. Being thrown up in the air by dad- she squeals and laughs so hard- so cute! 

JASON DOESN'T DO THIS TOO MUCH WITH COLSON- PARTLY BECAUSE COLSON IS A LOT BIGGER THAN LAUREN WAS AT THIS AGE AND PARTLY BECAUSE HE STILL DOES IT A LOT WITH LAUREN! 

9. Riding on her car and pushing her doll stroller around the house 

COLSON LOVES THE COZY COUPE BUT DOESN'T PLAY ON THE RIDE ON TOYS MUCH. HE PREFERS TO PUSH THE SCHOOL BUS TOY AND THE LITTLE CAR LAUREN RODE.

10. Playing with her musical table and dancing

COLSON DOES LOVE THE MUSIC TABLE, BUT DOESN'T DANCE AS MUCH AS LAUREN DID - MAYBE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE MICKEY MOUSE TO SHOW HIM HOW... ?

There are obviously some similar things that both Lauren and Colson loved at this age- along with some big differences also! 

Colson was being so silly for these pictures tonight. As usual, he would not hold still! 

I see a lot of Uncle Brian in these next two pictures

playing with the camera and remote controls

one happy boy

the infamous and very popular music table

Lauren at 10 months at the music table

Wagon walk

The weather was sooo nice out tonight that we decided to take the wagon and go for a walk. I don't know if it was the weather or just loving these moments with my 3 babies, but it was a wonderful time and I can't imagine getting to a point in my life when throwing the kids in the wagon and grabbing the dog for a walk isn't the highlight of all our days. Everyone was so happy and Miss Dumbo even got to come! 

I want these moments forever -

my job

warming up with dad

After eating half a bowl of cantaloupe at lunch today, Lauren was cold, so she went to warm up with daddy. A few minutes later I found them like this... 

And Lauren calls the little undershirt that she is wearing a "mommy shirt"and wants to wear them at all times now...I guess because she has seen me wear a nursing camisole every day since Colson was born! 

dancing princesses

This visit wouldn't have been complete without some princess time! The girls put on their dresses and danced to Disney music

Lauren decided she wanted to dance with Miss Dumbo also

Science Museum with Kaitlyn

We love this place and the girls had a blast!