Monet in the making?

Winter time in the Midwest means finding creative "indoor" activities for baby girl. So out came the Blueberry, Chocolate and Lemon pudding for an intensive session of finger painting.

Like any good artist, Lauren decided to taste-test her art supplies prior to beginning her masterpiece.



Lemon....



Don't you dare take my paints away Daddy.



By the end of her session, Lauren was covered with pudding from head to toe. Clearly she disagreed with the need to take a bath.



Our future "Monet" is so proud of her accomplishments. A fun day for sure.

Has anyone seen my camera? Part 2

We found the camera, hid the Desitin and have yet to make any headway in controlling baby girl. Lauren is officially 18 months and 20.5 pounds of crazy fun! Attached are pictures of an average day around the Thomas house.

Desitin for chapped lips anyone?



Or perhaps you'd like a couple sheets of toilet paper?



Helping with the laundry...Clearly Mom and Dad forgot the Bounce Sheet.

Has anyone seen my camera?

Many of you have asked why we've been so slow to get blog posts up lately. And many of you are wondering what's new with our little Lauren?

Well let us tell you...

Lauren is now 18 months, has started exhibiting full-on toddler behavior, and her parents have officially lost ALL control.

Current activities include:
- Screeching at the top of her lungs when she doesn't get exactly what she wants
- Wanting to do EVERYTHING by herself
- Saying "No No No" while shaking her finger at you
- Refusing to eat food in the event she might miss some new opportunity
- LITERALLY attaching herself to her Mother's hip so that even a ten minute shower is too long for baby girl to be seperated from her Mama
- Pole-vaulting off of our furniture with no regard to the hard-surfaced landing
- Refusing to watch any part of Sesame Street that doesn't include "Elmo"
- Standing up vs. sitting in the bath tub (umm...that's called a shower Lauren)
- And not wanting her diaper changed to the point that we'd potty train her today if we could

On Sunday alone, she covered her lips with Desitin diaper rash creme, ate Girl Scout cookies and Opus's cat food for her meal plan, hid our camera (hence no pictures), and refused to wear clothing despite the cool temps outside.

So here is your post everyone.

She is still the love of our lives, and as soon as we find our camera, hide the Desitin, and regain any sense of control we will post another update. Touche!

Ho! Ho! Ho! or not?

The Thomas family has just enjoyed a wonderful month of celebrating the Christmas holiday. So much so, that we are very behind on our blog posts.

So here we go...remembering December in January.

In mid-December, Lauren got to attend her first holiday party with a real, live Santa. The jury is out on how much of the "Ho Ho Ho" Lauren actually enjoyed.

Lauren pondering why this big man in a red suit is crashing our party?



Back off sister, this toy is mine.



Dear Santa: Thanks for the gift but YOU I can do without.

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas Day 2011 brought a host of grandparents and many fun toys to Lauren. We had a great holiday playing games and spending time together as a family.

Party time with Grandma Keren and Grandpa Jim.



Christmas Eve 2011 - Lauren opening her first official Christmas present. She is a "master" at unwrapping gifts now - hers or not.



A new book from Grandma Susie.



And for her BIG gift from Santa Claus, Lauren received a little red piano perfect for her pint size and future musical aspirations. Concerts by request only.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Lauren continues to rock the Christmas tree. What a difference one year makes!

What We've Learned...One Year Later

Just over one year ago, we shared our fine words of wisdom about parenthood.

Clearly we were very well educated having had two full months of parenting under our belts. LOL!

Now one year later here is our latest assessment.

#1 - The minute you make a plan of what your child will wear, the event you are going to take her too, or conjure up any grandious ideas of the perfect memory IT WILL BACKFIRE.

#2 - The baby hair that fell out, is now adorned in baby bows and barrets that spend more time in baby's mouth then on her head.

#3 - The baby that you once swaddled is now determined to be naked.



#4 - You can STILL get a lot of stuff done when forced to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

#5 - Those annoying songs that play on your baby's swing, play mat or bouncy seat will stay with you forever. And once those toys are gone there are new ones to taunt you.

#6 - Children should NOT play in the refrigerator but you do what you have to do to get dinner on the table.



#7 - A parent's fear of entering a social establishment with a mobile baby can terminate Saturday date nights altogether.

#8 - The concept of keeping your child's room clean goes away at a very early age.



#9 - A ponytail holder is still a new Mom's best friend.

#10 - There is nothing sweeter than watching a sleeping baby (and her sleeping baby) lie.