#5 and #2

#5 ... this is in reference to teeth. The one on the right top finally poked through the surface today! We've been able to see it for over a month and it just now came though. Can't see any other ones that look like they'll be in anytime soon.

#2 (Maybe TMI!?)
I forgot to add to teh 17 month update that she tends to like to do #2 in privacy. At Lynnes - she goes behind the couch! Here at home, she'll typically toddle off away from us and do her thing. Is this the first step towards potty learning readiness???! :)

Visit with Aunt Megan and Uncle Matt

Here's a few pictures from last weekend...we spent the night at Uncle Matt and Aunt Megan's new house :)
Laura really enjoyed playing on the stairs. She loved playing with Uncle Matt chasing him around the couch and giggling all the way. She loved sliding down in the adirondack chair. She loved playing with the box of chip clips - dumping them out over and over again. She loved playing on the endless step between the living room and dining room. She loved clearing off the coffee table and touching/moving everything else that is not toddler proofed in their house. She got scared at the vacuum cleaner - at home she loves it though...Squeals with delight when we bring it out and try to suck her up with the wand tip. What else didn't she enjoy while there? Sleeping in her pack n play. I could not get her to fall asleep and stay asleep when I put her in there. I ended up going to bed with her at 9:30 and she stayed in bed between Rich and I until 2:30 when I stuck her in her crib and she slept soundly until 6:45. Did you catch that? She was up 2 hours past bedtime and only slept in an extra 15 minutes. Ugh.

Would you like a kiss Aunt Megan?

How about one like this?

That wasn't good enough? OK - here's a real one :)

17 month update!

Tomorrow is Feb 27th. Laura will be 17 months old. (Happy 7th birthday to cousin HUNTER!)

I went to look and see if I have any new pictures to post since the last post - and it appears I haven't taken a whole lot since then - and the ones I have taken are still sitting in the cameras. Oops.

What's Laura been doing? Keeping us busy! She is into everything, but she is also at a point where she sometimes enjoys playing alone and that means I have time to make dinner, do laundry, pick up etc... but then she goes along behind me and undoes a lot of what I'd done.

Some of her favorite activities at this point are:
*climbing down and then up the stairs
*sitting at the island coloring/eating/watching me make dinner
*her bath!
*dancing when music is on
*playing chase around the island and up and down the hallway
*sitting in the laundry basket waiting for someone to give her a ride
*giving hugs and kisses (and squeezes) to the cats
*giving hugs and kisses to mommy and daddy
*climbing onto anything - chairs, couches

She helps out around the house by:
*putting her shoes in the closet once they come off (she'll even open the door and then try to close it)
*helping empty the dishwasher... hands us things and even puts some stuff away.
*throwing her morning diaper in the trashbag

She is very good at following directions - at least when she wants to!

She is also very demanding of trying to get her way...what toddler isn't?

She's wearing size 5 huggies. Target brand diapers are terrible for anyone out there wondering - don't waste your money. She has to wear size 5 huggies overnight diapers at night now - drinks so much she wets through a regular diaper. She's even been overflowing her fuzzibunz so I've got to look into adding another soaker layer into them. Oh, still in medium fuzzibunz - that's 13 months in the same dipes!

Her love affair with shoes continues - she just enjoys holding her shoes and carrying them around even. Oh, and she's recently started putting a few of her play purses over her shoulder... can you say girly girl in training? uh-oh! I never was a girly girl - where is she learning this behavior!?

She still uses a bottle for milk. She uses a sippy cup for water. She has given up her pacifier... did that the week she was sick with the stomach bug.

Last weight check a couple weeks ago she was 24pounds and a few ounces.

She's in 24 month/2T clothes! Yikes! And I was hoping the 18 month clothes we had for the cruise would fit her this summer...maybe some will, but I know the dresses and some tops will be mighty short. She's still in her 5.5 shoes.

Her hair is getting long and curly! Long and whispy in the front to the point where she needs a barette, but she won't leave it alone. and then the curls are super cute across the back part :)

Oh, and she still only has 4 teeth!

Eat your heart out Aunt Megan!

Laura is finally enjoying... BOOKS!


This is her concentration face... "I know this book opens somehow!"


Laura is starting to enjoy thumbing through books more now. She hasn't always enjoyed them - but I think that's partly because she's so busy, she just won't sit still for them. Now that she's starting to recognize objects she sees on the pages she's more into them.

Where's the doggy?
Right here mommy...

Oh, and the hairdo is not her normal do - this is how she was when I picked her up from Lynne's house one day last week though. I had forgotten to send a barette with her and her long locks were in the way so Lynne gave Laura this super cute up-do!

20 minutes...

20 minutes until the end of the Wink 106 voting period and I can't bear to watch the screen each time I hit refresh. Laura and this other chick were battling for 1st/2nd all week long... and now out of nowhere - two other babies are right up there in the mix... what gets me - is the pictures are crappy pictures - yes, the kids are cute - but who enters a fuzzy/out of focus picture with RED EYE into a contest? Ack! That's just wrong. You're probalby all saying - well, maybe not so wrong if the picture is winning... oh well, to my photography oriented way of thinking - it's wrong. On so many levels. Oh well.

After tonight, I'll get back to posting updates about Laura. I wanted to leave the voting info at the top of the blog - that's why there were no updates this week.

WINK 106 My Beautiful Baby Contest!

Ok people - I know you've all been waiting as anxiously as I have so LET THE VOTING BEGIN!!! (well, technically it starts at 6am tomorrow, but I'm posting the info now.)

Rules:
You may only vote once per baby per computer (What this really means is once per IP address... so if you share an office with someone or you have 2 computers at your house, you can only vote once for the site - technically not once on each computer) Darn! My office at work has 3 computers! BUT... you CAN vote once at home and once at work! :)

You may change your vote, but your last vote is the one that counts. 10 is highest rating. 1 is lowest rating.

Other rules: You must vote 10 for Laura! ha ha ha ha! Ok, so I'm making up my own rules now :)

Laura is in "Heat 2" and voting takes place from Monday Feb 9th at 6am and runs through February 13th at midnight.

Click here to vote for Laura!!!.
This is the picture you're looking for ... left hand column - 4th picture down.


Remember - Voting starts at 6am tomorrow... pass the word and then start voting!

IF Laura wins this "Heat", she'll be in the final round of voting which takes place in March. We have to get past the first round though :)

Oh, you wonder what the prizes are???
$100 Gift Certificate to Haircolor Masters Salon and Spa

$50 Gift Certificate to the Arnot Mall

$300 Photo Session with Heather Goodreau Photography

Photo Tag

I was tagged by Kellie and by Natalie in photo tag.
Here are the rules-
1. Choose the fourth folder you store your pictures in on your computer (I went to 4th folder, 4th subfolder, 4th subfolder) as my pics are stored by Year/Month/Day

2. Select the fourth picture in the folder

3. Explain the picture

4. Tag four people to do the same

This is Laura on Valentine's Day last year. Her first Valentine's Day. How fitting being that Valentine's Day is less than a week away - funny how that turned out, huh? So, one year ago, this is what Laura looked like. She's shown here with the rose her daddy brought home to her :) Right after a few photos like this were taken she promptly grabbed at the rose and popped the top right off the stem!

I tag:
MEGAN (maybe it'll end up being a house pic or a new neice pic!)
DEBBIE (no rush Deb - I know you're in the hospital giving birth, so whenever you get around to it, okay?) :)
JEN (Let's see what Ava was up to...or maybe it'll be a non Ava pic?)
BECKY! (I'm hoping for another belly pic!)

You wonder why there have been no recent posts...

Because every time I'd try to say she was better... she'd backslide or have something else go haywire.

NOW I can safely say she's all better. After that poo episode on Friday at daycare - we had no less than 3 outfit changes a day for a whole week. Yep - explosions everyday. EWWW! Totally because of the antibiotics she was on for the ear infection. I called the peds office to see what they recommended about it and they just said to give her yogurt. (Which I knew) ...but my kid won't eat yogurt for me. So what'd I do? Sent yogurt to Lynne's house because my kid will eat ANYTHING for Lynne and Suzi and Jenna! Ha! Laura had her last dose of antibiotics yesterday morning and last evening I dared to put her back into cloth for the first time in a week. So far so good. Seems to be back to normal :)

I had a question about the toilet/magazine incident - Richie fished it out and promptly handed it to me. Eww!

I realize I've been photo tagged (twice) and I will get it posted... I even went so far as to look and see which picture it will be :)

Oh, and tomorrow is FEBRUARY 9th! So, the voting for MY BEAUTIFUL BABY contest opens!!! I'll be back to post more details!