Where is your nose???

We have been working with Lauren on pointing to different body parts. She was stuck on ears for a long time. One day we were shopping and we asked Lauren, "Where is your nose?" She promptly stuck her finger up her nose. We immediately asked her, "Where is your ear?"... to no avail as the finger stayed up the nose. Now she thinks it is so funny when she sticks her finger up her nose, mainly because we keep trying to pull her finger out of her nose.

A Day on The Beach

A day on the beach is full of adventures. What do you do when you come across a log laying over the beach?!?!? I guess you have to climb it.... but this one looks pretty big.... hmmm... what to do, what to do????.....

Strolling on the beach

This Sunday morning we decided to go down to the beach before breakfast. We hiked the beach, inspected the stones and pebbles, ate some Blackberries growing all along the shore, and admired the Osprey nest high up in a Fir Tree. Then we walked out on the Fox Island Fishing Dock to watch the birds and wild-life. The fish were quite active this morning jumping out of the sound repeatedly. After our outing we had poached eggs and toast for breakfast on the deck. Lauren loves poached eggs.

Daddy's shoe

Lauren has found a new toy... Daddy's shoe. She loves to carry it around with her and play with it. Makes it difficult for Daddy in the morning to find a matching pair of shoes....
Speaking of shoes --- whenever Lauren wants to go outside and play she simply brings us her own shoes.

Lets eat!!!

L
Lauren has always been a little bit of a picky eater. She has gotten much better since the orphanage, but she will still not eat potatoes. She enjoys making faces and turning feeding time into a humorous adventure, but her palate has incresaed. She loves avacado, yo baby yogurt, chicken, salmon, any green veggies and cottage cheese. She will not eat anything sweet or fruit. We try to slip fruit into her yogurt and she will accept it that way. Her drink of choice is water. (I wish I had her eating habits and taste buds.) She has yet to try any fast foods - hope we can continue holding out on that for a couple of years. Overall she has made great progress and her doctor is very pleased with her growth since she came to us.

Lauren, Raja and Balls

Lauren and Raja had fun playing with all the balls in our back yard. Raja liked to gather them all in one pile and Lauren liked to kick them all over the yard. In the one picture I think they must be trying to figure out why the lawn is so brown.

Raja

Raja came over to play with Lauren. They had a blast. It was nice for Lauren to have a friend close to her age. They played for hours. Lauren spends two hours, four times a week in daycare. It has really helped her understand sharing and playing together.

Interior Designer

Lauren has an eye for design. Every night I try to get my family room looking neat and tidy. Every morning Lauren takes a look at the room and starts putting it back just the way she left it the night before.

Water hopping

The Zoo has an area just for kids. One of the activities is a water hopping pad. Water shoots out of holes in the ground in different places. Lauren loved it. We didn't bring a change of clothes, so we had to move on to other areas.

Point Defiance Zoo

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarim is located on a point of land that streaches out into Puget Sound. It is beautiful. The Zoo is very kid friendly and we have a family membership which allows us to come and go as we please. We try to visit the zoo at least twice a month since Lauren enjoys it so much.

Petting Zoo

We went to Point Defiance Zoo this weekend. Lauren loves the Zoo but she really likes the petting zoo. She had a very good time petting and feeding the goats and sheep.

Got Teeth?

Lauren gave me one of her silly grins today and I had the camera ready. She now has eight teeth showing and more trying to peek through. She is really good about letting us brush those pearly whites. To her it is a fun game - plus toothpaste tastes good!

Lauren's Orphanage Artwork

Toward the end of our first visit in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan at the Baby House, Lauren was doing finger painting for an offical presentation. We were given her Artwork by Asia, the caretaker.We referred to this on our Nov. 25, 2005 posting titled "More wonderful care-takers". We finally had her creation framed and it is now presented in our foyer. Looks like a Picasso to me!

Kazakh Bunny

While we were in Kazakhstan we found a bunch of soft plastic squeaky toys. They were about 10 cents apiece. We bought about one of each kind for the orphanage. Lauren really liked the bunny so we went back and got one for her to keep. She has been so attached to that toy. It is her favorite of all her toys. These are some pictures of her playing with her "kazakh bunny".

Kitty Chair

We bought this kitty chair for Lauren this week. She loves it. Now she has her own chair to sit and relax in just like Mommy and Daddy. (Except her chair is a lot cooler than our chairs!)

What A Face!!!

Lauren is aways making funny faces. She was even doing funny faces while we were visiting at the orphanage. I don't know where some of these faces come from - but she always keeps us laughing and brings the child out in us.

Fox Island Fair

Every year the small island we live on has a community fair. This was Lauren's first visit. Next year we will need to be in good shape to chase her all around the fair.

Dancing to the Music

Lauren has always been moved by music. Yesterday some song came on that she found to her liking. She was jumping all around the room. She always keeps us laughing.

This dog has no tail!

Our friends had a Cocker Spaniel with a docked tail. Lauren had to keep checking out the tail because it just didn't look right. I guess she finally got it figured out.

Horses

We had the opportunity to visit our friends Arabian Horse Ranch this weekend. We discovered Lauren loves horses. She could have stayed all day wandering in and out and in between their stalls. She seems to have no fear. Noel, our friend, said next year she may have to get a pony for Lauren. Lauren would sure love that.

Counting Boats

It was one of those beautiful Northwestern days. We spent a couple of hours visiting with friends on the water and Lauren had a blast pointing and babbling about all the boats that passed by Fox Island.

When it is really, really hot!

When it is really, really hot.........you skinny dip!