my little laurel

Well, I am officially bad at this blog thing, but it is not for lack of subject matter. I'll have a whole week to myself over break when the kids will be with their dad, so maybe I can catch up on some things (like, we went camping! I have crazy dating stories! I went on a cruise!)

As for right now, this is the most important thing ever. I have a beautiful daughter and she is FOUR. The worst part about being four is that there are no more diapers in our house, for better or worse. We actually ran out a couple says before she was four and I'm like, 'sorry girl. I'm not buying any more.' None. There has been poop on the potty but there has been a LOT of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

But that just puts a damper on this entire happy blog post.

I should start with December 11, when she got her very first haircut. Shane has been complaining she had a mullet. I don't really know what to think other than I wish she had more hair, but whatever, I was OK for a haircut. The stylist "layered" it some to make it look more full. We were there for 13 whole minutes.

She chose the Thomas seat over the pink Cadillac. Interesting!

Then we played for a bit at Bothell's Country Village.

That night she stayed at her dad's so she saw him for breakfast, then after playing at my house in the morning Shane came and took her to the Lego store for birthday shopping. After that, we were off on an adventure!! I took Laurel and Wesley to my friend Vicki's cabin, mere minutes away from the Festival of Christmas at Warm Beach in Stanwood, which advertises itself as having a million Christmas lights. Literally a million lights. It was cool. Luckily it had stopped raining although there was plenty of mud and puddles (thank goodness for the kids in boots). Wesley and Laurel both fell and got filthy, but who cares. I actually forgot my coat at home which makes no sense but is totally true. Luckily Vicki had a coat I could borrow. We had no gloves or hats but we survived. It was cold but it wasn't that cold.

We rode their little train and we did the light maze. We heard some live Christmas music and we went under tunnels of lights. There was a talking tree and an elf toy shop. There was a ton to do and see, and after 2.5 hours we were exhausted but hadn't even seen everything it seemed. I'm glad Vicki and her family invited us to go along with them, it was wonderful to make a fun Christmas memory with friends and celebrate Laurel.

Afterwards we had rainbow cupcakes with homemade frosting and shark gummies, and she opened presents! (Notice the shark wrapping paper.) The big gift was a doctor kit which I was really excited about giving her. When we go to the children's museum nearby she plays in the veterinarian area almost exclusively. I have to beg her to try something else. So I know she's excited to take care of our stuffed animals at home.

Here is our annual birthday quiz:

1. What is your favorite color?  I don’t have a favorite color, I just like rainbow.

2. What is your favorite toy?   Everything is my favorite (this is totally true... I've been trying to figure out for 10 minutes her favorite thing and I can't. Her kitchen stuff, her Legos, the magnetic alphabet, the art kits, the wooden trains... she can't decide.)

3. What is your favorite fruit?   All of the fruit (sigh, also true)

4. What is your favorite tv show?   Shark TV show (check out Johnathon Bird's Blue World on YouTube)

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?   Macaroni and cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit?   Shark pajamas (these pictured above, haha)

7. What is your favorite game?   Spot It
8. What is your favorite snack?   Orange chips (aka Doritoes)

9. What is your favorite animal?   shark (duh!) 

10. What is your favorite song?  Hallelujah  (this may be just a seasonal choice... it's the Mannheim Steamroller version that Wesley loves so it's on repeat essentially)

11. What is your favorite book?  The poems book (Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein, which my kids just eat up)

12. Who is your best friend?   Sofie
13. What is your favorite cereal?   Honey cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  I usually want to be at beaches outside so I can watch for sharks outside
15. What is your favorite drink?   lemonade
16. What is your favorite holiday?   I don’t know

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Paris (a stuffed dog her dad got her from France... she actually doesn't play with it that often but she was certain that was her answer for this)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?   Granola bar

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?   cantaloupe

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?   study sharks (cool! a legit profession! I explained to her once she could grow up and study sharks and I didn't realize she was actually listening to me!)

Today in preschool they sang to her and gave her a crown... for your viewing pleasure. Not sure why my phone camera is all washed out? Weirdo.

Happy birthday, Laurel!!! Wow, my girl. She is smart, thoughtful, observant, sweet, sincere, and so very happy. I am grateful for her every day! I'm so glad she was born and is my daughter.