Fair time!

Lauren got to spend a little time at the Saunders County Fair this past month. I was able to take her over to look at the animals one day. They had a petting zoo area that had dogs, cats, goats, ducks, rabbits, chicks, etc. She loved the chicks although she kept calling them ducks :)
This is a video - click on it to watch.

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Another night there was a town parade in Wahoo. She took a little while to warm up but wanted to be right out there in front with some of her cousins picking up candy. Suckers were her candy of choice. It's actually a very long parade and lasted over an hour. She didn't really like the section of fire trucks as they put all the towns trucks together so it made for quite a few minutes of loud sirens and honking.



She got to visit the animals again, watch a best dressed goat contest and rode the carousel. She wasn't so sure at first but quickly wanted a second ride.

Poser

Lauren likes to walk around with her hands on her hips and the wiggles her little bottom as she walks. It's usually quite entertaining.

The other day she was standing with her hand on her hip and her leg bent with her toes pointed and I got caught her doing a little pose with the camera.

Fun on the farm

A couple weeks ago we got to spend some time with my nieces. My sister and mom were out of town so I was called in to chauffeur :) Adam got to take a few days off and come with us and we had a great time.

Morning chores at the petting zoo (aka my sisters house):
Bucket calves.




Chasing the kitty.


Duckling.


Rabbits.


Not pictured are the dogs, horses and turtles(that Lauren loved!).

Jumping on the trampoline is one of Lauren's favorite pass times.


Walking around Grandma's new flower bed.


and stopping to pet the kitty as often as possible.


Grandma also has 4 kittens that were a Lauren magnet. Luckily they all survived the death grip of a toddler :)

Last but not least, playing in the river!




No, apparently she doesn't know yet not to eat sand.

Few things.

Tomorrow is our gender ultrasound!

11am! Stay tuned! My "feeling" is boy. Adam is going with the safe bet of girl.

It really needs to stop raining.

From Drop Box

Miller lake is going to reach my garden soon.

From Drop Box

A house tour is coming soon.

I just don't feel like it's done enough to show ya'll, but until our other house sells we are stalled with this one so I'm just gonna have to show you where we are.

Our little girl sure is cute.

Snow boots seem to be something that can entertain her for a long time.

From Drop Box

She waves and says bye when we flush the toilet. She waves and says bye to trains as they go past our house. She sees something new and colorful and exclaims "Wow!" in a really high pitched voice.

Snuggling in bed only happens every so often with this mover and shaker but we love when it happens.

From Drop Box

Deck/Front porch

Yes, we moved.

Yes, it's been a while.

No, I haven't been blogging. I keep thinking that we just need to get this done and then I'll take a bunch of pictures of the house. Then I think if we just get the next thing done, I'll take a bunch of pictures. It hasn't happened yet.

BUT, something so exciting happened it deserves blog space.

Our deck/front porch has been built. We've had it for two days now and it's amazing. We've already spent a lot of time out there. I LOVE it.









Lauren got to go shopping with a certain special someone and got lots of new toys to enjoy on the deck!
Everything assembled:


She was convinced this was a bathtub, stripped down and climbed in.


Outdoor playroom! I think I might move her playhouse up here as well.


I found the slide on a garage sale this weekend for $1. I also scored her a swingset for $5! We need to go get it from the previous owners, fill her sandbox, inflate her pool and we are ready for summer! (minus the big missing patches of yard but that will just have to wait)

Also note that the house has been painted. The green is "Rattan Palm" by Pittsburg Paints and the trim is Almond white or something like that (I'll update this name later).

**Click pictures to view a little larger.

Words at 18 months

Here are some of the words Lauren can say at almost 18 months old!

We forgot the main one she says the most which is tickle. She also says tickle for pickle. Last night she was standing on the couch saying tickle over and over and I couldn't figure out why. Then I looked over and noticed the pickle jar sitting there. Following in her family's footsteps, she's a pickle-a-holic.

She's also always saying that. She points at what she wants and says that. It's very cute and she usually stresses end t so it usually sounds like "daT".

Mickey mouse

Lauren's favorite spot these days is tucked into our bed watching Mickey Mouse. Do not try to disturb her. Especially do not try to climb in and cuddle. Do not even try to touch. You will most likely get shoved away. Other favorites are Monsters Inc and Toy Story 3.

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Going shopping

Don't mind me guys just doing a little grocery shopping.

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Watching the world pass by.

Lauren watching Grandpa and daddy clean up all the snow this weekend.

Eatin snow

Only lucky little girls get their very own bowl of snow to eat!

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Insulation!

Blown in fiberglass insulation. They staple a sort of netting all over the house around each stud and then the hose has a pokey end they just stick through the netting and pump the insulation in. It fills up each hole pretty quickly!







And for fun - Lauren trying to eat with her own spoon.

House update

Wow it's been a long time since you've seen any updated house pictures huh?

Well, the main reason for this is the the last 3+ weeks, the stuff that has been going on doesn't make a big visual impact. I'm happy to now say that the electrician and plumber are done and the HVAC is almost done. Time for insulation and drywall!

Oh and I guess the roof went on since the last pictures you've seen as well! That's pretty important eh? Garage door too. I'll try and post a better picture of both later. I don't have the best pictures so far.

For the last week however, there has been something picture worthy going on. Siding, soffits and facia!






Lots of other little things have been going on as well.
The footings for the porch were poured.


Drywall between house and garage, garage door and landing/steps.


For now the inside of the house looks pretty much as it has for the last three weeks. With the addition of some very important wires/pipes/ductwork of course.


In other news, despite an ear infection, Lauren had lots of fun at Christmas!


I'll try to post more Christmas pics tomorrow.

(In case anyone tries to google real world pictures of products they want to put on their house like I did, I'll start including specs here so hopefully the search engine will pick up my blog.)
-Ash Gray Premium Pro-Snap metal roofing from Menards
-Fiber cement siding purchased from and installed by Millard Lumber.
-Gerkin casement windows with prairie grill purchased from Builders Supply.
-The front door is Therma-Tru Classic-Craft American Style Collection. 3 light stain-able fiberglass with 4-block dentil shelf. Builders Supply.
-Garage door: North Central Door Company, Northwoods Prestige Collection: Aspen Ridge. White.

Lauren was scared of Santa

Well, we tried. We went to see Santa. Lauren was already cranky and in need of a nap. Not to mention she's been sick and clingy this week.

She didn't like him at all. Pretty much every kid in the place wasn't happy to be seeing Santa. Poor guy. Hopefully he still likes them though!



After she calmed down:


You can kind of see how unhappy she is here:


Clinging to mommy: