Our Big Girl

Lauren slept in her own bed last night thanks to a ghetto fabulous, silk purple comforter Grandpa got her. We have started a bed time routine thanks to the time change and our fingers are crossed it will work. Lauren may get a baby brother or sister after all!

Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween!

Lauren had a very busy Halloween that started with a party and parade at her school. All of Lauren's friends dressed up and paraded around the playground in their costumes. Lauren's best friend Serena was a mermaid while Lauren just had to be an elephant.

After her school party we dashed home in time for a pizza party with all her other friends. At dark we all went out trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. All the kids had a great time and got loads of candy. Most of Lauren's went to the shop on Monday, she never missed it!

Bon Fire

Grandma & Grandpa Kemper had a bon fire and weenie roast this weekend at their farm. Lots of people came out and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Lauren got an early birthday present from Mommy and Daddy this weekend, a bounce house. She loved jumping and sliding down the 2 slides it has. We can't wait to invite all of our friends over to play on it.

Party Time!

October is the month for birthday parties. Not 1, not 2 but 5 birthday parties plus a baby shower and 2 Halloween parties. We don't have much free time in October but that's OK. Lauren loves to play with her buddies.

We started our month of birthday parties actually the last weekend of September. Dee and Tim had a Fall Festival party for William's birthday. The kids had a blast running about in their huge back yard and jumping in the tiger bounce house. I think the grown ups liked it just at much.






We had the 1st weekend of October off so Chad and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary!






Next weekend Chad BBQ'd at the Brain Injury Association Competition. His ribs took 8th place and pork took 13th. They had a great time Friday night but Saturday was miserable. It rained the entire day. However, it was a beautiful day Sunday to celebrate Jordan's 3rd birthday at the park. The kids had a great time running around and eating pizza. So simple and fun. I should really make a note of that.






Round 2 - Friday night we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Kemper. They hosted a cookout and hayride for a few of their auction friends. Lauren had a blast running around playing with Jacob who is just a few weeks younger than her. They had a great time on the hayride and Lauren even got to drive the big tractor. Saturday night we went to the Allen's to celebrate Liza's 2nd birthday and then on to Papa & Mimi McGlasson's to celebrate the Tigers win over Texas Tech.














Sunday we hung out with Foreman Jackson at this construction site birthday. Phil keep busy giving the kiddos rides on the bobcat while Nathan gave rides on a wagon hooked up the the riding mower. Lauren had a blast playing in the huge rock pile with dump trucks and loaders. Lauren was not to excited when I told her it was time to leave so she asked me if I could just pick her up at this house (Jackson's) tomorrow morning.

A Puppy for Princess

Meet the newest addition to the Martin family - Charlie. He is a 4 month old puggle, which is part pug and part beagle. He will stay much smaller then the other 2 dogs we have probably weighing around 25 lbs. As soon as I saw his wrinkly little face I knew I couldn't leave him behind at the Amish farm where he was staying. He is the sweetest little guy, loves attention, running around the yard in circles and leaping into the air. He is also a very good sleeper. Last night Lauren wanted Charlie to come and play with her in her toy room. When I went to check on them about 15 minutes later, Charlie was laying under Lauren's table and she was reading books to him. It was the cutest thing ever. Charlie and Lauren are going to be great buddies!

1st Day of School

Lauren has started full time at Walnut Street Day School. We got her a sleeping bag and puppy to take with her for nap time in her favorite color purple to help ease the transition from Annie's house. She must be having a great time because each day she comes home dirtier then ever and she doesn't cry when we leave her in the mornings. She did tell me she got in trouble for putting sand in a little girls hair and didn't make many friends the day she wiped out a sand castle. She does have 2 friends, Ellie and Caven from her previous sitters house that go to school with her that she plays with often. My little girl is growing up so fast!

Fishing for Nemo!

On May 18th Lauren brought her new fishing pole to Grandma & Grandpa's house to try her luck at fishing in their lake. The first time she cast her line she caught this beautiful little yellow fish that we named Nemo! There was one thing that Lauren didn't realize, the same yellow fish was on her line every time she reeled it in. We had a lot of fun that day, even Grace tried to eat the fish. The next weekend we took Lauren down to the lake house and of course the first thing she wanted to take with her was the fishing pole. After everything was unpacked she and Grandpa went down on the dock so Lauren could try her luck at fishing in the big lake. To her surprise, the same yellow fish was on her line!

Summer time!

I am so glad summer is finally here! Lauren and I have been spending most of our evenings at the pool in our neighborhood. They have a great kiddy pool that Lauren has made numerous friends at. She is still a little unsure about the water and sticks to the side but I've noticed her really warming up to it the last couple of times.

This coming week will be Lauren's last week at Annie and Kenny's house. I'm really sad she will be leaving them but I know she will have a wonderful time at her new day school. She is ready to learn and play with kids her own age. In fact, Lauren has learned to spell her name. It is very cute, she has such southern draw...that must be from Chad's side. We are working on spelling Martin and learning her street name. I have a baby Einstein I tell you.

Just Like The Horses Do..Do

So my sweet little princess isn't so princess like anymore. I got a call from Grandpa Pete last night as I was having dinner out with my mothers group. We had been discussing potty training and how some of the little boys in the group are deathly afraid of pooping in the toilet. Well, not my little girl. Grandpa had called to tell me Lauren had been pooping in the barn like the horses do. Not once, not twice, but she had to poop THREE different times while they were up feeding and grooming the horses. And were not talking in the bathroom, we're talking in the dirt. He said it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. I guess my child will drop her drawers to poop anywhere.

My 2 Week Review

Since our last post was in April I thought I'd just do a review of our last couple of weeks. At the end of April we drove to Lee's Summit to pick up a very nice swing set from my Aunt Kim. Her kids had out grown it and all it needed was a fresh coat of stain. Lauren absolutely loves playing on it and it is a great way to keep her occupied while working in the flower bed.

May 5th Chad worked with Mel Smarr remodeling an old Grey Hound bus into a luxurious RV so Lauren, Granny B and I packed up and headed to the Saint Louis Zoo. I'm so glad Granny B (my grandma) was able to go with us. She hadn't been to the Zoo since Matthew and I were little. We walked almost the entire zoo, rode the train, and feed to birds. We were a little late getting to the zoo so by the time we made it around to the elephants they were already put away. Lauren was a little upset, the elephant song on Barney at the zoo is her favorite. We did run in the Moreland family of all people at the zoo. They said they got there around 10am and by lunch most of the animals were full and lazy so I didn't feel so bad getting there around 2:30pm. At least by then they were all out and walking around. We stopped in Warrenton for dinner and dropped Granny B off at home around 8pm.

May 12th - After eating dinner with Granny B and R.B., Chad, Lauren and I went out to Mel's house. His 2 daughters Morgan and Riley had a ball keeping Lauren entertained. We hung out at their barn and played with Cowboy the horse and Buster the fair steer. Then they took Lauren to the pool and let her put her dirty feet in the water. She said it was too cold! After that we jumped on the trampoline and went inside for a snack. They feed her nothing but sugar. She was in heaven. She had push pops, Popsicles, juice boxes, ice cream and fruit snacks. I was not surprised when 10pm rolled around and she did not want to leave. She has such a good time. Luckily she was so worn out she sleep until 9:30 the next morning.

May 13th - Mother's Day! I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Lauren and Chad had my house cleaned professionally, I got a new Dyson vacuum and then Chad BBQ'd for all the mother's in our family. Of course the food was excellent and having everyone over to visit was wonderful treat.

Today - May 16th. Lauren was accepted into Walnut Creek Day School! I'm such a proud mother. I say that like she scored extremely high on an entrance test or something. Nope. We've been on a waiting list a mile long and finally there was an opening. I will be sad to take her from Annie and Kenny, they've been such wonderful, caring sitters but she needs to be with more kids her own age and in more of a learning environment.

My new do!

Lauren is very much in to her hair, your hair, my hair or any hair for that matter. She loves to brush hair and pull it in to ponytails-ouch. She loves to watch me braid her Little Pony's tails and for daddy to blow dry her hair. So it came to no surprise she was excited when I told her we were going to Goldilocks children's salon to have her hair cut. If you have not been, you must take your children for their next trim. It has a great atmosphere. Lauren sat in a pink Barbie car while a very sweet lady cut her hair...they also have a yellow Hummer for the boys. There are T.V.'s at each station and the owner put in Charlotte's Web for Lauren to watch. She was an Princess and sat still the whole time. I questioned how much this hair cut was going to cost me but it wasn't bad - $14.95. Plus, Lauren had such a great time. When she gets older we'll take advantage of their manicure and pedicure room.

Keeping up with the Easter Bunny!

Lauren and her parents arrived at grandma & grandpa's Easter day for an evening meal of ham, baked beans, potato casserole and homemade vanilla ice cream with strawberries. Of course Chad & Pete had to play a few hands of tack and Chad came out the winner, deafeating Pete at his own house! Before she got there, grandma hid 20 eggs with money in all of them. Lauren had a great time looking for all the eggs. Some eggs were a little trickey to locate, but with a little help she managed to find them. Of course Grace was running around thinking we were all out there wanting to play. After gathering all her easter eggs, she brought them inside and began to open them, since they all had money inside and were hard to open, she needed her grandpa's help. After opening all the eggs, it was time to fill up the piggy bank and boy did she enjoy doing that. Her Easter basket from Granny B and Grandpa RB had a card with money and some candy, which she didn't need any more candy to eat. From her grandparents she got a Peter Cottontail book, more money, a bunny that says a prayer and a Dora kite, which we couldn't fly since it was tooooo cold. Our family had a wonderful Easter together. Pete & I are very thankful and blessed for having such a wonderful family and also for having parents that are 83 & 86 and still living on their own and enjoying life.

Fun on the farm

Princess Lauren stayed with Grandpa & Grandma Kemper 5 nights while her parents went on a 5 day cruise to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Friday morning we went to gymnastics and Grandpa went to the farm in Armstrong and wouldn't be home until Sunday. After gymnastics we needed to do some clothes shopping, so we headed to the mall. Since Grandma didn't have any summer clothes and the tempture was going to be in the 70's, we went on a shopping spree. Of course Lauren is easy to shop for since she is wearing size 2T and anything in that size fits. While we were shoppping her Mommy called and was headed for the mall, so we met her in Cafe Court. Lauren spotted her Mommy while she was riding the carousel and started waving.

On Saturday we worked in the yard pulling weeds, trimming bushes and then it was time to mow the yard. Lauren loves to ride on the big JD with Grandma, of course my arm gets tired from holding her. After that was done we headed to the Pet store to buy some gold fish to put in the water trough. Lauren loved the pet store, but was scared of the little bunny rabbit! Go figure. After we dumped the fish in the trough it was time for Lauren to play in the barn with her shovel, bucket and scooter. Last year Lauren was scared of the horses and standing in the barn by herself, but now she is comfortable with the surroundings.

On Sunday we went to early church services and due to it being spring break, Lauren was the only child in daycare. The rest of our day was spent at home with Laruen watching the new fish, feeding the horses their treats and playing on her scooter.

Monday morning Grandma had to take Princess Lauren to her Grandma McGlasson's house. I sure will miss her company and funny personallity. I have told her mother she needs to have her IQ tested since some of the things she says and remembers just don't happen with a 2 yr old!

Proud Mama

Tuesday nights = Little Gym night = Chaos Until last night...It was some of my proudest moments as a mother. My little Princess followed directions and did the warm ups by herself. This is a huge accomplishment that very few children in the class can do. Up to this point, I was needed to hold hands, keep Lauren on track and to direct the floor activities. But last night I sat by the wall and got to watch all the fun she had. She followed Miss Katie's commands and even waited her turn in line (OK...that took a little help from me). But, she didn't throw her normal fit. I was so proud of her last night we even stopped and got ourselves some ice cream on the way home.

Ducks take over

Lauren went with her grandparents to their lake house over the weekend and had a great time. Unfortunatley, the element in the hot water heater had burned up so we couldn't stay the night. But, Lauren's great-grandparents were camping at Riverview Camp Ground which is just past the Osage River on Hwy 54, so we all went over and visited with them. Lauren noticed while looking out the camper window that there were about 8 ducks standing outside close by and she wanted to see them. Grandma B had some stale biscuits that she said we could feed ducks but we should be careful because they will eat out of your hand! Well, guess what happened when we opened the bag and started throwing food? Yep, they swormed us and Lauren thought they were going to attack her and started crying. When she threw a piece of bread she didn't quite get it out of her hand when one of the ducks pecked it out. She said "grandma the duck bit my hand", which it was just a small peck. But to Lauren it was a bite. From that point on she looked at the ducks from inside the camper and was very content. Hopefully the next time she see's a duck it won't traumatize her.

In true Princess style

Lauren spent the 3 nights at Grandmas while Daddy and I were out of town. When we picked her up yesterday she couldn't hardly wait to show us her new shoes. She pulls a Dryers shoe bag out from behind the chair that was as big as she. I could only image the fun her and Grandma had shopping for shoes (Princess has a wide foot and not just any shoes fit her). She pulls out not 1, not 2 but 3 new pairs of shoes for summer. Not only are they all really cute - I love the pink Merrill sandals but she can also put every single one of them on by herself. What a big kid! Before I left she still needed my help putting on shoes but not any more and trust me she won't let you help either.

Last night when we were all in bed Lauren wanted Daddy to sing her a song about the deer. Daddy likes to sing songs about 4x4 trucks, turkey, deer anything but nursery rhythm's. So after he finished his little ditty, they talked a little more about deer and then Lauren piped up that she wanted to shoot a deer and eat it. She also informed us she wanted a pretty purple gun! And why not ... every 2 yr old little girl needs a purple gun! Get to lookin' Grandpa!

Will sing for supper

Grandma called last night to report she was having trouble getting Lauren finish supper. She said Lauren hadn't stopped singing long enough to finish her puddling and was wondering if I knew how long this was going to go on. Lauren has quite the list of songs she like to sing, so I told her it could go on for a while. Princess is normally my radio when we're driving in the car. She loves to sing songs off of her Barney DVDs, 10 Little Monkeys jumpin' ( she normally starts a 2, so that one is pretty quick), Ring Around the Rosie, Twinkle-Twinkle & Farmer in the Dell to name a few. I always tell her she's my baby Einstein but she quickly reminds me that she's Lauren Martin.

A Palace for the Princess

Monday evening Lauren and I met Daddy over at the land in Millersburg. It was the first time I'd seen the new lake full of water. It is really beautiful and will look nice in our backyard one of these days. If Princess wants a Palace she's gonna have to help too! Daddy was finishing helping Papa Martin move logs and let Lauren ride in the track hoe with him. Her job was to continuously honk the horn. She wore a grin from ear to ear!

A little help please!

Saturday morning, what better time to do a little spring cleaning. Little finger and lip prints had accumulated on glass doors and tables over winter and I could hardly stand it anymore. I started by washing our front glass door. In no time the inside was smudged again while I was washing the outside. So, I washed the inside a second time and locked it as I went to do our back sliding door. Lauren can easily open that door and I didn't want her escaping while I was out back. I knew better then to start with the inside this time. As I was cleaning the outside door, Lauren was pitching a fit inside because I wouldn't let her out. I finished up and went to open the door and I couldn't. In my sweet little Princess' rage, she had managed to push the lock down. Panic set in...Lauren wasn't understanding how to unlock the door. All of our windows in back were locked, our wooden fence and gates are locked with pad locks. As I started to plan how I was going to scale our fence, mind you I am in my pj's and flip flops, I noticed our gate was just dummy locked. I'm free I thought, still hearing Lauren's screams from inside. I ran around front and opened our garage door. The door leading to the house is normally left unlocked during the day. But, when Chad left bright and early this morning he locked it behind him since Princess and I were still in bed. Panic had really set in now! I could still hear Lauren screaming for mommy to come inside. I was able to use the phone at a neighbors house and called Chad. As I stood at our front glass door still trying to coax Lauren into unlocking the door all I could think is what every car the drove by was thinking seeing me standing at our door. It seemed like an eternity but Chad finally made it home. Lauren was much relieved that mommy finally came inside and all was well. Lauren and I will be making a trip to Westlake's to day to have a extra key made for our garage.

This is my little Princess in her gymnastics costume. Lauren loves to go to The Little Gym every Tuesday and Friday for gymnastics. She does forward rolls, swings on the uneven bars and plays with all the other little kids. They sing songs, play with balls and at the end of class get stamps on their feet.