Go Knights!

The season begins!

UCF won their first game 17-0. It could have been a blow out, but maybe, just maybe they were saving some big plays (hopefully) for next weekend when we play USF Bulls.

First touchdown of the season!

It was a soggy day. Ponchos and slippery flip flops.

Knightro has spirit!

Kendall's first football game. We placed a gold arrow pointing to baby and a 'Future UCF Knight' sticker to let everyone know she was there.

I had a great time with my Red Bug Co-Workers!

GO KNIGHTS!

What a Crazy Week!

Two storm days off of school and the weather was clear. (I do have to admit having the 2nd day off of school was actually extremely relaxing! If you are a teacher and have to stand on your feet all day and go over and over and over procedures and routines...you would agree too!)

Then one day back and it was drenching rain.

Another day off, that was finally well deserved.

Lauren actually adjusted nicely with the on and off again school days.

T.S. Fay created our very own backyard pond. NO fishing allowed, please.

THEN, T.S. Fay moved on and picture day is here!

Ahh... I wasn't prepared for picture day so soon.
Here is my little model practicing her smile.

Tropical Storm...Where are you?

As we are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this horrible weather we have not seen all day, we are playing beauty shop! Lauren loves getting her toes painted. "Just like the princesses", she tells me. I truly don't think she's seen their toes before? NO school again tomorrow............what will tomorrow bring for us?

Better get out my old clothes, maybe we'll paint?

A Rough Morning

Today was the official 'Back to School' with the students for Mommy. The morning to get ready started really rough. Lauren woke up at 4:30. An hour or more than I had planned to wake up. She wanted me to cuddle in her bed with her. So I dragged myself in her room (with my cell phone of course ~ I didn't want to not have an alarm with me.) She tossed, turned, and just would not go back to sleep. As the bags were starting to form under my eyes, my alarm went off! Lauren begged me to stay in her bed with her. Even though she was tired, she rather stay awake with me as I get ready for school then lay back down. We all had an exhausted start to our day. Finally after I left, she was eating cereal on the couch waiting for Daddy to take her to school and...she fell asleep. We are very surprised that Bailey didn't jump at the chance to grab her food! Daddy took a quick picture with his phone before waking her up for school.

Look at Me!

Skating is hard work!

Withdraw?

Partners in crime were happy to have the weekend together.

Bailey is going through Lauren withdraw.

And....she's off!

Lauren is back to school! This morning her teacher was so happy to see her. Her friends came up and gave her huge hugs to welcome her back. She gave Daddy a kiss good-bye and plopped right down in her chair to start the day. It's so delightful that she loves her school!

Bear-Wear

After many dry pull-ups and no accidents, so far....Lauren is solely wearing underwear!

Today, since she is so proud of herself, Lauren wanted to buy her bear matching underwear.

Say good-bye to pull-ups/diapers..............for now. :-)

Summer is coming to an end :-(

These two are sure going to miss each other! Lauren uses Bailey as a pillow when watching her cartoons. I know Bailey will miss her company when Lauren goes back to school.

Our Disney Vacation

Mommy, Daddy, and Lauren spent the weekend at Disney's Beach Club Resort and Villas, located on Disney's Boardwalk. FRIDAY: We started the trip at Animal Kingdom.

We spent half the day over there before checking into our Villa.

Lauren loved petting the animals!
"Hello, Room Service?" Caught ya!SATURDAY: The next morning we played at Epcot. It was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel. We were able to use the World Traveler entrance which lets you in by Great Britain and France. Daddy bought Lauren a little figment. She slept with it each night.
In the afternoon, we hopped on the monorail and sat in the front with the driver! It took us to the Magic Kingdom just in time to see the 3:00 parade. Lauren experienced her first roller coaster ride over in toon town. She fit the height requirements for Goofy's Roller Coaster. She actually enjoyed the fast little plane ride!

After a brief trip at the Magic Kingdom we headed back to hotel to enjoy the pool, Stormalong Bay. This was the best resort pool I've seen. It was three acres of waterslides, currents, and sand bottom pools. The kid pool was the best. It was no deeper than 3 feet with a sand bottom. They had mounds of sand, buckets and shovels for kids to play with. The adults just sat in the pool to relax and tan while the kids were self-entertained. That's what you call relaxing! We loved it so much that we ended up booking an extra day at the hotel just to stay and play. SUNDAY: The next day we ate at Cape May Cafe - Character Breakfast. Mmmm, was it a delicious buffet breakfast! Lauren loved seeing the characters from a far, but only let Minnie get close enough for a picture.

After breakfast we played in the pool again. Since we booked one extra day to play, we also had to switch rooms from our Villa to a Hotel Room. They actually placed us in a brand new upgraded room. Lucky us!After resting up in our new room, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom to end the night. Because we were resort guest we were given wrist bands to stay extra hours in the park. We rode many rides late at night with little to no lines. The last picture is our sleeping beauty at about midnight. We really wiped her out! Although we enjoyed our little vacation, we were all ready to go Monday morning. Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation!

Baby Update

What a drama queen! Her hands were constantly covering her face. As if she knew we were trying to take pictures of her. It was amazing to see her this developed at only 17 weeks. Lauren came to the appointment with us. She was full of giggles during the ultrasound. She kept leaning over to hold on to my arm and kiss me! What a sweetie. I'm glad she was so excited. As of right now, we are thinking about naming the baby Kendall. I came up with the name in memory of my dad. I think it's a great way to keep her grandpa Kenneth connected to her. My jaw drops everytime I look at these pictures! 17 weeks
" No pictures, please!"
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Yup, still a girl!

Party Time

Lauren enjoyed attending her best friend's birthday party.

A little fun in the sun.Yummy cake and ice cream!

And who could resist playing dress up! Probably Lauren's favorite part of the day.

Above she is dressed like Fancy Nancy.
Rah, Rah!

Mommy realized that since her best friend is only 4 months older than Lauren.....that means in 4 months Lauren will be 3 years old. Oh, my!

Getting some Zzz's

Another proud moment!

Lauren is loving her new twin bed. She sleeps in her bed all night and loves every minute of it.

Miss Swim America

Congrats Lauren! (Can you tell I'm a proud Mommy?)

Get Ready... Here she come Miss Swim America!

She did it! To the end all by herself.

Lauren received 3 stickers out of 10. And, boy is that an accomplishment. When I read the back and what each one tests them on, wow...she did a great job for her first swim lessons.

That's my girl!

My Little Fish

I'm so proud of Lauren's hard work with her swim lessons. In the beginning of her lessons I walked her over to her teacher to help her get into the pool. Now she walks confidently over to her teacher and gets right into the pool without hesitation. She is now swimming a couple feet by herself. Every morning on the way to swim lessons Lauren reminds herself, "Head down, big arms." Today she tricked her teacher. Instead of swimming straight to her, she turned right and swam to the rope. I guess she thought the rope was closer than her teacher. Smart Cookie!

Practice makes Perfect

She made it! Swimming to her teacher all by herself. She is exhausted after each lesson.