lauren :: 4 years

I never thought I'd be celebrating the 4th birthday of my sweet daughter, Lauren, on the Day Marty travels to the future in all the times I've watched Back to the Future Part II.

Lauren is a fun, creative, imaginative, gentle, nurturing, mischievous, goofy, confident, shy, funny little girl. She entertains herself for long periods of time playing with dolls, Little People, animals, magnets, etc. If she can role play with it, she will play with it. She loves to dress up in her dress-up clothes and accessorize. She likes to sing and dance. Sometimes she makes up songs and sometimes she sings songs she's heard before. Today she was singing about Pete the Cat and his groovy buttons. Yesterday she was singing "skidamarink a dink a dink," a few days ago it was the theme song from Sofia the First and before that "I am a Child of God."

She loves water and swimming. She swims like a mermaid with her hand behind her. We'll have to work on that next summer. She loves to swing and is very proud of the pumping skills she developed this summer. She enjoys exploring and getting dirty. She likes to take a couple laps around the driveway in her tricycle and then fish out a few pieces of the chalk she's stashed in the back (we'll come back to the stashing) and sit down and doodle on the driveway for a bit. She hasn't been terribly interested in learning to write letters until recently, save the letter L. Our driveway is often marked with L's large and small. Will is her best frenemy--they have so much fun playing together until they don't. They have an ongoing game of "house" where he is 'Mr. James' and she is 'Sister James.' I have no idea where they came up with those names.

Lauren loves babies. She is a nurturer and takes great care of her stuffed animals and dolls. She has six cousins who are younger than her (not counting Weston who is a month younger and basically the same age) and she loves and dotes on each of them. She loves Elliott with her whole heart. I often have to intervene and limit the kisses and hugs she can't stop herself from giving him. She regularly tells me that he is "soooo cute," and "the best baby EVER!" When she is hurt or upset she often cries for "Elliottttttt!" and a "hug" from him is all she needs to feel better.

She is stubborn and determined and doesn't bend easily. But also quick to share and compromise. She has a very giving heart and is generous with Will. But that doesn't mean she doesn't love her stuff. She loves her stuff. She's sentimental and holds onto things for a long time. When I'm tidying up around the house it is not uncommon for me to find things she's tucked away for safekeeping. She also likes tearing things (like paper) up into teeny, tiny pieces. She calls this a "comcom day." Again, I have no idea what this comes from, but when she says it I know I will find tiny scraps of papers or tissue piled up somewhere.

She loves her friends and all of Will's buddies and remembers the names of almost everyone we meet. But she's become too shy to actually talk to people at first. Even when seeing friends we know well and she is excited to see, it takes a few minutes for her to feel comfortable enough to leave my side.



People often comment on her hair. It is still very blonde and depending on the lighting, very striking. We went for a family walk after dinner recently as it was starting to get dark and Will, Lauren and Anthony were "racing" ahead of me and Elliott in the stroller. Lauren was the easiest to see as her hair glowed under the streetlights. (Will was wearing a hat.)

When I think of Lauren I picture her cute face with a silly expression on it. She brings life and laughter to our home. Lauren is a joy. She's grown so much this past year, I'm excited to see what her fifth year of life has to offer.

elliott :: 2 months

11 lbs. 1 ounce (25th percentile)

22 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

Another month of Elliott is in the books. The longer he is with us the harder it is to imagine life without him. He continues to be a fairly content little guy, though he is getting more forceful with voicing his opinion about things.

Elliott is still a good eater and eats about eight times a day. I feed him 2-3 times during the night, depending on when I go to bed and wake up. The spitting up has increased. It seems to be the worst when he eats quickly, but I haven't figured out any rhyme or reason to it. I have learned to always have a burp cloth near if he has eaten in the past half hour. Amazingly, he has yet to blow out of a diaper. He is usually very alert for the 45 minute period while we walk Will to school and then drive Lauren to preschool. He's growing increasingly wary of his car seat, and often fusses if we run errands while the kids are in school and he's stuck in his seat for even longer. The time while the big kids are in school is my favorite time of day with Elliott. He's well-rested and happy and we enjoy the quiet time together. He has started smiling a lot, which I love. He's extremely expressive and raises his eyebrows a lot. It reminds me of Anthony when he does this. He has started cooing and has a lot to say. I like hearing his little voice, it sounds like it will be low. The evening hours seem to set him off. He is at his worst from about 5-8pm. He just wants to be held and if he isn't he cries. He can be distracted, but it's only temporary. When Anthony is out of town this is my least favorite time of day. We bathe him at night after his siblings are in bed. His skin has cleared up and is very soft. I love to snuggle with him all the time, but especially when he is fresh and clean. The entire family is smitten with this sweet baby boy.

2015 :: week 43

October 18

Lauren and Will love to play games with Dad. Anthony had to stay after church for about an hour, so the kids were very excited to have him home. Will is cutthroat when it comes to games, and Lauren's competitive side is developing as well.

October 19

Will and Lauren had fun playing in our backyard while I worked in the kitchen Monday after school. They'd much prefer to play in the front yard, but I am not comfortable with them playing out front without me. They love to explore and get dirty, I love hearing their imaginations at work through the kitchen window.

October 20

Tuesday marked the first field trip of Will's school career. The OP-C Kindergarten Class of 2027 ventured south to the KC Pumpkin Patch. He had a great time. They got to go on a hay ride, play in a "spooky dark maze," a play structure that is "bigger than our house," observe a variety of animals (alpaca, pigs, ducks, chickens, goats, cows and donkeys) and eat lunch. Oh, and pick out a pumpkin. The rule was they had to choose a pumpkin smaller than their heads. Because he is a half day kid and the field trip went later than his usual pick-up time, Lauren, Elliott and I were waiting outside the school for him to return. He was not so pleasantly surprised to see us.

October 21

Wednesday we celebrated Lauren's 4th birthday! My mom met us at Red Robin for lunch. Lauren was very excited at the prospect of having the birthday song sung to her, but felt a bit shy when the time actually came. Lauren has been acting more shy lately. We love our special girl. She's an important part of our family.

October 22

The kids were out of school Thursday and Friday for Parent/Teacher Conferences. I decided to try going to Lenexa's Enchanted Forest event even though it would keep us out past the kids' our usual bedtime. It was a mistake being that the place was completely packed and I ended up losing Will for a few very scary minutes. Despite the evening's flaws Will and Lauren had a fun time. I really appreciate that they are so easy to please most of the time.  **Will broke his glasses this night and he won't get his new pair until early November.

October 23

We saved Lauren's birthday cake for Friday when Tony got home from his work trip to Denver. Lauren wanted a purple cake and was very excited when I let her select which can of frosting to buy. She insisted on wearing her birthday shirt again, which luckily I had washed earlier that day.

October 24

I took the kids Trick or Treating at Hy-Vee while I shopped Saturday. Lauren is Snow White and Will is a knight. The kids had fun, but it got me thinking about the way holidays are celebrated. In addition to this event and the Enchanted Forest we went to Thursday, we have four Halloween-related activities in the next seven days! Each kid has a Halloween party in their class, the school has a trunk or treat, and our church has a trunk or treat all before actual Halloween. I like Halloween and candy as much as anyone else, but all these activities are making me preemptively tired. Not to mention the fact that the 10 pieces of candy they each got at Hy-Vee is all they really need.

2015 :: week 42

October 11

We try to read with Will for at least twenty minutes a day. It's fun watching him learn to read. He likes to read stuff he knows and wants to quit when it gets hard, which I've heard is typical for boys (and everyone!). Elliott likes to get in on the reading action when he can too. Lauren would call this a "boy party" because it is all the boys in our family.

October 12

Anthony had the day off work because it was Columbus Day. We did some yardwork while listening to the Royals-Astros game on the radio. I was feeling a little sad as it was looking like the Royals were going to lose. Luckily they did not! We celebrated by playing at Black Hoof Park and then going to Red Robin for dinner.

October 13

This two-month old is growing! I was having a hard time getting him in his car seat and he was letting me know he wasn't appreciative of my efforts when I realized that I seriously needed to adjust the straps. He's grown 2 inches since and gained 2.5 lbs.

October 14

Will, Lauren and I got our teeth cleaned this week. It was good news all around. Both kids are still cavity free, no new cavities for me, and my hygenist told me she could tell I was flossing because my gums were "looking great." I was really pleased about the gum comment because I have made a concentrated effort to floss daily.

October 15

I took the kids to the zoo after school Thursday afternoon. It was another great trip. This time we spent most of our time in the African region. Lauren wanted to see some elephants and a hippo and was pleased when we did. Will wanted to see every single animal on the map and was frustrated that the rhino was hiding.

October 16

Will and Lauren are such great helpers with Elliott. Friday morning I was trying to do...something, I don't remember what, and Elliott was being fussy. I laid him on a blanket after feeding and changing him and Lauren walked over and sat next to him. She patted his belly and talked to him and he calmed right down. This doesn't happen every time the kids try to help, but it was fun to see to two of them enjoying each other.

October 17

Saturday evening Anthony and I went on a date to my current favorite restaurant, Sheridan's Unforked. We watched the Royals game while eating cheeseburgers, fries and sharing a Strawberry-Banana Chunk custard.

2015 :: week 41

October 4

Sunday we spent more time watching conference. We ate breakfast foods for lunch between sessions with my parents, then went to a friends' home for dessert and visiting in the evening. Apparently I like to dress my kids in matching colors on Sunday.

October 5

Will and Lauren played in the backyard for the first time in awhile Monday afternoon. Now that school has started we don't play outside quite as much and when we do it's usually in the front yard. It recently rained and they had fun playing in the birdbath. These two delight in making a mess. This was before Will found the tail of a squirrel and was swishing it around in the water.

October 6

We met some other half day kindergarten families at the park for the first time in about a month this week. The city is in the process of adding community gardens to most of the parks and there were mounds of earth next to the playground. Will and his friend Leo collected pieces of debris from around the park and arranged it on one of the mounds to create a "dinosaur skeleton."

October 7

When did I become a parent of a kid with homework?! Will is diligent about working on his homework each day, though to be fair, it is more enrichment work than assignments to be handed in. He and 12 other kids leave at lunchtime, so most of the worksheets and activities are things they work on in the afternoon.

October 8

Lauren didn't have school Thursday morning and Will had early dismissal, which really threw off schedule. I ended up having to take all three kids with me to Target Thursday, something I have avoided doing since school started. Will encouraged Lauren to play hide and seek with him while I was captivated by "Clearance" endcap. Even when I'm in a hurry it is hard for me to walk past them.

October 9

My friend Meredith organized a group tour of the Louisburg Cider Mill Friday afternoon. Her daughter Camilla is in Lauren's class at school. Their teachers have told us that they have fun playing together, but when we see each other during drop off or pick up they act like they don't know each other. It was fun to see some confirmation that they actually do enjoy each other!

October 10

Our ward had a campout Friday night to Saturday morning in Gardner, KS. The whole family drove to the campsite and had fun visiting around the campfire and eating tinfoil pizza dinners (thanks for the idea, Holly!). After dark I drove home with Lauren and Elliott. Will and Tony camped overnight. Will had a blast. He loved roaming the field and exploring with the other kids. He heard coyotes and found a stray corn cob and came home absolutely filthy. It was probably the best weekend of his life.

2015 :: week 40

September 27

My family arrived at church a few minutes early to snap a family picture in our Sunday best. When I told Anthony we needed to leave a bit earlier than we were planning to take a "quick family picture" he quipped, "there's no such thing." Luckily, this one actually was. :)



September 28

Signs of Fall are all over the place, if not by the weather than by the activities available. The pumpkin patch opened over the weekend and we thought it would be fun to show the Crane aunts and cousins Shaake's, the patch we go to each year. It was a hot and dusty day, so it really didn't feel like fall, and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The kids got filthy running around hunting for the perfect pumpkin.  It is fun to see how much they have grown in the past year.

September 29

Will had his annual long eye appointment, the one where they dilate his eyes. Also known as the eye exam Will hates. He told me that it feel like "hot lava" when they put the drops in his eyes. I had to help hold him down so the nurse could administer the drops, but once they were in he was fine. His eyes continue to improve, though by a smaller amount each year. The first month of wearing glasses was rough, but we have very few problems with him and his glasses now. The biggest issue is remembering to clean them. I am often shocked at how dirty his lenses can get in a 24 hour period and that he doesn't complain about them!

September 30

I have a banana problem. I really like them, but only when they are yellow. A few small spots or hints of brown and it's too soft for my liking. I should freeze them and use them in smoothies, but I rarely do. So, banana bread it is. Wednesday night Elliott and I made some banana bread together. I am wearing Elliott more often in the afternoon/evening. The main problem I have with it (besides bumping into things) is that when he is awake he wants to have his head out and look around. He doesn't quite have the neck strength for me to feel comfortable with him doing that yet, so I hold him with one hand much of the time.

October 1

Lauren's preschool held an Open House Thursday evening. It was fun to watch Lauren show off her classroom to us. She had a bit of a rough start (lots of nerves before drop of each morning) but now feels totally at home with her class. Her teacher is fantastic, and a great fit for Lauren's personality. Lauren was very animated as she "read" the story Caps for Sale to me.

October 2

Elliott spends more time than he'd probably choose in his car seat. Definitely more than either of his older siblings did at his age. Thankfully he is a pretty content baby and handles it well.



October 3

Saturday was my Dad's birthday. We watched General Conference during the day and visited my parents after the afternoon session to wish him a happy birthday and share some pie. He's a pretty great dad. My sister Laura compiled a book of our families' memories of him for his birthday. I've really enjoyed reflecting back on my life and how it has been enriched because he is my father. He is a hard worker and has dedicated his life to serving and loving his family. I've always known his love for me was unconditional and he is one of my best friends. I hope that when I'm 60 my kids will feel the same way about me.

2015 :: week 39

September 20

I'm not normally a fan of the 1pm church schedule, but it has been pretty nice since Elliott's arrival. We can take things slower in the morning and still make it to church on time. Elliott is young enough that he can nap on the go. We were ready a few minutes early this Sunday and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of my sweet kids before we headed out.

September 21

We squeezed in one last trip to Pump-It-Up before our groupon pass expired this week. The kids really love playing there, it is perfect for their current interests and abilities, though I don't know how often we'll go back at full price. Lauren likes to build homes with these cool blocks, and usually built something at least once a visit.

September 22

In the middle of the night Monday both Lauren and I got sick, stomach flu sick. It was pretty much what you would expect from the stomach flu--a few hours of intense stomach pains followed by lots of throwing up and a low grade fever. Although stomach bugs are never fun I felt an added measure of stress as a nursing mom. Thankfully my milk supply was minimally affected. Elliott was a champ and spent a lot of time in his swing that day.

September 23

Wednesday Lauren and I were feeling much better. I kept Lauren home from school because it had been 22 hours since she had last thrown up and the school requests 24 hours before returning. Will was fine before he went to school, but soon after arriving home started acting lethargic and within the hour threw up. His money quote of the day: "It's a good thing we invented bowls and towels or else we'd have to go to the bathroom when we got sick." I had to break it to Will that the bowls and towels are the backup plan. In the midst of our illness I was communicating with Meredith about how we were doing as they were heading to KC to spend the next three days with us. Derek had a fever and a few spots on his hand that they suspected were hand foot mouth. We used some of Anthony's Marriott Rewards and had them stay at a hotel for the night so we wouldn't contaminate each other.

September 24

Thursday morning all the Johns were feeling great. Will had to stay home from school because he hadn't reached his 24 hour mark yet, and Lauren was able to go. It was strange having Will and Elliott home without her. The Maxfields arrived around noon and we ate lunch together. Derek still had a fever so we decided to quarantine Elliott to my room and Derek to Steven's lap. After lunch we all rested. Will and Lauren played with Weston. When the twins woke up from their naps we discovered that Nolan also had a fever and was starting to get spots too. The Maxfields decided to head back to MN right then. Their poor twins we so uncomfortable and they didn't want to risk getting Elliott sick too. It was very surreal to have them leave so quickly. One minute we are planning what time to leave for the Royals-Mariners game (the entire reason they selected this date to come down) and the next they were packing up their van. Will, Lauren and Weston only had about 2 hours to play together, but they had a great time. We are going to have to plan a get together soon. Anthony left Tuesday afternoon for a work trip to Chicago so he didn't even get to see them!

September 25

In the meantime the my sisters and their families secretly flew into town to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday. Friday evening we took some family pictures. Then Anthony suggested the men grab a bite to eat at Joe's KC. While the men were out the women and children visited at my parents house. Will and Lauren love their younger cousins. Tyler (19 months) and Leah (7 months) are at really fun ages. They chased Tyler around the kitchen and dining room and shared toys with Leah. Up until last February Will and Lauren were the only grandchildren, it is fun for them to have cousins to run around with.
 


September 26

Saturday evening we went to a Royals game together. In this picture everyone is standing and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. 

2015 :: week 38



September 13

Tummy time isn't Elliott's favorite part of the day. He endures it. Sometimes I wonder if he feels vulnerable lying on the ground. Will and Lauren adore their baby brother, but have had some close calls with almost stepping on him when he's on the ground.

September 14

We met the Sanners at the park Monday afternoon. Emsley (4.5) is right in between Will and Lauren, and is such a good natured girl that both Will and Lauren think she likes them best. Neal (2.5) likes to run around and have fun too, so it was a fun visit to the park. Bethany and I both had our third babies in August. Even though Bethany was due 10 days after me, Adalie was born a week before Elliott and he outweighs her by over a pound.

September 15

Anthony flew to Washington DC this day, which enabled me to leave Elliott at home while I took the big kids to school. While we were walking Will these dark clouds made their way across the sky. It wasn't supposed to rain, but Lauren and I got sprinkled on while we were walking back to the house. I put her on my back and then ran to avoid getting to wet. By the time we got loaded in the van to drive her to preschool it had stopped raining.

September 16

Elliott has started smiling at us! Lauren has been on the receiving end of the most smiles so far. She adores her baby brother, it's sweet to see him reciprocate the affection.

September 17

Now that it has started to get dark earlier, the nights are getting longer. The nights feel especially long when Anthony is out of town. Wednesday was particularly rough. Thursday night I had the kids take a long bath together. Elliott got to join in on the fun too.

September 18

We were told that it was best to introduce a bottle between 3-6 weeks. Being that Elliott was almost six weeks old we needed to give it a shot, which we did when Anthony arrived home Friday. I have mixed feelings about pumping--grateful to be able to provide milk for my baby and that we have such amazing machines that make it so easy, but annoyed with having to use some of my precious 'non-feeding a baby' time to pump. Thankfully Elliott takes a bottle just fine.

September 19

We wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather Saturday afternoon, so we ventured to Nelson-Atkins. The kids had a fun time exploring the grounds and I practiced using the baby k'tan Meredith is letting me borrow. The baby wearing was a total success. The kids running around had some mixed results. They both ran straight into the glass walls of this maze and a very tired Lauren had a meltdown and refused to walk another step about twenty feet from our car.