Laurel's latest

Laurel seems to be growing and maturing in leaps and bounds every day. Her language has made immense progress in just the last month. She has become a little parrot and mimics a lot of what we say. Usually she repeats the last word in our spoken phrases. She still picks the syllables that are easiest for her to say and doesn't say the sounds at the end of the words. She is also picking up on her colors very easily and even learning the firs letters of her alphabet! Laurel has recently started singing! We've been singing her Itsy Bitsy Spider which is her current favorite. She loves to do the finger movements and I've caught her singing it to herself. She also likes to "drive" the bus when we sing The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round. We've also started singing Old McDonald and she gets excited to hear about the animals on the farm because she knows her animals so well now. Her favorite animal right now is Molly:). Mom's little dog has been with us for several weeks now, during her visits and keeping her inbetween. Laurel loves to walk the dog, is excited to see Molly when she comes home, asks about her, and insists on bringing the dog in the car and checks on her all the time.
We continue to struggle with eating new foods. I've discovered that if I offer Laurel something she really likes, like strawberries, she will try a new food - after much crying - but she will try it. Sometimes she likes the new food and sometimes she spits it back out, but it's progress!

to nyc and back

From May 15th until the 21st, I was in New York for our yearly exhibition at the National Stationery Show. This was my first time away from Laurel for an over night. I was very sad to leave and missed her so much! Good news is, she had a perfectly great time at home without me! She came to the phone when I called, but was easily distracted away by her playtime. I know she asked about me while I was away, but she was mostly her same cheery self! So while away, we stayed in New Jersey and commuted in by bus. We did have our token baby on the trip, Leora brought Delaney and her parents came as well to babysit. The show as a whole was really nice! We didn't have high expectations due to the economy. We met our goals and were able to breathe easier. The booth came together smoothly and we even ran out of promotional materials and had to print more! The buyers were very enthusiastic and mostly frustrated by the fact that they couldn't spend more money! So many people were just looking and the orders that we took were low amounts, but that was expected. As before, we really enjoyed face time with our clients and chumming around with our fellow artisans, some of whom we only see that one time every year!
Upon return, I was so excited to see Laurel! I almost think she grew while I was away! Reports tell me that she had some good days at school and that they figured out a key factor in keeping her happy all morning. Keeping her shoes on! She makes it through most of the morning's activities but then gets upset when they take shoes off and go to play in the gym space. Last Thursday they kept her shoes on and she was great! Laurel still gets upset when we drive up to the school, she recognizes the route we take. And she definitely in a fit when we leave her. But she quickly calms and joins in with the class and the teachers are so thrilled with her progress!!
Mom came to stay with Laurel for a couple of days. Alex had some unexpected time off from work and was able to be with her while i prepared for the show and the first couple days that I was away.

Mother's Day 2009

For Mother's Day we went to Huntington Gardens in the morning. Just for a short time to take some photos. Laurel loved the koi fish in the ponds as usual and it was just gorgeous weather. Afterwards, we drove down to OC to the clubhouse in Alex's parents' neighborhood. They have a really nice playground for the kids, a barbeque area and a few lovely pools. Laurel was very timid and scared at first, but we started out in the water very slowly. The kiddie pool was very shallow and she was willing to sit on the first step in the water. Soon after, we were on the steps on the big pool. Before we knew it, she was playing in the water and jumping into our arms from the side of the pool. It was such a joy to watch her learn and grow!

I dont' seem to have a pic of her actually enjoying the pool:).