Do Your Duty

We did our duty... did you do yours?

No lame excuses.

If I can vote with a toddler running circles around my ankles while holding a baby on the other hip, so can you.

Not sure who to vote for? Try using this.

Now get off the computer already and VOTE!

Happy (Belated-Post) Halloween!

What a fun, busy weekend we had with Pooh and her Hunny Pot!



The festivities started on Saturday with a fall festival...

Which included a doughnut-eating contest...

And then we continued Saturday evening with some pumpkin carving...

And pumpkin-seed roasting...

Didn't we do a superb job?!

Then Halloween morning dawned bright and early with surprises.

Hello, tonsils.

Who knew a $5 Barbie was so exciting?!

Brooklyn was a little more subdued.

But still thoroughly enjoyed her new toy as well.

That evening, we headed out to trunk-or-treat at a local church.

And then we met up with some friends to go door-to-door trick-or-treating.

Pooh, a princess, and Snow White... does it get any better?!

There is a lot of love between these three girls. Savannah had a blast with Emma and Olivia.

And the too-young-for-candy siblings went along for the ride.

Can I just quote the neighbor lady? "Whatever water ya'll are drinking, I don't want none of that stuff! Babies babies babies!"

The big girls got tired toward the end of the night and took the lazy way out.

And we finally returned home with a sleeping Pooh and Hunny Pot.

Happy Halloween!

We. Are. Family.

Phone Conversations with Small Children in the House

Alternately titled, children have some kind of mom-is-on-the-phone, so-i-must-need-everything-now radar.

Ring, ring.

Hello, this is Lauren. No, this isn't a bad time.

"Mom! MOM! Momma! Mom! Momma! MOMMA! Moooooom! Moooooommmmmaaaaaaa!"

Shhh, Savannah, hush a minute. Momma's on the phone.

Yes, I have the account number. Can you hold on a sec and let me grab it?

"Mom! Mommy! Mom!"

What?

I need juice!

Just a minute.

Wailing.

Okay, I have the account number right here. It is... 123... 45...6789. Yes, the name on the account is Brooklyn Beckner.

"Momma! Thats my sister. My sister's name is Brookie. I WANT JUICE!!! PLEASE! I SOOOOOO THIRSTTYYYYYY!"

Yes, I understand about the deductible but I need to know which therapy sessions apply to the deductible and which ones do not. (I walk to the bathroom and shut the door... for some quiet.)

"Momma! Who is that? Mom! Who are you talking to? Mommy! Brookie is crying. Oh, Mom... I need to poop."

Okay, so the regular visits are 100% covered, but any therapy sessions will not be until the deductible is met, is that correct? (Open the bathroom door. Of course it is the hot spot, since I'm in there.)

"Mom! I can't get my pants off! Momma! Help! I'm stuck. Oh, help."

Okay. No, I don't think I have any other questions.

"Momma! Who is that? Can I talk?"

Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it.

"Mom! Mom! I gave Brookie my chocolate milk and she dumped it on the floor and my kitty cat is eating it."

You too, bye.

Ahem. Thats what it sounds like to be me. Trying to have a 2 minute phone conversation.
Just in case you ever wondered.

Mid-Week Ramblings

Brooklyn's therapist brought us this great bath chair this week, and for the first time, this girl has been able to take a bath in the tub sitting up! Since she has outgrown the newborn tub but is really unstable sitting, we usually have to cram her into the sink and bathe her there.

She gave the tub a big smile and even tolerated being splashed by big sister. Hooray!

On a sad note, poor Brooklyn is sick again. Sigh. Yesterday, I took her back to the doctor after her eye started to swell. She had a right ear infection, and a sinus infection that was causing her right sinus to swell so much that it was pushing on her eye. Ouch! And, bless her little heart, I almost didn't take her in because she really wasn't fussing much. There is proof that being too good can actually get you into trouble. They gave us some high-powered antibiotics and we are keeping an eye on things, no pun intended.

Two thumbs up for the bath chair, eight thumbs down for bacterial infections.

Date Nineteen: Football Game

For date nineteen, Darren introduced me to Beamer Ball.



Hokie bird, meet Lauren.



It was a gorgeous day for a football game! And we had lots of quality time together for the car ride there, a few hours for the game, and the ride back. Fun stuff!

I learned all kinds of quirky things. Like, when the band plays a certain tune, you are supposed to say "H-O-K-I-E-S, Hokies!" and on the third down, its called a "key play", so everyone gets out their keys and shakes them. And at the end of the third quarter, the fans do the Hokie Pokie. Darren did fail to inform me, however, that a freakishly loud cannon goes off after the national anthem, and I nearly had an accident in fright. He found it hilarious.

And there is lots of good food to be had, too. Like turkey legs. And barbecue chicken nachos. Yum!

The Hokies did not disappoint.

It was a good day to be a Hokie.

And... then we came home, ate pizza (we never tire of eating...), and watched Bama run all over Tennessee. That is always a good ending to a good day!

The only thing that could've made the day better is if Auburn had lost. There is nothing worse for a Bama fan than watching Auburn hold your former #1 spot. Oh well, Thanksgiving weekend is coming, boys! ;)

Football date = A+

8 Months Old.

Eight months old - wow! Time flies!

I've had more fun this month with my sweet girl. She giggles so easily for someone who wouldnt hardly crack a smile in the beginning! Once she gets tickled at something, she just cackles, and its so much fun. You wouldn't believe the goofy things I do to get a laugh out of this kid.

Brooklyn was sick for the first time this past month, and that was no fun. But she was still a very good baby! She didn't sleep as well, but wasn't terribly fussy. They even drew blood at the doctor's office, and she didn't even cry! She doesn't tend to complain unless something is extreme, so I know when she has a fussy day that its really bad!

Brooklyn continues to sleep and eat great. She sleeps about 12 hours straight at night. I've started weaning her this month, and I have her down to nursing about half of the time and on preemie formula the other half. She also continues to chomp her way through a jar of food at a time, and tried the baby puffs this month, much to her liking. No teeth have arrived yet, but once they do, this girl will probably go straight to eating steak.

She's struggled some with catching up to her age-appropriate milestones, and it is appearing that she is falling further behind as time goes on. She still struggles to sit independently, and at times she still loses control of her head. She will be seeing a new therapist today for an evaluation of her muscle tone and coordination, and we are praying for wisdom. Her pediatrician is also trying to get her neurology consult moved up sooner. While it is discouraging (and expensive!) at times, I know that God has a plan for her. But I do have to bite my tongue every time they bring me a highchair at a restaurant and I have to explain that she cannot sit in it, and some well-meaning but tact-lacking stranger says something like, "8 months old and she can't sit in a highchair?!" Sigh. But... I'm really enjoying all of the extra snuggle time. She is such a delightful baby... we can't complain! I couldn't possibly love her more!

Here is Brooklyn is her best sit-up position, leaning on the couch cushion for stability (and hello, i-just-woke-up-face).

Happy 8 months old day, sweet girl!