tiny change

I added an "of" to our blog website address. So it is now http://www.armyofgordons.blogspot.com/. Be sure to bookmark the site to see updates.

Thanks!

Calling off the Search

Okay, that was short. I actually got contacted by eBay to let me know a seller had a extra fish for sale and I was being offered a "second chance offer." It's new-in-box and only $12 over the original retail price. So new baby Gordon will have a fish too now. Yay!

Searching for Fish

When Lauren was about six months old we moved her from the Pack n' Play to the crib. To help her sleep, I got her a swimming fish crib toy that attaches to the side of the crib. She LOVED it. It plays music and the fish swim. The best part was this particular model played continuously for 18 minutes, which was plenty of time for her to fall asleep. AND it had a remote control so I didn't have to go back in her room to turn it on if she was still awake.

She is now almost four and her "fish" is still attached to her bed. She can't sleep without it. It goes to the beach, it went to New York and the corporate apartment, and it would go to Birmingham except she's got one there too. :)

So when Baby Brother was born I ordered him a fish. He, like his sister, is mesmerized by it. He'll turn it on and just stare at the fish quietly in bed.

Well, last night I decided to order one for new baby. Apparently Fisher-Price doesn't make them anymore and if you can find one from the few retailers that still have some in stock online they're close to $80! I can't believe they quit making them because all of the other models play for much shorter periods of time, like 5 minutes, and no remote.

So now the search is on for a reasonably priced fish. I just can't justify spending $80 on a crib toy. If you want to join the search while you're out shopping the official name of it is the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium with remote control.

Fall Fun!

We kicked off our Fall festivities this year by going to a pumpkin patch. The one we went to last year in Columbus was so good that it set the bar pretty high. Lauren still talks about the sheep she saw so we had to find one that had farm animals in addition to pumpkins, which meant driving almost an hour.

Both Nick and Lauren enjoyed playing in the corn box.

...although I'm pretty sure Nick enjoyed eating it more than playing in it.

 In addition to the pumpkin patch we also made some Fall art...

...cheered on both Alabama and Auburn,

...painted a pumpkin,

...carved a pumpkin or two,

...went to the JAG Halloween party,

... and made some cookies.

Finally, it was time to Trick-or-Treat. Lauren decided she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty. She said Sleeping Beauty is her favorite princess because she wears a pink dress...hmmm, wonder where she gets that from? 

We tried out the crown, but it was too much and a little big. So we stuck with the bow.

As for Nicholas, he went as "Brother Bear."

Lauren had fun Trick-or-Treating, but about halfway through she said "Mamma, my pumpkin is heavy. Can you carry it?" She's good at delegating. When we got back the cookies were cooled off and it was time to decorate them.

Our finished products. They were just as delicious as they were pretty.

Next up will be Fall Fun in Birmingham.

Back to Blogging

It's been awhile since I've updated this thing, about eight months to be exact, but really who's counting. It's funny, now that I'm not working I figured I'd have more time to do things I want do to do, but no so much. Anywho, here's a quick update...

Lauren has been really enjoying ballet class. Here are a few pictures from last week at parent observation day:

At the end of class the girls get to put on costumes and dance around. On this day all the little girls wanted to wear the yellow dresses like Belle from Beauty and the Beast -- all except one little girl who wanted to wear a pink tutu...



As for baby brother, Nicholas has been enjoying Lauren's Lil' Tykes car lately. If it's in the other room he'll go get it and bring it back to the living room. We keep it in the house now because there isn't anywhere for the kids to play outside with it.

He and Lauren play pretty well together now and the other day I found him wearing her pink dress-up skirt. He didn't scream when she put it on him so he must have been okay with it. He'll certainly let you know if he's mad at Lauren. He'll yell "neh, neh, neh, neh!" And that means Lauren is bothering me or she took my toy.

He started walking the day he turned 11 months old and this video was taken that night. He's been working on his balance though and can make it a lot further now. By the time we go to Birmingham he'll be cruising around the room pretty easily.

Craft and Cookie Day!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner Lauren and I had some pink and red fun yesterday. We spent the day making Valentine's Day cards and baking cookies. We started the day making our dough because it had to chill for two to three hours before we could roll it out. So still rocking our jammies, we put on our aprons and got in the kitchen.

After the dough was ready we put it in the fridge, cleaned up one mess and immediately made another one. While Lauren was at pre-school Tuesday Nicholas and I went to Michael's Arts and Crafts and loaded up on Valentine's Day art supplies.

She was pretty excited to open them up and start creating.

We made Valentine's Day cards for select people in the family and you'll receive them this weekend.

While Lauren "did art" Nicholas got in his daily workout

and played with his tongue...

...which he thought was pretty funny.

Eight cards later, Lauren was ready to clean up and move on to the next project. However, if you don't get one it's not because she doesn't love you, it's because I could only stand so much glitter in my kitchen.

Next up...baking cookies!

Eight to ten minutes in the oven, 30 minutes to cool and a two hour nap later; it was time to decorate them.

I let her try doing icing on one, but she much preferred sprinkles.

All done!

After dinner it was time to taste test...

They got the Lauren seal of approval. After dessert we once again cleaned up and got back in jammies. However, before bed it was time for homework. Yep, homework. Lauren had to bring 20 Valentines for her friends so we got to work. Well, I got to work. I had to write her name on them and she was in charge of handing me stickers.

Homework done and belly full, it was time to brush teeth and go to bed.