The Mouse Family Blog

I helped Lauren put on Daddy's t-shirt and went back to folding laundry, when I went into her room to check on her, she had been beamed to another planet and this mysterious alien creature had been left behind in her place. As you can tell, it had a hard time navigating the strange terrain of our planet.

Kinda looks like Lauren got into a fight. But what really happened was she was dancing (as some of you have seen, this really means spinning around in a circle until she gets dizzy). And of course she got dizzy and then bumped into a few toys and then went cheekbone first into the wooden rocking chair in her room.

And yes, I know it's her right eye, not her left eye, but the first thing that came to mind when I put the band aid on was TLC.

A few days ago, what was just supposed to be a quick trip to Nordstrom for a sale and then a bite to eat turned into an adventure. We hit the sale and grabbed lunch at the cafe, but then thought that since the weather was so nice we'd stroll up Michigan Ave. Then Lauren fell asleep so I convinced Heather to indulge me in some browsing. We sniffed new fragrances in Sephora and just before we could make it to the chocolate boutique, Lauren woke up. As luck would have it, the one thing I bought her at Nordstrom was a swim suit, so we headed to Millennium Park to splash in Crown Fountain. On our way we slipped into Baskins Robbins to indulge the sweet tooth. Here's where the photos pick up the story line.

Lauren enjoyed her cone. I did not enjoy that the flavor I picked for her turned red as it melted down her face and arms and onto her clothing. Who in their right mind would make such a product for children?!

After inhaling the ice cream, we hit the fountain and ran into neighbors Rob and Emma and their 2 kids. Heather chased Lauren all over the fountain while I stood with my hand on my belly and talked with our neighbors. Bless you Heather. She also managed to get some pretty amazing shots of Lauren with her iPhone...way better than I could even do with my point and shoot.

Isn't that swimsuit pretty spectacular! I hope it still fits next summer too since I thought I was buying it a size big on purpose. After the fountain we took in a photo op with the giant dinosaur that Lauren had spied when we arrived.

We also took a trip up and down the new bridge that links the park to the brand new Modern Wing at the Art Institute. Heather told me that rumor has it the bridge is going to get stuck with the nickname "the shovel" the picture below shows the shovel like end of the bridge. Too bad since we're talking about the last ten feet of a structure that is described as: a 625-foot pedestrian bridgeway that rises over the Lurie Gardens and crosses Monroe Street. It gently arches to a height of 60 feet, offering breathtaking views of the park, skyline, and lake, as it approaches the Modern Wing’s third-floor entrance.

Lauren is practically obsessed with being outside these days. Her pool, the park, her deck, picnics, or any plan that gets her outside -- except a trip to Home Depot or Jewel Supermarket, because even toddler obsession has its limits of reason.

Tonight when I got home from work, we headed out the deck to enjoy the weather and take-in the neighborhood all we can before someone comes along to snatch up the place and we have to move on. Once out on the deck, Lauren will usually invoke any number of reasons why we need to stay there, such as "the plants need water" or "the birds need me to tweet to them," or "I need to say hi (to the people that come by)" or today's random quote. We're not sure where she gets these things from, or even if she fully comprehends their meaning, but she certainly seems to say most of them in the proper context.

As Liz mentioned, Lauren is also developing her imagination. Currently, it involves her pronouncing that she is a "little" animal of some sort, and you are a corresponding "big" animal.
Tonight's dialogue after dinner: "There is brown dog. I am a little dog. Do you want to be a big dog? ('Okay') Can you bark like a big dog? ('Roof') I am a little dog. I bark like a little dog. Woof. Do you need a pet like a big dog? (Lauren pets.)" And then, just as you're getting bored... "Do you need to poop like a big dog?"

Since our condo is on the market, we have lots of Lauren's stuff in storage and therefore this update doesn't have Lauren pictured with her heifer. Since I'm 29 weeks along, I'm feeling like a cow, so mommy will have to do as a stand-in for the heifer :) This picture is from Easter.

Lauren turned 2 on May 2nd (her golden birthday!) We had her doctor visit a few days later. Here are the stats (75-95%):
Height: 3 feet
Weight: 30 lbs

At two years, Lauren is completely a little person and no where near a baby anymore (except when she pretends to be a baby). She enjoys pretending. Lately her favorite pretend games involve animals. We checked out a few penguin books from the library and she enjoys being the baby penguin while mommy or daddy penguin walk around with her standing on the tops of our feet. She likes being a bear or a lion or anything that roars. She also learned to pretend to serve ice cream from a friend we see at the park. She'll ask if you want vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. She also will pretend to be at the beach playing with pretend buckets, shovels, sand and sea shells. It really makes mommy miss Florida.

Lauren is above all else vocal. She talks in complete sentences so it makes it fun to have conversations with her. The downside is that she can also tell you exactly what she wants and doesn't want... to eat, to wear, to go, to do. We find ourselves trying to reason with her despite the fact that toddlers having a tantrum or engaging in a battle of the wills are not the least bit reasonable. I wish I had a hand held tape recorder to capture all the crazy things she says. Sometimes she even says I love you, please and thank you without being prompted.

Her favorite things are candy and TV (oh wait, I'm not supposed to admit that). Her favorite things are the library and tofu. We try to limit the candy and TV. She likes most foods, especially fruits and cheese. She'll eat veggies and meats and still puts away corn on the cob like it's going out of style. She is not allergic to peanuts, so peanut butter has recently entered the mix.

She loves the new kiddy pool we bought for the deck regardless of the temperature of the water. She likes piggy back rides and would prefer to push her stroller than to ride in it. She can identify several stores by name as we pull into the parking lot...among them Costco and Home Depot. Any orange truck driving by is identified as a Home Depot Truck. She continues to love Thomas the Train above all other toys.

She sleeps well but gets no ribbons for being the longest sleeper. She has all of her teeth except the last 4 "2 year" molars. She goes to the bathroom on the potty sometimes, but we're not really training yet since we assume having a new baby sister will throw any training we might accomplish down the toilet (so to say). She has graduated into the 2 year old class at church and on occasion she declares that some of her little playmates are her "friends." Although she is hard pressed to share her toys with them. We made it a whole year without visiting Children's Memorial hospital.

We look forward to this next year with eagerness and prayer... and with the candy hidden.

Labels: Monthly Photos

Today it's free admission day at the Field Museum! Lauren and I went recently for free using a family pass I checkout out from our local branch of the Chicago Public Library. I can't say enough about how great it is to check in your local branch library from time to time to see if there are any free museum passes available. We've gone to more museums more often thanks to the free passes. If you can't score the free pass from your library (they are usually checked out for the 'best' museums like the Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry) you can mark some dates on your calendar when the museum hosts its own free days. Next one at the Field Museum is June 8th. For a full list go to ParkMoms.com.

Lauren really enjoyed the dinosaur bones in the Evolving Earth* exhibit and the corn in the Pueblo at the Crown Family Play Lab. She is pictured here giving her best impression of Sue the t-rex (really she was yelling at me to please get her out of the stroller!)

*By mentioning the Evolving Earth exhibit, The Mouse Family Blog does not infer to support the views of evolution, we do however agree that dinosaurs once existed and that their bones are really, really cool to look at.

Lauren and Daddy decided to have breakfast on the roof on Saturday, trying to soak up as much of this place and it's skyline views before it sells.
Unfortunately, the springtime weather wasn't really up to for cooperating. What felt link a little breeze and a slight chill on the ground level turned into a very chilly gale four stories up. However, it did give Lauren a nice "up do." We made the best of it before heading back inside.

By the way, that's the new Trump Tower over Lauren's left shoulder.

So maybe I'm overselling it with the title, but Lauren and her dad had a fun time taking a ride on the Metra to downtown Chicago and playing around at Millennium Park before hopping back on the real-life Thomas for a train ride home. Lauren sure loves her Thomas the Train!

Lauren had a full day for her birthday -- albeit not that exciting, perhaps.

The day before, she had a party with a collection of her playmates, where everyone had a delicious cake made by Liz and enjoyed balloon animals made by our awesome multi-talented neighbor , Marianne.

Lauren's actual birthday on Saturday was a bit more nondescript. It started with a trip to the zoo while I showed our house to a couple sets of prospective buyers. Lauren had a good time seeing the otters, lions and monkeys, which gave her inspiration to work on her "Raaar!" and "Oooh, oooh, eeh, eeh" throughout the rest of the day.

After an impromptu picnic lunch at our house, we took Lauren over to Oberweis for her (first) very own ice cream cone, complete with sprinkles. It was a real hit. She enjoyed much of it on the spot, but saved some for an after-nap snack.






After a nap and more ice cream, we turned our attention some planting outside. The spring flower bulbs are spent and it's also time to plant vegetables, so we loaded up on tomatoes, peppers and a new set of flowers. Buying our plants prompted the quote of the day, "I get plants for my birthday, sometimes."









Sunday, we took a tour of the Sauganash neighborhood, one we're considering for our next place. We had a picnic, toured the adjacent nature preserve, hit the local park, and even stopped-in on a couple open houses. We also discovered that this is the neighborhood where Lauren's Chicago Park District Gymnastics class will be held in June.

I'm still amazed how every neighborhood in Chicago takes-on it's own distinctive feel. Sauganash is definitely a nice place. The neighborhood was brimming with friendly families playing on the sidewalks and at the local park. When the area was developed in the 1950's, the developers brought in a collection of leading architects in a variety of styles. This lead to a refreshing variety of homes, from traditional Chicago bungalos to English tudors, sprawling georgians, and even a few modern homes. I liked that most of the homes seem to have been pain-stakingly designed by architects who really understood their favorite style. We got a kick out of how three competing agents described their properties. "This is a classic Georgian." "This is a super-jumbo-Georgian." "This is a super-wide-jumbo-Georgian."

A few folks came over today for breakfast to celebrate Lauren's second birthday (she'll be 2 on Saturday)! As you can see, she has a distinctive smile that she does when she is asked to smile for the camera or say "cheese." She does really have eyes ;) Pictured also are Amanda and Charlie and Colleen and Anna, with Lindsay making a cameo in the background.