{five things}

{1}
At the beginning of last week a little virus came into our home and took Matt and I hostage for 24 hours.
Thankfully it didn't take Lauren.
But having a healthy toddler did make the day a little more challenging.

Remember a few posts ago, where I whined about how much more difficult this second pregnancy is.
Well, I got a little taste of what it could be like and I'll just keep my symptoms.

{2}
Halloween has been a lot of fun this year.
Lauren understands a little bit more,
is excited about pumpkin sightings,
the potential of scoring some M&M's
and her cow costume.

Last week, we attended a little Halloween party at The Little Gym.

She got a few pieces of candy, had a blast with the bubbles, and enjoyed pointing out all the Elsa's in the room.

We also attended a local Halloween in the Park event.
Lauren got a little more practice with the actual trick or treating part and really enjoyed looking through her collection of candy.


She even got to choose one piece before bed.
Brave?
yes.

{3}
Lauren is a budding little artist.

She loves to color, paint, and do anything with the word 'project' attached.
While we had our first 'no coloring on the wall' conversation recently...

I love watching her creativity at work

and how proud she is when we hang it on the fridge.


{4}
Now that I don't take a monthly photo of Lauren, I also don't do a monthly update of all the little things she doing or saying.
I realized that makes me kind of sad.
So as a sort of documentation for my mama-self,
here's a few of my fave All Things Lauren right now:

* she talks. a lot. and quite well. Her phrases are getting larger and larger and her vocabulary broader and broader.
Our conversations are becoming quite entertaining.

* she calls herself, Lorno.
 I love this.
"Lorno wash her hands"
"Lorno's dolly"
"Mommy, Daddy, Lorno"
Did I mention I love it?

* she loves her dollies and has been playing with them so sweetly.
Putting them to bed,
feeding them,
patting their little backs and
shhhh-ing them at the same time.
If it's any indication of the big sister she will be... this baby is a lucky one.

* she still loves books and has started to memorize her favorites.
She can pretty much rehash the story of Five Little Pumpkins
and the other day I heard her say "true love" when reading Frozen aloud.
Oh, my heart.

* Speaking of heart, she talks about Disney, a lot.
Hugging Pooh & Tigger & Belle,
Ariel at the parade,
riding the 'horsey' with Papa & 'Gamma',
Mickey singing Happy Birthday.
Matt and I are amazed at how much she remembers and love listening to her talk about it.

{5}
We held our 10th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest.
Lauren painted her pumpkin while mom & dad carved theirs.



It's pretty obvious we don't have the time we once had to devote to this competition.

But a winner was crowned,

evening out the score at 5 wins a piece.

Good time to retire?

Maybe next year when I take another win...

week 30

We had an ultrasound last week and Baby McQuinn looks healthy and is weighing in at approximately 3.5 pounds.
Baby McQuinn is also measuring about a week and a half early.
This causes Mama McQuinn a little bit of anxiety.
But the Dr. doesn't seem too concerned,
so for now we focus on the to-do list we've got 10 weeks {maybe?} to complete.

Baby McQuinn also appears to be working on a head of hair.


This makes Mama McQuinn quite excited...

the pumpkin patch

Five Little Pumpkins.

It's currently a favorite at our house,
which means it is read a. lot.

So, we had one excited little girl when we told her we were on our way to the pumpkin patch.

We had such a great time at Dewberry Farm last year that we made our way again this year. 

The highlights this year included the ponies, the pillow and big slide, a ride on the train, the carousel, and pumpkin picking, which Lauren was very much a part of. 

Can you guess which pumpkin Lauren chose?

She had a thing for those bumpy ones.

This is usually a sign of a pretty successful day...

week 29

Disney World with the Birthday Girl

Magic.
It exists there.
I've often thought about what it would be like to take my own children to the happiest place on Earth.
It was better than I imagined.

We arrived in Orlando late on Wednesday evening and spent Thursday enjoying some pool time and our last hours with a one year old.



I tossed and turned the night before with both excitement and anxiety...
trying to maintain my expectations of a day I've dreamed of and planned for some time...
with a two year old.

But my anxiety gave way to pure joy when I woke up with a happy birthday girl who was excited and ready for the day ahead.
And that joy...
It continued throughout the day.
Lauren was a fabulous first time Disney visitor.
She loved each ride,
she was especially enthralled with Small World
the only cries we heard was when they were over,
because she wanted to go again
hugged every character we met,
sometimes even threw a kiss in
and had a magic sparkle in her eye the whole day through.


















Meeting Mickey was an absolute highlight.
He sang our sweet girl Happy Birthday
and I had to hold back tears.










The character lunch with Winnie the Pooh & Friends was another huge highlight.
She loved it!
We all did!
And considering she fell asleep for a quick 20 min nap right before our reservation,
she did fantastic.
There was also an opportunity for a little lesson about patience and waiting our turn.
Which garnered the response,
"I next.."











I think I can speak for everyone when I say we had an amazing day.
Lauren and her entourage lasted from 9 am - 5 pm
and by the time we reached the parking lot
this was the state of our birthday girl...

with her Mickey Mouse lollipop in hand.

But Lauren's birthday wasn't over and neither was the fun.
After a little nap and a bath we celebrated with presents, ice cream, cupcakes, and some playtime.





On Day 2, we took our two year old to Animal Kingdom.
It was a slower day, we slept in a little bit, casually arrived to the park and took our time checking out the attractions we thought Lauren might like best.


The highlight: Kilimanjaro Safari
Lauren's got a thing for animals
and has even gotten over her zebra {teeth} issues,
so riding in a jeep seeing all of her favorites
was pretty cool.
And in Lauren's opinion riding in a 'jeep' without being in a carseat was also a highlight.




Hugging Daisy and receiving a compliment on her skirt was also a favorite.





We took in a few shows, but when she slept through the Lion King we realized all this magic had left our birthday girl worn out.


Oh, this trip.
These two magical days.
sigh.
They were so good.
I still can't believe we got to take our Lauren to such a special place to celebrate her Golden Birthday.

I know that she is young and will likely not have vivid memories of this particular trip,
but with the way she has been talking about it since we returned;
hugging Winnie the Pooh,
bouncing with Tiger,
riding the horse {carousel} with Papa and Grandma,
Belle, Ariel, and Daisy,
and the excitement in her voice when she sees anything Mickey or Minnie,
I know the magic is real.
And she saw it.

As for me,
I'm still on a little Disney magic high,
and am already looking forward to our next trip.