Lauren's Cozy Outfit

For Lauren's 5th birthday, her Daddy picked out an adorable Adidas outfit from Toys R Us all by himself. He bought a pair of cotton athletic pants, a short sleeved "cheerleader" shirt, and a 3/4 length sleeved striped top. Lauren was loved and has worn this outfit as much as possible since receiving it, and I have worked hard to keep it clean and "spot free." Lauren has always used the word "cozy" when referring to comfortable clothing, so she calls this her cozy outfit. What's most precious is that Philip bought it for her, and I didn't even have a hand in picking it out. Usually either myself or Memaw Ratledge buys all of Lauren's clothing. For Daddy to do this really was special. Of course, accessories, such as a purse or jewelry, are usually worn with her special outfit! That's our little girl!

My New Cozy Pajamas

Lauren has been loving pajamas for the past year now. When I say "love," I mean that she wants to put them on as soon as she gets home, even it is is still during the middle of the day! For Valentine's Day, Memmie and Pappy gave Lauren Disney's High School Musical flannel pj's with a matching fleece rope. Lauren is in love with her new pajamas and is very proud of them. She is also loving the white teddy bear that we gave her for a Valentine's Day gift. She has taken an interest is stuffed animals just recently. Through the years, she has always preferred her baby dolls (they always had to be bald), but now her interests are beginning to change as she grows older and matures. Baby dolls are making way for Barbies and stuffed animals.

Experimenting with Photoshop Elements Textures

Well, I have been really interested for some time about using textures and layering with photo editing software. There are tons of free texture jpegs out there to download, all you need is the right computer software. I have found all of mine for free on Flickr. Philip obtained a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 from a dentist today. The dentist got if for free with the purchase of some sort of equipment, and he let Philip have it because he was not using it & didn't really need it.

I have been playing all night tonight and have FINALLY figured out how to do layering and textures. It really depends on manipulating the opacity level of the layers. I have played with a few pictures of Lauren, and was so excited about it that I just had to show them immediately! I know that there is still a lot to learn, but I am happy that all of the time that I have spent trying to figure out how to do this has paid off! What makes me the most happy, however, is that I figured this out all by MYSELF without Philip's help! In the words of London Tipton, character from Disney's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," ....YEAH ME!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, 2009

Lauren with her Valentine's rose from her sweet Daddy.

Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year, and it was the perfect opportunity to not only spend the day with Lauren, but for Philip and I to spend the evening together alone as a couple. This is a very rare treat that we have rarely given ourselves through the years. Lauren will occasionally spend the night with her Aunt Julie, but it never happens more then 2- 4 times a year if even that many. Perhaps we should at least go out to eat and let someone watch Lauren more often, but we just don't. I already feel like I miss out on being with her already since I am a working mother. I believe that is why I want to spend as much time with her as possible!

We spent the morning at Lauren's cheerleading game. She has really opened up and has built up her confidence. She is doing a cartwheel at half time and jumps after cheers now. My parents came to watch her cheer, and they took us out to lunch in south Knoxville at the Chop House. It was fun to spend time with them as well as generous that they insisted on paying. For Valentine's Day, Philip bought Lauren a rose, just as he always does each year. It is so precious to me that he carries out the same tradition that his father did for Lauren's Aunt Julie. This year, it was a gorgeous pink rose, which is Lauren's favorite color. I took some photographs of Lauren on the porch with her rose, and I can't decide which photo I like the best!

During the evening, Lauren was very excited to get the opportunity to spend the night with her Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve. She had so much fun playing with cousin David. Lauren slept on a large couch cushion in their bedroom floor.

Philip and I had a fun Valentine's Day. I planned the entire evening myself, but it would appear that Philip planned it, however! We ate dinner at Hooters, went to Brackins to watch Blue Mother Tupelo (our favorite band) play, and went to Gunny's shooting range on Sunday morning. I haven't had that much fun in I don't know when! Thank you, Philip and Lauren for being the best Valentine's gifts that I could ever ask for!! I love you both so very much!

Pre-K Valentine Party

Thursday, February 12th, 2009 was Lauren's last official preschool/daycare party. They had a Valentine's party today at 3:00 PM. I can't begin to express how sad that I was that I was unable to attend due to a Porter faculty meeting. Lauren took a shoebox to school and decorated it at school for the party. She passed out valentines that had the Disney High School Musical characters on them. It was Lauren's last party at Broadway Baptist Daycare, and I wasn't able to be there with her. I should look on the bright side and say that I was able to attend her pre-K 5th birthday party as well as being the only parent to attend the Christmas party.

People tell me that I should be glad that I was able to attend and do as much as I am able to do with her since my teaching job ends the day at 3:00 PM and I have summers and holidays off. However, that doesn't ease my mind that work stood in the way of my baby's last little party milestone. It's no secret that I've always longed to have had the opportunity to be a stay at home mother. I suppose that I was able to do that as well as work if you look at a teacher's summer and holiday schedule.

I have been able to attend quite a few of her parties over the years at BBCCC. They always start at 3:00, and that gives me the time to leave school a little earlier then normal and get there on time to help pass out food and watch Lauren with her friends. It was always such a joy to see her little face light up when I walked in the room, and she would run over to me and say, "Mommy, you're here!" I am so glad that she has made good friends and has been cared for by such caring people at her daycare, and for this I am grateful.

Winter Cheers

My adorable little Cheerleader was so excited to be cheering

for the first time!

I couldn't resist having her pose on the court after a game...you know me!

Showing Mommy her high kicks!

Concentrating and remembering all of those chants

and moves was hard work, but Lauren shined like a

star on the court!

Cheering on the ball teams before a game.

There was only one cheer squad per game, and they cheered for both teams.

I thought that encouraged good sportsmanship.

The proud parents!

Cousin David and Aunt JuJu came to one game, and David

did an excellent job sitting still with Lauren while she cheered. You know

how hard it is to get a toddler to sit still!

Showing Mommy her high jump!

2009 brought a "dream " come true for Lauren...cheerleading! Yep, that's right! At the same church where Lauren plays fall/spring soccer, they offer basketball and cheerleading during the winter months. Well, Lauren has talked non-stop about cheerleaders since she was 3. She would say "it's my dream to be a cheerleader." Well, who am I to stand in the way of a 5 year old realizing her dream? He he he

Frankly, I was hoping that she would be interested in basketball instead, since she has the height and athleticism for it. However, that is just not where her interests lie, so it would not be in her best interest to force her to participate in something that she does not have interest in. My father was a bit disappointed about that, big basketball fan that he is, but he understood our decision. But, to see Lauren out there cheering, building up her confidence and courage, turning cartwheels, and doing jumps, you would have thought that she'd been at it for quite a while. Lauren was a natural. I do believe that it was the 2 years in dance that has helped her!

We'll see what next winter holds as far as what activity Ladybug chooses. I had mentioned to her about the possibility of alternating years between cheering and basketball, and she seemed open to that idea. We were all so proud of our little Ladybug trying so hard and putting forth so much effort. She probably had the largest cheering section of any cheerleader or ball player on the court! She is a hard worker and good listener. She always has a lot of determination to try her best in everything that she does. That life skill will take her far in whatever career path she chooses some day.

Yet Another Snow Day!

Well, even though there's not actually snow on the ground in our neighborhood, there is still the threat of slick, dangerous roads in the mountainous areas of our county. For that reason, school was closed again today. I wanted to do something fun and different with Lauren today, so we went to the movie theater in town to the see the movie "Hotel For Dogs." I have been trying for a few months now to get Lauren to go to see a movie, but she always says, "no." She is afraid that it will be boring and doesn't like the idea of sitting still and being quiet for so long. She gets the trouble of sitting still thing from her Daddy!

Well, we ate popcorn, drank diet coke, and had a great time! Lauren loved the movie and said, "Going the the movies isn't as boring as I thought!" I'm excited that she is now willing to go back to see movies on the big screen again. That is something that she could do with her grandparents if the opportunity were to arise since they enjoy seeing movies, too.

I am pretty certain that school will be back in session on Thursday, so I am so happy to have had a mini vacation from work with my sweetie. It's just too bad that Philip can't be off with us! I cherish these times with Lauren so much. I just can't believe that next year, she'll be at school with me and I won't be making that snowing drive to the daycare anymore!

School's Still Out!!

Being goofy!

Making a snow angel.

I love the snow!

You'd better run, Mommy!

Helping her baby doll make own snow angel.

Lauren's first time to sled down the hill!

Taking another trip down the hill with her baby doll!

Wheeee! I love this!

Mommy screamed the entire trip down the hill. She thought she was moving sooo fast, but don't tell her that she was actually going really slow!

Yippee! I feel like an even bigger kid then Lauren! Teachers are usually the ones that are praying for a snow day even more so then the students I believe! I was excited that school was out on Tuesday and that I could spend another day at home with my baby. Lauren and I spent the morning playing outside in it since it was showing signs of melting and we didn't want to risk the chance of it completely melting before we made it outside to play. I set the camera's timer and snapped a few pictures of myself with Lauren. Then, we took turns sliding down the hill behind our neighbor's house (the log house.) It was the perfect hill for sledding. I couldn't believe that I actually went down the hill a few times. Lauren and I both had soooo much fun sledding. What I couldn't believe was that I trusted Lauren to snap a couple of pictures and video it. She did just fine. Well, she actually did drop the video camera in the snow when she started to run towards me (I had told her to stay put), but the little bit of water didn't hurt it for no more then it was on the ground. It would've been my own fault for letting a 5 year old hold an expensive camera anyway.

School's Out Early!

This is a view from the back of the house. You can see what a big snow it was. It was definitely cold for all of that snow to stick on the ground during the middle of the day!

Lauren with her snowman, "Frosty."

On Monday, February 2nd, 2009, it started snowing this morning at school right before our lunch time (10:30 AM), and it actually was sticking to the ground. You could imagine how excited the kids were at lunch, so it was about impossible to get any more work done for the rest of the day. In fact, it snowed so hard that school was closed early due to the slick roads. I stayed long enough to get my students picked up or sent home on the bus, and then Mrs. Craig told the teachers to go on home safely. I still had to make the trip to Broadway Baptist to pick Lauren up at daycare, so I drove very carefully there and then home again! Lauren was excited for me to wake her up from her nap to say we were leaving early. I love how excited she is when I get her. I can be having a bad day and that little moment is the best remedy! After I got Lauren buckled into the car, we talked about how quiet she needed to be so I could concentrate on driving safely home. We avoided the 13 curves on Sevierville Road, and I took Wildwood Road home to be extra safe.

That afternoon, Philip got home earlier then usual, and we played in the back field behind our home. Lauren helped the neighbors, Don, Bailey, and Jackson, build a snowman. She named him "Frosty." Naturally, Philip had to instigate a snowball fight with Lauren, and several snow angels were made on the ground as well. Of course, I was there to snap a few pictures, but I was proud that I had the self control to put the camera away and enjoy playing with my family for the rest this exciting afternoon! Lauren had a great idea to end the fun with some hot chocolate. What an awesome day. I hope school is cancelled for a few days!