Lauren is 4

At 4:38 AM tomorrow morning Miss Lauren Charlene Kok will turn 4 years old!

I think her big day means more to me than it does to her. For her it's a fun filled day with presents & friends. For me it is the day my life changed forever and my heart left my body for the first time. I get teary just thinking about how much I love her & what she means to me. She is such a combination and Kevin & I, yet so much of herself. She's one of a kind, and a very perfect one indeed, her craziness and all!

**When I put her to bed tonight I told her she would turn 4 in her sleep. She was shocked to hear this and said, "So when I am eating breakfast I will already be 4?" She was amazed at this fact. I have a feeling she is going to wake up and wonder why she doesn't look or feel much different:)

Party Prep with Kevin aka Super Dad!

Lauren pretty much has the best dad on the planet. He bought her this bike (she will get it tomorrow) but then completely customized it! I can't wait to see her face when she sees this tomorrow morning!
And since her party is now indoors he came up with some pretty fun ideas to make it feel like a jungle in our house (not that we need any help with that, I'm thinking 22 kids will do the trick!).

Lauren & Ben were in heaven tonight with all the decorating going on.

We had 140 balloons in our house tonight. Tomorrow you will see the finished product!

A good read

This blog is pretty much famous and every time I read it I cry a little, laugh a little, and think a lot. Today's post was especially touching I thought. This girl has good perspective. Don't know her, never will, but she touches my life a little every time I read what she writes. If you haven't read it, check it out (If you want some insight into her story read, 'The birth of Nella Cordelia' at the top. It will make you cry but will also make you smile). http://www.kellehampton.com/

Silly Kids

Lauren managed to get Braelyn's dress off of her and on herself within minutes of her arrival. I'm wondering, do all kids insist on wearing their friends clothes or is it just my kid?
Then everyone (minus Ben, he doesn't see the point in changing constantly- thank goodness!) put on pj's and had a pajama party. I especially love that Bennett picked out Lauren's purple panda jams.

Ben sort of ventured into the dress up world with these glasses. He wore them for quite awhile and was so serious. He really gets into character!

Hard at work.

I love watching them play and come up with all their crazy ideas. Don't love cleaning up all their crazy ideas though. Small price to pay for good fun I guess!

Kevin & Val

Ben & Lauren pretended they were Kevin & Val today and they swaddled their babies up nice and tight and carried them all around. It was pretty entertaining and cute:)

Last day of 3 year old preschool!

Today was Lauren's last day of 3 year old preschool.
Ben is so proud of her for making it through!

They had a class picnic and the weather actually cooperated! Lauren had lots of fun playing with her preschool friends.

The parents thought it'd be cute to have the kids line up on the slide to get a group picture. Turns out it wasn't a good idea, the kids aren't strong enough to hold each other and they all got smashed!

The boat was a much better idea!

Yay for preschool!

Some Birthday Pre-Funk

Lauren has received a few b-day packages in the mail and we are letting her open them as they arrive! We figure why not spread out the love since the big day is so overwhelming anyway!
She is in heaven and LOVES all the new things she has received.

She is one lucky soon to be 4 year old...how crazy is that? She is almost 4! I'm so confused how she is aging and I'm not:)

Serious

He always has these serious look on his face. But it is the cutest, most kissable serious face I've ever seen! And he loves to wear this hat and he likes it to be low over his eyes...a man of mystery!

Chihuahua

We had a picnic dinner at the park tonight with Ryan, Meg, & Hads. There were 2 really cute chihuahua puppies and Lauren was in heaven!
Goofs.

The owner was really nice and let the girls hold their leashes and play with them. Here Lauren is saying to the lady, "Can you pretend your my mom for a little bit"...always warms my heart:)

Lauren has wanted a chihuahua for a few months. I've been a very firm no until now, my no is getting much softer...they are pretty darn cute!

Ben was so cute with this little guy too. Good thing these dogs weren't for sale, I probably would have left the park with a new puppy! I'm turning into a softie in my old age!

Surprise!

I have been wanting to plant a little garden for a long time and today when I got home from work Kevin surprised me and had built these! I'm so excited to go pick out some fun veggies to plant with the kids this summer.

Conversation

Lauren: Mom, I want a little sister.

Me: Well Lauren mommy doesn't want to have 3 kids, I'm happy with just 2.

Lauren: Mom, I didn't say I wanted 3 kids in our family, I just said I wanted a little sister.

Me: Are you saying you want to trade Benny in for a sister?

Lauren: Yes

Obsessed

Ben would live outside if we'd let him. He stands by the door and cries like this a lot. SUN PLEASE COME BACK so we can play outside!

Good Times with Good Friends on Saturday Night!

Lauren was in heaven having a real tea party with Kelly! We put real tea in the tea pot and she even got to use real sugar. Kelly is one of my top pics of someone to have tea with too:)
Lauren LOVED having Kelly & Laurie swing her in the air...she would have done it all night long.

Weee!

I think the biggest hit of the night was breastfeeding. Lauren was so excited to watch Baby Mackenzie eat. Then she used the "hooter hider" to feed her babies.

After feeding her baby she tried to convince me to let her try and really breastfeed! Sorry Lauren, not gonna happen!

Then Ben insisted on wearing Lauren's new jacket. Of course he did. If she wears his clothes it's only natural he'll want to wear hers. Oh boy.

Mackenzie was thrilled to be learning how to play Memory.

Laurie & Baby Mackenzie (as she will always be known in our house, even when she is 18!). Isn't she such a cutie- her eyes are amazing!

Lauren had fun with the camera for awhile, Graham had fun posing for her!

A sleepover wouldn't be complete without an ice cream sundae!

Kevin's friend Geoff happen to pop in for a surprise visit this weekend- he's here from the Florida Keys for work stuff.

Aww.

Kelly & I. I love when we get to have sleepovers, always good times.

Tiny Dancer

Our little ballerina. I'm getting closer to actually signing her up for ballet lessons, just wish they weren't so pricey!

Lauren wanted a video too!

Lauren wanted me to video her too so she had to show off her fabulous dancing skills for a bit!

Ben is talking...sort of.

Ben is starting to "talk" a lot more. Still mostly just one word at a time but he is talking nonetheless which makes mama happy:) I tend to worry about those type of things just a tad!

Lauren

Miss Lauren slept on the couch like this for awhile today.
We kept trying to wake her up because when she takes naps she does not sleep at night! But she wouldn't budge!

When she finally woke up she had crazy hair!

Kevin is sharing his love of Roald Dahl books with Lauren. His books are a little twisted at times but they are pretty funny. I have a feeling Lauren will LOVE them!

Ben

Ben has been really into sunglasses the last few days.
And he's always really into driving! He stands by the door to the garage and says "car, car" most of the day!
Cheese!

Can't quite get them to stay on just right!

Watching Diego (or Dae Doh as he calls it) with the Wii remote. Poor boy has been out of sorts all week and especially today. But this afternoon after puking all over he appears to be feeling better. We all hope so cuz we hate seeing him sick and we don't really enjoy the crankiness!