Lauren's 4 year stats

Lauren had her 4 year check up last week. She is getting so big! 

Height: 43 inches (still 95th percentile)

Weight: 36 lbs. 12 oz. (around 50th percentile)

While we were there, I had Ethan step up on the scale just to compare. He's a whopping 30 pounds and only 2! Lauren doesn't seem so heavy after all! Lauren is starting Pre-K in September at Federated Preschool. She is very excited and I think she will do great! She loves doing artsy things like painting, coloring, playing with play doh, etc. It will be nice to spend some time with her in the afternoons while Ethan is sleeping and Dylan's at school.

Dylan's all grown up!

 Dylan had his first day of 1st grade today. He is going to be in Mrs.Younts class with a couple of his friends, so he is excited. It is definitely quieter around here with him gone all day. It hasn't really hit me that he's going to be gone everyday from 8-4! It's going to be a lot different from last year.

 

He was so excited for school that he didn't drink his juice for breakfast and he didn't even eat much. I think he is a little nervous, but very excited! 

He decided that he wanted to sit for a picture, too, so here is his favorite shot! He's all grown up on me and it seems like just yesterday he was my little baby!

Fair Oaks Farm

Tuesday, we went to Fair Oaks Dairy Farm for playgroup at church. It is the biggest dairy farm in the United States! I was in charge of the whole event, so it was great that Ricky was able to join us and help out with the kids. Plus he had never been there. I was worried that we wouldn't have enough people, we had to have at least 20, but we ended up having over 60 people! Yeah! Everything worked out great. They were very accommodating and we all got to enjoy some free chocolate milk! The kids really enjoyed seeing all of the cows and then playing on all the fun toys after. We made it in time to see a cow being born, which all the kids were fascinated by. The bus ride takes you through a barn and you see the cows resting, the baby cows in the little 'dog houses', and then you see the milking station. Each cow is milked 3 times a day! It was fun to learn about how milk is made.

Ethan was a big fan of the train ride, surprise, surprise. I think he ended up riding it about 5 times! I eventually had to pull him off of the ride!

 

Dylan and Lauren loved these little tractors. They were similar to power wheels.

They also had this cool jumpy thing. Dylan was the only one of my kids who would jump on it. It was really neat!

Once it started to get busy (and we got too hot) we went to the cafe for some ice cream! They make it there and it was soo good! We got mint chocolate chip (Dylan's favorite) and cookies and cream.We also sampled some cheeses, Yum! It was a great day at the farm!

July fun times

End of July already??? Where has this summer gone? It went by way too fast, although I am ready for school to start. Dylan is starting to torment his siblings too much for me to handle. Lauren will be starting preschool in September. Life is going to get crazy again soon!

Lauren has reverted since turning 4. She decided that she didn't want to go to swim lessons or dance class anymore. She wanted me to go with her, but I can't since I have other kids to watch. For dance class, she just sat on the sides. I don't understand this, as she has been doing dance class for almost a year now with the same teacher and some of the same girls! After the one day of not participating in swimming, she got back in there and did great. She can float with a life jacket!

 Dylan can float by himself! He got over his fears of the deeper part of the pool and did great the second session of swimming class. He was swimming a lot farther than he could at the beginning of the summer! Great job Dylan!

 My little wet kiddos!

 I talked her into participating in dance class and she did great this past week. She is done for the summer, so we will have to have some serious conversations about her doing them this fall. I know she loves them, it's just a matter of her deciding that she wants to go. The teacher let us come in for the last class, so I took a few pictures on my phone (not as good as my camera, but it works!). 

Lauren told me to look at her and she said, "Look, I'm papa!" Too cute!

Ethan is growing up so fast! He talks all the time! He told me the other morning, "mommy, I hungry." It's great to have conversations with him! He doesn't have his pacifier except for nap time and bed time. He still calls it his 'whi-whi'. He is in a train phase right now. He loves anything trains. He is our rough boy! Ethan showing off his cool shades!

State Fair

Saturday (August 4), we had plans to visit a friend in Chicago, but her daughter got sick and we had to post-pone. We had the day free, so we decided last minute to head to the State Fair in Indy. We go to the fair every year, so it was just a matter of fitting it into our schedules. My parents were able to join us, which always is a great treat. When we got there, it was pouring down rain. We checked out the radar and it was a short storm, so we waited it out. Then when we entered, there wasn't anyone there taking tickets. We got in free! How exciting! We enjoyed a dog show and the kids fun park. 

 

 

Ethan had fun feeding the goats!

 

The kids got some tickets to ride the rides and had a blast. Lauren wanted to ride the Ferris wheel, so Ethan and I joined her.

 

 Dylan wanted to do the obstacle course and got to try out two of them. 

 

 And a tall slide!

 

Lauren and Dylan went on a scary ride that goes behind the doors. They loved it! I thought Lauren would be scared, but I was wrong! Then Lauren went on the dinosaur ride by herself! I was so proud of her! She is growing up before my eyes!

 

 After the rides, we enjoyed an elephant ear, some cotton candy, and some deep fried Oreos and Samoas (girl scout cookies). YUM!! We had so much great food, a perfect time at the fair!