A Soccer Player

I'm pretty confident that since the day we found out we were expecting a boy, Ryan has been excited for him to play soccer.

After talking to our rental tenants, who have one of their little boys in a soccer program/class at our local indoor center, we decided the time had come.

Of course, the class time for 2-3 year olds is Saturday mornings at 9am, so this meant choosing between taking Cam to gymnastics (which he loved!) and giving soccer a try.  We asked Camden which he would rather do - gymnastics or soccer, and I'm pretty sure he yelled his response.  Soccer.

In the few parent/child activities we have/had Cam involved in, I've always been the parent that participated with him.  I was personally very (repeat, very) excited to be able to sit on the bleachers and watch.  

The morning of the first class, Ryan said that it felt like Christmas Day because he had been waiting for this day for so long.  I don't typically swoon over too many things my husband says/does, but this day was totally swoon-worthy.

And this excited face?

If you sign up for an entire session, you get a uniform.  The first two classes we were able to go to (due to already paying for gymnastics and being out of town) was just considered a drop-in.  So, the little munchkin was the odd-ball out in his t-shirt and shorts.  He didn't care - he was just happy to be running free like a wild beast, kicking a ball, and spending time with his Daddy.

It's total chaos.  Imagine twelve (or so, I can't keep track of the ankle biters) little 2-3 year olds running around chasing balls.

We signed up for a new session, got the majorly oversized uniform, and had one proud (ahem, adorable) little man on our hands.

Hammy is definitely one of the younger kids in his little class and it shows sometimes.  He would much rather run around for the 50 minutes of class than take water breaks or sit in a line and listen to his coaches talk about the next drill.  "Skill" and coordination wise he blends in with the bunch, but if you see a little blue blur with blonde hair while everyone else is sitting in the goal -- it's probably the Camnado.

He loves to shoot a goal, put his hands up in the air and yell, "Gooooooal!" and then clap for himself. He also likes to try his hand at shooting the soccer ball as a basketball and rolling his body on top of the soccer ball.  Clearly, we have some work to do on the "no hands" concept.  Whatever he's doing - it's quite the entertaining sight.

See for yourself.

It's amazing (and a little frightening) to me to think about the years (and years) of soccer practices and games that lie ahead.

Take Luck,

LP 

My Mama Heart

My mama heart is full.

It's full of about 90% happiness and 10%... well, you know - big-ugly-crying-face-where-the-hell-did-the-last-(almost!)-six-months-go-and-why-is-my-baby-growing-up-so-fast sadness?!!!

These last two weeks especially have been full of milestones for our little man child.  And while all of these milestones are exciting and make me happy to know that he's growing and thriving... I can't help but feel a giant heap of sadness too.

I know I am not the first mama to feel this way - and certainly not the last.  But I would just like to say touché to everyone that told me how fast this all goes.

They.  Weren't.  Kidding.

In the past two weeks, Camden has decided that just laying and playing on the floor is boring.  Army crawling and scooting all about the living room is much more fun.

(That wasn't where I left him)

Around this same time, we thought we'd try giving him some rice cereal - just to see what he'd do.

Big fail.

Poor guy knew how to get it off the spoon but was pretty clueless how to 1) keep it in his mouth and 2) get it into the back of his mouth.

(I'm actually very OK with him not being ready for solids).  Shocking, right?

And finally, after a couple weeks of teething and watching his poor little baby gums get puffier and puffier...

His two bottom teeth poked on through on Tuesday while I was at work.

And, by the grace of God or other deity - Tuesday night he slept entirely through the night for the first time.  No matter that it hasn't happened again since.

So, you see what I mean?!  Change and progress is rampant in this household.

Just yesterday I messaged a friend about taking some 6-month pictures of Camden.  She is pretty busy this month and it won't work out (due to poor planning on my part) - so I suggested planning to take some around his 1st birthday... And I'm pretty sure I threw up in my mouth after I realized what I had just typed.

I'll be interested (OK, afraid) to see just how divided my mama heart is between happiness and big-ugly-crying-face-sadness when his 1st birthday comes.

Take Luck,

LP

Pregnancy Video

Our favorite world traveling friends, Tawny and Christopher (aka Captain & Clark) made us a pregnancy video.

Tawny and I met for coffee once before I was pregnant and I'm not sure if it was her idea or mine - but we decided that when Ryan and I got pregnant, they would try their hand at a pregnancy video for us.

I distinctly remember sending her a text to tell her that I was pregnant that said, "Let me know when you are home again.  'Cuz we got some work to do..."  I can't be sure because the conversation was over text messages, but I'm pretty sure she squealed in delight.

They came to our house five, maybe six times from July (just before we found out that we were expecting a boy) through December to film.

We filmed mostly in the kitchen and in the nursery in hopes of really getting a sense of the progression of the pregnancy.

Of course, I cried when we saw the finished product.

I hope you enjoy it!

Take Luck,

LP

Little Buddy

There's officially a new man in my life... At least until the one that's cooking in my belly makes his debut in December.

Liam's been in our lives since October - but he officially stole a piece of my heart last week.

During our vacation I oogled, hugged, kissed, played with, and spent as much time as I could with my new little buddy.  I am very happy to report (at least for mine and Ryan's sake) that he is comfortable around "strangers" and warmed up to us immediately.  Either that or he sensed how awesome his Uncle and Aunt are and just went with it.  We'll go with that.

I took advantage of playing with him on the floor, chasing him around the condo, feeding him, watching endless amounts of Bubble Guppies, changing diapers (or helping Cara wrangle the little monster while she was trying to change him), and sang him to sleep.  Twice*.

*Apparently he's a Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band fan.

He fell asleep on my chest while relaxing on the beach and I was seriously lounging on cloud nine.  Everyone kept asking me if I wanted them to take/move him and I kept assuring them that I was more than fine.  I may have used the word "heaven" in there a time or two. Plus he was close to his little cousin - who was apparently having a solo dance party in my belly and trying to get Liam to join.  After our snuggly nap time, he peed on me.  Now, that's love.

I think a part of me felt like I was somewhat making up for lost time (the last 11 months).  That or stocking up my Liam snuggles until we see him again in January.  Maybe both.

Cara and Ryan came up with the cutest little song to sing to Liam and his sweet little face lights up whenever they sing it.  It is seriously the cutest thing ever.

It goes something like this:

"Liam Daniel

Liam Daniel Webb (That's you!)

Liam Daniel

Liam Daniel Webb

He likes to eat

He likes to toot

He likes to poop

He likes to sleep

Liam Daniel Webb

He is our favorite little peep

Yeah!"

See for yourself.

I know that I am not biologically related to Liam, but I felt (and feel) love for this sweet and special little boy as if he were.  He is now my little buddy and I can't wait to watch him grow.

I tried to capture as much of his cuteness as possible - for both my sake and for Cara's.  So, lucky you - you get to see it too.

 

Take Luck,

LP

A Blonde Surprise

Yesterday I wrote how my Labor Day weekend was spent differently than I expected.  I think it's safe to say that it was spent differently than in my wildest dreams.  And if you've read my dream re-caps - you know that it means I can dream up some cray-cray* stuff.

*I've wanted to use "cray-cray" for the longest time and now that I've said it, I can move on.  Thank you.

So, I knew going into Saturday that Ryan was going to have a surprise for me to kick off the baby shower day.  Up until Saturday morning I hadn't really thought much about what the surprise might be - other than jokingly asking him if he was going to dress up as a giant baby and pop out of a cake at the shower.

Rach, Momma, and I had planned on going for a morning walk to start off the day.  We knew we'd be eating lots of yummy shower food in the afternoon, so why not give our metabolism a jump start?

We walked two laps (with Brock and Sonny) and as soon as we were finishing the second lap - both Mom and Rachel stopped walking and were talking quietly.  They then said, "We have to go.  Ryan has a surprise for you and it's ready.  So, we have to go."

Obviously, I was quite confused and clueless so we walked to the car and I tried asking what the surprise was.  Of course they weren't going to tell me so I started asking for hints and clues.  My first question was, "Is this surprise going to make me cry?" and they assured me it would not.

Upon arriving back at home (luckily it's a 2 minute drive), Rachel told me that we needed to go in through the garage.  So, we did and I immediately saw a note that had been stuck to the garage door.  I started giggling/laughing like an idiot and Rachel started filming.

The note told me that "...in order to show me how excited he is for our coming addition, he's done something special for me with the help of my family.  Don't ask questions, just follow the clues..." and my first stop was the microwave.

After the microwave I am sent to the couch, the refrigerator, the bathroom, the remote control, and then finally to the nursery door where my final clue was waiting.  The final note told me to "... open the door to reveal a surprise for me shower..."

After the craziness calmed, they all said they were worried that I knew.  But I assured them that because of the scream and the tears - they should know that I was 100% clueless.  There was no way that I could have faked that reaction.

Becky, Mom, Dad, Rachel, and Ryan started telling me all the details of the plan.  It'd been in the works for two months, and many a fiblet had been told by all of them to pull this off.  Those rascals.  My brain hasn't been as sharp lately (I think I have some sort of pregnancy-induced ADD) so I'm going to cut myself a little slack for not picking up on something.

It never even crossed my mind that a person might be my surprise.  I honestly thought that Ryan and my godfather, Frank, had built us a rocking chair for the nursery.  That was the most logical thing that I could think of and even that was a little far-fetched.

Two hours passed before my heart slowed down and I really started believing that Becky, one of my very best friends and college roommate was standing in our house.  In our house!  All the way from St. Louis!  The whole time she was here I just couldn't believe that I was standing/sitting there talking to her face-to-face.

It seemed like almost everyone at the shower knew that Becky would be there and I loved being able to introduce her after being asked, "Where's your surprise?!"

Sunday we spent the day in Seattle - taking a ferry over, walking through Pike Place Market and Seattle Center, and having lunch at Red Robin.

There was nothing that sounded better to us after that than to come home for dinner, and curl up to watch The Hunger Games.

Becky was flying out Monday afternoon so we went for a little scenic walk together in the morning, and then stopped for lunch at our favorite place/cafe - Panera Bread Co.  Panera was a staple in our college diet.

Did I mention that she packed and brought nearly all of the nursery wall decor that she made for the baby's room?  Yeah.

This was one of the greatest surprises ever and one that I most certainly will never, ever forget.  The amount of planning that she did and coordinating with my family and Ryan is seriously one of the nicest and most thoughtful things anyone has ever done.

She rocks.  I miss her already.

******

This is the full video that Rachel took while walking behind me during the scavenger hunt.  The video quality is really poor for some reason - but you can at least hear what is going on and see how things played out from my view.  Please ignore my moments of awkward and silly laughter.

Take Luck,

LP

Ew

I have been meaning/wanting to post this video for your viewing pleasure, and Sar's most recent prompt on embarrassing moments has given me great reason to do so.

I almost posted it at the end of my prompt response to Day 10, but didn't want to take away from my pants-wetting story.

I have watched this video many times and I die from laughter every time.

I now know the whole sketch and have "Ugh, it's my stepdad Gaaarrraaay" down pat.

Don't worry Sarah - I don't think H's are ew.

Please tell me you think this is as hilarious as I do.

Take Luck,

LP

Sharing the News

My favorite part of this new journey (so far) has by far been spreading the news.

It didn't (and it still doesn't) matter how I said it, but the more times I say it - the better it feels and the more fantastic I feel.

It usually comes out as: "I'm pregnant!" or "Ryan and I are pregnant!  Well, he's not but I am!"

You get the idea.

****

I found out I was pregnant on a Monday morning.  Ryan had gone off to work early and I was home alone to pee on a stick in solitude.

I barely took my eyes off the pregnancy test and those two little lines were instantly pink.

Holy crap.  Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.

I was in total shock and we had been trying!  It's not like this was a surprise, people!  Still, I knew our lives were changing (and in an amazing way) right in that second.

Of course, I wasn't going to call or text Ryan to tell him the news.  I was going to somehow manage to make it through what was sure to be the longest. day. ever. and tell my Hubby when he got home.


I had a big breakfast ceremony to attend with a bunch of people from work that morning and on the way there my mind was racing and I had this "They are going to see this news and my shock written all over my face!  They are going to know!" feeling.  Of course, no one had a clue.

I came up with a plan for telling Ryan.  He had started a new apprenticeship quarter that day and as far as he knew, I was taking his photo with a "good luck and work hard this quarter gift."  See for yourself.

Of course, we told our parents next.  Actually, our sisters knew before our parents.  Oops.

I had wanted to think of some fun and creative way to tell my sister, Rachel, but it just kind of came out like word vomit and it was totally uncool.  But that's totally me.

Ryan tried to be sneaky and call Webb to enlist his help in getting Danny, Chris, and Cara together for the big reveal.  The plan was foiled when Cara heard the whole conversation and demanded to know what was going on.  She had a feeling that 1) something was wrong, or 2) we were pregnant.  Funny how both sisters found out in totally boring ways.

It just so happened to be my parent's 31st wedding anniversary that week.  And we seriously could not have thought of a better gift in our wildest dreams.


Here they are posing with their "gift" for a 31st anniversary picture.  Apparently I'm good at disguising videos as photo opportunities?

It's best to watch this video twice.  Once to focus on my Dad's reaction and the other to focus on my Mom's.  Both are priceless and wonderful.  Why my Dad is yelling, "We're number one!  We're number one!" and howling is totally beyond me.


We had hoped to tell Ryan's parents (and Cara and Webb too) over the phone all at once or over Skype.  We decided that requesting a Skype date would be a little too obvious since Danny and Chris had just been visiting us a week prior*.

*Why, oh why those little lines didn't show up a week earlier is beyond me.  It would have been amazing to tell them face-to-face.  C'est la vie.

This year was going to be our year to spend Christmas and New Years in St. Louis.  So that was our angle, or gateway if you will, to tell them they would be grandparents again.


I think they knew something was up when one answered the phone and we asked if the other was there, and then told them to put it on speakerphone.  Anyway, Ryan said, "We just found out we won't be able to make it for Christmas this year."  Of course, they asked why not and Ryan simply responded, "Because Lauren is pregnant and we're going to have a baby in December."


Hoots and hollers erupted from the other side of the phone, so as far as we could tell they were very excited to hear the news.  Chris said she wasn't too surprised and assumed we would be sharing news of that nature in the near future.


****


I debated on when to start telling friends and extended family members.  I knew there were a few of my closest friends that I wanted to tell immediately, and I made a list of people that I wanted to tell personally after I reached the 12 week mark.  The exception here was Sarah who I met for coffee in May.  I knew that since I only see her twice a year - I had to take this opportunity to tell her in person.


Figuring out ways to tell people was fun, and most of the time I tried to slyly insert the news into conversation and see how long it would take people to realize what I had just said.


When I called Tiff to tell her, I started out by asking about her new job and their recent trip to Destin, Florida (we are taking a trip there in September).  She was telling me all about the jet-skiing, paddle-boarding, and dolphin-watching they had done when I said, "Well, I don't know if I'll be doing much of that myself since I'll be 7 months pregnant...."  It didn't take long for the words to click and the excitement explode.


When I called Becky (my college roommate), I figured she would answer and immediately say, "You're pregnant!" because we don't talk on the phone much.  We usually communicate through text.  Anyway, we talked for a minute and she asked what was new.  I said, "Not much.  You're going to be an Aunt in December and..."  Again, it didn't take long for her to understand what I was getting at and more excitement exploded.


I could go on and on (obviously).  Sharing the news has been really special and fun.  Everyone has been super excited and supportive.  And even if they weren't - at least they pretended to be!


I am starting to lose track of the number of friends who are pregnant and due around the same time.  It's crazy, but awesome to know there are a number of ladies who are all experiencing the same things as me.

Take Luck,

LP

Little People Wishes

While I was hanging with two of my favorite little people yesterday, Kennedy and Riley... I had an idea.

They love their Uncle Ryan, and since his birthday was on Friday - I thought he deserved a little "Happy Birthday" video.

While they were cooperating, I decided that their favorite Aunt Rachel needed a video too.  Poor Rachy has been really sick the last few days - so I hoped that this would help her... Even just a smidge.

It was so hard not to laugh because of all the cuteness.

They (especially Riley) didn't want to be filmed unless he could see himself on the phone.  Lucky for me, my handy iPhone has the camera switching capabilities.  I think we made four or five - including one dazzling rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the "ABC's"

Enjoy!  And just try not to laugh at these two.

Take Luck,

LP

Gingerbread Houses

I have been in somewhat of a blogging rut lately.

I've been participating in my weekly little link-ups which is all fine and dandy, but I just couldn't muster up any good writing material. Not saying that my previous entries have been good... But it was at least stuff that I felt was worth writing about.

I digress.

My brother and his family recently came back to the mainland from a four-month temporary duty at Pearl Harbor (jerks!). Josh and his lovely wife were going to a Christmas party on Friday night and asked if my little sister, Rachel and I would watch the kiddos while they enjoyed some adult time.

Duh.

When we arrived, the kids were doing what they do best.

Dancing to YouTube videos.

Both Kennedy and Riley love to sing and dance.  Riley can shake his booty like no other toddler I've seen.

Kennedy kept insisting on Lady Gaga videos, and after some deliberation - we decided that we could play the songs but would minimize the screen since most of her videos are weird and inappropriate for little tykes.  

I found Willow Smith's music video of "Whip My Hair" and Kennedy was not having it.  She kept saying, "I don't like this song."

So, Aunt Rachel and Aunt Lauren put their pony tails on the very top of their heads and began to "whip it."

Kenny started to like it more.  And then insisted that like her aunts, she wanted a high pony tail and to whip it too.

So we gave her one and she did.  But the pony didn't last long.

The music video ended and I bet you can guess what little miss was singing and bopping to.

Haley had bought two gingerbread house making kits - one for Mia and the other for (mostly) Kennedy. Riley could help but we knew his interest in the activity would fade fast. I don't know any almost-two year old who is any different. 

The last (and only) time that I decorated a gingerbread house was in 7th grade.  And I distinctly remember hating the experience because trying to put the house together was a seriously frustrating challenge, and then when trying to decorate it - the house would just fall apart again and I would have to start over.  Now (by the grace of God, I'm sure!), they have prefabricated gingerbread houses that are stur-dy and supply you with all the goodies necessary for decorating. 

So, after the dancing, we commenced the gingerbread house decorating.

I thought Kenny should wear a little apron since we were going to be playing with frosting and other sticky things, and she was happy to oblige.

She was so excited to get to decorate her house with the help of her Aunties.

Riley was eager to help.  And add to the mess and madness.

I had to keep scolding Kennedy and Riley for putting the candy in their mouths and not on the gingerbread house.  We certainly did not want to deal with the aftermath of a sugar rush.

The girls were really happy with the outcome of their houses - and Rachy and I were impressed.

Gingerbread house decorating took us right up to bedtime.

I am not afraid to admit that I used the Santa-card on Kennedy to get her to go to bed.  The conversation went something like this:

Aunt Lauren: OK, Kenny.  It's time to get in bed! Say goodnight to Aunt Rachy.

Kennedy: I don't want to go to bed.

Aunt Lauren: I know, kiddo but if you don't - you know who can't come see you in two nights!!

(Kennedy turns and looks at Aunt Rachel)

Kennedy: Goodnight.

She scooted her little booty into her bedroom, grabbed a book, was read said book, and we didn't see her for the rest of the night.

Mia only had to be told 23 times to get her jammers on and get into bed.  

Riley was fighting sleep like a mad-man but finally succumbed to the sandman when he and I got all snuggly on the couch together.  He even put his chubby little hand on mine just before falling asleep.

Serious heart melting.

Take Luck,

LP