Lauren's First Camp

Lauren had her first chance to participate in Vacation Bible Camp last week and she seemed to have a wonderful experience.  She has been to a few "camps" before, but they were always Mommy and Me camps.  I must admit, there were a few tears in my eyes when I dropped her off the first day.  Her days were spent singing, playing, listening to stories from the Bible, playing games, and of course enjoying a few snacks.  

Annie and I really enjoyed our special time together as well.  It's amazing how different she is when Lauren's not around.  She LOVED having me all to herself and kept talking and singing away.

There was a performance for the parents Thursday evening.  Geoff was able to leave work a bit early and drive the long distance to be there to watch Lauren as well.  (This camp happened to be about 45 minutes from our house.  It was very difficult to find a drop-off camp for 3 year olds and I have a friend who lives in this area.)

As you can see, Lauren was quite excited to perform!  She still walks around the house singing some of the songs she learned and saying things she must have learned from camp.  Some very cute and others not so much like, "gross!"

"If You're Happy and You Know It, Shout Amen!"

Pillow Fights, Potato Heads, and a First Haircut

 

Geoff and the girls have found a new way to "calm" down before bedtime.  PILLOW FIGHTS!  It all started when I purchased some pillows for Lauren's new wicker reading bench in her room.  I was really just trying to make a more comfy place for reading, but hey if these pillows are working for other entertainment as well, I'll take it!

Annie has been so interested in Mr. Potato Head recently.  She has difficulty putting the pieces in the "correct" places, but that makes her creations very funny.  Amazing how this has really helped her vocabulary increase as well.

One evening last week I was making dinner and Lauren wandered into the kitchen and said,  "Look what I just made!"  This little guy made me laugh so much.  I guess she is enjoying Annie's Potato Head obsession as well.

I always said I wasn't going to take my girls to the little kid haircut places.  I figured they would be fine at a regular hair salon.  Well, I was really at a loss with Annie's hair.  I talked with my mom and a few friends about it and they recommended taking her to a place like this just to help with the little girl haircut.  So I broke down yesterday and brought Annie for her first haircut.  Notice she is holding her baby while sitting in the police car?  Babies go everywhere with us now.  

She did a great job sitting still the entire time and loved getting sprayed with the water.  The fact that Toy Story was on the TV with Mr. Potato Head might have helped as well!

New Set of Wheels

Upon realizing our family is growing, well I guess we figured that one out about 9 months ago, we knew we needed more space for another car seat.  After meeting random car salesmen at bars (more on that in a bit), researching, test driving, and debating we finally purchased a new set of wheels - a white Honda Odyssey.  

The salesmen story - One time last spring while the girls and I were back in Michigan visiting family, Geoff went out to grab a bite to eat.  The wait for a table was too long, so he just decided to eat in the bar area.  While there he overhead some men talking and determined they were car salesmen.  After a bit of chatting, one of the guys told him whenever we are ready to buy our new van to come his way and he would give us a great deal.  Well, he followed through with his word and gave us a deal we could not refuse.     

   Lauren giving our old car a good bye hug.  She still asks what happened to that car and when we see cars that look the same on the road, tells me that someone must have bought our old car and there it is.

On our way to the beach in the new van.  (Thanks to Chad for the fantastic photo work)

Another Reason Why I LOVE This House

We spend so much time out on our new patio.  There is a fire pit in the lower right corner of this photo, which we haven't used too much because of the heat and dry conditions, but we spent at least 3 hours just sitting out on our new furniture and chatting the other evening.  Notice the girls' bikes in the background?  There is plenty of room for them to ride on the patio, as well as in the driveway and front sidewalk.  We have certainly done a great job of eating meals outside too.  The table is on the other side, over by the grill.  Some of our new neighbors even came over and shared a pizza dinner with us as a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift.

Hot Fun in the Summer

Even though it's been ridiculously hot around here the past few weeks, we have done our share of getting out and beating (maybe bearing with it, is a better way to put it) the heat.

Last Saturday we joined some friends for a Ralph's World concert at Ravinia.  The girls LOVED singing and dancing together.

                                      

Lauren and Annie discovered they can both ride on our tire swing together.  Oh and of course Lauren has a baby with her.  Lately both girls have been carrying babies with them everywhere.  We even take their toy strollers out on walks around our new neighborhood.  I hope their love for babies continues...

Classic shot of Annie with two HUGE pieces of watermelon in her hands.  I have never seen anyone eat so much watermelon so quickly.  She doesn't even let me cut it for her these days.  She just grabs the pieces off the plate and gobbles them up.  Guess that's her way of staying cool and hydrated!

4th of July

Daddy and Lauren at the Highland Park 4th of July Parade

Our little patriots

What a wonderful 4th of July we had as a family!  The day started with a fantastic parade in Highland Park with lots of bands and candy.  The girls did plug their ears and Annie held my hand when all the trucks with sirens went by.   It was hot out in the sun, but we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Then we went to a delicious BBQ at our friends, Amanda and Alan's house.

After an afternoon of napping by all 4 Hansons, we packed up and left for Lake Forest's 4th of July celebration.  Our new neighbors invited us so we joined them and a few other families to hear Kenny Loggins and watch the fireworks.  Not only was there a beautiful sunset right before the fireworks, but the moon rose with a golden hue as the fireworks were lighting up the sky.  Even though the heat was more than reasonable, all four of us thoroughly enjoyed our day together.  I believe Geoff's exact quote was, "What a thoroughly satisfying day!"

5 am Wake Up

About a week ago Geoff and I enjoyed a wonderful evening relaxing at Ravinia while listening to Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Callat.  When we were eating dinner I explained to Geoff that I am really starting to get anxious about this new little bundle coming sooner rather than later.  

Well, those anxieties didn't go away at all last week, in fact they only become stronger.  While talking with my mom and a few friends, I seriously stated that I am not ready for this baby any time before September (Aug 9th is my due date).  I guess I feel like the girls and I are in a great place right now and have a really great daily schedule going.  All of this will change immediately with the addition of this little one.  

At the same time, we are not ready for a new baby.  Until this morning we didn't have a car seat and we still don't have a crib for this baby to sleep in.  Last Friday I woke up a 5 in the morning freaking out about everything that should be done before the baby is born.  Thank goodness for my friend, Laura who had the latest version of the Baby Bargains book and helped me with some car seat questions early in the morning.  I was able to calm down after I determined the best car seat for us and feel even better now after we made a family trip to Babies R Us to pick up a car seat.  

Then, as I was looking through some old photos I found these pictures of Lauren and Annie when they were just days old.  Who could resist such adorable little faces?  With all that being said, I am really looking forward to finding out if Lauren and Annie will have a little brother or sister.  And cuddling with a tiny baby is one of the best feelings in the world.  Ready or not, we will have a lovely addition to our family within the next month and we can't wait to meet this new little Hanson.    

Newborn Lauren

Newborn Annie

4 and a half weeks left...