Pinkalicious Dinner

Last week, when Grandma and Grandpa Hanson came to help us with the three little girls, Lauren, Caroline, and I had a chance to go to a special Pinkalicious dinner, while Annie enjoyed some one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Lauren and her favorite storybook character, Pinkalicious

What's a Pinkalicious dinner without a pink cupcake?

Storytime with Pinkalicious herself

 Here are a few other photos of life at our house lately.

Caroline's favorite place to nap.

Geoff took Lauren and Annie to the farmer's market via the Burley.  Sounds like all three of them really enjoyed the ride, as well as all the treats at the market.  Don't worry Annie, we'll get you a helmet too!

Week 1 Observations

1.  They all start out so small.

 

2.  Lauren's calm nature has been a huge help.

3.  We were all so glad to have one more week of the Olympics to help keep everyone entertained.

4.  The "girls just want to have fun!"

5.  Our first family outing went really well, thanks to Mammie's help.  Lauren was at another bible camp all week and they hosted a concert and ice cream social Thursday evening.  It sure was amusing watching us all pile into the van.

6.  Tummy time is much easier when my big sisters read to me.

7.  Cuddle time after the bath is much more enjoyable than bath time.

8.  My big sisters really tire me out!

9.  A HUGE thank you to Daddy and Mammie for being such wonderful helpers to Mommy all week.  Three on three made our first week at home much easier than anticipated.

10.  Better say it while I still can, I LOVE having three little girls in the house.  (We'll see what I think when I look back at this blog post in 15 years.)

Welcome Baby Caroline

Hi!  I'm Caroline Jean and I was born on Friday, Aug. 3rd at 8:20pm.  I have sparkly blue eyes like my biggest sister Lauren, but look a lot like my big sister Annie and Daddy.So happy to have another little girl!  Can you tell it only took three pushes for little Caroline to enter this world?  A bit easier than when Lauren was born.

One proud big sister.  Lauren loves holding Caroline and does such a great job of getting diapers and pacifiers for her little sister.

Lauren and Annie checking out their little sister.

 We are so blessed to have three happy and healthy little girls, not to mention so many family members and friends who have already been around to meet and help us with our growing family.  All of Caroline's grandparents were able to come meet and visit her at the hospital, as well as spend special time with Lauren and Annie.  Some of my friends made it to the hospital to visit with us as well.  My only complaint, is that the hospital wouldn't let us stay longer.  They said we were too easy as patients.

Thank goodness Geoff and Mammie are able to be with us this week at home.  An equal number of adults and kids in the house makes things easier.  We are so happy to have Caroline as the newest member of our family.

Lake County Fair

Last Sunday, we made a trip over to the Lake County Fair.  Mammie and Papa were in town helping us get ready for Baby Hanson by putting together furniture, cleaning the house and taking the girls off my hands for a little bit.  After such a busy work day on Saturday, we decided to have some fun on Sunday.  What's a summer without at least one visit to the fair?

Annie LOVED all of the animals, especially the roosters.  

This cow was GIANT.  If Geoff would have let her, I really think Annie wanted to pet him.

The rides were Lauren's favorite.  She remembered this one from last year and couldn't wait to ride again.

Annie's first carnival ride.  She wasn't too sure at first, but seemed to enjoy the ride a bit more toward the end.

Prego Kate enjoying ALL of the fair food.  I closed out my meal with this elephant ear, after already eating a corn dog, french fries, part of Papa's salad (yes, Papa did eat a salad at the fair), and a root beer float.  No wonder I gained a few pounds this week!

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)