UhOh...I Guess The Ivy League Is Now Out of the Question...

Well, our fiery little one got sent to the "principal's office" for the first time on Friday. According to the incident report they sent home with her and the lead teacher's re-telling of the story, Lauren has a tendency to "pat" at the babies faces in her classroom. She's not trying to hurt them when she hits them, she just doesn't get "gentle touch" quite yet...and she swatted (again, in a happy way) at Coleman's face. Apparently he didn't like it and swatted back, scratching the heck out of her face in the process (see below). He's around the same age and size, so I am sure it was a moment to see. They said she bawled like crazy! Todd said, "That'll teach her not to hit..." Oh boy!

Last night following the "incident":


And, again this morning after it had healed a tad:

So...ya think we are going to have our hands full with this little girl???

Date Night/Practice Parenting

Saturday night Todd and I had a wedding reception to go to, so Uncle Jamie and Aunt Stephanie (Todd's childhood friends who are expecting their own bundle of energy...i mean joy! on April 15th --MY birthday for those keeping track) agreed to babysit for us. Lauren loves to go to their house because they have a jack russell terrier named Lexie that makes her squeal with utter delight! When Stephanie answered the door Lauren's whole face lit up, as if to say, "THIS is where I am going tonight? You never told me we were driving to THEIR house. YAY!".

From all reports she was a super great baby for them. She tentatively petted Lexie, bopped her on the head and pulled her ears (we are still working on "gentle touch"). She read parenting magazines with Stephanie--- for Lauren that means tearing off the covers and crinkling the pages. And she went to bed for them like a champ! We can't wait until we can return the favor for their soon-to-arrive little girl! :)

Looking back in the archived posts, it appears as though this is the only pair of pajamas the child has. They are just the warmest, softest pair she has, and with Winter Watch 2008 last weekend, we had to keep her bundled up as we transported her about town. Thanks Nana for the best St. Nicholas Day gift for her. She's certainly getting her wear of them! XOXO.

Lauren in the Snow- Part 3

Here our snowoman stands near the biggest snowball she's ever seen...and she's seen NONE before! :)

Lauren in the Snow- Part 2

More of our Snow-capades last weekend...

Lauren in the Snow- Part 1

We took Lauren outside to experience her first snowfall. The snowflakes on her face made her giggle! The poor kid can barely move her arms in her coat...she's like a big pink marshmallow-y snowman!!

Checkin' It All Out...

Lauren and Todd watch out our front window as the Winter Wonderland Part Deux unfolds in our front yard Saturday morning. It sounds silly to many of you in places where you get snow more than once every three years or so...but it was pretty exciting down here. Twice in one week--- unheard of!

Winter Wonderland

We got less than 4/10 of an inch of snow in Atlanta last night-- the most in 3 years! Of course the news called it Winter Watch 2008! Some schools are cancelled in the more northern counties, but not for the Birthday Boy Todd. Haha. The roads when I drove home from grad school last night were wet, but not super slick. Here is a picture from our front porch:

A Little Bedtime Story

And So...our little Ladybug had a brief pit stop into the land of not sleeping well starting the 12th of December. She could only fall asleep in our arms...she would cry hysterically when we'd put her down (even from a dead sleep!)...she would wake up in the night screaming until we'd pick her up. Total nightmare for the two parents, as she had been sleeping 11+ hours a night since, oh, May. And, to make matters worse (but the parents functional!), we were bringing her to bed with us for the second half of the night, vs. dealing with the hysteria. Well, after one week at Mimi's she was back on track and we could even lay her down, like before, just drowsy and she'd play quietly, or just go right to sleep, depending on the day. And, she was sleeping 12 hours a night (YAYAYAYAYAY!). Well, last night she was really fidgety, so we decided it was definitely bed time. She started to fuss for about, literally, 3 seconds--- not even a full shout out. When we went in to check on her later, this is what we found:

Tri-Deltas: Please note the pansy pajamas... :)

Apparently, while trying to sit up, she just got YAWN! a tad.... sleepy....and...just........decided........to.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!



Thankfully our laughter did not wake the sleeping princess. Perhaps a little too much New Year?!?!


The End.

Happy New Year!

I trust that all my blog-watchers had a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We kept it pretty quiet around here. The extent of our hoopla was a Sam's Club run earlier in the day, then a trip to Walmart for a specific kind of sippy-cup that Miss Lauren will actually use (thanks for the tip, Aunt Lisa!). Seriously...that was all we really did. Todd and I watched the final of the three Bourne movies-- he got a rockin' box set of the trilogy from my parents for Christmas. Then we went to bed. I believe the entire Marschke clan was asleep by 10:15 pm. Todd's been sick with a sinus infection, Lauren is on a no-holds barred sleep routine that we are hesitant (and unwilling) to disrupt. SO there you have it. An exciting start to 2008!

Yes, that is Miss Lauren HOLDING HER OWN BOTTLE (YAY!!!)

Today, Sicky slept until 12:30 or so. Lauren and I had a pretty basic morning routine: bottle, play, food, play, diaper, nap, then again. Ahhh, the joy of it! She and Todd watched some college football while we are waiting for the Sugar Bowl to begin (Hey! Did you know you can't spell sUGAr without UGA? Just some Univ. of GA humor for all you Big 10 fans out there. Teehee!).

2007 certainly was a mixed bag for us, but looking at our biggest blessing in the last year as she grows, learns, and amazes us daily, makes all the valleys of the year pale in comparison. Our greatest wish for all our loved ones, near and far, is for a happy, healthy, and blessed 2008.

Love,
Kate. Todd. and Lauren