Photo Shoot

We did a fun photo shoot today after gymnastics and the library at Rose Hill where Matt and I had our engagement pictures taken. A girl from my church is going to school to earn her degree in photography and wanted to add some children to her portfolio. Of course anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE pictures so I was all game. Laurel was not as game as me since it was close her her nap time, but Mckensie managed to get some really cool shots of her that really show off her personality and charm. I was very impressed with her skills, especially since Laurel is a very hard subject to capture since she NEVER stays still. Here are a few of my favorites...

First Gymnastics Class!

Laurel had her first gymnastics class today. I have been wanting to do something like this with her forever, but she just got old enough to do it this past month. She has so much energy and loves to jump and climb and basically just throw her body around which can be pretty dangerous if you are not in a padded room!

I put her leo on at home and she kept running her hands over the velvet and saying "cute". We got in the car for the 15 minute trip and I kept saying "We are going to gymnastics; are you excited?" and she kept saying "yeah, yeah!" She was so excited when we got there to see her friend Emily was in her class too.

We got inside and put our shoes in the cubby holes. Laurel wanted to go into the gym area right away. She was so excited and could see all the cool stuff. She kept pointing and saying "please" and pulling on my hand. She did not understand my explainations that we had to wait until class started to go in! We met the other kids and parents while we waited and Laurel was happy to be around other kids as usual. I discovered that Laurel is the youngest in her class (like always). The other kids are all closer to two, but Laurel was taller than all of them though!

Finally (after 5 minutes, but it must have seemed like a long time to Laurel) we were able to get into the gym. The teacher asked the kids to sit on a circle and I thought "uh oh". For those of you who don't know, Laurel does not sit. Of course she surprised me and sat right down on her little circle and followed all of the teachers directions! She waved her scarf and patted her knees and put her legs in a "butterfly".

Then we got in a train behind the teacher and followed her to the first play area which had a barrel to climb through, bars, a slide, things to climb on, a trampoline, and balls to throw in a bucket. Laurel was in seventh heaven! She mostly wanted to do the slide over and over, but she tried and liked everything. After a few more stations we went to the balance beams, which Laurel did not do so well on for two reasons: number one - Laurel did not want me to help her at all and number two - she wanted to run on them! She did manage to do it a little by herself and had a good time. That's all that matters right? I don't know where she gets her "I want to do everything myself" attitude, oh wait from me!

At the end of class she got on the big trampoline with Matt for a few minutes and she just went crazy jumping. She was very sad to leave. All day I kept asking her if she had fun at gymnastics and she would just say "whee!" Hope that was a yes! Here are some pictures of her first class (and a special thanks to Matt who took off an hour from work to come and take these pictures!).

Laurel and her friend Emily before class started.

Asking me "please" to go into the gym!

Following directions during circle time!

Swinging on the bars.

Her favorite part: THE SLIDE!

More following directions. They were suppose to touch their feet up to our hand.

Rolling!

Ready for more!

Forward rolls with Daddy!

I did it! Look at that happy face.

The balance beam (she let me help her for a second!)

Walking by herself on the beam!

So our first class went great and we are ready for next week!

Fun at the Lake

We have been to the lake several times this summer. Every time we go Laurel just has a wonderful time. She LOVES the water, she LOVES the waves, she LOVES the playground, she LOVES the sand, and she LOVES the ducks, she LOVES the other kids. What more could a girl ask for? I don't usually bring my camera to the beach, but here are a few cute shots of Laurel from our lake trips.

In case you can't tell, she is eating the bread instead of throwing in to the ducks!

First Time in Nursery

Laurel's first time in nursery came just two days after she turned 18 months. Matt and I were so excited to be able to go to class again after months of standing in the hall with her! I was not quite sure how she would react since she is rarely away from me. We took her into the nursery and she walked right in and started dancing.

Then she found the toy cabinet and pulled out almost all the toys.

She was playing happily so Matt and I made our exit. I heard her say, "Mommy?" a few times and then nothing. Matt and I went to Sunday school and were able to actually sit in class together for the first time in forever! We just kept looking at each other and grinning and saying, "Man this is nice!".

Laurel stayed in the nursery for the entire time and behaved very well according to her teacher. She was happy to see us after class and ran outside and started playing like she always does after church.

My sweet baby is getting all grown up!