Playdates!

I love it that Laurel is old enough to have friends. We have been doing playdates like crazy lately. At least one a week, but sometimes more. A great bonus is that us moms enjoy them too. It is great to get some adult interaction when you spend all day talking to a 2 year old. I like to watch Laurel with her little friends too. I have come to the conclusion that she is very bossy. She likes to tell everyone how to do everything.

One of the best playdates we had recently was with a mom and little girl whose parents and grandparents go to our church. They come visit every few months or so and we have been trying to get the girls together for awhile. We finally had a playdate at the Children's Museum and Carmen and I and Annley and Laurel totally hit it off. Carmen and I just talked about everything, but mostly about our girls (of course), being stay home moms, and her little baby boy who is due next month. The girls cooked in the play kitchen, colored, played with all the cool toys, and played tag. Laurel now likes to tell me, "tag you're it Mommy!" and "chase me!" I so wish the lived closer because the girls get along so great! They both love to talk and like to play the same things.

Of course, Laurel's best friend is Emily and her Mom, Connie, is one of my best friends. We get together with them at least once a week. The girls always scream in excitement whenever they see each other. It is so adorable. People are always stopping us and saying how cute the girls are together.

Here are Emily and Laurel at the park. Emily was tickling Laurel; how cute can you get?

At the Museum of Arts and Sciences. They love the monkeys and the balls!

A great place for playdates is at Barnes and Nobles. The girls love to play with the train table, read books, and play with the stuffed animals. They have story time on Fridays too!

My good friend from college came to visit during Christmas break. Her son, Cale, and Laurel are only a couple days apart. She has a new little baby girl who is so cute. Shannon and I had so much fun catching up and after Laurel got used to sharing her toys, so did the kids.
Laurel's friend from church, Hank, came over for a playdate for the first time so his Mimi could go shopping. They played together so great that I didn't even have to do anything. I could get used to that! They played trains and chased each other around the house. They were adorable!

My best friend from elementary and middle school just found me on facebook. I was so excited to get back in touch with her and find out she has three girls! We got together and had so much fun catching up while the girls played. Her middle girl and Laurel are only a few months apart. I love it how toddlers can meet and be best friends in 5 minutes.

I'm enjoying all the friends that Laurel is making and we are looking forward to more fun playdates!