Back in the saddle...

I am horrified and yet unsurprised to find that it's been over a year since I updated this blog. I have this tendency to start things and not finish them and I'm afraid I've let this be one of them.

It's too bad, really, since this last year has been one of great change for us. On January 6th, to our great shock and amazement, we found out that we were expecting another baby. On September 8th, Andrew John Schumacher graced us with his presence and we've never quite been the same since. He's a sweet, lovey baby and we all are nuts about him. Watching Lauren become a big sister has been the most incredible experience: they've had this bond from day one that just can't be replicated in any other relationship. She's been a huge help and has never once acted jealous. We lucked out.

More about that in another post. First, a catch up of all the wonderful things Lauren's been up to in the last year. We traveled to NC for Christmas and in April went to Tennessee and Kentucky to visit family. Otherwise, we've just been busy at home. She continued to take ballet until the summer and then opted to start taking soccer. There's no sign yet of any incredible Pele-like talent, but she's having a great time and is learning some good skills. She is now on her third session of swim lessons and is doing really well. In the last few classes it's really clicked and she now puts her ears, forehead, AND eyes in with abandon. I'm hoping she'll be promoted to the next level soon.

Right now, she's all a-twitter about Christmas. Last year, she got it to the extent that she knew who Santa was and that there would be presents and seemed pretty excited about it. This year, she's taken it to a whole new level. She asks me multiple times a day when it's going to be Christmas and when we'll be getting out the decorations. No answer seems to satisfy her and unfortunately, she doesn't seem to understand how months and days work just yet, so I can't get her to understand that we still have a way to go. Tomorrow I'm taking her and Andrew to meet Santa, so we'll see how that goes. Strangely, she hasn't really gotten swept up in the whole gift-getting, commercial aspect of Christmas. She doesn't have a list of things she wants, unlike many kids I know. She's learned about the "reason for the season" in Sunday School but doesn't seem too convinced about that either. Frankly, I'm not sure just what she thinks the holiday is about, but she likes it. As long as it has lights and special cartoons, she likes it.

One cute thing she said the other day was a couple of days after we spent a whole car trip making up songs about "Lauren the pink-nosed reindeer." Evidently, her nose is sparkly and has hearts and butterflies. Andrew's is yellow, but I don't think it has any extra. Anyway, as I was getting her out of the car, she wedged herself in front of me and said, "Follow my nose!" Sometimes her memory for things astounds me.

One thing about the last year: Lauren has definitely decided what she likes and what she doesn't. Lauren has developed an obsession with construction and, more specifically, the television shows on HGTV starring Mike Holmes. She just seems fascinating with "building" and all the processes that go into it. She was even a "builder" for Halloween, with a pink Mike Holmes crew t-shirt, a pink hard hat, and a pink tool belt. Between that and the incredibly complex, symmetrical things she builds out of blocks, I'm thinking she might be headed for a career in engineering.

She also likes, in no particular order:
Bob the Builder
Dinosaur Train
That commercial for State Farm with the "discount double check" where the cheesehead bangs on the window
Chicken nuggets
Corn dogs
Telling us, "I win and you lose." We're trying to let her know that a) that's not sportsman-like and b) you have to be competing at something to win and lose. The concept is lost on her.
Her Skechers shoes that light up
The stories of Richard Scarry
Her baby brother - I'll dedicate a whole other post to that
Being a drama queen - ditto
"Designers" aka Project Runway
Telling me we need to go to Subway or Little Caesars
Same with Starbucks for her "chocolate coffee" (I swear, we don't eat out that much; she just remembers everything)
Headbands
Running, especially if she can "win" (see above)
Winnie the Pooh
Complaining that the dog is bothering her (they usually are)
Snuggling
Cranberry-Raspberry juice
Using her hands to eat veggies (I swear, I try to get her to eat with a utensil like a normal human not raised in a barn)
The iPad, especially for Angry Birds and "The Monster at the End of the Book"
Really any pop music
Blowing bubbles
The color pink

I think that's the basics, but it's by no means a comprehensive list. She definitely knows what she likes and what she doesn't!

That's enough of a year-in-review for now. Next up: Lauren and her baby brother!