Laura at a Glance

Laura gets a lot of flack for being a menace, strong-willed, etc. etc. But when I stop and think about it, she's a pretty accommodating kid. She spends hours in the car every day and is always more than willing to do so. She happily rides in the stroller every day. She willingly goes down for her naps and bedtime every single time. She even loves to have her diaper changed (in fact, I harbor not-so-secret hopes that she will potty train early and easily). For the most part, we ask her to adapt to our family lifestyle, and she does.

So what do her days look like? She wakes up early, which is annoying on weekends but works pretty well with our weekly carpool schedule. She greets me every morning by saying, "Breakfast! Dressed!" Laura really likes her meals and her clothes. She likes me to put a bow in her hair and a bib on her for meals, and these are all things she can now communicate verbally.

Sometimes she spends the morning with James, pictured below, and Misty, the Bergstroms' awesome nanny who is also my book club friend. We also attend music class with James, and another neighbor Emma. You can see why we are often asked if James and Laura are twins.

Other social occasions often involve Jane, the youngest of our carpool's family:

Laura asks to go outside every day, multiple times. Lately she is literally a tree hugger.

I used to joke that the only time Danny, as a toddler, was happy to play by himself was when he needed to poop. This is sometimes also true of Laura, but recently she has taken to spending time by herself in the playroom...with markers. This does not get old for her, and as they are washable I am more than happy to indulge her in this.

She asks several times a day where Danny, Clare, and Daddy are, and is definitely happy to see them when they return home. We both enjoy interacting with others, too, and running errands - I truly think she gets afflicted with cabin fever as much as I. Still, I think we're pretty comfortable in our time together. And as soon as I stop and think about what she was like a year ago, I realize yet again how quickly that time is flying by.