Long Time Promise Fulfilled

She looks so scared. I kept telling her that she did not have to do this but she kept saying she wanted to.

Marking the ears. That was interesting because I realized that Lauren's ears are not the same. So one side would like higher then the other but really it was just because her ears are different.

They had to mark and erase and mark again and again and again.

A few weeks later. I have been trying to get a good picture of her earrings but as usually Lauren does not like to cooperate. I think I might have taken a few too many pictures and she is just tired of it.

When Lauren had her hair accident we talked about how it will grow back but that it might take a little while. I kept reassuring her that she is still a very pretty little girl. Of course during those first few days if she could have asked for anything I would have given it to her. (She did get a few things out of me!) Of course one of those things that she asked for was to get her ears pierced. At first I said no but later I told her that because of what she went through if she really wanted to get them pierced then she could. I had wanted her to wait until she was 10 but I figured if she went through the pain of having so much hair pulled out she deserved it.

We had to wait until after cheerleader season was over because they are not allow to compete with earrings in. So a few weeks ago we went to the mall to get her ears pierced. We went one night but there was only one young lady working in the store and everyone warned me to have both ears done at one time. So we went back during the weekend and got them pierced when there was two young ladies working and they did them at the same time. She was so scared but wanted to do it. I did not get any pictures of the actual piercing because she was sitting on my lap. We bought some other earrings and she wants to wear them so bad. I explained that she has to keep these in for 8 weeks and then she can put in other ones. Everyday she asks if she can put in new ones now. She looks so cute and grown up with her cute little pink flower earrings.

I talked with her doctor about getting them pierced and he was fine with it and didn't think it was a big deal. He told me just to go to the mall that they do a fine job and they are very careful.

Hair Update #4

13 weeks after the accident.

9 weeks after the accident.

6 weeks after the accident.

3 weeks after the accident.

3 days after the accident.

It has been just over 3 months since the accident. It is growing in but as the doctor stated when it happened, "it is going to take a while".

I read a story about a little girl who was playing on a treadmill and fell off and got her hair caught in the belt. According to the story she also had a lot of hair pulled out by the roots. (It sounds a lot like Lauren's accident.) The mother of this little girl stated that it took about 9 months to fill in the bald spot. If that holds true for Lauren then we are about 1/3rd of the way there. I am seeing progress. As I have stated many times it is baby steps but it looks like we have taken a few more these last 4 weeks.

Easter

The Easter basket is ready for Lauren to wake up.

Lauren, just out of bed, looking in her Easter basket.

My beautiful Easter girl.

Ready for church.

Spinning and twirling.

Lauren with her older cousins, Blaire and Elaine. I have taken a picture of these three every Easter since I got Lauren. I will do a post with all of them in the next few weeks. It is fun to look back on how much they have grown up.

The cousins. (missing the California boys.)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Easter was a very full day. We started the day with Lauren's Easter basket. Lauren was so excited to see what was in her basket and her favorite thing was the chocolate bunny. She wanted to eat it first thing this morning.

We then went to my brother's home for breakfast and to go to church. Of course we had to get the pictures. I take a ton of pictures of Lauren but it seems that our Easter pictures never come out that great. I love the pictures with all the cousins and those came out great.

After church we had the egg hunt and then a great lunch. It was a really fun and nice Easter. It is always nice to celebrate with family. Usually my sister from California comes out at Easter time but this year her and her family were not able to make it. We missed them. It was not the same without them.

April 12 is the day my mother died 16 years ago. The year she died it was also Easter weekend. It is so hard to believe that she has been gone for that long. My father has now been gone for almost 3 years. Holiday's makes me miss them so much. It is not the same without them. I wish my mom could have seen all her grandchildren. She wanted them so bad and only got to see one of them before she died. She would have loved to see them doing the egg hunt and just enjoying each other. It is wonderful to know we will all be together again in heaven someday. Easter is the perfect time to remember that promise.

Annual Egg Hunt

After Church we had the annual egg hunt. As we have done for the past many years, we assigned each kid a different color egg and they had to find that color egg only. This allows us to hid the eggs based on the age and ability of each child and not worry about the older kids getting all the eggs. Each child gets to find the same amount of eggs.

This year Lauren wanted to find the purple eggs. They hid them a bit harder than last year and Lauren had to really search for them. It is a fun annual event. Sammie loved it that she kept wanting to do it again and again.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Working hard to decorate the eggs.

Lauren and Sammie coloring eggs.

The whole group.

The end results.

Saturday Lauren and I went to my sister's home to color Easter eggs. This year we added a lot of fun items to help decorate the eggs. We has glitter, yarn, eyes, and etc. It was fun to see how creative the kids got.

They all had a great time and we even ran out of eggs. They would have done them all night if there was more eggs. It was a nice way to start the Easter weekend.

Palm Sunday

I love Easter time. I love that everyone start to wear Spring colors and flowers are starting to bloom. I love that it is warm but not too hot (yet). I love dying eggs, the egg hunt and everything else that happen with Easter. Today was Palm Sunday and Lauren and I went for a walk before going to church. So, as usual I took some pictures of Lauren.

Lauren is a really funny kid. She says a ton of funny things and she likes to make people laugh but she is not a really smiley kid. She tends to have a more serious look most of the time. I took these pictures while she was walking on a ledge. She has always been and still is a very cautious child. So she was watching very closely where she was going. That is her. When I look at these pictures I think they capture her so well. I am still amazed that I am the mother of such a beautiful little girl.

Happy Birthday Sammie!!

Birthday Girl.

Enjoying the HUGE cupcake.

Eating the cupcake or the frosting.

Today we celebrated Sammie's 3rd birthday. She had a friend and family party at her house. It was a wonderful day and everyone had a great time. I can't believe that Sammie is 3 year old.