All is well at 126 Generals Pl

Last week we took Laura (and Claire) to her 18 month check-up. Claire was so concerned that Laura was going to get a shot. While we were waiting in the waiting area, Laura was running around having fun, but as soon as we went to room to see the nurse and doctor, she froze up. Well, she is in the 95th percentile for height and 10th percentile for weight, meaning she is tall, skinny and delicious like a beverage from starbucks.

Laura's vocabulary has continued to explode over the last 2 weeks. Lynn and I probably read 10 books to her everyday. I bet she knows about 100 words (between English and Spanish) Next to mastering potty training, the development stage Laura is at is probably my favorite thus far. Luzma is working on the potty training. And the stairs. She's figured them out (at least the up part) and insists on going up without any help.

And our girls play so nicely together. Claire is an incredible big sister, always sharing with Laura (especially after we tell her to share). I took them to the bounce house today and they played together the whole time. We are so blessed.

Going home...

or should I say, went home? to catch up on last 6 week, here's a recap. Our 5 hour flight to Seattle combined with Laura's crankiness, was making us consider driving home. Poor thing was in discomfort with her leg in a cast and ears that couldn't pressurize. It was a miserable flight. After spending the night at Andy and Keely's in Seattle, we drove to Kamloops. What was normally a 5.5 hour drive took nearly 8. We started to reconsider our reconsideration of driving home to Atlanta.

But the flight and drive were worth it as we all finally met Theo. He is beautiful. Here is a photo of Theo I stole from my brother's blog (which is updated more regualrly than ours - give them a few years). You can read his blog here. You forget how small and precious babies are, until they poop and you need to change the diaper. Anyway, the girls enjoyed spending time with their new cousin. Laura was still in her cast and she crawled around saying "baby" while pointing to Theo. We also spent time with our cousins Sam and Alex Gurney, though they are a few years older than the girls. We also had fun with her friends Sue, Mike and their son Christopher (we went to New Brunswick with them 5 years ago for a vacation).

Our week at home was full of activities with Uncle Paul, Auntie Taya, Theo and Lola. We rode a train, went to the BC Wildlife Park, ate lots of food, and played together in the park. We want to thank everyone back home for an awesome visit and We are hoping everyone comes to our house for Christmas! Here are some photos from our trip home.

Once we returned home (the flight was much better this time around), Laura got her cast removed much to our relief.

Next we were off to Maine for 10 days with Grammy and Grampy. Surprisingly, we had lobster only once while we were there. Even more surprising, Claire loved the beach. Yes, it only took 4 trips to Maine, but Claire finally played in the sand and water. We built sand castles together and walked along the beach. Of course, for Laura, the sand and water were no big deal. The hardest part of the trip was the time the sun rose (around 4:30am), which is when the girls would get up - meaning one of us would get up too.

We also went to the carnival at Old Orchard Beach , Claire rode on many of the rides, some even by herself. Poor Laura was only big enough to ride the carousel with one of us holding her. You can see more of our excellent adventure here. We are toying with the idea of taking Claire back to visit Mickey in November since she enjoyed the carnival so much.

Well, that was our last six weeks. The girls are happy to have Luzma back, as she is them. School starts tomorrow for us. We keep you posted.

ps. do you remember where you were 34 years ago today when you found out? I do.

Sorry for the lack of posts

We had a great trip to Kamloops, British Columbia (and Seattle, WA!) and to Portland, Maine. I (Lynn) promise to update the blog with stories and pictures in the next week. I do have a small matter to attend to first (my tenure & promotion portfolio) but I promise after that to have a weekly update for you. The girls are growing and changing so fast. They are sweet and funny and completely different! Can't wait to share both of their adventures with all of you.
Lots of Love,
The Patterson clan

Cast off...

Last Thursday Laura got her hot pink cast off. Boy did she cry when they were cutting the cast. Truthfully, I am not sure who is more glad it is off, Laura or us. That evening we glad her a bath - the first one in a month. She loved the tub and stayed in it for a long time. She does have

to wear a removable boot during the day for the next week and then that should be it. She is able to "walk" around, though she certainly favors her left leg (it's important to note which leg, because years ago Rooster broke his leg and we paid $1000 to have it fixed and to this day we can't remember which leg).

This weekend Lynn and I had a short get away to Athens, GA to attend the wedding of a friend. We had a small mishap with Lynn's toiletry bag, in which something inside leaked on to her dress and the colors started to run. So, with the wedding only 2 hours away, Lynn went to the store and purchased a new dress ($35) and also got me a matching tie ($16), which several people commented that we coordinated well. Magen watched the kids for us and we stayed in Athens for the night. This our first get away in a long time.

Tomorrow, we are flying to Portland, ME to spend the week with Grammy and Grampy for our annual trip to Maine. Claire already has her itinerary planned out, which includes riding the carousel, bumper cars and the beach. If you recall, she has a sand phobia, but hopefully her playing in her sandbox will help overcome this fear. The last time Laura was in Maine she wasn't even crawling. The Dr. said she doesn't need to wear the boot on the beach, so we'll see how she fares too.

Coming up shortly, the blog posting on our awesome trip to Seattle and Kamloops.

Hot pink cast

Ok, by now I am sure everyone knows that Laura broke her leg last week. She got her foot caught between mom's leg and the slide on the way down. Of course, Lynn feels bad. The doctor said Laura will recover fully in 3 months and Lynn will in 3 years. She has to wear her cast for 4 weeks, which means no swimming for her when we are in Canada next week. She has been such a trooper. She does get a little frustrated because she is no longer as mobile as she used to be. She can get from A to B by rolling over and over. It's funny to watch. I know one day we will look back and smile at this photo. She is just so delicious.

Claire went to her first movie tonight in a theater. Magen took her to see Cars 2. She had a great time. She is growing up before our eyes, but she is still daddy's girl, at least in my eyes. And she has been extraordinarily helpful with Laura, giving her toys to play with. They are good friends now and will continue to be later in life. We are blessed.

More videos

Laura is soooo delicious! Her personality comes out more and more each day. She is making up for the first 5 months. In the last 2 weeks, her vocabulary has easily doubled and her memory is simply amazing. You tell her what something is, and ask her the next day, and she knows. Luzma says Laura understands both English and Spanish without any problems. We just want to squeeze her. Here is a video of her taken a couple of days ago.




Claire is taking after her mother. Hard headed. When her mind is set on something you need to summon the gods of distraction to get her mind on to something else. Last night Lynn hosted a Mary Kay fundraiser at the house for the mango tree foundation. I came home towards the end of it (like I was going to hang around for 20 women all trying on make-up) and someone had given Claire a makeover. I need to find a photo of it. Anyway, here is a video of a nightly event in our house when Claire puts on her PJs.

Birthdays and Career Aspirations...

My beautiful wife turned 40 yesterday. There were no parties or pictures. Only 5 of us (including Magen) to have some cake, which had to have candles so Claire could blow them out. In all fairness Claire did sing Happy Birthday to Lynn. Lynn did get a replacement iPod touch for her birthday and a card the girls made. And a long dinner at a Japanese restaurant, with horrible service. At least the company was wonderful. It is hard to believe that Lynn was 23 when I first met her. We are blessed.

Laura's vocabulary is starting to grow and she repeats more words that we say. She is so delicious. Her personality is very strong, as she can be quite stubborn and independent, and when she doesn't get her way, frustrated. She still hits and bites. I guess we need to be more diligent in that department. You can see new photos of Laura here.

We are however, much more diligent with Claire and her habit of getting out of bed after we put her to bed for the night. On a typical night she will get out of bed 4-5 times within 30 minutes of her going to bed. "Mom, I got to tell you something" is the standard excuse. Now, we tell her (and follow through with it) that we are taking a plush animal out of her bed everytime she gets up. This tactic has cut the getting out of bed to once an evening. Anyway, here is Claire working in my office

She did say the other day that she wanted to be a dancer when she grows up. And based on this video, we are enrolling her in dance class come August.

We try to skype with Paul, Taya and Theo as often as we can. It's becoming a challenge to get the girls to skype for more than 4-5 minutes, before they are on to something else. But they are both super interested in Theo. He has changed a lot in his 4 weeks of life. Here is a photo of him my brother took. You can read about their adventure here.