The Kleins: July 2010

Pigtails

As the mother of a little girl, I couldn't wait until Lauren had long enough hair to play with. When it began getting in her eyes, I swept her bangs off to the side with a barrett. Now that she is older, she doesn't want to keep it in. The other day I decided that maybe her hair was finally long enough to put it in a ponytail. Well, unfortunately, it wasn't but to my delight, it was long enough for pigtails! :)

She looked so adorable!

Two minutes after putting the pigtails in :)

Attempt 2 at pigtails

Liking her pigtails a little bit better than the first attempt

Oh the fun of having a little girl! :)

Part Deux: Klein Family Reunion

On the ride out to the falls to get a closer look...

Part of the Horseshoe Falls

Another Maid of the Mist Boat

The Beautiful American Falls

Gigi and Gpa with Pres and Lauren

Gigi and Gpa watched the kids while Jeff S., Amy, Renee, Spencer, Jeff, and I rode on The Maid. When we got back, Pres was knocked out from a belly full of ice cream, Lauren was on a sugar high from the same, and they both had t-shirts and bracelets from the gift shop! :)

The river that runs through Tonawonda, NY

At Mississippi Mud's enjoying dinner after the falls

On Sunday, we had the Klein Family Reunion where we played lots of backyard games (Corn hole, Ladder ball, some Frisbee can game, soccer,etc), blew lots of bubbles with the kids, played on the playground, caught up with lots of relatives, and of course, ate! It was a beautiful day for a picnic, that is for sure!

Preston enjoying a beautiful day!

Swinging

Sliding

Concentrating and Climbing

Getting ready to go down the twirly slide

Pres "resting" in the pack-'n-play

Reigning Klein Family Open winner Bob Klein and the other 2010 participants

Klein Family Reunion

Jeff, Lauren, and I traveled to Buffalo, NY for a Klein Family Reunion, July 9th. We had a layover in Detroit both on the way there and on our return trip . Jeff and I were a little nervous about the flights as one of our last trips was less than relaxing for all of us! :) But, thankfully, everything went very well. We decided to not give Lauren anything to drink once we got to the airport so that she would be thirsty and actually drink once we took off. (We let her have her cup the whole time at the airport on our last trip and she didn't want to drink anything when we took off. Because she wasn't swallowing, I think the change in pressure really bothered her ears!) Anyway, it worked perfectly. She was very happy and was very distracted by all the people and movement at the airport. We waited to get on the plane until the last zone was called so we didn't have to keep her occupied as long while sitting still. Then once we took off and were in the air, we gave her her cup and she drank and drank which I think helped the pressure in her ears immensley. Boy, you sure do learn a lot from experience don't you! :)

Here is a picture of Lauren during our layover in Detroit...

After getting in, we settled in at the hotel, swam a little, and then ordered dinner in and caught up with extended family in the common area at the hotel.

"Team Cheerios" snacking before heading down to the pool

Lauren playing with Abby and Emma. The girls LOVED playing with Lauren and Preston and I think Lauren and Preston were fasinated with them!

Saturday we went and had lunch with Grandma Klein, went to Niagra Falls, and then visited Tonawonda, NY where Jeff's Mom grew up. It was so neat to see their "old stomping grounds."

Dad and Gram Klein

Cutie Pie Preston

Lauren playing with Auntie Ne's purse

American Falls

Jeff and I infront of the Horseshoe Falls

All of our hair was standing on end with all of the energy in the air from the falls!

Jeff and I on The Maid of The Mist...this was my first ride on the Maid. I loved the experience!! It was such a beautiful ride!

A beautiful site...

4th of July

Jeff, Lauren, Monica, and I had a great 4th of July weekend. On Saturday, we went to Kelly, Jeff, and Dalton's (My sister, Michelle's Sister-in-law's house). On Sunday, we went to Church and then went to Mel and Steven's in the afternoon. We enjoyed some lunch, went to the pool, and played some backyard games with Mel and Steven's family. I will put some pics up when I can find my USB converter for my phone's memory card that has pics! :)

Thanks to all who serve our country so that we may have our freedom to choose our home, job, church, school, etc... I am forever grateful.

Lauren's PT

Lauren's PT has continued to go well. She is pulling up, cruising, walking behind a push toy, and most recently she has figured out that she can bend her knees and sit from standing. Here are a few pics of her progress.

Lauren crawled over to the fridge and stood up to play with her barn! Previously, she would kneel but not pull to stand. If it was out of her reach she would point and vocalize until we helped her get it.

Although Lauren was a little unsure at first, she was able to walk independently with her push toy! Over the past week or so she will crawl over to it and say, "Walk!" She will repeat until we help position it for her to walk around the room with it!

Hailey's Baptism

Hailey was Baptized at St. Monica's in Indianapolis on June 27, 2010. We were honored to be asked by Ahmad and Michelle to be her godparents. Of course we accepted and are so happy to have this role in her life. We ask god for guidance as we help Michelle and Ahmad teach Hailey about God and his love for us.