Slacker 101...

Yep, that's me! I know I have said this in the past, but darn, I am terrible at keeping all of you up to speed on all things Lauren. With her 3rd Birthday rapidly approaching I NEED to put these things in writing so they do not become lost in the depths of my brain!

Speaking:
Lauren has really progressed in the vocaublary department. At her 2 year check-up, Dr. T suggested I get Lauren into speech therapy just to check on what/how she was doing. While she far surpassed other in the comprehension department, she was really lacking in the expressive department. We decided to enroll her in Early Intervention program that comes to your house and suggests things to do with her to get her to speek. The main purpose of EI really was to get funding through the state for speech therapy because our insurance does not cover it (just like ALL insurance companies, but that is another discussion.) Around 2 1/2 one of the therapists said that between now and 3 is usually when the biggest change would occur, and BOY DID IT! She did a complete 180*. We got her retested and to quote the Therapist "There is no reason she should have to come back to speech!" Phew, relief. That is the background, here are some of the results:

~ Lauren has now nicknamed herself. When you ask her to say Lauren, it comes out Nonie. I LOVE IT!
~ While stubbing my toe the other night, I said "ahhhhhh" and she followed with "damnit!" Lovely, just lovely.
~

Education & Experiences:
Oh boy, I would say this is the biggest change this past year! We were lucky enough that when I got promoted that we had a babysitter that would come to our house. After A LOT of back and forth, we decided that this babysitter was no longer a good fit so we let her go. This left us in unheavel! Thankfully we had family and friends that would fill in while I hunted for a sitter or daycare. There were times that I had to put her in a drop-in day care and I hated the place! I mean, it would good for an hour or two, but not for extended periods of time. I then reached out to my friend who happens to be a pediattric nurse practitioner and very reliabe and trustworthy. She was in the same boat as I was only a couple of months before. She suggested I try her girl(s) and while I know she is as particular as I am, if not more, that if she was comfortable with her daughter (who is Lauren's buddy) being there all day, then I could be too. So I took her one afternoon to try it out and she did just fine! I signed up that very day! For the first couple of weeks, she would through screaming fits to the point that they would have to come outside to get her, but now, she slaps me high-five and away she goes!