No More Pack 'N' Play

Since Poppy did so well sleeping on a regular bed at the hotel, Lauren put away the pack-n-play that she usually sleeps in and moved the twin mattress from Lolli's bottom bunk into Poppy's room. There was very little discussion of it or preparation, but when Zach took Poppy to bed last night, she didn't seem weirded out at all! She woke a couple times before Z & L went to bed, but that's not unusual for her. And since then, she's been sleeping peacefully! Which is impressive since her room is full of toys ;) Yay, Poppy!!

20 months & 3.5 years!

Poppy turned 20 months old yesterday and Lolli will celebrate her half birthday tomorrow. They are such amazing girls who love each other (and their friends and family!) so very much. Sometimes it's hard to remember they're almost 2 years apart because Poppy does such a good job acting like a 3-year old. And Lolli does such a good job in her role as big sister; holding Poppy's hand in parking lots, giving her a hug when she's scared, and running into her room each day and telling her good morning (to which Poppy replies, "Good morning, Lolli!").
They play together - things like Pokemon, hide-and-seek, wrestling, nap-time, going on vacation, etc. They get in lovey moods where they roll around on the floor hugging all over each other. It's hilarious and so sweet.
Both girls are so super smart! Lolli can write her own name as well as Poppy's (see what I mean about being a great big sister!?). She can name all the letters an can spell a few words (Lolli, Poppy, Molly, Toy, maybe a couple others). She loves to count and do computer games where she counts to 100. She has a fantastic memory and will often bring up things that even Lauren or Zach had forgotten.
Poppy's verbal skills are off the charts and she loves to play pretend. She's very dramatic when she wants to be, but adapts to change really well, too. She's less anxious than Lolli, which helps because Lolli puts on her brave face when she feels nervous, because she doesn't want Poppy to see her be scared.
While Lolli's at school, Poppy asks "Where Lolli Is?" about every hour or so :) And she gets so excited when it's time to go pick her up! And Lolli is always excited to see Poppy walk through the classroom door and is quick to tell her about her day. Their bond is so special and I really, really hope it continues throughout their lives!

Poppy's first night in a big girl bed!

Zach decided to spend some of his reward points to take the family to a hotel for a night before he and Lauren leave on vacation. So they stayed at a Staybridge Suites. They were lucky enough to get upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite. So when it was time for bed (after 2 rounds of swimming with dinner at Applebees in between), Lolli took the fold-out couch bed in the living room/kitchen, which meant Poppy got the bedroom that had 2 double bed in it. Zach put her to bed and packed her in with pillows in case she got rolly. Zach and Lauren took to the other bedroom that was on the other side of the living room.
Surprisingly they didn't hear a peep from either girl all night long! When Lauren woke up, she went out to the living room to find Lolli patting at the floor with one of her shirts. She asked what she was doing and Lolli replied, "Good morning Mom! I had to pee but I didn't want to go in your room to the bathroom because you were sleeping so I had an accident and peed on the floor and in my pants and my undies, too. It was just an accident. I looked but I couldn't find a towel so I'm cleaning it up with my shirt. Isn't that good?" HAHAHAHA

IUMC Art Gala & Open House

Tonight was the Art Gala & Open House at Lolli's school. She had been hard at work making art pieces at school to display at the show. Lolli had 5 beautiful pictures that were available for sale. They all got purchased :)

Zach, Lauren, Lolli & Poppy were joined at the gala by Papaw Lucky and Gma & Gpa Great. They got to see Lolli's current classroom as well as check out the Panda room where she'll be next year. Her will-be teacher is from Australia!

Poppy also got to check out her classroom for next year. She'll be a Teddy Bear and is so excited to get to go to school. Both girls will go M-W-F from 9-11:30, which means Lauren and Zach will finally have a clean house on a regular basis ;)