In Honor of Daniel's Birthday

This is my favorite poem by my favorite author: Anne Bradstreet (a woman before her time).

To My Dear and Loving Husband

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persever’
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Anne Bradstreet © 1678

Jack Jack at 12 Months

Well....He's finally ONE! Who can believe it!

Jack is such a blast. He's fun. He's charming. He's brilliant. I mean really...I'm completely unbiased!

For real: he's a gem of a kid! We are so very blessed. He's grown so much (he's 30 inches long and 21 lbs and 6 oz); though he's WAY under where Quinn was at the same age...but HE EATS. This boy...loves all food (tomatoes, rice, cantaloupe, ALL MEATS etc)...everything. Quinn better watch out because with the way Jack eats, he'll sprout past Quinn in no time!

He walks everywhere...EVERYWHERE. He prefers it. He started walking at 11 1/2 months (early than mom wanted...but who consults her anyway). He says "Wow" and "Hey" and "Yeah" and "Ball" and "Hi" and then has a handful of noises to indicate other things "K" noise: kitty. "T" noise: truck. "C" noise (close to "K"): car. He loves to play with shapes and shape sorters. He loves balls...all types from small to large. He loves to play with Quinn (and they play really well together...most of the time). He loves to clap and wave. and say "Whoa" to trucks and cars that drive past our house while we are on the front porch. He loves to color (draw lines and scribbles) with chalk and play with the magnetic letters on the fridge (though, not in a way mommy enjoys...). And, he LOVES bath time!

Quinn is such a great big brother. He watches out for Jack and protects him. He also loves to play with him. Jack is really fortunate to have such a good big brother! If there is any jealousy, it's never taken out on Jack. What a blessing!

Well...I'm sure there's more for me to ooze about, but, alas, I'll leave you with pictures instead. It's been a great year. Thanks for walking along side us and praying for us and our little men.

All our love,

Lauren, Daniel, Quinn, and The Amazing Jack Jack!

You are invited to view lauren's photo album: 12 Months 12 Months Aug 22, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow Contribute photos to this album If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lauren.re.larkin&target=ALBUM&id=5377776615050634273&authkey=Gv1sRgCLWMiazVrt-whQE&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Jack Jack at 11 mos.

Here's a VERY SMALL update on Jack Jack's 11th month.

He's superb in every way--but, we're biased.

And, he LOVES black beans and, in particular, getting them all over his face.

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You are invited to view lauren's photo album: JHL Larkin 11 Months JHL Larkin 11 Months Jul 15, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lauren.re.larkin&target=ALBUM&id=5366920025831002065&authkey=Gv1sRgCLD_kdqy6Yr8jAE&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Fourth of July Cupcakes

Okay, for real...this was easy. Just icing and candy and cupcakes...and then: assemble. Took probably an hour to ice and decorate and assemble. Maybe an hour to bake all the cupcakes.

This picture (above) displays the whole creation: the Ahmellican flag (when I was a little girl, I didn't say "American" I said "Ahmellican"...I know...brilliant). 48 Large cupcakes and 48 small cupcakes. FUN!

Here is a close up of the "stars" portion: mmmm....jelly beans and gumdrops and good and plenties....mmmmm

Here is my "artsy-fartsy" shot.


The "Angled" Shot. You can kind get a feel for the size of this creation.

It was fun. And, if you have kids who are actually old enough to really participate, this is a great thing to do with them...it's super easy.

JHL Larkin 10 Months

Hey Y'all!

Here is Jack Jack! He's 10 months old! We know...we cannot believe it either! He's almost a year. Time has certainly flown by with this little guy!

Jack Jack is a handful. He's SUPER active, he loves dancing (we think Liam Linebaugh taught him how!), jumping, crawling (fast, too), wiggling, and trying to keep up with Quinny! He's super vocal...he hoots and hollers and loves to babble. He says, "Ma Ma", "Da Da", and "Keeee" (kitty). He also says, "Hey, Dada!" and "Hi, Dada!"--at least that is what is sounds like! He follows Quinn around EVERYWHERE and nothing holds him back (not even stairs (up or down!!)). He loves every type of ball and all trucks and cars. He also LOVES to stick his tongue out...all the time...he just sticks it out...it's cute...for now. He also loves to eat...everything...and I mean everything. He's fast with putting stuff in his mouth, too...so, you have to be on your toes. Common sentence around the house, "Jack-Jack, stop eating our house!"

Physically, he's FINALLY 20 lbs--VERY different from Quinn (23lb and 3oz). However, he's the exact same height as Quinn was at the same age (29 1/2 inches). He's, as his pediatrician says, tall and thin. He's perfectly healthy--for which we are tremendously grateful.

He's such a joy. I wish all of you who are far could enjoy him like we (and those of use who are close) do! He's got a great personality and is super happy (except when we are fishing stuff out of his mouth...then he's not so happy)!

Below, there are some pictures for you to catch a glimpse of this love muffin. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Love,

Lauren, Daniel, Quinn and Jack-Jack

PS: the "bean" photos are courtesy of our friend's sister, Rachel Regina.

You are invited to view lauren's photo album: 10 Month 10 Month Jun 20, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lauren.re.larkin&target=ALBUM&id=5353186123898279729&authkey=Gv1sRgCN-nhLjMiuqDQw&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

JHL Larkin 9 Months

Well...Here's the luscious Jack Jack during his ninth month!

He's done so much in the past couple of months. In the beginning of his 8th month (that means right after he turned seven months) he transitioned to full blown crawling (he had been scooting around, pushing himself with his legs since 5/6 months). So, yes, now he is into EVERYTHING. He also started using MaMa and DaDa discriminately. At the beginning of his 9th month, he started to pull himself up (there's pictures included)...and this makes him even more dangerous. Also, he has started to climb (climbed his first stair while on vacation in Elk County with Grandma and Grandpa Larkin)...so...Mama has her work cut out for her. He is really fast and agile. He's also super fast with the grab and snatch, and has a fierce grip...so, he's a menace around table tops, jewelry, hair, and whatever else!

Over the past couple of months we've noticed that he knows who Joe Joe/The Kitty is, who Quinn is (no surprise there), and what pick up and drop mean. He also knows what a ball is and LOVES LOVES LOVES them...when he can actually play with one without Quinn interferring or claiming said ball as his (**sigh** 2 year olds). He eats like a champ (with all that energy out put, not surprised there needs to be so much energy in-put!). He is taller than Quinn was at the same age, but not as, shall we say, fat. But that makes sense since Quinn didn't start crawling until 9 months! However, Quinn had already said his first word by 9 months (kitty) and we are still waiting for Jack Jack's first (though I thought I heard him say "kitty" the other day...but he hasn't said it again and I now am certain I was hearing things).

All in all, things are very good. Both boys LOVE each other and have a lot of fun together (unfortunately, A LOT of this fun happens right after we put them to bed...and we hear giggles, laughter, and little toddler feet running around the room with thuds from Jack Jack jumping up and down in his crib). They are great little pals right now. We pray it stays this way (with it's ups and downs of course).

Well...Enjoy the pictures of Jack Jack in his 9th month. He's growing so fast and changing all the time. Thank you for letting us share with you these pictures of our youngest.

--Lauren, Daniel, Quinn, and Jack Jack

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You are invited to view lauren's photo album: 9 Months 9 Months May 3, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lauren.re.larkin&target=ALBUM&id=5340524051469098177&authkey=Gv1sRgCMHe9cGHqPeF9QE&authkey=Gv1sRgCMHe9cGHqPeF9QE&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

JHL Larkin 8 Months

I know... a bit late. But!! Here are some really cute pics of our baby boy (he's not so much of a baby any more!).

I'll follow with more "words" of Jack Jack's development, etc. in the 9 month update.

So...enjoy these pics as you wait for more juicy photos of Jack Jack!

You are invited to view lauren's photo album: 8 Months

8 Months Apr 17, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow

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Easter CupCakes!

Okay...here is my FIRST attempt at these fun cupcakes from the book: Hello Cupcake!, by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.

Here's the "group" photo...if you will...

You know, I wasn't totally impressed with the way things turned out...I mean, they were tasty and cute (when they weren't falling apart), but the grass looks more like crab grass and I really did a number on the bunny butts. Instead of just "rolling" the iced cupcake in the crushed 'Nilla wafer (colored or not), I PACKED it on...this made it difficult to keep the bunny feet and tail on. So, we had to PUSH them in real far, or they would just fall off. Ugh. Also, I used the "Almost Homemade Vanilla Icing" recipe in the book, which wasn't as sturdy as store-bought...the author, Karen, recommends that you use the store bought icing, because it's thicker and easier to mold...after this experience, I say...DO IT!

Here is a close up of our feet. You can see the grass looks very similar to FLORIDA GRASS...which, in my opinion, really isn't grass.


Here is my "artsy" photo, if you will. The other thing that I goofed was the grass; it was supposed to be two shades (a green-yellow with dark green). When I made the "lighter" icing, which was supposed to be a green-yellow, I put the GREEN in FIRST and then tried to lighten it...I don't recommend this...do yellow and THEN green.


I also HIGHLY recommend using SMALLER CANDY EGGS...these ones just seemed to dominate the cupcake.

All-in-all, this was a great learning experience! To see these same cupcakes made by someone who knows what she is doing, check out: my friend, Amelia's awesome cupcakes. She also made these AWESOME shark attack cupcakes from the same book for her eldest son's birthday...AWESOME!

Here's a parting shot of our little family, dressed in our Easter finest!


Yeah, it's hard to get a good shot of the fam with a Toddler and a Baby...those peeps just don't cooperate!

JHL Larkin 7 Months

Here's Jack Jack!

This is a bit late (since he's almost 8 mos). Oh well!

But here are some photos of our youngest boy! He was weighed and measured about a month ago and came in at 29 inches long and 18.2 lbs (he's a bit bigger now...you know how piddoes grow). He's tons of fun for the whole family--yes, I think Quinn would agree! He's a ball of energy (no joke) and loves "talkin'".

He's really coming into his own personality almost every day. We are so blessed.

We hope you enjoy the pictures!

--Lauren, Daniel, Quinn, and Jack Jack.

You are invited to view lauren's photo album: 7 Months 7 Months Mar 6, 2009 by lauren View Album Play slideshow If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lauren.re.larkin&target=ALBUM&id=5326880371979855553&authkey=Gv1sRgCNKplLCepuOf-AE&authkey=Gv1sRgCNKplLCepuOf-AE&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.