Daddy's Helper

Here's a video of Dad and his big helper replacing the faucet at our home in Salt Lake.

Little Helper

Lauren recently discovered a stockpile of toys that we don't keep in her toy box. She's seen us play with them, and has figured out she can us them on her own. Here she is with her personal favorite:

She's working in the area of our front room that we call "The Parking Lot." Here's another one of her favorite toys. It's a bit difficult to maneuver, but has a cool button that shoots soap onto the floor:

I can just see her thinking, "Hey, if I'm going to be dropping my binky on the floor, it better be spotless!"

I think Lauren likes the broom because it's light weight and easily maneuverable with one hand. In fact, when Russ bought the broom several months ago, she wouldn't let go of it. She carried it through the entire store (it hung over the side of the grocery cart...this was long before she could walk), and held it the entire ride home. Russ said it was kind of awkward trying to get her in and out of the car, but they made it.

Sometimes Lauren is content supervising the use of our toys (thankfully). She also likes to follow me around while I vacuum and hold the cord.

Not even the cat is safe when Lauren gets going:

She's a regular Cinderella:

After a long day of working, there's nothing better than curling up next to Dad with your own pint of vanilla ice cream:

Our Little Helper

Lauren has been caught up with imitating us lately. She also seems to know the routine and likes to make sure everything gets done. For instance, she knows we run the dishwasher almost every day so on the days we don't turn it on, she'll try to do it herself (we have a portable washer that connects to the kitchen sink, so she'll try to push it across the room and pull out all the cords and hoses by herself). One of the other activities she's personally taken responsibility for is brushing teeth. Here she is making sure Dad doesn't miss a spot:

Lauren believes the more foam, the better: