Feeling comfortable in front of the camera

As with yesterday's post, words are not too adequate, so I'll let you muse over the pictures without a clutch of annotations.

(That's our orange tree in the background)

Our balcony is always bathed in sunlight, so we prefer to take pictures there, they tend to look better!

Lauren

Here are some recent images of Lauren. I will let the pictures do the talking today. Enjoy.

Lauren took this picture herself. Her first attempt at such a feat!

And a mention for her new soft toy, Bobby the dog, which she bought with her 'ang pao' money.

Sleeping Beauty

Every morning we wake up to find a sleeping beauty fast asleep on our bed. These pictures were taken at around 9.45am sometime last week. The timing was immaculate because no less than five minutes later Lauren woke up from her slumber.

Enjoy the pictures below of Lauren lying comfortably, a small stream of solidified saliva from the edge of her mouth indicating a very deep sleep, and her tiny hand palm upwards moments before she woke up.

Happy Lauren

Aside from her tantrums and disobedience, Lauren is essentially a happy girl - and that is what today's post is all about. The above picture was taken on a lovely Sunday lunchtime after we had dropped off Abigail after our sacrament meeting. It was stiflingly hot in the car but Lauren still managed a nice shot.

Lauren now has no problems with mummy being at work during the day. She knows that mummy is coming back home later and will oftentimes bring back an edible treat for her. The late afternoon Sun shines on our balcony making it an ideal light for good pictures.

Here we demonstrate how happy we are and in the following picture we show our 'honey bear' pose:

Grandad Horne bought this xylophone for Lauren back in September 2008, and although the stick has been snapped in half by a certain little honey bear, it is still in decent working order.

Lauren is very happy with her toys, her cartoons and her sweets and chocolate! And she's pretty joyous in front of a camera too!

Monok (with a silent 'k')

This is Monok, Lauren's favourite doll. It is pronounced with a silent 'k' although sometimes she now speaks the 'k' sound at the end of his name. We don't know where the name came from. One day she just started calling him Monok.

In fact, Monok has a long history. He came into my own life by surprise when I discovered him in one of my suitcases at the MTC in Provo, Utah, shortly after I arrived for training for my two-year mission. He was, and in effect, still is, a David Beckham doll. (In the pictures he is minus his clothes - a football kit)

He followed me around on my mission all over Malaysia and Singapore and now made his way into my daughter's life where he is well-loved and has this curious new name. He shares many activities with Lauren, for example, doing the splits:

He also comes shopping with us, to the beach, and sometimes stays at home to sleep. Lauren enjoys having pictures taken with him, as she does with all of her other dolls, teddies and toys.

Don't they both look happy? And despite the arrival of many new dolls and teddies, Monok has always, and continues to, hold a special place in her heart.