Welcome to our jungle

Seeing as everyone has a blog these days, Jennifer and I decided that we could not hold out any longer. We wanted to have a blog so our families and friends in different states would have the opportunity to find out what is going on in our lives, see pictures of Bailey and hear about the joys, trials and bizarre antics of our toddler. We chose the name "Laurie Safari" for two reasons:

1. Having a strong-willed two-year old with a "melt-your-heart" smile is a mental challenge because even though she occasionally acts up, one quick smile from her will lower your defenses to the point that before you know it, you are knee-deep in the ankle-biter jungle known as Chuck E. Cheese feeding a school bus tokens just so she can have fun... Boy, are we suckers! It's not everyday that two grown adults with college degrees can be manipulated by a toddler.

2. Let's see you come up with something that rhymes with "Laurie"... Go on, I dare you!

We took Bailey to the mall today to beat the Johnson County Soccer Moms in getting her picture taken with Santa. She was so excited to tell him what she wanted for Christmas (if you ask me, it read more like a cross between a list of demands and the Clinton sex scandal definitions of what "good" is). The fat man in the red suit asked her what she wanted for Christmas. He asked her if she wanted some toys or a doll and without missing a beat, she replied, "Jeep". She wants a Barbie PowerWheel Jeep. Hearing this, the only thing that ran through my mind was hearing the words, "SUNDAY!, SUNDAY!!, SUNDAY!!!!" and seeing my precious little girl popping a wheelie in the living room destroying the coffee table and giving me that smile which causes amnesia in me. For those who have not seen Bailey before or not for a while, here is a picture of her from today. For the Grandmothers, we have these in keychain form for you...

**Sigh**... As I write this entry, Jennifer just called me to Bailey's room where she was supposed to be in bed asleep. On my way there, Jennifer sends Bailey to come see me and show me what she did. I was greeted in the hallway by a naked little Jaybird. She managed to strip herself out of her feetie-pajamas and diaper and was playing in her room a la commando style... In the immortal words of that famous commercial from the 1980's... Calgon.... TAKE ME AWAY!!