Here's to the Holidays!

We officially have a toddler!

Please forgive my lack of blogging in the past couple of months; it’s exhausting to keep up with a little walker!

October was full of fun times for Lauren, Aaron and I… Since the weather was really hit or miss, we didn’t have a lot of days to pick from to make it to the pumpkin patch, but we did, on two occasions. One weekend, Aaron and I took Lauren to her first pumpkin patch and she had a blast! This was the “learning to walk” stage and that’s all she wanted to do, and did! She must have touched every pumpkin she saw and loved it. I’m sure she could have stayed there for ages if we let her. After the pumpkins we made our way down the road to Erie Orchards. This impromptu trip was for donuts and people watching. It was a sunny day in the mid 50’s so there were TONS of people there and we had to park in the north forty, but the donuts themselves were worth it, and the pictures prove it. At our second pumpkin patch, Lauren knew what to do and didn’t want to be stopped. This patch had a lot more things to see and do and she especially loved the animals. She got to play with her Grandma, Papa, Uncle Mark and cousins and had a blast!

October also brought us Lauren’s first birthday. Where did the past year go?! We had a small birthday party here in our home and she had a blast, of course. We didn’t go overboard with decorations or people it was perfect. Lauren walked around and played with everyone, had her cake and opened presents. Lauren and her cake, oh how that was a great event to witness. She was very delicate when eating it, it didn’t get it on the floor, and everything was fairly well contained to her high-chair tray. The only downfall was that we were getting green frosting out of her nose for days! She is officially a toddler :’(

Autumn also brings the changing of leaves and the raking of them, of course. We had a nice, warm, dry day to rake them and let her play. She wasn’t too sure about what to do in a pile of leaves, but she was sure she didn’t want to stay in them. I did manage to get a few good pictures of that moment as well.

As the last of the leave fall, we can only welcome the Holiday’s and the cold months of winter. Until then…

To pass the time...

Until the Pumpkin Patch this weekend....

Belly Laughs!

Falling into Fall!

This is my favorite season by far! There is nothing better than a cool crisp evening and the smell of burning leaves wafting through the air! I can't wait to take Lauren to the Pumpkin Patch and let her play in the fallen leaves... but that is all in due time. For now, here is her favorite location in the house....

Dear Lauren....

We know you find it hilarious to continuously bite our toes, but please know we do not. When you have 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom that are sharp little suckers, it hurts, more than you know. I write to you to ask for you to stop, starting immediately.

All our love,
Mom and more-so, Dad

The Dog Days of Summer

Told ya I'd get 'em up ;)

She's on the move people!

That's right folks, Lauren is crawling! For the past couple of weeks Lauren has been doing the "army" crawl and in the past few days, she has been full on crawling, as well as pulling up to her knees, then up to her feet as well as saying "ma ma." Oh man... Milestones are being reached at warp speed! We are now constantly chasing her around the house and out of her favorite location, the kitchen, all while totally being enjoyed by Aaron and myself. My favorite part is when she is awake in her crib and you hear her saying " ma ma ma ma ma ma" you can't help but run up the steps to see that smiling face :)

We have also figured out that Lauren is taking after me in the swimming aspect. We have had her in a "big" pool on a couple of occasions and let me tell you, she does not mind the cold water whatsoever! She absolutely LOVES it! As I type this, her baby pool is warming in the sun while she finishes her nap! It should be a great afternoon in the sunny, warm weather!

Other than that, there really hasn't been too much happening, but I am sure that will change now that Summer is on our doorstep, stay tuned because I am hearing "ma ma ma" at the moment :)

P.S. Pictures soon!

When warm weather hits...

We break out the baby pool! I just couldn't resist this purchase! It had been unseasonably warm during the end of April, so I decided to entertain Lauren. Since I myself love the water, I figured now was the perfect time to introduce water outside of the bathtub to Lauren. We put some water in it, let it warm in the sun and then let her get wet! She had an absolute blast, as did I!

In addition to the pool, we also ventured out to our first trip to the zoo. Well, the first two trips to the zoo, once a day for two days! We took advantage of being able to get out of the house as you can tell. But, we ended up paying the price! On the following Saturday night, Lauren slept a whopping 14 hours without waking... I thought it was the fresh air that made her sleep so well, but it was a fever :( She had a low grade fever for a day or so followed by some not so nice diapers. It stinks when you know your child isn't feeling well and there isn't anything you can do about it. All she wanted to do was sleep on me and it was not a desirable situation because she was warm as was I!

Lauren is now on the move! Well, rolling from one end of the room to the other, she just can't stop! She has also begun the scooting process, it is something other than stationary and that I take as progress! Baby proofing, here I come! She absolutely loves to discover everything in every room! She has always been a studier and now with all these new fascinations, it is quite entertaining. In addition to the movement she has outgrown her bouncy seat and in the next few days, the swing... they were great while they lasted, it will be nice to get them out of the family room!

Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah, Easter! Lauren made it through church without a fuss, which isn't uncommon and she looked so very sweet in her little pink and white dress, matching hat and cute little shoes that Grandma Karen got for her.

Since she is now 7 months, she is eating up a storm! Doctor Tara said she could start meats, she did, she loves them... I hope this pattern continues because I will not be a short order chef when it comes time for table food. Period.

On some other notes... Our Sister-in-Law had her second little boy earlier this month. We welcomed Samuel Joseph on May 14th. Compared to his big brother, Jake, I think Sam will be a breeze ;)

Also, we celebrated our friends Wedding this past weekend at Longaberger Golf Club in Newark, Ohio. It was my first overnight away from Lolo and I feel I did a great job, I only checked in twice ;) She did great at Grandma & Grandpa's and I feel she will want to go there a lot more, don't they all?

So Long Toothless Grin

Hello teeth! Yes, that is correct, Lauren is getting her teeth in! On her 5th month birthday and my 27th (year, ha) birthday, March 24th, Lauren's first tooth made its grand appearance! She had, for some time, been chewing on her "knuckle sandwiches" but not really showing any discomfort... that is until it poked through the gums! She has been tolerating it fairly well and it we are proud to say that the baby Orajel is still in its box and the seal unbroken! Thank goodness for teething tablets though! They are wonderful! They are 100% natural and Lolo doesn't mind the taste of them. In addition to the tablets, we also slip a tad of Tylenol in there to help her fall asleep at night, to take the edge off. She does not mind getting her gums and "tooth" brushed at all! I guess it is paying off letting her watch me brush mine in the morning. Since getting the tooth, she is more curious about what is in our mouths. I just figure she wants to know what is going on in her mouth and make sense of it all.

Also, during this past month, Lauren has experienced all of the "1st foods" and it is safe to say... she LOVES them all! There has not been one food she has disliked and I hope it stays that way. In addition to loving all food, she is not a messy eater at all! I guess that goes with loving everything that is on a spoon and goes into her mouth, she doesn't want to miss a drop! I bet she would lick the bowl if we let her!

Hmmmm, let's see, what else.... She is working on another milestone of rolling over from back to tummy. She mastered the tummy to back roll on Valentine's day and now she is just getting stuck on her arm for the back to tummy. I'm thinking it will be any day now! Though, I think she will be pulling herself up and walking before she attempts crawling, but that's just my guess :).

Her sleeping patterns during the day have gotten better and we are on more of a schedule. She still lets us know when she is ready for bed at night, around 6:30-7:00, and usually sleeps until 7:30 in the morning with few interruptions, if any. And during the day, she usually takes her "good" nap in the morning and then a snooze in the afternoon. So overall, it has gotten a lot better.

It seems like that is a lot to happen in a month's time but I know it doesn't seem that way for others. I can only assume that since it is Spring (or so the calendar says) there will be more stories and pictures to come, stay tuned!

Waaaa-Hoooo! My first food!

YAY! Lauren has now experienced her first "food." Other than the "juice" and rice cereal that is! She had her first adult food, that being Bananas! She loved them! We were over at Grandma Karen's house and she was making some banana bread and we decided to let Lolo have a try, she LOVED them! She took them from the spoon really well and enjoyed every moment of it! She enjoyed it so much that Aaron and I had to recreate the moment today and take pictures! Before we gave her the nanners she was really restless and we couldn't make her happy so that's when I decided to bust them out. We had her in her exer-saucer and she snacked. After she had a few bites (though she wanted more) she was as happy as a clam! Here are a few snapshots of the moment, enjoy!

Finally, an update :)

Geeesh, I've been slacking on the blog front, but not by choice. I have been slacking here as well as not returning phone calls or emails. It seems like I have been incognito for about a month, but I have been here. It is just hard to focus on those things when Lauren doesn't nap for longer than 45 minutes at a time and while that happens, I am trying to get some things done. By the time she is put into bed for the night, all I do is relax! So I apologize to everyone for my lack of being accessible.

Lauren is growing and growing and growing! She is currently going through her 4 month growth spurt, therefore, her nighttime sleep is now disrupted two times a night because she is a hungry girl! I can already tell she is longer, but that won't be verified until her 4 month appointment on March 9th. I put her month by month pictures side by side and I can't believe my eyes! My neighbor had her little girl, Olivia Hope, on January 29th and when I go there and hold her, I swear Lauren was never that small, though she was! To prove to me that she is getting bugger, she is now sitting in her Bebe seat and her exersaucer all by herself! Lauren also had her first play date with my sister-in-law's sister's little girl (whoa, did you follow that) Emma Claire (E-Claire). I think Lauren didn't know what to do with herself, but she handled it well none the less. And this past weekend we celebrated Lauren's Baptism. We went to church with the family and everyone came back to the house for a little cake party and Lauren handled all the people and attention really well, but was tired at the end of the day!

Other than that, we have just been waiting for Spring to arrive because we are tired of being locked indoors due to the cold weather and continuos snow! And what doesn't help is that I HATE driving in the snow and then to try it with a little one in the back, I can't do it. So again, to all my friends, I apologize!

Anywho... I promise it will not be as long in between posts... but don't hold it against me if it is :)

Here's how I spend my time...

I often find myself playing with Lauren and still needing to do something else. Therefore, I have taken to making picture frames, all handcrafted by me! I was thinking about selling them online, but would LOVE your input on if I should or shouldn't. Please let me know what you think... Here is a sampling!

Here's to the New Year!

Happy 2009 everyone! I hope everyone had wonderful and safe holiday season, I know it was for us! Aaron and I got out alone for the first time on New Year's Eve and Lolo stayed with Grandma Karen...well Lolo slept while Grandma read. It was nice to get out, but still felt different to be out without Lolo.

The old saying is true, everything IS different after you have a child. There isn't anymore get up and go, going to the bathroom at your convenience doesn't happen, and staying out until the wee hours of the night - not possible. While I sometimes miss being able to just up and go, I find great pleasure in being able to take Lolo out and introduce her to the world, and the the staying out has now turned into staying up until the wee hours of the morning. While we have been lucky with Lolo's sleep patterns at night, her napping is what needs the work.

It's amazing how much Lauren has changed in the 13 weeks since she was born. I don't see her as my little newborn anymore, she seems SO much older! Again, time does fly! :( While I am excited to watch her grow, I want her to stay little!

Other than the usual, nothing new is going on... so here are some pictures of the Little Miss :)