Rouse Family Reunion

We headed back to Iowa this past weekend for a Rouse Family Reunion. It is a long drive but thankfully Kyle's sister, Amanda, lives in Cedar Rapids and we stayed with her to break up the drive. She is also a personal trainer so we went for a little jog on Saturday morning. It was the first time I ran a complete 5K consecutively. I realized I am quite the slow runner so I need to focus in the next two weeks on increasing my time and making longer strides!

Lauren had been strolling around the house for the past few weeks but only going about 5 steps before toppling over. Although my sister stated that this was officially walking, I just couldn't declare her a 'walker' yet. When we were at Amanda's apartment though, she completely took off!! We definitely have an official walker now. We thought that when she started walking, our life would be over but the climbing is definitely much worse! This little girl is EVERYWHERE!! You can't turn your back for 2 seconds and she will have climbed onto something: the kitchen table, the chaise lounge, out of her high chair, you get the picture.

Lauren doesn't like Larry the family dog!

The reunion was at Kyle's aunt and uncle's farm house. They have a beautiful space and the weather could not have been more perfect. His aunt and uncle have two little grandchildren (with another on the way) so Lauren enjoyed their toys. This little house was in their yard and she loved opening and closing the doors and playing peek-a-boo out the window.

Walking around some more

The boys staring at the fruits of their labor.
Our little walker!

Getting Dressed

Everything....goes on her head! She is going to be dressing herself in no time.

Doesn't she look like a little chunker here? For some reason, she has been nursing CONSTANTLY lately. I think it is a mixture of a growth spurt and new teeth. Regardless, I can not even begin to imagine cutting her off in a few short weeks at the age of one. I don't understand what the large push is to end nursing at 12 months.

Yep, that would be my bra she found on the floor. I kept taking it away from her and she kept finding it and putting it back on her head.

She has some funny nap hair on the side...if you can even see the little amount of hair she has. She most certainly has a mullet!

Busy and Tired

We have been super busy lately. I just finished my summer class and am so relieved to be done! Only one more class (it is online) plus my internship and I will be done for good!! Now I need to focus on Lauren's 1st birthday...I think I am procrastinating because I don't want to believe that my baby is going to be ONE.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Iowa for the weekend for a Rouse Family Reunion. It is going to be a busy weekend but nice to spend some quality time as a family. We usually only get to spend Mondays off together between my work and school schedule and Kyle's studying schedule. I don't think I have mentioned it but Kyle found a new position about a month ago. He has been studying and working on licenses for the past month and will officially start mid-September! Yea for having insurance again!

Maya Wrap

I purchased my first wrap! I know...it may seem like I own a lot of baby carriers but I actually don't. The majority we rent from our babywearing group. I have a few slings that fit newborns better (gift and anniversary present), my Moby wrap (gift), and the Ergo (Christmas present). I needed something more supportive that was woven cotton instead of the jersey knit moby that she doesn't fit in anymore. Our Ergo is great but the straps are really bulky on me and it isn't easy to travel with.

So...I purchased a Maya Wrap off Craigslist although it was brand spanking new and half off! It is a ring sling but the fabric is long enough that I can take it off the ring and use it as a small wrap. It has been excellent for a nursing cover in public too when Lauren will actually let me cover her up. I feel sorry for the men that got a sneak peek of my ta-tas the other day on the train, opps!

She loves watching mommy do the dishes but was deathly afraid of the cow at the fair...it was pretty funny!

Go Cubs Go!

Do you see her new carseat in the background too...she thinks it is pretty cool to finally see out the window!

Like Mother...Like Daughter 2!

Lauren is apparently a fan of babywearing as well. This is her doll, Kiwanna, Kia for short. She goes everywhere with her and should probably have a bath now as well.

Baby Fever...

...I am not going to lie, my baby fever is resurfacing again. It doesn't make any easier that I see pregnant ladies come into work all the time and admire their perfectly sculpted bellies. But...it seems like whenever my baby fever gets a little out of control, God puts me in check and tells me that I am not ready yet. For some reason, the past few times I have had it bad, I have gotten sick. Nothing like having flashbacks to 1st trimester pregnancy. As much as it was manageable when I was pregnant with Lauren, there is no way that I could take care of my little vivacious girl while struggling through 16 weeks of nausea, fatigue, lack of appetite, etc. etc...The other thing that is really holding me back is breastfeeding. A lot of women are able to conceive when they are breastfeeding so that isn't the issue, it is the changes that scare me. Your breastmilk changes when you become pregnant to prepare for the new baby and a lot of women struggle with a low supply as well. I do not want to force Lauren to wean because of my breastmilk changes and really want her to continue to nurse...such a dilemma. I wish it was much easier...

If you have never met my little crazy Lauren...here is just a glimpse of the sticky situations she has gotten herself in lately...

getting stuck under the chaise lounge

I had the laundry out in the living room and she put one of Kyle's shirts on her head and then couldn't get out...

"Wordless" Wednesday

Grandma Cindy 'bought' Lauren this bow over the telephone the other day when I was at the Farmer's Market and saw it. Of course when I mentioned that I saw a monkey bow she told me that I had to grab it.

8 Minutes 50 Seconds...

...that is how far I ran this morning. I was quite impressed with myself considering my goal was two minutes. When I made it that far I thought that 5 minutes would be nice and slowly extended my goal back to the house. I think I got about a mile in but need to double check on the map. I was equally impressed that my thighs did not rub together once nor did my underwear catch on fire.

I have been meaning to post pictures of my little orphan Lauren but haven't gotten around it and thought the time presented itself nicely after my friend, Jessie, wrote a blog post about not being perfect. So often I post pretty little pictures of my little tazmania devil without posting what she looks like most days...covered in dirt from crawling everywhere (the floor, basement, Target, the bank, outside, you get the drift). She has starting head-butting and bucking when she wants down and to refrain from getting a black-eye, I usually cave in to her autonomous desires.

Needless to say, we have been frequenting the bathtub a lot lately.

My First 5K

I am signing up to participate in my first 5K run (on Lauren's b-day)! I know...3+ miles is not a long distance and shouldn't be difficult, let alone something that is "blog-worthy", but I am NOT a runner. My excuse of my underwear catching on fire due to my thighs rubbing together isn't going to work anymore...I am forcing myself to complete this!

For all you runners out there, I need advice! Especially those with little ones at home, do you find it better to get your run done in the morning or after bedtime? My sister-in-law, Amanda, gave me a great 8 week training program to follow that I plan on starting on Monday...ugh!

Speaking of exercising...Kyle might want to lose some weight...obviously the chair couldn't withstand him (haha!). Thankfully he was holding Lauren and didn't smush her under the chair!

Wordless Wednesday

Catch Me If You Can...

Most parents would probably freak out if they witnessed this from their window...I just grabbed the camera!Note the perfect toe point.
I have a feeling she is going to be a dancer or a gymnast like her mommy.

Don't mind our jungle in the 'sideyard'. This was after we took out tons of weeds and shrubs. I guess that is what happens when no one has lived in the house for two years.

Simply Sweet Saturday

Just in case you are wondering what Miss Lauren has been up to lately...

-She crawls REALLY fast.
-She can stand up by herself and cruise along furniture but hasn't really tried to take any steps on her own. I have a feeling one day she will just start running around!
-She has three teeth on the top, three on the bottom, and one more coming in on the bottom now.
-She says simple words like: mama, hubba (Kyle), na-na (breastfeeding), and she loves making other noises. We think she might be starting to sign a little back to us: all done and eat. She understands many signs though.
-She eats table scraps and LOVES to eat everything, including onion that I gave her last night...
-I do not foresee her weaning anytime soon. She nurses about every 2-3 hours during the day if I am home and anywhere from 1-3 times at night depending on if I was home during the day. Her nursing sessions only last 5-10 minutes max. because of course she has too many things in life to do.
-We are still co-sleeping and she usually goes to bed around 8-9pm depending on what we are doing that night and will rise in the morning between 6-7am.

I forgot to mention her 9 month stats although she is now 10 months old:
18lbs. 2oz.
28 inches long
17.5 in. head circumference

Outside Tubby Time

After Lauren ate massive amounts of watermelon (see post below), we decided it was time for a tubby. Unfortunately it has been rather hot here lately so it was fitting to bring her little tubby outside for some 'pool time'. She seemed to enjoy herself:

She is so full of energy!

She loves to stand in the tub which makes me rather nervous when we are inside.

She thought that it was pretty cool!

Wordless Watermelon Wednesday