I got a lovely bloggy award...here are the details! The Rules: 1 - Post who gave you this award. Jessie from our little blessings... 2-Name 10 things you like. I decided to mix it up a little and post my favorite photos. I tried to narrow it down to 10 but couldn't.
At the hospital during burp time
I just love this photo because it shows how much these two looked like each other during the first few months!
so tiny...
Getting a glimpse at her personality
Thanksgiving 2009, our little gerber baby
Lolo loves co-sleeping
determination
no teeth
at the park
see my funny face
serious
babywearing
3. Give the award to 10 other people. I started to make a list and then decided, if you read my blog...make your own list of either your top 10 favorite things or photos!
I made her a vegan banana bread cake with homemade whipped cream mixed with raspberries. It was actually REALLY good. I figured we should stick to a recipe with no dairy and sugar since this girl is already wild and I knew it would be gentler on her tummy.
It took her awhile to get interested but once she did, she devoured it! This was after I cut the cake in half and served it to the rest of the kiddos.
"Yummo!"
She got a giggling baby from her Auntie Erin and immediately opened up the gift and yelled, "baby"...she is still in love with it!
Surrounded by a sea of monkeys
She loves her rocking horse from Grandpa and Grandma Rouse
After the 5K, we ate breakfast and washed up to head back to Hometown Days and hang out. There was a baby contest going on at 11 that we entered Lauren in. They had different categories that you could enter; we did the 'baldest' baby and biggest smile. It was a silly contest but something fun to do! After that we hung out at the carnival and enjoyed the day before heading back for the party (I will post those pics later).
Walking around with her # for the baby contest. Grandma wasn't too happy with Lauren walking with a stick in her mouth!
Lauren has really started to love animals. A kitten popped up on FreeCycle today but Daddy said "NO!" Good thing PetCo is just down the street and her new babysitter has two cats and an Alaskan sledding dog.Cousin Ethan loves talking like a baby to Lauren. Check out our little bald beauty! Lauren loves playing with other kids...come on Kyle, she needs a sibling!! :)
Our fun weekend is going to be written out in several posts. I have TONS of pictures to share; I have been horrible lately with uploading them from my memory card.
Our roof is getting a makeover and this dumpster was camped outside of "Lauren's Room" for awhile. What was supposed to take only two days has now reached the almost two WEEK mark, ugh!
She loves wearing my lanyard from work and will search for it my purse until she finds it. Such a silly girl!!
Fall has arrived...hopefully! Lauren is so used to riding in the jogging stroller in next to nothing and was completely caught off guard when I put a sweater, gloves, and hat on her for our morning job. I was taken aback too and actually ran the full 5K pushing her in the jogging stroller. I attempted to beat my personal record and go for 40 minutes of continuous jogging but got a darn stomach cramp.
I love this new weather!
Lauren had her first experience in a swimming pool. I have to admit it was really cold and she was not a fan at first. Once she saw how much fun her Cousin Ethan was having though she seemed to enjoy it.
Picking on Cousin Ethan.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for race day. I wasn't nervous at all, the weather was great and it was only my goal to finish. I ran with my dad and took it nice and slow, much more enjoyable that way. This was our 'before' shot!
This was our 'after' shot. We decided to head back to the hotel to eat instead of staying for the pancake breakfast, it was cold out! The top three finishers in each age group received a medal...as you can tell from the picture, we all placed in the top 3. Kyle kicked all of our butts and trained the least.
I am planning on signing up for a 10K at the end of October and running another 5K at the end of November with my dad. I have to be training for something in order to continue running so the 10K will give me good motivation. I just bought a Jillian Michael's Yoga DVD at Target today so hopefully she gives me a good workout!
Lauren got to visit her Great Great Grandma while we were back in Iowa for the reunion. The last time that they got to hang out was Halloween 2009! Obviously, Lauren had some difficulty sitting still for her picture this time around...this girl has too much energy for her mom and dad let alone her Great Great Grandma!!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
I just love this photo because it shows how much these two looked like each other during the first few months!
so tiny...
Getting a glimpse at her personality
Thanksgiving 2009, our little gerber baby
Lolo loves co-sleeping
determination
no teeth
at the park
see my funny face
serious
babywearing
