Oh Pacifier....

...where have you been all my life? We decided to give Lauren a pacifier the other day to see if it would help soothe her evening fussiness, and she was not interested at all. We tried again a few days later, and she decided it wasn't as bad as she first thought. It worked like magic.

Dim Sum Anyone?

Stew's parents visited this weekend, and we all went out to dim sum. Lauren was really excited for her first trip to have dim sum - but turns out she actually slept through most of it. Everyone enjoyed the food, but alas, yet again, they ran out of custard buns.... Sigh.

I Win

Just found this picture I'd posted to Flickr last summer. Stew and I partook in a friendly game of Scrabble, and I came out victorious. If I recall correctly, 'INDEX' was the top point-scoring word, falling on a triple word score square.

Packin' on the Pounds

Lauren had her 1-month check-up at the doctors today - she's up to 8 lb 9 oz! She still hasn't caught up to Chester or Riley yet. Luckily she was quite calm at the doctors, at least until she got her shot. But she did get a fancy purple dinosaur band-aid.

Tiny Toes

Ah, baby feet. Here, Lauren is waking up from a nap. I never realized what good stretchers they are - legs up, arms back, back arched... This stretching process is usually accompanied by a few sound effects too :)

Cat Nap

Sure is a lot of napping going on. The cats like to lay in our west-facing kitchen window to catch the afternoon sun, and a few zzzz's. What a life.

Since we haven't been able to break them of their 4am door-scratching habit, we have actually been feeding them in the middle of the morning - since we are already up with Lauren. Man, they're spoiled....

Hello Dolly

My mom's friend Pam made these beautiful Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls for Lauren. What a special gift, and the colors coordinate so perfectly with the colors in the nursery! Lauren can't wait to play with them when she's a little older.

Sweet Treat

Mom and Dad purchased these decadent cupcakes while they were here visiting, in honor of Lauren's 3-week birthday. Too bad she didn't get to sample them (though we enjoyed them for her). Each cupcake is a different flavor - mocha, lemon, orange, mint, cherry, and red velvet. Yum.

Hide and Seek

Riley dove under our TV unit to escape pursuit by Chester. This shot totally made me think of the Wizard of Oz, when the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. No ruby slippers here though, just paws.

Pucker Up

What wonderful expressions newborns make - most of which are involuntary. She's getting ready to blow a few air kisses in this photo. Much sweeter than the 'feed me' or 'change me' cry :)

Rough Day

What can I say.... she must have had a long day. If she is so tired, just imagine how Mommy feels :) As she approaches 3 weeks now, we have noticed she has cranked up the volume on those baby cries. So, no wonder she is totally zonked.

We're continuing to work in some tummy time here and there. Stew has observed that after she lifts her head, her little butt and legs go up in the air as her head lowers back down - just like a seesaw.

Baking Berry Strata

Have been catching up on TiVo'ed Everyday Italian episodes. This recipe for berry strata is from Giada's 'Kitchen Basics' episode, and uses ingredients that one most likely has on hand. I don't typically go for bread-pudding-like desserts such as this, but it looked easy and tasty. I was not disappointed; tastes really great, and not too sweet either. It can also double as a breakfast treat :)