Merry Christmas!

Lauren had so much fun this week. She loved decorating the Christmas tree - assisting with the lights, beads, and ornaments. Unwrapping the presents was lots of fun, but playing with her new toys was even more fun. And Christmas dinner was a surprise as well - who knew she liked filet mignon? She wouldn't touch the potatoes or green beans, but steak - 'more, more'!

My First Updo

Lauren came home from daycare on Mon with this new hairdo. She'd just gotten her haircut (so even less hair to work with!), but I guess the teachers there know how to work 'hair magic'. Stew picked her up that evening, and was a tad embarrassed to stop at the grocery store with her on the way home :)

Ho ho ho.....

This year we visited Santa and Mrs. Claus at work - and I was quite impressed by the spread. There were cookies & punch (even cookies to ice and decorate), a table of little toys/trinkets for the kids to pick from (we chose a wooden number puzzle for Lauren), a movie playing in the background, and pictures with Santa for only $1. Sure beats the mall Santa prices and crowds. Now if we could only get Lauren to smile....

The Dog Days of Summer

The day after Halloween, we decided to check out the 'Peek-A-Boo' event at Pecos Park, where pet owners and their dogs dressed up in costumes. Lauren was in heaven; dogs everywhere :) They also had some bounce-houses for the kids, and several tents set up for pet services and products. We strolled around a bit, and also watched a kids costume contest. After that, we headed to the nearby playground so Lauren could have some more fun - until she dropped (or threw?) her sippy cup in the sand. And boy, it was a really hot day for November!

An Apple a Day

Lauren likes to say the word 'apple'. She also likes to eat applesauce, and occasionally, a slice of apple. But she definitely surprised me the other day, when she grabbed the apple from my lunch bag and sunk her 6 little teeth into the tart green skin! Amazingly, she was able to get a few pretty good bites :)

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! Lauren visited four houses for her first trick-or-treat experience. She received quite a lot of candy for just four houses, but she really liked the little pomeranian doggie who also greeted her at house #2. She had fun inspecting her loot when she got home, but couldn't quite figure out how to tear into the candy wrappers.

Baby Bargain

We were shopping at the mall the other day, and I came upon these cute pink camo baby Crocs at Macy's. They were marked down to $3.99 from $29.98 - what a deal! They are a size 6/7 though, so Lauren will have to wait till next year to wear them. However she does enjoy putting them on and walking around in them anyway; that goes for any other shoes for that matter, including mine.... :)

Chewy Goodness

Made oatmeal raisin cookies this weekend - and the recipe (from Everyday Food) is a keeper. Lauren gave it a thumbs up too. The cookies turned out crispy on the edges, but soft and chewy in the center. I also like that the recipe makes only 2 dozen cookies, so I don't feel obligated to eat too many :)

Under the Weather

Lauren had a rough week. Picked her up early at day care on Mon with a high fever, that peaked at 105+ on Tues night. This prompted a trip to the ER, since the fever would not go down. A virus was suspect, but she had several tests done to rule out other things - strep, UTI, bacterial infection, lung infection - all negative. The fever finally broke on Fri, and the characteristic viral rash appeared all over her body. Along with her fever, she's had a runny nose, cough, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and has been quite lethargic - poor thing. The pediatrician suspects an enterovirus due to all her other symptoms, and she slowly seems to be returning back to her normal self.

Animal Lineup

Ok, which one of you stole my sippy cup? Lauren carefully lined up doggie, turtle, and bear, on the edge of the chair. She readjusted them several times too, giggling all the way. I'm not sure where she learned how to do this. P.S..... Looks like it may be time for a haircut :)

I found my thrill.....

on Blueberry Hill. Costco has great fresh blueberries - they sell a huge 2 lb container of big plump delicious blueberries, with hardly a bad berry in the mix. We ate some fresh, then froze the rest. Lauren really seems to like them (though she enjoys playing with them too). Yesterday we made blueberry pancakes for breakfast - oh boy!

I Scream, You Scream

I wanted to make a fun treat for the 4th - decided on ice cream cookie sandwiches. Originally I planned to bake the cookies from scratch; what what was I thinking? Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie dough to the rescue. Made a dozen cookies (froze the other half of the dough for a rainy day), sandwiched a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies, and froze for a few hours. Yum!

What does the cow say?

Lauren almost knows how to say two animal sounds now - a cow and a chicken. I ask her what the chicken says when she is actually eating chicken (not very P.C. I suppose). I'm not sure she 'gets' it, but she does reply with bok, bok, bok (sp?). She's still working on woof woof, and meow. I thought she'd learn these first - as she loves chasing her cats, and always has her dalmation, named 'Doggie', by her side. PS. If you look closely, you can see her first tooth (on the bottom). Seems like many of the others are about to pop out soon too - maybe they'll all come at once, to get her back on schedule :)

Beach Babe

I'm all set - come on let's go for a swim! Pool season is officially open. And would you believe the pool temp is already up to 86 degrees? Lauren had fun splashing around in the pool this weekened - and even drank some pool water too. We also decided to enroll her in a parent/child swim class at Pecos Park, starting next month. Hopefully she will like it.

Cool Treat

I've seen the ad and recipe for this dessert - Strawberry Whipped Sensation - in more than one magazine, and had been wanting to try it since it looks so pretty :) It uses fresh strawberries, condensed milk, coolwhip, lemon juice, and oreo cookie crumbs (that's my favorite part). It's probably not very good for you, but it tastes yummy, and remakably similar to a strawberry ice cream cake.

Birthday Bash

Lauren had a great b-day weekend. All the grandparents came to town to celebrate. On Sat, we went out to breakfast, then later went to JCPenney to take some 1-year portraits. The photographer wanted to take a picture of Lauren with wooden letters spelling out 'ONE', and while Lauren enjoyed the 'O', she wasn't really into the 'N' or the 'E'. On Sun, we did brunch at Sweet Tomatoes (which Lauren napped right on through), then opened gifts and had some cake in the afternoon. It took her a while to warm up to the cake, finally tasting her frosting-coated fingers. She was also eager to play with all her new gifts.

A Pinch to Grow an Inch

On her actual birthday, Lauren got to pay a visit to the pediatrician, for her 1-year check-up. She's slowly but surely adding ounces and inches - up to 18 lb 12 oz, and 29 1/4". But, three shots too?? Not such a great b-day gift, Mom! She wore her band-aids proudly as she headed back to daycare - but didn't come home with them - apparently they are a hot commodity in infant-land, and the other little kiddies pulled them off. Eeww....

Story Time

Lauren enjoys her books - she likes to carry them (the bigger the better), pull them all off the shelf (and make quite a mess), and of course flip the pages (board books are preferred, since she can't damage them much :) ).

Costco Splurge

Picked up these IZZE sparkling juices on the last visit to Costco. Kinda pricey ($11.95 for a 12-pack), but very tasty, made of 70% fruit juice with no refined sugar, and pretty packaging (I'm a sucker for). My favorite of the 3 flavors is the blackberry.

Steppin' Out

.....with my baby. Lauren took her first steps 2 weeks ago, and is now a pretty good walker. She's been practicing her new skill constantly, with a lot of exploring along the way.

She also graduated to the next class at daycare. Her former teachers gave her this ball as a graduation gift :) and she just loves it. She wants to pick it up and walk with it, and tries to bounce it too.

Here Kitty Kitty

Lauren loves her kitties. She lets out a high-pitched squeal every time she sees them, and they usually run the other way. Despite her increased mobility, she still can't catch them. Lucky for them :)

Pasta Night

Have done a lot better recently at planning meals for the week. (It seems to come in waves). This dish is one of my favorites - Linguine with Shrimp Scampi, from Barefoot Contessa. It is easy, light, and quite colorful. Also tried the Fish Tacos with Salsa Verde, from this month's Everyday Food, and plan to make the Chicken-Fajita Tostadas later this week. The tacos took a little time to prepare (with all the chopping), but cooking the tilapia was a breeze, and the dish was very flavorful.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Lauren loves to splish and splash during bath time. She also enjoys sucking the water out of her terry-cloth bath toys (yuck). We're still using the baby bath tub - it's very roomy, with one end for newborns, the other end for babies who can sit up. She's anxiously awaiting the completion of our master bath remodel though, so she can try out the new air jet tub.

Bottle Swap

With all the recent reports about the potentially harmful effects of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) used in hard plastics, we decided to switch Lauren's bottles. After reading several reviews online, we chose the Green to Grow bottles. They are very similar in shape to the Avent bottles we'd been using, and even have cute little smiley fruit faces on the front. My only minor complaint is that after sterilizing the parts in boiling water, the caps were very tight and difficult to remove once placed on the bottle. However I emailed with customer service (I think I've actually been corresponding with the company owner), and they are going to send replacement caps. So overall, have been very happy with these bottles. Plus, the company is very eco-friendly, using soy inks, 100% recycled packaging, etc.

Finger Lickin' Good

As we move on to finger foods, we need to mentally prepare for the messes to come.... Lauren went to town on this biter biscuit the other night. She had also had fun mushing some fresh banana today. And after another go at the sippy cup today, I had to change her dress because it was soaked - she still needs a little practice :)

Fun in the Sun

We're back! Lauren really enjoyed her first vacation. She logged lots of beach time, and even took her morning naps oceanside - how can you beat that? The highlight for her had to be tasting (literally) the sand :) Swimming in the pool with Mommy and Daddy was lots of fun too. Lauren also enjoyed exploring the house where we were staying - here she poses before we headed out for a yummy dinner one night. She had fun on her first plane ride too, chatting it up with the other passengers, and pausing every so often (thankfully!) to catch some zzz's :)

Smooch!

Happy Valentine's Day! Lauren had a fun first Valentine's Day. She got a cute Valentine's card from one of her teachers, and also brought home a fancy laminated red heart doily with her picture in it for Mommy and Daddy.

Standoff

Earlier this week, Lauren figured out how to stand up in her crib. There's a little less napping at nap time now, since she likes to practice her new 'skill'. Daddy is going to have to lower her crib mattress to the bottom rung before the weekend is over... Amidst all the fun, Lauren has managed to get sick yet again. Her cold from two weeks ago never quite went away, so the pediatrician suspects it probably turned into a sinus infection, and prescribed an antibiotic for her. Plus, today she had her first fever. Poor little Lauren! Hopefully she licks this, and remains healthy for our upcoming vacation.

On the Move

Lauren is now officially mobile. She's not a proficient crawler yet, but she does get up on all fours and go forward. She is especially attracted to the tile floor (good traction), and the cats' scratching post.

Lauren has also been working on her push-ups - to ensure she remains trim and slim. Bikini season is just around the corner! Unfortunately, she's also caught another cold... Hopefully it won't last very long.

Biscotti Bliss

I've never had biscotti - since nearly all the biscotti sold contain nuts, and I'm allergic to nuts. But over the holidays, my mom brought me some (nut-free) lemon/white chocolate biscotti that she'd made. It was delicious. I tried the recipe (from Cooking Light) last weekend - though I used orange zest/semi-sweet chocolate chips instead (the recipe suggested this as an alternative). It was not only easy, but delicious, and only 55 calories a piece. I think I am addicted now; I want to try a combination of lemon, dried cranberries, and white chocolate next.

Pizza Pizza

This month's issue of Everyday Food had a quick and easy recipe for a Two-Cheese Tortilla Pizza. It uses whole-wheat tortillas, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with canned diced tomatoes, kalamata olives, mozzarella, and parmesan - with a touch of fresh basil at the end. Liked it so much (and had so little time) that we made it twice this week. It paired nicely with some simple homemade tomato soup, another recipe from Everyday Food.

Baby Sniffles

Well, it was inevitable - Lauren was going to get sick sooner or later. Last weekend, she caught her first cold (first me, then Lauren and Stew). It was so hard to see her sick, with her stuffy/runny nose and red swollen eye. We kept her home from day care for 2 days, so she could get some extra sleep and TLC. But as I hear from many moms, colds and day care go hand in hand. Well the good thing was that Lauren didn't seem that bothered by her cold - she logged some additional time practicing her reverse scooch - all the way under our TV stand. After a week, a lot of tissues, some antibiotic eye drops, saline nose drops, and our trusty nasal aspirator (which she isn't too fond of) - she's doing much better, aside from a lingering cough.

Happy New Year!

Hard to believe 2008 is here! Lauren had a fun first Christmas. Not sure what she thought of the Christmas tree, but she did have a good time pulling on the branches. She had lots of fun playing with her grandparents, and meeting her uncles, aunt and cousins. She got many great gifts - fun toys, books, stuffed animals, and adorable clothes - she is one lucky girl.

Lauren liked wearing her santa hat and jiving to the Christmas tunes. She also spent part of the holiday practicing a new move - the reverse scooch. She is beginning to get up on her knees, but hasn't figured out how to move foward yet. In any case, let the baby-proofing begin...