Tips to Avoid Swine flu....... DONT DO THIS!

My mom just sent this to me- trying to make me laugh in the face of my fears. It worked :)

Terrified about the swine flu

This whole swine flu thing stinks- but this morning when I heard that a baby has died from it, I am now in a panic. Absolute panic. Babies are so sensitive to getting very sick from influenza, and children less than 1 year actually have the highest risk of death. I dont feel like there is much I can do to protect Lauren from this- since there is no vaccine to prevent people around her from getting it. I dont want to bring her to daycare again until this thing blows over, but not sure how to work that out and still have a job in the end. Please include all of the babies in your prayers, and that this stupid things blows over soon.

Casey and Lauren are buddies

Yesterday when we got home from work, Lauren and I sat on the floor and looked at our mail. Casey quickly wanted to be part of the group and jumped up on Lauren's lap. Luckily, she loves Casey and gave him some pats (and pulled his ear- ouch!). Such a cute little family- wish Jeff was in the pic.

Lauren's Art Show

Last week they had an evening open house and art show at Lauren's daycare. It was very nice- this is Lauren's artwork. It was hanging from the ceiling outside of her room- the first thing we saw when we walked in the door. I am so proud of her- brought a tear to my eye. My first artwork to hang on the fridge. The whole posterboard was hanging from the ceiling, but the purple square is a laminated placemat of her footie-prints that comes off. So cute!

Earth day (late)

So, I am very invested in planning for our future. I don't want Miss Lauren to have a ruined planet to live on when she is some one's grandmother. So I have really taken to protecting our future more than ever. Recycling has gotten so much easier in Denver in the past few years, and that is great. Jeff thinks I am a recycling fanatic- hey- those toilet paper role tubes are recyclable! But the biggest point I can share with everyone, is to use the re-usable shopping bags. I have 4 of them- and they are always in my purse (a mom-purse now...). Usually when I am shopping, I dont need to use plastic at all. This includes the clothes, liquour, sephora, target, bed-bath-and-beyond- EVERYWHERE. You dont really need all those plastic bags! (well, maybe for dog poop and dirty diapers, but heh- i dont need THAT MANY.
PS- most stores give you 5 cents per bag credit for bringing your own. Makes me feel good- it is better than a coupon!

Guard dog

Lauren's protector, Casey. Roar- Watch out!

Ski Train

Sad news... the Ski Train is done. It has been sold and will be moving to Canada. The ski train runs from downtown Denver right to the lifts at Winter Park Resort, and has been a Denver tradition for 69 years. It could carry 750 passengers per trip, and sold food and drinks on the ride. Jeff and I always thought it would be fun to try out some time- kinda romantic. But, too late now- we will never get to ride it. :(

Following my blog...

Ok, so I added this tool- see the right margin. It is a place you can sign in and "follow" my blog. I am not sure what all it does, it somehow updates you when I post, i think. I will be interested to hear what it does. But, if you are checking in with me, please add yourself as a follower, it will make me feel more like I actually have an audience reading all of this gibberish that I post. Also, I am sure there is some advantage to following- please leave a comment and let me know what happens when you add yourself as a follower... (I promise no purple Kool-Aid! It is safe to be my follower!!)

Happiest baby on the block

So, there is this DVD and such from some guru- it is called "Happiest baby on the block". Jeff and I did not watch/ read this. We are just blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Lauren truley is the happiest baby on the block- all without swishing and swinging and swaddling. As a matter of fact- she doesn't really like the swing, has always hated swaddling, and shushing tends to do nothing. She is just of a lovely happy disposition all the time (unless we shush or swaddle- hah hah!). Why are we so blessed? Certainly is not Karma, since I have heard all my life what a terrible baby I was- not sure why, but Lauren is the most smiley, happiest baby I have ever known. Even if she is fussy, she has certain things that make her laugh through the cries. Such a sweet girl- I hope she is always so happy and smiley. (could do without the drool, though...)

I love my Daddo!

But, I do think I look like my mommy...

(people always say I look like my mommy, but it wasn't until this series of pictures that my parents really realized who I look like- the eyes and mouth are certainly a dead give-a-way)

Listen people!

There are only so many hours left to go shopping. Lets hustle here...

Snowed-in again

Today is my day off, and once again the weather is stinky and we are expecting A LOT of snow. This keeps happening to me! Earlier in the week it was in the 70's, and I was hoping that it would stay that way so Lauren and I could go on a stroller ride and maybe lay on a blanket in the park- but no way! It has been snowing since I got up, and we may get over a foot of snow. So, we are entertaining ourselves indoors.

I broke out some bubbles to play with, I had been carrying Lauren around the house in the Baby Bjorn getting some things done, then we stopped to blow bubbles. She had fun watching them, and tried to swat at a few. Bubbles are much messier than I remembered! Today we played with them in the basement- but there are soapy spots on the floor, so I think bubbles really are an outside game.

Goofy baby

4 month well-baby check up

Friday Lauren had her 4 month Dr appointment. This picture is after the appointment - I put a sticker on her jammies for being a good girl for her shots. She barely cried- she is so tough. We learned early-on to leave her in her jammies for the Dr appointments, because you just have to strip them down to their diaper- and jammies are easier on-and-off.

Here are her stats: 14 lb 15 oz (75%) and 25 1/2 inches long (90%). She is growing well, and overall is very healthy. We are so thankful and lucky.

Fun visitors

This weekend was really fun. My very dear friend Anne came from Chicago with her adorable 9 mo old daughter. It was the first time they met Lauren, and we had a nice mommy-daughter weekend. Friday night Jeff watched both of the girls for a little while so that Anne and I could go to a wine bar downtown- it was soooooo nice to get out and chat with Anne. I love her- she is just such a close friend, about as close to a sister as I have. The rest of the weekend was spent hanging with the girls, and shopping. Both babies had viral infections, and it was snowy all weekend so we didn't quite get in the stroller rides we hoped for, but it was fun none-the-less. We both teared-up at the airport- I really hate to be so far away from great friends and family. But we are blessed - what a great friend to fly out here with a baby- now I owe her one!