NICOLE!

Jeff has a tendency to yell my name out from another room "NICOLE!" when he wants my help, especially if it involves a dirty diaper. Imagine the "NICOLE!" sounding like a crow "CAW CAW CAW!".  I tell him it drives me nuts and makes me hate to hear my own name sometimes. Well, last night Jeff was working and I was making dinner while Lauren nicely played with Lego's on the floor. Then she yells "COLE!, COLE!, COLE!". Oh my gosh- seriously?? Her too? No doubt she has been hearing this since she was a tiny baby, it was only a matter of time before she mimics it- Jeff thinks it is hilarious. I think- Oh no, now there are two of them!!

Our New Daewoo

Our microwave died a few weeks ago, so we thought we should replace it. We happened to be at Costco, and wouldn't you know there are only 3 microwaves to choose from. Perfect- we dont like to have too many choices when neither of us really cares - its just a microwave. Better yet, only one of the 3 is white which will match our kitchen. Even better! So we bought the Daewoo!! It was dirt cheap, and made us laugh the whole time. Who new there was a Daewoo microwave, I thought they only made tiny cars.  Ha Ha! Don't be too jelaous of my fancy new appliance, friends!

Corn Muffins- dairy and egg-free of course.

Not excactly a prized recipe, but I make corn muffins using the Jiffy box mix, and we love them. I have started to make them using soy milk and substituting flax seed for the eggs- they are super yummy and Lauren eats them up.  I like them with jalepenos, so I fill a few muffin cups for Lauren and then add the jalepenos to the batter for Jeff and I. A couple weeks ago, Lauren was eating her muffin and kept wincing and rubbing her nose (but she kept eating it). I thought she was just being weird, until I bit into my muffin and it was pretty bland. Turns out she was eating my muffin with the jalepenos in it- and it was half gone! She is going to fit in well in our family.

BLTs for breakfast?

Does anyone else do this? My husband thinks BLTs are breakfast food- I absolutely think they are for lunch/ dinner. But we are eating them at 7am today, fueling up for the 7inches of fresh powder at WP. I like mine with avocado- yummy...

New movie for the grandmas

This movie is for the grandmas, everyone else might find it kinda boring. I just know that my mom watches the book reading video over and over, so I thought it would be nice to put a new "everyday" video out there. This is using my new camera (which I am not very fond of) so I am not sure how it will turn out.

Teddy Bear

Lauren has really taken to this teddy bear. I couldn't resist taking these shots- I think babies are so cute in just a white onesie.

If you enlarge this last one- check out the sign above our bed. I love this picture with that caption at the top. It was just by chance, I didn't notice it until I was looking at the pics on my computer.

1st day of school?

Not really, just couldn't help myself. She is really into backpacks right now.

Playing in the snow

Thursday was gorgeous and the snow was melting fast so we made a little snowman and Lauren ate some. I took a video, am just having a hard time getting it into blogger. Here is Lauren with her best buddy enjoying the snow and the sunshine.

My Barbie Doll

Yesterday I had a bit of a shopping spree at the new Nordstrom Rack in Denver. The store was so nice, but a crazy zoo!! Lauren got a ton of stuff, including beach shoes and a swim cover-up. Here are some pics of my personal little Barbie doll as I dressed her up in some of her new clothes.

The new Tutu ( she didn't have a blue one yet, you know...)

It hard to tell, but this dress is gorgeous. The fabric is part silk and is kind of shimmery. The bottom edge and the little cap sleaves are pink eyelet lace- so delicate and beautiful. This will probably be her dress for a wedding we are attending on memorial day weekend.

Snow Day!

Today most of the schools in Denver are closed because of the snow. We got a lot- just under a foot, I think. And it is the heavy, wet stuff- I was soaked by the time I finished brushing off our cars.  Lauren's daycare is open today, but not until 9am- so Jeff stayed home with her until he can bring her in.  I left them my car, and had to drive in the pontiac- yipee (read: not really my choice in deep snow). Just think, in a few years Lauren is going to wake up excited for such days!

Blizzard (again)!

Tonight we are supposed to have another huge snow storm getting about 5-10 inches overnight. Around the time I left work today it started to "thunder-snow". There is actually a weather name for it, I just cannot remember it. But, it was snowing and there was thunder and lightning- weird. It is coming down like crazy right now, and we are hoping that the daycare is open tomorrow. Seems crazy that it was almost 70 degrees and sunny yesterday- gotta love Denver!

Nanny update

Day 1- no troubles. I came home to a very happy little girl. They played a lot, went for a stroller ride and played some more. Lauren took a nap for 2 1/2 hours. She ate and fed treats to Casey- sounds like this was a great choice for all of us. I talked to Michelle today and they are having fun again- yeah!

Nanny weekend #1

So, this weekend is the first weekend since Lauren was born that Jeff and I are working the same weekend. We both work one weekend a month, and when Lauren was born we switched to opposite weekends so that one of us could be home with while the other one is working. This has been hard on us for the past year- we only have 2 free weekends per month to do stuff together and to go up to the mountains. So, part of our new year resolution was to get more family time and get our lives back to normal. 

Step 1: hire a nanny. Easier said than done. Today is the very first time we have paid someone to watch Lauren besides her daycare. Her nanny is Michelle, and she works at Lauren's daycare and is a new college grad. She is very quiet and sweet and had 2 "trial runs" - once when Jeff was home and working on the computer downstairs, and trial 2 was dogsitting Casey when we went to Florida. Casey seemed OK, so here we go....  I have only called her once so far (not gonna tell you what time it is...) and I could hear Lauren laughing in the background. Is it always going to be this hard to trust someone with Lauren?  I spent hours shopping online for nanny-cams but Jeff talked me out of it. I probably couldn't figure out the technology to set it up anyway.  Will keep you posted on how the rest of the weekend goes. The good news- we have THREE weekends in a row off together after this- yipee!!

Step 2: Put Lauren in daycare and ski together. Done. We did this last weekend when our friends were in town and it went well. I had to be talked into it. The food allergy thing had me worried- there could be sippy cups of milk everywhere and what if these people forgot? Nothing happened! and Jeff and I got to ski together for the first time since April 2008- WOW~! It was about time, I would say. This was a great step for us.

Step 3: Hire a babysitter and go on a date.  Working on this one. Really, we are- I have 4 phone numbers from teachers at our daycare.  We have until the 3rd week of May to accomplish step 3, so be patient (mom!).

Allergy update

So, I didnt really post any exciting news from Lauren's 15 month pediatrician visit because it wasn't really that thrilling. She is doing fine, and she is dropping a little bit on her growth curve and  I am truley blaming her allergies and crazy food restrictions for the drop.  But anyway,  I was reading this post today on an allergy mama website that I read- and it got me thinking about her food allergies and how far we have come.  There is no new/ exciting news on the allergy forefront- she is still severely allergic to eggs and dairy and we will not be even considering more blood tests until she stops having frequent reactions- maybe not until she is closer to 18-24 months.  She has not eaten (to my knowledge) any foods containing eggs or dairy, her most frequent reactions occur when she gets kisses from her daddy after he eats something with eggs or dairy in them.
The good news, after reading this other woman's post I am realizing how routine and normal it feels to cope with her allergies! I am constantly finding new *fake* foods- like the two types of fake mayonaise I have tried.  It almost feels routine and I dont worry that often anymore. I think when other people join us for meals they worry it will be hard or strange, but it really turns out to be pretty simple and normal meals for us all. The only exception-  it is really hard for me to trust others. We did bring her to a daycare at the ski resort this weekend, and it was one of the hardest things I have done.  I was absolutely terrified that she would get her hands on a milk sippy cup. They promised me no milk in the room with her, and they seemed to take it seriously. And, they have an Emergency room on the first floor of the building, and wouldn't you know- no problem at all. Turns out - it just isn't the end of the world- whew!

Grand Park Rec Center

There is a new recreation center in Winter Park, and today we finished out our vacation with a trip to the water park there. Lauren's favorite parts are the lazy river and the baby playground and baby slide. There is actually a huge water slide in there, too- but Jeff and I haven't checked it out yet- they make me clausterphobic!

View from the top

Ahhh.... vacation. This is how I spent yesterday afternoon- snowboarding down Parson's bowl at Mary Jane. Not too bad, heh? The Black-eyed Peas kept me company on my i-pod while Jeff and Lauren hung out together. Yes- I am above the treeline, one of my favorite places to ski at the resort on a sunny day.

Then L & J met me at the base of Winter Park at Lime for a little Apres Ski with margaritas and soy milk.

Ski Vacation

Shot Ski

Jeff and the Girls

Sledding!

Lauren and Ella

Lauren: Ella, come here- No one is looking

Ella: Are you sure?

 

Lauren: Let's do it, it'll be great!

Ella: Yeah, they are too busy talking, they wont notice we are gone till we are splashing away in the pool.

Lauren: Wait- I cannot reach the doorknob, can you???

Ha- this seems funny now, but in a few years.....

Ski day!

Yesterday we had a great day skiing. Our very good friends Laurie and Joe came to visit with their little girl and we went skiing on saturday. The girls went into daycare at the ski hill and we hit the slopes. I am not going to say it was easy to leave them, Laurie and I had to check on them and fret a bit, and one of the girls struggled a bit with napping (they are social Diva's, ya know...) but it was a wonderful day. It was the first day since Lauren was born that Jeff and I have skiied together, and I am so happy that we put the girls in daycare. At first, I was in favor of just taking turns skiing and watching the girls (which is what we usually do), but it was so much fun to just spent the day on the mountain.

It was a super-fun weekend with our friends, and the girls had a great time together- more pics to come!

Heading to the Mountain!

Friday night our friends arrived, and we headed out to the resort Saturday morning with the girls.  They were the CUTEST girls at the resort that day- hands down!

Apres Ski

Deserted!

This morning I had a great time snowboarding at the resort. I couldn't believe it - there we no lift lines at all! The first picture is fresh powder on a side of the Mary Jane Trail, and the second is of Cramner. Both runs are typically very busy, so I had to take some pictures because I couldn't believe they were so deserted. It took me until after 11am to hear that Berthoud Pass was closed for several hours this morning to clear an avalanche- that is why no one is up here. Heh heh- more fresh tracks for us!

VACATION!

We are officially on vacation! We have a week off, and we are spending it in the mountains to ski. Jeff is too funny, he said he is more excited about this ski vacation (we are just going to our condo in winter park) than Mexico!  What a goof- I guess that just reinforces what a great idea it was to buy a second home in the mountains, right?  We are having visitors for the weekend, our good friends Laurie and Joe are coming and bringing their lovely daughter Ella who is Lauren's age.  We have been looking forward to their visit since we planned the trip last autum- these guys are the kind of "easy" friends where you feel so comfortable and it is a joy to have them as guests.  You know what I mean? We just be ourselves, no stress, no pressure- it is going to be so fun.  The girls are going to check out daycare on the mountain (read= two mamas actually get to ski for once...) and we are going to have a great time. 

Other activities for the week, well- lots of skiing (snowboarding for me- too cool for ski's ya know...), some snowshoeing (we still need a Kelty for Lauren, hmmmmmm) and just generalized relaxing in the mountains. Oh, and I would assume a lot of beer drinking and pigging out. Hmmm- does sound fun, doesn't it??

ps- this picture is from July. Can you believe this is the same girl? Gosh, she changes so fast!

New Camera

So, my camera hasn't been working right, and I really cannot live without my little camera in my purse. Especially with my little super-model daughter whom I love to take pictures of. So, last night I made a quick run to Target and grabbed a new little camera. I really didn't research or put thought into it, I just grabbed one and went. I got the Nikon Coolpix- and I think I am going to like it. It has a touch-screen, that you can use to point at your subject and shoot photos and to slide through your pictures. It was not very expensive, and the technology is so much fancier than my old camera- it is crazy how fast technology advances, isn't it? I haven't set up to put the pics on my computer yet, so that will be the true test- how good the photos look. But, for ease of use and cool features, I am giving it an A so far. Anyone have this camera or have any opinions? The beauty of Target- I have 90 days to return it if I dont love it. I am planning on testing it out this weekend, and I certainly will bring it back and try another if I dont love it. I bought a Sony in the past and brought it back 2 days later because the pictures were too blury.

Epcot

Lauren got to see Minnie Mouse and many others, and ride a nemo ride and see more big fishies. She is definitely an aquarium fan.

Sea World

First Lauren got to pet the sting rays. She wanted to jump in an swim with them.

Then we watched the dolphins. They were much more interesting from down below.

Oh, Big Fishy...

Family Photo. We bought Lauren a frame to put this picture in her room.

Update

So I thought we were over the sickness, but turns out it wasn't so. I got really sick early last week and have been down-for-the-count.  We did make it to Florida, but it wasn't really all that we had hoped and dreamed. I had a high fever and was crabby as could be, and the weather was not good. Overall, I would like to erase the month of February from my mind and am happy to start again in March. Icing on the cake? My camera is breaking, so I dont have very many new pics from our trip, but i will post a few. Lauren is advancing by leaps and bounds. She walks like a champ, has 1 tooth and 3 more "buds" coming in. She can repeat almost any word (backpack, poop, shoe, sock, baby....). She is truely our little rock-star!