Sun Hat

Do you remember Lauren's favorite hat? It was a gift from Aunt Alison, and we have been so sad that she has outgrown it. Well, it is back! I found one on ebay in a larger size- yay! The only downside- no chin strap. So I am going to have to make one to sew on there. Many new pics to come of her in the cute white sun hat! :)

How do I leave comments on a blog?

How do I leave comments on a blog?

OK, I am posting step-by-step directions on how to post comments on a blog. I still get a lot of questions about how to comment on my blog, and many people think that they need my password to do this. It is a little confusing, so here are the steps to follow...

1. Click the "comments" link underneath the post you want to comment on.
2. Type in the box on the top right titled "leave your comment"
3. Word verification: in the box, type the word that is written in color above the box.
4.Choose and Identity. If you dont have a google account or dont want to use it, choose the cicle next to "Name/URL" and then type your name in it. Leave URL blank if you want to.
5. CLick "publish your comment"

Tada!! OK, time for you to practice, get out there and comment, people! (I really, really like to read comments on my blog- I know that there are more than 3 people reading my blog, but it is nice to be reminded that you all read it and care what I put up there. If I get more comments, I might just pick up the pace and become a more regular poster).

Arkansas Trip

We are back from Arkansas, and I am basically dead tired. Flew first class on the way home, and MAN WAS THAT NICE! Lauren and I can share one of those big seats well, but traveling alone with a 1 yr old takes a lot out of a girl. Here is just a tiny taste of the photos from my trip- you are all in for a real treat- there are oodles more to come. Turns out that my siblings all are excellent photographers and have MUCH nicer cameras that I do (I am totally envious- both of the talent and the equipment). Lauren and I just went for a long weekend to visit family-and we had so much fun. I got to meet nieces whom I have never met in person, and Lauren got to meet everyone and be doted on by her older cousins. We went to a birthday party with a pool and a trampoline, and basically melted in the Arkansas heat. Thanks everyone for a really fun trip!!

I am fairly certain this first one should be in a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue, dont you think?

   

Father's Day

We had a fun day on father's day- played at the playground at the park, played with the hose outside, naps for daddy and Lauren, lots of fun! We had planned to go to the free jazz concert in city park with our picnic basket for dinner, but it was so hot out we decided to go for the air-conditoned bliss of Old Chicago instead. I love the one of them both reading the menu- they are like two peas in a pod sometimes!

Watermelon

Currenty one of her favorite foods...

Parties!

We have been on the summer party tour- last week we went to 4 parties!!  These shots are from a bday party for our good friends' 2 year old twins- Nick and Lara.  We have been hanging out with these guys for years, but it is funny to see how our get-togethers have changed now that we have children. These pictures crack me up- of course Lauren's version of "smile" is her scrinchy face. And the other one she is saying "airplane" and pointing at the sky. Then she says "bye-bye gamma" - she thinks her grandmas are flying around in the sky on airplanes all day. I told my mom that maybe Lauren thinks she is a flight attendant?

Sushi Night

Last Friday I went out for sushi with friends from work. We went to Sushi Hai, so yummy, and got the party room. Afterwards we went out for a drink and I didn't get home until 1 am!! Cannot remember the last time I was out that late- so fun!

Happy Father's Day

Have a great day to all the dads!

18 months

So, Lauren is 18 months old, and today we had her well child visit with the pediatrician. All very good news- she is growing better and meeting all of her milestones. Actually, he told me that she has already met all of the milestones for 2 years old, so I should sit back and enjoy her for the next 6 months. Knowing our pediatrician, he probably says that to all the moms- but I am going to choose to believe that Lauren is an exceptional child. Here are her stats: Height 34 inches (96%), Weight 24 lbs (44%).  On the allergy front- he is not interested in testing Lauren again, his best guess is that she may never outgrow the egg allergy and if she outgrows the dairy allergy she will probably be much older- like 9-10 years or older. So he advised me to just get used to it. Hmf!

As for 18 month pictures, we haven't taken any yet, but I am really excited to visit my dad and his family next weekend, and my step-sister Catherine has agreed to take some shots of Lauren. Catherine is a very talented photographer- check out her blog- and this is sure to be a real treat.

Greeley man thwarted in mission to kill bin Laden in Pakistan - The Denver Post

Greeley man thwarted in mission to kill bin Laden in Pakistan - The Denver Post
I love this story! The guy might be a little crazy, but I love his "Git 'er done" attitude.

Ice Cream

There is an ice cream shop just a few blocks from our house that opened when I was pregnant, it is very yummy- but we stopped going there when we found out about Lauren's dairy allergy. Well, today at work one of my friends told me they have vegan ice cream (read: no dairy, no eggs!) YIPEE SKIPEE!! We went down there tonight and Lauren and I shared an oreo vegan ice cream cone- it was super yummy and she knew just what to do, despite the fact that it is her first ice cream cone ever. :)
Grandmas- I will tell you how to get there in case you want to walk down there and buy her a treat.

Lauren's favorite things....

Lauren's favorite things right now? Stickers, baby dolls, books and water. Bonus if any of these things can be done OUTSIDE.  She is easy to please, whenever I am at Target I pick up a pack of stickers, she always loves them!! We just stuck a bunch of sheets all over ourselves and on a coloring book. I have to admit, I love them too! And it is much less messy than the water table or the hose (although on a warm day, they both are a must for her!)

Daddy is a shopper too

Today I had to work while Jeff and Lauren hung out- they went to REI and came back with theses pink Merrell's for Lauren. Too cute!

Lauren's future room

So, I have had my eye on this bedding from Pottery Barn since before Lauren was born. This will be her next bedding, and it has just gone on sale. I am inclined to buy it before it goes away, but I am unsure of what size to buy, twin or full size? I know people who start their kiddos out in a full size bed, because it comes in handy when they have company.  Any tips would be appreciated! She is of course in the crib for a while, but I am wanting to buy this for the next step, because if I dont I will spend  too much time looking for the perfect bedding and have this image in my mind. Isn't this so pretty?? So joyful and amazing...

So, I just went and picked out everything I think I want and it is kind of pricey, so this may be on her Christmas wishlist....

Stool for Lauren to wash her hands....

Not sure what we will do with it when she grows up.....Jeff and I are both so tall we really dont need a stool around here...

These apples are delicious...

Lauren loves apples, she is constantly chanting "apple?, apple?, apple?" So on Monday I cut half an apple up into little slices for her and she insisted on eating my half that was not cut up. She still only has 4 teeth, so I am not sure how she does it, but she had a blast and ate most of it. Also notice how soaking wet she is- this was a snack after playing with her sand and water table. She also took a couple of shots at drinking from the garden hose.

Fun with Grandma V in WP

Lauren had a blast with her grandma, and woke up Tuesday morning saying "Gamma, Gamma!" and looking around the house for her.  They made a fort and put on make-up and yelled at cars from the balcony and went swimming, among many other fun adventures.

Here are some other random Lauren pics from this weekend.

Wildlife in WP

Baby fox- there is a ditch just around the corner from our house in WP, and we walk by it on our nightly walks around the block. Every spring the mama fox has a few babies- here is one of the twins from this year.                             

These are HUGE moose tracks just outside our balcony (our balcony is behind the rock/ stroller in the background.

Limited edition NICOLE painting

I want to give my friends and family first chance at a limited edition Nicole painting that is going up for sale. Some of you have seen this lovely gem, it came with our home in Winter Park. It is an original oil signed by the artist "Nicole"! Well, I have replaced it with some aspen tree pictures, and I cam give you the chance to purchase this interesting painting. It is at least 5 feet tall- just think of the possibilities!!

LOL- this is my new pictures, it is blurry in this shot, but looks much better. And just teasing about selling the picture to you all- it lasted about 20 minutes on the curb with a FREE sign on it, and now it is someone elses problem. Hope no one misses it too much!!

Technology Rocks!

I love spontaneity, and having a little girl has kinda made that more difficult for us. Well today I am on a high from doing a very spontaneous thing. This morning my mom and I decided that she is coming to visit tomorrow, and I booked her a flight this morning using my FF miles.We just started to talk about it yesterday, and I came in to work this am to get an email from my mom saying "just do it", so  I did. We will see her tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend. Doesn't technology amaze you? You can just decide on a whim, hop on a plane the next day and viola, you are over a thousand miles away in just a couple of hours! Life IS good!

North Dakota Weekend

Too busy to caption them all, and too many to post them big. Click on a picture if you want to see it enlarged. The little blonde boys are Lauren's cousins, and the other kids at the church on the steps are her 2nd cousins.  She had lots of kids to play with and went to the pool every day- it was a great weekend.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!! Thank you to all of the men and women who serve in the military and god bless the families of those who have been lost. We had a great weekend in Fargo at a family wedding, I will post some photos this week!