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!

Freezer woes

So, a bad thing happened to us today. Jeff discovered that our big chest freezer in the garage had come unplugged. It is a big ole freezer and was full of wild game, frozen back-up foods, and 4 MONTHS OF BREAST MILK! Jeff was very sad to loose so much elk, deer, and pheasant- although some of it on the bottom was still nearly frozen so he kept the pre-cooked stuff. But the breast milk was on the top and well defrosted. We think it might have been unplugged for as long as 2 weeks, so in the trash went all of that milk. I want to cry. It took me so much work, pain and messing around to store up milk for back-up. I was so proud to have a back-up stash- just in case. And once I was done breast feeding we would still have milk to carry Lauren through for a few weeks. It has been something that I really wanted to do for her- give her only breast milk, no formula. Whenever I was screwing around with the stupid pump and all the parts to clean, I just thought of what a wonderful gift I was giving my baby. And to see so much go into the trash- Oh man.... I know it will be OK, and I know that formula is not bad, but it was a choice I was trying to make. Stupid freezer...

Bathing beauty

Today Lauren went swimming for the first time. She had so much fun. The pool at our condo is very warm- she loved it! I see swimming lessons in her future.