updates

First of all, this is what Lauren does while Mommy is using the computer(IF she is not taking a nap, like today!) She looks out the glass window of the office...or takes a ride in the computer chair! :)

My roommate, Beth, from dear old JC called me today to "follow up" on the post about Lauren's not sleeping. Well, wouldn't you know that after 3 nights of that insanity....Lauren now sleeps from 8pm-7:30am (ish) without a peep! I think sometimes (as with all babies, I'm sure) they take a step back before going forwards.....so for Lauren, she seemed like she was trying to add an extra night feeding when really she was about to drop that last one before midnight. So I'm getting tons of sleep and when Lauren woke up this morning at 6am, I didn't even really mind! (we've been MAJORLY off schedule today...but oh well!)

Also, she is now LOVING Gerber puffs and has mastered her version of the pincer grasp that involves a 2 finger hold...it's really funny. Now that she doesn't gag from the new consitancy, I have to watch that she doesn't stuff them all in her mouth at once.
She is aslo crawling like a Nascar baby about 200 miles an hour around the "track" of our small house. (when we bought this house; there were no babies on the radar....but more about the house at a later post) She also is pulling up on low- to- the- ground objects such as our air mattress that is in her room as well as mommy's lap when I am sitting on the floor with her.
I was taking pictures of her today in this cute red polka dotted shirt that a lady from church bought for her (Alli has the same one and I LOVED it on her!) and I really think she was POSING for the camera...tell me what you think. With the economy in the shape it is i, I may need to think about exploiting my child into baby modeling or baby beauty pageants!! :) Just kidding!

great deal on prints

Oh my goodness! Snapfish is having such a GREAT deal on prints. You can get three 8x10 prints for only $5.00 and/or five 5x7 prints for only $2.99 up until Valentines Day! (well, you have to order online and pick up at your local Walgreens, but that is no big deal for me!)
Now, Jason and I are definately watching our pennies these days and trying to get things paid off and extra put into savings- HOWEVER....I have been wanting to "blow up" some prints of Lauren for her baby book and just couldn't bring myself to do it because of the price. These prices are so good, they are literally like paying the price for one 8x10 or 5x7 and getting the others free. The coupon says "can only be used once" but I am devising a way around this by submitting separate orders so that I can use the codes mulitple times. Cheating? Maybe. Lying? Not quite! I am soooo excited because I think this will give me motivation to get Lauren's scrapbook caught up which is so one of my New Year's Resolutions! In case you or anyone you know uses snapfish...here are the codes:
8x10 code is 8x10WAL
5x7 code is 5x7WAL

Also, I got my March edition of Creating Keepsakes Magazine in the mail today and was sooo excited because they have right there on the front cover, in HUGE letters... 165 WAYS TO GET ORGRANIZED....love it!! I love to organize and when I have the time, nothing makes me happier than to organize my stuff. It also features some great free downloads from the creatingkeepsakes website. Oh happy day!
Now I just need some free time (ha!) to devote to scrapbooking (nearly impossible with an active almost-9-month old underfoot...) but maybe I can bribe Jason to "watch" her play in the living room while he is watching Nascar this weekend and I could scrap until I am needed to feed her! Sounds like a plan!

NOT sleeping

Ok, so Lauren has NEVER been a good sleeper. At first, I attributed it to her reflux and the fact that she spit up all night long and had to be changed or sleep in wet pjs. Then I heard that breastfed babies just don't sleep as well, because they digest their meals so much faster (although I have 2 friends whose bf babies have been sleeping undisturbed for 12 hours at a time for months now.) My darling angel baby just started "sleeping through the night" (as in 5-6 hours at a time) LAST MONTH...when she was 7 MONTHS OLD!! You can imagine how little sleep I have been getting.
Lauren used to just wake up and not be able to go back to sleep without a paci. It wasn't time to be fed, I really don't think she was even hungry. But Jason and I were doing this MANY TIMES all night long. Then, at about the 7 month mark, she started sleeping long stretches; waking for a feeding around midnight and then sleeping until morning (7am or so) I have been so excited and have literally gotten more sleep during that month than all of Lauren's 7 months of life combined!!
However, I am not a very sound sleeper and I hear every little peep from her. If she is just "fussing" a little, I just try to ignore it and she usually goes back to sleep. HOWEVER, in the past week, she has started waking early (between 2am and 5am) and crying. (and I mean the kind of crying you can't ignore). 2 nights ago, Jason went in and rocked her back to sleep. Last night, (or I should say, this morning) she woke up at 5 am and was screaming. She was sitting straight up in her crib and when I came in, she started smiling and laughing at me.....ok, NO we are NOT waking up at 5am!! So I gave her the paci and tried to get her to lay back down. She screamed LOUDER and much more DESPARATELY....as I walked out of the room.
I thought maybe she would settle herself back to sleep, but 45 minutes later, she was stille fussing and keeping me awake! Jason was getting up for work anyway, so he went in and patted her or something because he told me she was back asleep. What gives? She has been doing so well and now is just pitiful. I don't want to ignore her needs, but I can't figure out what they are at this point! All of my family and in-laws and even my dear hubby (who all mean well) are convinced that it has something to do with the breastfeeding. They are assuring me that if I will simply switch to formula, she will miraculously go to sleep and not wake up until morning. I can't believe that this could be true...and am not doing any such thing until I speak to her pediatrician at her 9 month well-baby checkup on the 20th.
I'm sleepy.....I should be taking a nap instead of posting this!! :)

let it snow!

We got 2 inches of snow this morning! That is the most we have seen in the 4 1/2 years that we have lived in TN. People were building little snowmen and sledding down the hills on my street. It was so funny. Jason was like a kid in a candy store....he LOVES snow!!

mommy's little helper

Today Lauren decided to help me with the laundry...or maybe she WAS the laundry! :)

Lauren is crawling!!

Last week Lauren decided to take the plunge into crawling....she had been getting up on her hands and knees and kind of rocking back and forth...then she was army crawling herself using her forearms across the floor and now she has pretty much got the coordination down to crawl. Sometimes she still sticks her right leg out straight when she stops to rest or starts crawling...Jason says it's her kickstand so she won't fall over!! (don't you love her little baby legwarmers? I LOVE seeing her little toes and thighs poking out of the ends of them! She loved them and crawled around the house in them all day!)

on the road again

We were on the road again (ha!) this weekend to Alabama. We weren't too busy...just a birthday party, baby dedication and baby shower all in 2 days!! We got to celebrate our nephew Logan's 2nd birthday early on Sat. (he will be 2 on Feb. 23) and then dedicated Lauren at Jason's family's home church. Afterwards, we got to shower Jason's cousin Heather with gifts for her soon-to-be born baby, Will. It was a fun weekend, but we were exhausted when we got home!!

Lauren refused to be held by anyone except myself or Jason (further proof that a little separation anxiety has set in!) without screaming and crying. I had a talk with her because she needs to know that Jason's family is only getting bigger with each marriage and birth....she's gotta get used to a lot of people and noise!!

I have been enjoying our days home together a lot lately. (of course there are still those days that I feel I will go crazy!) We are pretty much in a good routine (I don't like to use the word SCHEDULE!) She started crawling last week and is getting pretty quick. Needless to say, I have been frantically babyproofing our house!!