2008 Christmas Card Pics!!

Last Sunday we got Lauren all dressed up in one of her Christmas dresses and plopped her in a rocking chair in front of our tree for a Christmas card photo opp.....she was hilarious! Jason took the pictures while I "entertained" her and she really posed and smiled for the camera! Here are the results. (For those of you "lucky" enough to be on our Christmas card list, you will be getting your very own copy very soon!)

Christmas brunch and Angels on Earth

So last Saturday, our church had a ladies' Christmas brunch. I volunteered to "hostess" a table for 6 other ladies and myself. It was fun because each hostess got total creative freedom (well, within reason I suppose) to decorate her table in a Christmas theme based around her own Christmas dishes. Some people really got creative...there was one table with big lit up candy canes as a center piece and all the dishes were red. Another table had blue snowflake dishes and big stuffed snowmen in the center. My dishes are the "Winterberry" pattern by pfaltzgraff so my theme was pretty much red and green with holly berries. Here are some pics of my table and of my mom and sister at the brunch (I, of course, was the photographer and forgot to put myself in one)



After we got home from the brunch, Jason, Lauren and I went Christmas shopping in Chattanooga. We were leaving Target and Jason was carrying Lauren to the car (she can now sit up in the top of the basket like a big girl!) which means I was carrying the diaper bag, my purse and the bags from the store. I paid and put my wallet in my purse as we were walking out the door. We were about to cross the parking lot when I heard someone say "ma'am; you dropped this back there...."
I turned around and there was a man holding my wallet!!! I can't tell you how much I could have hugged him! I thanked him about one hundred times and would have given him cash if I had any in my wallet! I can't imagine what a nightmare it would have been to lose my wallet...especially now at the holidays...I would have lost debit cards, 1 credit card (thanks to Dave Ramsey) gift cards, driver's license, insurance cards, ugh...I can't go on! That man was truly an angel on Earth! I seriously stopped right then and there while waiting for Jason to unlock the car and thanked GOD AND JESUS for sending that honest man to pick up my wallet. Not one thing was missing. Even better, his young son was with him and what a lesson he learned that day.

Lauren's new trick

Lauren has learned a new trick this week....when I lay her down in her crib for a nap (or even sometimes at night) she rolls around and flips onto her tummy. Now, keep in mind she can roll back and forth both ways....except in her crib apparently!
Monday I heard a lot of grunting coming from the monitor and then shrieks!! I tiptoed upstairs to see what was going on and all I could see was the spiky hair on top of her head and her little eyes peeking over the top of the crib rail! She had flipped onto her tummy and couldn't figure out how to get back! I flipped her over and got back downstairs...only for her to do it 2-3 more times! At first it was funny and a little pitiful because she was "stuck" so to speak, and I had to come and rescue her. Now, I think she's doing it on purpose so she won't have to go to sleep!

Lauren's First Thanksgiving

This was our year to spend Thanksgiving with Jason's family (we try to alternate every year). We headed to Marion on Wednesday and stayed until Sunday! It was nice to get away, spend time with family, and relax. Lauren met some of Jason's family members that she hadn't seen before and she also took her first "big girl" bath...sitting up in the inflatable tub with her cousin Alli.
On Saturday, we went to Jason's brother's house in Birmingham for an Iron Bowl party (Roll Tide!) Laruen and Alli had little cheerleader outfits and Jackson and Logan had little football jerseys. It was so cute!
Then on Sunday, we got to bring Lauren to the church that Jason's parents attend and she met more new people! She had missed her morning nap and fell asleep on Jason's shoulder. We ended up laying her on a blanket on the pew where she slept peacefully throughout the service.
We really enjoyed our time in Alabama, but it is also good to be back home. It seems really quiet here compared to a house full of cousins!!

6 month check-up

Today Lauren went in to see Dr. Saji for her 6 month check up. She weighed in at 16 lbs exactly and was 26 and 1/2 inches long (she's a string bean!) The doctor said everything was looking good and that Lauren was obviously a happy baby....but then she had to have her shots! She got a total of 5 vaccinations...1 was oral and our doctor has the new combo shots (thank GOD)...so she only ended up getting stuck 3 times because she also got a flu shot. My poor baby....she cried so hard her face turned bright red! It wasn't pretty! But then we picked her up and loved on her and Jason took her to the car while I made her next appointment. By the time I got to the car, she was laughing and playing with her plastic keys...all was well again.
In other news....she is now falling asleep pretty much on her own (with the help of the paci every now and then) around 8:30 pm and sleeping until 8:00am with only one feeding about 2:30. This is heaven! We are excited to take her home to Jason's family for turkey day because they haven't seen her in a few months and she hasn't met any of the members of Jason's parents' church (that we'll be visiting on Sunday). Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! In all things.....give thanks!

Lauren is 6 months old!

I can't believe that my little girl is 6 months old! She has changed so much in the last month! Last Friday night I decided it was time for her to move upstairs to her own crib. (she had been sleeping downstairs in our room in the pack and play...long story!) Anyway, that night she woke up every hour or two crying! I told Jason "she hates her crib....this is awful!" (My biggest fear was that she would love sleeping in the $100 pack-and-play for the rest of her life and never want to sleep in her beautiful, expensive crib we had so carefully picked out for her!!) But I am not a quitter, so Saturday night I put her back in the crib. She still woke up a lot, but not as much. We ended up shopping in Pigeon Forge Sunday and got to see some snow....it was so fun!

Then on Sunday night, God truly answered my prayers and Lauren fell asleep in her crib, all by herself, at 8:30 and she slept in her crib until 7:00 the next morning (despite 2 feedings). This was a HUGE improvement! And everday this week, Lauren has done better, sleeping longer stretches at night, taking longer naps during the day, falling asleep without being fed or rocked or whatever other crazy techniques Jason and I were doing! I am sooo happy! I have gotten more sleep in the last week than I have in the past 6 months! WOW!!

Lauren has also decided that solid foods are her friends and she acutally likes quite a few (cereal and green vegetables NOT included!) She enjoys bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, applesauce and even prunes!

Life with a 5 month-old

So, my life dramatically changed 5 months ago when Lauren was born. First of all, I became a stay-at-home mom, which is for real, hands down, the hardest job on the face of this Earth! (and this is coming from a former preschool teacher...also a hard job with little respect!)
While I was pregnant, (and being the "reader" that I am), I read every book on pregnancy and child birth and babies that I could get my hands on. Wouldn't you know that I end up with a baby who doesn't care what any of the books say! Lauren is such a sweet baby, but when it comes to doing things the way that (and I'm quoting the baby books....) "most babies" do - Lauren wants nothing to do with it! She has her own schedule and way of doing things inside her little baby head and will not be made to do things any other way. It's actually really funny, but keeps me on my toes big time!
She still does not sleep more than 4 hours at a time during the night, and naps for only 45 minutes to an hour during the day. All my other mommy friends with babies her age have angelic children who love to sleep 12 hours straight at night, with 2 hour naps throughout the day! Like I said, Lauren did NOT read the books! :)
Unfortunately, she currently has her first "cold" with a runny nose and little cough. I have been doing my best to keep the snot under control, but she screams bloody murder every time I come near her with a nice, soft burp cloth to wipe her nose (you'd think it was sand paper!)
More to come...stay tuned!