We have a roller!

Lauren has accomplished a very signficant milestone...rolling over from back to tummy! Can we give a baby an award for this??? This is a big deal for big babies, PEOPLE! Well, at least for my big babies. I will admit, we did a very very bad job of doing tummy time, so "tummy to back" still has not been accomplished, so knowing that she did "back to tummy" is a big deal. While some babies seem to accomplish this goal early on, in my opinion, I feel the larger the baby, the more mass to coordinate, which means they need to be stronger to roll over. With that, I give you proof of the accomplishment and in my book, a big one. This mommy is very proud of her big girl!!!!!

Lauren is 5 Months Old

At five months, our sweet little peanut is interacting more and more and it just makes it that much harder to leave every day for work. Being a mom is HARD work, but the ability to love another human being on this level is beyond priceless and I have the blessing of loving 2 of my own. The sweet baby sounds and giggles and the cuddles and kisses make it all worth it. I love my kids more than I can ever explain, and hopefully one day they will truly understand what that means, until then, one of my many duties I've initiated is to record their monthly accomplishments in their first year of life.

Lauren, at FIVE months:

• Weigh approximately 17 lbs
• Wear size 6-9 month clothes 
• Wear size 2 diapers and upgrading to size 3 very soon
• Drink 6 oz a bottle every four hours during the day and as of 1/21 we have been trying to give you water at night to AGAIN try and eliminate night feedings. So far, you are STILL waking up! So my conclusion, you are waking up out of hunger and not habit because you insisted on even drinking the water. Back to nighttime feedings
• As of 1/21, we have also done CIO (that stands for "cry it out' for all you non-moms). While this is NOT anyone's favorite thing to do, I will say that, you my dear need to learn how to fall back to sleep. You are still waking up at random times and cry till we come back in and either feed you or give you the pacifier. Your body clock wakes you at 5 am EVERY morning and we have to put you in the swing so you can go back to sleep until 7 ish (sometimes this works). Thank goodness for the baby swing!
• You seems to be on a more consistent schedule throughout the day, FINALLY: start at 7 am with 5 oz (you are never hungry in the morning), nap is from 9-11 (75% of the time), eat 6 oz at 11 am, nap from 1-3, eat another 6 oz at 3 pm with baby food (sometimes), sleep on the way home for 20 minutes around 5:30 pm, bath time is b/w 7-7:30 pm (you love bath time) and off to sleep you go.
• Naps are also still a work in progress. You either need to be rocked back to sleep or on the swing in order to go past the 30  minute mark, after that you usually sleep for 1-2 hours.
• An attempt to put you to bed un-swaddled was made, but only lasted all of 30 minutes, therefore you are still swaddled when you nap and sleep
• Your hand eye coordination is greatly improving and you grab everything you can get your hands on. Everything you grab goes directly in your mouth.
• You are starting to grab your feet and this is insanely adorable
• Didn't take long for you to learn to eat solids. Now you open your mouth if ANY food crosses your path
• You love to grab the spoon I'm feeding you with and put that in your mouth yourself
• You have a sensitive tummy so NO RICE CEREAL for you ever again. We only feed you fruits that start  with "P" and sweet potatoes, green peas, and squash. No apples or bananas for fear of constipation. 
• You did decent with your sippy cup, but not your favorite
• You love to pinch and grab...hard! 
• You are very ticklish!
• Teething has begun :(
• You are officially off your reflux medicine. This happened right before your 4 month birthday
• You are starting to hold your bottle better for a few seconds
• You especially love grabbing faces :)
• You can put the paci in your mouth with no trouble as long as we put it in your hand
• You love to play with Sophie the Giraffe and your car seat toys the best
• You definitely enjoy the exersaucer a lot more and have officially started to jump in it as of 1/22... So cute to watch!
• You can stand really well for long periods by holding on to my hands 
• You are sitting unassisted for 10-15 seconds now
• Your giggles have turned into full scale laughter and is one of the MOST adorable things you do
• Your eye is still suffering from a  clogged tear duct, but we have 4 more months for it to clear on its own, praying it does!
• You have a brother that adores you and protects you like a big brother should (see video #1). Even though you unintentionally pull his hair, he still won't stop kissing you. And you love him back! (see videos #2)
• Have the cutest, most pinch-able and kissable cheeks on the planet. Although we refrain from pinching.
• Those eyes of yours are gorgeous, which makes you one beautiful little girl
• Are a daddy's girl like you wouldn't believe
• Above all, you complete our family!

 

 

 

Infectious laugh

Tonight was one for the books! Lauren was graciously eating her pears while Julian was practicing writing his letters, while I commended Julian on his "excellent" work, Lauren couldn't help but laugh hysterically every time I'd say it. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do. Love her soooooo much!

Happy New Year 2014

We celebrated the New Year at Tia Mollie's house (sans Lauren). Although our sweet girl was at grandma's asleep, it was Julian's first time experiencing fireworks and he loved it!  He even lasted until 12:15am, at that point he was ready to go home and so were we. We all had a great time ringing in the new year with nothing but the best family on (both sides)!

 

 

My favorite picture of the night! I got lucky with this shot.

 

 

Lauren is 4 Months Old

My baby girl is just getting bigger and bigger by the day (figuratively and literally). She overfills our hearts with so much joy and happiness and has truly made our family complete.

Lauren, at 4 months:

• Weigh approximately 16 lbs Update: At 4 month checkup on 1/10/2014, you weighed 17 lbs 2 oz (95%), 25 inches in length (68%) and a head circumference of 16.75 (82%)
• Wear size 2 diapers and 3-6 and 6 month clothes
• Drink 5 oz a bottle every three hours during the day and 1-2 times at night 
• I tried to give you more throughout the day (6 ozs) in hopes of eliminating your nighttime feeding, but you wont finish that last ounce half the time so we are still at 5 ounces.
• You sleep from 7:30 to 6:30 and wake up twice to eat (the time is all over the place: midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, etc) and as of 12/23 have been waking up at 5:30-6:00am (not fun!)
• You are STILL on your OWN schedule and not interested in sleeping on a standard baby schedule
• Naps are still catnaps (enough said!)
• Your wake time is now 2 hours long (big improvement for a cat napper)
• THIS is the newest development and a big deal: you are starting to aim & reach for objects with your hands and guide them to your mouth. Great hand-eye coordination, which makes mommy sooo proud! You have successfully put your paci in your mouth with very little of mom's help 
• Your smile is one of your best attributes along with those gorgeous eyes AND eyelashes
• Your babbles are constantly changing into multiple sounds and I honestly can't get enough of it (keep talking my sweet)
• You don't laugh a whole lot unless we tickle you, but that smile is constantly on your face and who can complain about that?
• Tummy time is greatly improving and I think you'll be rolling over by next month (fingers crossed)
• I hope I don't jinx this, but you are very chill and can totally hang out alone for 30 minutes in your rocker or play mat (I hope this continues)
• We tried your exersaucer for the first time on 12/21 and your enjoyed it all of 5 minutes :)
• We celebrated your first Christmas and it was a true blessing
• Bath time is still your absolute favorite and the only thing we actually do on schedule b/w 7-7:30pm
• On 12/26/2013, mommy gave you your first solid food...sweet peas! You weren't all that impressed, but you'll be gobbling that stuff down in no time!
• We can't emphasize enough how much your big brother adores you. He helped open all your Christmas gifts and put them next to you while you watched. You love him very much too!

It's true what they say, "The days are long, but the years are short", therefore, I am enjoying every single moment of your life, sweet girl. Mommy, Daddy, and Julian love and adore you!