A rare few minutes

Lauren is a baby who loves... no... INSISTS on being held much of the time. :) She is taking a nap beside me right now, and is happily stretched out like a starfish. So, this gives me a few minutes to update the blog.

Wow! I had completely forgotten how much work having a newborn can be. She is totally worth it, but it has been a shock because I had just plain forgotten what it is like to have this precious little baby who is totally and completely dependent on us for everything. I am completely in love with her, though, and this makes it all 100% okay.

Let's see... since she was born three weeks ago yesterday (6lbs 14oz and 19 1/2 inches), she has gone through two growth spurts! She is now 21 1/2 inches and a little over 9 lbs! This baby girl LOVES to eat, and she is definitely chunking up. She is starting to have a few more alert periods, but she still spends a lot of time sleeping. Up until the past couple of days, she would not sleep unless one of us was holding her. Clay says she definitely has my "snuggle gene." :)

She is starting to make new sounds. At first, she just cried. Then she started the grunting. Now, she squeaks and squeals, and I love it! This morning, I also heard an "ahh" sound, and she has never made that before. She is making eye contact more often now, and I was talking to her yesterday and she smiled at me twice. Now, I *KNOW* it is too early for it to be a "real" smile, but it was so absolutely precious! I can't wait for those smiles and laughs to become more frequent.

In good news for me, I have lost 24 of the 36 pounds I gained with this pregnancy! So, only 12 to get back to where I was when I started. I am determined to get back to the gym soon. Clay and I have been taking Lauren for a walk some evenings, but it has been really hot the past couple of days. We just have to figure out some sort of schedule so that we can still exercise and have a happy baby at the same time. :)

Brittany and Zach are technically with their dad and Julie for their six weeks, but I am still seeing a lot of them. Zach finished his regular baseball season, and his team won the league tournament (Go Ferguson Health Care!!) He is now playing on a tournament team, so we will brave the heat of summer to go and watch him play some more. He is really doing well, and I can tell that he has been practicing with his dad. He rarely lets a ball get past him anymore, and he is getting some great hits!

Brittany has spent a lot of her summer at the pool, and she has the tan to prove it! She definitely did not get my skin, because she tans a beautiful golden color. She is getting ready to go to camp next week, and she is super excited! She is such a big help with Lauren, and she loves singing to her.

Lauren is starting to stir... oh, and there went a poop, so I will add pictures later!