Lauren is continuing her cognitive journey... and she has now learned to wave "bye-bye"! It started last week when my mom (Mimi) was getting ready to leave. She waved to Lauren and told her bye, as usual... only this time, Lauren waved back! We got really excited and tried to get her to do it again. Of course, this excited Lauren and she started waving both arms. haha Anyway, she has been consistently waving for about a week and a half now. I love this!! It is so cute! She is also having a lot fun with the activity table that she got for Christmas, and she spends most of her time standing at it and playing. She is almost to the point now where she doesn't fall and scare me by hitting her head, but every one in a while when she is trying to walk around the table, she falls. I seriously am thinking of investing in a baby helmet!
Report cards came out last week, and both kids had really good grades! Brittany made all As, and Zach had all As and one B. So, we were happy with that! :) Brittany had a cheer competition last weekend, and her team placed 2nd. They also got an invitation to compete in Baton Rouge in April, so it looks like Lauren will be taking her first LONG trip in the car! Let's hope she learns to like her carseat a little more by then.
Zach was sick last week, but he recovered quickly and has been in constant motion ever since!
We are out of school on Monday, and we are all SO happy to have a day off. Brittany will be going to cheer practice, since she has another cheer competition coming up next weekend in Hot Springs. Other than that, we are going to have a little rest and relaxations! :)
Baby Ticker
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
A look back at 2009
I keep thinking about updating the blog, but so much has happened over the past seven months that it just overwhelms me to even think about where to start. A friend suggested that I do a "year in review", and then I can just start fresh for 2010. What a great idea! So, Kristi, here I go! :)
JUNE
I think I left off in June, when Lauren was almost a month old.
She was not a happy baby during that time. She cried a lot, hated her swing, and pretty much was miserable anywhere other than in my arms. We finally discovered that she has reflux, and after starting Zantac, she became a MUCH happier baby!
In other June happenings, Zach finished his baseball season with his tournament team. They came in second in their last tournament, which didn't make Zach happy at all. He is not good at losing. I thought they did great, though, and we had a lot of fun watching the games!
\
JULY
In July, Lauren went on her first trip to Winnamocka, to drop Brittany off at camp and then to pick her up when it was over. Brittany loves camp, and this year was no exception. She had a great time, and she came home with lots of new friends to keep in touch with! Lauren started smiling in July, and also had her 2 month well-baby visit with her pediatrician. She was 14lbs 6oz and 24in. She started bearing weight on her legs and wanting to stand up in my lap. She did really well with the shots and only cried for a couple of minutes. Clay and I also celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a trip to Hot Springs. Lauren stayed with my mom, and we all had a great time!
AUGUST
August brought with it our first family vacation with Lauren. We didn't want to go too far, so we decided on Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. This vacation needs a blog post all by itself, so I may have to go back and do it later. It was one to rival National Lampoon's Vacation! In short, my MIL was going to go with us, got carsick just 30 minutes down the road, went back home, started out again, got several hours down the road, realized my cell phone wasn't in the car, drove an hour back, only to realize that the cell phone had fallen out as I got in the car and had landed on the step board thing of our Suburban. The only reason it hadn't fallen off is that it had landed in the spot where MIL had gotten sick earlier that day. So, yeah... quite a memorable start to the trip. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was without incident. We met Clay's sister and her family, and the kids all had a great time.
Brittany also started a competition cheer squad in August. She loves it, and it has been so good for her! Both kids started school at the end of the month... Brittany in 6th grade, and Zach in 3rd! Both have great teachers, and are doing very well in school.
SEPTEMBER
September was a busy month. Zach started soccer, Brittany was busy with tumbling and cheering, and we got ready to move. Lauren also went to her first Scrapper football game! I thought she looked super cute in her little Scrapper outfit! We also did a family fun run 5K for the Charitable Christian Clinic of Howard County, where Clay volunteers twice a month. We took Lauren and pushed her in her stroller. Brittany ran most of it, and we all had a lot of fun! That night, we took Brittany to see Taylor Swift in Little Rock. It was a fun concert, and it was also the longest that I had left Lauren at one time. Everything went well. :) Lauren went for her 4 month well-baby visit in September, too. She weighed 18lbs 5oz and is 26 in long. She cried during the shots, but was in a great mood all day. She also found her thumb, but she prefers to gnaw on it instead of suck on it.
Zach turned 9 years old in September, and we celebrated with a bounce house obstacle course at our church's activity building. The boys all had a great time, and Zach said it was his "best birthday ever." :)
OCTOBER
October was also a busy month. The first weekend of the month, we moved. We bought my grandparents' house, and it was a very exciting (and crazy) time! It isn't so easy to move with a baby! We managed to get settled, though, and as I type this (in January) we still have boxes that need to be unpacked. :)
Brittany celebrated her 12th birthday on the 23rd, and we had a Survivor birthday party. The girls completed challenges in order to win prizes. They all worked hard and had a great time!
The end of the month brought Halloween! We had a family fun night at church, and then on Halloween we had Trick or Treat on Main St. Lauren dressed as a skunk, Zach dressed as a wrestler, and Brittany was a hippie.
Lauren also started holding herself in a sitting position (if I sat her up). This made her SUPER happy! She spent a lot of time on her tummy "swimming" and playing, too.
NOVEMBER
Lauren's first Thanksgiving! She had a great time, starting the morning off by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade upside down. :) She loves to arch her back and hang upside down while growling like Monster Baby. After the parade, we went to Granny's to eat lunch. It was a nice day. The day after Thanksgiving, Clay's family came to stay with us. I cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal by myself for the first time this year! I was pretty nervous about making it all turn out okay, but it was actually great! We all had a good time, and it was nice to see everyone.
Lauren also turned 6 months old on Thanksgiving Day, and she got her first tooth a few days before that! She started sitting up on her own at the end of the month, and she crawls backward. :) Zach started playing basketball this month. It is his first time to play, since it starts here in 3rd grade. He likes it a lot, and he is doing pretty well! Brittany is about to have her first cheer competition, so she has been working hard toward that.
DECEMBER
Ahhh! One of my favorite months of the year. Christmas! I love everything about it. I also love that we get a couple of weeks vacation from school. :)
Clay and I started the month off by taking a week off of work. We didn't take a vacation this fall like usual, so we vacationed at home. We took Lauren for her 6 month well-baby visit. She measured 27 inches and 20lbs 11oz. The doc was impressed that she is already crawling so well and sitting herself up. He said she is exceeding the norm for milestones, and that she is “a perfect baby.” :) We got 6 month vaccines and her first flu shot. They also took blood to check her iron levels, which came back fine. :) He also took a good look in her mouth and said it looks like she is working on her second bottom tooth and top two teeth all at once! All of that slobbering has to be for a reason!
We went to the Christmas parade on Main Street, and we also went to Breakfast with Santa. Lauren did great with Santa... this could be because she knows him really, really well! haha
We went to Brittany's first cheer competition on Dec 12-13. It was in Ft Worth, which is NOT an easy drive with a baby who hates her carseat. When I say she hates it, well... that is probably an understatement. The competition went well, with Cheer Fusion placing 1st in one division and 3rd in another. The girls had an injury at the very last second, so they did really well going out and changing things up. Brittany had a great time, and she is already looking forward to the next one in January.
This was a special December, because Zach was saved and baptized. We are so happy about that. He is excited and got up and spoke about it to the whole church. :) What a wonderful way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! Zach also was an elf in a 3rd grade musical. He looked so cute and did great!
Christmas was lots of fun. We had several family celebrations. Clay's family came over the Monday before Christmas, and we got to visit with them that night. My brother, Jody, and his girlfriend, Robin, also came in for a couple of days. We ate and opened gifts at Mom's with them the night before Christmas Eve. The next morning, we got up and went to Granny's to eat and open gifts. Then, we had Christmas Eve at home complete with a little bit of snow! We got up Cristmas morning to open gifts, and then spent the rest of the day playing and resting. Lauren's favorite part of all of this was the bows on the presents.
So, I think that catches me up! I will try to do better about keeping up during 2010!
:)
JUNE
I think I left off in June, when Lauren was almost a month old.
She was not a happy baby during that time. She cried a lot, hated her swing, and pretty much was miserable anywhere other than in my arms. We finally discovered that she has reflux, and after starting Zantac, she became a MUCH happier baby!
In other June happenings, Zach finished his baseball season with his tournament team. They came in second in their last tournament, which didn't make Zach happy at all. He is not good at losing. I thought they did great, though, and we had a lot of fun watching the games!
\JULY
In July, Lauren went on her first trip to Winnamocka, to drop Brittany off at camp and then to pick her up when it was over. Brittany loves camp, and this year was no exception. She had a great time, and she came home with lots of new friends to keep in touch with! Lauren started smiling in July, and also had her 2 month well-baby visit with her pediatrician. She was 14lbs 6oz and 24in. She started bearing weight on her legs and wanting to stand up in my lap. She did really well with the shots and only cried for a couple of minutes. Clay and I also celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a trip to Hot Springs. Lauren stayed with my mom, and we all had a great time!
AUGUST
August brought with it our first family vacation with Lauren. We didn't want to go too far, so we decided on Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. This vacation needs a blog post all by itself, so I may have to go back and do it later. It was one to rival National Lampoon's Vacation! In short, my MIL was going to go with us, got carsick just 30 minutes down the road, went back home, started out again, got several hours down the road, realized my cell phone wasn't in the car, drove an hour back, only to realize that the cell phone had fallen out as I got in the car and had landed on the step board thing of our Suburban. The only reason it hadn't fallen off is that it had landed in the spot where MIL had gotten sick earlier that day. So, yeah... quite a memorable start to the trip. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was without incident. We met Clay's sister and her family, and the kids all had a great time.
Brittany also started a competition cheer squad in August. She loves it, and it has been so good for her! Both kids started school at the end of the month... Brittany in 6th grade, and Zach in 3rd! Both have great teachers, and are doing very well in school.
SEPTEMBER
September was a busy month. Zach started soccer, Brittany was busy with tumbling and cheering, and we got ready to move. Lauren also went to her first Scrapper football game! I thought she looked super cute in her little Scrapper outfit! We also did a family fun run 5K for the Charitable Christian Clinic of Howard County, where Clay volunteers twice a month. We took Lauren and pushed her in her stroller. Brittany ran most of it, and we all had a lot of fun! That night, we took Brittany to see Taylor Swift in Little Rock. It was a fun concert, and it was also the longest that I had left Lauren at one time. Everything went well. :) Lauren went for her 4 month well-baby visit in September, too. She weighed 18lbs 5oz and is 26 in long. She cried during the shots, but was in a great mood all day. She also found her thumb, but she prefers to gnaw on it instead of suck on it.
Zach turned 9 years old in September, and we celebrated with a bounce house obstacle course at our church's activity building. The boys all had a great time, and Zach said it was his "best birthday ever." :)
OCTOBER
October was also a busy month. The first weekend of the month, we moved. We bought my grandparents' house, and it was a very exciting (and crazy) time! It isn't so easy to move with a baby! We managed to get settled, though, and as I type this (in January) we still have boxes that need to be unpacked. :)
Brittany celebrated her 12th birthday on the 23rd, and we had a Survivor birthday party. The girls completed challenges in order to win prizes. They all worked hard and had a great time!
The end of the month brought Halloween! We had a family fun night at church, and then on Halloween we had Trick or Treat on Main St. Lauren dressed as a skunk, Zach dressed as a wrestler, and Brittany was a hippie.
Lauren also started holding herself in a sitting position (if I sat her up). This made her SUPER happy! She spent a lot of time on her tummy "swimming" and playing, too.
NOVEMBER
Lauren's first Thanksgiving! She had a great time, starting the morning off by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade upside down. :) She loves to arch her back and hang upside down while growling like Monster Baby. After the parade, we went to Granny's to eat lunch. It was a nice day. The day after Thanksgiving, Clay's family came to stay with us. I cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal by myself for the first time this year! I was pretty nervous about making it all turn out okay, but it was actually great! We all had a good time, and it was nice to see everyone.
Lauren also turned 6 months old on Thanksgiving Day, and she got her first tooth a few days before that! She started sitting up on her own at the end of the month, and she crawls backward. :) Zach started playing basketball this month. It is his first time to play, since it starts here in 3rd grade. He likes it a lot, and he is doing pretty well! Brittany is about to have her first cheer competition, so she has been working hard toward that.
DECEMBER
Ahhh! One of my favorite months of the year. Christmas! I love everything about it. I also love that we get a couple of weeks vacation from school. :)
Clay and I started the month off by taking a week off of work. We didn't take a vacation this fall like usual, so we vacationed at home. We took Lauren for her 6 month well-baby visit. She measured 27 inches and 20lbs 11oz. The doc was impressed that she is already crawling so well and sitting herself up. He said she is exceeding the norm for milestones, and that she is “a perfect baby.” :) We got 6 month vaccines and her first flu shot. They also took blood to check her iron levels, which came back fine. :) He also took a good look in her mouth and said it looks like she is working on her second bottom tooth and top two teeth all at once! All of that slobbering has to be for a reason!
We went to the Christmas parade on Main Street, and we also went to Breakfast with Santa. Lauren did great with Santa... this could be because she knows him really, really well! haha
We went to Brittany's first cheer competition on Dec 12-13. It was in Ft Worth, which is NOT an easy drive with a baby who hates her carseat. When I say she hates it, well... that is probably an understatement. The competition went well, with Cheer Fusion placing 1st in one division and 3rd in another. The girls had an injury at the very last second, so they did really well going out and changing things up. Brittany had a great time, and she is already looking forward to the next one in January.
This was a special December, because Zach was saved and baptized. We are so happy about that. He is excited and got up and spoke about it to the whole church. :) What a wonderful way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! Zach also was an elf in a 3rd grade musical. He looked so cute and did great!
Christmas was lots of fun. We had several family celebrations. Clay's family came over the Monday before Christmas, and we got to visit with them that night. My brother, Jody, and his girlfriend, Robin, also came in for a couple of days. We ate and opened gifts at Mom's with them the night before Christmas Eve. The next morning, we got up and went to Granny's to eat and open gifts. Then, we had Christmas Eve at home complete with a little bit of snow! We got up Cristmas morning to open gifts, and then spent the rest of the day playing and resting. Lauren's favorite part of all of this was the bows on the presents.
So, I think that catches me up! I will try to do better about keeping up during 2010!
:)
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