A Long Week

It's been a long, eventful week.

Where shall I start? Well, it all began the middle of last week. Peter came down with either food poisoning or the stomach flu. Because we weren't sure what it was, I packed the baby up and we headed to my mom's house just in case Peter was contagious. It's a good thing we did, because it ended up being the stomach flu. My mom and I actually caught a mild case of it but luckily Lauren did not have any symptoms. Unluckily both Peter and my sister were out of commission for about 4 days and I ended up staying at my mom's for most of that time.

We then had to travel to Los Angeles due to a death in the family. It was a long drive but Lauren did so well in the car. She fussed a little as expected, but for the most part she was such a good girl that we only had to take one break during the 7 hour drive. While we were there, Lauren's not quite 2 year old cousin contracted pneumonia and ended up in the hospital (poor kid...but he's doing much better now, thankfully). To be safe, we had to avoid all contact with him and instead of spending some time with the family, we ended up at a hotel. The only bright spot of the trip was that Lauren got to meet her Great Grandma for the very first time. The drive back seemed even longer just because we were so tired, but Lauren again was a trooper and we stopped only once on the way back so she could stretch her little legs.

Exhausted after a long week...

To top it all off, my mom was in a nasty car accident while we were away (she's ok, but suffered whiplash and has some back pains). Whew, I'm glad this week is almost over!

Grandma's poor car...

Happy Easter

Easter came and went in the blink of an eye. Because we had to travel to Los Angeles in the afternoon, we spent Sunday morning at church and packing our things for the long drive. What was in her Easter basket? Baby snacks, a bunny beanie baby and some chocolate for daddy.

Whaddaya mean I can't eat this chocolate?!

I wanna be a Super Hero!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.....SUPERCUTE!

She roams the floors for choking hazards, tests plastic toys made in china for lead, and plants slobbery kisses on unsuspecting victims.

She leaps over anything with a single bound (if you carry her)

She scales tall (and short) furniture

Can erase all sadness with one touch

But at the end of the day....

Even Super Heroes need sleep (with her sidekick, T. Bear)

St. Patrick's Day

We were invited to an early St. Patrick's Day dinner on Sunday were partook of a traditional Irish-American feast of Corned Beef and Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread, all were delicious. We then gathered round to watch a John Ford classic, How Green Was My Valley. All took place in a home that has 5 (yes, five!) cats and so far it doesn't look like Lauren has inherited her daddy's allergies.

Intrigued by redhead

San Francisco Days

Lauren had her first trip to the City today to visit her Uncles Chris and Ed. She experienced her first big city traffic snarl (thanks to the St. Patrick's Day parade) and her Uncles got their eardrums blown out.

We left her to take a nice stroll down to Hayes Valley and upon our return we heard our sweet little dear screaming her lungs out. Mind you, we were still down at street level in the courtyard of their building and we could already hear her so we rushed up the stairs to their apartment as fast as we could to relieve her poor uncles. Chris and Ed had the same glazed look in their eyes as new parents in the middle of a newborn's first night at home. She warmed up to them soon enough and despite the crying, Chris is still convinced that she's an angel and Ed still wants to be her best friend (especially if she shares her sweet potato puffs with him).

7 Months Old!

The days and weeks are just speeding past and it's just so hard to believe another month is gone. She's in a hurry to get moving, too. She's just about ready to crawl and rocks back and forth on her hands and knees before collapsing back down on her belly. She gets around by commando crawling (pulling herself forward with her arms) but that tires her out easily and when that happens she just lays there on her belly waving her arms and legs back and forth and crying. She can pull herself up to standing if there's furniture or someone's leg around to hold onto. She's taken a few steps too while she's up...doc says she might be one of those babies that just skips the crawling and starts walking right away. We need to baby proof the house ASAP!

You Can't Fool Me!
She's got a fake cry now...complete with eyes shut and mouth wide open with a pathetic and not always convincing "Huwaaah huwaahhhh." I've caught her doing this and then briefly peeking to see if anyone's looking.

Sucka!
She knows how to get her way, too. She'll throw you her gummiest smile, wrinkled nose and everything, and to top it off she'll squeeze her eyes shut for that extra kick of cute. How can you resist?

"I'll have the oatmeal with a side of pureed apples..."
Her menu has a little more variety in it. I've tried to make her baby food myself and use the pre-packaged stuff mostly for convenience when we travel. Making her food is actually not too hard, and just involves peeling, boiling (in the microwave usually), and throwing into the food processor. I've tried sweet potatoes (loves), peas (doesn't love), carrots, apples, and squash. She also likes plain oatmeal and we usually give her some close to bedtime to keep her nice and full and hopefully sleep through the night.

Sleeping like a baby..NOT!
The oatmeal trick doesn't work all the time, though. She had a couple of bad weeks of night waking and was up every 2 hours. The only way to get her back to sleep was to nurse. After a while I couldn't take it anymore and we decided we had to break her of the habit. When she woke at night, instead of nursing automatically, we took turns rubbing her back or tummy, singing to her, and comforting her back to sleep. Part of the reason for night waking was that we stopped swaddling her and she had to get used the having her arms free to rub her eyes and scratch her head which usually woke her up. Solution to that was to give her a stuffed animal to keep her fingers and hands busy and help soothe her back to sleep. It works! It took a few sleepless nights and a rough couple of days at work, but by the 5th night, she was sleeping 6 to 7 hour stretches without waking...and when she did wake up, she went back to sleep with a little back rub and a lullabye.

Separation Anxiety
As long as I'm in the room, she doesn't want anybody else to hold her these days, sometimes not even her daddy. It's flattering in a way to think that she wants ME and ONLY ME! Yay for mommy! She likes me, she REALLY likes me! But mama needs a break sometimes, girl! Hey, moms out there...how long is this clingy stage gonna last?!


There's so much to look forward to in the next month ...St. Patty's Day, Easter, Lake Tahoe! We'll keep you posted!

What's up doc?

At what was supposed to be her 6 month checkup (somehow we're a month behind as tomorrow she'll be 7 months old) Lauren got another round of shots and a thumbs up from her doc.

Her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 14 ounces (50th percentile)
Height 25.5 inches (25th)
Head: 41.1 cm (bet. 10th and 25th)

Her Doc was a little concerned that she did not gain as much as weight as she should have since her last appt., but he said it could be the teething (no teeth yet, but he says any day now!) or that she's gotten more active so not gaining as much...plus breastfed babies slow down their weight gain at about this time. Looking at her thighs and her round belly, there's no way that this baby is underfed! She's got a small head though... she gets that from her Daddy.

He said she seemed to right on track in terms of her development and skills and didn't even bat an eyelash when she peed on his exam table. She was in a good mood...that is, until it was time for the shots. As expected, she screamed immediately after the first shot. You know how babies sometimes hold their breath in between cries, like their building up enough energy to let out an even louder cry? Well, she paused a looooong time before letting another wail out. The nurse started rubbing her tummy, kinda half joking, and saying "breathe, breathe.." but then when a few more seconds passed nurse started rubbing her tummy harder and her voice became more anxious. Finally, after almost 20 seconds, Lauren let out a wail so loud they must have heard her in the parking lot, boy was she MAD! My mom was with us and that really freaked her out. She told me later that Lauren started turning blue while she held her breath and that's why she got so scared. I didn't see her turning blue because the nurse was in my way so maybe that was a good thing or I would've freaked out too.

Thirty seconds later she was fine and sniffling in my arms and we even went out to eat afterwards and she was feeling really good. Later that evening though she was fussy, feverish, and cranky with the after effects of the vaccinations. I ended up staying home from work the next day and she spent her 7 month birthday hot and miserable.

Luckily no vaccinations for another 3 months.

Movin' right along

Lauren's starting to pull herself up to standing all the time and is starting to take a few steps while leaning against something. She lost a leg warmer along the way...

A Day in Old Auburn

Peter had more wine business to tend to today, this time in Auburn, CA. It was another gorgeous sunny day and we enjoyed browsing through the antique shops in Old Auburn.

Spring Fling

We had a coupon for free portraits so we took her to get some photos in and out of her frilly Easter dress. Despite the coupon we got suckered into spending more than we intended...darn those picture people!

I feel pretty!



This is my favorite shot.

No wait, THIS is my favorite...oh, I don't know. I like them all!

Unexpected visitors

We had a nice surprise (well..short notice anyway) visit from some cousins tonight. It was fun until we had to kick them out 'cause it was Lauren's bedtime.

With Auntie Yoly and cousin Kevin

Not available in stores

Cardboard box: Free

Pillow to line the carboard box: Free

Old Belt to pull the carboard box: Free

The fun to be had in her new "car": Priceless

Who needs "hi-tech" when low-tech is so much fun...and FREE!

I can stand!

This is what Lauren was up to yesterday while I was at work A little fuzzy...taken with a camera phone). She can now pull herself up to standing in her mini crib at grandma's house. She's so proud of herself! Time to lower the crib!!!

Making new friends.

We went to church on Sunday morning and for the first time, we left Lauren at the church nursery during the service. I was very nervous to leave her there, but I knew she was in good hands. When we dropped her off she was asleep in her carseat and I just wasn't sure how she would react waking up in a strange place with strange people and kids running around. Halfway through the service I peeked in to see how she was doing, and she was having a good ol' time. One of the teenage assistants was holding her and Lauren was bouncing away on her lap while watching the other kids play. I snuck back to my seat and didn't return to the nursery until the end of the service. I was pretty impressed that she didn't freak out considering she'd never seen any of those people before but a little saddened that she didn't even seem to miss me even a little bit! I'm glad she had a good time though, next time I won't be so anxious leaving her there.

After church Lauren had her first playdate with my friend's two adorable daughters April and Amelia. April is 13 months old and it seems like a big age difference right now, but in a few years, that 7 months between them will hardly make a difference and I hope they grow up together to be good friends. It was so funny to watch her play with another baby, and her reaction after April innocently took a toy from her was priceless. She looked a little shocked. She looked up at me like, "What's happening? Toys are usually handed to me, not taken away. What do you mean 'share?!' What's that?!?" She just kind of sat there and watched April put the toy in her mouth, pondering this new experience.


These were her first real social encounters with kids close to her age. For now at least she seems to like meeting new people and doesn't seem to be shy at all.

Whaddaya mean I have to share?

Whino...

Lauren took her first trip to Napa Valley last Saturday. Peter had some errands to run for the wine business and so I thought it would be nice to tag along and of my friends from work came too. We stopped to deliver some cases of wine to a wine shop and then had a nice lunch at our favorite restaurant, Bistro Jeanty where Lauren enjoyed her own meal of carrots (yum?). After lunch Peter had an appointment at La Toque (where Kindred Wines is on the list!) so the girls went shopping. We found a cool kids' store in Yountville called Hansel and Gretel and we got her some cute leg warmers (my new favorite thing to dress her in) and a ribbon for her hair (grandma will be so pleased). We ended the day with dessert at Bouchon bakery.

A sunny but windy day in "Whine" Country

Lauren ordered the pureed carrots at Bistro Jeanty (not really...Gerber is more like it)