A quiet weekend

This weekend we hosted Dan's cousin Elena at our place. She was in town for a job interview on Saturday for a teaching fellowship position with the public school system here in Chicago. I'm afraid Dan and I are not very exciting since we stay home with Lauren, who still sleeps most of the time, so fortunately Elena was able to get together with a friend on Friday afternoon and another friend last night. Today I took her to Paciugo in our neighborhood to enjoy gelato. It is yummy!

While Lauren starting have more awake time during the day last week, this weekend she has reverted back to sleeping quite a bit during the day. Here is a photo of her sleeping on Dan's chest. I think it's so cute how she puts her little hand under her chin!

 

And a photo of Lauren in her swing this afternoon...

Lauren in a dress!

We have so many cute dresses for Lauren, but she has been sleeping so much that we usually keep her in footie pajamas. This week, however, she has started to have more awake time, so today I put her in a dress for the first time! It's a cute little print dress with matching bloomers. I added some baby leg warmers (courtesy of our hand-me-arounds from Emerson and Greta) to keep her legs warm. We went on an exciting "field trip" to Walgreen's today. :) Lauren slept most of the walk there and woke up while I was in the store, where she proceeded to scream and cry - which continued the whole way home until we entered the lobby of our building, where she quieted down. I think she recognizes "home" as she has done this several times. There's no place like home, especially when you are hungry!

Barbara

We feel so fortunate to have found a wonderful caretaker for Lauren on the days when I work. Barbara is Polish and has a daughter of her own (9 years old). She is incredibly sweet and loving with Lauren, which we love! I also enjoy having a lunch companion a few days of the week. Barbara has been making delicious salads for the two of us. It's pretty amazing...since Barbara started last week, I haven't heard Lauren cry really at all. Barbara is so great with little Lauren and knows how to keep her happy!

It seems like yesterday was a bit of a turning point for Lauren's schedule since she repeated the routine today. As usual, she woke up around 8am and had her morning play time for about 2 hours. But instead of going back to sleep, she stayed up for nearly 5 hours and enjoyed lots of playtime! She is much more alert now and making eye contact more regularly. No intentional smile yet, but I'm hopeful that is coming soon!

Barbara with little Lauren this afternoon.

Lauren fell asleep on Barbara's lap!

Birthday Cupcakes!

Whitney surprised me with a tasty birthday treat - cupcakes from Sprinkles! The box arrived today and the cupcakes look delicious, not to mention the presentation is beautiful. Between the cake from Barbara (chocolate raspberry champagne cake!) and these cupcakes from Whitney, we have enough sweets to last us quite a while. Now I just need to make room in our freezer so we can enjoy these treats over the next few weeks.

Lauren at 7 weeks

Lauren is growing up fast! Today I brought her with me to my Active Moms Club exercise class. She played (mostly looked around) on a blanket for about half the class. I think she had fun seeing new things and other babies!

This week she is also starting to make a lot more eye contact with us. I'm hopeful that a big smile will be right around the corner! I took these two photos of her this week - enjoy!

I'm 30!

Today is my 30th birthday! It's a little weird to be entering a new decade in my life. I feel very grateful for the life I have, and I feel most grateful for my family. I could not imagine a better marriage than the one Dan and I have. I feel so lucky that we are blessed with a healthy daughter. I love the close relationships I have with my mom and sisters. And I treasure the relationships I've built with Dan's side of the family. We are all very lucky! I feel very content as I enter my 30s!

I love the post Mom put up on her blog today. Reading it reminds me of how fortunate I am and how full my life has been and is today. Thank you, Whitney, for your birthday post too!

My morning started with a gift to myself - a nap! Our nanny, Barbara, arrived earlier than usual this morning so I treated myself to a long 2 hour nap and it was amazing. The weather was also beautiful today (in the mid-40s!) so we took Lauren on a stroller ride in the neighborhood, which gave me a chance to introduce Barbara to our neighborhood and point out places she and Lauren can enjoy (even more so when the weather gets warmer). Tonight, Dan and I will enjoy dinner at home together and cut into the Polish cake Barbara brought for me today. :)

Poppa and Lauren

Dan's Dad, "Poppa," arrived today to join us for the weekend. He and Lauren have spent some quality time together this afternoon. Photos below!

Snow and Scooting

Today's news includes snow (our first real snow event of the winter) and scooting, which Lauren is doing more and more of! First, the scooting. During tummy time, we put our hands behind Lauren's feet, creating a wall for her to push off of. And boy does she ever push off to scoot across her play mat. She usually gets in 2 or 3 scoots before we have to bring her back to the "start" to do it again. It's fun to watch. Today Oma helped Lauren during "scooting time". Check out the photo below.

I don't have any photos of the snow yet, but I'll try to get one tomorrow. We got about 3 inches today and another few are expected tomorrow. Thankfully Dan's flight got in today before flights were cancelled. He was flying home from a conference in San Francisco. However, Jim is supposed to arrive tomorrow mid-day, so we're hoping the snow doesn't impact his travel.

And finally, I'll wrap up today's post with two close up photos of Lauren's facial expressions while sleeping. She makes so many! Look at how chubby her cheeks are now.

Lauren and her Ladybug

We try to give Lauren playtime every day on her activity mat, which is filled with colorful animals of various textures for her to reach out and hold (or swat at, which is the most likely interaction these days). Her favorite toy is the ladybug. She will stare and swat at it for up to 15 minutes (an eternity in newborn time!) and be completely transfixed. It is incredible to watch how fast Lauren is growing. Check out how big she is! The ladybug is behind Lauren in this video. (Sorry for the clicking sound on the video...I need to figure out how to fix that!)

Oma and Lauren

Dan's Mom, "Oma," arrived today to spend the week with us. Lauren spent lots of time today in Oma's arms. We also went for a short stroller ride to take advantage of the weather (still in the high 40's!). Photos from today:

 

Sunday photos

Hooray for the Baby Bjorn! The last few days, Lauren has had a hard time in the evenings. Last night, she cried from about 7pm to midnight. We tried a zillion different comfort techniques. Nothing worked. Tonight we put her in the Baby Bjorn for the first time right around her witching hour of 7pm. I hopped on the elliptical to give her some motion and she fell asleep! We are hoping this will be more than a one time occurrence.

Photos from our Sunday. Lauren loves to nap with Dad!

 

Update: The Baby Bjorn seems to have only delayed the "fussypants period" until 10pm. We'll keep trying!

Nocturnal

Last week, Lauren starting sleeping a lot more during the day and staying awake a bit more at night. We're not sure if she's mixed up day and night or if she's going through a growth spurt and just needs more sleep. After feeding her during the day, I try to keep her awake to play for 10 minutes or so but she just falls asleep or gets really cranky because I'm trying to stimulate her and she just wants to sleep. She's too young to try to get on a schedule yet, so we're just going with it and hoping that when she's ready for more awake time that she learns we are so much more exciting during the daytime!

1 month!

Lauren had her 1 month check-up with the pediatrician on Friday. She weighed in at 9 pounds 2 ounces and is 22.5 inches tall. Two weeks ago Lauren was 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20.5 inches, so she is growing fast!

After her doctor's appointment, we went for a walk in the neighborhood with Aunt Claire. It was 50 degrees, so we had to take advantage of the nice weather! Here's a photo of Lauren all bundled up before we headed out the door.

Emerson and Lauren

This past week Claire and her family visited us. It was so nice to spend time with them, and it was especially exciting to see how much Emerson has grown since we saw them in Jordan last spring. She is talking up a storm now and seems to learn more new words every day.

Emerson was very sweet with Lauren, calling her "baby" and saying "night night" a lot to communicate that Lauren was sleeping. I think her parents were happy to see how gentle Emerson was with Lauren since they have a second baby on the way next May! Here are some photos of cousins Emerson and Lauren.

Little Lauren is Growing!

It's amazing how fast babies grow. Lauren will be 1 month old this week and she is so much bigger than when we brought her home! She fills out newborn sized clothing now and finally can wear some 0-3 outfits without looking ridiculous (until last week she was practically swimming in a 0-3 outfit). I took this photo of her tonight while she was sleeping in her bouncer.

Lately Lauren has wanted to be held a lot. She cries if you try to put her down to sleep since she much prefers to sleep in someone's arms or on our chests. It is very sweet, although it has made it challenging to stay on my pumping schedule when I'm home alone with her. Fortunately she likes her bouncer and doesn't notice if you place her in it when she's in a deep sleep. Dan and I are treasuring this time with her because I'm sure she will grow out of wanting to cuddle before we know it!