Lauren's Laugh

Lauren figured it out....Dad is funny! The first time Lauren laughed was about 2 weeks ago in response to a silly song Dan sang to her while swinging her up and down. Today was the second time Lauren laughed and again it was in response to Dan. He read a peek-a-boo book to her with great theatrics. I ran to get the video camera and fortunately was able to capture the tail end of their "storytime." What fun!

A Visit from Poppa

Today was Lauren's first trek out into the rain. I threw the rain cover over the stroller, so she didn't get wet, but still it was new to her to have rain coming down around her. Needless to say, we hightailed it to the car! We had brunch today with another mom and baby I met last month and then came straight home as Dan's dad, Jim (Poppa), visited us today and spent the afternoon with little Lauren. It was amazing...usually she takes short naps (about 45 minutes), but Poppa must be a very comfortable pillow because she slept for 2.5 hours in his arms this afternoon! Following her monster nap, she and Poppa enjoyed some play time.

Fun with Dad

During the week, Dan does not get to spend very much "awake" time with Lauren. He usually does one nighttime feeding, but she just wakes to eat and then goes right back down. So on the weekends, Dan is great about making time to read, play and spend time with Lauren. Below are photos from this past weekend. It was so hot outside that we took Lauren's clothes off on Sunday afternoon. It was in the mid-80s and we were all sweating! Our AC units are in the basement. We usually put them in around mid to late May. We may be getting them out earlier this year!

Mr. Panda & Lauren's First "Work Session"

Lauren has several "favorite" toys at this point, depending on the location of play time. When in her swing, she loves her panda and somehow, while napping, manages to usually get the panda not just around her hand but all the way up her arm. I have been trying to get a photo of this for a few weeks but I'm always afraid the camera will wake her up. However today she was in a really deep sleep during her morning nap, so I managed to get a few photos. The second photo was taken just as she was waking up.

Over the weekend, Dan had some work to do but thankfully was able to do it from home. During one of Lauren's play times on Sunday, it seemed like she just wanted a change of scenery, so Dan took her into the dining room to "work" with him. She seemed very interested in his laptop and put her hand onto the keyboard. It was pretty funny to watch as she looked at this new-to-her device.

Lakeview Athletic Club

This week I am planning to join the Lakeview Athletic Club (LVAC), which is just two blocks from our home. It doesn't get much more convenient than that! Currently I'm working out at the gym where my pre- and post-natal exercise classes were held, but I have to drive to get there. It's not far, but still, it would be nicer to walk, and it's a much smaller gym than LVAC. LVAC is a huge facility and has two pools, one indoor and one outdoor, with weekend "family swim time," so it will be great for taking Lauren to swim this summer. I bought her first bathing suit last week at The Gap and am really looking forward to getting into the pool with her. She loves bath time, so I'm hopeful she enjoys swim time, too!

Our St. Patrick's Day Play Date

This morning Lauren and I hosted several other moms and babies for a "Class of 2030" play date. It was fun to meet some new moms and the babies seemed to be interested in looking at each other. Lauren was asleep when everyone arrived, so when she woke up I think she was really confused as to why all these people were in her space! She kept looking around and taking it all in. She was very content to look around and play with her toys, so I was thankful she was calm so I could get to know the other moms! The babies all played on our living room floor and the moms mostly chatted. Our drinks and snacks seemed to be a hit and I sent everyone home with shamrock cookies. I did not take very many photos since I was busy mingling or tending to Lauren most of the time, but here are a few from today (I took photos of the other moms/babies, but I don't know if it's okay with them for me to post photos online):

Lauren in her new green outfit for St. Patrick's Day

Lydia and John

We had zucchini muffins, grapes and cheese, and sugar cookies!

A Hot Winter

This winter has been unusually warm. I read somewhere this week that this is the 4th warmest winter on record in Chicago since the Civil War! This week, the temperatures have been in the 70s. On Wednesday, it got up to 81 degrees! Next week will also be in the 70s. It has been really nice to be able to take Lauren on walks more frequently than I had expected when I was pregnant and envisioned what life would be like with a winter baby.

Yesterday, Lauren and I walked south to The Nature Museum, where I bought a 1 year family membership. The museum is extremely family friendly and allows strollers nearly everywhere in the museum. There are large, private family bathrooms on every level, and there are seating areas where you can easy park a stroller and do a feeding. I never appreciated these type of things until I became a parent!

Here is a photo I took this week of Lauren (she is 14 weeks old). She likes to suck on her fingers and seems to especially enjoy her pointer finger!

Play date preparations

This Saturday we are hosting a St. Patrick's Day themed play date for 9 other moms and babies. Three of the moms attending I met through my Active Moms Club classes. The other six moms are members of this Cheers 2030 group I recently joined (Cheers 2030...because our babies will graduate high school in 2030!). I love to have pretty presentations of food and drinks when I host people at our home, so I have been working on preparing things for this Saturday. I've always marveled at the beautiful parties some moms whip together using printables. All you need is a color printer, some scissors and other basic supplies to make everything look a little more fancy. I found a great free St. Patrick's Day printable on a design site and had everything printed on cardstock at the UPS Store (my favorite place for cheap color prints!). So far, I've prepared the beverages. We'll be having water and sparkling water. A huge variety, I know. Since everyone will be sitting on the floor with their babies in our living room, I wanted to make sure we served drinks in containers with screw caps. And I wanted to make sure we served something that couldn't stain our rug or furniture. So water and water it is! Check out these fancy water bottles for our Saturday party:

Bringing Up Bebe

Whitney sent me the book "Bringing Up Bebe" and I am excited to read it soon. Claire will get it next in true Henderson hand-me-around fashion! The book came out last month and has received rave reviews. I feel like so many American parents allow their lives to revolve around their children (vs. integrating their children into their lives and the world around them), and that makes it easy for children to grow up to become self-centered with poor manners. I am trying to make sure that Dan and I avoid doing this with Lauren! I'm hopeful that this book will be a good read for us as we figure things out in this early stage of parenthood. Below is an overview about the book:

The secret behind France's astonishingly well-behaved children.

When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn't aspire to become a "French parent." French parenting isn't a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren't doing anything special.

Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play.

Motherhood itself is a whole different experience in France. There's no role model, as there is in America, for the harried new mom with no life of her own. French mothers assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children and that there's no need to feel guilty about this. They have an easy, calm authority with their kids that Druckerman can only envy.

Of course, French parenting wouldn't be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. In fact, French kids are just as boisterous, curious, and creative as Americans. They're just far better behaved and more in command of themselves. While some American toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and preliteracy training, French kids are- by design-toddling around and discovering the world at their own pace.

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman-a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal-sets out to learn the secrets to raising a society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and reasonably relaxed parents. She discovers that French parents are extremely strict about some things and strikingly permissive about others. And she realizes that to be a different kind of parent, you don't just need a different parenting philosophy. You need a very different view of what a child actually is.
While finding her own firm non, Druckerman discovers that children-including her own-are capable of feats she'd never imagined.

Happy play time

Lauren is very alert during her awake times now, making for more fun play time! Last week, she starting getting super excited (arms waving, legs bouncing up and down, and "talking") when she's on her play mat. I captured the below video of her earlier this week.

I am so excited that Lauren appears to love when we read her books! We have a rotation of about 6 books that we read to her every day, so there's some variety but it's consistent enough that she can start to recognize the books, too. Her favorite is Fuzzy Bee and Friends. When I hold the book cover up to her, she smiles. Today, she reached out to touch the book pages. It was sweet. I hope Lauren will love reading as she gets older. Dan is hoping she will be a speed reader like my mom and me, too!