Sitting up

Over the past week, Lauren has taken a great interest in sitting up. When we are feeding her, she is able to pull herself from a reclined position into a full upright sitting position. It's really fun to watch (and it seems like a great abs work out!). She cannot go from laying flat to sitting up by herself yet, but with some help she can do it. Today I captured on video Barbara helping Lauren go from laying down to sitting up.

Sunday afternoon play time

We've had a relaxing day at home today, enjoying lots of play time with Lauren's favorite books and toys. Below are a few photos I captured earlier this afternoon. Enjoy!

Our 5th anniversary

Today was our fifth wedding anniversary. Dan and I exchanged cards this morning and he surprised me with two fun new games - one is a strategy game called Abalone and the other is a word game I had never heard of before. We love to play games with each other, so this was a great gift for both of us. Of the two, Abalone is clearly a game we will add to our favorites! We played it several times already today.

Tonight, our babysitter Natalie came over to watch Lauren and we headed out for a nice dinner at Spiaggia. It was delicious. We both had the tasting menu, a six course meal of small plates inspired by the chef's recent appearance on Top Chef. It was quite tasty! After dinner, we visited a small bar downtown that has a Big Buck Hunter game and played two rounds. We love that game!

Natalie took a photo of us before we headed out tonight. Since one of us is usually the photographer, we don't have many photos of us together, so this was a treat.

Welcome Colby!

Claire gave birth to little Colby last night in Jordan! He weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 20.5 inches. In the next few years, all the Henderson babies will have so much fun at "cousins camp" with Lulu as they are all about the same age. How fun!

Photo table runner

Lauren's baptism is next weekend and we are hosting a small (family only) brunch at our home after mass. There will only be 9 of us (including Dan, Lauren and me), and I want it to feel festive and look pretty! I have been searching for fun ideas of a way to incorporate photos of Lauren into the dining room, where we'll be enjoying brunch. At first I was thinking of doing a photo banner, but then I found the idea of a photo table runner on Pinterest and this looks so cool! I don't know if I'll have time to create this, but I love the idea.

Exercise

Last week I started working out with a personal trainer at my new gym. I have been eating well and exercising several times per week, but I haven't been able to lose any more weight for the past 2 months. So I figured I needed some help to rev up my metabolism and help me get back into my cute clothes!

I really like the trainer I chose. Her name is Emily. She grew up in northern Wisconsin and is very nice and down to earth. She likes to do circuit training that gets my heart rate up while also incorporating strength training. After our work out last week, I was so sore my abs literally hurt when I touched them the next day! I had my second session with her today. Either I am getting stronger or today was a little easier because I don't feel like such a wreck today. We will see how I feel tomorrow!

Exercise has always been a part of my life. Some times more so than others, but when I exercise more frequently I do feel better.

There was an article today in the New York Times about how exercise does more for your brain than thinking does! It is a really good read.

Hand-me-arounds for Lauren

Hand-me-arounds for Greta and Toby

Hand-me-arounds for Emme

Lauren's 4 Month Appointment

Last Friday we visited the doctor for Lauren's 4 month check-up. She weighed 14 pounds and is in the 50th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height. She is a tall girl!

Easter Sunday

This morning we attended our first mass with Lauren. We arrived at church about 20 minutes late due to Lauren's second morning nap, but it was a long service this week, so we still arrived in time for the homily, a baptism that took place today, and communion. Lauren was on her best behavior at church. She didn't make a peep of noise! She seemed to be taking it all in, and she received a blessing from Reverend Sarah when we went up to take communion. All in all, it was a pretty perfect first church experience for her.

Today was also Lauren's first experience in her new Bumbo seat. Photos below!

Downton Abbey

Earlier this year I noticed that a lot of my friends were talking about a TV show called Downton Abbey. I had never heard of it and when I looked into it in February, I discovered that it was near the end of the 2nd season. So I decided to just start from the beginning and catch up. I finally got around to this last week and bought all of the episodes for Seasons 1 and 2 through Amazon Instant Videos. It is so convenient - you can order practically any movie or TV show and watch it immediately online via streaming video on Amazon.

The show airs during the "Masterpiece Classic" hour on PBS. It is set in the early 1900s and takes place in England. It follows the lives of the people who live at Downton Abbey, including the Earl of Grantham and his family as well as the house staff (butler, footmen, maids, cooks, etc). Of course there is a lot of drama but the show seems so realistic (as far as I can tell) that I never once felt anything was over-the-top. It was just really interesting to watch and imagine what life was like then. The castle where the show is filmed is called Highclere Castle in real life and a real Earl and Countess live there today. They allow the show to film there throughout the year.

I highly recommend the show if you haven't already seen it! I'm looking forward to season 3.

Polly

A few weeks ago, Jim and Lavonne gave Lauren a cute little doll. Dan named her "Polly" (I think for the sole reason that it rhymes with "dolly"). Lauren absolutely loves Polly! Whenever we put Polly in front of her, she gives us a huge smile and reaches out to hug Polly. It is really cute.

Out and about

Since our spring has been so summer-like, I bought Lauren two sun hats recently to make it easier to enjoy being outside without worrying that she will sunburn. Below is a photo of Lauren all strapped in and ready to go for a morning walk!

A Good Day

Claire posted this poem on her blog and I thought it was worth sharing again here.

A Good Day
“Today will be a good day,
And I will make it so–
I cannot make the sun come out;
I cannot make the flowers sprout;
I cannot make the fishes bite,
Nor blow the wind beneath my kite.
But I can wear a friendly smile
And listen to the trees a while
And laugh real loud and run real fast
And make each moment such a blast.
I can sing though skies be gray,
‘Cause I am captain of my day.”