Lauren :: 4 Months

Sweet baby Lauren, you are 4 months old already!

Weight - 12lbs 1oz
Height - 25 inches

You wear size 2 diapers and mostly size 3-6 month clothes now. We have a few 3 month items that still fit, but for the most part you've graduated up a size.

This month has been a fun one (mostly) as your personality is really developing. You laugh and smile and love to watch everything going on around you. I can tell that you are really soaking it all in. Tonight, we celebrated Pa's 66th birthday with the family and while we were sitting around talking and laughing after dinner, you were definitely trying to chat along with us.

We did have a few rough days and weeks this last month, but you seem to be through whatever developmental/fussy phase that you were going through. You also still don't sleep through the night, but I think we are getting closer and/or we are about to do some sleep training to help you get there. I'm pretty tired and am back to work, so its time, girlfriend! Do it for your mama!

You have a loose routine. Up in the middle of the night sometime…then awake for the day around 7/7:30. You nap around 9, 11:30 and 2 and nurse or take a bottle sometime around 7/7:30, 10, 1, 4 and 7. Some days you are hungry a little more often, and we just roll with that and feed you when you are hungry. I'm trying not to stress with you about putting you on a firm schedule. Most of your naps are still cat-naps. Just this last week, you've actually slept between 1.5-2 hours at 2pm, but I'm not getting my hopes up about anything just yet.

You still sleep in the bassinet in our room. I know I need to move you to the downstairs guest room or up to your room, but it just seems SO FAR in the middle of the night. My goal is always to feed you and then get back to sleep as soon as possible. I'm thinking we just need to temporarily convert the downstairs room to a nursery for you until you are consistently making it all night long…and maybe until about 1 when you drop to one nap a day.

You are definitely your mama's little buddy. A mama's girl for sure. Sometimes you will not let anyone else hold you besides me. You clearly love your dad, your grandparents and our friends, but there have been a few times that you would have no one besides me. I know there will come a day when you are too cool for me, so I'll soak it up while I can ;)

You LOVE your brother and you love to just sit and watch him play. He adores you too.You are always so happy when we go upstairs in the mornings to wake him up. For some reason, you really love to lay on the ground and kick around in Austin's room and in your room - I think it must be the color on the walls.

You don't mind the carseat anymore and will tag along with me happily to the grocery store, out shopping or out for a walk or jog. You really love to hang out in the bjorn facing out. In the afternoons when we play outside, I always strap you into the bjorn and you watch all of the big kids play until you fall asleep. You also love the bath time. If you are ever really upset a bath will always calm you down.

You are content to hang out with me around the house in your various play toys and on blankets while I do dishes, laundry, and play with your brother. We also spend a lot of time holding you and having "conversations" and laughing with you. And, of course, I love to play dress up with you.

You rolled over a ton a few weeks ago (tummy to back), but you haven't done it again in a while. You definitely have a really strong neck and will happily do tummy time, but for some reason aren't rolling over much any more.

Within the last week, you started to reach out and grab toys purposefully in your bouncer. Its so fun to watch you develop new skills and start to put things together in your observant little mind. I know that fussy phases usually come before new skills emerge, so I'm hoping thats what was going on a few weeks ago.

I know the next few months are going to keep getting better and better and that time is going to keep FLYING by! I'm trying to remember to savor this time with you (even on little sleep) - it goes way too fast!

Lauren :: Newborn Photos

These are long overdue, but here are a few of sweet baby Lauren's newborn photos:

My sweet friend Melissa and my friend and neighbor, Joy, flew out from San Diego to take Lauren's pictures when Lauren was about 2 weeks old. We LOVED having them visit and we LOVE Lauren's photos. Now I need to print and frame them!

Check her out! melissaparsonsphotography.com

 

Lauren - 1 Month

Hi there! Yes, we are still alive and I am woefully behind on updating our family blog. I know I don't owe anyone updates other than myself, but I really want to have these records to turn into baby books and family yearbooks for the kids! I've been reading back over my posts from Austin's first 2 months and its been helpful with Lauren and fun to remember :) 

I writing this at 6 weeks so am trying my best to remember Lauren's first full month.

Sweet Lauren, 

You have been such a doll baby! Your demeanor is so sweet and you really don't complain about much. You are pretty chill most of the time except when you are hungry. You don't give us much of a warning - you go straight to "hangry" as we call it around here.

You are a petite little bug and are in newborn sized clothes and newborn diapers. You feel so healthy and solid though and we can tell you are steadily gaining weight and are getting sweet little rolls on your thighs.

At your 2 week appointment you were up to 6lbs 10oz! At 2 weeks the goal is to be back up to birth weight (5lb 13oz) so you are doing awesome! Our next appt is at 2 months, so I'm not sure what you weigh now.

You pretty consistently eat every 3 hours and do fairly well at night, all things considered. I haven't been stressing about putting you on schedule which has made for a much more relaxed mommy this time around. At night you usually give me one 4 or 5 hour stretch between feedings and you seem to sleep more soundly during the first stretch of the night. I sometimes have to hold you to sleep from 4/5am on. You like to sleep with your head elevated so I've been putting you to bed in the nap nanny. We will try the bassinet or crib again in a few weeks but for now we are just doing whatever works.

For naps, you either sleep in the bouncer or in the bjorn or someone holds you. Since we are chasing Austin, running around a lot of the day, or having company, we've been relaxed about this.

I am so much less "by the book" with you and it's made for a much less anxious mama. I know we can correct any bad habits around 3/4 months once we figure out our routine and catch up on sleep a little bit!

When you are actually awake we hold you and talk to you, give you baths, which you really seem to enjoy, hang out outside while Austin plays and practice tummy time. You will hang by yourself in your bouncer or swing for a little bit, but you really prefer to be help. Maybe you are a little extrovert like your brother.

You love to snuggle and you love to be held! You are so happy in the baby bjorn or in the ergo or napping on any of us.


You've had lots of fun visitors this month! GranJan flew in from San Diego and helped us for a week and Aunt Robin was here for part of that time too! Miss Joy and Miss Melissa also flew in from San Diego and took your newborn pictures and spent the weekend with us! You also met your Aunt Laura, Uncle Shawn, Uncle Shannon and most of your Texas cousins! Doo Doo and Pa (my parents - Austin gave them their names) have been over a ton helping us with you and Austin and driving us to doctors appointments, etc!

Your brother Austin loves you so much and Dexter doesn't seem to be bothered that you arrived on the scene.

Little girl, you are so sweet and are such a blessing to us! We are looking forward to hopefully seeing that first real smile soon.

Bye Bye Cottage Way

So, we moved back to Texas...

It all happened so fast! Long story short, we got an offer on our house in Encinitas and it wasn't on the market. The timing seemed like it might be right, so we decided to just move forward and see if it all worked out. We LOVED our house and life in Encinitas, but we were running out of space in the house and my entire family lives back in Texas. Andy flew to Texas on his way home from a work trip to Miami (the same day the buyer came to look at our Encinitas house) and found a great house in Texas. He used his master negotiating skills to get a great deal and we went into contract that day. So, basically, we weren't really thinking about moving, then BAM, it all happened really fast. 

We are here in Texas now, but I wanted to make sure we saved the last round of photos from our sweet home in Encinitas. We loved the house, but we what we loved more were our sweet our Cottage Way neighbors. If only we could have brought them with us. Not to worry, we have lots of trips planned for them to visit us and for us to visit them in the next year(s).

Oddly enough right before we moved, we redid our kitchen counters, backsplash and updated the downstairs and upstairs master bath counters and mirrors. We did it for us, not to sell the house, but the timing worked out perfectly. 

Will post pictures of the Texas house once we unbury ourselves from boxes and get a few things up on the walls. 

Old photo, but one of the only ones I could find of the front of the house. 

  

These are the kiddos we miss so much! 

Austin lately

We are still here! Life has been busy and I have lots too updates. For now, until I can finally sit down and write, here is a spring photo update of our favorite little guy!