Laken & Lilia

We got to visit with Lilia and her mommy and see their new house last week.  Laken loves to play with her buddy Lilia! 

I love Laken's face in this pic

I. Hate. BANANAS!

This was Laken's reaction to her first taste of banana.  It did not go well.  

Needless to say, with a little work and encouragement we have convinced her that bananas are not such a bad thing.  She eats them happily now and we have moved on to sweet potatoes (which she loves).  

 Biggest mess yet :)

The Best Scarecrow Ever!

Our neighbor Hailey was the scarecrow in Whittier's music performance, and my sister did the choreography, so we asked Grandma Gigi to come babysit and went to cheer them on.  Hailey did such a great job and we had a ton of fun watching the kids ham it up.  Hailey's mom, Traci, did a fabulous job on her costume too! Aren't they cute!?!

Me, Traci, and Hailey after the show :)

St. Patty's Day Brunch

I hosted a brunch for all the babes the day after St. Patty's Day.  

As always, it was a blast to get the babies together and visit.  We had the biggest group yet with six babies and six mommies.  Stephen even popped his head in on us for a bit.  The girls are getting more and more animated and interactive.  We love watching them grow and change.

Here's Mickey with Marin and the newest (and oldest) member of the bunch - Mandy.

 Me and my girl

Kim and Avery

 I just loved Laken's little green dress 

(you'll have to excuse the lack of a hair bow ... I was a bit distracted getting everything prepared for the day ;))

 Laken was very excited about Elin's skirt

 The three who started it all ... five months later

 Laken and her new friend Mandy

 All the babes - they've multiplied!

St. Patrick's Day

Here is Laken on St. Patrick's Day.

We got all dressed up and took cupcakes to Daddy's office but, unfortunately, I didn't snap a single pic at the office :( ... I did snap some pics at home and Laken was sooooo not feeling it.

 "Mom, please. That's enough"

She was MUCH more interested in the kitty than getting her picture taken

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling....

We’ve been doing a lot of rolling around here lately.  I have to keep my eye on Laken like a hawk! Once she gets rolling, she doesn’t stop.

However, she appears to be following in Zoolander’s footsteps … if she could talk I’m sure she would reluctantly admit “I can’t turn left … I’m not an ambi-turner” - Not yet anyway … unfortunately for us, her one-way rolling means once she gets going she really rolls far.  I can’t put her on the bed anymore because she’ll roll roll roll until she falls off the side (no, that has NOT happened, but it definitely could if I took my eyes off her for even a second).

A Good Little Eater

We gave Laken her first taste of solid food – rice cereal – on her five month birthday and she has been a good little eater ever since.  It didn’t take her very long to figure out what to do with the “goo” we were trying to insert into her mouth.  She already loves to hold the spoon and wants to “do it herself” often getting mad at me when I take it away to get more for her.

The introduction of mealtime into our daily routine has been really fun for me.  Laken sits in her highchair in the morning as I make my coffee and prepare her meal.  She stares out the window or plays with toys and chatters on and on about who knows what … she really loves that highchair! Then at night, we all have dinner as a family.  These mealtimes have really made the days feel more structured and I’m just loving it.  Laken’s little personality is getting more and more evident.  She makes me laugh every single day.  I love her so much.

No more?

That's ok, this empty bowl will do just fine!

Full and happy

Time to clean up the hands, face, nose, clothes and (all too often) hair

Feeling so happy...

... I think my heart might just burst!

Who knew one tiny little person could bring so much joy, happiness, laughter, and fun!?! 

Five Months!

I'm getting BIGGER!

Check out my growth over the last five months here, here, here, and here

Celebrating a Life Well Lived

Stephen's Grandmother Clarice passed away this last month and we went down to Reno last weekend to celebrate her life.

Clarice was one of the most positive, sweet women I have ever met and her funeral left me - and everyone there - inspired.  Clarice recognized that every day is a precious gift from God.  Every morning she would throw open the curtains and exclaim "isn't it a beautiful day!" regardless of the weather.  She was kind and sweet natured, and loved life (she was golfing into her 80s!)

I know she would have loved Laken and Laken would have loved her.  

She will be missed very much.