Lauren's new favorite thing to do? Taking out all of the utensils from the dishwasher, and then trying to put them back again. It really is cute to watch : ).
My first Mother's Day was definitely not what I had expected, especially since JJ was out of town. He did surprise me with this Deep Freezer though, once he got home from his trip. Now I know that this really isn't your typical Mother's Day gift, but I was pretty ecstatic when I came home and saw it sitting in my living room. A few months ago, after watching several documentaries on how horrible our food industry is, I decided that I was going to stop buying meat from the grocery stores and start buying locally from ranches who raised their cattle on grass, and in a humane way. After lots of research I finally found a ranch that was nearby where I could order grass-fed beef. Well unfortunately it takes awhile to actually get the beef ( I am still waiting on my order that I placed in March), so we put off buying the deep freeze that will hold the quarter of a cow that we bought. I thought that JJ had forgotten about it, especially since it took a little convincing and lot of pleading to get him on board to begin with, so it really did make me happy that he remembered and picked out the freezer that we would need. When I got home that day he had of course already put Lauren in the freezer because it was "so cute"! Please don't worry, the freezer was not turned on while Lauren was inside. : )
It's hard to believe that just nine months ago this little baby couldn't even hold her own head up. I had no idea what her personality would be like, or what her little voice would sound like. She was completely dependent on me for everything. Now she's crawling, standing, cruising, playing, and just being all on her own. She has become so independent in such a short amount of time. She has developed quite a little personality, and I can already see parts of me in her. I am amazed by her every single day, and I am so beyond words happy that I am going to finally get to spend every day with her, watching her grow.
My baby has gotten to the stage where she does not want to be fed by anyone but herself. When I do try to feed her, she pushed my hand away and turns her head. It's hard to believe that she started eating her first solid foods just a few months ago and now she won't have anything to do with food that is pureed. She wants anything and everything that she can pick up and put into her own mouth. This does make dinner time a lot easier since we can just give her small pieces of whatever we are eating. So far she has liked everything that she has tried, hopefully she doesn't outgrow that!
Apparently my baby can sleep anywhere. She knocked out while we were window shopping at Crate & Barrel today.
This picture cracks me up. Her hair is a mess, she is making a crazy face, and she is just having a great time being silly. What a fun age 9 months is!
I threw a bridal shower for a friends of mine today, so needless to say, I was very busy. So busy that I didn't even take a picture of Lauren today : (. But I did get some pictures of the beautiful cookies that my friend Amber made so I decided I would post those. Lauren and her daddy did have lots of fun while I was away.
I don't know where she gets it from, but Lauren is such a morning person. She is always in a good mood, and ready to go to the sitter's. She never cries when we drop her off, and she's always happy to see Lucy. This really has been a blessing because it has made it easier for me to go to work knowing that she is happy.
One of Lauren's many cute faces.
Lauren got a new toy today and she seems to like it, even though I didn't put the batteries in it. It's supposed to shoot these plastic balls out when she puts them in, but I forgot to buy some and didn't have any size D batteries lying around the house. She had fun with just putting the balls in on the track though. The only bad thing was that she didn't know how to get them back out.
I so love that Lauren loves books! When we are in her room she always goes straight for her bookcase.
Lauren has been a little obsessed with this book Little Hands. It's a touch and feel book, and every time we are playing in her room she pulls it from her shelf. She flips through it, feeling all of the different textures on each page. Today when she was playing with it I got a little sad. I realized how tiny her hands really were when she was born, and how they aren't so tiny now. I mean, I know they are still small, but compared to her newborn hands they are pretty big. I can't believe how fast time has gone. I am going to miss my little baby as she grows into a toddler.
Lauren helped me by pulling every single item of clothing out of her laundry basket so that I could fold it. When she couldn't reach that last sock she just pushed the basket over to make sure nothing was left behind.
Today Lauren felt a lot better, but her mama was still recuperating from the stomach bug we both had. I felt good enough to snap some pictures and I'm so glad that I did. She looks like such a big girl here. I love the huge smile on her face. She really does love the camera.
I've never been able to handle being around someone who is vomiting. JJ has been there for me several times when I've been sick, but I have never returned the favor.
The thought that I would have to be there for my child should she ever get sick terrified me. Well, last night I joined all the other mothers out there who have had to comfort their sick, vomiting child, and I did it without even thinking twice. I guess that when you become a mother you automatically become immune to things such as vomit and dirty diapers. This is a picture of Lauren holding the bottle of Pedialite that she would not drink. Luckily she got over it pretty fast.
Lauren really hasn't taken to any one item until now. Before she started standing and cruising I was the one who would pull various toys out of her toy bin for her to play with. Now that she can reach them this is the one that she always goes to. I think it's so sweet how she treats the doll like it's actually her baby.
Mornings are always Lauren and Daddy time. JJ is a pretty awesome dad, he gets up with her every morning so that I can sleep in a little. On this morning I got up a little after they did and saw them playing instead of getting ready. I had to get a picture cause it was such a sweet moment. JJ was a little late that day, but it was worth the father and daughter time.
This is what Lauren looks like EVERY time I put her down on the changing table. She doesn't like to be dressed, she doesn't like to have her diaper changed, or anything else that has to do with being put down on it. JJ has gotten really good at diapering her while she's standing on the changing table, that she is okay with. I've learned how to dress her down on the floor, where I can't drop her since she is such a wiggle worm. This child definitely has a mind of her own, but that has been the case since the day she was born.
Yes, that is Lauren up in the cabinet. I freaked out just a little when her dad put her up there, but I pulled it together long enough to take a picture. She really enjoyed being up there, discovering new things like napkins, plastic ware, and koozies.
Lauren's first trip to the museum was great. We started off seeing the butterfly exhibit. There were so many butterflies around us, and Lauren got really excited when we were able to get up close to them. After that we saw the Texas exhibit which was not as much fun as the butterflies. Lauren fell asleep during that part, but her daddy was very interested and had to read everything. He is such a Texan : ).
Since Lauren was asleep again, I decided to take a picture of her new favorite toy. This duck has been on a shelf in her bookcase since she was born and she recently discovered it.
She can't quite throw the ball yet, but she does like to stick it in her mouth.
At this age they really are like little sponges, soaking up everything they see. Today Lauren discovered the wind chime in the backyard. It's amazing how excited she was.
Lauren learned that she could make a big splash with the water today. It was a lot of fun, even though I had to mop up the water that splashed onto the floor.
I love this cheesy smile, especially since I can see the four teeth that have emerged. She's had the bottom teeth for awhile, but the top two just popped through this month. I'm going to miss her gummy smile, but the toothy grin is just as cute.
Although Lauren didn't get to actually hunt Easter eggs, we did let her pick up some empty ones so we could get some pictures of her.
It's always fun when Daddy is the one dressing Lauren. Today he decided to wrap her dress around her head. She thought it was hilarious and we got some really good smiling and laughing pictures.
We were so busy working on the garden this day that I totally forgot to take a picture of Lauren. At least JJ got this one of me planting my tomato plants. It doesn't look like much of a garden, but it really did take a lot of time and effort to put it together. I can't wait to have fresh veggies to cook : ).
Lauren's cousin Stephan came over tonight, while he was there he pulled out my guitar, dusted it off since it hasn't been touched in a few years, and played Lauren a few songs. She was so mesmerized by him, it was adorable. I guess we're going to have to watch out for all those guitar playing boys when Lauren gets older.
