Day 165: Lauren and Mommy

I'm trying to get JJ to take more pictures of me and Lauren, but every time he does I'm usually in my lounging clothes, have no makeup on and my hair is in a pony tail. Most of the pictures get uploaded to my computer and then never seen again. This one is half way decent, and I was actually dressed in normal clothes so I decided I would put one up of me and Lauren.

Day 164: I'm Stuck!!

Lauren is into EVERYTHING these days. When J.J. brought this box of wood flooring in of course she had to investigate. She managed to get on top of the box, but when it came time to get off she freaked out a little. I had to get a picture, but I did "save" her once I got a good one.

Day 163: 10 Months Old

Oh my goodness, where is the time going?!?! I can not believe my little baby is in double digits! She looks so grown up in this picture.

Day 162: Lauren's First Taste of Chocolate

Now before you go judging me for giving Lauren chocolate at 10 months old, it was completely by accident. Her daddy was "watching" her and left some bite sized pieces of candy right within reach, and in one of her favorite spots. I knew something was up because it was really quiet for a few seconds so I asked him where she was. When he turned around she has a mini Snickers bar in her mouth! I freaked out a little because of the peanuts, but it really was cute. She had the most guilty and chocolaty face. I think JJ finally realizes that he can't leave things within her reach, or she will get them.

Day 161: New Beach Toys

Now if only we lived closer to the beach so that she could actually use them properly. I guess we need to get her the second best thing, a sand box.

Day 160: Mad Baby

This is Lauren's "I'm tired but do not want to go to sleep" face. Isn't it just precious.

Day 159: Baby Chicks at the Children's Museum

I'm a little ashamed to say this, but I had so much fun at the Children's Museum when I took my students last week! So much fun that I decided I had to take my nieces and nephew there since they are staying with me this week, and I needed to get them out of the house. I really am a kid at heart, and Kidtropolis is sooo amazing! It's like a miniature city! It has a news station where kids can give the weather report, a cafe where they can serve their parents "food", and even a vet clinic. It totally made me want to be a kid again. I can't wait until Lauren is old enough to experience everything they have to offer. For now though, seeing the baby chicks kept her pretty entertained. She loved them. Maybe next time we will even get to see them hatch.

Day 158: Lauren & Daddy

Lauren spending some quality time strapped to her daddy.

Day 157: Cousin Time

School is out, which means Lauren's cousins get to come stay with us. Lauren immediately took to my nephew Tristian, she could not get enough of him holding her. When he would put her down she wanted him to pick her right back up again. I love that she was so comfortable with him, especially since he always asks about her. Just look how cute she is with her head resting on his shoulder : ).

Day 156: A New Friend

Lauren loves dogs, so she immediately took to our friends' dog while we were with them. This dog was so sweet, she let Lauren crawl all over her and she didn't even move.

Day 155: Time to Relax

After a long year I finally got a couple of days to just relax. We went to Galveston with some wonderful friends and stayed at their beach house for the weekend. At first Lauren was not sure what to think about the water, even though this is as far as she went into it. After awhile though, she really started to enjoy it, even when the waves would hit us. I think she is just adorable in her little polka dot swimsuit.

Day 154: Call Me Crazy...

You would think that a teacher (or 4 teachers) who just finished the year would be celebrating my relaxing by the pool, sleeping in, or maybe getting a mani/pedi, but instead we decided to each pick two students to take to the children's museum. I know it sounds crazy, but we actually had a really good time. I'm glad that I got so spend the day with some great kids, and great coworkers, especially since I won't be back next year.

Day 153: Books

I was extremely exhausted today, and taking a picture of Lauren was the last thing on my mind. The fact that today was the last day of school, and I was in charge of handling a pizza party for 35 kids, only with the help from my partner, could have had something to do with it. Because of that I decided to play with my camera and take some pictures of Lauren's books.

Day 152: Paper Hat

As you can see, Lauren did not like the paper hat that her dad made for her. He had to hold her arms like that so I could quickly snap a picture.

Day 151: Not Sleepy

This is the face of a child who would rather play than go to sleep. After several attempts I just put her down and let her play so hopefully she would burn off the rest of that energy she had stored.

Day 150: I Can Feed Myself

Well, my sweet little baby will no longer let me feed her, and she is done with eating purees. On one hand, it's really nice because now we just give her whatever we are eating, assuming that it is not shellfish or a chocking hazard. But on the other hand, it makes me sad because she is just growing up way too fast. It seems like just yesterday we were giving her her first bite of solid food, now she thinks she is such a big girl and won't even let me feed her. I guess this is just the beginning of this new found freedom for her. Before I know it she's going to be asking for the keys to the car.

Day 149: Crawfish

One of the best things about living in Houston is the love for crawfish around here. I didn't even know what a crawfish was until one night in college when one of the fraternity's had a crawfish boil. I was very intimidated at first, especially when I was told that people actually suck the stuff out of the head, which I was not about to try. Once I tried them though, I was hooked. Today we went to a little crawfish shack in Crosby because we were told that they have the best crawfish around. Well, this place totally lived up to the hype. The crawfish were big, seasoned perfectly and nice and hot. I'm sad that we discovered this place so late in the season, especially since it's a pretty far drive, but next year it is on!

Day 148: New Toy For Lauren...

and it wasn't something that I had to buy! She found a box of spoons in the kitchen and carried them all the way to the entry way where she decided to take them all out and scatter them around the floor. She was having such a good time that I had to let her play with them. Spoons and boxes can keep this child entertained for a very long time.

Day 147: Uncle Martin

Lauren loves her uncle Martin. Today we went grocery shopping with him and Courtney, Lauren's Emo, and Lauren fell asleep on Martin's chest while we were walking through the store. It was so cute!!

Day 146: The Park

Lauren and her daddy went to the park down the street from our house today while I got some things done. Needless to say, JJ got a lot of attention which I'm sure he didn't mind.

Day 145: Lil Gardner

Hopefully this child has more of a green thumb than her parents do so that our vegetable garden may actually stand a chance of surviving.

Day 144: Cabbage Patch Doll

She loves her baby dolls.

Day 143: Playing in the Pantry

We let her take almost everything out from the bottom shelf of the pantry. This is one of her favorite things to do right now.

Day 142: Flying Baby

Since the hair on the top of Lauren's head is much longer than the hair underneath, it looks like she's wearing a toupee. She had so much fun being tossed into the air.

Day 141: A Different Sleeping Shot

Yes she is sleeping, but I think it's the first pic I have of her sleeping in my arms.

Day 140: My Little Monster

Lately "Little Monster" has been my nickname for my mostly sweet little Lauren. I love her to pieces but sometimes she really can be a monster. Sometimes she's my "sleep monster", I call her this when she wakes me up 5 times during the night to eat, that is my least favorite monster. In this picture she was being my "crawling monster", that's what I call her when she crawls around as fast as she can, this is a more lovable monster that the first one.