Question for all those Mommas out there...

So my child is killing me! More specifically she's getting us out of bed twice a night. It seems that brea*stmilk is only holding her 5 or 6 hours max. She'll sleep that long once, and then its 3-4 hour stretches after that. This makes it rather difficult when you've got to be at work at 7 am.

I've thought about just letting her cry at night, but I think she's really just hungry. She always goes right back to sleep after eating. So I've had it suggested to me that I put a little rice cereal in her bottle. She turns 4 months old in a little over a week and I'm seriously contemplating this. Do I need to buy another nip*ple for the bottle we have or can I just make the hole a little bigger? Should I try this out during the day for fear that a tablespoon of rice cereal in her last bottle of the day would keep her up all night? Please share any lessons you've learned with me so that I can give this a whirl. I need to get some more sleep!

Groggliy yours =),
Lauren

Merry Christmas!

Well the season is upon us! Hard to believe. But the presents are all wrapped and the baking is all done and we're just about to settle down to our Christmas dinner of smoked turkey, potato casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, fresh-made rolls and a homemade apple pie. Ahh... tis the season to gain 5 lbs.... or more.

Kevin and I have just made a big purchase - we found an elliptical machine on craigslist (of course) that is going to help me lose the last 16 lbs of Natalie weight. This is all going to have to happen AFTER the New Year though, because I really have NO resolve at the moment - not with all of the yummy things to snack on. =0

Yesterday, December 23rd, Natalie was dedicated at church. It was a special day for all of us as my parents are in town for Christmas and Kevin's family was also able to witness the event. She had a melt-down before we left for church and right after the dedication, but she was as good as gold during the event... great job, Kid!

Natalie is growing up quicker than ever. Looking at pictures of her from the last time my parents were here I realize how little she used to be. Even though she's still little, she's developing right along. Here's a picture of her standing - just using me for balance.

I know next Christmas will be a completely different experience. For starters, the lower half of the Christmas trees will be bare. =)

Kevin and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by family this Christmas. We alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas with each set of parents and instead of going to KC this year for Christmas, my parents and sister offered to come here - so nice! We've had a good time seeking out fried pickles and french onion soup, making shrimp and scallop tortellini, shopping, making Christmas cookies and looking at Christmas lights. I love this time of year!!!

Laundry

You'd never guess that something so small could make so much laundry. But, alas, I've invested in a economy-sized tub of Oxy Clean to keep up with her blow-outs and spit ups. Ahhh... but isn't she just so cute?


The past few days have been busy ones for me. I guess I'm trying to keep up with the pace of my old life and its a bit impossible. Saturday I went scrapbooking for the day with a girlfriend of mine. It was a much needed time to focus on the ever-growing pile of pictures. I'm only a few months behind (knock on wood). After I get caught up, I've promised to go through all of my family's old photos that have been collecting dust in shoe boxes. To my moms credit, she did put SOME in photo albums. But once you get very far behind, its hard to keep up and many have found their home in a shoe box. Its been fun going through them with my family when we get together. Its lots of "remember when...?". Ahhh... which brings me to Christmas traditions. We never really had something we did EVERY single year, but I've always loved Christmas and tried to make it special. For those of you that don't know this about me, I've made it my goal to put a Christmas tree in every single room of the house. I haven't quite gotten there - still collecting trees - but I do have a fair amount of trees throughout the house. I think it makes it so festive. Its too bad that Christmas is only once a year. This year I feel like its come up so fast. I'm not even tired of Christmas songs like I usually am by this time. Maybe its because I can't really get out to shop (a lot of it is online this year) and therefore I haven't been inundated with "Rudolph" and "Jingle Bells". Its so hard to believe that Christmas is only two weeks away... I mean seriously! I haven't even STARTED composing a Christmas letter. Hmmm... Maybe it will be a New Years letter again.
Oh... so back to being busy. Sunday night I had a rather enjoyable girls night out with Kera and Melissa at BoneFish Grill. My pan-Asian salmon was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed the pear pomegranate mojito that I sipped on alongside it. Ahhh... being pregnant was great, but right now has many benefits too. =)
Then last night I went to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) get together and sampled like 10 different homemade soups and breads. So yummy. I have to say that as much as I enjoy it, I, for some reason, still dont feel like I fit in quite yet. Nothing about the group - I just think I still have to remind myself that I'm really somebody's mother now. Ha!

I'll end this ramble with the following picture...which really doesn't require any introduction. Cheers!

Short and Sweet!

Ok... this is going to be short because it's late. However, I realize that we haven't posted any pictures of Natalie in a while and I thought they were a bit overdue. We got a new camera (another GREAT craigslist.org purchase) and have really enjoyed learning how to use it (its a digital SLR). I think it takes better pictures than our other camera (which we'll still use for movies...since its also a camcorder).

Anyway... I'll post more later, but I wanted to get these out there. Enjoy!