Lauren Does Breckenridge, CO...and loves it!

On Friday February 26, we left for a 5 day snow skiing trip to Breckenridge, CO with Gigi, Pops, Aunt Kay, Mitchell, and Heath. Like so many other new "firsts", I had no idea what to expect from Lauren or how she would like the extreme cold weather, long flights, and exposure to snow. I was pleasantly surprised when she was as sweet as can be the ENTIRE trip! I think she noticed that we were in cleaner, fresher air and loved every minute of it! More so, I think she enjoyed being the center of attention from all of us and strangers and being on the move constantly. She loves seeing new things and being out and about, even if it is 20 degrees outside.

Our group--so excited to be here!

We left our house at 3:00 am Friday morning to catch our 6:00 am flight from Ft. Walton Beach (yes, we live within 1/4 mile of the terminal in Panama City, but this is another story). Lauren seems to have no problem with take-off and landing. I did nurse her, just in case her ears didn't equalize during take-off and I gave her puffs or yogurt melts during landing (once again, yay for puffs and melts!)

During our lay-over in Memphis, I pulled out my Girl Scout rigged zip-lock baggie filled with the right amount of oatmeal and benefiber, added fluoride travel water and a jar of fruit and squeezed the bag to mix it up. Who says traveling has to be hard, right!!?? Ha.

Lauren has started eating/gnawing Mum-Mums Rice Rusks. We LOVE them too and they seem to be the safest for little babies with no teeth. They dissolve so fast, but rarely leave a mess on her face.

After landing in Denver, we found our shuttle and headed toward Breck. (BIG NOTE: Please don't comment on the forward facing car seat--I know. This is what the shuttle company supplied despite my 2 calls to double check that they had us down for a baby car seat that would hold a rear-facing 17-pounder. Let's not talk about it.) Lauren and Aunt Kay playing with one of the many I-Phone applications for babies. Another thank goodness!

Lauren stayed right on schedule for her nap. Her bunny always seems to help too. If you enlarge this photo, you can see the bunny's ears are stained by Lauren's mouth and prune juice. She will suck on the one or both ears while she is falling to sleep. Yes, it's gross and sometimes gets smelly, but... Bunny now gets a bath in the washing machine once a week.

Once we landed and got settled, we went to pick up our ski rentals. Lauren was on her 3rd nap at this point.

Super Daddy! Carrying Lauren and his helmet/skis/boots/polls.

Aunt Kay and Mitchell

The weather was beautiful the entire weekend. Hi's in the low 30's that made skiing so enjoyable. My mom, Eric, Kaitlin and I took turns keeping Lauren in the condo. It was a ski-in/ski-out lodge so it made it extra nice to come in at lunch and swap out.

Gigi and Pops

Heath, Pops, and Gigi

No, this is not the sunset. Unfortunately, Lauren slept horribly every single night we were there. I read about ways to avoid altitude sickness with infants and I tried to keep her hydrated and her nose moisturized, but for whatever reason she woke up multiple times every single night. This is the sunrise that Eric saw out our window our first morning there.

Despite not being happy during the night, this is how she looked during the day...every day. She was such a happy baby.

Gigi and Lauren on Main Street, just a short walk from our condo.

Aunt Kay kept Lauren Sunday morning and Eric, Mitchell, and I went to the TOP of the summit: over 12,000 ft! Beautiful views from above and double black diamonds coming down. Crazy, I know, but this was my favorite run of the entire mountain. One day, we'll take Lauren. :-)

You can really see their favoritism here. So sweet...both of them make my heart pitter-patter. :-)

Aunt Kay had a photo session with Lauren on her babysitting day. Lauren is so lucky to have an aunt who absolutely adores her like Kaitlin does. One day very soon, I can tell it will be the other way around too. Lauren lights up every time she hears Kaitlin's voice and will laugh sometimes at something funny that Kaitlin does.

"Daddy, I love you."

Watching it snow. Lauren loved sitting on the window seat and watching the skiers go by. Gigi said that she would scream and wave her hands the first time she put her there. She kept trying to get everyone's attention outside. That's my Lauren!

We went to a French Bakery twice while we were there. They had the most delicious, fresh pastries and sandwiches. On this visit, we sat down with our desserts and drinks and gave Lauren her Rice Rusk and bottle. I think she felt like a big girl sitting there eating with us.

Walking on Main Street and warming up by the fire. She loved the Bjorn and didn't seem to mind the cool wind on her face.

We let Lauren get into a bath water temperature hot tub and I can definitely say that she is ready for Crystal Lake this summer. She liked splashing (a little bit) and after a little while, was very relaxed as you can tell.

When we go out when there was a heavier wind and colder temps, we put this hat on her. So funny!! Her cheeks are filling out a lot (thanks to the 2 jars of baby food then sampling food from our plate at EACH meal) and the hat would push them together even more.

At Mi Casa. You know Eric and I can't go anywhere without eating Mexican food!

Photo shoot with Mommy...

...and Lauren seems to be thinking "OMG! When is this going to end! I'm so over this cold white stuff!"

Getting a taste of fresh snow

Not quite sure if she loves it, but she didn't protest.

One last picture before we call it quits

Having fun in the shops on Main Street

Lauren's wave is very much perfected at this point. She waved to everyone in the airport, Main Street, at the skiers...everybody! That's my baby! It won't be too much longer and I can start working on hand shaking!

I always hate to say good-bye to Colorado. I love being there with all of the beautiful skies, scenery and snow. Until next year!

Lauren's palette at the airport. Little baby needs to stretch and play before the plane ride in mommy and daddy's laps.

New game: Peek-a-boo! Where's Lauren?

There she is!

I'm so glad that we got to go out west this year and loved every minute of Lauren being there (well, except maybe the nights). Having a baby makes everything that much sweeter and funner. Can't wait to see what she will do next time we go.

I almost don't want to say this because you may think that we have lost our minds, but...

We'll talk to you after we return from St. George Island next weekend (48 hours after we return from this trip). Why slow down, right? I'm glad Lauren likes to travel!

2/19/10 - 2/24/10

Lauren turned 8 months old this week! 8 MONTHS OLD!! She has really grown and developed new tricks lately. They seem to happen over night and to be mastered within a few days. She really likes being in her Mustang GT walker and is starting to walk forward and backwards. I think she feels like a "big girl" when she is in it while we are all in the kitchen. I'll put Puffs in the little cup holder and she'll look at me, pick one up, put it in her mouth, and have this look of total satisfaction on her face as if she has just done a major thing.
We went to "The Place" Restaurant in PC Friday for lunch with Mama Lee and Shirley. Very yummy but I realized that a high-chair is much better and easier for Lauren than a booster seat. She was totally distracted and fussy after 15 minutes. Most of the time lately, however, she is GREAT to take out to lunch. In fact, the day before I was going to meet Eric for lunch but forgot that he had a lunch date with a local orthodontist. So, I decided that LEB and I would go by ourselves since we had already made the effort to leave the house. I walked in to Angelina's Italian Restaurant, got Lauren set up in the high chair and then, all of a sudden as if it had not dawned on me until now, I thought to myself "What am I doing??? Going to lunch by MYSELF with Lauren? This is never going to work!" Well, she was perfect! I fed her jar food to her, then the famous Lauren's Miralax Concoction, some pasta from my plate and finished with puffs and yogurt bites! Our first Mommy-Daughter Lunch. I wanted to take a picture, but decided not to disturb our perfect no fuss lunch. The only funny thing that happened was when she slid out of one side of the high-chair. Seriously!! I caught her with one leg still dangling from the seat. A man next to me panicked, along with me, but I said "I've got it under control" but I'm sure I didn't look like it at the time. Ha. So, if anyone would like to have lunch with us, we're available and ready to be "good girls"!
Visiting Daddy's office after our Mommy-Daughter Lunch.
Lauren loves going to the grocery store and places likes Sam's. I usually put her in the Bjorn but we decided to put her in the front of the cart. She "squawked" at everyone that walked near her. Once again, I think she felt like a big girl.
Lauren loves swinging now days and usually gives big smiles. Here we are in our back yard.
Hold on tight!!!

Lauren watching Daddy climb on the roof and remove all the leaves. "Be careful Daddy!!"
Saturday, we went to The Melzer's for a Baby Club get-together. We shared toothbrushes from Eric's office with the girls. Bailey Melzer, Lauren, Anna McCord.
Lauren and Anna showing their skillz.

Lauren (8 months), Bailey (10 months), Anna (10-1/2 months) and Vivian (10-1/2 months). They are all at different stages and are so cute to watch. They definitely interact more with each other and Lauren and Bailey seem to get excited whenever they see all the girls. Could it be that these two are stay-at-home babies? I think so! They are all 4 so cute.
"So, Lauren, tell me what you think of my bow?"
Lauren loves new exersaucers and Anna is doing really well pulling up and standing.
And Vivian is surpassing them all!! She took her first steps at Christmas time and has NO problem getting where she wants to go.
On Sunday, we drove over to Seaside and Watercolor for some afternoon swinging and strolling. Even though it was a chilly day, it was beautiful.
Who wouldn't love this face?!?!

My Daddy is so fun!

Taking a break to play with Maddy at the Seaside Esplanade. Daddy is checking his email in the background.
Oh, Maddy, I love you. You make me smile! If only I could point to your nose. My mommy keeps showing me where your nose is, but I can't (or won't) point to it! One day, but for now, I'll just hug you.
On Monday, I went to an ACLS re-certification class that lasted all day so Mama Lee offered to spend the night the night before and keep Lauren the entire next day. Report: Lauren was a good little girl! Eric came home for lunch (and so did I...the facility was closer to home than I thought) and both girls followed "The Schedule" to a T. :-) Lauren is not really a schedule girl, but one sure does help. Thank you, Mama Lee, for visiting with Lauren and helping me out. I didn't worry at all!
Monday was a taste of how things would be for me if/when I go back to work. I left at 7:30 am and got back at 4:30pm. I really missed my baby!! And I saw her at lunch!! Oh decisions, decisions.

We'll see you after we get back from our ski trip to Breckenridge next week!

2/17/10 Isaac Turns SeVeN !

This week we went to Chipley for Isaac's 7th birthday party! Isaac is in the 1st grade and is a sweet little guy. He celebrated with his 3 brothers, aunts, uncles and his mom and dad at a Star Wars Party before leaving for Disney for his birthday weekend.
It was also Ash Wednesday...Aunt Jeannie and Aunt Helen loving on Lucas and Lauren.
Uncle Glenn giving Lauren some ice cream. I don't think ice cream portions are part of the 8 month diet per the Baby Book, but she loved it! She wouldn't let him walk away; she kept wanting more and more!
The cutest milk mustache ever...

Lauren really likes Uncle Lance. Are you my 2nd daddy? You sure do look like my #1 daddy!
Lauren and Lucas spending time with Grandma.