Lauren's First Christmas

I am still learning how to load/transfer these video clips from my new camcorder to the blog...hope this works!

Lauren got a nursey rhyme CD for Christmas that is personalized with her name. Here she is rocking out to it and playing with some of her new toys. This is not the most exciting clip, but it's a snapshot into her first Christmas! :)

Christmas Morning!

We hope that everyone had a blessed, happy, and SAFE Christmas! Santa spoiled us all rotten this year. A big shout out to our family and friends from so far away...your cards, packages, and love have been flooding us for weeks now. You are too good to us!

I didn't take as many pictures this year because we were lucky enough to get a new video camera from Mimi and Papa Fish, so I spent the morning navigating the new camera. Lucky for all you blog watchers, now my video clips will have SOUND!!! Give me a day or two to figure out how to load them up and I'll share a few from Christmas morning.

As a bonus, here are some pictures from Lauren's first Christmas Eve:

We had the Huck Family Christmas on Christmas Eve morning, and opened the packages from my parents, Paul and Kelly, and Sarah. Here is Lauren trying on her new hat and mittens from Nana.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Triple Play

Todd and I got to experience life with a four year-old and essentially a set of 1 year old twins when we babysat our nephew and niece the other night. Lauren was delighted to see them and couldn't scootch over to Kaitlyn fast enough. For her part, Kaitlyn wanted "up" any time I had Lauren in my arms, and if I didn't she scrambled to be first on my lap. Jonathan is apparently the second funniest boy on the planet (after her Daddy of course!), as Lauren just giggles hysterically at his antics, and beams at his little "loves". We enjoyed having them, but man were we tired...and certain we aren't ready for numbers two or three (or twins!) any time soon!

We did give them a triple play bath. Who could blame us with only two sets of hands?! :)

She's Crawling...

Lauren is finally abandoning the army/snake/crawl/slither for a more traditional "up on all fours" crawl. She's enjoying all her newfound mobility and exploring a little bit of everything these days.

"Grown Up Time"

Todd and I had a chance to get away for a long weekend at the end of November. Our friends, Robert and Christy, were married in an intimate wedding in Charlottesville, VA. We got to explore the Thomas Jefferson house-- Monticello-- and the James Monroe farm -- Ashlawn. Our bed at our hotel (props to the Hilton Garden Inn- Charlottesville!!) was heavenly. We slept so well. We missed our little ladybug, but it was great to get away and reconnect...just the two of us!

Here we are looking out over Jefferson's gardens at Monticello (mont-i-chello for anyone keeping score).

Monticello decorated for the holidays. Truly an amazing American landmark!

9 month Photos/ Thanksgiving

Lauren turned 9 months the day before Thanksgiving. We took her to get her pictures taken in the cute dress made by her Mimi. Cousin Kaitlyn has a matching outfit. They were adorable together! :)

9 month Well Baby Visit

Well, no shocker here, but once again, Lauren blew the roof of her stats! The doctor said if Todd and I weren't so tall she's be worried that Lauren is so far off the charts on her height, but reassured us that she is very proportioned and there is no need for concern. ;)

Height: 29.75 inches
Weight: 24.08 lbs (* and she even lost some weight being sick the past week!)

Her head circumference was quite big too, but I didn't write down that number. That was greater than 95% too.

All the doctor would tell us is that she's signficantly greater than 95%.

Delayed Posting- Halloween

I just realized these photos have been on my camera since Halloween! They had a parade at Lauren's school, so I was able to pop over during my lunch to dress her up in her ladybug costume and carry her around the parade. She loved seeing all the other kids in their costumes.

Ladybug is getting to be such a big girl! She can hold herself up if she has something to hold on to...

It was pretty late by the time the neighborhood kiddos were trick-or-treating, so Lauren was no longer "buggin' out". We changed her back into her Halloween outfit. From this angle she looks like the pumpkin on her shirt! :)

Happy Birthday Cousin Kaitlyn!

Our niece Kaitlyn turned one at the beginning of November. Lauren enjoyed her chocolate and pink polkadot party. She and Lauren were really cute playing with each other. All these expensive toys, and they want to play with tissue paper and curling ribbon... :) Jonathan provides "supervision".

Here Lauren plays w/Kaitlyn (R) and their neighbor Kathryn (L). Notice that our 8 month old is just about the same size as the 1 year old and 17 month old....ooh! Cannot wait for those 9 month stats!

Playin' With Her Daddy

Lauren just lights up when she sees Todd...she thinks he's the funniest guy around! Here are some photos from a couple weekends ago where they were playing with his hat.

Lauren's Baptism

Lauren was baptized this Sunday, and she was so great during the entire service. She wore the same christening gown that Paul, Sarah, and Kate wore which was made from our mother's wedding dress! It was so beautiful on her...

Happy Halloween!

LadyBug gets dressed up as her namesake for her first Halloween. I thought she might not like the hoodie, but she (although very serious) was great!

Here she is with her cousins, Kaitlyn and Jonathan. Have you ever seen such cute dragon or little bugs before??

So serious and contemplative!

Two Teeth...at ONCE

News Alert....Miss Lauren had not one, but TWO lower teeth break through on the same day (yesterday), with nary a fuss (Knock on Wood! May they all be this easy!). What an efficient child..you know I had to love that personality trait. Tee hee...

Jonathan's 4th Birthday Party

Lauren and cousin Kaitlyn got to ride around the park in a wagon built for two, thanks to Uncle Scott. I love that they have on color coordinated outfits without any planning from their Mommys...nicely done!

Sadly, no pictures of the birthday boy, as he was far too busy entertaining his friends and playing in the Dino Walk. :) Happy Birthday to such a Big Boy!

Lauren with Hair???

The SHOCK OF IT ALL!!!

(*Hair compliments of cousin Jamie)

I think it becomes an obsession when you have a little one with no hair...always curious how the other half lives.

...although she would look really cute with a little brown bob, wouldn't she?!?!

.

More from the Wisconsin Trip- NEW ADDITION!

New Addition!!! Look at the joy on her face as Lauren sees a cat for the first time.

Here is Lauren with Aunt Jean who made a special trip from Indianapolis to concide her visit to see Grams with us. We are so glad that we got to have some extra time with her and Jamie!

Lauren made a special trip over to see Ann and Richard...boy did she love all the beautiful things in their garden!

Such a great time hanging with Nana...she gave Lauren this pretty blue dress that matches BOTH their eyes!

We went to see Grams again after church. She got a kick out of watching Lauren eat and the visit seemed to lift her spririts tremendously. Plus she liked to show Ladybug off to everyone else at the facility!

Trip to Wisconsin

The last weekend in September, Lauren had her first plane ride to see Nana and Umpy. She was so awesome on the plane and slept through take-off and landing both ways. She was such a good girl for the whole trip, particularly given all the new faces and changes to her schedule. She was a true delight to everyone, brightening up some folks' lives! Highlights from the trip:

Here Nana feeds Lauren in the same highchair that Mommy, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Sarah all used! Nana was QUITE impressed with Lauren's voracious appetite. ("Katie....I think she's STILL hungry. Can she have some more???")

Kate's Aunt Sue used to babysit us when we were the same size as Lauren. She really got Lauren giggling, and when cousin Sarah said hi to Miss Lauren, she responded with a very clear "Hi!". We all cracked up. She kept saying Hey Da all weekend, which was interpreted as "Hey There". :)

Our other cousin Sara read to Lauren and introduced her to her first Kitties. OOH!! Did Lauren laugh as the kitty swished it's tail! She had a similar reaction to my parent's dog, Maggie. She would start laughing and kicking her legs and holding our her hand so that Maggie could tickle her hand with her nose.

Aunt Melissa sang her Kindermusik songs to Lauren who just loved them! She especially loved the horse riding song (especially the way Daddy rides-- Gallop a trot! Gallop a trot!).

Cousin Jamie is happy to say that she's no longer the baby in our family! Here she takes Lauren to look at the fish tank at the Yardarm.

Jamie, Aunt Jean, and Aunt Melissa get in a snuggle with Lauren at dinner.

7-month Portraits of our Gerber Baby

We had Lauren's 7 month pictures taken on September 21st, and she proved she can pose and

smile with the best of 'em! Here she is , our Gerber Baby!

Some of our other favorites:

Double the Fun...Bath Time Times Two!

The guys had their Monday Night Softball league, and so we had a house full of folks for pizza beforehand. Lauren and Kaitlyn both needed a bath to wind down for the night, and what made more sense that to kill two birds with one stone and plop them in the tub together!?!

It's hard to believe there is only 3 - 4months between the two these days. I think once Lauren starts scooting around too, they will be off to the races, and running around all over the place together!

Lauren finds Kaitlyn quite funny and will just belly laugh at her antics. A preview of the years to come? Only time will tell.... :)

Smelling Sweet and ready for a Snuggle!