Fun with Family

We have had a really nice week spending time with my parents (who live here in town) as well as my grandparents and aunt who were visiting from Missouri. It was so nice to see my grandparents with Laura. They are just in love with her and dote on her every move! It isn't too often that we all get to spend a week together, so it was a real blessing.

On Sunday, we all went to my parent's church. Laura got a little loud during the service, so she spent most of time in the nursery. I had to leave quickly when she decided to show off her vocal ability during the prayer time!! She was the only child in the crawler room, so she got a lot of attention from the nursery staff and really enjoyed it!

After the service we took a few pictures in the lobby. Please excuse the red phone behind us on the wall...no one was paying enough attention to the background as we were all trying to get Laura to smile. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, either, so it would be nicer to have a pretty backdrop! The first picture is of the 4 generations of mothers/daughters in our family. The second picture is with my grandpa and my aunt. She also just loves Laura...and Laura loves her too!

We're so glad that they all came to visit and hope to see them again really soon...maybe this summer when we can all go down to the lake and teach Laura to swim!

Just Pictures

We don't really have any news to report this week. It seems like it has been raining forever and we haven't really left the house. Laura is doing great...getting bigger every day! We just have a few new pictures to enjoy (we haven't gotten the camera out too much this week)!

From Snow to Spring!

So last Sunday it was about 15 degrees outside and snowing. This Sunday it was 85 degrees and sunny. The weather around here is just crazy! We did enjoy the summer-like weekend, though.

I started back to work on Wednesday afternoon for my half-time work week. Things went pretty good. Laura had a great time with her Nana on Wednesday, the new babysitter on Thursday and Shawn on Friday. I missed her much more than she missed me, though! I was definitely looking forward to spending the whole weekend with her as well as Monday and Tuesday of this week.

On Saturday morning we took Laura on a walk around the neighborhood. It was already about 60 degrees outside and she liked being in her stroller without being all bundled up. On Saturday afternoon we ran some errands. Laura got so warm in her car seat her little head was just wet with sweat and her hair was sticking to her face! It will be nice when she is facing forward in her car seat and can get the cool air from the air conditioner. Saturday night we had a BBQ at my parents house. Laura had a fun time crawling around on the deck and eating outside. We put her in the flower pot and she thought it was great fun!

Today after church (where she wore the absolutely adorable sailor outfit) we went outside to play in the grass. Laura wasn't quite sure she liked the grass, though, so we put her on the blanket. She was much happier there and we played for quite a while. Then Shawn decided to take a bike ride while I pushed Laura in her stroller. Laura was quite interested in watching Shawn on the bike...she would crane her little neck to see him beside her and just grin! We need to get a baby seat for the back of the bike -- I think she would love it! Overall, it was a great weekend enjoying the outdoors...too bad it is supposed to be in the 40s and 50s by the end of the week.

SNOW!!

We got about 7 inches of snow on Monday...quite a lot of snow for this area. In fact, most of the schools are still closed today and Shawn even had a day and a half off of work! It was also really cold, so we couldn't take Laura out for too long. We did go for a short walk and some play time in the snow, though. We also made snow ice cream -- Laura didn't really like it! Here are some of the pictures from our snow days...

Laura can crawl!

Well, Laura has mastered the fine art of crawling in the last week or so. It is really hard to get a picture of a crawling baby, so we've included a short video at the end of this post with footage of her crawling ability as well as her sweet little baby voice. She is pretty much a pro at crawling, now. She no longer goes just backwards. She is also starting to pull herself up using the furniture. We have installed a few gates around the house to keep her out of the places that are not so safe (like the kitchen and the stairs) and she loves to sit in front of the gates and bang on them with her sippy cup or a toy. It is too cute! She is also getting braver, leaving us in one room to go explore another room. I can't believe how fast she is growing up!!

Laura also had her first weekend away from her daddy this weekend. Shawn went up to New Jersey to meet up with his brother and nephews for a day of snowboarding. It was a learning trip for Shawn and he spent a lot of time on his rear end...but he had a really good time. By the end of the day he was starting to feel confident in his abilities, and he informed me that the next time we go on a ski trip he will be snowboarding. No more skiing for him!! I'm not exactly thrilled as I think snowboarders are out of control and a general menace on the ski slopes, but I guess I will have to get over it!

Also, I just have to thank all my girlfriends at work for the wonderful shower you gave Laura and me last weekend. We had a wonderful time, got great gifts, and enjoyed the food! I go back to work half-time this week, so next weekend we will blog about how that adjustment went for everyone in our house. (I think it might be easier for Laura than for me!)

Enjoy the video...