A couple more cute photos...

I know I posted last night with some new pictures (see below if you missed them), but I took a few more cute ones this morning and couldn't resist putting them on the blog right away. These were taken during our morning playtime. Lauren was having fun watching Westin (who was having fun watching Lauren). She also discovered her reflection in the mirror!

Have a great day!

Love,

Mindy & Lauren

A weekend of firsts~

We've had a nice and relaxing weekend as a family of three :-) Chad's parents had hoped to visit but had to postpone for a couple weeks. We took Lauren out to dinner at Panera on Friday night and to Pedro's Mexican Restaurant last night. We learned the hard way that women who breastfeed should probably avoid spicy beef enchiladas. I didn't think of that until it was too late. I enjoyed them but regretted it later when we had a little girl with a very upset tummy. I think we went through 6-8 diapers in just two hours, plus she was really fussy and just wouldn't go to sleep. No more mexican food for me for a lllllooooooonnnnnngggggg time. She's been fine today though and has a had a fuss-free day.

As the title of this post indicates, Lauren experienced a few "firsts" this weekend. She gave Westin a smile for the first time when he licked her finger quickly while she was on my lap. I think we are witnessing the beginning of a great relationship between Lauren and Westin. Another first for Lauren was a big happy squeal when I picked her up from the changing table. She is just starting to realize that she has a voice she can control. She hasn't used it often for anything other than crying and grunting so that first squeal was super exciting.

Finally, perhaps the most significant first....Chad fed Lauren for the first time :-) She receives my milk exclusively and I've been storing up milk so that she can be bottle-fed once in awhile. The pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to begin bottle-feeding now, so we tried it yesterday. Her advice was for Chad to give Lauren the bottle and for me to stay far away. She said Lauren shouldn't see or hear me because then she'd probably refuse the bottle. She did a great job! In fact, I had to run and thaw out another bag of milk because she drank the entire bottle so quickly. Today, she had another bottle and took it very well from Chad. I think this is a great thing because not only does it allow me a little freedom from feeding her myself every 2-3 hours, but it also allows Chad to have some of the bonding time that feeding provides. I think he really enjoyed it. For those of you who are reading this and can provide some bottle-feeding advice, I have a question for you. How many ounces are appropriate to be feeding her each time? It seems like she's taking 3 ounces very well and is content for awhile afterwards. Does that sound about right?

Today's weather was nasty- freezing rain and then snow. Of course, Westin loved it and decided that it'd be fun to just lay outside and enjoy it. What a nut.

Have a great start to your work week!
Love,
Mindy and Lauren

One month check-up

Lauren had her one-month doctor's appointment this morning. She now weighs 8lbs 14oz and is 22.25 inches long. Her doctor said she's of average weight and head circumference but is of above-average length. Her length is the average for a two-month old, so her doctor predicts that she'll be a tall girl. That doesn't surprise us at all, considering the height genes she's got!

After leaving the doctor's office, Lauren proceeded to sleep in her infant seat for 4 hours! I finally woke her up so she could eat. Now she's asleep again. Sometimes it seems like that is all she does...

Hopefully Lauren's Grandma and Grandpa Steighner are coming to visit tonight and staying for the weekend. We're supposed to get another big snowstorm on Sunday, so that may force them to change their travel plans. We hope not because Lauren really wants to see her grandparents!

Have a great weekend.
Love,
Mindy and Lauren

Writer's strike is over!

Not the Hollywood one...mine! Sorry it's been so long since I've written. We're doing well here and are settling into some semblance of a schedule. My sister Holly and my parents were here for a nice visit last weekend and Chad's parents are coming this next weekend. Rather than bore you with words, I'll let you sit back, relax, and enjoy the photos :-)

Have a happy valentine's day!

Love,

Mindy and Lauren

New Pics!

Well, after more than a foot of snow fell in our area yesterday, we are now digging our way out. You may have heard about the 800 car backup just south of Madison yesterday. Unfortunately, my parents got stuck in the middle of it. They were trying to drive north to Rice Lake from Beloit and they ended up stopping on the interstate around 11:30 in the morning. They didn't move even an INCH until 9:00 p.m.!!!! Then when they finally got moving, they decided to turn around and come to our house instead of driving 5 hours north to Rice Lake. So they sat and sat, eating the few granola bars and Twizzlers that they had in the car and turning the engine on and off to conserve gas but yet stay warm. It snowed so hard that all the cars got snowed in and couldn't move even if they wanted to!! Luckily, my parents were driving my dad's Tahoe and got out by following a snow plow along the shoulder of the road and then using an emergency turn-about in the middle of the interstate to get out of the mess. We saw on CNN and the Today show that cars that were not 4-wheel drive were stuck until they got towed off the interstate this morning. Semis were too big to get around the cars, so they were stuck too. My parents were some of the very few who got out instead of spending the night in their car. Many, many cars were still stopped and stuck there this morning. I can't imagine being in that situation! Luckily, my parents kept a sense of humor about it all. I don't know if I could've done that.

Now they are here relaxing with Lauren and I. Holly is flying in to meet Lauren tomorrow. We're excited to see her! Here are a few new pics:

I know this picture is a little bright, but it shows Lauren's favorite way to sleep--with her hat pulled way down over her eyes :)

Now that the stump of her umbilical cord has fallen off, Lauren can have real baths. Guess she wasn't as excited about the idea as we were....

Have a great night!

Love,

Mindy and Lauren

Picture Day!

Yesterday, our good friend Sara Umnus came over for the afternoon to take pictures of Lauren for us. She's an aspiring photographer and does amazing work. She brought Jackie Molle with her as an assistant--we all had a great time and Lauren stayed happy and cooperative for several hours while Sara took more than 450 pictures!! I took this first one so you could see what our little photoshoot looked like:

I am going to keep a few of my absolute favorites a secret until I've sent out birth announcements. Here are several great ones that I just couldn't wait to share though :) Enjoy!

I took this last one today. Just thought it was cute~

Have a great week!

Love,

Mindy and Lauren

A Case of "Mommy-itis"

(Aunt Amanda...this picure is for you!)

Today has been a day where Lauren has refused to be put down...anywhere. I've tried her bouncy seat, which she usually loves. I've also tried the crib, the swing and the carpet. She has wanted nothing other than to be held by me. So I've literally gotten nothing accomplished today other than holding her and comforting her. Geez- I didn't even get to brush my teeth and change clothes for the day until almost 3:00!!! Oh well. My maternity leave isn't unlimited, so one day I will have to go back to work and leave her all day. So I guess if she and I decide to spend our days doing nothing but cuddling right now, well then that's what we're going to do.

Yesterday I decided to take Lauren on her first shopping trip. So after about two hours of preparation (feed her, change her, change her again when she spit up on everything, change her again when she had a diaper explosion, feed her again, change her again...you get the picture), I bundled her up and we went to Target and Babies R Us. To my friend Danielle--I know you are VERY PROUD that her first visit to a retail store was to Target. See?? I'm a good mommy!!

Anyways, apparently Lauren wasn't as excited as I was to finally be out of the house. She slept in her carseat from the moment I put her in it and stayed sleeping until we got home three hours later! I never saw her even peep open an eye the entire time. I know this might worry my sisters because they plan to take her shopping quite often in the future. I'm sure this isn't a sign that she won't enjoy shopping in the future. I mean...come on...she does have some of the Lucas genes in her. I'm sure she'll spend lots of her daddy's money with excitement when she's a little older :) (Just kidding Chad).

Well, Chad and I must be crazy. He just called and suggested we take Lauren out to dinner at Panera tonight. I only have an hour to get her ready, so I'd better get started. Oh! Lots of people have asked if Lauren stayed healthy this week despite her mommy and daddy having the flu. Luckily, she's been fine. Thank goodness!

Love,

Mindy and Lauren