Laura Is One Year Old!

Well, all three of us made it - the first year of Laura Lynn! Her dad would like you to take note that we purposely created this post EXACTLY to the time she was born one year ago...

Holy smokes, don't these two pictures just blow your mind?!?! One year, people! The change, the growth, the fun, the love is unimaginable until you experience it yourself. We wouldn't trade it or our sweet bagooz for anything.

We should probably say a big thanks to the people who have helped us survive parenthood, year one - Laura's aunties, uncles, cousins, and many other relatives; our friends who have already been there and done that (and lent us their stuff), her excellent daycare provider - and most of all the grandparents, who have generally been willing to drop anything and run over here to help us with Laura whenever we needed it.

Today we took Laura to the zoo for a fun birthday family outing (her parents both played hooky from work today - wouldn't you, between the kid and the fine weather?!). She probably liked watching the fish the best, but was happy cruising around the zoo, being outside, and watching zillions of other kids.

Here's the stats:

Height: 18 and 3/4"

Weight: 17 lbs., 8 oz.

Likes: Crackers (animal, graham, nilla wafers, etc.), yogurt, apples, things with cheese, Italian food, playing with remotes and cell phones, standing and looking out the window, bathtime, being outside, moving around, climbing stairs, reading books, her baby, begging for food from her dad, playing with daycare buddies

Dislikes: Being put in the car seat, laying still for clothes/diaper changes, eating meat, mom leaving in the morning

Any new tricks? Taking steps if someone is holding on to her hands, obsessively using the "milk" sign to mean "I want that" or "Give me a cracker," the stair climbing, leaning/looking up and back until she falls over (see video in previous post)

Happy Birthday, Laura! We love you so much!

Go Laura, It's Your Birthday (Party)

We celebrated Laura's first birthday on Sunday with a family party at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Glenn's house. Whoa. Birthday parties are not easy to throw or manage and I can only imagine it will get harder. I totally get why most of the birthday parties of my youth involved an outing or sleepover with a friend or two. (Laura, take note!!)

I attempted to make it a pretty low-key affair. We opened presents (below you can see Laura checking out her stuffed raptor from Uncle Mike & Auntie Kaitlin) but Laura is more into cards and envelopes right now than actual gifts. We had pizza, one of Laura's fave foods, and there were cupcakes for the birthday girl and guests. Not to mention PARTY GAMES (including a cool, spur-of-the-moment pin the tail on the donkey - thanks Ian!).











My favorite part of the party was when we were singing "Happy Birthday" to her. Her face was so excited, either because of the lit candle or the joy of everyone singing to and looking at her, but it was a good moment that I'll remember. As of now, she took after her dad more than her mom and had no interest in the cupcake, save for licking a little frosting off her fingers. She was pretty happy about her birthday hat and actually ate more of the hat than her cupcake (oops)!














In the end, it's all about the fun, not the work that goes into it, and we had a fun time. Thanks to her grandparents for hosting and to all the guests for coming and bringing such nice gifts! Laura is going to be a well-dressed and well-read baby this spring, that's for sure.

Leave it to Beaver!?!

Ok, we get it! You have teeth!

Laura's top front two teeth are sure making their presence known. Anyone who has been around the past month has noticed them in her beautiful smiles, feels them in her bites, and now hears them...biting on the crib. Laura has turned part beaver, gnawing on wood.

Check out the damage:

One Year Photos

A week and a half before Laura turned 1, we went to a professional photographer's home studio to capture still photos of our babe.








The session started off great. Laura was extra screamy and excited. Her cooperation slowly transformed into slight distress and distraction. I guess snacks, toy trucks and crawling around were more exciting.



Nevertheless, I was very impressed with her willingness to sit and let our photographer do her job.

We received just a few photos from the session. The entire photoshoot will be given to us shortly. Stay tuned.

Climbing

Feats are coming all too fast as Laura pulls off another shocker. Tonight, Mom went upstairs to fill the bathtub with water. Laura immediately froze, stuck out her arms and opened her eyes really wide when she heard Mom say, "Laura, it is bath time!"

Without hesitation, she crawled as fast as I have had ever seen. As she approached the stairs I thought she'd stopped. Mind you, I have never seen her nor expected her to climb. When I got close, she had crawled up two steps and wasn't stopping. In amazement, I followed behind her to prevent from falling backward but that wasn't needed as she crawled up all 14 steps by herself. Time for gates!

Update:
We couldn't replicate the stair climbing episode in the video below. Laura climbs a few stairs but gets distracted and quits. Also in the clip is her dancing, playing catch and a backwards diving game gone awry.

Laura is Eleven Months Old!

The months are flying by! Can't believe in another month we will have a one-year-old. Laura may have to lose her moniker "Baby Laura" at that point. Our eleven-month-old is very mobile and squawky, and amazes us with the new things she is starting to pick up.

Height:

Weight:

Likes: Pizza, lasagna, applesauce, yogurt, "crackers" (any type of crackery, cookie sort of thing), her baby, musical table, trying to play with restricted items, screaming as a form of communication, tries to pull herself up on furnature, clapping,

Dislikes: Being told "no" or "Laura do it," getting her face wiped after a meal, starting to get picky with certain foods at lunch or dinner

Any new tricks? Laura can play peek-a-boo, do the sign for "milk," pull up on her knees, throw a ball, point at people, respond to certain words (although won't say them)...she knows mama, daddy, cracker, milk, baby. Mom's proudest "trick" is that Laura seems to know the correct orientation of a book - we test this numerous times by handing books to her the wrong way, but she always flips it over or spins it around to get it in the right position.

Advice All Dads Should Follow...Or Should They?

Advice or a Script for Divorce?
Since day 1 of our "we are engaged" AND "we are expecting" annoucements, I have received numerous tips, advice, and guidance on the do's and don'ts of marriage and child care. I must have listened well... still married and Laura is a good baby!

Last night, I was rummaging through some files in our safe, and came across a sheet of paper with "Advice to Mike" from one particular Great Grandpa.

Background
Great Grandpa LeRoy would often ask for money upfront before giving up his valuable, longlasting, proven advice. But Christmas 2005, shortly after Mom and I were married, he gave me a snippet of guidelines to follow...FREE OF CHARGE.

After 4+ years, let's see if any of these have been applied...
1. Ironing - Seldom: Failed. I do my own ironing.
2. Cook when hungry: Followed! I'd hate to impede on Mom's talent.
3. Empty Dishwasher: Failed. I am the dishwasher.
4. Vacuum: Failed. Sorry, I love to vacuum.
5. Scrub Floor - Rarely: Followed! Only a handful of times.
6. Change Diapers: Failed. No way to avoid this one. I've tried. Pew!
7. Fixing House: Followed! But a call to the Grandpas is sometimes needed.

The Bagooz Has New Moves

The Weekend That Was...
Last Saturday, Laura and I had the day to ourselves. We played. We didn't nap. We played some more. Not very exciting. What can I say, there's not a whole lot of fun stuff to do inside our house with a ten-month old during winter. Hopefully, warm breezes are on the horizon.

3pm. Light Bulb! I realized Laura hadn't taken a bath for a few days, maybe that would kill some time. Since I hadn't taken a shower, why not hop in and kill two birds with one stone. Mind you, this was our first tandem bath with Laura and most likely our last (for awhile.) I am not pointing fingers, but let's just say someone peed and it wasn't me.

On all Fours
Late last week, Laura started to lift her knees and get on all fours. She didn't crawl or move while in this position but she did practice over-and-over, lifting herself up from knees to feet.


Standing in the Crib
Yesterday, I walked into Laura's room only to see her standing up in her crib. First time she has gone from sitting to standing. This picture is a reenactment. If she is now able to lift herself up, who knows when she will try to nosedive off her crib's railing. Note to self: lower the mattress.

Laura Wishes You a Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Crawling Baby!

Laura is on the move!

We have entered a new stage in child development, mobility. Last night, Laura could crawl just a few feet. Today, she crawled across the room!