What IS it?

Lauren's curiosity about things continues to grow every day. The other day she was sitting on the couch with Daddy when she happened to find his belly button. She would point and poke at it, Jeff would put his hand over it or pull down his shirt, and she would pull his hand up or move his shirt so she could find it again! When she did find it, she would look at me in amazement! It was so funny, I couldn't NOT take a picture!

"Mom! Look!"

Kris Kringle, Keyes, and Kleins

We had our friends, Michelle, Baby Keyes, Ahmad, and Miles over last weekend. We wanted to be sure and see our dear friends before Christmas so we invited them over for dinner. We enjoyed food, yummy desserts, and of course good company.

Ahmad trying to warm up to Lauren

Miles showing Lauren how her new toy works
Lauren and Miles playing nicely together

Miles stealing a kiss! :)
(I laugh everytime I see this picture!)

Christmas is coming!

How is it possible that Christmas is already a week from tomorrow!? It snuck up on me once again and my Christmas cards are not out! I have a few more days so keep your fingers crossed I can get them done! Here are a few pictures that I took for the Christmas card...

The most precious gift...

"Ummm...Who are you?"

She kinda has that "BUSTED" look on her face, doesn't she?

"Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, The Kleins went to Merrillville to visit Mom and Dad Braden. Thanksgiving Day we got to see the whole family: Monica, Michelle and Mike, Mom and Dad, Grandma Braden, Grandma Weller, Aunt Darlene and Uncle Larry, Missy and Cliff, Uncle Phil, and Laura and Charlie. We ate at about 1, visited for a while, watched football, and played cards.

Lauren REALLY enjoyed the Pumpkin Turtle Pie! She kept leaning toward Auntie Shell for more!!!

Sunggling with GJ-Great Grandma Jane

Lauren really enjoyed her time with GJ. She played patty cake with her, coughed like her, and smiled and laughed with her. It was so nice to have 3 full days together. Thanks for making the trip GJ!

Cheater Cam! The ladies played "Golf" while the men watched football. I caught a few people cheating. Aunt Darlene, I was SO close to posting your mugshot! :)

Laughing with her Great Grandma Weller

Although we only spent the day together, we really enjoyed our time together. We are so lucky we were able to have everyone together! We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas!
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

My first pair of Nikes!

My Mommy and Daddy bought me my first pair of Nike's a week or so ago. I don't mind them but I sure can't get them off like I do my socks. One of my favorite past times these days are to pull off my socks and try to eat them. My top teeth are coming in so I chew on everything I can get my little hands on! Guess I will have to chew on those teething rings and toys Mom and Dad insist on!

9 Months

Lauren had her 9 month appointment today and has a clean bill of health. September and October was filled with sinus infections, an ear infection, antibiotics, and decongestants! Thankfully her ears look great and there is no sign of any infection! (Quick...knock on wood!)

She is:

22 lbs 8 oz (95%)

29 inches long (90-95%)

and has a head circumfrance of 19inches (>97%)

Our polka dot princess

Mmm...Harvest Veggies!

"Mom, let me do it!"

Mommy, Lauren, and her Puppy Pillow from the Cheer Guild
(The Cheer Guild is a not for profit organization that provides a variety of toys, games, and crafts to the patients of Riley Hospital for Children. One of their "signature items" is a puppy pillow. Children get them when they go to surgery so that they have a comfort item when they wake up.) Rena sent a mini puppy pillow home with me for Lauren today. She loved it, of course! :)
At 9 months Lauren is:

*Babbling. Lauren is saying Dadadadada like crazy. She'll say Mamamama once in a great while or when she is really in distress but not on a regular basis. She is just making sure daddy is wrapped tight enough, I think! :)

*Reaching. Lauren will reach for you when she wants picked up! It makes Momma's heart melt!

*Clapping. The other night we were watching food network challenge. When they announced the winner, you could hear applause in the background. Lauren stopped playing and looked up and began clapping! It was so cute. Then she checked to make sure we saw her! :)

*The moonwalk crawl. Lauren is not sure about this moving on her own thing. She isn't crawling just yet but will lay on her belly and kick her feet and push herself up on her hands. However, she is starting to learn that if she rolls to her back and push on her heels she can move backward.

*Eating. Lauren is staring on soft table food. She is eating yogurt, bananas, avocado, shredded cheese, and bread. We can advance her diet as appropriate and feed her off of our plate.

*Pouting. Lauren is beginning to pout and cry if we take something away or if we don't let her have something. Tonight when I was feeding Lauren dinner, she wanted the container of baby food. Needless to say, Momma didn't give it to her full. After she was finished, I let her play with the spoon and the container. A little messy but very cute!

*Loving. Lauren is beginning to wrap her arms around us and hug. She snuggles in for a quick moment and then quickly looks back at you for your approval.

It is so fun to watch her learn and grow!

As we approach Thanksgiving, I begin to think about all of the many things I am thankful for: family, friends, co-workers, the roof over our heads, etc.... But, I must say, being a Momma is on the top of my list. I am truly grateful for this privilege. I love being a Momma!

Happy Thanksgiving!

You better watch out, you better not cry...

You better not pout I'm tellin you why, Santa Claus is coming to town!

An afternoon with friends...

We spent the afternoon with our friends Michelle, Ahmad, and Miles today. We decided that since the Colts game was a late game that we would "tailgate." We had a nice time catching up since it has been a while since we had seen each other. Miles is going to be a big brother at the beginning of January! It is so fun to see him with Lauren and ask questions about his baby that is on the way.

Miles running up to tickle Lauren on the cheek

Peek-a-boo!
Miles kissing Lauren bye!

A little fun with Auntie Monica

I just love those two little teeth! :)

Just playin' around!

GO COLTS GO!

Jeff, Monica, Dad, and I went to the Colt's game on November 8th vs. the Houston Texans. We won but it was close! Thanks Mom for watching Lauren while we went.

Lucas Oil Stadium

Dad, Monica, and I

I like this flag...

Self portrait!

Way to go Colts!

Crawl? I don't think so Momma...

Lauren has figured out that she can get something that she wants if it is to the right or left of her by rolling to it but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl. In the pictures below Lauren would roll from side to side to try to get the tower of blocks. She eventually got there but it was a slow process!

Lauren will lay on her belly and kick her legs but when I put her knees underneath her she looks at me like, "Crawl? I don't think so Momma!"

This one if for my Uncle Mikey!

Lauren rockin' the camo!

Wild thing...I think I love you!

11/3

Lauren loves baths. She has learned to move her legs and make waves in the water and has also learned to splish splash. She is quite busy and doesn't always like to hold still to wash her face or after we wash her hair! She is a wild thing!!!

Pumpkin Fun!

Before Daddy carved Lauren's pumpkin

After! A fun kitty cat!

Sippy Cup

I can't believe that Lauren is 8 months already!! She is growing so fast and doing so many new things all the time! I gave her a sippy cup as I have heard the longer you wait, the more difficult it can be to transition from bottle to cup. Lauren did a great job tho. She started by chewing on the top and after a few seconds she understood that if she bit or sucked, she would get juice. Here are a few pictures...

Not only did she figure out how to use it...she held it all by herself too!

We got a bit soggy while figuring it out :)

Sweeter than candy!

Grandma Klein found me a really fun costume for Halloween. Daddy liked it so much he sent a picture of me and a picture of him with the hat on to his entire sales team. Weeks later, those pictures ended up in a presentation his boss gave at their quarterly meeting! Mommy thinks if they used me to advertise, Hershey wouldn't be able to keep up with the demand! :)

So sweet!

Happy Halloween!

Grandpa's girl...

Beasley's Orchard

We wanted to get in the fall/Halloween spirit so we decided to go to the Orchard and Pumpkin patch with Grandma and Grandpa Braden. It was a little chilly so we didn't stay long but we had fun. We bought some apple cider and a pumpkin and we were off!
Our first of many visits to the pumpkin patch
It's a Lauren size punkin'!!

Momma and baby :)

"Num num"

10/10/09

We decided to try Num Nums with Lauren. She didn't mind biting on it but when it got soggy and started disolving in her mouth she wasn't so sure. :) We are still getting use to textures!

New York in October

Justin (Jeff's cousin) and Allie got married October 10th in Buffalo, NY. Amy, Jeff, and Preston flew in from NC and Mom and Dad Klein and Renee flew in from GA. Lauren and Preston got to meet their Great Grandma Klein which was the highlight of our trip. It is so awesome that Lauren has gotten to meet all 4 of her great grandmas. We are so blessed. 4 generations...Preston, Amy, Grandpa Klein, and Great Grandma Klein

Great Grandma Klein, Jeff, Lauren, and I

Grandma and Grandpa and their babies

All tuckered out after a day of fun!

Lauren did great on the flights!

Not only did we have a great time with family but we got to enjoy Sponge Candy and Duff's Buffalo Wings! Now that is a great trip!