Never a Dull Moment...

So...Jeff and I were so excited to take Lauren to the zoo for the VERY FIRST TIME! We throw her bag together and jump in the car. We pulled into the Zoo and she began crying...I couldn't imagine why she would be so upset all the sudden. Then, it became very apparent. She began vomiting! We pull in a parking space and begin to strip her down when we discover all we had was a jacket. Jeff stayed and wiped her down while I ran into the zoo gift shop and bought a t-shirt and a blanket. I ran back to the car and she is happy as a lark! Guess she felt better. So...we decided to go ahead in. Yes, we were those parents walking around with a baby in a t-shirt, diaper, and socks in 70 degree weather! It isn't quite how we would have liked to begin our trip to the zoo but we had a blast despite our start!

Lauren, if you wanted a souvenir, all you had to do was ask!

No no, not bath time! Time to pet the sharks!

Penguins!

Watching the Polar Bear

The trainer walked up just as we did so we got to see the bear get a little snack. She even stood up for us when the trainer gave the command.

The Walrus liked the attention and even hooted and hollered when we were there!

The "dog dogs" AKA The bears

Lauren looked at the bears, began to wave and said, "Hi Dog Dogs!"

:) So cute!

Checkin out the giraffes with Daddy.

We had so much fun together and can't wait until we go again!

First Steps

After seeing our pediatrician for Lauren's first year appointment and talking it over we decided to contact First Steps for an evaluation. Lauren continues to impress us with her vocabulary and fine motor skills but is lagging a bit behind with her gross motor skills. She can sit independently but isn't sitting herself up or laying herself back down, crawling, or walking. Since we initiated the consult we have seen some improvement (more interest in standing, pulling up on things, and army crawling) but she still isn't where most kids are at this age. Our evaluation went great this morning. We were complimented on how cute she is, how beautiful her eyes are, how social she is, and how smart she is! (Which of course is no surprise to us! :) ) They did let us know however that she is weak through her hips and trunk and will need some help to strengthen those core muscles which will help her to reach these milestones. A PT will begin seeing Lauren once a week beginning in a few weeks. We have a meeting April 9th to set goals and such so I believe that is when we will talk about days of the week, how long therapy will last, and for how many sessions. They gave us some great ideas of some things we can do with her so we are going to incorporate those things into our playtime with her.

"Peek Momma! What is up here?!"

"I'm standing! I'M STANDING!"

After Lauren got comfortable standing and we let go, I snapped the picture and Lauren started crying. I think that she realized that we were no longer holding on to her and didn't know what to do next. I think she was scared. We helped her fall back on her booty and gave her praise and she was stopped crying. She is so silly!

1st Walk of the Spring

We absolutely had to take advantage of the beautiful weather this week! We decided to try the wagon for the first time instead of taking the stroller. Lauren loved it! We snuggled her in with a blanket, her milk, and a cookie and took off. She smiled and giggled on and off the whole walk!

That smile makes my whole day!
Loving her wagon ride with Daddy pullin her along!

"Why haven't we done this before Momma?" :)

"This is fun Dad!"

"WEEEE!!!"

We took advantage of the weather several nights this week walking around the neighborhood. Wed are so excited that it is finally spring!

Nutrigrain Bar

Lauren loves trying new foods so we have continued to expand the variety in her diet. We found some fruit bars in the baby section that she seemed to like so we bought some Nutrigrain bars to try. She is very capable of feeding herself but she often wants us to feed her. The pictures below are after encouraging her to pick up a piece and feed herself! :) Guess she got A LITTLE sidetracked! Always exploring, learning, and growing! "Sticky!"

"Sweet" Little Hands

Self Portraits

"CHEESE!"
"Mamma this is so much fun!"

"HAHA! Dadda my foot!"

One of Lauren's favorite things is getting her picture taken! We love our self-portraits! :)

Coupon Queen!

She may look just like her Daddy, but at least she has some of the same interests as her Mommy! :)

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LAUREN

Lauren had a wonderful 1st birthday thanks to all of our family and friends. Grandma and Pops came down from Merrillville on Thursday night. And...Gigi and Papa came in on Friday from Atlanta. We enjoyed our visit while preparing for the party on Saturday. On Saturday, everybody came over about 2:00. We had bbq pulled pork, cheesy potatoes, veggies with dip, a cheese ball and crackers, and of course, birthday cake. Lauren especially enjoyed the potatoes and cake!

"Ready for my big day!"

Lauren got spoiled with lots of wonderful gifts...toys, books, clothes, and LOVE!


The Klein Family


I made a chocolate cake and white cupakes for everyone and a white cake just for Lauren!

Delicious!

Thank you to all of you for coming and helping us celebrate our beautiful little girl's birthday. We are so lucky to have each of you in our lives! And for those of you who weren't able to make it...we missed you!