Thanksgiving Weekend

It was a big weekend for our little sweetie!!! It was SO wonderful for me, too. I haven't spent more than two days in a row with this little girlie since I went back to work in September. It's been nice to feel like a full time mom again. Going back to work tomorrow is going to be tough. I'm very thankful for the time we got to spend together as a family of three!

It was quite fun celebrating our first of the two big holidays! We spent some of the time at home, some time at my parents and some time traveling to see my mom's side of the family. She was a pretty good little traveler and did great being passed around from person to person and sleeping in a strange bed. Here are some pictures from our long weekend.

Holiday prep is a must! Lauren had a great time helping me make pumpkin pie!



On Thanksgiving Day we headed to my parents for our first Thanksgiving meal. Grandma and Grandpa had been shopping the day before and Grandpa L had picked out this outfit for my little Lauren bear...it's just too cute!



While my mom and I finished things in the kitchen and I graded papers (sad day to have to grade papers) Lauren and Grandpa were super interested in all of the football.



Before we ate our meal, Lauren had her first taste of rice cereal. It didn't go very well. We're not sure if she actually swallowed any of it! We need lots of practice.



It had been way too long since we'd had a picture taken of the three of us!



I love my girl!!!



The next morning we headed to my mom's sister's house for our second meal with our extended family. Tons of fun!!!! My cousins are having babies now too, so there are little ones running around. Here's a 4 generations picture! My mom's the odd duck with her hair color...



So many blessings and things to be thankful for this year! I'm excited for the next holiday! And now, I won't feel like a loser listening to Christmas music since it's the Christmas season!

Lots...

It's been more than a month since I've posted. That pretty much sums up life at the moment. BUSY. Lots of BIG changes happening in our household.
*I've been back at work for almost two months now. Even though I'm part time, it's still pretty overwhelming.
*Brian quit his job. He's going to open a new Christian counseling agency very soon. Very exciting stuff...and very scary at the same time. We have truly seen God's faithfulness and hand in this process - but our faith is still being tested. My salary will only stretch so far!
*I haven't swept my kitchen floor in about 2 weeks. I'm hoping to do that tomorrow. This will have to go up on my priorities list when we have a mobile child.
*My teaching license expires in May. Since I am a major procrastinator, I have to take 9 graduate hours, apply with the state and receive my license by May. It should be an interesting few months, to say the least.
*We're paying for a gym membership. I used it lots before I found out I was pregnant and fairly often until my swelling got so bad that I couldn't fit my feet half way into my tennis shoes. Once Lauren was born I went fairly often - I wore her in a baby carrier and walked. She's FAR to heavy for that now. After a conversation about paying for the membership, I've decided I'd really like to drop these last few baby pounds and the 10-15 I've acquired during our marriage. :). Getting up at 4:45 makes going to the gym quite hard. I don't get up at 4:45 to go to the gym. That's a typical wake up time for me. Needless to say, I don't have much energy to pump iron after wrangling 120 high schoolers. BUT, I just found out that I can earn gift cards by entering my work out time with my health insurance plan. Since we'll be super poor, it might be nice to use these gift cards to go on dates!
*Lauren is super. She's easy going, super smiley and almost always happy! She always gets great reports from Grandma Koehler (who watches her while Brian and I are at work) and the church/gym nursery workers.
*She sleeps pretty well - but usually cries a few times a night for her pacifier.
*She rolled over for the first time this month! She's quite social and getting more and more fun each day.
*At her 4 mo. Dr. appt (exactly a month ago today) she was 13lbs and 11oz. It's all in her thighs.
*She tried out her high chair for the first time. No solids yet, but it's fun to have her join us at the table.

Here are some pics!