Brain...on vacation...body...still here

It's been a week...exhausting for sure! I seriously felt like my mind had taken a vacation. Here are some of the not so bright things I've done this week...

*forgot to turn the volume back on on my phone. That meant I woke up 30 minutes late for school one day. I have never been so thankful for a baby who doesn't sleep through the night. Who knows how long it would have been before I would have woken up. I also had to stop and pick up breakfast for my department that morning.
*that same morning I clogged the toilet. Gross...but it figured that it would happen on a morning I was running really late.
*that morning I also put my shirt on inside out. I get dressed in relative darkness to avoid waking Brian. Once I turned the shirt inside out, I put it on backwards.
*I forgot to bring bottles to school for my breast pump. I left them in the dishwasher.
* I told one of my co-workers how much I liked her outfit because I was wearing the same thing (for spirit day at school). She looked at me kinda funny and I then I realized my outfit was completely different from hers. I changed my clothes quickly before I left and was no longer wearing the same thing she was.

I'm glad it's Friday. I will mention, that no fewer than 7 girls and 2 or 3 boys in my classes told me that they liked my Hello Kitty band-aid. Gotta love high schoolers!!!

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!

Too fast!

Time is going by way too quickly. My little girl is 4 months old. It was a big month for her! I'm sure this is super boring to most, but I've not been doing really well when it comes to updating the baby book - so at least I'll have this documented somewhere!
* at 14 weeks (a little over 3 months) she weighed 12lbs 12oz. We go for her 4 month appointment on Thursday.
* She went to her first funeral (her great-grandpa, Brian's grandpa). It was in Indianapolis - which meant a verrrrrry long car trip. She did great.
* She slept in a hotel room for the first time.
* She got her first cold from her future hubby, James.
* Her mommy went back to work, which means lots more bottles but lots of good bonding time with Daddy!
* She can now hold, grasp and reach for all sorts of things!
* Tummy time is starting to go a little better - but she still hasn't rolled over yet.
* She slept through the night a few times, but mostly still gets up around 3:30 to eat. She goes to bed around 7:00 and gets up around 9:15. Depending on how long she sleeps at night, she'll usually take 3 naps during the day.

And here are pictures of this little girl. She's SUCH a good baby. She just grins all the time and melts my heart.

I've gone back...and survived.

Last week was the week I'd been dreading all summer. The week I had to go back to work. I didn't want to leave Lauren. I didn't want to lesson plan. I didn't want to deal with big kids. I just wanted my little sweetie. Much to my dismay, last Monday arrived. And I survived it. I survived Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, too. Phew.

The week had its ups and downs. I love the people I work with. Seeing them on a daily basis is wonderful. I really missed them. I have 2 mommy friends at school who have been a big source of encouragement. My sub did a phenomenal job. Had I known my kids would have been in such good hands and that I wouldn't come back to a complete mess, I would have taken more time off. I like my classes. Watching my sub teach on Monday (we get a few overlap days to ease the transition) made me realize that I really do like doing my job. I was excited to teach the next day. My kids were excited to see me. I had 2 students tell me they were SOOOOO glad I was back. Past students have stopped by and asked about the baby and asked to see pictures. Fun stuff! High schoolers are neato (most of the time)! I didn't have to worry about Lauren's care. Daddy and Grandma Koehler (my best friend's mom) are great!

Getting up at 5:15 or sometimes 4:50 (or one morning at 3:50...I couldn't fall back asleep) was quite rough. I was used to sleeping until 8:30. I started going to bed earlier, but with a baby that still wakes up 1 to 2 times a night, 5 a.m. is not my friend. I felt more tired last week than I did the first few weeks we brought Lauren home. My house is a disaster. I spilled rice on the floor last week and it's still there. :). Pumping at work is a total pain. It takes up SO much time. At least I don't have to eat lunch alone when I pump. My good friend Melissa joins me and we have a pumping party. She had a baby 3 weeks after me. We burst out laughing one day trying to eat lunch while pumping. We really need a third hand. It was just a funny sight.

The weekend was amazing. 2 days spent with my girl. I got to see her when she woke up! Mornings are my favorite time with her. She's so happy and smiley. Overall, the week was ok. We survived. I hear it just gets easier. I'm thankful, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to live for the weekends like I never have before.

And here's a picture of her cuteness. She'll be 4 months soon. I love her SO much.

Moments when you know....

I always assumed that there would be certain moments in life when I would KNOW my life was different. Not just head KNOWledge, but to feel it and really believe and life is different. With regards to becoming/being a wife, I thought there might be two distinct moments when I would know...


November 11, 2006 - while an amazing day, it really didn't click and my life didn't really feel different. It took awhile for the fact that I was engaged to sink in. Surely, surely I thought, this moment would make me realize, yes, I'm a wife.


The first time I got to kiss my HUSBAND!!!! But, it didn't.

I realized I was a wife and life was different around 5:30 a.m. the morning after our wedding. I had gotten up to go to the bathroom and I returned to bed. I thought I had quietly slipped back into bed when Brian rolled over and put his arm around me. That's when I realized - this is life now. It was the first night we had shared a bed together and it was thrilling to realize that I get to wake up next to him every morning for the rest of our lives. It is one of the smallest - yet sweetest memories that I have of our relationship together.

I thought there would be 2 moments where I would know life would change again - this time with regards to becoming a mommy.

This was the first one...


5:30 a.m. nearly a year ago...but this was too unbelievable to really comprehend, and just like being engaged, it took awhile to sink in.

So surely this would be the moment I realized life would be different...


My first view of my newborn baby girl. I just couldn't believe moments before she had been inside me!

But the moment that made me realize I was a mom happened around 2:00 a.m. a few nights ago. I could hear Lauren crying. She was sick. She was sleepy. She couldn't sleep because she was stuffy. After trying to soothe her back to sleep without picking her up and failing, I lifted her out of her crib and sat and rocked her in a rocking chair. Instantly, she closed her eyes and drifted off. She needed her mommy to hold her. I smiled and cried a little thinking about how having your mom around when you're sick really makes you feel better. Just knowing she's there, holding your hand, stroking your head - her presence just makes you feel better. That's when I knew life really had changed.

Fingerlickin' Good

Hi. My name is Lauren. I've recently discovered my hands.



They are ALWAYS in my mouth.

There is drool everywhere.



And this is how I feel about my mom taking tons of pictures of this...please stop...or I'll attempt to rip my eyes out.



Ah...my sweet girl. She cracks me up. This morning while on her changing table I was blowing raspberries on her belly and kissing her cheeks. I got a little closer to her mouth than normal and she started licking my face! Thinking it was a fluke I did it again, and sure enough - little baby Lauren licks on the face. I love her so much. My days are so wonderful filled with her and her sweetness!