Lauren Already Has a Big Head

Baby Girl had her 1-year doctor appointment today. Her pediatrician was so impressed with the weight she had gained. I told her it's because she stopped puking up everything she ate. She also had her shots. When I put her on the paper, it's like she knew what was coming. She started getting all sweaty and anxious and crying before the nurse even came back in with the tray. It was so sad. She let out cries I had never heard from her before and just pulled on my shirt. There is a reason Jay usually brings her. I think I'll let him have the next one too. Why does everything that's good for you have to have a painful side?

Here are the stats:

Weight: 19 lbs. 12 oz. - 27% up from 2%

Height: 27.5" - 6% up from 2% (we're not holding out for basketball scholarship)

Head circumference: 46.5 cm - 84% up from 61% (she must be growing her brain for an academic scholarship)

We're just glad she healthy. But we have to wonder when we see this video if her big head isn't a heavy load to carry.

Lauren's 1!

One year ago today, our little angel was born. How did we ever do without her??! She celebrated with her cousins Kaylin and Zachary who were visiting from Reno and played all day with Shaunie, Great Grandma and cousin Claire. Mommy and Aunt Becca celebrated by going to see "Phantom" at Hale Centre Theatre (which is fabulous! get tickets if you're in the area quickly because it's almost sold out). Daddy watched all three kids. What a guy! We'll be having a party this weekend to give her some cake to dive into.

Basement Phase 2

Lauren's built-in window seat/toy box

Where Jay dug in the concrete to move the sink plumbing and bring electrical to the island. Thank goodness for Home Depot tool rental!

Room at a glance with food storage closet in the corner.

Storage room with Jay's great new shelves.

The office closet. We also have a black granite countertop going on the cabinet there.

Phase 2 of the basement is complete. Jay finished all the framing, wiring all the electrical (lights, plugs, cable, speakers), moving and doing plumbing (including busting up concrete and repatching), hanging sheetrock (with his dad) and building out shelves in the storage room and closet. As an extention of the basement, he is building a closet in the office. We hired out the mudding and taping. Not bad for five weekends. It's looking great!

Next steps are to put up all the trim, paint, then lay stone in the kitchen and tile in the closets and storage room. Stay tuned!

Learning to Walk in an Afternoon

We've been trying to get Lauren to take a few steps this week, but until today, she would sit right down when we would let go of her. I don't know if the stars were aligned today or what, but she not only took a step this afternoon, but four or five. By the evening, she was standing on her own and taking several steps. It seems to be her preferred mode of choice today. She should be walking to her birthday cake on Tuesday.

First steps about 3 p.m. today

Third pass already taking more steps. Mom just got too excited and made her lose her concentration turning around.

At 5:30 p.m., she did a variation on her own of scooting on one knee.

But then, she decided to walk without help at about 6 p.m. She did it the rest of the night.

"Half" a Cop

I am officially half a cop. Friday, we did final testing for the Special Functions Officer certification. That would allow me to work in a jail, be an arson investigator, or a SWAT medic. I have no idea what else, but not much. I still don't get to wear a badge or pull people over. The next 10 weeks is getting my Law Enforcement Officer Certification. Then I will be a full blown cop and can pull over Kristy Powell speeding through the neighborhood.

I apologize for leaving everyone without a workout last week, so I decided to give you an easy one this week. The best part is you only have to do it ONE time.

• 800 air squats, 30 push ups, 30 box jumps, 30 sit ups,
• 30 lunge jumps, 30 burpees, standing broad jump for 50 feet,
• 800 meter run, 180 lb dummy drag 30 feet, 10 push ups,
• 180 lb dummy drag 30 feet, and finish with 10 push ups.

My first time doing it in January was 30 min. Today was 21 min and I can still walk normal.

First Born Quiz

I thought this was a fun tag on Kristina's blog about your first born child. Here's my answers to the tag:

1. WAS YOUR FIRST BORN'S PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes. We did in-vitro, so it was planned down to the moment of conception. Very romantic.
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes. Five years.
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Shock, disbelief, scared I would lose it and I felt unprepared
4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 31
5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Blood test and nurse called me while I was in a DreamWeaver training class for work
6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? No one. Later that night Jay and I went to the temple and I told him in the Celestial room. I knew he would freak out, so it needed to be a quiet place.
7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yeah. I wanted to prepare.
8. DUE DATE? March 16
9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? In the afternoon because I wouldn't eat all day mostly
10. CRAVINGS? Pasta and sugar cereal, which I hardly ever eat
11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Bed rest for the last 7 weeks and getting fat
12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Girl
13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Yes. We wanted a boy. But Lauren's great too.
14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? I lost count at 60
15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? yes
16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew
17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Full placenta previa
18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? At the hospital, thankfully
19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Zero and I don't feel like less of a mother because of it
20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Air Med (helicopter)
21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? I was unconcious and Jay hadn't arrived, so I guess just the doctors and nurses and Lauren probably saw herself coming out
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? c-section
23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I was glad when they got the morphine pump working after I came to. That was some of the worst pain of my life because they had cut me open without anything to protect the baby (just had me unconcious)
24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7lbs 2ozs
25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? Feb. 24
26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Lauren Grace
27. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN? 11 months

10-Minute Tornado

Warning: Annette and Child Protective Services should not read this post

Tonight while I was at Hale Centre Theatre (a client) doing some work, Jay called me to insist we "baby proof" the house better. When I asked what put him in such an unusually demanding state, he recounted his past 10 minutes with Lauren. Apparently, she crawled into the piano room first and pulled the corner shelf piece down on top of her. (Funny enough only the little wood thing broke, but the crystal dish and glass mirror were fine.) He ran and got her and as he was putting it back up, she found an ibuprofen I had dropped earlier (and had looked for and then decided I must have taken it without remembering) that Jay got from her just before she put it in her mouth. She then went to the kitchen and used her drawer to stand up and open two drawers above it to the b-que tools drawer and was trying to pull out the large, sharp fork. Jay said she skipped the placemats drawer directly above her lid drawer because it wasn't as exciting as the b-que utensil drawer. As Jay was closing that she crawled over to the glass bowls/pans cupboard and started removing a glass dish. Needless to say, she is not content to be in one place anymore. And she's not even walking yet!

Her favorite things to grab (and stick in her mouth) are any type of cord, the raffia grass in the fake plants and Shaunie's cat, who retaliated by scratching baby's head yesterday.

Easy work out of the week

Here is the work out of the week. A little late I know, Becca needed some extra time to recover from the "warm up" workout last week. This week:

• 50 air squats, 50 push ups, 50 sit ups and run 4oo meters.
• 40 air squats, 40 push ups, 40 sit ups and run 800 meters.
• 30 air squats, 30 push ups, 30 sit ups, and run 1200 meters.
• 20 air squats, 20 push ups, 20 sit ups, and 1600 meter run.
• 10 air squats, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, and 2000 meter run.

The run can be substituted with stairs with the following rule: 1 stair is up and down the equivilant of 4 stories. So it would be 1 stair, 2 stairs, 3 stairs, 4 stairs, and 5 stairs.

Good luck and make sure to time yourself for quality purposes.

Clapping

Smart Advice

A friend of mine with four kids told me one of the best parenting tips she ever got was to designate an okay drawer/cupboard in the kitchen for the baby. That way, when Lauren tries to get into things, I can move her to "her" drawer and let her know that's where it's ok to play. My friend said she never had to put the safety locks on the cupboards, etc., because her kids would start by going to their designated drawer. We're seeing success with it already. Lauren has full reign of the lid drawer.