friday cant come soon enuf!!

mid friday we will be heading to green bay for easter! so lauren has a big weekend coming up! it'll be her first trip to green bay and a long one at that (5hrs!). so hopefully she'll sleep most of it and we'll only have to stop two times at the most.

but i am excited to be home! yes ive seen my family a good amount, but i havent been home since november!!! the main reason for being home will be celebrating easter (we'll be there fri night thru sun night), but itll be nice to relax and hopefully see some friends too! my hs friend stephanie who currently lives in englad is home (and i'm hoping to see her quick); and then my friend heather who has a one year old and our friend laura. wehopefully will see them on sat evening, but with a baby, we have to be flexible! oh, and hopefully the weather will be nice!!

after returning to mn sun night, on mon morn we'll get up and head to brewster to see heath's family (primarily his grandparents) until tuesday afternoon. so when i say a big weekend for lauren, i mean it! lots of travel time and new people/places to see. i hope she does well! she usually does, but i can tell she gets tired and overstimulated. she's a trooper, but i understand she just needs quite time... especially w/ mom and dad!

i had my "6wk check-up" this past monday. everything looks good! the doc said i was lucky b/c i didnt have any stitches or damage "down there"... i guess that is rare for first babies, so i am lucky!!! i am just glad to be back to normal (even tho i felt that way since week 4ish). i will be going on "the mini pill" b/c, though we want more kids, we def dont want another baby too soon!!!! oh, and i got the OK to start exercising & stuff. so hopefully i can start running again soon :) i did find out i weigh 141lbs (which is already 30lbs less than what i weighed before lauren was born)...so that means i only have about 15lbs (which would put me at 126lbs) to lose before november, which i think is do-able. i can do it!!!!! :) :)

this past sunday heath and i went to the wedding expo. it was pretty quick but we got three things checked off our list. it was fun to walk around, enter our names in for prizes and just "do the wedding thing"... i mean its the only time we'll do it!
but, for an update, here is what we have done:
- date and church reserved
- reception hall booked
- catering compnay figured out
- dj and photographer booked
- great deal on tuxes via men's warehouse
- i made a wedding website
things we have to do:
- figure out flowers/center pieces
- cake? yes/no? what else could we do?
- dresses (me & bridesmaids)
- figure out invitations, etc
- transportation (limo, coach bus?)
- schedule of the day and ceremony particulars

....other than that, it'll just be little things here and there. we 220 days or just over 7 months, so for most of it we've got time. im not worried, but at the same time i think the time will fly by.... so then again, maybe i should be?!

ok well thats all i have for now. heath left for work early and lauren is sleeping (knock on wood) so im gonna enjoy some alone time :)

xoxo
- jkh

smile baby smile

so lauren has been "smiling" for awhile. id say since week three she's been smiling unintentionally... like while sleeping, eating or just looking at random things. we've tried to capture a few smiles on camera but have been rather unsuccessful. however, this week she's been gradually smiling more and it seems like we can "get her to smile" by making faces, touching her face or talking to her. BUT this morning she was alllll smiles. so i think it's ok to say, as of today, lauren has officially "found her smile"!!! which is exciting and SO cute. ok that's all i have to write for today. :)

Hello, My Name is Lauren

Name: Lauren Elizabeth
DOB: February 16th, 2010

Favorite food: Boob juice, of course. I'm a good eater! I've gained weight like I"m supposed to &have acquired some chubby cheeks!
Favorite color: Pink, really it's my only option!
Favorite place: Inside Mom or Dad's arms (or anyone's). I love being held!!
Favorite TV show: I like to watch ESPN with Dad in the mornings.
Favorite music: My "lullaby" playlist I listen to every night before bedtime. It even puts M&D to sleep...and fast!!!
Favorite toy: I dont do the toy thing quite yet. But I am rather fond of my swing. It's my "bed"... I sleep right next to my parents each night. And I'm not looking forward to sleeping away from them. But I have a feeling its coming soon!!
Favorite activity: Carrides!! I fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

When are you the most alert? - The mornings! I love to have "tummy time" and/or lay on my back and either look outside or watch the TV.

Do you prefer to be inside or outside? - Well I'm inside a lot but I love looking out the window. AND Mommy and I have started going on walks when its warm enough and I love it!!

Do you like to get wet? - As in "baths"?... No, not at all. I scream my lungs off. If I'm in a good mood I enjoy the end of bathtime, but typically its a battle b/w me & Mom/Dad....they always win.

Would you consider yourself a calm/quiet person or an active person? - A little of both, but probably more on the active side.

Random Fun Facts
- I love my hands! I dont like them being restricted and I love when people hold them.
- I am a pretty good sleeper. Now (5wks) I sleep about 3.5-4.0hrs at a time.... which my parents love.
- I am quite the "talker". I make tons of little noises and smile randomly at things. I have a cute smile, by the way!!!
- I dont like to burp after being fed which makes me quite the gassy baby! Oh, and I get hiccups often & easilly.
- I know my parents call me "Diva" and "DQ" (drama queen) behind my back. I'm happy/content one second and the next can be screaming/crying about nothing. (But, I'm a pretty happy baby most of the time.)
- I am not much of a day napper. Mom tries to help me out w/ that via walks and/or carrides. But I get pretty tired by the end of the day..... which ultimately helps me sleep pretty good at night! :)

spring is here

i am SO glad spring is here (knock on wood)!!!!!!!! last week the weather was in the high 50s/low 60s most of the days. lauren and i were able to go on walks 5/7 days this past week. i just enjoy getting out of the house & getting some "mild" excercise. plus it breaks up my day and gives lauren a chance to nap. seriously, she isnt a big day sleeper/napper. so walks and carrides help that out!

yesterday lauren went to church for the first time! she did great...slept the whole time (even w/ all the strings &brass instruments playing --which was beautiful btw). i had to feed and change her once but she did great. pastor walt got to see her too! on april 11th, we will be getting lauren baptized, so she had to scope it out first!!

on saturday we put together the new grill heath bought. it is very nice! it was quite the tedious (sp?) lil project but we got it done. not to mention it was quite cold out, so all the little tricky pieces were hard to hold in the cold& wind. but, we did it. then on sunday we grilled out for the first time... brats, of course. and they were soooo yummy! gosh i love grilling. and since its spring... the time is here!

not much is going on this week. today lauren and i might have a few visitors, but thats up in the air. mostly im looking forward to another long walk once the temp gets higher. it's supposed to get up to 60*....so im pumped :) no running yet (mainly bc of breastfeeding)....but im excited for when i can start taht again. it LITERALLY, has been a year since ive ran.

xoxo
jenna

minne trip

so this wkend lauren had a lot of firsts :)

1. her first roadtrip: we went to mankato to visit heath's sister, amy, and her family.
2. her first overnighter: we stayed over night in mankato. still layed low & called it a "night" around 10pm, but it was still fun!!
3. her first encounter w/ some of her cousins: amy & dereck have two kids (layten & alivia) so lauren got to meet two of her five cousins :)
4. her first walk: it was SO nice out today (almost 60* and sunny) so heath tracy and i put her in her stroller and went on a good 2.0-ish mile walk!!!!

its crazy to think lauren will be 4weeks on tuesday. she's grown and changed already so much. i love it!!! we're loving every part of her now but we're both excited for her to get older too :) but..... my motto remains "one day at a time"!!!

xoxoxo
--jkh