Lincoln and Lauren: Stats and Pictures

Lauren had her four month well visit yesterday.  Once again she had to endure the immunization shots, and gave a good, hearty scream afterwards with many tears, but she pulled through. She is changing so quickly. We think the stage she's at is such a fun one.

• If you just look at her and smile, her whole body lights up and she smiles and kicks her legs! 
• She giggles at times and even has laughed a few times when Lincoln has played with her on the floor. 
• She loves "patty cake" the most of all the songs we sing, or so it seems
• She will sit in her bumbo chair or swing for a while and be pretty happy
• She has rolled over from her back to tummy twice
• At three weeks old, without being propped up on her elbows or in any way, she rolled over from her tummy to back (three times that night) and has been able to ever since. Not kidding, this is real! We even have it on video when she was exactly three weeks old. Child prodigy!!
• Her eyes have turned a beautiful blue
• She has lost quite a bit of hair since birth. She didn't have a lot then, but she's pretty bald now!! She has a little bit of hair on the nape of her neck. She looks like a bald man from the back:)
• Her hair is brownish-red on the bottom of the back of her head, and kind of a blonde/red/brown everywhere else where you can see some hair!  We are still not sure what color she'll be, and we may have to wait a while to find out.
• She is pretty tolerant of her loving, smothering big brother...
• She sleeps from 10/11 pm until 3-5 am (on a good night), breastfeeds, and immediately goes back to bed until 7/8 am. Not too shabby, I'm  not complaining too much. Sometimes, like the last few nights, she'll get up at midnight, 1 am, 2 am and want to eat a lot more and needs to be cuddled constantly. She's been acting a little differently at nights, and we're not sure why, but hopefully this will pass. 
• She now grabs things in front of her, and is getting better at arm and hand control. She'll sometimes grasp onto things unintentionally, like my hair. 
• She loves to chew, chew, chew on her hands. The more fingers she can fit into her mouth at once, the better.

Yesterday she was exactly four months old and here at her stats:

LAUREN
Weight: 12 lbs 1 oz/ 10th%ile
Height: 24 1/8 in/ 25-50th%ile
Head Circumference: 15 5/8 in/ 5-10%ile

Compare this to Lincoln's stats at four months of age:
LINCOLN
Weight: 16 lbs 7.6 oz./ 75-90th%ile
Height: 25 1/2 inches/ 75%ile
Head Circumference: 43 1/4 cm/ 75%ile

She' still a little one! He was nearly 4 1/2 pounds heavier, over an inch longer, with a bigger head at this same age.  How I ended up with two kids at the opposite ends of the growth charts, I don't know.  It is so interesting. Most importantly, they are both happy and healthy, and we feel so blessed.I just moved out her 0-3 month clothes and put them into a box. It is almost a little sad to put away the tiny clothes because it is another reminder of the stage she is leaving. Yet I find that I am just loving where she's at anyway. I love being her mother and feel so humbled that Heavenly Father sent her to us.

Lauren at 4 months

Lincoln had a cut on his face last week, so we had animal printed band-aids on his cheek and nose for a few days. Although it has healed, he told me he needed a band-aid this evening. I handed him the band-aid and a couple of minutes later he came back with the bandaid across his nostrils! Apparently, this is where band-aids go now. It was cute. I asked him to smile for the picture, and he opened his mouth really wide. I love this little boy.

 For my birthday, Vance gave me a brand new double jogger stroller, by request.  Here we were trying it out a few days ago in the inside of our building. Excuse the messy background. Some workers hadn't finished painting yet. The below picture is before the new paint job. I never loved the paint colors and choices before, but didn't realize it until they had everything repainted with new colors. It looks so much more inviting, trendier, etc. Anyway, I am so excited to use the jogger stroller!!!! I will probably use it nearly every day and put lots of miles on it. It is an In-Step Safari Swivel Wheel Double Jogger Stroller. It comes with lots of nice perks like lots of space to store things underneath, and trays for each child that I haven't put in yet. The swivel wheel can also be switched easily to a fixed position, which will be great for long runs and not just walks to the park.

Tonight Vance left for a seminary inservice meeting. We decided to make a Murray family favorite, O'Henry Bars. It is kind of like a peanut butter rice krispie bar with chocolate on top. Once you have one, you just can't stop! Lincoln not only was on the counter top (I usually don't let him), he got to lick the spoons afterwards, and then I found him dipping the licked spoons in the sugar. He was having so much fun. With all those sweets, no wonder he just fell asleep and it is after 11 pm. I usually am a very responsible parent,  I promise!

It is really neat when I capture a photo of Lincoln looking sweetly at his sister. After he wakes up from his nap, or wakes up in the morning, it is a special event if I bring in Lauren. He loves it when they are both together. He also loves it when I have double diaper changes. He grabs a diaper for himself and for her, and picks the spot in his room where each of them lay side by side. It is cute to watch.  Lincoln is filled with so much love and we can see how wonderful he is and how hard he tries to do what is right. More and more Lincoln is becoming independent. We hear "no" and "I do it" a lot each day. We are trying to help him be polite and kind, and also help him be as independent as possible, with some limits. We are learning more and more that we don't know everything about parenting and power struggles, but we are learning lots and little tricks to help everyone stay calm and be on good behavior!

All about Lauren

Lauren is now 3 1/2 months old! She has so far been a generally easy baby. She now squeals, grunts, and more. She seems to have found her voice and sometimes can be very noisy, which we enjoy! She has been a little peanut, at least in comparison to Lincoln as a baby. I think she might be closer to 12 pounds, not sure. She smiles lots and Vance got her first real laughs on video a few days ago. She melts our hearts!!! She loves to stand, sit up, and watch others. She is pretty tolerant of her big brother as well. She doesn't cry too hard very much. Occasionally she gets a bottle, and if she is still hungry after the bottle has emptied, she will cry so high and loud it can startle and shock you.

Here she is with one of her winter hats. She likes her bumbo so she can be up where the action is. Her socks always fall off!!!

Above....her eyes are so beautiful to me. Its easy to make this little girl smile these days. Her little sounds couldn't be sweeter. At first we thought she sounded a little bit like a kitten:)

Below...this picture is a month old. I loves this outfit of hers. 

The picture below was from December? Not sure....the day she clearly found her hands after we went to a park.

The picture below was taken when she was 6-8 weeks old, not sure. She is now starting to deliberately reach for and grab things within her reach. Bumbo chairs, bouncers, swings are so nice and really make it easier for me, especially when I need to play with or help Lincoln with something.

As soon as Lauren get's sleepy, she enjoys being swaddled and given her pacifier. After a few minutes we lay her down and she naps very well. She usually naps for a couple of hours in the morning, a couple of hours in the afternoon, and one or two shorter naps in the evening. She usually sleeps from about 10 pm to 3-5 am. I feed her, and she usually goes right back to sleep until 7 or 8 am. We are so lucky. Its nice that she sleeps well because Vance has seminary. He wakes up at 5:15 am each day, and since we aren't great at getting to bed at a decent hour, he is already so tired. So I have to not rely on him to much to feed or take care of her during the nights. We love her so much. I wondered a little bit how I could love another child as much as I loved Lincoln, but it has happened. We are grateful for her and so glad she has joined our family.

Lauren's Blessing Weekend

My parents and brother Peter came to visit for Lauren's blessing weekend. I think Vance has more of the photos from her actual blessing day on his phone. I'll have to include those later.

They arrived on a Friday night and we talked until we all went to bed. On Saturday morning, February 16th (my birthday) we were going to go sledding at the most amazing sledding hill ever, but it was 1 degree outside. So we went to the local mall and found some great things there instead!!! We ate lunch in the food court and then came home for naps, Vance and Dad ran errands, reading, etc. We then all headed to the Mall of America. We went on a couple of rides at the amusement park there and then had dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory. It was a fun restaurant that really gave you the "Forrest Gump" feel. Our waiter even quizzed us on the movie, which was fun as well.  Lincoln is one of the pickiest eaters I know, and he ate shrimp!  We were amazed and thrilled, but didn't say anything to him. Vance and I recently attended a seminar given by a Pediatric Feeding Specialist. Her focus was on "picky eating and power struggles." We learned a ton and now mealtimes are more enjoyable to everyone and he is starting to eat a great variety of foods.

We then left the restaurant and exited the mall. It is so big that we were already so tired from walking so much. It was incredibly cold too. But we all headed to the ice castles across from the mall. A guy in my ward is from Utah and now makes these all around the nation for a living. They are a great family.

 My dad picked out a Lego set for Lincoln from the huge Lego store. Here is Vance and Lincoln working on it together. Thank you!

Peter at the ice podium...

 Lincoln wanted his picture taken!

 Mom and Dad sitting on the throne. They are so in love after over three decades of marriage. That makes me feel good to see their marriage so healthy. It's always been great too.

There were ice princesses that you could have your picture taken with. There were also sleds to you could be taken around in. There were so many little touches that were impressive. We have gone twice this winter and this time many of the ice castles were enclosed so it made walking through them even more fun.

We got back to our home and had cake. It was the Chocolate Mousse Tuxedo cake from Costco. WOW. This is one of the best cakes ever. I would be thrilled to have a huge piece of it EVERY day of my life!!!
I asked Vance for one gift and I got it!!! I got a brand new double jogging stroller. I am really excited to be able to take both of the kids out in it as soon as the weather warms.

On Sunday we went to church and Lauren was blessed in sacrament meeting. This was the real reason they came this weekend. It just so happened that the best weekend for the blessing also included my birthday:)  It was a beautiful blessing.  I am grateful that Vance lives worthily and is always ready to give these blessings with the power of the priesthood.  Vance has the pictures from this day on his phone, so I'll get them from him and include them later!!

It was a perfect weekend. We had such a nice time with my parents and brother in town. There is something so refreshing and rejuvenating about being with family!!! Thanks for coming guys!!!