Lunch with my baby!

IN HER CHUNKY MONKEY SUIT!

So we made the mistake of rushing out the house and forgetting her supply of breast milk for the day. Ugh!

Thankfully I had an 'emergency' reserve at daycare's freezer and I was able to come over at lunch to bring more that I pumped earlier and nurse her. So we managed.

But the best thing was kissing her and making her giggle in the middle of the day!

Oh the sacrifices we make... I ate my first ever frozen - microwaved meal. Ever! While pumping at daycare and making faces to Laurel.

It was worth it!
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What choo lookin' at?

I'm so tough with my velour suit!

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Socks as mittens!

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Someone's got an office!

Thanks to Hilary for another of the many wonderful hand-me-downs. Laurel is now busy busy learning new tricks!

She laughs, jabbers, squeals, pulls, flips, bounces, turns and eats her new friends!

And we should have now more time to make dinner or just sit down and watch our little lady having fun!


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Sooooo cute!

Speechless.

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Laurels first big thanks!

A quien me parezco?

A mi abuela Vicky!!!

Si yo tengo Pappaterra en mi!

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Over the top!

 

Talk about playing doll with my baby! 

I don't think I enjoyed it this much when I was really playing doll.

Love her!!!!
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New trick

She wants to sit up!!!!
And she does this pretty well and constantly. Her abdominal muscles pop up, so strong!

Also when you place her sitting without support she stays for a good little while.


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Fall has officially started

 

 It rained all thru the night and morning.

The sun is bright, rain clouds are clearing up to blue skies, the air is crisp and comfortably chilly, the ground is wet, the native black walnut trees are turning yellow, birds are enjoying the ripe pomegranate fruits and Laurel is enjoying our stroll bundled up in good ol' fleece fabrics.

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Say cheese!

Not needed. She knows when her picture is being taken.

Amazing.

She is a ham!

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Tricky stroller!

Enjoying the warm sunny day.

And the soft breeze thru her lil' toes!

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Home "sick"

Mom got her first root canal yesterday (and I think my second only cavity ever!) So I wasn't feeling too "hot" today.

And so the little monkey and I stayed home to nap and lay low. And I hope she does nap. So far only a 30 minute nap was all I got.


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Morning nap

The book I'm reading to guide me with Laurel's sleep needs says she should be taking two 1.5-2 hour naps a day. With an optional short one at the end of the afternoon.

Unfortunately her morning nap happens in the car every weekday. The book says that's not give her a good enough rest and its also not as long as she needs.

But given our situation its the best we can do!

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you don't even have to try...

We are in so much trouble with this much cuteness!

Photo taken by Jeff on one of the 3 stroller rides they went alone on saturday. Her 6th month bday.


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Rocking little yogi!

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6 months old today!!!!

Happy birthday/2 little one!!!

We have all survived it!

And you are so much fun by the minute. Thank you for choosing us as your parents. We are the lucky ones here!

Love you little drooling, squealing, giggling, life changing mocosa preciosa de tu mami y papi!

MUA!!!!

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Daddy's little girl

Every weekend there are these cute moments.

Con su papi :)

I love it!

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Laurel Laurel

Tricky

Truco!

Classy beauty

With her cute linen dress a friend of Grandma Lynn sent her, her matching socks, cloth diaper and finally enjoying a frozen teething toy.

Did you mean....

 

If you do a google search for California Baby Laurel it will ask you this:

"Did you mean: California bay laurel"  
And the answer is both YES! and NO!

As some of you may already have heard a zillion times we chose Laurel's name because it fit the qualities we were looking: easy in Spanish and English, easy to combine with the mouthful of a last name we gave her and last but secretly as important to me that it was not only a plant but a California native one. And so we got it in Laurel.

The native California Bay Laurel, Umbellularia californica, is found in coastal woodlands and in mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevada, were little Laurel was conceived and were I spot the tree for the first time in its natural habitat. Its scent can be felt for a long distance. Its got medicinal and edible qualities. Here is some extract from wikipedia:

"Both the flesh and the inner kernel of the fruit have been used as food by Native Americans. ....the leaf has been used as a cure for headache, toothache, and earache. ....Laurel leaf tea was made to treat stomach aches, colds, sore throats, and to clear up mucus in the lungs. The leaves were steeped in hot water to make an infusion that was used to wash sores."


"The leaf can be used in cooking, but is spicier and "headier" than the Mediterranean bay leaf sold in groceries, and should be used in smaller quantity. Umbellularia leaf imparts a somewhat stronger camphor/cinnamon flavor compared to the Mediterranean Bay"

And so in her honor I planted 4 Umbellularia californica at the base of our slope in the hopes that they will form a loose hedge to hide the roofs of the houses below but also that they will attract more birds and wild life.

Coincidentally the 5 gal plants we got from the wonderful Theodore Payne Foundation (thanks Leigh and Corin for picking them up for us!) are about the same height as our little Laurel. It will be fun to compare them growing up!

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Five month letter

Wow Laurel! How much you have grown and changed since I last wrote you a letter. Which was about 3.5 months old.

You rolled over for the first time on September 4th. It was during your first over night trip to Lake Elsinor. We went with Fawn and Jeremy (gus too), Leigh, Amanda and her husband and dog stayed for the first night.


You have been going to day care for over a month now. And I'm afraid to say you still cry after I leave. Not every day. But it brakes my heart when you do. Outside of that not so good part. You have become friends with the kids there, Jayden who is 4-5 months older and now your buddy Teven Davis is also there too. Dee and Cherie got you to brake the bad habit of eating every hour to now every 3 hours. Which is so much better for all of us! But now we have to get you to eat 5 oz at a time not just 3.5, same with nursing, possibly double your 8 min at a time.
 

car nap on her way to day care

the day she turned 5 months!

One great change has been you are now sleeping thru the night! From 8-9 to 5 am. And then you love (and so do I) to take a good snooze on top of me.  Sometimes you wake up around 2 but I'm working on cutting that out. On October 5 and 6th you slept 10 hours straight! This is how this all started. It was so great but so hard for us to sleep worrying you were not ok! 

You are gigglig and squealing! Its so much fun to make you giggle. And your jabber and squealing makes us crack up too. 

You recently found your feet. And its so cute to see you grab them while laying on your back. But just like with most things you aren't crazy about putting them on your mouth. Which is nice that I don't have to overly worry about you 'eating' weird stuff ... Yet!

As for eating the doctor said we can start you on solids, when we feel like it! Wow! But I'm going to wait until you are able to sit on your own. You trying to grab a spoon and falling on your face in your bowl is not a pretty picture!

More on eating: 2 bottom teeth have been approaching for a while. They are much more closer now. You are such a good baby (my daughter for sure!) That you barely complain about it. Pain doesn't face us much :) we are tough ladies!

Your dad is head over hills for you and he has been working hard on your room, mounted the toy shelve and added the curtain rod (now I have to get cranking on making your curtains!
 

Today we are on our second and last night of your second over night trip. This time its just us 3 and its for my 35th bday. We chose our favorite spot: Morro Bay area. Its been such a wonderful trip.

Early morning walk in Los Osos

Your eyes are about 80% brown now. They look really cool with that steel blue edge. And your hair which is now fully light brown has got some random long long curly ones. I'm so glad you have my hair! I can no longer find that one random long gray hair you had. It was funny!

You are now wearing 6-12 month old clothes, you weigh 16.8 oz and you are 26" long.

Eliot and Jane brought you this pretty Mexican dress

We LOVE you chunky monkey!

Chicken head!

 

Our good friend Laurel* Messina (* Star is her middle name!) Knitted our Laurel this chicken hat to match our mural(s) of chicken (more on this on another post).

"EL JEFE" reads the shirt.. and yes, that is the truth!

Laurelita has been sporting the hat on and off for the week of Halloween and Dia de los muertos.

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Rough morning drive.

There are days that NOTHING works!

Radio static, clapping, whistling, rubbing her gums, teething medicine, singing, pacifier, kisses, hand holding, shhhhh shhhhhh........

Nope. Not having it. Copious tears pouring down.

45 min episode....

Finally the pacifier is accepted. With some intermittent cries, since she doesn't give up easily! Why should she? She is OUR daughter!

And we have moved about 5 miles, maybe. Tough morning.

Not soon enough, we are on the 101 Hollywood freeway... 70 mph and she is asleep holding Sophie the giraffe........... pacifier drops... she is snoring!

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trouble

Ready to cause some trouble...
Yep!

jkk

one year after...

On the anniversary of Laurel's magically starting her journey to join us we took her to 'meet the pacific ocean' (August 22, 2010).

She was sleeping, but we just had to bring her close to the water's edge.

and of course we had to dip her little toes in the water!

we dressed her in the beautiful dress Linda Theos had sent her (and she met her that day too along with Sandy and Denali over some delicious organic roasted chicken at Sandy's gorgeous Malibu barn house)