See, she does smile!

We have new pictures but I'm having trouble getting them loaded into the Kodak Gallery. So, here are a couple to tide you over. Somehow Chris accomplished a miracle: Lauren smiled for the camera. She's recently discovered that our cat, Callie, is quite fun to play with. Callie likes to chase the laser pointer around the living room, and Lauren loves to watch her from her ExerSaucer. She's getting quite mobile in the Saucer, and actually can spin herself around 360 degrees. She also has another new contraption: a highchair. Feeding her in the swing just wasn't cutting it. So, now we have a fancy schmancy 7-height-position, 3-recline-position, wipeable pad cover, locking wheel, folding (yeah, right) highchair. Anyone who tells you a highchair folds into a compact position is lying. Next purchase, new carseat. The weight gain seems to have leveled off, so we can wait a few more weeks before we switch her to the bigger carseat.


Lauren gets her next round of shots on Friday. She handled the first round really well, without much fever or anything, so I'm hoping this time goes the same. Especially since I'll be out of town in Pittsburgh for the weekend. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to the trip and Chris isn't. I'll miss the little munchkin, but the idea of two days of sleeping in until 8am sounds heavenly. Don't worry, Chris will get his turn. He's planning a weekend getaway to Phoenix (which is much better than Pittsburgh, by the way) for sometime late this spring.

That's all for now. I'll post a full Dr.'s report, plus more pictures, next week.

Nationwide's Super Bowl ad

If you're not familiar with Nationwide's "Life Comes At You Fast"(R) campaign, it has featured several celebrities making fun of themselves, including MC Hammer and Fabio. So who stars in this year's Super Bowl ad? Kevin Federline. This has caused quite some controversy. In fact, The National Restaurant Association thinks the ad is demeaning to restaurant workers. Watch the ad for yourself. I think it's more demeaning to K-Fed than anyone else. And if he doesn't have a problem with it, neither do I.

The reality of being a new parent

Finally something that confirms I'm not crazy. Nobody knows what they're doing when they bring the baby home. This is just an excerpt, but I thought it was great!

New Pictures...Finally!

As promised, some new pictures are in the Kodak Gallery. Sorry it's taken so long. We're starting to get some pictures that aren't just Lauren sitting in different places in different outfits, so hopefully you'll appreciate the variety.

Sorry, no pictures yet, but...

...at least I'm posting something. Things have been a little hectic now that I'm back at work fulltime. Really, everything's the same as it was a week or so ago, except I think all of Columbus is still recovering from the Buckeyes horrible loss to Florida. Let's not talk about that.

Lauren continues to do well. We've moved beyond cereal and discovered that carrots are delicious. And they do interesting things to baby poop (if you want more poop talk, see Tenzin's blog). Today she'll be trying sweet potatoes. I have a feeling she'll like just about anything. That just seems to be her personality. Really laid back, goes with the flow, loves everyone and is generally a great baby. She's still sleeping through the night, although her naps during the day keep getting shorter. Her next Dr.'s appointment is on 2/2, when she'll get more shots and an official measurement.

I think it's just about time to start babyproofing since Lauren is getting really close to crawling. I'm scared to think what will happen then. Although not having to carry a 20 lb. baby all the time might be nice. Our house is just still very adult, as we discovered last night when we babysat for Lauren's very energetic 5 year-old cousin, Ryan. Chris ran and played with her for hours, during which time she ran into a doorknob, banged her head on the kitchen wall, and bumped her head again on our coffee table. Chris also fell and landed on his face. Luckily no blood was spilled and everyone seems to have survived without any major injuries.

I've realized that there are many things I took for granted before Lauren was born. Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter and wouldn't trade her for the world. I just wish I would have had a greater appreciation for certain things before she was born. Like:

--sleeping in. I used to get up around 10 on the weekends, Chris more like noon. Now I'm happy if I get to sleep until 6:30.
--grown-up dinners out. I don't remember the last time Chris and I had a nice, leisurely dinner at an adult restaurant just the two of us. Which brings me to the next one.
--spending quiet time at home with my husband. We're lucky to get an hour to catch up on our days and watch a little TV before I need to get to bed (you have to go to bed early when you get up at 4:30am).
--taking a quick trip to the ___________. This could be the grocery store, to do a little shopping, anything. There is no such thing as a quick trip when you're toting a baby. It requires planning and lots of time to pack her up. You better have a good reason for going!
--a spontaneous happy hour after work with friends. Nothing's spontaneous anymore. Planning required.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I think of the most often. I knew my life would change with a child, I just didn't realize how much. Nothing can prepare you for it. If someone had tried to tell me I wouldn't have believed them. Still, while these things are more difficult, they're not impossible. And I have so much more appreciation for them now.

Now then, about the pictures. We're out of batteries for the camera, so until we make "a quick trip to the store" (see above)we'll be a little low on pictures. I swear that I will post the pictures we do have stored by Monday. Really. I mean it this time. Many apologies!

Go Bucks!

The big day has finally arrived. 13 hours and counting until the big National Championship game against Florida. Grandma has been kind enough to take Lauren for the night, so we'll be going to our usual hangout, The Pointe Tavern, to watch the Buckeyes (hopefully) beat the Gators. I'm also taking tomorrow off work to recover from the festivities. I love vacation days!

On the baby front, things continue to go well. I did an unofficial measuring last week and it appears that Lauren weighs 18 lbs. and is about 26" long. She's a big girl. We've started introducing some solids, just rice cereal and oatmeal so far, and she's doing really well. It's amazing that less than 4 months ago she was born, and now she's sitting up and eating from a spoon. They grow up so fast...is it too early to start saying that?

The weight gain also means she'll outgrow her infant car seat in the next month or so. Given the recent news about how they perform in crashes, this might not be a bad thing. Luckily we have one of the models that passed the tests. Still, I didn't think we'd be plunking down more cash for yet another baby device so soon. Good thing it's tax time!

I've also returned to work full time, which means Chris is now working part time. Grandma still watches Lauren three days a week, and Chris keeps her at home the other two. We'll see how this goes. I have a feeling I'm going to be very tired for a few weeks until I adjust.

Finally, I apologize for the lack of pictures. I promise we'll get some up soon.

Welcome 2007!

Happy new year! Hopefully everyone survived the new year's festivities with minimal adverse effects (meaning hangovers). This year was definitely a different kind of celebration for the Bilek family. We've never been known for partaking in big parties on New Year's Eve. There are just too many amateurs out there to enjoy ourselves. But we have always managed to tie one on a bit. This year we hung out with the Thornburgs at their place and played a little Trivial Pursuit. Somehow we still didn't get home till after 2am. Waking up for the 6am feeding sure was fun.

As I look back on 2006 I can't believe how much has changed, but also how much as stayed the same. Our lives have changed in so many ways with the addition of Lauren to our family, but we still have the foundation of wonderful friends and family to draw upon for all the craziness she has brought with her. I'm thankful that I have a good job that is flexible enough to allow me to watch my daughter grow up, and that we have family in town to take care of Lauren when we need a break. We are truly blessed in so many ways.

I wish all of you a 2007 that is ten times as good as 2006!