Visiting Granny and Papa Barenberg

Lauren loves it when we go to my parents house because she gets to play games, ride tractors, etc. Here are a few photos of our visit.

Aunt Tammy stopped by on her way home from work so she got to play with Lauren a bit too.

Lauren thought it would be fun to play hide and seek...can you see her?

Oh wait...there she is! :-)

She got to ride the lawn mower with my dad...

and the 4-wheeler

and play checkers...

and eat ice cream! She is so proud of herself here...it's cute!

Then papa wanted to help too...

Fun Day with Mommy!

Kraig is playing in a golf tournament this weekend so Lauren and I spent the full day together. We got up and went to Target, Payless, Chick Fil A, Hobby Lobby and Walmart and that was all in the morning! Then this afternoon we went to Stella's birthday party at 4, church at 5:30 and dinner at the Beck's at 6:30 and didn't get home until almost 9! So needless to say it was a busy day for the both of us! Lauren did manage to get in a 1 hour nap...but that was about it. :-) She did great though and I think had a great day with mommy!

This is Lauren with a full chicken nugget in her mouth at Chick Fil A. :-)

Love you baby girl and I had a great time today!

Did Kraig Spill the Beans???

Since Tuesday people have been saying "So did Kraig spill the beans?" and I just wanted to brag on my husband and say he has been awesome about this. He has wanted to know from the beginning, however he knew I didn't, so he never said a word! So no, Kraig did not spill the beans...

Kraig kept the secret...I just knew deep down that it was a boy (since they told us at 11 weeks they thought it was a boy) so Tuesday all day I was just thinking "it's a boy!" so Kraig and I went to dinner that night with Lauren and I started thinking of how in 4 months we would have Kraig, Colton, me and Lauren...our perfect little family. So when we got home I put Lauren to bed and Kraig was rubbing my belly asking how "the baby" was doing and I said "HE is doing great" and Kraig said "why do you say it that way?" and I was like "it just hit me today...it's for sure a boy and I'm ok with knowing!" so Kraig said "I don't know what to say at this point?!?!!?" and then I said "It just hit me today that it's a boy and I don't want to go the next 4 months knowing it's a boy and pretending like I don't know" and I of course started crying from excitement/realization...not sure why...hormones! LOL...so he said "do you want to watch the video?" and so we did and he was so excited that I knew because he said it's been hard for him to not show his excitement because he didn't want me to know if I didn't want to know...so we are SUPER excited AND I realized that when I had Lauren when she was asleep I had time to do things around the house...well with Colton I won't have that time because I'll also be taking care of Lauren...so the more I prepare now the better. :-)

I guess since our Dr. told us at 11 weeks without us asking/wanting to know it was kind of a shocker and took a bit of the surprise away for me because with Lauren I didn't find out for sure until 22 weeks and the first we even thought it might be a girl was at 18 weeks...so I had 18 fun weeks of wondering 'boy or girl?'...but with this one it was on our 2nd appointment! So I guess since I knew the ultrasound was one of those 'scheduled' things I just was not ready yet and wanted it to be on my own terms...ya know? So I knew I would probably want to know eventually...but at our ultrasound I just wasn't ready. I know it may sound weird to some because some want to know the day they conceive...but since this is our last planned pregnancy, I want to cherish every moment and make it special...so I just wanted to know on my own terms and not have them take away the surprise/guessing game I guess. :-)

Girl or Boy?

He's an imperial and an angel,

a dreamer, a tease

An explorer of meadows,

and a climber of trees.

A runner of errands,

and doer of chores.

Who tears his best trousers,

and tracks up your floors.

He's a solemn young man with some mud on his feet,

And a daredevil riding his bike down the street.

A bundle of questions, who wants to know "why",

The world goes around and the stars fill the sky.

But adventurous, timid, excited or quiet,

There's nothing so new that he won't care to try it.

And just when your temper and patience wear thin,

He'll look up at you with an innocent grin.

And your heart melts again with your real pride and joy,

In that mischievous, wonderful treasure--- your boy!!

22 wks

So far so good!!! Here I am at 22 wks with Colton.

Well, here is another comparison.

This is me with Lauren at 22 wks...

And here I am with Colton at 22 wks.

Happy Father's Day Babe!

When I heard the news of you,

I did the things most Daddies do.

I opened up my heart so wide,

For you to have a place inside.

As each day passed, I'd think of you,

I'd watch you grow, I was expecting too!

I tried to imagine the person you'd be

Would you look or act like me?

I thought of the things that we would do,

The times we'd share, just us two.

I would give you piggyback rides,
Push your swing and watch you slide.

I would teach you how to ride a bike,

Catch your first ball and throw your first strike.

I would hold your hand in mine,

Be your protector, strong yet kind.

I would be your hero and friend,

Give love and advice on which you'd depend.

I will always remember the day you were born,

I cradled a miracle, small and warm.

What words I had were scarce and few,

A tear and a smile were the best I could do.

Life gave me a moment, precious and rare,

Bursting with pride, excitement and care.

I promised you then, all that I had,

See, you were my child and I was your Dad.

When I heard the news of you,

I did the things most Daddies do.

I opened my heart so wide,

Where you will always have a place inside.

Happy Father's Day Poppa Louie

We didn't get the chance to see Poppa Louie this Father's Day but I still wanted to say we Love you Poppa Louie!!! Happy Father's Day to a wonderful Father and Grandfather! You always know how to make us laugh. :-) Sorry we missed you this year, but we hope to see you soon!!!

Beck Father's Day/Birthday Dinner 2009

Last night we had a dinner for Father's Day and Sue's birthday with the Beck's. I have heard of a lot of people that don't get a long with their in-laws...well that is not the case for me! For 12.5 years now I have known the Becks and they have always treated me as one of their own. Thank you Sue and Russ for being such wonderful in-laws!

Happy Father's Day Russ and happy birthday Sue!

Happy Father's Day babe!!! Lauren and I love you very much!!!!

Happy Father's Day 2009

For 29 wonderful years I've been able to call the couple below my mom and dad. I'm so lucky to have them as parents! I'm truly blessed!!! Yesterday we had a picnic at the park for Father's Day and we enjoyed every minute of it!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!

We love you!!!

Group photo including all the grandkids.

My dad with all his Grandkids

My sister Mary Ann, her husband Chris and their son Paden.

My sister Bobye, her husband Jim and their kids, Kaeleigh, Steffan, Kristian, Karessa, Kearah, Spencer, Samuel, Silas, Kharis

My sister Tammy, her husband Kody and their kids, Katlyn and Austin

And last by not least...here I am at 21.5 wks prenant with baby #2.

21 Wks (5 months)

I didn't take any 21 wk photos with Lauren so I can't compare...but I know personally that wk 21 is when I'm really starting to show more! I'm feeling great though...although the heartburn is starting to set in now...I guess because he/she is further up in my belly it's pushing more stuff up. :-)

Ultrasound Photos 21 Wks

Yesterday we had our ultrasound done for baby #2. We are 21 wks now and got to see our beautiful healthy baby moving around! The ultrasound could have lasted longer (I think we were in there for 10 minutes total) but I'm happy to know our baby is doing well. I did not find out the sex of the baby and don't plan to until birth, however Kraig could not wait so he found out yesterday. So far everyone that I've told "I don't know by my husband does" is very shocked! They are like "WHAT? That would drive me crazy!" Oh, well...guess I'm one crazy gal! Hehe Enjoy the photos!

This is the top of the baby's head...the line down the center (going left to right) is the diving line between the baby's left and right brain.

This is the baby's Spine with his/her head on the right side of the screen and the legs on the left side (not showing).

This is the baby's profile...isn't he/she cute?!?!? I just love the lips! I believe that is a hand just above the baby's eyes & nose.

This is one of the baby's legs. Look how muscular/fat his/her little leg looks. He/She even has their foot arched so their toes are flexed back toward their face. :-)

This is one of the baby's feet.

This is the baby's arms crossed over his/her face & chest.

20 Wks

We turned 20 wks while on vacation in FL last week and there is a definite difference in Lauren's pregnancy belly at 20 wks and this baby's belly at 20 wks. Up until this point I didn't think there was much of a difference...but at 20 wks it's starting to show more. Wait until you see my 21 wk photo! Crazy how much my belly has changed!

This first photo is my pregnant belly with Lauren and the 2nd photo is my belly with baby #2 at 20 wks!

Lauren's Stats at 2 years and 2 weeks

Weight - 29#
Height - 34.57#
Head - 19.21

2 Year Check Up

Lauren's 2 year check up was this morning at NWA Pediatric Clinic with Dr. Silvey. She did great until she got her shot and then was mad saying "I've got an ouchie" however when we got to school, she was showing off her 'ouchie' so I think she was ok. Hehe

Stats:
Weight = 29 lbs
Height = 34.57 Inches
Head Circumference = 19.21 Inches
Shoe size = 7!

She is in the 75th percentile for her Weight and Height and Dr. said everything looks perfect! We now get to start brushing her teeth with regular tooth paste not kids tooth paste and teaching her how to spit and rinse out her mouth! We also need to schedule our first dental appt for her soon. :-) Can't wait!!!

Here we are waiting for them to open...just hangin out in our car.
Say Cheese!

Putting on chap stick...

Dr. Lauren at your service. :-) Look at how she sits like a lady with her dress on! LOL She is going through this dress phase now...yesterday she cried when I tried to take her dress from Greg and Jen off and I even had to put her to sleep in it and sneak in later to wiggle it off of her...then this morning she said "I want my dress" so we compromised and she was ok wearing a different dress as long as it was a dress...I tried to get her to wear shorts and she said "no shorts!" so we put on this dress. :-)

Lauren on Vacation 2009

This was Lauren looking at the Waterfall from our room on vacation. This was our first 'family' vacation just as the 3 of us (with Colton in my belly). I think it was our first 'we are real adults' moment because we actually drove to Florida ourselves with a 2 year old...stayed for a week without others there to help us and survived! It was so nice! And the video below is my cutie pie enjoying the view. :-) She had just turned 2 years old the week before.

Destin, FL 2009

Kraig, Lauren and I spent this past week on vacation in Destin, Florida. This was Lauren and my first time to stay in Destin. We had a blast! Every morning Lauren woke up saying "I wanna go swimmin". There are lots of photos below but how do you narrow down to 5-10 photos when you have a full weeks worth of fun?!?!?! So enjoy the photos...we had a wonderful time!

We started our week leaving the house at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday thinking Lauren would sleep in the dark. She however didn't sleep until her nap time of 12 noon, but still did awesome! I think she only complained for about 10 seconds 2 times on our whole trip there and back. This is how we stayed entertained.

We watched movies...

We played with balloons after lunch at Chick Fil A...

Then it was nap time...

We made it to Destin after 15 hours (due to traffic in Mobile and Destin). Sunday we went swimming and if you look closely you can see Lauren's face of pure excitement!

Kisses for daddy and mommy...

The 2nd or 3rd day we took Lauren to the beach. She was not a fan of the water, but after a while, she was ok with the sand. :-)

I love this photo...isn't it cute!!! She has had her finger wrapped around her daddy's hand since she was born! One day we will look back on this and cherish the memories we had with her when she was this little. :-)

Having snacks at the pool...

The waterfall that Lauren loved to talk about...

Looking at the pool with her pig tails...

Asking "Where did the Lizard go?"

Kraig played golf one day and accidently took our car keys with him. So Lauren and I rode the tram to pick up our keys. Lauren loved it because she got to be a big girl and sit in a regular seat and wear a regular seat belt!

Putting herself to sleep...twirling her hair like she always does and acting like a big girl with her legs crossed.

We decided to take a bike ride one morning and Lauren was so excited since she got a bike from her Nana and Papaw for her birthday! Thanks for the cute outfit Granny and Papa Barenberg!

Family photo opp in the pool.

Chillin' in Sunglasses from Aunt Kissy...

I got a virgin drink and Lauren wanted to eat the whip cream off the top so she kept dipping the cherry into the drink and helping me drink it. :-)

Family beach photo...

Breakfast after the beach photos...

Our last night at Destin we ate dinner at Finz which was an awesome restaurant! Lauren loved to color and look out at the beach, birds, etc. :-) She really did amazingly well this week and we are so proud of her! I think she is going to be disappointed when she realizes we don't have a pool at home! :-(

Last night at Destin.

Someone was so good, she got a sucker on the way home.