Walking?!?!?!

Lauren started walking while holding on to stuff a long time ago...but 2 weeks ago she took the leap and started walking on her own unassisted! Kraig and I have been having her walk back and forth to us at night without holding on to stuff and I guess one day she just figured she could do it on her own without us asking for her to do it. She was at daycare and was in the play area and the teacher said she just let go of the wall and walked across to the other side of the play area. That night, she just walked all over the place like she had been doing it for years and has not looked back since then! Her favorite thing to do now that she is a "pro" at it is to carry things while she walks. So the videos attached show her new skill. :-) They are from my phone so they might not be that clear, but I hope to upload more later from our actual camera. We are so proud of our baby girl or shall I say our "big girl"!

Lauren at Granny and Papa's

Lauren stayed with my parents (and her cousins Katlyn and Austin while thier parents went floating the Buffalo River) on Saturday night. Attached are photos of them looking out the window. Aren't they cute? My mom said that she went in Saturday night to check on them and all 3 were standing like this looking out the window at the lightening. So we had to recreate it to get a cute photo. :-) Katlyn and Austin are so good with Lauren. Katlyn wants to hold her 24/7 if she could and they like showing her how to do stuff...Lauren just loves it! Thanks mom and dad for watching Lauren! I know she enjoyed it and I had a great time in Little Rock with Keisha, Ryan and Jackson.

Lauren at Aunt Kristen's

I went to Little Rock to visit my friend Keisha, her husband Ryan and their new baby Jackson (7 weeks old now) and so Lauren stayed with her Aunt Kristen & Uncle Brian Friday night so that daddy could have a night off too...(he went to Outback...oh how times change once you have kids!!! LOL!). The took her to Wal-Mart and said they were the "crazy aunt and uncle" that were running up and down the aisle to make Lauren laugh. They bought her a cute little dress and some new sunglasses...wonder who got the idea to go "BIG" with the sunglasses (Aunt Kristen)! :-) So here are the photos they sent me on my phone while I was in LR to just say hi and let me know that everything was A-OK! Thanks Kristen & Brian!!!! Kraig and I owe you big time for everything you have done for us and we can't wait to repay you some day!!!!

Helping with Dishes

When I'm loading or unloading the dishwasher, Lauren LOVES to help! This time, she decided it would be easier to just climb up in the dishwasher...so I had to take some photos! Isn't she cute!!!! Thanks for helping baby girl!

Rodeo of the Ozarks 2008

Mommy took me to the rodeo to see all the horses. She took me last year too...look back and boy what a difference a year makes!

My First Williams Family Reunion 2008

We stayed at Big Cedar Lodge and swam in the lazy river. It was awesome! I would go back for a weekend get away sometime!


Great Grandma El and all her Grandkids.


Daddy showing me the bear.

Mommy likes to take photos of me with flowers...

Me with my cousin Miller.

Four generations...Great Grandma El, Poppa Louie, Daddy and me (and mommy too).

My cousin Lauren.

My nona Donna

Me being a big girl going to the pool in my cute hat and swimsuit!

Daddy sitting in the kiddie pool with me.

Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Brian, Poppa Louie and me!

Aunt Kristen teaching me about wine...her favorite subject!

Lauren at the lake

Mommy and Daddy got a boat so we have spent most of our summer at the lake and boy do I like it! I'm having a great time in my floatie Aunt Tammy got me and my sunglasses from aunt Kristen sure make it easier to enjoy the sun!

Lauren's Stats at 1 year and 1 week

Weight - 21.32#
Height - 30.0"
Head - 17.83

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!!

We had a lot of friends that had babies last year so they all joined us for a birthday celebration in honor of our baby girls 1st birthday! The theme was Hawaiian and included a palm tree drink holder outside, tiki hut signs and a beach cake with flip flops on top. Lauren didn't really know what to do with the cake (and I didn't want her to get sugar overload) so we let her play in it for a while. She eventually got the hang of it and wanted to wipe her hands off on her dress...oh well...it came out! Thanks to everyone who came...Lauren had a great time! We are all so lucky to have little ones around the same age so that they can grow up together. I'm sure there will be many more birthday celebrations together in the future!