My favorite time of day...

is when Lauren just gets up in the morning or after her nap. That's when she lets me hold her close and snuggle. It's such a wonderful feeling to have her in my arms. I think about how far she has come since our China trip and how very lucky we are to have been matched with this incredible little girl. She has been doing this thing lately when I hold her...she touches my neck or lays her hand on my chest around the neckline of my shirts. I think it's a comfort thing for her, as she is usually sucking her thumb when she does it.

I'm half way through my maternity leave right now and the reality of heading back to work full-time is starting to creep into my thoughts. Since Joe hasn't found a new job yet, he will be home with Lauren for a while until he finds something. Knowing that she probably won't need to head to daycare yet makes me feel better about going back to work, although it's still going to be hard. I'll definitely be missing out on my favorite time of day during the week, so I'm cherishing every moment I get right now.

Lauren is changing and coming out of her shell more and more each day. At the mall play center she used to just stand back and watch the other kids, but now she gets right in there. She loves play cars and steering wheels.




She also loves to walk her little baby stroller around the house and backyard...


although half the time the baby ends up kicked to the curb...


Just over the past week she has learned to rock her baby dolls and feed them with a bottle. Today she started giving her baby a hug and kiss too. It's so cute to watch her do new things.

On Saturday morning Grandma and I took her in for her first hair-cut. I wanted to get those long pointy side burns trimmed and just shape it up a bit. She hated every minute of it and screamed from the time he started spraying her hair down until she got out of the chair. My poor baby!!