Scott is cringing...

One of the best things about having a little girl is being able to put their hair in pigtails!

More sewing

Everyone keeps asking if I have been sewing more, and the answer is yes, lots! A couple of nights a week, after Lauren goes to bed, I'll take out the sewing machine and just start making something. Here's a shirt that I made last night--isn't she the cutest little model?

Football fan in training

Yesterday was a big day for Lauren! We took her to UT to see GameDay live for the UT/Texas Tech game. Scott's friend got us behind the scenes passes from ESPN so that we could watch the GameDay broadcast directly behind the stage. Lauren got to meet all the broadcasters (Corso, Fowler, Herbstreit, etc.), see Lance Armstrong, meet the Texas mascot and Chick-fil-A cows, and got to hear lots of fun Texas fight songs and cheering.

After we attended GameDay, Lauren and I came home to meet a babysitter and then Scott and I went off to watch the football game. It was the first time Lauren had ever been left with a babysitter while she was awake, and had someone other than Scott or me to put her to bed. She did great though and Scott and I had a blast at the game! Here's a video and some pictures from the day:

(notice Lauren passed out in my arms in this picture above!)

Eating is fun

As Lauren gets older, we continue to introduce new foods to her. She has enjoyed a chopped up turkey dog with dad on Labor Day, pieces of chicken at restaurants, spaghetti, and other fun things like eggs and toast for breakfast. It's fun starting to feed her real people food and she enjoys feeding herself!

Sewing

I recently decided that I wanted to learn how to sew. I bought a sewing machine and supplies and decided to just go for it. I haven't had a lesson, and really had no idea what I was doing, but I could at least experiment! Well, I tried for the first time last night. I didn't have a pattern, but decided to make Lauren a dress. I knew it would  be far from perfect, but at least I could work some kinks out and figure out the different stitches, how the machine works, etc. In about 3 hours, this was what I came up with by cutting up two different pillowcases for material! You can't look too closely because there are some imperfections, but for a first attempt not having sewed, with no pattern, I think I did pretty good! Stay tuned for some other outfits to come.

  

Happy 10 month birthday!

 Today is Lauren's ten month birthday. The count down is on until she turns one year old! Here is the latest and greatest in Lauren's world:

 - We are approaching walking. Her balance is incredible, she stands like a champ, and she can take steps holding on to furniture. 

 - She can throw the ball to Willie when you tell her to. She definitely understands quite a few things that we say. You can tell by her reactions (facial, body, etc.) that she is catching on to phrases and instructions.

 - She "dances" to music when she hears a song she likes

 - She amazingly sleeps (or has been for several weeks) from 6pm to 6:45am each day. She doesn't nap well, but her nighttime sleep is great. 

 - She is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes and weighs about 23lbs

Also, since her ten month birthday corresponds to UT's first football game of the year, we have to throw in this picture. 

This music thing is neat

Lauren always loves when her daddy plays guitar for her. And, we play music for her all the time in her nursery and all over the house. Add in the recent music classes, and the fact that we just bought her a bunch of her own musical instruments...well, let's just say that the little one is likely to continue to have music as a big part of her life! Here she is going after her daddy's guitar...

Another music class

Yesterday, some friends and I took our little ones to another music class (this time at the Austin's Children's Museum). Lauren was not shy at all and kept crawling right up to the front of the class and getting really close to the instructors. Here's a video of her showing the class how to use their sound sticks.