12 months

For the past several days I've played the game.
You know, the one where you think about what you were doing exactly one year ago at this moment...

...I thought about Matt returning from Cartagena.
...I thought about house hunting on my due date.
...I thought about waking up on October 1st & thinking, "this is the day"

and then there are those moments that I will never forget, meeting our daughter.

I can't quite believe a year has passed, but it has been an amazing one,
full of surprises, struggles, smiles, & the most joy I've ever known.


At one year, our baby girl Lauren...

... is on-the-go, constantly. She is a busy curious girl and we just try to keep up with her.

... has two teeth. They aren't visible yet, but the bottom 2 can be felt. And there is a fang {canine} on the way.

... still loves Bella, her dolly Lola, books, blocks, clapping, & dancing.

... thinks getting to walk on her own in public places is the best thing. Ever.

... can be heard saying bye-bye & blowing kisses through out the day. Yes, I said heard. She is quite loud.

... gives some pretty amazing hugs & open mouth kisses. xo

... makes us smile & laugh everyday.

52 weeks

51 weeks

this is it...
my last week with a baby.


this morning we took a trip to the park
and Lauren loved it.



She ran, explored, and played with the other littles.


With a busy mobile girl, the moments of baby-ness are fleeting...


but that gummy smile.

That gummy smile still says baby girl.

more travels

I feel like we've had one busy summer with lots going on at home and lots of travel. 

We had one more big trip on our calendar, my cousin's wedding in South Dakota. Our trip started with a flight into Kansas City, a road trip to South Dakota, followed by Minnesota, and a flight home from Minneapolis. 

I told you we were busy. 

We flew in to Kansas City to meet up with my parents and my brother. 

Uncle Tyler has always had a thing for the Muppet's Swedish Chef. So he thought Lauren was pretty cool when she found his Swedish Chef Kitchen set within moments of arriving at his apartment. 

From Kansas City we road tripped it to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to pick up Auntie Alysa from the airport and then to our final destination of Mitchell.

While I was warned about a 'cold front' coming through neither me or my daughter were fully prepared for the weather so we stocked up on a few warmer weather options.

Due to our lack of pant options, Lauren and I ended up in a mother/daughter 'twinsies' moment.

We had a lovely weekend and got to see so many loving faces, including Aunt Betty, Grandpa Clet & Val, and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins, many who met Lauren for the first time.

Lauren decided to begin teething {for real this time} during our visit and battled a fever throughout the weekend. We've got some bottom teeth that have cut through, but our girl was definitely not her self.  

{there was a whole lot of snuggling with Grandpa...}

We had a lovely time at the wedding, although I spent the majority of the evening chasing our very mobile girl around...

although I can't blame her. 

She was still so excited about that Clones victory!

Unrelated Story:

Matt and I struggled with how we would decide which team colors Lauren would wear for the Iowa v. Iowa State game. A series of head to head competitions were on the table, but ultimately we decided we should allow Lauren to make the decision. So one morning, I pulled both of her outfits out, Matt got the video camera and we let her go. Matt very confidently commentated as Lauren began walking straight to the Black & Gold Hawkeye outfit until literally at the final moment, she reached for the Cardinal and Gold colors and chose to cheer for the winning team!

From South Dakota we traveled to New Ulm to visit Grandpa & Grandma McGuire before they headed up north with my parents for a fishing trip. We enjoyed some beautiful fall weather, trips to the park, and time with my cousins, James & Lilly, and our first peacock siting.

Another great trip.

Another great flight.

Another week full of memories,

big occasions & quiet moments.

While I have to admit, I'm ready to slow down for a moment

{and maybe try to move into a house and finally get settled}

I'm so thankful for all the traveling we've done lately.

Both for the memories we've made with extended family, 

but also for the moments she and I shared. 

While Lauren likely won't recall these specific travels,

someday I will tell her the stories.

From snuggles with grandparents and great aunts to the gummy smiles to strangers at the airport. 

I like making memories with my girl.

50 weeks

travelin'

Lauren and I are out of town to attend my cousin's wedding.

We've been doing a lot of traveling lately 

& 

thankfully our little girl remains a cooperative traveler.

As she get's older we encounter new challenges in the traveling arena.

Our latest is movement.

Now that she's a walker, sitting on a flight for a couple hours isn't always her idea of fun. 

So we pack new or unfamiliar toys & interactive books {flap books/touch & feel} to keep her busy in flight

and do our best to let her move through the airport before take off. 

I captured this photo traveling over Labor Day & it quickly became a favorite of mine...

Labor Day Weekend

After we realized we wouldn't be moving at the end of August, we booked tickets for Knoxville to celebrate the holiday weekend.

I came in a few days early to share some Lauren time. My aunt Betty was visiting from South Dakota and we enjoyed some shopping excursions, lunches, cocktails and a lot of smiling and clapping for Lauren.


{taking a break to ride a tiny merry-go-round while shopping}

Matt joined us on Wednesday evening and the holiday weekend began.

My parents threw a party on Thursday evening.
They rented a loft downtown and had their favorite musician Otis Gibbs play.
If you're a fan of folk music, check him out.
The McQuinn's are pretty big fans... this is Lauren's third time hearing him live.




It was a wonderful evening full of family & friends, drinks, food, great music...
but our night didn't end there.
Matt and I went along with a my siblings and a few others to the bar afterwards.
It's been a long time since either of us were hanging with the 'after hours' crew,
but we kept up and enjoyed our little adventure out.

The rest of the weekend we spent at the lake.

{this is the only picture I have of the lake itself & I took it by accident. When unloading the car, my camera dropped on the ground, so this picture was a test to ensure it still operated.
Next time my camera needs to go to the doctor, direct me to this post.}

Sometimes I forget how relaxing The Pour House is...


We ate summery foods like watermelon & cheeseburgers.
We drank beer & floated in the water.
We played Cards Against Humanity & laughed around a fire.

A pretty perfect weekend.



Lauren still loves the water.




Now that she is walking, things were a little more interesting on a floating cottage,
but we kept her busy and let her spend lots of time in the water.






We rounded out our weekend with Sunday brunch at one of our favorite spots in Knoxville
{discovered that Lauren is a big fan of brunch. BIG}
and some cheers for Good 'Ole Rocky Top.


All in all it was another amazing weekend for our family,
full of fun, love, & lots of memories.

Come to think of it, we've had a lot of those types of weekends this summer.

lucky.