Monday, March 31, 2008
It rained today, but we still got a lot of fun in. First Lauren and mommy posed with the huge, fragrant, beautiful flowers that Jace sent us. Then we went to the Mote Aquarium again. We went on a bay walk that they had there. There was a tree with a really interesting trunk we all posed in front of. We squeezed in a quick browse of the St. Armand Circle shops and then the rain started so we hit the mall and found some bargains at Macys. We rounded out our evening with dinner at Big Als and pretty soon we're going to enjoy our coconut cream pie from Floribbean Flo's. It made for a great last full day in Florida - sadly, tomorrow morning we head to the airport.
1 Comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Lauren likes to play in mom's wallet.
Lauren likes to gesture for things with her hands.
Lauren thinks the 80s retro look is hot.
1 Comments
Oh, what a day! With work pretty much under control, I spent today sightseeing। It was a great day.
But...
I have two bits of advice:
1. Check the time, so as not to go near dark.
2. Check the weather report, and don't go when torrential rain and hail are headed your way!
All that aside, I had a great time seeing lots of things I'd never have encountered from the main road. I also had a good time exploring some of the food of India. I got to drive through acres of sugar cane and rice fields, and I met some of warmest people on the planet. I never had any real worries, because a employee from the company I'm hear to see when along.
Lots more to come later, but here's a quick photo from the day.
P.S. -- When you enter blogs from India, Blogger adds this little button to be able to type in Hindi. इ वोंदर वहत ठाट दोएस? (I wonder what that does?)
Published by Jace Mouse
on at 12:09 PM.
But...
- If you want to see the rural side of a country....
- and you convince your driver to take you 40 kilometers off the main road...
- down dusty farm roads with pot holes the size of buses...
- with people, goats, cows, and carts scurrying in front of you...
I have two bits of advice:
1. Check the time, so as not to go near dark.
2. Check the weather report, and don't go when torrential rain and hail are headed your way!
All that aside, I had a great time seeing lots of things I'd never have encountered from the main road. I also had a good time exploring some of the food of India. I got to drive through acres of sugar cane and rice fields, and I met some of warmest people on the planet. I never had any real worries, because a employee from the company I'm hear to see when along.
Lots more to come later, but here's a quick photo from the day.
P.S. -- When you enter blogs from India, Blogger adds this little button to be able to type in Hindi. इ वोंदर वहत ठाट दोएस? (I wonder what that does?)
2 Comments
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Grandma Ann celebrated a big birthday today, her 60th. Actually, we've been celebrating since Tuesday when Ann took delivery of a huge bouquet of tropical flowers from her hubby, aka Papa. She also got a fancy cake from Slice of Heaven... chocolate fudge cake, with mousse filling and dutch chocolate frosting. Liz, Lauren and Jace bought Ann a new handbag (and we couldn't wait for that either, so she opened it on Tuesday too).For her real birthday today, we hit some garage sales and an Amish fruit stand. Then for dinner we went to Sharky's on the beach at the Venice Pier. Lauren was fussy in the car on the ride there and had us a little worried but then she got to feeling better as we stroller the pier and watched the sea birds. We had a lavish seafood feast (thanks Jace) and then walked out onto the beach just as the sun was being extinguished by the gulf. It was a great sunset (everyone clapped).
I can't get enough slide shows!
1 Comments
We found a bargain at a beachside craft fair on Lido Beach. This cute dress has fancy flamingos and even came with a matching baby doll sized dress! Here is Lauren showing off her dress and one of her new favorite activities. She loves to hold your hands and 'run' toward another person with you yelling "get um get um get um!" In this case we were getting Papa.
1 Comments
Liz, Lauren and Grandma head out of the sun and into the shade of the screen room at the beach. Lauren is really loving the sand...she played in it for hours. And she likes the surf too. This time she let mom carry her out into the surf and dip her in to the bigger waves and stand her up to her waist. She is even learning to stamp her feet in the little puddles to make the water splash. This is pretty cute now when she's barefoot and in a swimsuit, but I'm sure it will lose it's charm when she tries to splash in a puddle on her way to church.
1 Comments
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Today we ventured to downtown Sarasota to stroller by the mainstreet shops and eateries. We went out to Island Park's lovely waterfront path and finally got all of us into a picture when a passerby was nice enough to offer to take our picture. That's Liz, Clark and Ann in front of a dolphin fountain with the high-rises of Sarasota in the background. Lauren is a sleep in the stoller (looking a little like the Wicked Witch of the East with just her striped legs sticking out!). After our stroll through the park, we had lunch at Mattison Grill. Lauren is a good dining companion, as long as you pack her enough food to keep her busy while you eat your lunch.
1 Comments
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tyra eat your heart out. Lauren Mouse can work it on the beach! We took Lauren to the Siesta Key public beach this afternoon to get some shots of her in the sand and sitting in the beach grass. She was a surprisingly good model, putting up with several location changes, but we didn't push our luck with wardrobe changes. We didn't even have to give her artistic direction, she put her hand under her chin all by herself. Lauren would like to thank her stylist (Mom) for her dress from Baby Gap and her hat from Janie and Jack.Here is a slide show of more photos:
5 Comments
Lauren and Papa (Grandpa Clark) checked out some Muscovy Ducks in the backyard.
0 Comments
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Lauren (and Aunt Liz, Grandma Ann and Papa) send Happy Easter wishes to Sophie and Zoe in Tucson. We hope you have a great Easter and hope the Eater Bunny brought you some fun goodies! All our love.
Published by Liz Mouse
on Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 11:43 AM.
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Friday, March 21, 2008
Lauren is enjoying her time in Florida on the beach and at Grandma and Papa's house. Here she is hamming it up with Grandma on the screen porch and in her swimsuit at Turtle Beach.Don't miss the duck video added to yesterday's post!
4 Comments
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mommy and Daddy have been teaching Lauren the word "duck" when we play with rubber duck bath tub toys and when we read books with ducks. We also have tried to teach her that ducks say "quack." Both of those words sound so similar coming out of the mouth of a 10 month old, so we weren't sure what word she was really trying to say. After today's visit to the Sarasota Jungle Gardens, we have a winner. She absolutely knows what a duck is and says so. Watch the video:
Slide show of photos from Sarasota Jungle Gardens:
Published by Liz Mouse
on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7:47 PM.
Slide show of photos from Sarasota Jungle Gardens:
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Lauren hasn't quite adjusted her sleep/nap schedule to the Florida lifestyle yet. Here she is asleep in the neighbor's swing. I just didn't think I'd ever be that parent... the one whose kid is SO tired that she falls asleep with her face in a plate of spaghetti, but here I am.
2 Comments
It was a windy day in Sarasota, so instead of going to the beach, we headed to the Mote Aquarium. They have some nice touch pools and two manatees named Hugh and Buffett. Lauren enjoyed getting out of the stroller and looking at things up close and being 'walked' around the exhibits.
0 Comments
And this time Lauren loved the ocean! She sat in the sand for a few minutes and adjusted to the new environment. After a few test grabs in the sand she decided it was a-okay and took off crawling. She even crawled right own onto the wet sand and into the very edge of the surf. 
She didn't cry until a big wave came in and wet her entire bottom. Like most babies on the beach, she tasted the sand on her fingers and even bent down to taste the water (pictured below). She picked up shells and handed them to Mommy or Grandma.
3 Comments
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I've been taking Lauren on geek field trips -- computer stores, etc. -- ever since we brought her home from the hospital. Today was a continuance of her geek training. While it's no Star Wars Symphony, American Science and Surplus is a bit of a geek's paradise.
Lauren had a good time taking everything in, as you can see from her photos in the aisle of beakers and the display case of microscopes.
Lauren begged me for a periodical table of the elements to hang on her wall, but I told her she had to settle for some opalescent marbles. Back at the house, we turned those marbles into a fun rattle.
Here are two videos of Lauren enjoying her rattle.
Published by Jace Mouse
on Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 4:13 PM.
Lauren had a good time taking everything in, as you can see from her photos in the aisle of beakers and the display case of microscopes.
Lauren begged me for a periodical table of the elements to hang on her wall, but I told her she had to settle for some opalescent marbles. Back at the house, we turned those marbles into a fun rattle.Here are two videos of Lauren enjoying her rattle.
Labels: Movies
3 Comments
Well, it seems like little baby girls are just turning up everywhere!I think this takes the boy-to-girl ratio to about 4:10 in our little circle of recent births.
The latest addition, Lindsay Ann, was born on Thursday night. "Lindsay" is her mother's maiden name, which is pretty neat.
0 Comments
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Here are a few pictures from Jace and Lauren's trip to Oklahoma. To the left is Lauren with her Grandma Saundra and below is Lauren with Jace's Aunt Sheila who also had a surprise birthday party! Lauren had a great time seeing all our cousins over the weekend.
2 Comments
Monday, March 10, 2008
This past weekend, Jace and Lauren traveled to Oklahoma for an overnight visit with family. That left Liz (and Indy) home alone all day Saturday and most of Sunday. So what does a mom to do with her first weekend off in 10 months? You got it...shop Filene's Basement, get spa treatments, party until the wee hours then sleep in. I got a great recommendation from Amanda about where to go in my neighborhood for a massage and facial - Spa Soak (pictured). This place is not the Red Door Spa that Mara and I hit in Tucson (in other words there isn't a locker room with plush robes, steam showers and wet and dry saunas - which is too bad because I LOVE a sauna) but the services were good. I liked the facial more than the massage and hope to go back for another one when I get another cash windfall (this treat was birthday money from my parents and Jace's parents - many, many thanks!!). I went out on the town to celebrate Amanda's big 3-0 birthday. I wish I had brought my camera out, but I was so glad to not be carrying a diaper bag that I went for the smallest handbag I could find. But the evening was a total blast!
0 Comments
Friday, March 07, 2008
We took a visit out to Lake Zurich to meet the lovely Anna. Here's Liz giving her a cuddle. It was great to spend a little time with Anna's parents, Colleen and Ben. Lauren had a blast playing with Anna's older cousins (2 and 4 yrs old). They were rough-housing with Jace and Lauren was just laughing and eating it up. Anna's Grandma made a wonderful dinner! I (Liz) can't wait to see Anna again on Saturday!!
0 Comments
Here's a pic of Jace walking Indy and Lauren on a warm(er) day.
0 Comments
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Our very good friends Colleen and Ben welcomed their first baby into the world on 3/3/08. Here is Anna Elizabeth, 8lbs 2oz. What a blessing that Colleen's labor and delivery went smoothly and Anna is absolutely perfect. It's amazing to think that her and Charlie and Lauren were all born within a year of each other. I hope they are friends growing up. Congratulations to Ben and Colleen - the proud new parents!!
0 Comments
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Here's Lauren at 10 months.This month has been a busy one. She's crawling and cruising everywhere these days, getting into lots of trouble in the process. Fortunately, bumps and bruises have been minor.
Her latest fascination is books. She loves to pull all her books off the shelf. She has gotten very good at turning the pages, which seems to be more fun than hearing the actual story. We usually make it through about 10 pages before she looses interest, which is enough to finish most of her books.
At meal time, she is really packing-away the food. Bread is still a favorite, but pasta is a very close second. So far, she's yet to refuse anything we've fed her, including a wide assortment of vegetables and even some tofu.
Lauren has (once again and for good this time) given up the pacifier. Mom and Dad helped. She first gave it up around 4 months, when she was still sleeping on her back and had learned to spit the pacifier out but had not learned how to find it again. Later, it kind of crept back into the mix. But with her new-found ability to stand in her crib and throw it out, her pacifier got to be a major problem. Lauren took it all in stride, though. We quit cold turkey and it basically only took one day and she was none the worse for wear.
Lauren has finally started to cut some upper teeth. Her bottom teeth came so early -- in her fifth month -- we were starting to get a little worried when her uppers didn't follow soon after. That's all changed now -- much to Lauren's dismay -- since the pain has been interfering with her sleeping and play time.
As you might imagine, getting an active baby to sit for a photo can be a challenge. So here's a fun reel of outtakes from the latest shoot.
A word of warning about the outtakes...the file is very large. It will take a while to download (about 30 seconds) and you'll probably need to click on it again when it loads in a new screen to see them in full size.
Labels: Monthly Photos
1 Comments
