Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The new playground across the street is pretty much completed, so Lauren and I used Saturday's rare 50-degree weather to try it out. I had a blast following Lauren as she toddled around and explored. Fortunately, I caught the whole thing on film for you -- all 20+ minutes!
Wait! Don't leave! Not being a total nitwit, I've sped the whole thing up and edited it down to four minutes of highlights.
The day was very windy, so you'll have to tolerate a bit of noise. You'll have to also endure a bit of vertigo-inducing camera shake. But who could resist loosing their hearing... and maybe their lunch...when there's more footage of precious Lauren to watch?!
.
Wait! Don't leave! Not being a total nitwit, I've sped the whole thing up and edited it down to four minutes of highlights.
The day was very windy, so you'll have to tolerate a bit of noise. You'll have to also endure a bit of vertigo-inducing camera shake. But who could resist loosing their hearing... and maybe their lunch...when there's more footage of precious Lauren to watch?!
.
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Sunday, December 14, 2008
They're back for another round this year.
Published by Jace Mouse
on Sunday, December 14, 2008 at 2:32 PM.
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Saturday, November 01, 2008
We had a few people over to our place in Chicago for Halloween. Here's a brief review of Lauren's costume and the party. We also had a number of trick-or-treaters this year -- about 25 or so.
Lauren enjoyed her costume. I still get cracked-up every time I see her run in it.
Liz made quite a spread -- pork chops, cider, and plenty of treats.
Video Length: 2 min 30 seconds
Viewing Tip: If you click the X-like icon in the lower right, you can watch full-screen.
On a geek note, I'm starting to get the hang of this video stuff. I still need to work on improving the color, soundtrack and the artistic aspects, but at least I can get a simple video pulled-together in under 30 minutes. Of course, I could spend days trying to get all the music and transitions down the way I want, but there won't be any time for that in the near future. Maybe in 30 years I can re-issue the "New, Digitally Remastered, Director's Cut of 'Lauren Mouse - the growing years'."
Published by Jace Mouse
on Saturday, November 01, 2008 at 10:25 PM.
Lauren enjoyed her costume. I still get cracked-up every time I see her run in it.
Liz made quite a spread -- pork chops, cider, and plenty of treats.
Video Length: 2 min 30 seconds
Viewing Tip: If you click the X-like icon in the lower right, you can watch full-screen.
On a geek note, I'm starting to get the hang of this video stuff. I still need to work on improving the color, soundtrack and the artistic aspects, but at least I can get a simple video pulled-together in under 30 minutes. Of course, I could spend days trying to get all the music and transitions down the way I want, but there won't be any time for that in the near future. Maybe in 30 years I can re-issue the "New, Digitally Remastered, Director's Cut of 'Lauren Mouse - the growing years'."
Labels: Movies
0 Comments
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Lauren gave Penny’s Noodles a try this evening. The food met with her approval -- big surprise; so little doesn't -- but the real hit were the CHOPSTICKS!
Lauren Tries Asian Cuisine from Jace Mouse on Vimeo.
Published by Jace Mouse
on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 6:13 AM.
Lauren Tries Asian Cuisine from Jace Mouse on Vimeo.
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Our good friends Vicky and David welcomed their second into the world last week. Kate joined her big brother Ethan on October 2nd, at 4:05 in the morning coming into the world at 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. Heather, Lauren and I (Liz) paid the family a visit on Friday. Kate is absolutely adorable - I always forget that we all started out so tiny (most of us start somewhat tiny anyway) until I see a brand new baby. She is such a sweet little girl already and Lauren had fun saying "hi" to her.Labels: Movies
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
In addition to chowing down on her own ear of corn (all the missing corn off the ear is what Lauren ate...she pretty much finished off the whole ear on her own!) Lauren also demonstrates her love for "Papa" and "Grandma" and the ability to correctly identify the purpose of a camera (which takes a "picture"). Mmmmm, corn.
Published by Liz Mouse
on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 7:59 PM.
Labels: Movies
1 Comments
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Lauren woke up from her nap this morning (or maybe she was woken up by the gas company trucks) and so we went outside on the porch to investigate. She was still kinda sleepy so she laid down with her blanket and sippy and tried to rest some more - not really possible with a cement truck and several delivery trucks working nearby.Here's a video of it all:
Labels: Movies
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Friday, August 08, 2008
We have a light weight stroller for Lauren that we keep in the car for quick trips. It's one of the fold up, umbrella strollers. Anyway, one day it made it's way into the house and Lauren tried to push it around. She seemed really intent and was slightly frustrated that the handles were up so high and that it was too heavy for her to push very far. She also showed some interest in putting toys in the seat of the stroller. So we all took a trip over to Kmart and picked out a toy stoller for Lauren. She loves pushing it around and even showed us a new skill...walking backwards. She sometimes puts her baby or her doll in the stroller but you are just as likely to find a fork, a book, or an empty snack cup. Of course it's just one more large loud toy that freaks out Indy if Lauren pushes it too close to where he is sleeping. We have noticed that he spends most of his time napping up on the couch these days :)
Labels: Movies
1 Comments
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Lauren and mommy went on a little trip this morning to Chicago's Museum Campus to use our free pass to the Adler Planetarium (I checkout free museum passes whenever they are available at the Bucktown library). I figured there wouldn't be anything at the Planetarium for children Lauren's age, but she still found a few things to enjoy. We had seen everything in less than 1 hour - not stopping to read anything or see any shows. One thing she really liked was a little remote controlled "lunar rover" that some bigger kids were driving. She even called it "robot" after mommy asked her if she could see the robot! Check it out in the video.
After the Planetarium, we strolled along the walking path along the lake and admired the skyline. As usual it was windy and cooler over here by the lake - wonderful on a hot summer day!
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Lauren doesn't get to see her cousin in Dallas as often as she'd like, but she didn't want to miss out on celebrating his big day.
Lauren also has a photo book of her family, and loves pointing out Bryce ("Bice") by name. If you listen closely, you can also hear her mention cousin Faith ("Faif"). She later gave a shout-out to Drake, but (as you can see from the rough video) I was a little too distracted to get it all captured. Later in the afternoon, Lauren entertained a few house guests for a Sunday afternoon cookout.
Published by Jace Mouse
on Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 8:18 PM.
Lauren also has a photo book of her family, and loves pointing out Bryce ("Bice") by name. If you listen closely, you can also hear her mention cousin Faith ("Faif"). She later gave a shout-out to Drake, but (as you can see from the rough video) I was a little too distracted to get it all captured. Later in the afternoon, Lauren entertained a few house guests for a Sunday afternoon cookout.
Labels: Movies
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My good friend Cory came over for a visit tonight. It took a little while for Lauren to fully warm up to him, but not long after we left the house, Lauren was chatting up a storm about him! Liz was quick to capture it on video.Labels: Movies
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Friday, July 11, 2008
From our morning blog roll during breakfast.....
Cousin Zoe is picking up speed very quickly, and that makes Lauren really excited!
Lauren's initial reaction was even more excited, but I couldn't grab the camera fast enough. On seeing the video, she started yelling "Zoe! Zoe! Zoe!" I think it's so great that the cousins can use the web to stay somewhat connected.
Published by Jace Mouse
on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 8:24 AM.
Cousin Zoe is picking up speed very quickly, and that makes Lauren really excited!
Lauren's initial reaction was even more excited, but I couldn't grab the camera fast enough. On seeing the video, she started yelling "Zoe! Zoe! Zoe!" I think it's so great that the cousins can use the web to stay somewhat connected.
Labels: Movies
0 Comments
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Here's Lauren, getting acclimated for the day.She's still a very early riser -- about 5:30 or 6:00 -- but that's okay. It gives Daddy a chance to spend an extra meal with her each day. Each morning over breakfast, Daddy does a "blog roll" so Lauren can see new photos of her friends and family and see what new things they are up to.
Lauren was a little sluggish today, so we sat on the couch a minute and did the blog roll from there.
The last couple of days, Lauren has also started bringing her "ducky" with her when she leaves the crib. It's a toy we started leaving in there a few months ago, because some parents report their children will spend an extra hour or so in their crib, just "talking" with their toys. Lauren rarely seemed to even notice him until recently. She seems to only reach for him when she's finally ready to leave her crib. It's the closest we've come to a "love object" other than her belly button that she'll often touch when she's tired or fussy.
Here's a rough video I shot after taking this picture.
Labels: Movies
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Monday, June 23, 2008
Park moved to it's new building today. Liz and I were scheduled for our regular rotation of helping in the nursery. It seems that no one wanted to miss the big day, so the nursery was really packed. Here's a look at the "Wee Walkers" room, along with a second photo that let you take-in the Trump Tower that is rising the south of the building. These kids are going to have some impressive views!
And now that you've seen the still photos, brace yourself for the live action.....
Published by Jace Mouse
on Monday, June 23, 2008 at 7:59 PM.
And now that you've seen the still photos, brace yourself for the live action.....
Labels: Movies
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
We got this puppy for Lauren for her birthday, but waited a while longer to give it to her. Now that she's walking well, she enjoys taking her puppy for a walk and giving him a pet. Like her Indy, we've been trying to teach her not to "wag his tail."
And here is a photo of Lauren showing off her new shoes. They're not the easiest shoes for a new walker, but Lauren never complained. First is was purses and now it's on to fancy shoes. Daddy isn't sure he likes where this is headed....
Published by Jace Mouse
on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 5:06 AM.
And here is a photo of Lauren showing off her new shoes. They're not the easiest shoes for a new walker, but Lauren never complained. First is was purses and now it's on to fancy shoes. Daddy isn't sure he likes where this is headed....
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Would you believe this little butterfly landed in the garden at our house at just the time when Jace had his whole camera setup out and ready?Well that would make for a great story, but that wouldn't be what yielded this photo. :) Instead, this photo was taken at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum here in Chicago. I don't think we had very high expectations for the museum, but we were pleasantly surprised. They had a nice children's tree house area where Lauren was able to slide, and she enjoyed playing at the water table and other exhibits. The highlight was the butterfly garden, which had hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of butterflies.
Best of all, our trip the museum was free! All the Chicago libraries stock a set of free museum passes that can be checked-out like a book. Unforuntately, they are hard to comeby, because they can't be reserved in advance and the staff aren't allowed to say when they are due back. Liz happened to be at the library as passes for several museums were being checked back in.
Labels: Movies
1 Comments
Monday, June 09, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Here's Lauren getting in touch with her agricultural roots by helping Mommy pick some lettuce for dinner.Lauren has developed an insatiable craving for "outside!" She asks to go out constantly. It seems that no matter how long you go out, on the return indoors it's only about five minutes before she wants to go outside again.
She continues to enjoy her pool. She especially loves climbing in and out of the pool repeatedly. After 30 minutes or more, she'll still fuss when it's time to return indoors.
In unrelated news, I thought it would be good to upload a video that shows how Lauren is walking these days. She loves to toddle around. She's pretty stable for the most part, but ramps and grass still pose a challenge.
Labels: Movies
1 Comments
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Mommy was preparing for a girls' night out, and it looks like Lauren is gearing up to go, too.
Having long-since mastered handbags, necklaces, and eyeware, Lauren is now moving on to shoes. She looked around the house and found a pair of Mommy's that will suit her taste. Daddy helped her get into the shoes, but the walking is all Lauren. :)
Published by Jace Mouse
on Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 2:14 PM.
Having long-since mastered handbags, necklaces, and eyeware, Lauren is now moving on to shoes. She looked around the house and found a pair of Mommy's that will suit her taste. Daddy helped her get into the shoes, but the walking is all Lauren. :)
Labels: Movies
2 Comments
Monday, May 05, 2008
So the big day finally arrived - Lauren's first birthday party. She had a marvelous time celebrating with friends here in Chicago. She did miss her out of town family, but thanks them for their gifts and well wishes and can't wait to see them soon.
Here's a description of the events. Lauren kicked off her party by being asleep when the first guests began to arrive. Finally Liz woke her up and she donned her lovely first birthday dress (thanks Trinity for the loan) and was a bit surprised by all the mayhem (we were surprised she had slept with 30+ people walking around on her ceiling). The weather was nice, so Lauren and some of the other kids enjoyed the new swing that Jace installed for Lauren on the porch. The mostly Cinco de Mouse-o theme was injected here and there with some mariposa touches, notably the butterfly shaped cake that Liz and Jace made. Eventually everyone got down to business with Happy Birthday singing (Lauren beamed up from her highchair while everyone sang!) and then she daintily nibbled on her cake.
Here's the three-minute video of the event:
There is also a: High Resolution Version available.
We think a good time was had by all. And Lauren even went to bed on time and slept until 6am (that's sleeping in for Lauren)...waking up with some babble and finally called "Dada" to come get her.
Oh, and yes Liz got her haircut...really cut!
This is just a quick video shot on our camera. We will be posting the official video with singing soon. Warning - this video is loud (it was a party!):
Published by Jace Mouse
on Monday, May 05, 2008 at 8:12 AM.
Here's a description of the events. Lauren kicked off her party by being asleep when the first guests began to arrive. Finally Liz woke her up and she donned her lovely first birthday dress (thanks Trinity for the loan) and was a bit surprised by all the mayhem (we were surprised she had slept with 30+ people walking around on her ceiling). The weather was nice, so Lauren and some of the other kids enjoyed the new swing that Jace installed for Lauren on the porch. The mostly Cinco de Mouse-o theme was injected here and there with some mariposa touches, notably the butterfly shaped cake that Liz and Jace made. Eventually everyone got down to business with Happy Birthday singing (Lauren beamed up from her highchair while everyone sang!) and then she daintily nibbled on her cake.
Here's the three-minute video of the event:
There is also a: High Resolution Version available.
We think a good time was had by all. And Lauren even went to bed on time and slept until 6am (that's sleeping in for Lauren)...waking up with some babble and finally called "Dada" to come get her.
Oh, and yes Liz got her haircut...really cut!
This is just a quick video shot on our camera. We will be posting the official video with singing soon. Warning - this video is loud (it was a party!):
Labels: Movies
1 Comments
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Here's Lauren talking on her phone. It's amazing what kids can learn just be watching adults! Lauren definitely understands that this is her phone, and what it is she's supposed to do with it. She calls Grandma, of course!
Lauren got this phone shortly after Christmas, after playing with cousin Sophie's out in Tucson. It's one of her favorite toys. Pushing the buttons says things like "Please come to the party at the castle." and "Don't you just love being a princess?"
Someone ought to make one of these that allows the grand parents to actually record their voice!
Published by Jace Mouse
on Saturday, May 03, 2008 at 8:18 AM.
Lauren got this phone shortly after Christmas, after playing with cousin Sophie's out in Tucson. It's one of her favorite toys. Pushing the buttons says things like "Please come to the party at the castle." and "Don't you just love being a princess?"
Someone ought to make one of these that allows the grand parents to actually record their voice!
Labels: Movies
0 Comments
Lauren's house was already practically overflowing with toys, but we guess it wouldn't be a proper birthday without a few more.
When she awoke on Friday, she was greeted with a shiny butterfly balloon. In the video, you can hear Lauren share her version of "butterfly," whose pronunciation is still rough. We were pretty surprised when she started saying it about 10 days ago. Since her room and bathroom are all decked-out in butterflies, I guess she's had plenty of opportunity to be exposed to them.
Lauren also got a set of beads like Liz and Jace had when they were kids. She immediately put them to use as a necklace. Then, as with most babies, found the majority of her interest in the box they came in. :)
The grand prize was a set of picnic dishes that Liz found. Lauren had played with a set in Florida and really enjoyed them. So when Liz happened to see a set in a store here in Chicago, she couldn't resist. Lauren is inexplicably drawn to these dishes! They're really meant for older kids who know how to play pretend, but that doensn't stop her. Lauren will spend 15 minutes at a time just putting the lid on the tea pot and taking it off again. She loves them!
There's more to come! Lauren still hasn't seen her uber-present from the Gieseke's in Tucson. They got her an awesome piano that she's going to love. She also hasn't gotten her new toddler-sized chair from Grandma and Grandpa Gieseke, yet.
Published by Jace Mouse
on at 6:29 AM.
When she awoke on Friday, she was greeted with a shiny butterfly balloon. In the video, you can hear Lauren share her version of "butterfly," whose pronunciation is still rough. We were pretty surprised when she started saying it about 10 days ago. Since her room and bathroom are all decked-out in butterflies, I guess she's had plenty of opportunity to be exposed to them.
Lauren also got a set of beads like Liz and Jace had when they were kids. She immediately put them to use as a necklace. Then, as with most babies, found the majority of her interest in the box they came in. :)
The grand prize was a set of picnic dishes that Liz found. Lauren had played with a set in Florida and really enjoyed them. So when Liz happened to see a set in a store here in Chicago, she couldn't resist. Lauren is inexplicably drawn to these dishes! They're really meant for older kids who know how to play pretend, but that doensn't stop her. Lauren will spend 15 minutes at a time just putting the lid on the tea pot and taking it off again. She loves them!There's more to come! Lauren still hasn't seen her uber-present from the Gieseke's in Tucson. They got her an awesome piano that she's going to love. She also hasn't gotten her new toddler-sized chair from Grandma and Grandpa Gieseke, yet.
Labels: Movies
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Lauren is starting to take some steps! She's still very tentative, and we have to coax her into walking since she's so happy to crawl everywhere. Check out her first steps on video!
That's right Lauren, real grass. Where the heck are we?
The video and these pictures were taken while visiting our friends Ben and Colleen (and baby Anna) at their new place. They have a great new house in the suburbs, with a nice lawn, and a feeder full of seeds that attracts lots of "tweets" for Lauren to listen to. Lauren also got a glimpse at a deer that wandered into the yard.
Labels: Movies
3 Comments
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Lauren has everything she needs to hit the town! She's got her purse (of course), and a walk-behind toy that Rachel and Ian Pogany out-grew.