Thanksgiving 2009

Lauren was all dressed and ready for the Thanksgiving feast before the turkey was quite ready. So she entertained herself using her stroller. She is becoming quite the pro with this stroller now. She gets around the house very quickly and is even able to get herself unstuck if needed. On Thanksgiving morning Lauren took 10 steps by herself between Geoff and Grandma Hanson. We were all very excited!


The Thanksgiving feast! Geoff prepared almost all of the food and it was delicious.


Here's what happens if you put a whole bag of potato peels down the garbage disposal. Thank goodness Dhruba came over for dinner and was able to fix the potato peel jam so we could wash the dishes.



Looks like someone had a little too much turkey! Lauren loved all of the dishes at our Thanksgiving feast except cranberries. She still does not like fruit.



Hanging out in Grandpa's boots

Chicago Children's Museum

This morning Lauren, Aunt Stephie and I spent some time at the Chicago Children's Museum. We were able to get a discount on admission thanks to Aunt Stephie's job and had a great time!


Playing in the water. Do you like my green raincoat?


Throwing snowballs with Aunt Stephie


Climbing up the rollers


Hiding in the flower with Mommy


Looks like it's nap time!

Lauren hit another big milestone Friday afternoon! We were visiting our friends Jillian and London and were able to be a part of their play group. As Lauren was busy interacting with all of the other kids, I noticed her legs start shaking a little bit. Then she moved her left foot and then her right. HER FIRST STEPS!! I was so excited and all of the other moms clapped for Lauren too. She hasn't moved her little feet since, but I know she will again soon.

Another fun moment happened when we were in the car on our way home from shopping Thursday evening. Lauren sneezed twice and I said, "bless you." Then she made a pretend sneeze sound and I said, "bless you," again. She kept making the fake sneeze sound and I kept saying, "bless you," until she just started laughing like crazy. Needless to say, I started laughing too. All weekend long she continued fake sneezing and laughed when I said, "bless you."

I am still working on getting a picture of her 6 teeth and will post it soon.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Music Music Everywhere!

Here are a few clips of Lauren's continued interest in music. She LOVES to sing, dance, and clap to all kinds of music, as well as play her little instruments. Do we see a future percussionist?

Flower Girl

As mentioned a few weeks ago, Lauren was a flower girl in Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jon's wedding. She was fascinated by all the bubbles and enjoyed being pulled up the aisle in her red wagon by Daddy. Oh, and the gold shoes she wore in the wedding and has been fascinated with ever since are too small now. Guess I know what Lauren wants for Christmas this year!


Mini photo of the flower girl and the beautiful bride.


Rehearsing for the ride up the aisle.


Spending time with Great Gram.


Here I come!



If you want to see many other FANTASTIC photos from Steph and Jon's wedding, here's the photo link: http://www.pictage.com/706868

Happy Halloween

We had so much fun carving our huge pumpkin and trick or treating!


Wow! Do you think I could fit in this huge pumpkin?



Yup, looks like it!



Daddy's masterpiece all lit up.



But I don't want to be a flower...



Okay, if you say I look cute then I LOVE my flower costume. Especially with my gold shoes!



Trick or Treating with Mommy, Grandpa, and Uncle Jon



Waiting for the next trick or treater to come to my house.



I love playing with all of my candy!



Yea right Mommy! I will get to my candy even if you say I can't have it.

Fall Fun

Last Wednesday our little town of Highwood had a pumpkin festival. It consisted of a farmer's market, live music, hay rides, trick or treating at the businesses, and lighting over 1,000 Jack-O-Lanterns all at once. We had a great time! Here's a photo of the Jack-O-Lanterns before they were lit.


Many people have reminded me lately of the photos I took of Lauren in the leaves last year. That made me realize I should take one this year too, so before we went to the pumpkin festival last Wed I raked a quick pile of leaves and put Lauren in it. Check out the video below to see how much she likes examining each leaf.



Last Monday was one of my days off so Lauren and I took a field trip to the Morton Arboretum. What a beautiful place! It was such a perfect day we could have spent many more hours there. Lauren loved playing hide and seek with me on one of the bridges in the children's garden.

Quick Lauren update: All of a sudden Lauren is very interested in everything around her. She waves and says hi and bye to everything. She was waving and saying, "bye bye," to our house this morning as we left for school. She is pulling herself up on everything and even stands on her own for a few seconds here and there. Not only does Lauren love hugging and kissing Mommy and Daddy, but she hugs and kisses all of her dolls too. Ever since she wore her shiny gold shoes for Aunt Stephie and Uncle Jon's wedding, they are the only shoes she likes to wear. Mariah said she is very protective of them at daycare too and won't let the other kids play with them. Lauren knows where her toes and shoes are now too. She loves to give high fives and blow kisses too. I think she knows how to say, "bubble," now too. There were rain drops on the car window yesterday and she kept saying, "bubble, bubble."

Football Saturdays

Watching college football has always been an important part of fall for the Hanson family. Geoff and Lauren both sported their gear yesterday while watching Michigan and Central Michigan both win.


We taught Lauren how to signal touchdown and she loves to get involved in the excitement of the games.


Lauren was so excited to wear her Michigan bib Daddy bought for her on his business trip a few weeks ago.