More Pictures

We have taken so many pictures over the past several weeks - here are some of our favorites. 

Lauren started smiling as she fell asleep from the first couple of weeks.  At around 5 or 6 weeks, she really started smiling, and we have gotten some fun shots of it!

Justin's co-worker Betsy made this adorable duck blanket for Lauren. She looks so tiny laying on it!

 Now that Lauren is getting bigger, it's fun to go on more outings.  The Hunters had us over for dinner recently, and Memere was there too!

 Andy and Julie laid on the floor with Lauren - she loves to lay on her back and kick, so they all laid in a row.  It's amazing to see how much Andy and Julie have been growing when they are next to baby Lauren.

 Auntie Rachel got to have some cuddle time too.

 Here are a few glamour shots of our sweet girl as she is in her favorite spot on the floor kicking.

 And sleeping.....

 Just before bath time.

 And after bath time in her duckie towel.

 Justin's work had a baby shower for us, and thought it would be fun to wait until Lauren arrived.  She was all dressed up with a bow in her hair, and slept through the whole party.  A couple of the ladies there even held her and passed her back and forth, and she stayed asleep the whole time.  Here is a family picture after  the shower.

 

Auntie Rachel also put together a wonderful shower along with Memere and Great Auntie Arlene. (pictures from that shower will be in the next post!)

March 27th was the 6th anniversary of our first date.  We can't believe how much has happened in the last 6 years.  To celebrate, we dressed Lauren in a cute little outfit, and went to San Luis Obispo for the afternoon. The weather was great so we just walked around and window shopped, and then went to dinner. Here is a cute picture of Lauren with Dad before we left for our outing.

The First Weeks

We decided to follow in the Hunters footsteps and start a blog so everyone can see Lauren grow and what we have been up to!

The days since Lauren has been born have flown by, and she has changed so much already.  So this first entry is full of pictures of the first weeks since Lauren was born.  We also added some pregnant pictures.

Lauren Amelia Banks was born January 31st at 12:22 a.m.  She weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz, and was 20.5 inches long.  After 30 hours of labor, we were so happy to meet her!

Lauren is named after Justin's Pepere (Grandpa), Laurent Jutras.  Justin has always wanted a daughter named Lauren.  Audrey loves the name Amelia, so we were pretty sure we had decided on her name, but we just wanted to have a first glimpse of her in person to know for sure that her name would fit her.  As soon as we saw her, we knew her name was perfect for her!

Here are some pictures of the first weeks:

Our little burrito baby!  She still likes to be swaddled when she sleeps. 

 Mom and baby - so happy to finally hold baby Lauren.

Dad and baby Lauren

 Dr. Monroy delivered Lauren at French Hospital in San Luis Obispo.  He is a great doctor!  He also delivered Lauren's cousins, Andy and Julie.

 Lauren arrived with a full head of hair! 

 Lauren's Grandparents were all so happy to meet her!

 Papa Sprung

 Nana Sprung

 Memere Jutras

 Grampie Banks

 Lauren's cousins Andy and Julie got to meet her in the hospital when she was just a few hours old. They were both very excited to meet baby Lauren. 

Uncles Steven and Victor came to visit Lauren when she was 5 days old.

 Here is Dad and baby Lauren as we were leaving the hospital to go home.

 Lauren slept on the whole car ride home.

 Over the next few weeks, we had fun taking lots of picture of baby Lauren.

 Auntie Karen flew all the way out from New York to meet baby Lauren.

 We are happy that we live so close to the Hunters!  Here is a picture of Lauren and Uncle John. 

 Nana and Papa only live 3 hours away, and love to come visit.

 Below are some pictures taken before Lauren was born:

1 week before Lauren was born we took a (slow) walk at Montana De Oro.

37 weeks

At 36 weeks we decided to take a family picture before baby arrived. It was a beautiful day!

 24 weeks

At 25 weeks we went to Ventura to visit Jenny and Sarah, two friends who also had January babies.  Jenny & Jaime welcomed Braiden on January 4th, and Sarah & Eyal had Daniel on January 29th.  We wish they lived closer, but it will be fun to plan play dates as they grow!

 

9 weeks

At 13 weeks we took a trip to Lake Pillsbury to visit all the Swanton girls and have a baby shower for Dana and Ray. Cassidy was born in September 2010. We can't wait for Cassidy and Lauren to have a play date.

After Lake Pillsbury, we got to spend a few days relaxing in Mendocino.  Below is a picture of Justin on the deck of our room at the cute bed and breakfast we stayed in.