New Counseling Website

Hello Friends! I've started a website for counseling and would love for you to help me out by giving it some traffic to get it going. Please visit www.laurencoatscounseling.webs.com

Welcome! My name is Lauren Coats. I am currently finishing up my Masters in Education in Community Counseling from Texas A&M University-Commerce and am supervised by Dr. Stephen A. Armstrong, Ph.D, LPC-S, RPT-S, CSC.  I have a Bachelors of Science from Texas A&M University-College Station and am experienced in individual, couple, andfamily counseling as well as child and adolescent therapy. Other client concerns include: depression, anxiety, sexual abuse recovery, trauma, self-harm, grief, codependency issues, substance abuse, and marital and family conflict resolution.

4 Months of Dayton

I am so behind on blogging!! Dayton just turned 5 months old and I am just now doing his 4 month post. Such is life with a baby and toddler. ;)

Let me just say that I LOVE having a little boy!!!! Dayton melts my heart like I never believed possible. Check out his picture and you'll easily see why. :)

Dayton's Measurements:

Birth: 7 lbs. 6.2 oz., 20" long, 13" head, 13"chest

6 days old: 7 lbs. 2.5 oz., 20 1/2" long

2 weeks old: 7 lbs. 14.5 oz., 20 1/2" long, 14" head

1 month old: 9 lbs. 6 oz., 21 1/2" long, 15 1/2" head

2 months old: 12 lbs. 1.5 oz., 23 1/4" long, 15 3/4" head

4 months old: 14 lbs. 5.5 oz., 24 3/4" long, 16 1/2" head

This boy has grown a ton!!! In only 4 months he has doubled his birthweight and grown almost 5 inches! Not to mention he's got a big head ;) He's right at 50th percentile for all of his measurements…weight is closer to 40th percentile, but he's still a big boy!

Look at this cutie!!!

 This month he learned to: 

laugh out loud!!

sleep overnight in his crib

His favorite things this month:

the baby swing

diaper changes

post-bath lotion/massage

Sawyer

Momma

crib mobile

pacifer

Things he hates this month:

hiccups

acid reflux

trying to sleep when he's gotten out of his swaddle

the car seat…sometimes

His sizes this month:

3-6 months

(I still tried to force him into some smaller things, but it just didn't work out. He grows quickly!)

size 2 diapers

New places he has been:

Arlington

Bass Pro Shop

Important Events:

Dayton's 1st Easter was March 31st! He dressed up in a cute sweater vest! And he got his picture made with the Easter Bunny!

Dayton was dedicated on April 7th at c|Life's West Campus! All of our family came to support him :)

Dayton attended Sawyer's 2nd birthday party on April 13th! He loved celebrating with her by wearing his Elmo onesie :)

I cannot believe the growth from 1 to 4 months. Crazy.

 Dayton got his first fever after his 4 month shots - it was about 101 degrees…I gave him some baby Tylenol and he got some extra snuggles and then felt better. :)

Here are some more of my favorite pictures of Dayton this month:

1st Easter basket

Easter Sunday 

Dayton's Dedication Day

1st time in the Bumbo!

Sawyer's Birthday Party!

1st sunglasses :)

napping with Mimi :) 

We love you Dayton Lee!!

Sawyer's TWO!

There is so much I want to say about Sawyer turning two, but I will try to be somewhat brief as this is already going to be one of my longest posts ever! First off, let me just say that these past 2 years have been 2 of the best years of my life. Being a momma has opened my eyes to a whole new love, and I can't explain the impact that Sawyer has made on mine and Casey's lives. She is such a ham and we love her to pieces. What I'd really love to do is go back and reminisce about when she was born, but because that would make this post way to lengthy I'll post this link of when I did that last year. :)

Sawyer has loved Elmo for about a year now so we threw her an Elmo 2nd Birthday Party! She loved it! We even had a guest appearance by none other than…ELMO! (Charlie dressed up in an Elmo costume for us…it's owned by the church and it's actually called "Delmo" for copyright purposes. So funny!).

Everything everywhere was decked out in Elmo, and to make it girly I threw in some pink, orange, and green to go with the resounding red! I love the way it turned out! Sawyer had LOTS of little friends at her 2nd birthday and I could tell she had a blast! It was extra fun to see her running around outside playing with other little boys and (mostly) girls her age (and a little older). The older girls, Lola and Aubrey weren't scared of Elmo, and I think it kept Sawyer from completely freaking out. Instead she smiled and gave him a hug high five. :)

After the party, she napped and then we went to dinner. Afterwards we went to my mom's house where Sawyer "released her fish" (Elmo's fish, Dorothy) tint my mom's pond where she kept saying "bye fishes!" Then we fed the ducks. I think she had a great day! :)

On her actual birthday (Sunday) we went to church, ate lunch, came home and took naps, played with her new toys from the party, and then went to dinner and the park! We made it a day about her :) She even blew out her own candles when we sang Happy Birthday to her at the restaurant. She loved it. And she LOVES cupcakes now. Sweet tooth like her momma. ;) After dinner we took her to her favorite park. 

Some Sawyer Stats…

She weighs 24 pounds (20th percentile), is 33.5" tall (45th percentile), and her head is 18.25" around (25th percentile). She's come a long way from her tiny 5 lbs 12 oz! She wears size 3 diaper, but is getting very good at potty training!! She goes on the potty every single day, multiple times a day. As soon as we get a good warm spell I'm going to strip her down and do some hard core potty training. I've heard this method is awesome and over in 3 days. I think she'll take to it very well because she likes the potty and she's already quite good at it.

Sawyer is spunky and funny! She is always on the go and rarely settles down. She loves to play outside, ride her tricycle, throw or kick a ball, slide or swing on her swing set, and play in her turtle sandbox! She also loves bubbles and loves playing with her new water table. Indoors Sawyer loves playing with dolls her babies and "cooking" at her kitchen. She also loves to color and play with stickers! She loves to dance anytime we play music and she especially loves to play with her daddy. :) She's a momma's girl, though. ;) Sawyer loves her "bubba" and still calls him either "bubba" or "Dayton." She has taken a special interest in him lately and has asked to hold him a few times, but that seriously lasts like 2 seconds. She loves to help and wants to throw his dirty diapers in the diaper genie for us…so we let her! ;) She will also put his paci in his mouth if he starts to cry or push him in the baby swing. :)

Sawyer is one of the chattiest kids I know! When we're at home she talks non-stop. She seriously talks all day long. It's insane. They say women have double the word count as men, but I think she has double the word count of most women! She is going to need to find a husband that doesn't mind listening to her non-stop. ;)

Sawyer is thoughtful and caring. Every time Dayton cries she seems concerned and finds him a toy, his pacifier, or gives him his blankie. Such a sweet big sister. She loves to give hugs and kisses and likes for people to be happy. If I hurt myself she will kiss my boo-boo like I do for her. The other day I said "ouch" and she came over and said "momma, wanna kiss it?" and she kissed my hand that I was rubbing. Haha!

Sawyer is becoming fiercely independent and one of her most commonly spoken phrases is "I wanna do it!"…she will either say this calmly or vehemently, depending on what it is. She is determined to put her shoes on by herself, and one day I let her go several hours with them on the wrong feet. She didn't seem mind, and I know she was so proud that she put them on by herself. It's as if all fear is lost when we enter the park! She doesn't want our help and she wants to go down the slides by herself. Seeing her become so independent makes me proud, but it also reminds me of how fast she is growing up and how quickly her childhood will be over. I remind myself often to cherish these days with her as a little girl. 

Here are some pictures of her party and as a big 2-year-old :) 

Check out her cute dress & bow by Donna Barnett & Ginni Rickerson :) 

 Elmo came!!!

giving Sawyer an Elmo doll :) 

I love the kids' faces when Elmo came out

 …and then he did pushups! Haha!!! That certainly gathered a crowd ;)

birthday girl just walking around…ha.

Lots of playing outside

I was so proud of how she opened all of her presents herself :)

The kitchen was an immediate success ;)

Everyone sure spoiled her!!!

We are so lucky to have so many friends and family that love our kiddos.

Sawyer has played non-stop with all of her toys & all of her clothes are adorable!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

 she dug right in and then talked about cupcakes for at least 2 weeks ;)

Can't forget the party guests!!

and some decorations… 

My poor sunburned boy was a real trooper! (his shirt was also by Donna Barnett!)

"Releasing" Elmo's fish after the party!

and then feeding ducks… 

The next day on her actual birthday…

Sawyer Grace, you are such a sweet, special girl. We love you oh so much and are so excited to watch you grow up! You have already taught us more in your short 2 years than we could ever have imagined. Happy 2nd birthday, sweet girl!