Week 47

Woohoo, go me… a post after just one week! :)

It’s been a pretty fun week for Miss A, mostly because Daddy was home for a big part of it… YAY!

And, there has been some good weather, at least for a day or two. So, I decided to break out the girls’ Christmas present and take them for a walk.

Don’t they look cute in matching jean jackets? Daddy’s girls!

And the verdict on the wagon was pretty good. It would have been a lot easier if it wasn’t just me with both the wagon and the dog (one arm was constantly forward, the other constantly back, which started hurting after awhile). And the wagon was not as easy to maneuver as the stroller is, but it was still pretty fun. I did learn that I need to make sure to bring lots of snacks- since both girls could see the snacks, both were eating them! And no green blankets allowed- Audrey kept grabbing it, which made Laney scream, and eventually ended with Laney accidentally throwing it overboard into a puddle, us running over it, and her not telling me until half a block away. So then it was turn the wagon around, turn the dog around, and hope and pray no one else ran over it (someone almost did). But, it was a fun walk, and I think Audrey liked being able to see so much more than she does in the stroller!

Anyway, then, on Thursday night, Daddy came home to visit for a long weekend! Audrey was so cute- she grinned and reached for him when he came in, just like she does when she can see him on the computer. They spent all day Friday home together, and we spent the weekend just hanging out, not doing too much. So, I didn’t take tons of pictures, but I did get a few…

Daddy & his girls- “helping” him study!

One of Audrey’s new favorite trick: using the kitchen chairs as walkers. Yes, she got the chair all the way from the table into the laundry room. She’s strong!

Headed back to the table!

Relaxing with Aunt Yaya after lunch at Teppanyaki.  She had to lay like that ‘cause her tummy was so full!!

Totally blurry… but the only picture I’ve gotten so far of her walking (taken on my phone).  She started out at the green chair, which is her favorite place to walk from.  I think she would have gotten pretty far if it hadn’t been for the jacket on the ground!

Again with the eating… pasta and red sauce is DELICIOUS!

And now that we’re done with pictures, lots of Audrey news this week. First of all, she’s starting to take 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5) steps consistently, which is really fun. It’s still kind of “falling with style” as much as it is walking, but she’s definitely on her way. And, as evidenced by the chair pictures, she’s definitely highly motivated to learn how to walk! Guess we ought to think about getting her some shoes now! :)

She has also, in the last few weeks, seemed to really be getting more solid… i.e., she seems so much bigger, and she’s outgrowing all of her clothes. Well, we went to the doctor on Wednesday, and when they weighed her, I learned it wasn’t just my imagination! She weighed 19 lbs, 11 ounces, which is almost TWO POUNDS more than she weighed a month ago at her 9 month well check! Craziness!  Although, really not all that hard to believe, because this kid eats like it’s going out of style.  I mean, wow… she eats more than Laney a lot of the time.  She has discovered real food, and she LOVES it.  A lot of the time, I can’t cut the food fast enough for her.  She pretty much has the sign language for “more” down, but usually only uses it after she’s screamed and whacked the table a time or two.  Sister wants her food RIGHT NOW!  Guess she gets that honest… from both sides! :)

We went to the doctor to recheck her ears which were, of course, infected again. And she has another round of thrush. Yuck. Call me the binky sterilizing nazi, ‘cause I’m getting rid of this stuff! And then I’m probably literally getting rid of it- b/c I’m going to toss the binkies and buy new ones. Thrush is no fun!

BUT, as far as the ears go, in the last week we also learned that Audrey’s daycare teacher had been laying her down with her bottle, which is a major ear-infection-causing no-no (she no longer works at the daycare now). Since that problem has been taken care of, we’re going to see if another month takes care of the ears for good. Hoping and praying it does!!

And now, since you stuck with it and read all the way to the end… here are a few video treats for you! :)

Audrey LOVES bathtime!

So, Audrey doesn't usually get to take a bath by herself, typically she takes one with Laney, which means there's more water, and she can't really lay down in it. Well, after the red sauce evening, we put her in the bath by herself because she was covered in dinner. I only ran a little water, and she could splash to her heart's content. The result being: one smiley, happy baby, and one drenched bathroom (and Mommy & Aunt Ruthie!).

And then there's this video:

Poor Truman... :) He's the best kitty in the whole world!

So there's the week 47 update! Praying that in another week we can get this thrush under control, and in another month we'll be ear infection free!!

Weeks 45 &46

Well, Audrey is two weeks closer to being 1!! I cannot believe how fast it has been going… Need to be thinking about a birthday party, but with Daddy in KY and everybody else here, I’m not too sure when (or where, since we’re trying to sell the house) it will be!

But, anyway, six weeks still to think of that… on to the past two weeks! Audrey has found several new favorite things to do in the last few weeks.

Unloading the bookshelf…

And unloading the diaper bag! Seriously, if the diaper bag is on the floor, she finds it and empties it. Not cool…

She has also discovered the dvd rack and the shoe rack, and enjoys emptying both of those, too! What is it with babies and emptying things?!

Anyway, it’s been a pretty fun 2 weeks… we had a birthday party for Sam and Mom/Grandma, at our house, since it was too snowy still to get up their driveway!

70ish candles between the two cakes… Audrey was enthralled!

Using Ruthie as a jungle gym… always a good time!

And passed out in the swing… partying is hard work!

(yes, I put her upright in the swing after I took the picture)

Audrey is so interested in everything now, and she’s constantly watching what we’re doing. If you need proof, check out this new trick:

If she gets a phone (or something vaguely phone shaped), it immediately goes up to her ear. Sometimes she starts “talking” in it, too. It’s pretty hilarious!

Biggest developmental milestone for the last few weeks is that Audrey is really standing on her own, and is trying pretty hard to start walking… help us!! :) She’s so funny, because she sometimes forgets to stand still, and will start kicking her feet, which, of course, means she falls over! But she is taking a step or two, so I think that she’s just going to take off any day now…

I thought she’d like pushing this around, so I brought it in from the garage. She likes it, and so does her sister!

In other news, it’s been a not-so-fun couple weeks in tooth world for Miss A. She’s been working on all four teeth across the top, which has made for one cranky baby, who doesn’t sleep very much, which makes for one cranky mommy! Combine that with some thrush, and we’ve had quite the time lately! Hopefully, she is getting over both now, and we’re praying her ears are clear when we go to the doctor next week. If they’re not, then they’ll start talking tubes… :(

But, despite her trouble with teeth and thrush, Audrey is an amazingly good-natured baby. She is typically full of smiles and loves to be held and played with, and LOVES her big sister!

So that’s the A-Lou update. We’re spending the weekend with Daddy this weekend, and we are so excited!!

Weeks 43 & 44

Well, I have to totally admit that I have been not a very good picture taker the last few weeks… I’ve been so busy being a single mom, with Josh gone to Kentucky. But, I did manage to get a few cute ones over the last two weeks! It’s funny, because we’ve been snowed in all week, and I thought early in the week “Awesome, I’ll have no trouble getting a post done!” And then the days just got away from me, and I lost track of what day it even was, until today when I realized I never did a post yesterday… so, here I sit, at 11:00, doing a post!

It’s definitely been an interesting few weeks for us… Josh went to Kentucky, so it’s just the girls around here. We video chat with him on Skype almost every night, which has helped a lot. Even Audrey grins and laughs when she sees him on the computer screen.

We’ve also had some serious snow… like 18 inches of it! Aunt Ruthie snowed herself in with us so I wasn’t by myself with the girls for several days straight. We had a really good time hanging out with both girls, though Audrey picked a rough time to get two new teeth! She was kind of a cranky monster, but she’s getting her middle two top teeth now, so at least she won’t look like a vampire baby for long!

And now some pictures…

She finally has enough hair for it to be static-y!

Looking out at the snow (this was the first storm, not the blizzard)

Big cheese! She really is the happiest baby!

Starting out her modeling career… showing off a cute dress that Aunt Ellen made!

Biscuits and gravy during the blizzard!

Best thing about being snowed in… lots of napping! :)

Snuggle bug! Anytime is a good time for a pink blankie!

Stylin’ in Mommy’s shades!

So, that ended up being more pictures then I expected… but that’s a good thing!

Miss A is working on 6 teeth now, and she’s working really hard at standing up on her own. She pulls up on everything, and is starting to let go for a couple of seconds and stand on her own. Walking can’t be too far behind, which will be a total game changer! :) She thinks Laney is the coolest thing ever, which causes some issues when Laney isn’t so interested in playing with her!

She’s pretty much eating table food now, at least at home. And, man, does she like to eat!! She sees food and starts making these humming noises, and if you don’t give her the food fast enough, the humming turns to insistent “talking,” which then turns to screaming! She really loves bananas, and can put away an entire banana without blinking an eye!

She’s also getting lots better at drinking from a sippy cup, which has been kind of fun (and kind of not, since a lot of the juice ends up running down her front!).

One of my favorite Audrey-isms is when she is tired. She fights sleep even though she’s exhausted, so she just buries her face in her blanket, and then snaps it back up really quick, and makes these humming noises the whole time. As soon as she starts doing that, we stick her in her swing, and she is OUT like a light!

So that’s about it… It’s hard for me to believe that we’re just 2 months from her 1st birthday! Craziness…