9 months

***Disclaimer: this post was written a month ago and never got published. 

I blinked and another month went flying by. I need time to slow down just a little. 

At 9 months old you, Miss Audrey, continue to fill our lives with an abundance of joy. Your little voice warms my heart and brings a smile to my face. These days you are saying things like mama, dada, dad, something that sounds like duck, nana, yaya, the other day I swear you looked and Mia and said dog, something that sounds like all done, and so much more. You are a Chatty-Cathy like your mom. When we are out and about you have started talking with people who return your smile. At Costco the other day a couple was loving your smile and shared with me what a sweet smile and spirit you have. It is so cool to know that others see in you the things your dad and I see. 

You continue to be a busy bee. Weekly and monthly photos have become quite a challenge because you are always on the move, and as soon as I get you settled and pick up my camera you are off and moving again. Any other pictures we snap of you are not as crisp as they used to be, something is a always blurry. 

This past week you started walking with your push cart and love cruising around your room. When dad picked you up from school the other day he said you were cruising under the table holding on to the chairs to walk all the way around so you could crawl to him. One of your new favorite things is walking while you hold our fingers. I love how you take big steps and you stomp your feet as you walk. 

Speaking of pictures, you know when we are taking your picture now. You often flash a smile when you see us pick up our phone. Now we just need to teach  you to say cheese!

You continue to surprise and amaze us. I know there is so much more I could write, but I have to save some things for next week!!

7 & 8 Month Letter

Let's start with the fact that being a working mom means very little time for blogging. (I know that staying home is no cup of tea either). Audrey's 7 month birthday came and went in the middle of the start of another school year. Basically I'm going from 5:30am-9/10:00pm at night. I am starting to find my balance with my school load, but it's been hard. Now if I can find the motivation to do a little house cleaning all will be well.

I've been soaking up every minute home with Audrey. I feel like each stage goes faster than the previous one. Here are the highlights from the last couple of months.

Audrey you are a girl on the move. You started rocking and army crawling since the end of July. Now, at 8 months, you are crawling all over.  You know how to get to what you want and how to get there quickly. Diaper changes have become wrestling matches see days. Sometimes it is all I can do to get a diaper in you and often I find myself putting your pants back on while you're one the move.

You have two adorable bottom teeth, and as of last week you are working on your top teeth. You love to eat. I think right now your favorite foods are scrambled eggs, green beans, turkey, apples, and of course toast. It has been fun to watch you improve with your eating skills and we often FaceTime with family during meals because it easier to keep you on the screen! ;)

I am living everything about this stage right now. You are such  a chatter box and everyday you add a new sound to your vocabulary. You still love to babble in your car seat, but you also love to talk while you're playing and when others talk to you. One of my favorite things is that you play peek-a-boo on your own. You will hold anything up on front of your face and wait for us to say, "where is Audrey?"  What I love most is your coy little smile behind whatever your holding while you wait.

Everyone loves your smile and your special way of smiling isn't your tongue out. Your teachers at school love you and you love them just as much. You have started reaching out your arms for them when we check in each morning. You love school! Every day you do so many fun things like read stories, paint, feel different textured, find your ears, eyes, nose,mouth in a mirror, and so much more. You are the favorite and I am pretty sure that you are waited on hand and foot.

You are a social butterfly. Whenever we are out you give people smiles and tell them all kinds of stories. Last weekend when we were out to eat you we're chatting with another baby sitting a few tables down. Everyone still loves your hair and your tongue-out smile. 

One of my favorite things is that you recognize and know your grandma, nana, and papa. Whenever their faces appear on screen your eyes light up and a huge smile spreads across your face. Technology is so great because it keeps us all connected and they get to watch you on action. I love that whenever we are FaceTimeing with someone you check to make sure they are watching you play. You love to go after the iPad or phone, so keeping you on screen is quite a challenge and we often FaceTime during meals because you're easily contained. 

From the very beginning you have loved feeling the wind in your hair. I can always get a giggle out of you by blowing in your hair. You've even figured out how to. Low your own hair out of your eyes. 

You bring so much joy to my life and every day I am so grateful that you are mine. I pray that you will always know you are loved, both by your dad and I, and also by your Heavenly Father. I also pray that God will fill your heart with love, grace, and compassion for others and that your confidence will come from Him. We love you more than anything. 

Mom

6 Months!

Happy Half Birthday Baby Girl! 6 months, it seems like each month flies by faster than the last.  Our summer days are coming to an end, and I'm having a really hard time with that.  I know you will love cub care and playing with other kids, but the thought of not spending my days with you has made my heart ache.

You are one busy girl.  Just before your 6 month birthday you started scooting/army crawling.  You waited until we arrived at GG's house in Loveland to start, and you haven't slowed down since. Sitting still is not something you're interested in.  When you are awake you love playing with your toys on the playmat, being talked to, tickled, and sitting up munching on the butterflies hanging from your playmat.  

Towards the end of the month you started getting your bottom teeth.  They haven't popped through yet, but they are so close, I can see them just below your gums.  You love sitting at the table with us during dinner time. While we eat you play with your spoon or toys, and even drink from your water cup!  We started you on solid food this week.  So far, you are just playing with it, but that's okay, you'll start eating soon enough!

Your love for your dogs grows every day.  When they are in the room it is hard for you to take your eyes off them. These days you are easier to make giggle and you are starting to get a belly laugh. This month  you started reaching out for me, and let's just say it gets me every time. You talk a lot, but not all day every day. You like to take things in and observe and ponder a lot, then once you think you've got it figured out you chat up a storm.  You're especially chatty in your carseat.  I think you like that the car noise adds extra noise and you like to try out the different levels of your volume.  This month you have added lots of new sounds to your babble.

Every day is so much better because you're in it.  Your smile makes everyone around you happy, although sometimes you really make us work for them.  At your 6 month pictures, we had to use every trick in the book to get you to smile. I'm sure that everyone driving by thought we were crazy, but we got some great shots of you. Of course as soon as we got home and you had a nap you were full of smiles!

Nana and Papa came to visit this month.  Nana watched you while I had my summer science institute.  You two had a lot of fun, and you discovered your love for patty cake. Papa came for a long weekend. It always amazes me how well you recognize people from facetime.

Oh, there are so many things that you are doing these days, but I should probably wrap it up.  Your dad and I love you so much.  We are soaking up every minute we have with you and are amazed by your strength, beauty, and intelligence.  I'll be posting in no time.  We have your 6 month appointment and shots on Friday, I'm looking forward to seeing your stats!

5 Months

DISCLAIMER: I've had this post done for a while, but every time I tried to put pictures in the computer restarted. At least I got it posted before she turned 6 months. 

This past month has been filled with lots of Audrey snuggles, giggles, and smiles because it is summer vacation! I feel so blessed to be in a field of work that enables me to be home during the summers.  As usual, Audrey is changing and growing so fast.

Here are some of the highlights from this last month:

• You talk all the time these days. You have discovered that you can be loud, and you love to test your loud voice out in your car seat. Whenever we get into the car you tell us stories the whole time we're going.  Sometimes you'll sleep, but only when you're really tired.
• We went to the zoo with Aunt Jenna.  You weren't really into looking at the animals, but you did love the sky safari and looking around while we traveled above all the animals.

• You visited two new states: Wisconsin for a girls weekend, and Iowa for Kyle and Jodi's wedding.
• At the wedding you and Jaxon became fast friends. You two liked talking to each other and snacking on each other's toes. You were so social and let everyone who wanted to hold you.

• You love to smile and will smile at anyone who talks to you.
• Toes have become one of your favorite things.  You love to get them into your mouth or just play with them in your crib before naps. 

• In your exersaucer you like to talk to your monkey and you love to play with all of the toys on there.  It is fun to watch you get that thing rocking!
• Whenever dad walks in the room you want to know what he is doing and you have a hard time focusing on anything else when he is talking to you.
• You are getting really good at sitting up. Toward the end of the month you really started to get good at balancing yourself.
• Jake and Mia love you, and you love them too! You like to reach out and pet Mia. She is really patient with you when you grab her ears or lip. I think you two are going to be best buddies.

• Speaking of buddies, you LOVE little buddy. You enjoy talking to her and snuggling her when you go to bed.  My favorite is when you fall asleep with her tucked under your arm.
• Tags are another obsession of yours. You love to chew on them, and they are your favorite part of every toy.
• We celebrated Dad's first father's day this month
• You are chewing on everything.  Lots of people say you are teething, which is probably true, but the Dr. said it could be a while before your teeth actually pop up.

• Your hair continues to grow and grow.  It's getting a little shaggy, but I think I'm going to hold off on getting it cut still.  People love ooohhhhing and aaaaahhhhing over your hair. You like it too.  You enjoy rubbing your hands in it while you nurse, and you like holding on to it while you play or fall asleep. 

That is all I can think of for now.  You continue to be the light in my life and I am soaking up every minute with you.  Being your mom is the best job. Thanks for all the snuggles when I need them and for a smile that melts my heart every time!

Love,

Mom

Baby smiles

Baby smiles melt my heart, especially Audrey's. I don't know how I'm going to be able to say no to her, but I'm sure I'll learn. My favorite is when she gives me a big smile I am not  expecting it, often it's when I just take a glance at her. Here's to babies bringing a lot of joy to this world!

4 Months

I missed three months-- went back to work and never had time to blog about the three month milestones. Oops.

I've been back to work for about 6 weeks and have a little over 1 left to go. And now that I am finishing this post, I am done with school for the ear, so I'm all yours!

What a month has it been. You are rolling from your back to your tummy all the time. You LOVE sleeping on your stomach. Recently, you have really started showing interest in little buddy. You love to talk to her before you fall  asleep, and sometimes you'll talk for 20 minutes, it's the cutest thing ever. You are getting better at putting yourself to sleep, and rarely fuss more than a minute or two.

You smile and talk all the time. You started laughing for Aunt Bailey. You don't do it too often, but Uncle Ryan and I have gotten a couple out of you. You've had lots of family in and out of the house helping take care of you. You're one lucky girl to have so many people that love you. Everyone has developed their own special bond with you and each seem to have something special with you. Aunt Julie started doing exercises with you and you love them. 

You continue to amaze us with your strength. You love standing and are much sturdier these days. You support your head so well. You love your exersaucer and have mastered turning the pages in the book and moving the tiger beads back and forth. You have started the beginning stages of sitting up. 

Dad seems to be the one who gets the most smiles out of you. You love talking to him and telling him your stories. You always look for him when you hear his voice. 

I think that covers most of it. You're up to so much it is hard to get it all down in words. You are such a joy and I love seeing your personality emerge. I can't wait to spend all summer with you!

Oh yea, you found your toes! You are really starting to love them!

Mural how to

Audrey's room has made me a lover of do it yourself projects. I have had a blast putting together her room and absolutely love spending time up there. Her room is a mash up of several different pins on Pinterest.

We knew wanted some kind of giraffe painted on her wall, so the searching commenced, me on Pinterest and Stinson on a super awesome app. called houzz. He came across a tree with book shelves put on a couple branches that we loved, and he thought it'd be cool to have a giraffe eating out of he tree.

Now that we had our idea, we emailed it to my super-talented Aunt Lexie, and she used her graphic design skills to come up with the mural. Next step was having her design printed on a transparency at Office Depot. Cost of that was $0.53. Once you have your transparency, you need an overhead projector to project the image up on the wall, so to obtain said overhead, you call a teacher friend who has been teaching forever and who you know has held on to their overhead even though they don't use it anymore.

Now that your image is projected on the wall trace said image onto the wall with chalk. Chalk is much better than pencil because it erases easily and is easily covered with paint. Then, using the paint color(s) of your choice, color inside the lines! We used left over white from her chevron wall, but you could purchase a paint sample for yours. It really doesn't take much paint, I did two coats and maybe used 8oz of paint total. I used a variety of small paint brushes I picked up at Michaels for less than $4.

Once the paint is completely dry, use a dry cloth to brush off any chalk that was not covered up by paint. Now your mural is complete! If you don't have a super talented Aunt Lexie or are not gifted with artistic ability, yo could find an image on the web you like to have printed on your transparency.

My total cost for this project was $4, but if you have to buy paint it'll be closer to $10. It is a bit time intensive. It took my sister-in-law, Sara, and I about 30 minutes to trace it onto the wall. Then we started painting after the babies were in bed for an hour and a half, and I finished the next day with both coats in about two and a half hours. The final product was totally worth the time!

Since I'm posting this from my phone I don't know how to insert the photos throughout the post, so here they are all at once.

2 Month Letter

Dearest little Audrey,
You are now entering into your 3rd month of life (how is that even possible?). The second month flew by as fast as the first one did. You are changing so much every day and I am loving each new milestone, big or small.

The biggest highlight of this month was when your rolled from your tummy to your back. I had just picked up the phone to FaceTime grandpa when you rolled over. We quickly put you back on your stomach and you did it again for grandpa to see. I told him we'd call him back so we could catch the big event on camera. You didn't disappoint, and we caught it on film. Of course, you haven't done it again, but I know you can, and that you will do it again when you're ready.

You like going for walks when the weather cooperates!

You still love your baths. One of our favorite parts is the face you make when we first put you in the water. It's like you're bracing yourself for what's to come and then 30 seconds later you're loving life.

Your strength continues to impress us. Standing has become one of your new favorite things. During tummy time you like looking all around and sucking on your fist. Just last week you figured out how to get your fist your mouth. You like to take little "tastes" of it at a time. You are starting to figure out how to keep it up there longer and you make the most adorable noise while you suck on it.

My favorite thing is our chats on the changing table. You give the most coos and smiles while I'm changing your diaper, I guess you love feeling fresh and clean. It has been fun to listen to all of your new noises and to watch you learn how to use your voice. You are starting to recognize your grandpa, grandmas, aunts and uncles' voice when we FaceTime with them. You look for your dad or I when we walk in the room and it warms my heart to see you turn and look for me. The dogs leave you alone for the most part. Jake gets concerned when you cry and always makes sure I check on you. They like to give you a quick sniff when we return from being out.

Hanging out with Uncle Brady after Aunt Jenna and I had you try on your swimsuit!

You've had a busy month getting out and about with me to meet friends and to go to mothers together. I always enjoy introducing you to new people. They all love your hair! You got to finally meet Aunt Sara, Uncle Kennedy, cousin Campbell, and Uncle Brantley.  They all loved giving you cuddles, except Campbell of course!  But he did help me burp you on his way up for a nap, and he loves seeing you.  He even started saying your name, it sounds more like Au-do than Audrey, but that's okay because he is only 14 months old. ;)

Meeting Aunt Sara, Uncle Kennedy & Campbell

These days you smile more and more. Your smile melts my heart, and I wonder how I am going to resist it in the future.  All of your smiles show us that you are one happy girl.  You smile especially big for your dad.  I swear your face lights up when he walks in the room.  I know that you two will share a special bond forever!

You had your 2 month check up and shots.  You did not care for the shots and you were not shy about letting us know about it.  Of course the Dr. confirmed what we already knew, you're growing like a weed! You've grown 4 inches since you were born, putting you in the 94 percentile for height.  I love that you're going to be a tall girl like your mommy!

I forgot to add that you still love your sleep.  You are sleeping 7-8 hour stretches at night and you are sure to let us know when it is nap time!  You are keeping yourself on a fairly consistent schedule, which makes life for us just a tad easier, so keep it up! :)

I love you baby girl.  I pray that God is shaping your heart to be one filled with compassion, love, and kindness.

Until next month,
Mom

I'm a sewing machine

Pun intended.

When I bought my sewing machine 4 years ago I thought I'd sew a lot more, not that I know how to sew more than a semi- straight line. Fast forward to 2013. My 1980's Montgomery Ward machine has been dusted off and put to work. So far this year it has sewed curtains, a crib skirt, and changing pad cover for Audrey's room, and yesterday some bibs and burp cloths for a friend.

I had a blast sewing these little gems yesterday. My mom's friend Jane sewed me these tiny bibs for Audrey and they became a necessity for a spitting up baby. The bibs you get at the store swallow a newborn, so these tiny bibs were perfect! I knew they'd make perfect gifts for my other mom friends, so I traced the bib she made me to make a pattern, cut out my fabric, sewed like sides together, turned right side out and sewed it shut. Last step, attach Velcro and you're done!

The matching burp cloths are just a rectangle sewn on a cloth diaper, super easy and fun. Added bonus, they're big enough to absorb all of that spit up!

I had a blast sewing yesterday, so much so, that I'm thinking about trying my hand at a pillow case dress for Audrey!