Bangs

We were attempting to have Audrey grow out her bangs but if she didn't have a hair clip in, she couldn't see. After multiple mornings of going in to get her and not being able to see her eyes, I figured she'd probably appreciate it if I gave her a little trim. Steve thought we should bring her somewhere to get it cut but I was confident I could do the job!!

Woah! This surfer girl needs a cut!

I don't know why she loves to drink out of the squirt bottle

She looks pretty cute, right?! So grown up!

Thanks Mom!

Bangs with her sassy, new hat from Grannie. They aren't as crooked as they look, just a little disheveled :)

Family day

A few weeks back, we took a walk by the pond to see the ducks and enjoy the beautiful November weather! I love when we can spend time the 3 of us doing fun things. These times are so sweet!

She sure loves her daddy!

Williamsburg

Last week, Audrey and I went down to Williamsburg, Virginia to visit with Steve's stepmom Annie. The Lord really blessed our time down, there and back. We left early last Tuesday morning around 7. This was our first long road trip alone without Steve so I was a bit apprehensive (it's a 5 1/2 hour drive). By God's grace, she slept for a good two hours in the car!! Steve had bought a DVD player prior to us leaving in case of any meltdowns on Audrey's part (or mine :) But we didn't hardly use it, I let her watch just a bit right before arriving. And we made it in less time than Google said we would!! We only stopped once! AMAZING!

We spent lots of time with her dogs, one is a couple years old and the other is just a few months. Audrey loved them and loved sitting in their bed pretending to be a dog :) And Audrey sure does love her Naaaaaanny (can't quite get Grannie Annie yet) She has talked about her every day since we left. We did lots of fun girlie things like dancing, talking, shopping and eating! On Thursday morning before leaving for home, we ate at this place called the Old Chickahominy House It's an old house that has been turned into a restaurant/gift shop. And it was OH SO CUTE! There was a little kitchenette upstairs that I adored!! It reminded me a bit of Julia Child. Have you seen that movie yet? Well, you should. Anyway, we had a yummy breakfast of homemade biscuits, bacon and cheese eggs, said our goodbyes and were back on the road. I kept telling myself that this trip back probably wouldn't be as easy as the one down but it was! Audrey slept over 3 HOURS! My time driving was sweet; taking in the fall foliage, singing to Buble, being cozy with my heated seat on and thanking the Lord for such a wonderful trip filled with many, many blessings! I made sure to stop and get Audrey some special cookies for being such a good girl!! I really am such a blessed girl to have such a sweet, little girl!

Thanks Grannie Annie for letting us stay with you!! We had so much fun!! We are blessed to have you in our lives!!

In front of the Old Chickahominy House

Audrey got to eat in an old fashioned wood highchair.

14 cent project

Today I took a trip to Hobby Lobby, aka Crafters Heaven, and looked around a bit. I was not expecting to find this super cute paper (above) for half off. Regular price was $.29 so that means I got it for $.14! Silly to get excited about paper? Maybe. But I got excited anyway. I have had this old frame (also above) for a couple years, a Goodwill purchase that I spent a buck or two on and I usually drag it out around the holidays and pile it with candles and Christmas bulbs to disguise the ugly background, the cardboard that comes as a backing for a picture frame. So I thought the paper I found would look quite splendid in the frame. Oh and the pinecones I found in my in-laws backyard and the glass vase thingy we got as a wedding gift.

Here's a closeup of the paper

Not too shabby, right? Well maybe a tad bit, Shabby chic! Hee hee :)

It's the little things in life, right?

18 month stats

Weight: 22lb 11oz (25%)

Height: 32 inches (75%)

Head circumference: 19 inches (90%)

Audrey had her 18 month check up this morning. The doctor assured me that her head has always been around 75% but jumped a bit this time around, she believes due to mismeasurement. (her pigtails got in the way :) Someone mentioned recently that she looked short so I was expected her height to measure on the shrimpy side. Nope, still staying where she's always been, in the 75%.

The doctor was impressed with her verbal skills, it didn't hurt that when she came into the room Audrey said, "doctor!" She doesn't go back in until April for her 2 YEAR CHECKUP! That just can't be right! That's way far away. No wait, it's only 6 months :(

I'm enjoying every minute I have with my girl, what a sweet season I am in!

A year and a half

My sweet baby girl is a year and a half old today!! I sang happy birthday to her today just for the fun of it. I know I say this all the time but I just can't believe how fast the time has gone. She just keeps getting more cute and more fun and I love her more and more each and every day. She is just such an amazing blessing and a daily reminder of the kindness of the Lord. What a gift she is to us!!

Mostly so I can look back and remember down the road, here are some of the things she's doing as of late:

Walking like a champ, she still needs to prop herself up against something to get to a standing position but after that, she's off!

She's talking up a storm! Mama, Dada, Far Far (Steve's dad) Naaaaaaaaanny (Nanny, my mom) cracker, juice, water, baby, turtle, football (she knows when it's on! If you turn the channel and come back to it, she'll recognize it and say it again. She's such a daddy's girl :) Go PATS! ) That's all I can think of right now :) Those are her most often spoken words most recently. She's also continuing to sign quite a bit. Please, thank you, more, all done, bye bye and eat.

She's working on puzzles, loves to read books. Her favorite past time is walking while carrying her purse, pushing her baby or babies in her stroller. She walks and pats the babies on their backs too :) She loves her play kitchen and pretends to cook. (see video below) She takes out my pots and pans and brings them to her kitchen but they are too big to fit in the sink and she gets frustrated. I get frustrated with dishes in the sink sometimes too Audrey!!

She's really starting to like Sesame Street. She favorite characters are Elmo and the Count. She has a book with the Count in it and she can say "Ahh, ahh, AHHHHH!" just like him.

She likes to draw but not with crayons, only with pens. That's gotten interesting a couple times (pen on her legs, arms and face) but she usually does pretty well.



Here are a few pictures of her wearing the tutu that I made her a couple weeks ago. She has mixed emotions about it :)


Mom, I give you 2 thumbs up.


And the tutu gets none


Chef Audrey

This one's for you Holli! ;)

Yes, that's my little pumpkin on the pumpkin. She did not enjoy it near as much as I thought she would. :) She very much hated it actually.
We went to Riverbend Farm a few weeks back with a bunch of our friends and their kids. We had a blast! We started by taking pictures of the kids by the giant cow and pumpkin then moved onto the small barn that had a baby cow, some turkeys and buffalo off in a field. Audrey's favorite was the baby cow. After that, we all climbed up on to a big huge wagon and went out in the field and picked a pumpkin for our very own! Audrey picked out hers all by herself! After that, we all had a picnic lunch and let the kids play a bit on the play grounds.
How blessed we are to have the opportunity to spend days like this; beautiful weather, beautiful, caring friends to spend the day with and the opportunity to live in such a beautiful state!

Smelling her pumpkin. She also brushes its "hair" (the stem) sometimes :)