Getting caught up...

Wow. It's been forever since I posted. It's an understatement to say life has been crazy and busy for the last year, but we keep moving forward. I've made a promise to myself to get in here and do some serious updating with all the photos and stories from the last few months. Hopefully I can stay on track. ;)

In the meantime, I'm going to jot down some things that are fresh on my mind:

• Aubrey said "anemone" while watching Finding Nemo this morning. I almost fell over.
• Aubrey walked about 20 feet, assisted for the first time ever! Yay! My little mellow baby may just walk yet, haha!
• She did the sign for "dog" or "Tina" as we tell her, after seeing it for the first time this morning. She is picking things up so quickly these days!!
• All week she has been trying to "talk" to the kitty. She says, "Nee-yaaa ki ki ki" as her version of "Meow, kitty kitty kitty." Too cute.
• Last week she got on the phone with Gigi and said, "Hi, Gigi!"
• She's enjoying sitting in and learning to get in and out of her new "big girl chair" that Gigi sent us last week.
• She is loving chicken & veggie ravioli, toast, green beans, and animal cookies right now. Of course the string cheese is always a favorite too. ;)
• Tina and Aubrey play together now. Tina is working on teaching Aubrey to play fetch with her, haha!
• Aubrey loves learning about colors. Her favorite pajamas are blue, and she likes to point to the pictures on them and say, "blue!"
• We are also in a button pushing phase... Buttons on the front of Jerry's computer, buttons on the printer, buttons on any remote she can get her hands on, and of course all the buttons on her toys.
• She is up to about twenty signs now, both recognized and executed.
• She is up to about fifteen words and several word pairings and phrases, most different from the signs she knows.
• She is learning to brush her teeth and brush her hair, and loves it when I blow dry her hair and brush it with my brush.
• She can drink out of a cup by herself. (Like, a real cup, not a sippy!!)
• She can show you "how big" she is.
• She likes to sing, and loves all different kinds of music.
• She has 10 teeth. The 8 main front ones and two molars on top.
• She is a water baby if I have EVER seen one! She loves splashing in the tub, of course, but she really loves swimming. Whether it's in the baby pool or with Mama & Daddy in a full sized pool, she has a ball. She's not afraid to stick her face in the water, and kicks like a champ. 
• She LOVES books. I would say she probably spends about 70 percent of her play time "reading" and 30 percent playing with toys. It's not uncommon to catch her sitting quietly amongst a huge pile of books, carefully turning the pages of each one.

Oh yeah... and she's 14 months old today. :) We are so proud of our growing little angel!

XOXO

6 months old!

I can hardly believe my little angel baby is 6 months old today. My how time has flown! I know, I know... that's what everyone says, and believe me, plenty of people have made an effort to tell me again and again. But still... it's shocking.

I can't believe how much she's grown! She was 8lb 3.9oz when she was born, and 21 inches long. Now she's 19lb and 25 inches long!!

Here are some little milestones Aubrey has reached at her 6 month mark:

• She can pull herself up to sitting.
• Can sit unsupported for short periods of time, and very well when supported.
• Can hold her own spoon when eating. 
• Holds her own bottle.
• Is eating cereals, (rice, oatmeal, wheat, and oatmeal with banana) and will be starting veggies next week!
• Uses a sippy cup for drinking water. (Had to implement this one a little early because she kept trying to take my water bottles!! LOL!)
• Is trying and trying to talk!
• Loves to "pet" Daddy's beard.
• Loves to bounce in her bouncer (her little legs are getting so strong!)
• Loves "Finding Nemo"... I think it's all the pretty colors!
• Plays peek-a-boo by covering her face with her blanket then yanking it down when I ask "Where's the baby?"
• Attempting to mimick sign for "milk" when asked if she wants a bottle.
• Recognizes and responds to signs for "milk," "diaper," "mommy," "daddy," and "more"
• Trying to crawl by sticking her butt up in the air and leaning forward on her boppy
• Loves "reading" books with Daddy
• Can pick up toys and switch back and forth between them
• Is starting to master her "pincher" hold using the little toys attached to bars (like on her swing and bouncer... you know what I mean? I have no idea what that's called, lol!)
• Hates wearing shoes and/or socks
• Is starting to play with Tina (our Jack Russell), and wants to pet her when she comes near.

I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting, but this girl changes every day and amazes us constantly! I'm pretty sure she'll be reading by her 1st birthday. (kidding...) ;)

Also, her hair is finally growing back in, and it's shiny and blonde! What a change from the dark haired little baby we brought home from the hospital! LOL She's so strong too... also a change from the fragile little monkey we started out with.

J and I just love watching her grow and learn about all the things around her. There's just something so magical about watching the discovery and amazement in her eyes when she sees something she's never seen before, or figures something out for herself. She's such a happy baby, always smiling and laughing at silly momma and daddy.

I must say it's been the shortest 6 months of my life, and being a Mommy is both the toughest and most rewarding experience I've ever had. Even after 6 months, it's hard to believe I'm actually a Mom now. I don't "feel" any different, except that I'm constantly thinking about Aubrey and what she's doing or what she may need at any given moment. 

Aubrey is such a joy, and we are both so happy to be blessed with such an amazing little girl. We can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the next 6 months!

Great idea!

Yesterday as I was blogging about something or other, I got a notification from Blogger about a new site they're partnered with.

http://blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html

It's a little site that takes your blog and makes it into a book! You can get it in either hardback or paper, and you can have your entire blog published or just an excerpt. Aaaaaand it's super easy to use and they do all the messy formatting FOR YOU!

I personally am no stranger to book publishing, as I've done many in the past, but this site takes like, oh 90% of the work out of it. Hopefully it's still around in a few years when I get ready to publish all this for Aubrey. Talk about your cheaters' scrapbook, haha!

Anyway, just wanted to pass it along to any who may not have seen it yet. :)

Have a great day!!

Feeding time!

Feeding solids has been quite the experience so far... Aubrey doesn't always love to eat what's being served up, but she doesn't miss an opportunity to stick her hands in the bowl, or wipe what's on her mouth all over her face, LOL!

Today I decided to give her her own spoon, in hopes that she might feel a little more involved, and a little less like making a huge mess. It seemed to work for the most part...

Look at that! She figured out how to use it "right"!

I uploaded a little video of feeding time for everyone, I hope it works. She was making me laugh so hard with all her little grossed out faces!

Visiting Daddy for lunch...

Aubrey and I are so lucky that we get to have Daddy home 3 days a week. We love having him around (even if he's working outside) because that means lots of extra hugs for us! However, having him all to ourselves for 3 days in a row seems to make us miss him more when he's gone to work.

Sometimes we have to remedy that little problem with a trip to see him for lunch! See how Aubrey loves seeing her Daddy unexpectedly in the middle of the day? LOL

You think they love each other? ;)