Goodbye 2010 Hello 2011

I can't believe that a whole year has gone by since we were getting Miss Aubrey ready for her 1st New Year's Eve! This year we kept things pretty simple because she has been sick since the 25th. We hung around inside the house today because it was only 45 degrees out today and much too cold to go out to play since she is just starting to feel better. This evening Eunice and Jeremy came over and we went out to eat at a Chinese Buffet. Aubrey's appetite has finally come back so she enjoyed some rice, noodles, broccoli, watermelon, grapes, mandarin orange, chicken, jello and a bite of green tea ice cream. We came home and Aubrey got ready for bed and went down about 9:30. As I am typing this I can hear her yelling to be picked up (it's now 11:54). She's not been sleeping so well this past week because her ears, nose and chest have been stuffed up.

I thought it would be nice to celebrate Aubrey's year. She has traveled to Massachusetts twice to meet fer family and has vacationed in Tucson. She has completed almost 1 whole year in school and will be moving to the Toddler Room on Monday! She has moved from being an exclusively breastfed baby to a toddler that eats everything that we do! Aubrey learned how to crawl, then walk and now run. She says DaDa, dog, uh-oh and hi. She can dance, play music on the guitar and can clap and keep rhythm better than her mom. She traded in her baby seat for a big girl car seat. Aubrey has learned how to draw using crayons and markers. She is learning how to use her shape sorter and loves to look at books. She absolutely enjoys playing with the computer, cell phones and IPods. Her best buddy is Osito and he has learned to love her too! She has won the hearts of everyone that knows her and we are looking forward to seeing what she does in 2011!

Artistic Abilities

I found some washable window markers one day while perusing around Home Goods. I figured we could give them a try since they were washable. They made their way into Aubrey's stocking for Christmas and we tried them out yesterday. Needless to say they were a big hit! She drew all over the back door and only tried to draw on the floor once. She was really very good about keeping the color on the window panes.

Later last night as we were getting dinner ready I broke out the markers again. As you can see Aubrey attempted to sample the blue marker. I took the marker away and sat her down to eat where she spilled some orange jello on her sweater and then got some raspberry popsicle on her forehead and all over her mouth. Yes I realize that this is not the best choice of foods for a little one....but she has been sick since Saturday (Christmas Day) and is not eating much of anything. At this point I am happy for whatever I can get into her little body!

Best Reaction Yet

Aubrey got many many things this year for Christmas. She got a whole new wardrobe from Nana Donna, Nana and Papa. She got Cabbage Patch dolls from Nani as well as a Little People Barn, books and an interactive music game. Nana sent her an Ocean Music table. Uncle Mark gave her Tickle Me Elmo and a new little outfit. Don and Laurie got her a nice dress (I am thinking an Easter dress) and an interactive book. Josh and Dana got her a Red Sox track suit that Brian wishes fit him! We got Aubrey some stampers and a play kitchen.

We opened all of the gifts up this morning with (or for) her. She wasn't too interested in opening them herself. The kitchen was all assembled and covered up with a sheet so once we were done with all of the other gifts we went out to the living room to show her the kitchen. We tried to get her to come check out the sheet but she just stood there with a look like, "What are you crazy? I'm not going under there!" Brian then put the pot on the stove and made it boil (yes it makes noise). That intrigued her a bit. We then dropped the sheet and revealed it. Check out her reaction!

Santa clothes

Last December we were out walking the mall with Elisa and Thalia and we stopped in Carter's. We already had Aubrey's Christmas outfit so I was just browsing. I saw this cute little outfit and decided to get it for 2010. I wavered between the 12 month size and the 15 month size but finally opted for the 15 months. I figured that the 12 month may be a bit too small.

It hung in her closet all year and we broke it out last week. The 15 month size is a bit big....I probably would have been better with the 12 month. The dress looked a bit like a tent but she went to school in it anyway and she totally rocked it!

Indoor Fun

Aubrey had gotten this super cool swing for her birthday. The only problem is that it is still sitting in her play room and not hanging outside. Although she would have more fun with it outside she has found ways to enjoy it. She loves to climb in it and just sit and relax.

In the first picture she can see she is totally chillin'. Brian and I were in the kitchen and I looked over and saw that she had climbed in and was just hanging out. I ran over to get the camera and she didn't even move! In the second picture she is in her pajamas and that was a weekend morning. She recently has become interested in her dolls. If I pick one up and hug it and then give it to Aubrey she will squeeze it and occasionally kiss it....way too cute!

Christmas is Coming

Thursday night we finally put the tree up. I took the boxes down from our closet last weekend. I needed to use the stepladder and when I went back into the bedroom after dropping the boxes in the family room Aubrey had climbed up the stepladder. I called Brian into the room to take a look at her and she climbed up the next step and then turned and looked at us with a huge smile on her face. Note to self: Aubrey moves quick. We need to remember that she is into everything!

She has been really good with the tree. Brian suggested that we should not put the glass ornaments up on the tree this year in case Aubrey gets at them and they break. We have a few ornaments up that Nana Donna sent me last year for my birthday that are unbreakable. You can see Aubrey hanging a few. She likes to take them down and then put them back in the same spot. I am sure this will be a game that continues until the tree comes down! I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she sees the new things that she has to play with under the tree!

Bed Head

So a year ago at this time I was writing about Aubrey's hair loss and wondering when her hair would grow back. Well if you have seen her lately, or at least seen the pictures, you know that her hair has grown in at full force! It is still fairly short on top but the sides and back are long and have beautiful little curls.

Each night she goes to bed with clean curly beautiful hair. She then tosses and turns all night and the curls disappear and her hair gets matted down. She has an area in the back which her teachers lovingly call "Aubrey's nest". It gets all tangled and nappy and looks like a birds nest! I will say that since we cut out the all night nursing sessions on the 3rd she has been sleeping better. She gets up once and gets into bed with us and then sleeps through the rest of the night (as far as I can remember). Since she is sleeping better it means she is tossing and turning less.

However this morning she woke up while I was in the shower. Brian got her back to sleep and when I peeked in on them they were spooning and the top of Aubrey's head was right under Brian's chin. They both looked so peaceful...it was super cute. When it was time to wake her up I was treated to a sight!She had been restless and her hair paid the price. I laughed hysterically at her crazy, crazy bed head! You can see from the pictures that she was still tired and less than thrilled to have the pictures taken.

Big Girl Seat

Back on Cyber Monday I was perusing the sites when I came across carseats that were on sale at Babies R Us. We'd been talking about upgrading to a big girl seat because Aubrey was still in her baby seat and her legs were just beginning to hang over the edge. The prices were too hard to pass up due to the sale. Britax carseats were on sale for a steal so I did some quick research and narrowed it down to three. We ended up going with the Boulevard CS which Brian describes as the BMW of carseats. The darn thing is uber pricey but worth it! And as I said it was marked down, plus we had a gift card from Auntie Alice and Uncle Bob as well as a store credit so we were in luck!

We ordered it online and it came in about a week later. We unpacked it and it sat in the house for a few days. Aubrey loved climbing in and out and in and out and in and out of it! Last weekend Brian installed it in my car and we've been riding around in it ever since. Sadly I think she liked it better when it was in the living room. It's a bit of a struggle to get her in it now. She likes to stand up in it and touch the ceiling light in the car. It's got huge side impact resistant head rest which doesn't make for an easy view out her windows. She is still sitting backwards in the car so she has a mirror to look at in front of her. In her old seat she could look out the side windows but it's a struggle in this new seat and I don't think she is too happy about that. At some point she'll meet the 20 pound requirement to face forward however it's safer to have her seated backwards so we are going to try and keep the seat that way for awhile longer. Hopefully she'll get used to the seat soon and actually enjoy the car again!

Teeth

Finally some pics! It's been tough to get her to open her mouth far enough and on cue to get pictures but I was finally able to do it. I will say that they are not the most becoming pics but at least you get to see her top two shiny little teeth.

We attempt to brush them every morning and every night but it's a battle. Aubrey has her own little toothbrush that she liked in the beginning. As time has gone she has fought it so we now use my electric. She still really fights with that one too but once I am done I turn it over to her and let her brush them herself. Hopefully soon she'll get into the routine and stop putting up such a battle!

Christmas Show

Today was Aubrey's Christmas Show at school. Her class had two songs. They got wheeled out in the stroller - basically looks like a big car. As you can see they have it decorated with clouds and angel wings. Miss Aubrey got to sit up front - that is for sure one of the benefits of being "fun size". All of the kids had little bells around their ankles and a shaker in their hand. Brian got super close and was able to grab some photos. We figured she'd cry once she looked out into the audience and saw the packed church but she did just fine...not one little peep. She was too busy looking around and taking it all in. The next show will be in the Spring and by that point she should be in the Toddler Room and will get to walk out on the stage. We'll have pictures of that to come sometime in April. Happy Holidays :)

November Photo Shoot

While we were back in MA at the beginning of the month we were able to get a photo shoot in with Melissa and Kim. They took up photography and have invested in amazing cameras, accessories and huge photography lights. They take great pictures so we asked if they would do some pics of Aubrey. We had a 2 hour photo shoot and they got some great pics. During most of the shoot Aubrey just wandered around exploring so there are a ton of action shots. She was walking from room to room in Melissa's house and they were following her snapping away! They had a little stuffed chair that belongs to Katie, Kim's daughter, and Aubrey had a blast crawling in and out of it. On a side note, we are looking to get her one for Christmas!

Aubrey loved Melissa's dog, Timber, who is a giant compared to Osito. She had a great make out session with him and they have the pictures to prove it! Kim's new addition, Allie, was at the house and Aubrey wasn't super interested in the baby. At one point I was holding her and Aubrey turned around, saw me with Allie and started crying. She ran over to me so I knelt down so she could see Allie and she was all about trying to crawl up into my lap. She was not too pleased to think that she needed to share her space with someone else! At one point during the day Melissa and Kim were laughing at something Aubrey was doing and she looked up at them and let out the most fake laugh ever! She was imitating them and it was hilarious!

We tried to get some family photos in too but Aubrey was getting tired and wasn't super excited about sitting still and posing. Here is one shot and you can see that she is thinking, "Get the heck away from me!". We'll share more from the photo shoot soon!

Kewpi Doll

Awhile back there had been a teacher, Miss Vickie, in Aubrey's class who said that Aubrey reminded her of a Kewpi doll. I think she may be right...

Time to Give Thanks

Yesterday was Aubrey's 2nd Thanksgiving. I was looking forward to a great day for Aubrey. Last year she had a tough day. Brian had been sick for days and didn't want to hold her and get her sick so it meant Aubrey and I were pretty much alone for days while he was immobile on the couch. I remember sitting at the dinner table at Alice and Bob's with Miss Aubrey who was crying and cranky throughout dinner. We left not long after dinner and she screamed and screamed and screamed in the car. That was the first time that I too was ready to cry from sheer exhaustion and panic about why this little girl would scream so hard. We got about 2 exits from Alice and Bob's house and I pulled off into a parking lot of a restaurant to nurse her. The screaming and pulling over were common occurrences back then.

I am thankful that those days of screaming are now over. We now know she was screaming in pain from her milk allergy which is a thing of the past now! I am thankful that we have a healthy and happy little girl. She has brought such amazing joy to our lives and we are so incredibly blessed. She is a very easy child that loves to explore and play independently. She is gentle and sweet and just pure amazing!

Here is Aubrey then and now...she has come a long way in one year!

We are sad that we aren't able to get back to Massachusetts more often so tha Aubrey can get to know her family better. We've been back twice since she has been born and both times it has been such a joy to see her play with her great grandparents, grandmothers, uncles, cousins and others.

All I Want for Christmas is NO More Teeth!

Yes it's true! On the flight to MA (11/3) Aubrey woke up screaming when the pilot came on the overhead system. I was able to glimpse 4 white buds under her gums...her top 4 teeth were making their way down. She's been really good with the pain other than the short incident on the plane.

Within the past few days the front left one finally cut through her gum. Today her school called around 4:00 to say that she was very upset and wouldn't settle down. She was running a temp of 99 - nothing too high but they were concerned because she is always a happy kiddo. I suggested they use the swing as that calms her at home. I was able to get to the school about 20 minutes later and she was hanging out in the swing - looking way too big for it but happy as a clam!

She got a bit fussy when she saw me and was not too pleased at all when I put her down to walk (her favorite activity). I dosed her with some Tylenol and we headed for home. She was not her usual self tonight at all. She was clingy and wanted to nurse so I knew she still wasn't feeling great. Her temp was normal but I did notice that the right front tooth had finally popped through too! I am sure the eye teeth will be here soon too. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for her!

We'll get some pictures soon. In the meantime enjoy this one sporting the bottom teeth from a happier night.

An Amazing Passenger

Just needed to share the airplane picture of Aubrey. This was taken on the plane on the way home to AZ. We had direct flights from AZ to MA and back. Aubrey did great on both! Hooray! She fell asleep soon after take off in Phoenix and slept for a bit before the pilot came on the speaker to make an announcement. She woke up and was not pleased. She screamed for a few minutes and this is when I could see the beginnings of the four top teeth. She settled down and played for awhile before taking another nap. She was awake for the landing and she was just fine...not a peep!

The flight back to AZ was just as easy. She was awake for take off and landing and was not bothered at all by the pressure. There was absolutely no crying on the flight at all. She napped off and on and was happy as a clam playing and snacking. Hopefully our next flight will be just as smooth!

Family Visit

Our trip back to MA was super fast and we tried to cram in as much family and friend time that we could in a matter of a few days. It's tough to balance the time with everyone and feel like we are getting quality time with everyone. But we continue to try...

During our trip back this time around we spent one night at Nana and Papa's. There Aubrey discovered the stairs. Her first trip up them and she had them mastered! She was up them in a matter of seconds and would then get carried down and would go back up again. This game went on for quite some time. You can see in one of the pictures here that she wanted to go up and Nana was done with that game! I'm glad we don't have stairs in our house! Now that we are back she's into climbing onto everything...

We were able to grab a quick lunch with Uncle Colin and Uncle Morgan. Aubrey was super interested in Morgan's french fries and she kept stealing them from his plate. After filling up on a few bites of fruit, chicken and lots of fries we headed outside where she walked and walked and walked all through the parking lot. Yes I realize it's not the best place to have her practice her steps but we tried to keep her on the sidewalk and the 3 of us were surrounding her. It gave her an opportunity to stretch her legs before we needed to head to the wedding. She is a walking machine now!

Big girl shoes

Now that Aubrey is fully mobile we decided she needed some real shoes. While we were in Massachusetts we decided to hit up a Stride Rite. She got her feet measured and she is a size 3.5 wide. Such tiny feet....those are the size for babies usually between 6-9 months.

We looked and looked for a 3.5 wide and found only a few options - none of which I liked. One of the ladies that was working came over to help us and decided that Aubrey could fit into a size 3 wide. That opened up a few more options for us.

We ended up with some cute white and pink sneakers. They have two velcro straps on each shoe and they look like big kid shoes! She struggled with them the first day because the soles are very hard and she had bee wearing the soft soled flexible shoes. Once she got used to them she was off and running!

She really likes them now and she knows they are hers. At the end of the day when I take them off her she will get up off of my lap and run over to where I have tossed them. She goes over and plays with them trying to undue the straps. These pictures aren't the best but it gives you a small glimpse of what the sneakers look like.

Belle of the Ball

We went back to Massachusetts at the beginning of the month for Josh and Dana's wedding. Although it was a super short trip (Weds - Sun) we tried to squeeze in as much as we could. This will be one of many updates about the trip.

Brian was in the wedding party which meant Aubrey and I were two single girls on the prowl! We slipped into the chapel a few minutes after the ceremony started and we hung out in one of the back pews. The flower girl had been outside playing and Aubrey could see her from where we were sitting so she was content to just watch her. Charlie, the flowe girl, then came in and was talking to Aubrey and offering her stamps and a wiggle worm (wiggly water balloon).

This kept Aubrey very happy until Charlie wanted to go back outside. We followed them out a few minutes later and Aubrey stood around watching Charlie run and play. It was freezing outside so we only stayed out a few minutes and then headed back in just in time to see the wedding party head down the aisle. Aubrey hung out with Brian in the receiving line for a few minutes and then we headed to the reception.

Brian was in the limo so Aubrey and I drove in our nice rental. We got an upgrade from the Enterprise guy who used to be one of my residents when I worked at Assumption. No one can ever say Higher Ed doesn't pay! We had a Dodge Journey which was pretty sweet! But I digress....So Aubrey and I headed to the reception and she was in heaven making her rounds amongst all of the guests. When we first got there we were hanging out in the lobby area which had a huge staircase. Aubrey just kept walking around the lobby and occasionally would make her way to the staircase in hopes that we would let her climb it. We would let her get about 3 steps up and then it would be time to come down. We started chatting with a lady whose son and daughter in law are expecting. She asked me to bring Aubrey to them so that he could see her as they are having a little girl. We went in to the reception area and Aubrey hit the jackpot!

She was walking all over the place going to visit each table. Of course people would stop their conversations to say hello to her and she would just look up at themand then make her way to the next table. She was such a little ham! She and I finally headed out to the dance floor so that she could walk around without tripping anyone. Charlie saw us on the dance floor so she came over and was running all over the place. Aubrey would watch her, walk over to where she was and then Charlie would run to another are of the floor so Aubrey would follow. It was super cute!

We had a great time catching up with old friends. Aubrey was awesome and it was wonderful introducing her to such good people that have been a part of our lives. She was the Belle of the Ball and couldn't have have been any more well behaved (or cuter!)

Halloween

This year Aubrey was awake and didn't miss a thing! Last year she slept through most of the day but she made up for it this year. We started the day by going to church and Aubrey wore her Halloween shirt from Old Navy.

We then came back home so that Brian could make chili for the Chili Cook-Off. He made a huge batch with chicken, pork, hot links and brisket and it was yummy! We then headed back to church for the Harvest Festival. Aubrey went in costume and she looked so cute. We had some issues finding a costume for her. Everything that we found in her size was way too warm for an Arizona Halloween. The cute fleece monkey, ladybug and duck suits just weren't gonna cut it. We ended up creating her costume. She had on a blue tutu and sparkly fairy wings that were pink and yellow. We paired these with a pink onesie and her pink slipper shoes. Her hair was up in pigtails and she looked like a cute little fairy! She got a lot of compliments!

After chowing on some mac and cheese and applesauce (the adults had chili) we were ready tp head out and see what the Fall Festival was all about. Aubrey and Brian went over to the petting zoo and she had fun petting a goat. After that we went to the parking lot for Trunk or Treat. Basically, people would decorate their trunks and hand out candy to the trick or treaters. We had candy but no decorations. I took Aubrey to 1 car and she was not interested. We tried another 2 and she wasn't getting the idea of holding the bag out for people to drop the candy in. After the third try we just walked by the rest to look at the decorations and then we ended up at the bouncing castle. I saw one her her classmates, Chase, in there with his mom so we went in to join them. She had a lot of fun watching me bounce and getting moved all around by my weight. She was smiling and giggling up a storm.

After the bouncing castle we went back to the car and packed up. We headed back to our neighborhood and stopped by Don and Laurie's street to say "Hello" and show off Aubrey's costume. We stayed for awhile and she was walking all around the driveway...she covered every square inch! We then left and came back to the house where Aubrey helped hand out candy with Brian, Jeremy, Eunice, Osito and Trixie.

Aubrey, How old are you?

Aubrey has a new trick. Early this week I asked her, "Aubrey how old are you?" and I would then hold up one finger. After just a few times she started to do it herself. She is so funny!

Chattin' It Up

Aubrey has been using her voice often. She has been babbling like crazy lately. For a long time she would be very chatty in the car but would be pretty quiet once we got inside the house. The past few days she has been chatty both inside and outside of the car. She likes to pick up my phone and pretend to talk. She places it on her head behind her ear and she will start by doing some baby mumbling and then she will get quiet as if she is listening to someone talk and then she gets bored and drops the phone. It is the cutest thing! Before we know it she'll be asking for her own phone!

Fall Festival & Butterflies

Today we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens with Becky, Dave and Isaac. They were nice enough to share their passes with us. The weather was beautiful which made for a great day. We took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and Aubrey and Isaac were off exploring. There were a ton of pumpkins to look at and they both definitely walked around checking many of them out. We went home with a huge pumpkin that Brian will carve in the next few days.

The kiddos also visited the Petting Zoo. I think Brian was more excited than Aubrey and Isaac. There were a few animals there -a pony, 2 goats, 2 chickens and a sheep. Aubrey and Isaac had fun talking to the pig. Aubrey was lifting her leg up to step over the pig and ended up kicking him in the head! Dave got a great picture of that (we didn't so we had to borrow his picture...thanks Dave!). Our memory card has bit the dust so we didn't get too many pics today.

Our last stop was the butterfly exhibit. It was full of monarch butterflies and many of them were active and were flying around. Brian got some good pics with his phone. Aubrey seemed to really enjoy checking them out and watching them fly all around.