Birthday Cake

I made Auntie Alice's Hummingbird Cake for Aubrey's birthday. It is dairy free so it seemed like a good choice. It has banana and pineapple in it so not only was it a good dairy free choice but it was healthier than the average birthday cake. Brian decorated it and made it look all fancy! We had cake around 7:50 which was probably a mistake because bedtime is 8:00 and there are nights when 8:00 pm hits and Aubrey turns into a pumpkin. She was definitely tired so she wasn't all that interested in the cake. We have 2 videos of the cake experience. The first one is too large to uplaod so you can check out this one which is after the signing and playing is done. We're trying to get her to try her cake. In the first video she refused and once Brian stopped recording she had a bite. He turned the camera on again and you can see what we got. Check out the video to see for your self. We have a family party coming up this Saturday so we'll try Round 2 with a cake and see what she does. Maybe she'll be more into it the second time around!

She made it to 1!

Hooray! Aubrey is 1! Tuesday was the big day! Aubrey woke up and we put her special birthday outfit on her - shirt courtesy of Melissa. She and I then drove to school where she spent most of the day. I picked her up around 3:45 and we headed home to come get ready for her party. We had a small gathering at the house. Our friends Becky, Dave, Isaac, Katherine, Marc and Uncle Jeremy were all there to help us party in style! Brian and Jeremy had smoked some ribs so we had a delicious dinner.

When Green Beans Attack....

Tonight Aubrey was having some chicken and green beans for dinner. I got a few bites of green beans into her before she decided that she wanted to feed herself. I gave her the spoon with some food on it and she guided it right into her mouth. We tried again and this time she got her face as well as her mouth. I walked into the living room to grab the camera. Apparently in the .2 seconds that I was gone she stretched and stretched until she could reach the green bean container. Yup you guessed it - they got everywhere! She dumped the container on to the table and then proceeded to finger paint with it and then clap her hands and wave them all around. Holy green bean mess!

Dinner Time

Yesterday Aubrey chowed some rice, corn, green bean carrot, tomato sauce and spice mixture that we had for dinner. I am not sure how she got the piece of rice on her eyebrow but it made me laugh. Once she had finished eating from the spoon that I was offering her I turned it loose to her. She did great when I set it up so that it was pointing towards her mouth. We have some work to do though when it gets to the point where she needs to point it towards her own mouth.

On the walking front...still no video. We are not quick enough! She will decide to take a few steps here and there but most of the time just falls to her knees and cries. She is still pretty terrified. We'll keep working on getting a video for you all to see.

Playground Fun

Today was my last Friday at home with Aubrey. In the mornings we have been going for walks around the block and we always stop off at the playground. Aubrey loves to stop and swing for a bit. She looks so super tiny in the baby seat but she hangs out in there just fine.

We have tried the slide as well as the ride on rock toy things but she is not really a fan of either. Today I let her do some climbing on one of the play yards and she really enjoyed that. I think a swing might be in her birthday future!

First Steps

That's right...Miss Aubrey ventured out on her own two little feet today. For the past few weeks we have been trying to get Aubrey to stand unassisted but she is terrified of that. Brian had her standing for about 15 seconds one day and she was frozen in fear! She started crying hysterically and she hasn't quite fully trusted him since when it comes to the walking thing.

This past week I would see her standing against the coffee table or a chair and then let go for a few seconds. She would only do this when she thought no one was looking! Little sneak!

Today we were in the laundry room and I was emptying out the dryer. Aubrey had her hands on the dryer door and was banging on it. I moved her hands to close the door and she just stood there. I put my arms out and she took 2 steps towards me! Holy cow!

We got her to take another 2 steps 2 or 3 more times during the day. Of course there are no pictures or videos though. Brian has been at work all day and tonight as well so there was no way that I'd get her to walk over if I had a camera in my hand. Hopefully we'll get a video soon. In the meantime enjoy this one...

Silly, silly girl!

Not sure which is funnier....the noises or the dancing....

Aubrey and her melons!

Watermelon and cantaloupe that is! We went to Sprouts on Wednesday and bought a ton of fresh fruit and veggies. The watermelon and cantaloupe were bought for Aubrey to try. Unfortunately I am lazy and haven't gotten around to cutting them up yet. However, as you can see Aubrey doesn't mind at all. She plays the drums on the watermelon and was picking the cantaloupe up and rolling it like a ball. The cantalope is just about half her size so that is no small feat!

Future Poker Player

Last week Aubrey and I were hanging out at home and I thought she might like to play with Brian's poker chips. Not only are there a ton of them to play with but they are all different colors too. Clearly we are in need of some new toys! She enjoyed them - she liked taking them out of the case to examine them as well as to eat them. Her finger dexterity is really very good!

I see you

At least that is what it looks like she is getting ready to say.

Once again I have not been so good with the blog. ASU students came back August 14 so since then life has been busy. For the 1st 6 weeks of school my schedule is different. I am in the office Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. This means that I am home with Aubrey on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is awesome!

We have spent our days having fun. We take Osito for a walk in the morning and we stop off at the swing set in the green belt. Aubrey gets to swing for a bit. That she loves....the slides she does not! We tried the slides last week and she screamed even though I went down with her. Clearly we are not ready for that yet! We also have been checking out Story Time at the library. There are about 40 babies there so Aubrey is more interested in checking them all out instead of reading, signing and playing.

Our night jobs started up last week so Aubrey got to hang out for a bit before bed. She really enjoyed being outside and watching everyone. She may grow up to be a softball player!