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.

She's Walkin' Yes Indeed She's Walkin'!

Really?!?! YES!!!! So a few days before her birthday Aubrey took some steps towards me. The for the next few days she would take steps to me and then she just stopped. If Brian or I would stand her up and she's stand for a moment and then fall to her knees and would just cry or crawl away. She was not going to walk for anything!



The past 2 days I noticed her getting brave and taking 1 or 2 steps from her table toy to the entertainment center and backor from the coffee table to the couch. Tonight we had a late dinner and then headed into the bathroom for a bath. Before getting into the bath I was trying to get a video of her on my phone to send to her Nani. She was standing up with her hands on the side of the bathtub and then she just turned around and started walking! She confidently took a few steps and then fell but she didn't mind at all! I got all excited and you could tell that she was proud of herself! I stood her back up and she took off out of the bathroom and then down the hall. This girl is motoring! She stayed up late to practice walking and let me tell you she is already pretty solid!

Good-bye to the Lunch Hour

Well today was the 1st day of the new schedule. That's right...no more lunch hours together. Aubrey did very well. She drank her full 6 ounce bottle at 10:00 am this morning with a few sippy cups sprinkled in throughout the day. She didn't do quite as well with her afternoon bottle though. She took a whopping 1.5 ounces and she decided she had enough. They tried it again awhile later and this time she drank the additional 4.5 ounces. All in all she drank at least 16 ounces today which is the minimum that she should be having. Hopefully she stays on board the milk train this week!

12 month stats

A late post...but still a good one! Aubrey had her 12 month doctor appointment on October 8th. She now measures in at 29 inches high. This puts her in the 42nd percentile. She weighed in at 17.9 ounces. This puts her in the 4th percentile. She has dropped from the 25th% to the 4th% but the doctor is not concerned because she is still gaining.

Food is just one of those things that she just doesn't have time for. There is way too much to explore and watch that she can't be bothered. At school she does ok with her solids...much better than she does at home. Eating at school is definetly a social thing. All of the kids sit at 1 of 2 tables with little bucket seats (think of the kid tables that were on Jon & Kate Plus 8). She will eat because everyone is eating. At home she gets bored after a few bites and wants to get down and explore.

The milk issue is a whole different beast. She has decided to cut down - and I mean way down - on her milk intake. This of course happens when they start to eat more solids...but she needs to beef it up a bit. For weeks they were struggling to get Aubrey to drink her morning bottle. Finally last week they figured out how to get her to drink it. She comes in early from her morning walk so that she is the only one in the room. She is put into a feeding chair - basically a rocking chair that is put into a locked position so that she is reclines. They give her the bottle and then walk away and can't watch her. If they watch her she decides not to eat it but to play with it. She is averaging only about 8-10 ounces a day at school. One day 2 weeks ago she woke up with a completely dry diaper.

Hopefully now that they have the morning bottle figured out she will up her daily intake. This week I am going to try and nit go in to feed her for lunch. When I go in she falls asleep within a few minutes and usually only gets about 1-2 ounces. She then doesn't get another bottle until 5:00. If I don't go in they will try 3 bottles with her - so in theory she should get more milk if I don't go in. I am sad to cut my lunch visits out but this way she should get more milk in and she'll learn how to fall asleep without nursing. I'll let you know how all that works out! Fingers crossed for lots of milk this week!

Old McDonald had a Farm

Today we headed over to Schnepf Farm in Queen Creek for their Fall activities. Isaac, Becky, Dave Jeremy and Mark all came with us. Although we are in the middle of October it was in the high 90's and really warm. We got to go play in the Petting Zoo and everyone got to pat the goats. Aubrey was hitting them more than patting them and Isaac was a little leery of them in the beginning but he warmed up fast and got to pat them as well. Don't worry...there was a sink with soap right outside of the exit. After the petting zoo we went through the corn maze and then over to see some pig races. Aubrey did a lot of walking with the assistance of two fingers...although she can walk on her own she is terrified of it and will not do it. Along with the walking she did a good deal of sitting down when she got tired...in the goat pen, on the dirt outside of the goat pen, etc. We wrapped up our trip with a visit to the pumpkin patch where both Isaac and Aubrey got to pick out pumpkins. They had a great time playing together as they were looking for their perfect pumpkin.

Birthday Season is Over

Last Saturday we had Aubrey's final birthday party. This one was the friend party and we packed our little house with 20+ people. Isaac, Thalia and Ella all came so that meant there were 4 kids under 17 months old at the house. Aubrey had a great time playing with them and I think they had a great time playing with all of the toys. At one point Ella bent down and studied Aubrey -Aubrey just sat there studying her back. It was the cutest thing ever...but of course no one got it on film.

As far as the cake went - let's just say that the 3rd time was not the charm. Everybody gathered into the kitchen and we sang to Aubrey. She did just fine until she looked up and saw all of the eyes on her. The she started crying and that was the end. She got just about 1 finger into the cake and then was not interested at all.

We ended up opening her gifts on Monday. She helped Brian get into the package from Linda and Blake. Overall this kiddo totally lucked out! She got books, clothes, bath toys, a puzzle, a piano, am activity table and bunches and bunches of other cool toys! She will have lots of options tomorrow when she wakes up and gets to stay home and play.

Family Party Time

Saturday we had a family party for Aubrey. Auntie Alice, Uncle Bob, Grampa Tom, Linda, Uncle Jeremy, Eunice, John, Joey and Ellie were all there. Aubrey had a great time visiting with everyone and especially liked playing with Joey and Ellie. She is really starting to recognize kids and seems to be drawn to them. Friday night she was playing chase with a little girl who is 3. At the party she really loved playing with all of her toys alongside of Joey and Ellie. She cuddled with Linda and Auntie Alice and spent a good part of the day standing at coffee table just studying everyone. She was not into showing off her walking skills, however at one point she did walk over to me but everyone was in conversation and missed it. I know if I had called attention to it Aubrey would not have performed...she has that way about her!

This time around Aubrey had a carrot cake. She was not interested in playing in it at all. She wouldn't even try any of the icing when I tried to get her to taste it. Linda was able to fork feed her 2 or 3 bites and then she had enough and wanted out of her seat. It's not a bad thing that she's not into the sugary cake - I was just hoping to get some messy cake pictures. These were as close as we got.