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!)