18 month photo shoot

We finally made it to get pictures done today! The photographer was great and asked us what we wanted. I told her I'd settle for a smile! As you see from all the pictures on the blog Aubrey doesn't do smiles. At least not when the camera is on her. She is a super happy kiddo but she always looks so serious in her pictures. Today's session was not really any different.

We started by trying to get Aubrey to take some pictures alone...she wasn't into it. She wanted me to hold her and kept walking towards me calling my name. The photographer then took out the little couch and we figured that would be fun for Aubrey and she may settle down. She wasn't fooled! I sat on the couch with her for a few pictures and then ended up hiding behind the couch playing hide and seek with her. After the couch we pulled out a tutu. She was not happy! She kept trying to pull it off and cried. She finally settled down when she got to pick up some flower petals and bring them to me.

We ended up with 20 shots. The majority of them had her serious faces and two had closed eyes. We settled on 3 really cute pics and we'll be able to pick them up in a week. Yay for new photos!

Daddy and his girl

Aubrey looks more and more like Brian each day. Not only does she look a lot like him but she also has some of his mannerisms. It's hilarious when I wake them up in the morning and they both start stretching. It's not as though she is copying him - they both are stretching out with their eyes closed. She didn't get that trait from me....I'm not a stretcher. She's also got his musical skills - she loves to sing and can carry a tune. She loves to play the piano her Nani got her - she stands at it and totally rocks out!

Aubrey lights up when Brian walks into the room. They are buds! Here's a cute pic of them cuddling before bed.

Mine

Aubrey has learned a new word, "Mine." Sunday morning I volunteered in the Nursery at church. There were a total of 3 kids in the room including Aubrey. When I was trying to settle Connor down she came over, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "mine". She was making her point!

The other day she was looking at my rings. She loves to play with them! She said, "ring" so I said to her, "What do you say?". Her response, "Mine". Not quite the same as please but it made me laugh anyways!

A few more frowns

Friday I got a few more frown pictures and one big smile! She turns them on and off so fast! These pictures are hilarious and I am sure they are ones she will not like when she gets older!

Better than diaper cream....

Last year I caught a lot of flak for the diaper cream that was in Aubrey's basket. This year her basket was filled with more "fun" things. She got a white chocolate bunny, a vanilla See's lollipop, cereal bars, fruit twists, a pink Angels monkey all the way from California, slice and bake cookies for her kitchen and an electric toothbrush! She loved the monkey - she picked him up and kissed him! Next came the white bunny and then the lollipop. She cared less about everything else once she saw the lollipop!

She got a few licks of the lollipop and then wanted Brian's jelly bellies. He shared a few with her which she loved. Sadly that turned out to be her dinner. We had a house full of friends: Jeremy, Eunice, Sara, Natalie, Russell, Katherine, Mark A., Don, Laurie and Mark G. He had a huge spread: ham, jello salad, caramel buns, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, quiche, pasta salad, french bread, pineapples in jello and carrots. Aubrey wanted nothing to do with any of it. I took her out of her chair and she came to sit on my lap and ended up falling asleep. Now if you know Aubrey you know she never wants to miss anything and will do anything she can to stay awake. Turns out she was running a temp of 102.2. Poor kid was super warm but she was a trooper. She hung out on my lap for the rest of the night quietly listening to everyone and watching Natalie play with all of the fun toys. Before bed she was down to 100 so hopefully she won't spike back up. Seems like nasty little bugs always seem to find her on holidays.....

Easter Egg Hunt

Today we headed down to Aubrey's school for an Easter Egg Hunt. We met up with her friend Natalie and her parents and we went into the Student Worship Center. We got to sing two songs and hear some of the older kiddos talk about Easter and Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Aubrey was great during the whole thing. She sat on my lap looking all around and taking it all in. Natalie and Connor (another kiddo from her class) were antsy and impatient but Miss Aubrey was happy as a clam!

We then got to head down to the courtyard to hunt those eggs. Aubrey and Natalie stayed together and found quite a few eggs in one area of the courtyard. After they had found them all Sara (Natalie's mom) rehid them and the girls had a blast all over again! Once they were done we got to turn them all in upstairs for prizes. Aubrey chose a green cross necklace (she loves jewelry)! She also got a little goody bag and juice box. She and Natalie then played around upstairs in the worship center for a bit before we headed for home.

Egg coloring

Today Aubrey and I were home together. Her school was closed for Good Friday so that meant we had the whole day to play. We got up and had breakfast and then went out for a walk with Osito. Aubrey played at the playground for a bit and then we headed home. She was a bit fussy so she nursed and ended up falling asleep around 11:30. I took her to bed and we napped for about 45 minutes until Osito came running into the room all excited because Brian was home from work.

We had lunch and then it was time to color eggs. This was the first Easter that Aubrey has gotten to color eggs so now the tradition has been born! She got to put the color tablets into the water and she loved that! Once everything had dissolved she was able to help Brian dip the eggs. That was a fun experience for her and not one cracked! After they dried she got to decorate them with stickers. Aubrey really loved the baseball and football stickers - do we have a budding sports enthusiast on our hands?

Frowns

Friday night Aubrey and I were at the table eating and she started frowning. She had her head turned down and she lifted her eyes at me with this mean little frown. I smiled at her and she picked her head up and smiled and then frowned again. We had the smile/frown game going on for a few minutes. The camera wasn't nearby so I missed the photo opp.

Saturday she was playing with the laundry and had a small frown going on. I quickly grabbed the camera and got a mini frown. You can also see that she was having a great time playing with Brian's softball sock. She loves to find socks and put them on her hands. She'll then turn them over to us so that we can put them on our hands. I guess it's the little things in life that sometimes keep her amused...

Bowling

Tuesday night we went out bowling for a friend's birthday. We got 2 lanes - one for the kiddos and one for the adults. Aubrey has always come with us to our bowling league but she has never gotten a chance to come up on the lanes and has certainly never gotten to bowl before. I think we are going to be in trouble from now on during our league nights!

She did great and even got a strike! We have a little bowler on our hands. She loved getting to come up and push the ball down the lane. She'd stand there and watch it, we'd clap and then she would take off running around the alley.

She did it....18 months stats!

Yes she did it....she finally hit 20 lbs!!! HOORAY!!!!!

We had Aubrey's 18 month appointment today with Dr. Jones. The office was running behind so we had fun in the room waiting and waiting and waiting. I had brought some crayons so that she could color on the paper on the table. That was a good idea and kept her busy for a bit. She climbed up and down the stepladder, on to the table and back again, over and over again. We sang songs, played patty cake and looked in the mirror and made funny faces. There really is only so many things to do in a tiny room with no books and no toys and a half naked child!

Dr. Jones finally came to visit and Miss Aubrey decided that she was going to go wild. She started running all over the table (ugh.....I was terrified she was going to fall). Aubrey started saying "makah" which is Mommy's Milk and started to pull on my dress. She the opted to draw on the wall with the above mentioned crayons...ooops! Aubrey was displaying her Independence at full force!

The good news is that her ears are clear! She has finally hit the 20 lb mark (20 lbs exactly). She's in the 2nd percentile for weight but Dr. Jones says she is on her curve so she is not concerned. Aubrey is 32" tall which puts her in the 59th percentile (yay height). We have hit a milestone where we now don't need to go back to see Dr. Jones until Aubrey is 2. Gone are the every 3 month appointments. Our little girl isn't quite so little anymore...

Oh yes - and I need to brag a bit. Aubrey is one tough cookie. She had 1 shot today and didn't cry! Woo hoo tough girl! :)