Fun in the Snow!

Another gift Audrey received for Christmas was a sled! It's the perfect sled for her size, and it has a strap to hold her in. On Friday, she bundled up with dad and headed out for some sledding fun. She seems slightly skeptical of all her snow gear, but we are hoping she will get used to it. Of course, her dad couldn't just let it be a fun outing, he had to put her to work, too! Next snowfall he will probably have her running the snow blower!

Red Cheeks!

 

 

Chair

One of Audrey's Christmas gifts was a rocker with an ottoman. She has already fallen in love with the chair that is the perfect size for her! She will take books to the chair, sit down, and "read" them to herself. It is so cute to see. She looks like a miniature grown-up when she is sitting there!

Merry Christmas!

Audrey had a wonderful and much more active second Christmas. Instead of sleeping through most of the celebration, she was awake and contribuing to the noise. :) She thoroughly enjoyed spending time with both sides of her family. I will post later to show her using some of her wonderful new gifts. For now, here are a few pictures in her beautiful Christmas dress.

Spoon

Audrey has been working hard over the past few days to practice using a spoon to eat. It's a messy job, but she is getting a little better each time she tries. Her best time was when we were eating mashed potatoes because they stuck to her spoon. She also wanted to share a helpful hint about eating yogurt: If you start to get frustrated using the spoon, just try to pour it into your mouth!

Cupboards

This may look like a normal cupboard....

Audrey has been secretly taking lessons from her feline sisters on how to hide in small spaces. Over the past week, Audrey has begun to enjoy opening cupboards, crawling into them, and closing the door on herself. It gives her a few moments of peace during her busy days, and it allows for her to play a mean game of peek-a-boo!

 

...but it's NOT!  PEEK!



Ponytail!

Audrey's hair keeps getting thicker and longer, so we experimented last weekend with a ponytail.  It's definitely not long enough on the sides, but we gave her a "Pebbles Flintstone"-like ponytail on the top.  Luckily for her, she looks naturally beautiful no matter how we play with her hair!

"Mooooommmm"

This is the face I get frequently from Audrey when I'm trying to cook in the kitchen and she needs my attention.  Can you tell that she just got done saying, "Moooommmm!"?  She has gotten a little better, though, at knowing which cupboards she can play in to keep herself occupied.  Just a few years, and I'm sure I'll have a big helper in the kitchen!

Bring on the Snow!

We bought Audrey some new snow boots, so naturally she had to test them out.  After a few laps around the house, she gave them her stamp of approval.  Now she is just waiting for snow!

Organized Lady

 

Since Audrey is all over the house now, Jeremy and I have made a conscious effort to put our shoes away on a shoe rack in a closet.  Audrey loves shoes for some reason and gravitates towards them!  Saturday night when we got home from a dinner out, we both put our shoes away in the closet.  I took Audrey's off and put her shoes in a basket.  When I set her down, she grabbed her shoes, took them to the closet, and waited for us to open it.  She then did this!  Can you see the cute little polka-dotted shoes?  What a sweetheart!

I spy with my little eye...

someone who is cute!

Cake

Audrey had a wonderful time at her birthday party last weekend. Besides seeing so many family members, the best part for Audrey was getting to try her first sweet--the yummy cake! She was a little unsure at first, but her eyebrows shot up after that first taste of frosting. It is probably something she could get used to!  Thank you again to all who came to celebrate with our beautiful girl.

 

 

 

The DELICIOUS and adorable cake

Guess what?  I am one!

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

Happy Birthday to our beautiful little girl! It's hard to believe that one year ago today you entered our lives, after a mere forty-five hours of induced labor. :) It seems like it was just yesterday, and at the same time, we can't remember what our lives were ever like without you. Your laughter, smile, and love bring much joy to our lives.  We have so enjoyed watching you grow and learn this year.  We can't wait to see what the next year will bring.  We love you, Audrey!

These are the treats Audrey took to daycare for her birthday.  I tried to make them
look like owls, and they didn't turn out too badly!

New Friends

One day last week I picked Audrey up from daycare, and she was surrounded by five new friends--puppies!  She is such an animal lover that after just a little hesitation, she loved the feel of their fur.  She is trying to talk her dad into letting her keep one, but we don't think that will work.  We'll stick with our furry feline girls for now.  Stay tuned for pictures this week of Audrey's first birthday and party.  What a fun Thanksgiving weekend this will be for us!

Accessories

Who needs make-up, barrettes, or headbands when you can use....

 

 

bananas,

broccoli, or

spaghetti sauce?

Reading

Dad, I think I've heard this book already.

 

Audrey loves to look at books and be read to. She has started carrying books to us for us to read to her. Sometimes we read the same books over and over again, but we don't mind. I'm just thrilled she loves books because she wasn't going to have a choice anyway!

Oh, yeah, it was back in January.

Walking!

In the last week, Audrey has become more confident in taking steps independently.  We were able to get it recorded tonight, so you can see the next milestone our beautiful little girl has reached!  You will just have to turn your head to see it. :)

Pumpkin Carving

 

After Audrey had mastered pumpkin painting, she decided to try her hand at carving. Determined to make this an extremely tidy carving session, Jeremy outfitted Audrey in a garbage bag. She was interested in touching the seeds and pulp from inside the pumpkin, but she was more interested in putting them in her mouth. After getting told "NO!" a few times, Audrey and I decided to let Jeremy finish the carving on his own. The pumpkins turned out well, and Audrey looks forward to trying again next year!

Happy Halloween!

Audrey had a wonderful first Halloween!  She dressed in her panda costume but did not venture out of the house.  She let the 200 trick-or-treaters we had come to her.  She spent some extra time with Aunt Jade, who helped us answer the door and keep Audrey company.  Audrey did get to try her first taste of candy tonight--a sucker.  She loved it!  She had a hard time deciding what tasted better, the sucker or the bite she took out of a "little jack" pumpkin.  Tough choice!

Eleven Months

One more month to go, and Audrey will be a year old!  We have been warned by many that time with children goes quickly, and we definitely have experienced it this year.  Wow!

Audrey continues to gain in independence, confidence, and desire to learn.  This month was full of many cupboards being opened, items being tossed to the ground, and messes being made.  Her attention span with toys seems to be growing, and she loves looking at books.  She turns the pages well and enjoys books with animals. 

Her vocabulary mainly consists of "Dada" and "Mama," but we hear "kitty" and "doggie" on occasion, too.  She often imitates what we are saying, and one night we both thought we heard her say "pumpkin" after we did.  We doubt it, though!  She waves, is starting to blow kisses, points at objects, but refuses to clap.  We practice daily and know she can do it.  She has not walked yet, but continues to stand independently for longer periods of time.

We saw a little more toddler-like attitude come out this month, too.  She often cries when we come to pick her up at daycare, but she stops as soon as she is in the car.  If we take her away from something she shouldn't be playing with, we hear a cry and see legs kicking.  Luckily, these moments are few and short-lived, so we're immediately back to our beautiful, smiley little girl.

Her eating continues to be amazing.  We can throw any fruit, vegetable, or main dish at her, and she eats everything!  She's getting taller by the day, and her hair seems to be thickening up, too. 

We love our beautiful little girl, and we can't believe how close we are to having a one-year old. 



Audrey is the BEST at playing peekaboo!

 

 

 

Go Panthers!

Audrey attended her first UNI football game this weekend.  She loved seeing the lights, hearing the band, and watching all the people.  She wasn't as impressed with the game, though, as UNI didn't play very well.  You can tell by the look on her face what she thought! :)

 

Audrey definitely perked up after the game when it was time to eat at Doughy Joey's.  Food can solve any problem, even a bad football game!

 

Here is a flashback to Audrey wearing her first Panther gear back in February.  It's amazing how much she has changed!

Fall Fun!

Last night, we went over to our friends' house (which also is Audrey's daycare! :), and Audrey was able to participate in some fun pumpkin painting. She was very serious about her craft, and her careful planning paid off in the end. She painted a beautiful pumpkin, which is now proudly displayed outside our house. We have the cats guarding it through the windows, so no one will steal it!

 

Audrey had to study her pumpkin to decide how to paint it.

Once her plan was designed, she got to work right away.  She even added some paint to the stem!

We were so proud of Audrey's end result.  She painted her initials in Pirate/Panther colors.  We have a genius on our hands! :)