Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Monday, October 25, 2010

I lied

So, the day after I write a glowing review of our favorite girl, she goes and pulls a "I'm not two yet, but here's a taste of the Terrible Two's!" For serious, I was about to pull my hair out tonight. First, I barely get greeted at the door, then I get an "I'm too busy for you" attitude when I try to pick her up and give her kisses (did she not miss me and think of me every minute I was gone? Psssh.) THEN she kicks and screams the whole way to the car as we're leaving grandma's. I GET IT, you love being there. You REALLY loved playing with Bella all day. But get control of yourself, lady! She calmed down in the car after a few good high-pitched screams (she hated me in those moments, I could just tell.) We get home and she's now completely clingy. Sure. Now that I have to make dinner, take care of the dogs, make the bed, etc, etc, etc, NOW you want me! I literally would hold her for a minute, put her down to do something, let her scream for a minute, pick her back up.

FRICK!

I don't get it. I couldn't get Katy Perry's song out of my head. "You're hot then you're cold..." Only my lyrics have a few curse words strewn in for dramatic effect. She managed to eat, then had a grand ol time in the bath. Phew, what a relief, my fun-loving, sweet girl was back.

Not quite.

The second I laid her down for diaper and lotion, she wasn't having it. Do you know how hard it is to diaper a child that won't lay down? Between her now famous screams (they sure do sound different in a large room, compared to the car) she kept saying (aka screaming) "I stuuuuuuuuuck!" And I just kept repeating (in my head) the 4 letter word that rhymes with it. It is seriously not fun wrestling a toddler. And let me tell you, she was world-class tonight, completely unpinnable.

Luckily she went to sleep just fine (at 7:00, because I was sure as hell neither of us would live to see 7:30.) And of course when Chris finally got home she looked like a complete angel as she slept.

She IS an angel...when she's not the devil.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Today Audrey Catherine is 22 months!

That's right people, only 2 more months until she's TWO!! And just so I don't forget, here's what she's doing at 22 months:

She doesn't have a "lovey"; however, she carries around figurines from MMCH (usually Mickey & Minnie.) Always one in each hand. She's knows all of the character's names (even Pete) and we don't go anywhere without at least two of them.

Words: she definitely repeats more and more and has even said a couple of full sentences ("Where did she go?" when I leave the room.) She likes to press the answering machine button and says, "No messages!" Other words are please, up, uh-oh, oh no, yeah, ok, no, stuck, 'Abba' = Yo Gabba, Hi, Bye (she stretches this out to 2-syllables 'Bye-eeee'), car, momma, dadda, eddie, dog, pig, cat, snack, milk, moon, book, baby and basically anything you ask her to say she will (if she feels like it.) Mostly she just babbles as if she's talking in complete sentences and it is SO funny to hear. Sometimes it sounds like she's singing and people in the grocery store always tell her she's a great singer, lol. Speaking of singing, she definitely tries to sing songs and you can identify them by her tone and a few real words. Her two favorites are 'Tick-tock, tick-tock it's time to fix the cuckoo clock!' and 'All aboard the choo choo train.'

She loves her dance class. She's by far the worst listener though, lol. She wants to be up all the time, moving, dancing, and singing. While we're all on the floor stretching and making "sunshines" with our hands, she loves the dance around in the middle and just grin at all of us. Oh well, she's the youngest one in class and every week she seems to get better and better. She's having fun which is all that matters to me! I'm taking her to get her pictures taken in her ballet outfit...she's so adorable!

She definitely asserts herself and will cry and kick her little feet if we take her away from something she's doing (jumping on the couch) or if we take away something she's not supposed to have. But this is pretty rare because we are very lenient about bringing toys in the car or into her crib (she falls asleep right away, no sleeping problems what so ever) and our house is very open and kid-friendly. She plays so nicely with her friends and cousins and she loves playing with the dogs. She's just so happy and content, it makes me happy just watching her.

No back teeth yet but I'm sure they're right around the corner. Her hair is growing in beautifully (the blonde curls are to die for!) and even though her diet hasn't changed at all, she's healthy (and pudgy in all the right places!) She eats toast, pancakes, oatmeal w/fruit, apples, bananas, yogurt, pizza (esp the crust), PBJ, and grilled cheese. We still offer her some of our dinner every night, but she always refuses.

She's still a stickler for routine...in bed by 7:30 and a 2-3 hour nap every day. She loves our family kiss and family hug. When you ask her to "be nice", she softly caresses your face with her hand and she gets the most thrilled look on her face. She gives high-fives and fist bumps (complete with an exploding sound effect!) She loves to read and we have so much fun pointing at and naming pictures. She's crazy fast at puzzles and loves to dump them over when she finishes. She is so good at playing by herself, she can sit and play with her toys for the longest time. Then she finds something else and plays some more.

She's just generally awesome, as all kids are at this age. It just amazes me to see how they are each developing and growing. She's very lucky to have so many friends and cousins around her age.

Time to start planning a birthday party! I'd love to hear what toys your toddler enjoys playing with or what you plan on buying for Christmas.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Happy 6 year anniversary

I feel very blessed to be happily married to my best friend. Chris is an amazing husband and a wonderful father. We have been incredibly fortunate and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

We started our weekend with dinner at the Iron Horse, a really nice restaurant in Ashland. A friend of Chris's recommended it and the food was excellent! On Saturday we stopped for a quick breakfast at Chic-fil-a, then chose new area rugs for the house. We took Audrey to dance class then headed to Belvedere Plantation. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time!



Dad and Audrey checking out the animals

She did so well at feeding the goats! Must be all the practice she gets feeding the dogs!

She preferred to walk around

My favorite flower of the bunch!

She absolutely hated the pony ride...at least we got our $6 back


Her very first pumpkin!



Pumpkin picking is serious business...

Hugging her pumpkin (which she kept calling an apple!)


Favorite picture of the day, to be framed!





Before we left we bought an apple pie and a picture frame. Chris picked his very own pumpkin which I know he plans on carving into a creative masterpiece. Audrey passed out in the truck on the way home and took a loooong nap. Then we headed to Richmond for our anniversary dinner at Cheesecake!


She would NOT look at the camera!

Tired :)

It was such a great weekend. I wish we had Columbus Day off tomorrow, but it's a work day for teachers (not even a real work day, we'll be stuck in professional development classes all day!) Thanksgiving can't come soon enough :)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

October already?!

WOW, the days and weeks are flying by! We are staying so busy with school, dance class and other activities...and it looks like October will be our busiest month yet with all the Fall Festivals going on (LOVE IT!) Next weekend Chris and I celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary. After dance we're taking Audrey to the pumpkin patch (weather permitting) and for dinner we're going to The Cheesecake Factory. I think the last time we were there I was 8 months pregnant with Audrey :) The weekend of the 16th is our town's Harvest Festival and on October 30th is our school's Fall Festival. I love this time of year; changing leaves, cooler weather, football and yummy apple pie!

A couple of weeks ago Aunt Sarah and cousin Isabella came up for a visit. Soon they'll be here for good and we can't wait! The girls have so much fun together and they are almost too much cuteness for one person to stand!


Isabella and Audrey (and Asia) looking at the bubbles


She's girly AND she plays in the dirt!



Fun on the swing...






Apparently Bella just said something hilarious!









Bath time fun!




They can even entertain each other:



One thing is for sure, our lives would be so dull and boring without those girls!! I'm hoping I can keep up with the blog this month, with everything we have going on. At this rate Audrey will be turning 2 before we know it!