One week down, 38 more to go!

I had a really great week back to school with the kids. I have an awesome class that I'm really looking forward to bonding with this year. I'm so busy that I don't have time to sit around and mope about missing Audrey. Speaking of Audrey, she's getting her two top teeth very soon!! She's been very irritable, pulling at her ears and her gums are very swollen. Chris took her to the doctor yesterday morning to make sure it was in fact just her teeth. She's continues to be a great sleeper, though, going to bed around 7:30 and sleeping straight through the night. Gotta love that!


Us on the first day of school!!

Audrey has started pulling up on everything...her toys, her chair, the coffee table, her crib...EVERYTHING. Even doors and couches...Her newest favorite place is the back door leading to the screened in porch. She cracks up when the dogs bark and try to get inside: click here for the cutest video ever!

And click here for even more spastic laughter!!



And she's cruising! She'll go from her play table to the couch, from her PB chair to the coffee table. It's so fun to watch! And when she wants to sit down she does so very carefully. She's quite graceful for an 8-month old. She lets go every once in awhile, especially if you hold out your arms for her.


Watching Phineas and Ferb



I'm not sure why, but she's been crossing her fingers lately:


In a couple of weeks she'll be 9 months! Soon she'll be taking her very first trip to WVa for a family reunion. Then it will be time for her very first Halloween (still not quite sure what she'll dress up as yet!). Then it will be Thanksgiving...and then her 1st birthday. I just know these next 3 months are going to fly by!

Dance, dance!

It was only a matter of time before Audrey started shaking her groove thang. I mean, we've been dancing around and singing together since she was born! Not to mention that while she was in my belly I would crank up the music in the car so she could jam along. We need to work on her rhythm, but I think she's a natural talent :)

We're Famous!

These pics are on display at The Picture People in the mall. We had them taken when Audrey was 2 1/2 months. I always thought she was a model baby :)

It's Hokie Game Day!

Last Fall I bought Baby Burns a cute VT track suit. I figured that while it was quite boyish, a girl could wear it as well. When Audrey came along we dressed her up in the track suit for her first official game and I promised her that I would buy her a much girlier outfit come next football season. A few weeks ago Target put out their football clothes and I bought her the cutest little outfit!! It came with a VT turtle neck, but it was a little too warm for that!






This is a new face she makes...she crinkles her nose and breathes really loudly through her nose...it's the funniest thing ever!







Audrey back in January (2 weeks old!), watching her very first VT game!

Goodbye, Summer

Tomorrow it's back to school for the teacher work week. I am really excited to get into my room and unpack, redecorate, and get ready for the new school year. I love this time of year. So much to look forward to! I truly believe that this is going to be a great year. I'm excited to meet my new students, that's the best part.

I had a wonderful summer. I got to spend every waking moment with my precious girl. How much she has changed since June! She started crawling, got 2 teeth, started pulling up on everything, and started sleeping all night in her own room. I am so proud of all her milestones and I'm thrilled that she's a happy, healthy, beautiful little lady. So much has changed for her this summer which makes it a little harder to go back to work (although I have successfully weaned and will not be bringing my pump back to work...hooray!). It will still be difficult to go from spending all day with her...to spending all day away from her. I'm going to miss having her voice on the monitor wake me up. Instead it will be the annoying sound of my alarm clock. I'm going to miss our leisurely mornings of hanging out with Chris while he gets ready for work, watching Mickey Mouse, eating breakfast and playing in the living room with absolutely no hurry. I'm going to miss putting her down for her naps, and then walking back into her room a couple hours later to see her smiling face. Yeah, there are about a million things I will miss about summer, but the good news is there's always NEXT summer :)

Besides getting to spend all my time with my favorite little person, I had plenty of time to read! I finished my Jack Daniels murder mystery series (by JA Konrath...that I started LAST summer). I started the Twilight series and will be starting the final book tomorrow. I know that once the kids start back to school I'll have zero time to read for enjoyment...probably not until Winter break (which btw is only 3 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day away.)

A look back at the best summer ever:


Mom's last day of school!


Pool time!


Spent most of the summer either sitting up, or on all fours....wanting to crawl SO BADLY!


There are teeth in there somewhere...


Learned to pull up on everything, thanks to all the new big girl toys!

Goodbye, summer! It's been fabulous!

Why do I even buy toys?

Audrey was hanging out with me while I worked on a photo project in the guest bedroom. All of a sudden I hear a "Booooiiiinnnngggggg", look over, and see her playing with the door spring...

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The white rubber tips have now been removed from all door springs :)

Big girl bath

"Towel, please!"

8 months!

Audrey turned 8 months yesterday and we celebrated by having her picture taken at JCP. I also updated her 7-8 month page.




You can really see her two bottom teeth in this one!






This one cracks me up!


Afterwards we went to Grandma's house where she got to play with the new toys that Grandpa bought! Her favorite is the FP Baby Grand piano. She was mesmerized by it! She is going to have so much fun there when I go back to work next week. How lucky we are!





Jason was here to visit over the past few days and he came bearing gifts! Audrey loves her new drum set (although she insists on turning it upside down most the time?!!?) and her First Words book. I love the dress Auntie Caroline picked out for her...so stylish!


She'll get the hang of them, eventually :)


So pretty in her pink dress!! And look at those pearly whites!!

Blog to Book

Why are the good ideas always taken? I came across this site as I was looking for a new blog background. Now, I don't have a baby book for Audrey. This is pretty much it. Luckily my MIL is creating 2 scrapbooks of Audrey (one for her monthly professional pics, the other for candids...yay!) This blog to book would be perfect in leu of the traditional baby book. Hint, hint ;)

UPDATE...I just created my book...it is so cool!! The site will let you see what it actually looks like with the cover, table of contents, pictures, and everything! It's like a digital preview. I'm not going to order it just yet. I'm thinking of waiting until Audrey is 9 months. Since I started the blog when I got pregnant it will be about her 9 months in the womb and her first 9 months out in the real world :) I am so excited!

Time to bust out the ice packs...

Dear Audrey,

With crawling comes great responsibility, Grasshopper. The bright white holes in the wall are NOT for babies to stick things in. I'm not sure why you are so fascinated with the outlets. You have given me yet another item to put on this week's shopping list.



Also, when you crawl on the tile floor, you need to be very careful. More careful than usual. Was it fun when you fell mouth first and bled all over yourself (and me) this morning? I know you got over it pretty quickly, but not so for your mama. Blood is NOT a good look on you, my dear.

And another thing: just because you're crawling now does not in ANY WAY mean you have to start climbing, too. Ever heard of baby steps? You've got a lovely bruise on your forehead from falling into your bookshelf. Although I am thrilled with your love of books, get used to reading with one hand...the other will be busy with an ice pack.




I know that these injuries hurt me more than they hurt you (thank goodness) but please try to tone it down a bit. Or I will be forced to make you wear this until you're old enough to have your own kids. Mkay? Thanks. Love you, Mama

Giddy Up!

Grandma and Grandpa bought Audrey her very first pony...and she LOVES it!!


Intrigued...


Look, Ma, no hands!

I'm so proud of her!

Audrey is 7 months, 2 weeks, 4 days old.

She crawls!!

Well, she's getting the hang of it anyway. For awhile now she's been getting on all fours, rocking, standing on her feet, and rotating herself to face different directions. She can definitely make her way around a room but she hasn't started crawling in the traditional sense. Until now! Just today she tried going for her red ring and it would slide away from her. I watched her actually crawl towards it!! By the time I got my camera she was pretty tired of the game. It's going to be funny when she's full-on speed crawling all over the house!!

Time to buy a toothbrush!!

I can't believe it!! Audrey's first tooth has broken through. I just knew it was going to happen soon. She's been chewing on everything, sleeping extra long, and fussy/clingy right before her naps. Teething tablets have been our best friend. We've been feeling and looking everyday for the past couple weeks. I *thought* her gums looked red and swollen on Sunday. I just put her down for her nap and she was fussing so I gave her some tablets. I went to massage her bottom gums while they dissolved and totally felt a bud!! I grabbed her out of the crib, turned on the lights and pried open her mouth. I don't know why I'm so excited....I guess I've really been looking forward to this moment!!

My sweet, sweet baby is getting so big. We were at our friend's house on Sunday and they have a gorgeous little girl who is about 20 months. Audrey got to play with some of her big girl toys. Among them was a stand up play table, an indoor riding toy, an outdoor pull car, and a bouncing/rocking horse. She loved ALL of them. Wow. Audrey needs big girl toys now. So I bought her the Laugh 'n Learn play table and a 3-in-1 riding toy. That should keep her satisfied for now, and hopefully for a couple more months!




Oh, and she loves these stacking rings. She takes one off at a time until they're all gone. Or when she gets down to the last two she'll just dump the whole thing over.


She is just so amazing. I am so grateful for every moment I get to spend with her!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

My little brother turns 14 today and I can hardly believe it! He's the greatest kid I've ever known. He's been a shining star in my life since the day he was born. I was 14 and completely in love with my little baby brother. I wanted to hold him all the time, feed him, play with him. I really appreciated having him around. I loved watching him grow up. He was the baby in the family by 10 years and so there was never a dull moment with him around. Scott is so kind, thoughtful of others and very generous. I don't think there's a selfish bone in his body! And he has the best sense of humor. He makes me laugh all the time. Now that I have a baby of my own, it's makes me so proud to watch him as an uncle. He's so great with Audrey and he loves her so much. No doubt he'll be one of her favorites...because he's definitely mine!


I thought he was the cutest baby I'd ever seen!




In Maine, our favorite vacation spot...so many fantastic memories





Happy 14th birthday!!