The Birthday Countdown (part 1)

Oh my goodness!!! I just realized that my baby will be ONE in a week!!! I can't even believe how quickly this year has flown by. I'm getting all nostalgic thinking about it and planning her little party. So, I get to pull my mommy card and get all sappy as I reminisce this week:)

This time last year I was 39 weeks...only one week until my due date! I'd spend the week getting the house super cleaned up and finishing some last minute paintings and nursery decorations. I was actually going to the hospital that morning with bags pack and having a little trial run! I had to check into the hospital at 7am. I was having blood work done to make sure my liver and kidneys were functioning properly since my blood pressure had been steadily on the rise. If I had dilated at all or anything with the blood work turned out not great, they would start the induction that morning. However, I wasn't dilated at all and thankfully my liver and kidneys were functioning fine! So we were put on hold one more week. I did experience my first IV, which I didn't care for. However, I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and got to listen to her sweet heartbeat:) I loved being able to hear that fast little heart beat and seeing and feeling her roll around it my belly. I can't believe she's now crawling around everywhere, pulling up on everything, jabbering at everyone...I love her so much :) 

 

What a difference a year makes:)

All About Aubrey: 11 Months!

One more month until the big day!! I can't believe this time last year I had a big belly and no baby! It doesn't seem like you are almost a year...it has gone by too fast. Babies shouldn't be allowed to grow up and change so quickly. That being said...I LOVE the stage you are in right now.  You are so fun to watch and interact with. You are learning new things and playing new games every day. We love you so SO much!!!

Firsts: word (I think??), bath in the big girl tub, snow cone, spaghetti o’s, pop tart, bagel, trip to the original Dwarf House, time playing in a little pool…you didn’t like it

News Headlines: Boston Marathon Bombing

Mommy’s Favorite: When I’m putting you to bed at night and you will look at me and point to my eyes, nose, mouth and then smile at me.  Then you’ll rest your head on my shoulder…I love our sweet snuggles and time together (even if it sometimes occurs at 3am)

Daddy’s Favorites: When he walks into a room and you look at him and crawl away and smile and laugh. You look back to make sure he’s coming after you.

Milestones: your vocabulary and communication

Measurements: You are still about 27lbs and around 28inches (based on our at home measurements). You’re in mostly 6-9 and 6-12 months clothes (although the 6-12 are a little big), but you still fit into a few dresses that are 3-6 because they ran a little big. Size 3 diapers.

Like Mommy: your eyes

Like Daddy: your forehead (I’ve had 2 people mention it lately)

Funniest Moment: We went to visit GG and Big D and when we first got there I guess you were excited to see GG and glad to be out of the car, but you were going nuts! You were cracking your self up over a golf ball.  This was mostly funny for you, but adorable for the rest of us. We LOVE your giggle!!

Memorable moment: Saying goodbye to the trees at Toomer’s Corner. You never got to roll the trees, but we will tell you all about that tradition when you get older!

Challenges: Naps…you were doing so well for a while, but you’re so inconsistent! Its frustrating because some days you’ll take 2 great naps in a day, but other days it’s a 30 minute morning nap, and then you’ll play and fuss for so long and refuse the second nap.

How we spend the day: You wake up around 8/8:30 and I nurse you. We play and then eat breakfast.  Lately you’ve had yogurt and we share a waffle! You go down for a nap around 10ish.  We eat lunch around 12 and you nurse sometime after that. We play some more or run errands until around 2 or 3 (depending on how long you napped earlier in the day).  I nurse you when you get up and we have a snack and then we play until its time to cook dinner. You play with Daddy or help me in the kitchen by pulling things out of the Tupperware cabinet while I cook. We start your bedtime routine around 7:45/8. Sometimes you wake up at night and sometimes around 5:30 or 6. If it is still early I will go in and feed you and put you back to sleep. So far you have done well going back to sleep as long as its before 7.

Feedings/Eating: I’ve mostly cut out night time feedings except on a rare occasion, so you’re down to 4 nursing sessions a day: when you wake up, lunchtime, late afternoon, and bedtime. I’m going to be cutting another feeding out soon, either around lunch or the late afternoon. You are eating many more solid foods these days. You’re still eating purees, as well as some kind of food that we are eating at every meal. You’re doing really well at feeding yourself, you just get really excited and forget to swallow and end up with a lot in your mouth if we aren’t careful. You are getting better about this.

Sleeping: Napping is different every day, but you normally take 2 naps around 10 and 2 for about 45minutes-just over an hour. Towards the end of this month your nighttime sleep has gotten consistently better. You’re down to at least one wake up if at all…YAY! You were mostly waking up once at random times and would occasionally sleep all the way through. However, we got a video monitor and I’ve felt more confident letting you cry for a few minutes if you wake up at night because I can see if you’re ok and if you are laying down or standing up. The first two nights we had it you woke up but fell back asleep in only about 20 or 30 minutes. The next few nights you didn’t wake up until the morning! We’ll see if this continues!

Personality: You have a great personality! You are so friendly to almost everyone you come across. You are generally in a good mood unless you are really hungry or really tired. You love to laugh and to smile and are content to play, climb, and explore. You are very inquisitive and will constantly point at things especially on our walks and we tell you what each thing is. You are normally busy and on the go, but there is always time for an occasional snuggle!

Likes: being outside, going for walks, swinging, eating snacks, juice boxes, most food, chewing on straws (and everything else actually), spaghetti o’s, being outside, the dishwasher

Dislikes: naps, oatmeal, getting your face wiped after a meal

Mobility: You’re crawling, standing unassisted, cruising along furniture, but not walking yet.

Favorite toy: Anything that you can climb and pull up on. So I’d say your “Aubrey Chair” in your room. It’s soft, just your size, and perfect for climbing on and off of.

Upcoming Events: Your first birthday!!!

New Explorations: You’ve been climbing on everything you can! You come running every time you hear the dishwasher open so that you can play in it and climb onto the door. You’ve started exploring the bathrooms, so we’ve had to watch you or make sure the door is closed. Basically you’re into everything:) Also since Easter you've loved playing with Easter eggs. You have learned to pop them apart and shoot one half across the room. You smile and bring us the two pieces and have us put them together...over and over again!!

Sounds, words, and communication: You are really communicating these days in all kinds of ways. You point to things you want and make little noises. If we give you the wrong thing you will wave your hand away. Its making meal time interesting as you point to what you want a bite of. You say all kinds of sounds these days b, d, m, n, y, and several vowels. I love that you are saying mama now, but I can’t tell if you know exactly what you’re saying yet. So, I THINK you are saying some words now…I feel like I should actually KNOW...oh well. I’m pretty sure you know who your Dada is. Also, when you throw something you say boom, and when you clap your hands you say yay! You’ve started waving when someone is leaving and you’ll say di-di. Not exactly, but you’re pretty consistent.

Teeth: I’m pretty sure you have 7 now, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom all the way through, and one that may have just broken through on the bottom…but it’s hard to tell because you poke your tongue out whenever we try to look!

Big girl tubby!

Bye Toomer's trees:(

She loved some spaghetti o's!

Chick-fil-a Original Dwarf House in Atlanta.

She was not impressed with the baby pool...

The new way we play with our barn...standing on it and gnawing on the roof!

Her new thing...blowing spit bubbles as she says "mwaa mwaa mwaa"

Happy 11 months sweet, Aubrey!!!

Aubrey's 10th Month

A little late (ok a lot late), but better late than never, right?!? I'll post the 11 month one soon, too:)

Firsts: Easter, Easter egg hunt drinking out of a big girl cup, food: chicken, watermelon, cantaloupe, ice cream

News Headlines: The Catholics get a new pope…Pope Francis

Mommy’s favorite: when I say, “give me kisses” and you suck your lips in and make a kissy noise

Daddy’s Favorites: watching you stand like a big girl

Milestones: You are standing unassisted for several seconds (I think you could stand a little longer than you do, but you think its funny to sit down or lunge at me)

Measurements: About 17lbs. and about 27.5 inches I’d guess. You are in such an awkward size right now.  Your Easter dress was a size 3-6 months, but most of your other 3-6 months’ are getting too small. The problem is you are long and narrow, so you are in the next size up (either 6-9 or 6-12 months) for length, but still in a 3-6 for weight in some clothes.  You wear size 3 diapers.

Like Mommy: You love juice boxes!! You look so cute when you are concentrating so hard to suck out of the little straw.

Like Daddy: You love spending time outside and are always greeting people you see.

Funniest Moment: You do little things every day that make us laugh. One example from this past month would have to be you swiping the goldfish. You’ve recently found a love for snacks and Mommy was eating gold fish. You reached for one so I would bite them in half and give you a tiny piece.  Apparently that wasn’t good enough because I looked and found you reaching your hand in the bag and eating the whole fish crackers very quickly.

Memorable moment: We gave you a chunk of cantaloupe and you loved it. You kept eating little bits, but you forgot to swallow. You ended up with a mouth full! I took the chunk from you so that you would stop eating it and you had a throw down tantrum. We had to scoop it out of your mouth because you were getting so mad and were crying so hard that we were scared you would choke.

Challenges: Working on eating non-pureed food.  You don’t love it always and we’re always afraid of you choking.

How we spend the day: You wake up around 7:30 or 8:30 and go down for about 2 hours later. Normally you will eat breakfast and play for a while in between that time.  We eat lunch around 12 and then you’ll take an afternoon nap. Now that its nice outside we’ve been going for an afternoon walk or going to swing at the park. We’ll play until about 5 or 6 and then you play with Daddy or in the kitchen with Mommy while she makes dinner. We eat dinner together and then its normally bath time.  You get your bath around 7:45, Daddy reads you and story, and Mommy nurses you and puts you in bed.

Feedings/Eating: You are nursing about 5 times in a 24-hour period. When you wake up, lunchtime, in the afternoon around 3 or 4, when we put you to bed, and then when you wake up at night. You are eating with us for three meals a day now and you also have snacks. Breakfast-waffles, yogurt, cheerios, or fruit; Lunch/dinner-a fruit or veggie and a little bit of whatever we are having; snacks-puffs, crackers, graham crackers, juice

Sleeping: You’re taking mostly 2 naps and thankfully they are getting a little longer. They normally total about 1.5-2 hours in any combination…good not great! You’re sleeping better at night and are mostly only waking about once.  There is, however, no rhyme or reason as to when you will wake up.

Personality: You’re very opinionated and continue to show us what you like and what you don’t. You will be laughing and smiling one minute, and then next second throwing a tantrum. You are so much fun to watch and to play with. You are getting to be so animated.

Likes: Swinging…you LOVE swinging and you laugh and smile the whole time, ice cream, puffs and yogurt bites, graham crackers (one of your current favorites), dancing, pulling up on things,

Dislikes: having your diaper change (Mommy’s dislike for the month too!!), not getting what you want,

Mobility: You crawl everywhere super quickly and are constantly crawling around and pulling up on anything you can get your hands on. You can easily cruise along the furniture and can even stand for a few seconds unassisted. I’m guessing that means walking isn’t far away! GASP!

Favorite toy: You really liked playing with the plastic easter eggs, but you mostly just like things you can pull up on. You also like to hold our phones and we will turn on the music and you sit and dance.

Upcoming Events: Daddy is going out of town, so we are going to spend a few days in Auburn with Aunt Caitlin and Rebecca.

New Explorations: You are into EVERYTHING! We really have to keep a close eye on you these days because you are constantly exploring you surroundings and putting things in your mouth. You are also pulling up on everything, so now things aren’t safe on lower surfaces like the coffee table and TV stand.

Sounds and words: You’ve been saying “dadin” a lot lately.  We have no clue what that is, but you say it enough that it is worth mentioning!  I think you can just say /d/ and /n/ really well so you’ve combined them.  You’ve been saying the /b/ sounds more, /y/ all kinds of vowel sounds, and I’ve finally heard the /m/ sounds!  That means you are getting closer to saying mama! J

Teeth: Still just the 6 teeth. I think you’ve been trying to get those 2 bottom ones all month, but no such luck so far!

You love goldfish!

First time drinking out of a big girl cup at Cracker Barrel. 

Yum!! Ice cream:)

GG's future student!

"My first Easter"

She was actually cracking up here because I kept putting the egg on my head.

Aubrey's 1st Easter basket.

Standing like a big girl!

Happy 10 Months Aubrey!!!