Watch out!

Here's Audrey chasing me in her walker. Makes me laugh to see her little feet and legs move so fast. Not sure why Anna was screaming so much...I promise we did not feed her straight sugar for dinner. :)

All bundled up!

This is why we're late everywhere we go. Putting 15 layers of clothing on two squirming girls takes time. We were late before we had to bundle up but now we're usually really late. :0) Thankfully I found her a snowsuit she could actually bend in. It's my $1 garage sale bargain! Audrey gets so warm and cozy in the car that she usually drifts off to sleep even if she's not been awake very long. Riding in the car has always made me very sleepy too. Nothing like motion and the low hum of the tires on the road to lull you off into dreamland!

Angel Anna

Anna wears these butterfly wings, a.k.a. angel wings, daily now. I'm not quite sure why she wants to be an angel although she has seen a lot of angels lately in Christmas books and on Christmas movies. She typically puts the wings on after breakfast, takes them off for meals and naptime, and then wears them the rest of the day.

Little Miss Trouble!

Now that Audrey is crawling and standing up, she is into EVERYTHING! She loves to "clean off" the end tables and coffee table and has so much fun ripping the beads and ornaments off the Christmas tree. I told you we shouldn't put the tree up this year Mom! :0) We've put up the gates and are sorting toys tonight to clean out all of the choking hazards in Anna's toys.

Stinky peas

This is how I found Michael after warming up Audrey's peas for dinner last night. He hates the taste and smell of them. Oh the things you can do with a chip clip. :0)

Bisquit anyone?

We gave Audrey a teething bisquit the other night while we ate dinner and it was great. She was quiet the entire time we were eating which isn't the usual unless she's watching Praise Baby. Surprisingly she didn't get very messy either. I think this could become our nightly dinner routine. :0) Hum...what's this? I think she likes it! She's doing great with a sippy cup. I fill it up 1/2 way at least twice a day. She really likes water but will drink some watered down juice as well.

Favorite Things

Anna loved playing with our nativity set last year and was so excited to get it out again this year. She'll entertain herself with this off and on throughout the day telling me who each person is and moving them around. It's my favorite decoration of Christmas. Our pieces are plastic but look like ceramic so they're pretty yet safe to play with. Audrey will play with this little kitchen for long periods of time opening/closing the doors and pulling up to it on her knees and feet. This was a fun toy for Anna when she was 8 months old as well. I have two girls who love to "cook".

Girl on the move

Audrey has really been working hard at trying to crawl and stand up. Within the past two days she's stood up by herself from a sitting position and crawled a few feet. She's still very awkward at crawling but it won't be long until she's zooming all over the house on Anna's heels like she does in her walker now. We've found her numerous times today standing up to things. She's such a dare devil only holding on with one hand. Almost there... She did it!

O Christmas Tree

We put our Christmas tree up last week, thankfully before Anna came down with her stomach bug, and it's so nice to sit and just enjoy it. I'm hoping to get some presents wrapped soon to put under it. Anna was very particular about where she wanted to hang ornaments. She "rearranges" them a bit each day. :) Audrey tries hard to get close to the tree. Anna loves to have her picture taken next to it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours! Anna has come down with the flu so we are going nowhere!! However, here's a Thanksgiving wish for you :0) May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy Have never a lump. May your yams be delicious And your pies take the prize, And may your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs!

8 Months Old

I'm a week late in posting this but Audrey turned 8 months old last week. She had a reflux check-up with Dr. Miller and she's doing really well. So well that at her 9 month check-up Dr. Miller wants to start weaning her off of one of her medecines. She weighed 15 lbs. 8 oz. (11%) and was 27 inches long (50%). Dr. Miller said she expects her to be 18-19 pounds at 1 year old which is exactly what mommy weighed. Audrey is really starting to get around on her own. She zooms all over the kitchen on the wood floor in her walker, often chasing us and reaching out to grab our pants. She's so close to crawling, does an army crawl on her belly and pushes up on her hands and knees and rocks. She can also pull herself up onto her knees and get into a sitting position from her belly. She's got a big sister to chase around soon. :0) She's not been sleeping great at night, we're guessing it's due to teething although she still doesn't have any teeth, but she has been taking better naps so at least mommy is getting to catch up some during the afternoon nap. All in all, she's pretty content to play and of course watch Praise Baby movies when late afternoon fussy time rolls around. It's such a fun age with all of the changes in motor development and they always seem so much happier once they can sit up and be mobile. She cracks us up scrunching up her little nose when she really grins. It's so sweet to see her excitement when Michael gets home from work. Her face lights up and she often starts bouncing in her highchair as she's usually eating her dinner. This is a face she does often...one we saw on Anna when she was teething too, sucking in her lower lip.

Preschool Feast

Yesterday was Anna's Preschool Family Feast and we were shocked at the meltdown she had in the middle of their song. She started out doing great (on the right with the purple and pink skirt) and then all of sudden lost it. After they were done singing we made an edible craft, a yummy cupcake turkey, and she was fine then so we're not sure why she got so upset during the song. Wonder what the Christmas program will be like?! :0)

Daddy Caught a Deer

Michael has been hunting the past few months during bow season and now gun season and everytime he comes home Anna asks him if he caught her a deer. Well, yesterday he did although it wasn't purple like she asked for. :0) She didn't seem bothered by looking at it on the back of the trailblazer. She asked if it would bite and we said no and then she was happy to look at it.

Sleeping Beauties

1st Field Trip

Today was Anna's first field trip and we went to the fire station. She was also helper of the day so it was a GREAT day at preschool. It'll be hard to top this one...field trip and helper of the day all in the same day. She didn't want to get close to the fireman in his gear but couldn't wait to get in the fire truck. They sounded the horn on the fire truck and all of the kids burst into tears, thus Anna's teary eyes in the pictures. Despite the scare of the horn, she still wanted to sit in the driver's seat. This isn't all of the kids. Some were still so upset over the sound of the horn that they refused to leave their mommy's side and get in the picture. Anna is standing behind her buddy, Alli, who has quite the pose! :0)

It's a Miracle

I can't believe it...gas below $2?! Had to take a picture to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I never thought it would get below $3 and wow, now it's $1.99. Incredible!

Happy Halloween!

Uncle Nate came over on Wednesday and he and Anna made pumpkin cookies. They were quite tasty! I took the girls trick-or-treating to Uncle Nate's and we found Fred from Scooby Doo. How about that hair?! Anna refused to go inside after Nate opened the door. She didn't know who that guy was behind the blazing yellow hair. She finally warmed up after we were there awhile. Nate's hair matched their duck costumes perfect! Never know what he's going to come up with!! :0) After leaving Nate's we got held up by the band practicing around campus. Notice the "caterpillar" of drummers. It was fun to see some of their costumes - those that were appropriate! Anna couldn't believe the size of the drum. She was afraid it was going to get her. Off to visit the neighbors - Yea! Anna's wearing her flashing pumpkin necklace for safety - a gift from neighbors Dale and JoAnn. :0)

Candy Explosion

We went to the Candy Explosion last night at the church where we attend MOPS and Anna had a fun time with her buddy Emma, playing games made by the junior high kids and winning candy. Audrey and Luke were very entertained watching all the kids in costume run around like wild animals. We decided pocket-fulls of candy wasn't enough so we headed to the Frozen Custard after ward. :) Aren't our little ducklings just too cute?! Anna picked out their costumes and was thrilled that they could be the same thing. We hit the jack pot at the resale shop!

"The Bag Lady"

We call Anna "the bag lady" as she gets up in the morning and usually goes straight for her shopping cart after eating breakfast, fills it up, and then drags it around with her all day. She parks it at naptime and usually goes right for it when she wakes up. Cracks me up the stuff she hauls around in it! We have to unload it before bed each night just so she can refill the next morning. What a goof! She's quite the pack rat, putting all kinds of things in it and wants to save everything. That doesn't go over well with her O.C.D. momma who's always cleaning out, organizing, and pitching things we don't need.

Teething - UGH!

Miss Audrey has been such a handful this past week. She finally started recuperating from her ear infection, had about 2 good days/nights of sleep, and then really started teething and has been up in the night multiple times and so fussy during the day. No rest for the weary around here! Hopefully we'll see a result of all this soon as she's still all gums. Poor girl! I just don't understand how some babies have very little discomfort at all when teething and others are so bothered by it. Unfortunately it's been rough for both of our girls. :0(