Ornery!

It's so much fun to push buttons and pull the cords... She found the stairs...

9 Months Old

Clapping her hands... Audrey's 9 month check-up was yesterday and she's doing really well. Dr. Miller took her off of her Zantac so she's only taking Prevacid now and if things continue to go well, she'll take her off of that at her 1 year check-up. I never would've thought she'd be on reflux medecine her entire first year but I praise the Lord that it's helped her body heal and made her a lot more comfortable. She weighed 16 lbs. 8 oz. (continues to gain 1 pound a month) and was 27 3/4 inches long. Compared to Anna at 9 months she weighed 2 pounds less and was only 1/4 of an inch shorter which has been the pattern at each check-up. She's gotten really picky with food, seems to do best with table food. She'll eat peas and green beans if we put small pieces on her tray but she won't eat them very well out of a baby food container. She loves bread, yogurt, and fruit puffs. She's even gotten picky with her cereal which just a week ago she loved. She doesn't want to take much time to eat as she'd rather be down on the floor working hard at walking. I've even decided to wean her from nursing as she's not into taking a full feeding. She'd rather "graze" and have an open buffet all day and mommy's not into that. At 8 months she mastered standing up, crawling, and walking behind things so I wonder what 9 months will bring. She is definitely on a mission to walk. She crawls over to anything she can stand up to, even the wall, and then cruises along usually holding on with just one hand. She is constantly scaring me! And it seems that I really can't get anything done now because she doesn't stay in the same spot. She either follows me right on my heels or gets into stuff. The bathroom doors now have to be shut as well as the pantry and laundry room doors. Anna is our "policewoman" hollering often to let us know what Audrey's getting into. That's probably why Audrey grabs handfuls of Anna's hair any chance she gets. :0) Here is a video of Audrey cruising behind her walk along toy. She uses this to get around the house and as you can see, gets frustrated when she runs into something and is stuck.

Preschool Christmas Program

Anna's preschool Christmas program was yesterday and she did GREAT! Here's a short video of it. I ran out of space on the camera but thankfully Michael got it all on the camcorder. I've watched this video several times and laugh each time at different kids. They're all so animated at this age. The little boy laughing, Anna's friend Ally beside her getting behind the music...so funny! I was trying hard to hold the camera still while laughing. Anna's in the front with the red plaid dress on made by her very talented Grandma Kathy. Audrey has one to match and they are so cute!! Enjoy the video!

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)