Catch-up!

So far behind! This year has been a very blessed one for us. Busy, but blessed. We have been able to start our own business which allows me to stay home. It has also allowed us to move into our (my) dream house. Sooo much has happened since my last post, but I'll try to give a synopsis.

Aubrey has cut 7 teeth. Four upper and three lower, all in front. The first couple came together and were really painful. The rest weren't as bad. She has been working on some back teeth (I can only tell because she'll put her finger back there when it bothers her), but I haven't been able to see anything yet.

Aubrey moved quickly from crawling to pulling up. She started standing on her own around Easter and began walking shortly thereafter. She is running now, although I'm afraid she's inherited her mother's gracefulness. She falls a lot, and even hits her head most of the time, but rarely cries. She just gets up and keeps on going.

Aubrey loves, LOVES, our pugs. I'm pretty sure she thinks they are her playmates. When they go outside, she wants to go too. She runs and plays with them, yells at them, hugs them and kisses them. She'll feed them from her highchair, give them her cookies (although I think she expects them back) and even share her juice. I really need to get her out and around more kids.

In mid-March, we moved into our house. We are still working on financing, but are lease purchasing for now. It is the perfect house for us and we have room to grow. It is a four bedroom, three bath with a garage and huge backyard with patio. I have an office right off the living room so I can watch Aubrey while she plays. My mom came to help us move (actually, she said she came to watch Aubrey while we moved!). It just so happened that the weather turned and it was 30 degrees! Oh well, it gave us a chance to use our fireplace before Spring/Summer. We are settled in now and have hosted a few family events since the move. We love our house and the space we have. Aubrey loves to play in the backyard with her slide, pool, etc. She doesn't understand that she can't go out when it's over 100 degrees, which it has been almost all Summer. We live in a small, very safe neighborhood. Our street is a cul-de-sac and kids are always riding bikes, scooters and skateboards in front of our house. I love that even in this crazy world where people snatch kids from their front yards, we found a neighborhood where Aubrey can play and I don't have to be so worried.

May through August is Chad's busy time at work and the busiest time for our company as well. Kids move in and out in May and in and out in August. We haven't gotten to see him as much as we would like, but he does the best he can. Aubrey is a daddy's girl. She follows him everywhere when he's home and loves it when he takes her for "a ride" in his truck. They go to McDonalds or somewhere to get a drink or food. She really loves that we have turned her seat around so she can see out the windsheild.

June 24 was her First Birthday. I had been planning her party for months. We had a Fairy Princess party. There were tons of balloons, pink and purple decorations and each little girl got a goody bag with a tiara, boa and play jewelry. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and CAKE! Aubrey loved her cake and completely destroyed it. I think she ate almost all of it. And she'd never had sugar before! We had so much fun and she got lots of great gifts. Thanks to everyone for making her party so memorable!

Aubrey isn't talking yet, but she's really trying. She says Mamamamama, Dadadada, and recently started saying Popopop. She's working on belly button and pug butt. We always tell her "pug butt" when she's naked and running around. And she knows where her belly button is (and yours too!), as well as where her nose, ears and eyes are. She knows what we are saying to her. She is VERY stubborn. It comes from both sides of the family. She has been testing us since before she turned one. There are 2 places in the living room where she knows she isn't to touch. She'll go to them when she's feeling particularly devilish, stand there and stare at us. Just to see what we do. We have had to resort to spanking both on her hand and on her butt. She gets plenty of warnings beforehand and we have used time-outs, but she's still testing. Dog bowls and trashcans are another temptation for her. We're working on it . . .

Last month, she started throwing temper-tantrums. They are usually fairly small and involve her throwing herself down to the floor, flopping her head on the floor and "crying". Her Uncle Shane will have NONE of the whining and is shutting her down pretty good on this. I usually ignore her and it clears up quickly. I've caught her looking at me while "crying" to see if I'm paying attention and if it's working. Once she figures out it isn't, she moves on. She does need more playmates. Kennedy (my best friend's daughter, who's 2) has come over to play a few times. She is still amazed when she sees other kids. She just doesn't realize that there are other people like her in the world. I think Chad and I have decided to put her in school at A&M Church of Christ at least one day a week this year. It will be good for her and give me time to catch up on work. That's where she'll be going to elementary anyway, so might as well get used to it now.

The first couple of weeks in July, we went to swimming leasons at the city pool. She LOVES the water. She was ready to jump in as soon as we got there. She learned how to jump in off the side after I counted to three, she learned to "swim" (while I held her) on her tummy and kick. She is more hesitant on her back. She will go on her back, since that's what we do in the tub, but not for long. She would also go under water, but I had to convince her to close her mouth beforehand. The whole time she was smiling and so happy. I think she was one of the youngest there and everyone thought she was soooo cute. We had a blast and Daddy came to watch on her last day. We even got to go down the kiddie slide. This kid has no fear and always wants to be in the water.

Other things Aubrey does now ... She loves to climb on anything and everything. She has recently learned to climb up on the couch or chair. She loves to help. She'll bring you something or close a door. She is very very loving. She is always willing to give kisses (usually several at a time) and big hugs. She is very happy, with the exception of those pesky tamtrums. She wakes up and lays in bed for a while. She'll talk to herself and finally wake me with Mamamamama. She graduated to her own room. It was actually a transition she sort of initiated. She stopped sleeping through the night in our room and she stopped going to sleep in our bed. I think it's because of the TV. Anyway, after a few sleepless nights, I decided that she could start sleeping in her own room. She did without any problems and has been since. She doesn't cry when we put her down. She listens to music for 10 minutes and then rolls around until she finally gives in to sleep. Such a good baby! She has really done most of these things on her own. I don't push her to be independent, she just is. She eats cereal and drinks milk for breakfast. I put cereal in a bowl, sit her on the living room floor and she eats until she's full.

We are so proud of our little girl. She is growing up so fast, but we are very honored to be her parents and to watch her develop. She is amazing to us and we love her more each day. I think this gets us pretty much caught up. I know its a little random, but I'll try to keep up better. I have pictures, but I haven't uploaded my camera since we moved! I'll post pictures soon...

--Amy