Aubrey at 5 (and a 1/2-oops!) Months

Yeah, I'm waay behind! There are many reasons, mostly just that it's a busy time and Aubrey keeps me on my toes these days. Also, there are a lot of new things happening with our little family. I should start there, I guess . . .

Chad has been really progressing at work. I mentioned previously that he's been getting some side jobs to make extra money and that allows me to stay home with Aubrey. Well, it's going so well that he and his business partner have decided to start their own business together. It's complicated, but basically, they are a one-stop shop for apartment complexes when "turning" their units. Maintenance, cleaning, painting, new fencing, sand volleyball courts, etc. They can do it all and we think that even with the economy struggling, we'll have steady business since the apartments are always hopping around here. We have truly been blessed this year and I thank God every day for that! Also, I've been doing some simple accounting work from home. I was doing this before at the law firm because the lawyers own this other business too, but, since I wanted to stay home with Aubrey, I offered to continue just the bookkeeping from home. It doesn't pay much, but it helps. Well, a few weeks ago, I was contacted by the attorney's daughter who asked if I would also keep the books for her husbands construction company. It's nothing too difficult, so I agreed. Plus, I'll be keeping the books for our new business as well. So, I now have 3 jobs and a baby! Now you can see why I'm so busy!

Back to Aubrey! She is blossoming and growing so much! A few days before her 5-month-birthday, she started laughing at us on her own (as in without being tickled or anything). She is smiling much more at everybody, not just me and Chad. And she is talking more. She makes the funniest noises!! You just never know what she'll do next. Today, she was playing in her walker and yelling/squealing with delight. She is a loud child! But so adorable. A couple of days ago, she started laughing at the dogs! We were just sitting on the couch and she looked at the dogs and started giggling at them. Chad and I were so surprised.

We've had both grandmas visit this past month. She had a blast playing with them and getting all that attention. And it really helped me get more stuff done. She went through a brief phase where she screamed when she saw a stranger, but seems to have overcome that for now. She has a few bumps on her gums where teeth are trying to come in, but nothing yet. We think she will be crawling any day now. She gets up on her arms and even on her knees, but then just ends up rolling over to her back. She hasn't quite figured out yet that she can crawl from that position too. She scoots sometimes, but mostly just rolls wherever she wants to go. She has rolled all over the living room floor exploring all the furniture. She really enjoyed it when I put up the Christmas tree and we took her outside in her walker to watch us put up the lights. She has really done well eating her baby foods. She loves eating everything I've given her, both fruits and veggies! I am very grateful that she can sit up well enough now to sit in the grocery cart or in a high-chair at a restaurant because a) she is too heavy to carry around in her carseat and b)when I do take her in her carseat it takes up too much room.

We have been really blessed with a happy baby. She sleeps well, at least 2 naps a day and all night, she's usually smiling and happy to play and only cries when she really needs something. I am so thankful!

I know this may not make a lot of sense, but it's late and I'm writing as I remember things. I was trying to wait to write this until I'd uploaded her 5 month pictures I took, but I just haven't found the time for that either. Soon, I promise!

Happy Holidays!
--Amy

Aubrey's New "Tricks"

Aubrey has really been learning new things lately! I mentioned before that she has learned to reach for a toy that is near her and even roll over to get to it. Well, her favorite thing to do recently is reach out with both hands and grab my face, then pull it to her with her mouth open wide. It's like she's trying to eat my face and it's hilarious! She just smiles and laughs. She's also becoming very good at grabbing my hair, even when it's pulled up, and the girl has a good grip. Anyway, tonight Chad was holding her on the couch and Maggie jumped up and sat beside them. All of a sudden, Aubrey reaches out both her arms and tries to grab Maggie by the face! She's really started to notice the pugs over the last couple of weeks and she'll watch them a lot. Sometimes they'll be close enough that she can touch them with a hand or foot and feel the different texture. I guess tonight she decided she would like to get to know Maggie a little better. To Maggie's credit, she was very good and didn't react negatively. She tried to lick Aubrey, which I stopped, and then she just tried to stay out of her grasp. Surprising since Maggie is not the best behaved dog. Both dogs have been very good around her since she was born, thank goodness.

Another milestone we reached tonight was real food! I decided that since she has done so well with her cereal we could try some other things. I started with applesauce because she's had apple juice before and I figured the taste wouldn't be so foreign to her. She loved it! I gave her a little cereal after her bottle to follow the routine we've established and then switched to applesauce. She made a little face, but I think just because it was a little surprising. She kept opening her mouth and wanting more. I gave her almost half the jar. I'll try a vegetable in a couple of days and see what her reaction is. I can't believe she's growing up so fast!

Here's some pictures from tonight . . .

Halloween 2008

Aubrey was a Pumpkin for Halloween this year. Mostly because there wasn't a lot to choose from at the store. October 18th we took her to the "Pumpkin Patch", which is really just a place that sells pumpkins and the proceeds go to charity. We picked out a big pumpkin to carve and we got a little pumpkin for her. I know she really has no clue what's going on, but I wanted to make sure we still did something for her first Halloween. And, I want to start traditions for us to continue through her childhood. We also took her to Target to pick out her costume. I must say, those costumes are very hot for such little ones in Texas. And we even had a cold front this year! Normally, it's nearly 90 on Halloween.

Anyway, the next weekend I took her outside in her high chair so she could watch me carve the pumpkin. I'm not particulary good at carving pumpkins, but it's the thought that counts. When Halloween arrived, she wasn't having a very good day. She was pretty fussy, so we decided just to take her to some relatives houses for trick or treating. We took a few pics and came home. It'll be better next year!

--Amy

Aubrey at 4 Months

I am sooooo behind! Aubrey turned 4 months on Oct. 24th! She is growing so fast and learning so much. She's really keeping us on our toes and keeping me really busy.

I guess I should just start at the beginning of October. We took her on her first trip to Arkansas so she could meet the rest of my family and friends. It is a long car ride (8 hours!) for such a little one, but she really did pretty well. We figured out that she does not like to be in the back seat by herself for long periods or in the back seat in the dark AT ALL. We had a really good visit with everyone and I'm so glad we were finally able to make it up there. Luckily, she slept most of the ride back.

Aubrey has learned so many things! On our trip to Arkansas, she discovered her feet and has barely left them alone since. Most mornings I find her with one foot in each hand, trying to get them (and her hands) in her mouth all at the same time. She's usually cooing as well. It's really a sight, but such a great way to wake up each day. She is not a quiet child (I can't imagine where she got that from!). She will coo at you and then yell at you and then back to cooing. We try to play on the floor with her at least once a day. She learned to roll over from front to back pretty early in the month. Last week (I think), she started rolling from back to front. Now, she is rolling back to front and front to back, but only in one direction. She is pushing herself up on her forearms and has recently been trying to scoot over to get a toy. She will roll over to reach a toy that is behind her but just out of reach.

We went to her 4 month well-baby check-up. She is 25 1/2 inches and 14 lbs., 15 oz. He said her spitting up is fine as long as it doesn't bother her and that she's healthy and developing well. She also got 4 shots. She did really well. She cried initally, but stopped before the nurse left the room. He also said we could start her on solids as soon as we felt she was ready. Since I've been feeding her cereal in her bottle almost since she was born, I decided to start her on some cereal mixed with formula using a spoon. It is a work in progress, but she seems to enjoy it and is doing pretty well. I have a hard time trying to keep her hands out of her mouth and she loves to smile at me with a mouthful of cereal.

We have been very blessed to have such a good baby. Until recently, she was sleeping in until about 10 am. Now, she gets up about 8 or 9, but takes a nap about 11 am. She is generally pretty happy. She does have her bad days, which can be very trying. The time change really threw her off, but she slept a lot on Monday and has been pretty well adjusted since. Usually, I can figure out her issue and take care of it without many tears. Thankfully, she loves her high chair (I think that was the best purchase ever!), so that helps me get more done. I can just wheel her in the kitchen to watch me or to the living room to watch tv.

Here are some recent pictures of her . . .

Aubrey's 3 Month Pictures

3 Months Old!

Well, I should start with an Ike update. We did get some high winds and rain, but nothing like everyone around us got. While most counties around us lost power and/or flooded, we did not. It was all over by 12 or 1 pm that Saturday and we went on to have a normal day. We were very blessed because it could have been MUCH worse!

Now, on to my growing girl! She was 3 months old Wednesday! She is growing and changing so much. She eats 8 oz. about 4 times a day. She still sleeps really well at night! And she's learning more about herself each day. A few weeks ago, she started smiling when you smiled at her. Now she grins and even laughs a little anytime you look at her. The other day, she even smiled at Laila. I guess she thought Laila was smiling at her! When she's in her swing, she waves her arms around. I think she's trying to grab the bird's spinning around above her. She smiles at them too. She's discovered her mouth, tongue and hands. She sucks on her bottom lip, or sticks her tongue in and out. And she is constantly fidgeting with her hands in front of her face. It was a real issue when we took pictures yesterday, but otherwise, it's really cute. And she's really "talking" now. Sometimes she'll wake up happy and I'll just leave her in the bed. She scoots around, eventually flips herself over onto her back, and she's just cooing and gurgling the whole time. So adorable! She has learned to turn over from front to back. I don't have it on camera yet, but it's so funny to watch! She sticks her butt waaaay up in the air and moves her feet until she finally ends up on her back.

We went to take her 3 month old pictures Wednesday. Of course, I don't know how many good ones he got since her hands were constantly in front of her face. And I planned around her schedule. The one she's been on for about a month. But yesterday, it changed! Just my luck! I'm still looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I'll post them as soon as I can.

More later . . .
--Amy

Here comes Hurricane Ike!

Well, it's about 4:30 am and Hurricane Ike is moving into College Station. We have taken all the precautions we feel are necessary for our area and have plenty of supplies on hand for ourselves and especially for Aubrey. The videos I'm seeing on the news out of Houston are amazing! They are showing windows blowing out of the downtown high rises as the eyewall moves over downtown Houston. The wind between the buildings created a tornado like vortex with glass and other debris whipping around in the street. They said if you look in the blown away windows (from a building across the street of course) you can see the office furniture blowing around in the offices!

Currently, we have about 25-30 mph winds here with some rain, but nothing heavy yet. It is moving our way, so the worst is yet to come. They are predicting 75+ mph winds and about 10 inches of rain.

Boy, I am so glad we don't live in Houston any more and we are praying that all those people who live there took the warnings seriously and got prepared.

I'll update as I can . . .

--Amy