Look Whooo's Getting Older!!

This precious baby is 10 months old!! Can I even still call her a baby when she's 10 months? Though there is so much she can't do, there is SOOOO much that she can do, and I feel like this month she really flourished in showing me how much she understands, how smart she is, and how big her personality is!

She's still not crawling, pulling to a sitting position from laying down, cruises, etc., but I didn't crawl until I was a year old, so I'm not concerned. She also has a body type like mine - longer torso, short arms and legs, and all of her weight is in her little baby belly and thighs, so I'm sure it kind of throws off her proportions and makes it harder to be mobile. I don't have anything to back up this theory of mine, but she rolls everywhere she wants to go, so it's not like she's totally immobile. Plus, if she can crawl, she might not get carried around everywhere and that is still her favorite mode of transportation! She's a turkey :)

Length/Weight/Head circumference: I don't know. I haven't even attempted to measure since her appointment last month!

Teeth: Audrey has a new tooth! Her two top center teeth are popping through, but the one on the left has fully popped through the gums. She got her bottom two teeth just a couple days shy of when she turned 6 months.

Sleep: Audrey takes 2 naps a day. Generally, a morning nap from 9:30-10:30 (about half the time she'll sleep until 11), and again from 2-4. She usually goes to bed around 7pm, and is up anywhere from 6:45-7:30 the next morning. She has FINALLY started going back to sleeping in a little bit. I'm loving it!

Eating: Her eating FINALLY is not stressing me out anymore! She eats 3 bottles a day: one when she first wakes up in the morning, one when she wakes up from her morning nap, and one before bed. She generally eats 15-20 (yes, 20!) oz a day. She eats 3 solid meals a day.

Clothes: She's in 9m or 9-12m clothes. She only has 2 pair of pajamas that fit her! I need to go shopping!

New achievements of the month:
1. Understands when you say, "can you give Mommy a kiss?" When she's in the mood to comply, she'll open her mouth wide, with a big smile on her face, say "ahhhh" and pretty much lick your cheek. It totally melts my heart! (I think she says "ahhh" while 'kissing' because I usually over-enunciate the 'mwah' sound, so she's trying to mimic that!)
2. Can pat her mouth with her hand to make a fun sound
3. Can clap her hands in imitation of you, or just on command without it being in imitation
4. Finally developed all of the babbling sounds and uses them constantly! ba, ka, ga, da (much to daddy's delight!), but the stinker still won't say "ma" or "mama"!
5. Says "dada" meaningfully
6. Says "nomnomnom" (or her version of it) while chewing because I do that to her a lot while she's eating
7. I am working, working, working on signs for her, and she's just not getting it (I blame myself because I give in), BUT I did figure out when she's eating and wants more (though the last two days she has done a few approximations of "more"), but otherwise, she smacks her lips together! I don't know where she learned that, but I guess it can count as a sign because I know what she wants :)

I feel like I'm forgetting things, but I really feel like she has gained so many new skills in the last month! I need to write these things down.

Likes:
1. Being held/carried
2. Eating anything off Mommy and Daddy's plates
3. Men - she is a serious flirt! We went to dinner tonight, and one of the managers came by to ask how our service was, etc., and she immediately started making eyes at him, and then held her arms out for him to pick her up! He came back around at the end of our meal, and she held out her arms again, so he asked if I minded, and I let him, and she immediately laid her head down on his shoulder and cuddled up to him! We have trouble on our hands..... ;)
4. Cuddling - she is such a good snuggler. She'll just randomly stop playing (if she's being held) and lean into you or lay her head down on your shoulder while sucking her thumb and just need a quick cuddle for a minute. She greets me with a cuddle every morning, and it is the sweetest thing in the world. She is such a sweet baby!
5. Playdates - the more attention, the better!
6. Her cousins
7. Her grandparents
8. Independent play time (she really loves it after her afternoon nap...I don't know why, I just can count on her entertaining herself for 20-30 minutes with toys on the floor during this time)
9. Cell phones - if she can see yours, she will fuss to let you know she "needs" it

Dislikes:
1. Stroller rides while buckled in - if I can leave her unbuckled (safely), I will, and I've learned she is much happier in it
2. Being put on the floor when she wanted to be held
3. If someone walks away (even if they're just a few feet away and still in her eyesight)
4. Diaper/clothes changes
5. Having a desired item taken away - she'll yell at you

This little girl is so full of personality, and I just love her to death! I can't believe we're 2 short months away from her first birthday!!

Audrey's 1st 4th of July!

I've been on a major blog hiatus. I haven't posted in quite a long time, and I haven't even read my friend's blogs that often (sorry, guys!). But I just got back from a little "staycation" and have some pictures from it, and want to blog about it before I forget about all the fun we had.

The first few days of July had Michel working everyday. He worked at one job or another on July 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6th. Seriously, love this man for working so hard for our family! My sister and her two kids were already planning on coming in town and so I asked Michel if he minded if Audrey and I went over there so that we weren't stuck at home all day with nothing to do. Of course, he didn't mind, so on Tuesday, July the 1st we headed over to my parents' house. I stopped for lunch along the way to eat lunch with my best friend and her two kids (she also lives in Forney). Why do I never remember to take pictures when we get together? Anyways, Tuesday was just everybody arriving at my parents' house. Audrey absolutely LOVES the special attention she gets from her grandparents, Aunt Janette, and her cousins. Every time Karys sees Audrey, she will repeatedly tell me, "she's so cute"; "she's the cutest baby every". It's so sweet! Audrey is always full of smiles, and laughter when Zane and Karys interact with her which usually fuels them to keep playing with her :)

Wednesday was my favorite day! We all went to Hawaiian Falls! For all of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you saw me trying to get coupons for it because it was much more expensive than I remembered it being in the past! So, thanks to Katy, and another friend, we headed to Hurricane Harbor with a Buy 1 Adult Get 1 Kid Free ($20 savings!) and $7/1 adult, so we all paid about $20 per person to get in. Audrey was free! We went right after an early lunch. I wanted Audrey to get in a good morning nap, so that she would be awake for our fun in the sun! Well...as with all babies, your plans are not their plans. We arrived around 1:00. Audrey had woken up from her AM nap around 11 or 11:30. She was acting SOOOO sleepy by 1:00. For the first couple hours that we were there, she was incredibly quiet, and not fussing, but not acting like she was having any fun. She finally fell asleep while I was holding her, and slept for a good 30 minutes. Once she woke up, her demeanor was much more like what we're used to...splashing in the pool, full of smiles, intently watching all of the kids playing. Once again, I failed to take pictures! What is wrong with me?

On Thursday, we went to the Perot Museum. Once again, Audrey was super tired, but still managed to stay in a good mood with little meltdowns here and there. It's really geared for older kids, so Karys and Zane had a blast, and I know Audrey enjoyed having new plans thrown into her schedule. I did remember to take some pictures here....finally!

An example of her mini-meltdown from not having a nap. That face is pitiful!

The museum had a children's museum with one part specifically designed for babies. It would have been better if she could crawl, but on the wall there were flowers that you could spin and it had seeds or something inside that made sounds that she loved! There was also a mirror on the other side of this sunflower where she could watch herself do tricks. :)

Karys is such a sweet cousin to Audrey! She loves reading Audrey books...and Audrey loves the attention showered on her by Karys :)

She did finally give into her exhaustion and took a nap...for about 5 minutes!

Audrey and her sweet cousins!

On Friday, Janette and the kids went out after lunch, but that morning we went to Heath (small town between Forney and Rockwall) for their 4th of July parade. My best friend, and her family, always rides in the parade on an old firetruck that her dad redid (Michel and I rode off on the firetruck after our wedding). But the kids enjoyed watching the horses and the band, and some of the floats that went through! Audrey enjoyed trying to eat grass :) But we got some really cute pictures out of it, and I just adore Audrey's outfit!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

...well, a few days late :)