the petersons

Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T22:14:00.001-06:00

Happy Chinese New Year! We celebrated as a family yesterday at my brother's house. My dad made a bunch of yummy food and all of the kids had a fun time playing together. I didn't get a single picture of Ayla while we were there. I normally don't see her the entire time we're there. As soon as we set foot in the door, she's off running around with her cousins until I have to drag her out kicking and screaming.

Today, while we were at my parents' house after I got off work, I dressed up the girls in their little Chinese outfits. My little dolls. :)

Aubree: 10-months

2012-01-22T22:06:00.001-06:00

My Aubree baby is 10-months old today. *SIGH* In two short months, she will be a year old.

Disbelief.

She is so awesome. That pretty much sums it all up. We just can't get enough of her. Her chubby cheeks, her drooly smiles, her squishy legs, her snuggles, her little giggles. Everything.

She is still busy getting into literally everything she can get her hands on. Sometimes it makes my head spin because not only can I NOT keep up with her, I can't get anything done. I feel like I'm at an all day track meet trying to stop her from getting into things. Ayla must think that I've completely lost it some days. All too often, she watches me sprint from the kitchen and hurdle the ottoman (a.k.a.--my makeshift baby gate) with a dripping spatula while shouting, "No, no, NO, Aubree!!" I'm almost positive she knows what "no" means. Actually I know she knows. Wanna know why? Because she'll actually pause for a second when I say it, but then she turns around and grins at me...even giggles...and then turns back around to do it again. Little stinker.

She thinks her big sister is the coolest person ever. She wants to play with whatever Ayla's playing with (not something that Ayla loves...we're working on that). In the car, she just staaares at Ayla and laughs at her. It's adorable. I hope they grow up to be good friends and I hope they take good care of each other.

She is a piggy! And I loooooooooove it. LOVE. It. She's pretty much eating all table food now. I have a few jars of stage three baby food on hand in case we're on the run and need something quick. She has happily eaten everything we've offered her. At every meal, I'm floored at the empty bowls I get to toss into the dishwasher. I feel like she would just keep eating and eating. I am thrilled beyond belief that she eats well. It's one less thing to stress out about and that makes me a happy mommy.

She hasn't attempted to take any steps yet. Every now and then, she'll stand for a few seconds without holding on and she's cruising along furniture with a lot more confidence lately. She crawls so fast, I swear her legs don't even touch the ground. :) Especially when she heads for Kody's water bowl or Ayla's potty chair. Goodness.

She still takes two naps a day but I feel like she may be getting to the point where she only needs one. Both of her naps have started creeping later and later and each one is only 45-60 minutes. I'm not going to make any changes just yet...we'll see what she does the next few weeks. Her bedtime hasn't changed. She's generally in bed and asleep between 7:00 and 7:30. She starts to stir around 6:30 in the morning. If we're lucky, she makes it a full 12 hours. :)

She is just so full of life and it's so fun to watch her grow and discover the world. Her eyes sparkle when she smiles. She is as sweet as she is feisty. I have a feeling we have another strong woman on our hands.

I couldn't resist posting just about every picture I took this morning. I love all of her different expressions. Grandma bought her this outfit--is it not the most adorable thing you've ever seen? It's my new favorite. :)

Every time I look at this picture, my heart flutters. Full body warm fuzzy.

This is going to come out sounding really weird...but I want to gnaw on those cheeks. Seriously. They're delicious.

This is the look she gives me when I tell her no...she looks like trouble.

Pajama time

2012-01-18T21:17:00.003-06:00

On my days off, the girls and I often stay in our jammies for most of the day. If we leave the house, it usually isn't until 4:00 in the afternoon, so why not stay comfy? :) Last Friday, we were complete bums and just played all day. Perfect. :)

Totally blurry, but that smile is priceless. You can feel her joy in this picture. Love her.

Ohh, that cute, squishy face...I can't get enough of her.

At the end of the night, Dean was helping Ayla brush her teeth and told me to go look at her bed. When I went in there, I found that she had her moose all tucked in. So cute. :)

Lazy day...

2012-01-15T22:12:00.001-06:00

Cousin play date

2012-01-12T20:08:00.001-06:00

My brother brought Haylee, Bennett, and Makayla over last weekend to play for a couple of hours. We were just missing Jayden and Gavin otherwise we would have had all of the cousins together. We only live about 20 minutes away from each other but unfortunately do not see each other enough. They all play so well together...poor Bennett was stuck with four girls! :)

Window markers!

I asked Makayla to say cheese...what a little ham!

The two babies of the family. :)

It kind of appears that Makayla is sitting ON Aubree, but she's really not!

Makayla loves Aubree and couldn't give her enough hugs...she doesn't really know her own strength though so she kind of manhandled Aubree. :)

Why are dads the only ones who do things like this? He's swinging her in circles by her shirt.

Quick project: those little capsules that you toss in water and a foam animal comes out.

Long drive

2012-01-11T23:24:00.001-06:00

Today, a typically 25-minute drive from my parents' house to our house took nearly an hour and a half. That's a measly 17 miles in an hour and a half. It. Was. Ridiculous. Ayla ended up passing out about 20 minutes in. Smart girl. Aubree and I both hit our breaking points at the same time. She cried for the last ten minutes. I don't blame her at all. I felt like crying with her. Traffic literally was not moving. It had snowed for about five minutes so I don't know if that was the issue or what. The roads seemed fine...although I wouldn't really know going 3 mph. Either way, we made it home safely with only one minor meltdown. :)

Dinnertime

2012-01-05T22:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not sure what my obsession is with taking pictures of my kids while they're eating. I dunno--full baby bellies = happy mommy? It's also the only time they're both contained and unable to move. :)

"All done! Get me out of this thing!"

After three long years of waiting, Kody finally has a baby that throws food on the ground. Ayla rarely drops anything, even as a baby she wasn't very messy. Miss Aubree, on the other hand, deliberately feeds Kody.

Gerbil wheel

2012-01-04T22:45:00.000-06:00

I call this activity center Aubree's gerbil wheel. Attached to the activity table is a walker (that we can eventually detach when she's walking on her own) that spins around the table. She. LOVES. It. She goes around and around and plays with all of the toys. There's even a spot for snacks...she'll take a few spins and stop for a bite or two. She has gotten to the point where she actually runs around. It's so funny to watch. She prefers this over being trapped in her playpen. I think she feels less stuck since she's able to move around even if it's just in a circle. :) 60 bucks well spent. We originally bought it for Ayla when she was a baby but she hardly moved in it and just didn't have that much fun with it. I'm glad we saved it for Aubree...it keeps her happily entertained and out of trouble.

Speaking of trouble, she IS with a capital T. A few days ago, both of the girls were playing in the living room while I was quickly making lunch for Ayla. I looked up to see Aubree crawling toward the hallway. Uh-oh. I knew exactly where she was headed. I dropped everything and sprinted to the bathroom. She was standing against the bathtub and had a wet, white blob on her chin and she was chewing on something. I grabbed the blob off of her face and realized what it was. Just to confirm, I smelled it. #%!$ Much to my horror, it was a chunk of pee-soaked toilet paper that she had fished out of Ayla's little potty that Ayla had just peed in (I hadn't cleaned it out yet...making lunch, remember?) I had to pry another chunk out of her little fist and out of her mouth. Yep. My baby ate pee-toilet-paper. Awesome. Mom of the Year, right here.

Aubree's 9-month check-up

2012-01-04T22:21:00.003-06:00

This afternoon, we went in for Aubree's 9-month check-up. She seemed to be feeling much better today except for her cough that bothers her the most while she's napping and eating. Other than that, she was back to her old self.

Like I said, I was worried about another ear infection but Dr. Davey said both of her ears were perfectly clear. I am so thankful for that. He actually said that if I hadn't told him she was sick, he wouldn't have known based on her ears, nose, throat...everything.

She weighs 18 lbs 8 oz (37th percentile) and is 28 1/2 inches long (74th percentile) and her head is also at the 74th percentile. At every appointment, I think she'll pass Ayla's weight at the same age because she eats so much more but this time she was still 3 oz less than Ayla...however, she is 3/4 of an inch longer. She laid perfectly still while Judy, the nurse, measured her and changed her diaper. I only mention this because lately, she is freaking nuts when we try to change her diaper or clothes. Horrible. She vigorously shakes her head no (which is a newly learned skill as of late), flails her arms, kicks, rolls, and screams. It's impossible to get her to stay still sometimes. I feel like my relaxed little baby has made a 180. Can you imagine the tantrums this child is going to throw when she's two or three years old?!

Anyways.

She did well throughout most of the appointment. She was happily playing with two tongue depressors while Dr. Davey looked her over until he started pressing on her belly...that's when she reacted in the same way as when we change her diaper. She had to get a finger poke and didn't even flinch...no crying at all. The one shot she had to get in her leg made her cry for just a few seconds.

Zzzz

2012-01-03T22:01:00.001-06:00

I just glanced at the baby monitor and this is what I saw...Aubree asleep with her blankie under one arm and her little giraffe friend in the other. :) Cute.
Unfortunately, she is sick. Again. This time she has a cough and stuffy, runny nose. I know besides a humidifier, there's not much else we can do to make her feel better. I'm always paranoid that she has an ear infection. She just got over one a couple of weeks ago so hopefully it hasn't come back.
I hate when my kids are sick. :(
We go in tomorrow for her 9-month check-up...good timing, I suppose. *Sigh*

Outfit of the Day

2011-12-31T14:47:00.001-06:00

I couldn't resist posting just a couple more pictures today. I started to get Ayla dressed--I chose the yellow cardigan with the striped top underneath and was planning on putting jeans on her. She had different plans. :) It's actually kind of cute...in that weird, mismatched kind of way.

Last stop: More presents and Christmas dinner

2011-12-31T11:35:00.001-06:00

After finishing up presents at Dean's parents', we went over to my brother's house for...yep...more presents. Ping and Surina cooked up a feast for over 20 people! I think because they were so busy cooking and being great hosts, I didn't get a single picture of them together. :(

Ayla had a blast playing with all of her cousins...there were ten kids all 11-years old and under. I'm not sure I even saw Ayla the whole time we were there and when it was time to go, we pretty much had to drag her out kicking and screaming. Jo-Jo (Uncle Ping) and Aunt Surina's house is always too much fun. :)

Random picture, but somehow it's fun to see my dad messing with a hot pink guitar. :)

Haylee

Surina's little sister, Sarah.

One of the two newest additions to my brother's family, Romeo. (His other half, Juliet, was nowhere to be seen.)

All the kids waiting patiently to open presents.

Cousins! I love these next few pictures. I think we eventually got all the kids in...not an easy thing to do.

I love the look on Bennett's face!

Gavin is sooo sweet with Aubree!

Makayla...doesn't she look ornery?! :)

My cousin Anita with her niece, Caitlin.

Next stop: Grandma & Grandpa's

2011-12-30T23:09:00.000-06:00

After doing Santa gifts at home, we packed up and headed back to Dean's parents' for more presents.

It's ridonculous how many presents there are!

Every year, someone plays Santa and has the job of handing out all of the presents. All these years and I'd never done it til now.

It's not Christmas until you stick a Santa hat on a baby who hates it. :)

All those fun presents and this bubble wrap proved to be pretty high on the list of entertainment value.

Here Comes Santa Claus

2011-12-30T22:43:00.003-06:00

As soon as the girls woke up on Christmas morning, we went downstairs to see what Santa had brought them. First, Ayla checked out the milk and cookies she had left for him the night before. She was concerned that he didn't finish the cookies. :)

It was so fun to watch them go through all of their gifts...obviously Aubree had no idea what was going on, but seeing Ayla's face light up was awesome. What a fun and magical time for her...it rubs off on us.

Her Rapunzel tower has been a total winner. It keeps her busy for long stretches of time and listening/watching her act out scenes from the movie is quite entertaining. Her imagination is incredible.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-30T22:24:00.000-06:00

We had Christmas Eve dinner at Dean's parents' house...always so yummy and a great way to kick-off Christmas. There's nothing better than a house full of family members. :)

Aubree showing off her new headband from Aunt Marla.

Mama's girl!

You know I love my family pictures because unless my friend, Erika, is taking them for us, they're difficult to come by!

This picture is obviously blurry but I loved it as soon as I took it. It perfectly depicts Ayla's joy...running around the house with a smile on her face. Love it.

Aubree's Christmas Eve dinner. :)

Aunt Marla! (And just so, years from now, I don't look back at these pictures and wonder why I didn't wipe Ayla's face off, she actually had a bit of a scuffle with cousin Bryson's dog. He got her in the lip, but all is well.)

*Sigh*

Much better. :)

The moms contemplating whether or not dinner was ready. :)

December photo purge

2011-12-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

I'm back! I've been sick for a couple of days and frankly, the thought of going through the gazillion pictures I took over Christmas made my head spin so I kept putting it off. We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and over the course of the last couple of weeks, we've also been able to see lots of our good friends (a difficult thing to do lately). Dean and I have both had extra time off from work (more so, Dean than me...I already get plenty of time off) and it's not over yet. After the New Year, we will have had two five-day "weekends" in a row. Can't beat that.

This is the first of five (yes, FIVE) Christmas posts...I had to break it up into sections because I had the urge to post just about every picture I took. It was Aubree's first Christmas, after all, so bear with me.

These few pictures are just of the girls playing on one of the first mornings we had off.

Aubree: 9-months

2011-12-22T21:30:00.000-06:00

I just looked over at Dean and said, in disbelief, that Aubree is 9-months old. What in the world?! How did this happen so quickly?! Her first birthday will be here before we know it.

She's at such a fun stage right now. Her personality is really coming through and she is just so much fun. She's still as busy as ever getting into whatever she can get her hands on. I've nicknamed her Godzilla. Ayla will spend a good chunk of time setting up the "perfect" tea party with color-coordinated cups, plates, and utensils only to have Miss Aubree speed-crawl over and destroy it. And then a battle ensues. Oh boy. I can only imagine what they're going to fight about as they get older.

Aubree will eat anything we give her. Do you realize how good it feels to be able to say that? It makes me want to do leaps across the room. She still eats mainly baby food (which she loves) but we have been adding little bits and pieces of "real" food. When she gets a taste of something she really likes, her face lights up, she smiles, and says, "mmm." So. Awesome. Right now, she eats three baby food meals a day...one container of stage two food per meal. We've recently added a second container at dinnertime. She can nail two entire containers in less than ten minutes. Impressive. She has random snacks throughout the day...she loves crackers, bread, fruit, cheese, puffs...the list goes on. She's a great eater and I LOVE it. She has four six and a half ounce bottles a day. Most of the time, it's a struggle for her to finish each bottle. She normally has to take a few breaks before getting it all down. I think she's too anxious to get down and play to "waste" time on drinking a bottle. Hopefully once we switch her to whole milk when she turns one, she'll be more interested in it.

This past week, she has started making this "stink face" while she breathes in and out like a little piggy.

Off she goes...

I had just scolded her for messing with that night light and this is the look she gave me. :)

She's worked herself into a pretty good schedule. She eats, has bottles, and sleeps at about the same time everyday. She goes to bed around 7:00 p.m. and sleeps for about 12 hours...sometimes 13! Her two naps are around 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. I've noticed that her ability to stay awake between naps has increased this last month. She used to go back down at 9:00 a.m. and now, even at 10:00 a.m. she doesn't seem quite ready. If it keeps going this way, we might be working toward just one nap. It seems a bit early yet for that, but it would be nice to just have one nap to work around and hopefully less of a fight for her to fall asleep.

She despises being confined. She only lasts a little while in her jumper or play pen before she protests. She freaks out every time I put her in her car seat. She even dislikes being held sometimes because she wants to be free. And she haaates having a hat or hood on. We've been lucky enough to have some pretty mild weather, but this no hat thing is not going to go well when it's ten below zero next month.

She's easygoing but I can see some strong-mindedness coming through lately. Just today, she started the arm-straightening thing where she lifts both arms up in the air when I pick her up to stop her from getting into something. She lets out a high-pitched squeal of protest at the same time. Sigh. I can see the beginnings of some pretty impressive tantrums...back-arching and all. Here we go.

It's nearly impossible to change her diaper or her clothes. She is on the go and does not want anyone or anything to stop her. Sometimes it's just not worth the struggle so she's let loose with no pants on and half-buttoned clothes. :)

I really tried taking some pictures of her today, but it turned out to be pretty difficult when she literally wouldn't stay in one spot for more than two seconds. Crazy little baby. Oh well...I'll take whatever I can get to remember her at this age.

Stubborn or not, she is still my little love. There's nothing better than seeing the happiness run through her entire body when she sees me first thing in the morning, when she smiles at me, when she rests her little head against my face, everything about her. Love her.

Crawling and playing

2011-12-16T23:17:00.002-06:00

Aubree is getting to be so quick with her crawling. If she is after something she really wants, she books it across the room in no time. I love how her cute little bum wiggles as she crawls. :) She's still pulling herself up and has started to cruise along furniture. She crashes a LOT because she likes to let go. I've been joking about putting a helmet on her.

Love this one...she looks so big!

Chubby cheeks!

I can finally get a tiny little bow clipped in her hair without a headband. Grow hair, grow!

These next few are a little blurry but I had to post them. This morning, they were playing side by side...it was so cute to see. Normally, Ayla is busy keeping toys away from Aubree, so this was a nice change.

Gingerbread Village

2011-12-16T22:45:00.000-06:00

Ayla and I finally put together and decorated her gingerbread village today. Those little suckers were not easy to put together. I normally pride myself on being pretty good at artsy, crafty projects, but for some reason, gingerbread houses don't seem to be my forte. Oh well. It was still fun and Ayla doesn't care whether or not the frosting looks perfect...because she was too busy eating it. After she discovered that it was edible, she kept "accidentally" getting it on her fingers so she would have to lick it off. :) At the end, she went a little nuts and a candy blizzard blew through our village.

Is this not the most breathtaking set of gingerbread houses you've ever laid eyes on? :)

Sick baby

2011-12-10T15:25:00.001-06:00

You would never know it from these pictures, but Aubree hasn't been feeling well. She had a yucky nose while we were in Ohio for Thanksgiving but after we got home, it went away for several days and then came back in full force. She sounded really congested, was starting to mess with one of her ears, and just didn't seem to be getting any better so I decided it was time to go see Dr. Davey (on Thursday). I had the day off and figured we should get in before the weekend. She has a minor ear infection in both ears...he said on a scale from one to ten, they're at a three. Not horrible. He said he wouldn't even prescribe meds for it but because her nose has been stuffy and runny (green snot...tmi, sorry) for a couple of weeks, he was afraid some sinus issues were going on so to try and knock out both things, he put her on an antibiotic for the next ten days. Thankfully, she's still her happy little mischievous self (until we have to booger-suck her nose out). Hopefully everything starts to clear up soon. Even though she's not super sick, I still hate it when my babies aren't feeling 100%.

Holiday Happenings

2011-12-10T15:07:00.001-06:00

We put up our Christmas tree and decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. I really wanted to get Ayla a little hot pink tree, but we already had this 4-foot one that was just her size so we found some pink lights to put on it and let her decorate it on her own. It was so fun seeing and hearing her excitement as we pulled out all of the decorations. I think I said this last year, too, but it's seriously so fun experiencing the Christmas season through her eyes.

Last weekend, our Elf on the Shelf, J.B., came back from the North Pole to see us much to Ayla's delight. She loves finding him every morning, but somehow, he hasn't impacted how she behaves. Hmm...

Aubree watching Daddy put the lights on the big tree.

Ayla's finished product. :)

I tried getting a few pictures of the girls together in front of the Christmas tree...this is as good as we're going to get!

Showing off her window stickers.

Snowman project! I showed her how to do one and she went to town. It turned out to be a great little activity for her.

Meghan and Heidi came over to play for a little while (they're in town from Ohio!)

Turns out, Ayla is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to her projects...I thought she was going to pass out after seeing Heidi's Picasso-esque snowman.

Clean baby!

2011-12-08T19:45:00.001-06:00

Crazy baby!

2011-12-02T22:27:00.001-06:00

Aubree gets into EVERYTHING.

I finally had to break out the Pack n Play and plop her in it for a few minutes here and there because I couldn't get anything done. If she's on the ground for more than ten seconds, she's up to no good. Her favorites? The fireplace, things that are plugged in, and Kody's water bowl. Awesome. If it's not any of those things, she's pulling herself up on anything that'll hold her...and everything that won't. We can't get through a day lately without her faceplanting or bonking her head somehow. Once she has pulled herself up and is feeling confident, she let's go and just leans against whatever it is so her hands are free to explore. Obviously, she's not stable yet so down she goes. I've found that if I giggle at her when she falls (if I know she's not hurt, of course), she laughs, too. :)

When I tell her no, she looks right at me and does it again. If I say no enough times, she thinks it's funny. Sigh. Once again, another way she is completely different from her big sister. As a baby (definitely not now), Ayla responded to no's really well. Overall, she just didn't get into things...ever. Never put random things in her mouth where with Aubree, literally everything goes straight in her mouth as soon as she gets her little fingers on it.

I think Aubree seems crazier because she became mobile much quicker than Ayla did. Ayla didn't crawl until about 10 months. Before that, she didn't even scoot...all she could do was roll. Aubree started army-crawling at 6 months. BIG difference. She's definitely keeping us on our toes. Before we know it, she'll be walking.

Lil stinker. I started blocking her off with the ottoman.

"Why am I in here?!"

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T21:39:00.001-06:00

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Ohio. As I mentioned a few posts ago, we flew and Aubree did not do well at all. I think her slight cold may have been the problem. On the way home, she did fine...extremely restless and busy, but that's her. :)

It was a great week...it always is. I'm still trying to wean myself off from eating like it's still Thanksgiving. :)

I took this picture about a minute after Amber (Dean's little cousin) arrived. They picked up right where they left off last year and literally played ALL week. I feel like I hardly even saw Ayla.

Aren't they cute? :)

All smiles on Great Aunt Laurie's lap!

This was our home for the week! Dean and I slept in that overhang area above the front seats. Ayla was on the folded down bench seat; Aubree's pack n play was right across from Ayla where the "kitchen table" was...and Dean's parents were back in the bedroom. It actually worked out really well. The girls went to bed at their regular times with no issues (it took Ayla a while to fall asleep the first night). We'd lock the doors, go back inside the house, and turn on the video monitor. We ended up having to get a humidifier because it was so dry in there...plus Aubree needed something to help relieve her cold. She had trouble sleeping through the night while we were there. Poor thing. One night, Dean ended up taking her inside to sleep for the rest of the night. All in all, we thought it worked well enough to rent it again next year.

Hanging out with Great Grandpa!

Bath time! (They dropped some Elmo bath colors in to make the water pink!)

Goofball.

Dean and Ayla went to the Ohio Caverns with his aunt and uncle and Amber. The girlies are checking out some fun things in the gift shop.

Have you seen so many patterns in one picture? :)

Snuggle time!

Doing each other's hair before Thanksgiving dinner.

Hanging out with Great Aunt Shari.

The whole clan...25 people this year!

Building blocks with Great Uncle Dean and cousin Sam.

Happy girl right before she landed weird on her arm ...she ended up having Nursemaid's Elbow again (this happened to her maybe a year and a half ago where one of the bones in her arm comes out of the ligament). I was putting Aubree to bed so I didn't see it happen. When I came back inside, she was sitting on the couch crying with her little arm propped up on a pillow. She's not the type of child to milk an injury so I knew she was hurting when she kept crying. Dean and his dad had to take her to the ER (on Thanksgiving night). While we were getting her buckled up in her carseat, she cried pretty hard...the kind of cry that rips my heart out. I felt sooo bad for her. Luckily, they got in quickly. Normally, they have to do a little move to pop the bone back in place, but like the first time it happened, Dean thinks it may have popped back in on its own. The doctor wanted to make sure she could use her arm again but she didn't budge until he held up a handful of stickers. :) She came home an hour past her bedtime but deliriously happy. She handed out hugs and stickers and went to bed like nothing had even happened.

Bed time stories!

Playtime

2011-11-30T21:33:00.001-06:00

These are from a couple of weeks ago. (I'm trying to catch up on uploading pictures.) Ayla decided to give her sister some props. Aubree happily played along. :) And notice Ayla is pantless...a common thing as soon as we get home. For some reason, she doesn't like pants or socks. She's going to love me for these pictures someday. :)

I can't resist taking pictures of her eating so I have proof that she actually does it. :)

Check out that chubby hand!!! I love it!

Aubree: 8-month pics

2011-11-28T18:26:00.001-06:00

I ended up taking a few pictures of Aubree while we were in Ohio. If I have time, I might take some more this weekend. In the words of her Aunt Marla, she's so "yummy." :)

Aubree + flying = no good

2011-11-25T21:41:00.001-06:00

I failed to mention that our sweet, content, quiet baby will not be racking up the frequent flyer miles anytime soon. On the way out, she was not happy. On the second flight, she was downright miserable. Poor thing. She was restless to begin with and then that escalated to her screaming until we thought she might throw up. She eventually passed out and slept for about 35 minutes, which was our saving grace.

In the morning, we're flying home so send positive thoughts our way in hopes that she does better this time around and is more comfortable during our flights.

Aubree: 8-months

2011-11-22T21:40:00.001-06:00

8-months old and so much fun! We're currently in Ohio (for Thanksgiving) so I won't be taking/posting her monthly pictures until we get home.

She, unfortunately, has a yucky stuffy snotty nose right now but once we get it all cleared out, she's her usual happy self. Gotta love her...such a sweet baby girl.

She's a drooling machine with her two little bottom teeth coming in. That, combined with her love of having her fingers in her mouth, has caused a rash on her chin and cheeks. I bought some Aquaphor today and after a single application, her face looks better. Amazing stuff.

The past few days, she has been working on crawling on her hands and knees instead of army crawling. She's getting there! I still can't believe how quickly she became mobile. She pulled herself up to her knees in her crib so we had to lower her crib already. Crazy baby. I have a feeling she will escape her crib a few months from now.

She is extremely curious right now and likes to touch everything she's not supposed to touch. Her favorite thing is Kody's water bowl. If I don't catch her in time, I'll find her happily splashing away. She likes to go after cords, outlets, everything. We really can't turn our heads for more than a few seconds before she gets into something.

She has become more vocal and quite loud! I think she's trying to compete with her big sister. :) It's amazing how two tiny little people can make so much noise.

She's still doing well with her naps...usually three a day. I keep waiting for her to drop that late afternoon one but I think she still needs it. She sleeps 11 to 12 hours at night.

She now eats baby food three times a day and has four bottles a day. I really hope she continues to be a good eater. She loves trying tiny bits of whatever we're eating. If she likes it, she'll eagerly grab our hands and bring them to her mouth so she can have another bite.

She has become a major mama's girl. It's nice to be loved and feel important but sometimes she seriously flips out when someone else takes her and I walk away. If I'm not holding her or right next to her, she looks for me. Cute, but exhausting sometimes when I just need a few minutes to do something.

She's starting to clap her hands...it's so cute. Most of the time one hand sits still and the other moves up and down. I forgot how fun it is to watch them discover and learn new things.

Happy 8-months Aubree lady! We love you so much!

Ayla's first haircut

2011-11-18T17:26:00.001-06:00

Technically, this was her second cut but first real one. Her first one was when we took a couple snips off her baby mullet more than two years ago.

For the past couple of months, I've been trying to convince her to get it cut. Each time she tells me no because she wants "long hair like Rupunzel." It was getting to the point where I could no longer make it look nice so I figured it was time. Conveniently, my friend Meghan posted pictures of her daughter's first haircut last week so when Ayla saw them, she wanted hers cut too. Thanks Heidi! :) She asked me if it was going to hurt. I assured her it wouldn't. I told her it was like clipping her fingernails and she found that funny. :)

She did really well...sat very still and did not say a word. As soon as the lady took the first cut and I saw her hair fall to the ground, I felt like I could have cried. Yep. I'm that mom. She took about five inches off and now I wish I wouldn't have gone with that much. She looks super cute, but it's pretty much just a straight across blunt cut with no style. I could have done it. I suppose for 12 bucks, I can't ask for too much, right? She was pretty happy with it...and her new short pigtails look adorable. :)

Her feather is still holding on strong. I keep waiting for it to fall out!

Cutie pies

2011-11-14T21:09:00.001-06:00

Just a bunch of random pictures from this weekend...

Ayla's still anti-photos...can you tell? :)

Even though it shouldn't, this picture makes me chuckle. It perfectly depicts what our days are like lately. Aubree spots something from across the room, army crawls over there, reaches out her little hand to grab it and big sister Ayla races over, screams "No Aubree!!!!!" and snatches it away from her. Sigh. Poor Aubree has no idea what's going on.

Making a mess!

Aubree's Baptism

2011-11-14T20:55:00.001-06:00

Our little Aubree lady was baptized yesterday. It was a special day. She was such a good girl! The long dress we have her in during the baptism is 87-years old...her great grandma was baptized in it. How cool is that? I love that both of our girls were able to wear it.

All bundled up!

2011-11-09T08:45:00.001-06:00

Back to work

2011-11-08T20:54:00.000-06:00

After 25 days off, I'm heading back to work tomorrow. Boo. :(

I'll be honest, when my mom first told me about their three-week trip, I was a little worried about being home 24/7 with the girlies. Of course I love and adore them more than anything, but I thought I may just go crazy by the end of my time off. Turns out, it may have been the best three weeks I've ever had. I've had so much fun being at home and can't believe it's already over. I realize I work very few hours, but I'm just not ready to go back yet.

The girls and I have worked out such a great schedule and routine. It makes the day so easy and predictable. Easy and predictable = happy mommy. Am I a control freak when it comes to keeping my kids on a schedule? Absolutely. And I'm not afraid to admit it. It keeps me sane and it keeps them happy (really!). They were both sooo good these few weeks. Obviously, we had our moments but I didn't ever have one of those horrible-I-want-to-tear-my-hair-out days.

Ayla is becoming more cooperative and helpful and so much fun to play with. And Aubree? I swear the child does not fuss. The only time she fusses or cries is the minute after I put her in her crib for a nap. Besides that, she's perfectly content throughout the day. What a good baby. And I'm so proud to say that for every single nap for the past three weeks, she has gone down on her own. AND she is 110% binky-free. :) I haven't caved!

During this time, I realized that I am completely capable of handling two kids. I mean, not that I couldn't do it before, but every now and then I had some major doubts during one of my mommy meltdowns...especially during my maternity leave with Aubree when my life was still being run by hormones. Yikes. I'm not saying I won't feel that again, but right now I'm feeling pretty good about myself. :) I brought the girls out on my own just about everyday...not something I did a whole lot before. I even took them out to lunch a couple times...all with zero issues. I don't know what I was afraid of...maybe that epic tantrum that would send me crawling into the nearest corner, but even when and if that happens someday, so what? They're kids. It happens.

I'm so lucky that I get to have these extra bits of time off with my girls. I want to spend as much time with them as possible while they still think I'm the coolest person ever because I know that someday, hopefully for just a brief period, that will not be the case. Ha! :)

This is how Ayla feels about my camera lately.

Leaves!

2011-11-06T23:06:00.001-06:00

Dean and Ayla raked up the last of the leaves in the backyard today. They weren't finished until she jumped into the pile a few times. :)

Family pictures 2011 by Elizabeth Rose Photography

2011-11-02T23:14:00.001-05:00

Best piece of mail I've gotten in a long time...a cd full of family pictures from my friend, Erika, of Elizabeth Rose Photography. I LOVE every single picture. Every one. Even the "bloopers" that make me giggle. I was really surprised at how many of the nearly 200 photos where all four of us were looking at the camera...a rare thing, I've discovered, after taking photos of families for the past couple of years. Ayla and Aubree were both good girls that day, plus Erika's awesome. :) I've posted a few of these already from our "sneak peek" a few weeks ago, but here they all are again. Thanks so much again, Erika. You ROCK. I already can't decide which to print...maybe I'll just make wallpaper. :)

Snuggling

2011-11-01T22:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it was kind of an "accidental" snuggle, but cute, nonetheless. After both girls woke up this morning, I plopped Aubree onto the couch next to Ayla. She sat for a few seconds and then started moving toward Ayla but ended up tipping over. :) I just thought it was so sweet that they just stayed like that and neither one of them tried pushing away from the other.

Trick-or-Treat 2011

2011-11-01T13:42:00.003-05:00

Trick-or-treating with Ayla was so fun this year! She really got into it and was so thrilled about the whole idea. After each house, before she was even off of the porch, she'd turn around excitedly and show all of us what she got. So cute. After just a few houses, she kept forgetting to say 'trick-or-treat' and would just say thank you and grab some candy. :) Several times, she told us she liked Halloween and trick-or-treating and that she was having fun. We were only out for about an hour...we went home without a fight, surprisingly. Once we got home, she checked out her stuff and picked one thing to eat and helped give out candy to more trick-or-treaters.

My cute little flower and lamb. :) Ayla wanted to be a princess just like every other little girl her age, but I was afraid she wouldn't be warm enough so we borrowed this cute flower costume from my friend, Erika. I was worried she wouldn't want to wear it, but I sold it like it was the coolest thing ever. She bought it. And she was warm. :)

"You look funny."

My desperate attempt at getting a picture with a very anxious trick-or-treater.

Waiting patiently at the door.

Showing us what she got!

Our very generous neighbor gave her a lollipop the size of her head.

Doesn't Dean's hair look good? ;)

"I'm hot!"

She was freeeaking out about Aubree touching her candy.

Winding down with Daddy before bed. Sugar seems to affect her even when she's only had a little bit. She was bouncing off the walls. We finally got her in bed a half an hour after her bedtime and a half an hour after THAT, we could still hear her in her room making goofy sound effects for her glow in the dark wand that we let her take to bed. I had to go in and tell her to go to sleep.

Aubree's teeth are coming in! [And a bunch of other random things from our Sunday]

2011-10-30T20:46:00.002-05:00

Aubree's chin has been coated with drool and today, she started sticking her tongue out constantly...I couldn't see anything when I looked in her mouth, but I could feel a tooth starting to poke through. Woo-hoo! I figured it was about that time. For the past week or so, she hasn't been too interested in her baby food until today. I don't know if her mouth was uncomfortable and that made her not want to eat or what. But maybe now that they're starting to poke through, she feels better?

Ayla helping Daddy in the kitchen. Dean picked 72 jalapenos from our garden so he decided to pickle/can them with onions and carrots. He made a few different flavors. They look so yummy but we won't get to eat them for a while. One kind takes six months! The ones he did today are only supposed to take six weeks.

Ayla was sooo anxious to carve pumpkins but once Dean got started, she lost interest and decided to sweep the garage instead.

Aubree, still happily roaming around the living room. :)

Getting ready to jump in the leaves!

Dinnertime! We decorated these crowns last week...why not wear them while we eat?

I gave her a green bean to gnaw on...she loved it!

Ayla's into making goofy faces...she's going to love these some day. :)

Painting pumpkins

2011-10-28T15:53:00.002-05:00

We painted a couple of the pumpkins we got last weekend. Once Aubree was down for her nap, I told Ayla what we were going to do and her whole face lit up and she clapped. :) So funny how the simplest things make kids so happy. I started painting one and she decided to help me finish it once hers was already done.

A couple of masterpieces, if I do say so myself.

I looked at the monitor and giggled at how Aubree fell asleep. Cute little bum.

Projects

2011-10-26T17:05:00.001-05:00

I've been trying to come up with different ways to keep Ayla busy during the day, especially while Aubree is napping. Yesterday, we went on a walk around the block before Aubree's nap and collected all different kinds of leaves that have fallen from trees. When we got home, we made leaf collages. Unfortunately, the only glue I could find was a hot glue gun so instead of letting her do it, I just let her choose a leaf and had her point to the spot where she wanted it. She was pretty proud of her creations...she sent a couple home with Grandma and Grandpa. :)

"No more pictures, Mom!"

A couple of days ago, we picked up this "build a castle" kit. It's made out of foam pieces and came with about 100 stickers to decorate the castle. It turned out to be a bit too complicated for her, but she had fun peeling the stickers off for me. We still have a few more things to add but I'd say it's looking pretty good so far!

Love this.

2011-10-25T13:49:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and it was too perfect not to share. Stay-at-home parent or not, this describes a day in the life of a mom/dad so brilliantly. I don't think people who don't have kids truly understand what it's like. There is no "me" time from the moment our kids are awake until the moment they are asleep at the end of the night. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but damn right, I absolutely cherish that first moment when they're in bed and I can sit down on the couch with a big sigh (and a big glass of wine) and just BREATHE.

Week #1

2011-10-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

Here are a bunch of random photos I took last week (week #1 of being at home with Ayla and Aubree). Love my babies.

It's always entertaining to see what kind of outfit Ayla will put together each day.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing this look more and more often as she gets older. Sigh.

Jammy playtime! I LOVE any and every picture of the two of them together.

Halloween cookies!

2011-10-24T14:53:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

We went to Pooley's Pumpkin Patch yesterday for a couple of hours. Ayla had so much fun! I realize a lot of the pictures I'm posting look similar, but I can't resist putting up all of the ones where she has a genuine smile on her face. I love seeing her have fun...it makes what we're doing so worth it. Aubree was such a good baby, as always. She was happy being in our arms or the Bjorn while she people-watched.

Holding up her ticket to go on a pony ride.

None of us can resist those yummy cheeks!

She was sooo happy to be on the pony ride...so cute!

She was obsessed with the little kitties running around. When she successfully picked one up, the look on her face was priceless. It's too bad I'm so allergic to the darn things.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin...

Found it!

"Mommy, I have to pee!" Obviously, there wasn't a bathroom in the middle of this field and a bumpy ten minute ride back on a hayrack probably wouldn't end well so she just had to pop a squat. Being the girly-girl that she is, I'm always surprised when she agrees to it. (No, this wasn't the first time.)

Aubree: 7-months

2011-10-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

Aubree is 7-months old today! She has become such a smiley little baby...not that she wasn't before, but it would take quite a bit of acting like an idiot on my part to get her to smile. Now, she smiles so easily and at just about everything. :) Ayla is still the best at getting her to laugh...I finally got it on video! It's so awesome. What a perfect little sound.

She is still living up to her "chill" status. She doesn't make much a fuss about anything. Most of the time, she's content as can be. She loves to watch what's going on around her.

She has become a pro-army crawler. She's able to get across the room in no time. Big sister Ayla is finding this new skill quite frustrating and is having trouble sharing her toys with Aubree. Aubree will spot something she wants to go after and before she even reaches it, Ayla snatches it away. Definitely something we need to work on.

She still isn't really sitting up on her own. She can do it if she's supported but on her own, she can only stay up for a few seconds before toppling over.

She's very "grabby"...wants to touch (and eat) everything within her reach, including our faces and hair. Dean's sporting a nice little scab on the tip of his nose right now. :) When we take things away from her, she freeeaks. I feel like it's still too early for that type of protesting. She's at that curious stage where she just wants to check everything out.

We put her swing and bouncer away a few weeks ago. They, once again, were total lifesavers...especially the swing. Technically, she can still fit in it but without cranking it to its highest speed and giving it a hefty jumpstart, the thing wouldn't budge. I love fat babies. :)

It might be safe to say that she is binky-free (again). We made it all week without it and she's also still putting herself to sleep for naps. They don't seem to be very consistent yet length-wise. They range anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. She naps three times a day and generally they add up to about three hours total, which I've read is typical. She goes to bed around 7:00 p.m. and generally wakes for the day around 7:00 a.m. give or take a half an hour. She still wakes up every now and then over night. I'm sure that will go away with time...hopefully.

She is so much fun right now (I think I say this every month) and her personality comes out more and more with each day. It has been so fun to watch her grow and change. We can't get enough of her right now. :)

New Blogger Interface

2011-10-22T13:29:00.001-05:00

Except it's not so new...just new to me as of last night. My friend Katie came over so I could help her set up a Blogger account. I noticed hers looked different and when we uploaded pictures, it was completely different. Much much much easier and quicker. For one, we could upload as many pictures as we wanted at once, which took a fraction of the time it takes me now. In the "old" version that I currently use, I can only upload five pictures at a time and each set takes a few minutes. So time consuming. I dread posting when I know I have a lot of pictures to add. It takes sooo long and after they're all up, I have to space them correctly. Even more time consuming. I've spent hours on a single post alone because of all the uploading and spacing. Little did I know, for the past several months, even a year, this new upgraded, much more user-friendly version of Blogger was available. I remember clicking on it a long time ago, taking one look and deciding I didn't like it and clicking back to the original version. Stupid me. Do you know how much time I've wasted and how much I've cursed Blogger because everything took so long? I often wondered out loud to Dean why it sucked so much when so many people use it. [BIG SIGH]. Now I know. So now blogging will be a lot easier and I won't have to down a bottle of wine to get through one post.

Quick stroll through Village Pointe

2011-10-20T15:58:00.001-05:00

I'm loving my time off with the girls. We're out enjoying this beautiful fall day.

Three weeks off!

2011-10-17T21:58:00.003-05:00

Today was the start of my three weeks off from work. My parents, who watch Ayla and Aubree while I'm at work, are headed to Taiwan and China. When they're out of town, I get to stay home with my little ladies. I think this might be the first time I've been home with them for an extended amount of time since Aubree was born.

I'll be perfectly honest, I always get a little nervous...even when it was just Ayla. It usually takes a few days for us to get used to being with eachother all day long and to figure out a schedule that works. Today couldn't have gone any better.

It was Day One of Operation: Get Aubree to Nap on Her Own. I think I can confidently say it was a success. At night, when it's time for her to go to bed, we're able to lay her down after her bottle and she falls asleep on her own. Naps, however, we've had to rock her and carefully lay her down and sneak out of her room. Sometimes, it takes just a few minutes...other times, it takes three tries to get her down and by then, it's been a half an hour. Not cool when we have a 3-year old hanging out in the living room by herself for all that time (especially when Aubree takes three naps a day).

For Nap #1, I nervously gave her a hug and a kiss, set her down and walked out the door. She fussed and ended up crying pretty hard for 24 minutes before she finally fell asleep. Believe it or not, Ayla encouraged me not to cave. She could tell I was antsy and kept looking at the monitor several times, she said, "Mom, she's going to fall alseep. It's okay." :) She only slept for about 40 minutes, which is pretty typical for her morning nap. Nap #2, she only cried for 7 minutes before falling asleep for TWO HOURS. Sooo out of the ordinary for her. Usually, if she makes it even close to an hour, I'm surprised. And Nap #3, took her 10 minutes and she slept for 45 minutes. Also, I'm proud to say this was all without her pacifier. A few weeks ago, we went a whole week without the darn thing but then I caved once and we've been wishy-washy about it since. Annoying. I just need to stick with it and get rid of it. But anyways, I'm thrilled that she (and I) were able to make it through it. Hopefully it continues to go well. ***Mom, I know you're reading this while you're on your trip. See? It's okay to not rock her and let her cry a little bit so she can learn to fall asleep on her own. I promise she's going to be fine. My mom's a total softie and would hold her grandbabies 24/7 if she could. :)

I loved the extra time I was able to spend with Ayla since Aubree was putting herself to sleep. I think she appreciated the attention as well. We had a tea party, painted, built with blocks, watched tv, "cooked", made a blanket fort on her bed, and just had FUN. She even ate well for all three meals today, plus snacks.

I'm going to bed a happy mama. :)

Nebraska City 2011

2011-10-17T13:44:00.010-05:00

We made our annual trip down to Nebraska City on Saturday morning. It was an absolutely perfect day for it. My parents met us there and we roamed around the Discovery Trail and let Ayla explore for a while before heading to a late lunch at the Lied Lodge. After lunch, my parents headed home and we went back to the apple orchard to meet our friends, Dan, Molly, and their daughter Piper. We were hoping to get on the Discovery Ride where they take you through the orchard and tell you about everything and stop to let you pick one free apple but the next available ride was at 5:00 p.m. Way too late. Instead, we just walked around and enjoyed the weather. We stuck around until 4:00 before deciding to go home. Great, great day...I look forward to this day every year.

Great weekend

2011-10-09T21:36:00.007-05:00

This Saturday morning, we had our family pictures taken by my amazingly talented friend, Erika [http://elizabethrosephoto.blogspot.com/2011/10/peterson-family.html]. Once again, I am in love with the images I have seen so far. I am so excited to see the rest (no hurry though, Erika!) I love family pictures because I know we don't have enough of them. 99% of the time, I'm behind the camera when any photo is being taken in our house so I cherish the ones where I'm in them with my awesome little family. :) I think Erika totally gets that...one of the many ways in which we are so similar. Love you, lady.

Here is a sneak peek:

This next one is so awesome...Erika busted out laughing as soon as she took it. It's about right--Ayla happily doing her own thing without a care in the world. So funny. :)
We went out for brunch after our pictures. One lady commented on how we must have come from family photos. What, don't all normal families color-coordinate their outfits when they go out to eat? :) In the evening, we watched the Nebraska-Ohio State game. O.M.G. I thought I was going to pass out. It was pretty unbearable to watch for a while there, but we came through in the end and won. Good deal. :) This morning, it was just the girlies and me. Dean got up at 5 a.m. to go hunting. Crazy, if you ask me. I'm not sure there's anything that would make me voluntarily get out of bed at that hour. Well, maybe some free shoes and purses. I'm not going to lie, it was a rough morning for me. Aubree slept like poo last night so I was already tired and for some reason, she had a really tough time going down for her naps today...that's a whole other topic to be discussed at another time.

Anyways.

After Dean got home and we did some stuff around the house, I was able to get out on my own for about an hour. Amazing what that one measly little hour can do for my mood. I went to my favorite kids' consignment shop and topped off the girls' fall/winter wardrobes. I'm in the process of organizing their closets--putting old items away and hanging up/folding new ones. I seem to be in a hole with Aubree's things though. Just when I think I have it under control, another huge load of laundry needs to be folded and put away. Sigh. By spring, I should be completely organized. Ha.

Tonight, Dean's family came over for dinner. Both Ayla and Aubree were in bed by 7:45. Awwwwesome. :) I can always appreciate an uninterrupted meal that's actually hot these days. Great food, great company...great weekend.

I LOVE this one...sooo happy!

New friend

2011-10-06T10:18:00.001-05:00

Aubree has taken a liking to this super cute pink giraffe from her Great Aunt Kathy. :)

Ayla's 3-year check-up

2011-10-04T23:26:00.001-05:00

Are you sick of me yet? I've gone a lil nuts with the blog the last couple of days.

I took Ayla in for her 3-year appointment this afternoon. She did great...we've come a long ways since the days of her crying and puking on poor Dr.Davey! She was pretty quiet but I'll take that over the barfing. The only thing she didn't want to do was lay down on the exam table. When Dr.Davey asked her if she would do it, she flat out ignored him (and me) and eliminated all eye contact...pretending that she didn't even hear us. :) So funny. She ended up laying across my lap and it worked just fine. Dr.Davey is so good at what he does...he is great with both Ayla and Aubree. We are lucky to have found such an awesome pediatrician.

He said Ayla looks great...we just need to continue working on her being a better eater but to not let it be a power struggle. Easier said than done but I will work on it. Sigh.

Her stats--she weighs 28.8 pounds (29th percentile) and is 37 1/4 inches (47th percentile). However, because I am the uber anal person that I am when it comes to numbers, when I measured her for fun while we were waiting for the nurse to come back in, she was a good inch taller. Her giant pink hairbow was in the way (totally my fault) when she was first measured so the nurse turned her to her side and ended up not getting the top of her head. Obviously not a big deal but like I said, I'm anal. Can't help it.

Anyways.

She is healthy and she is growing so that's all that matters. She got the flu mist in her nose and happily picked out a sucker and a sticker before we left.

Because she did such a great job, we stopped for some ice cream on the way home. :)

Ayla: 3-year pics {fun at the park}

2011-10-04T15:59:00.008-05:00

Birthday day--Mommy & Me time!

2011-10-03T21:44:00.008-05:00

I took today off so I could spend it with Ayla. I thought about taking her to the zoo, but decided we needed to do something completely new and different for her. We packed up and went to Yeh-Yeh and Nai-Nai's house, had breakfast, and left Aubree there (thanks Mom!) and had a few hours of just Mommy and Ayla time.

First, we went and got her her very first professional manicure. :) When I asked her if she wanted to get her nails painted, she nodded eagerly and instantly got that happy/excited look on her face. I can't get enough of it. She picked a metallic purple and I plopped her onto the booster seat so she could get started. She kept looking over at me with a smile on her face. I think she felt really special. :) She did sooo well and held very still the whole time and quietly chatted with the girl who was painting her nails. (We went to The Hair Place in LaVista and all the girls there were soooo sweet to Ayla and made her feel like a princess.)

After her nails were done and dry (enough), the girls gave her a sucker and this cute hot pink purse with four little sample bottles of pink OPI nail polish. It was so nice of them to do that. She was in heaven. She thanked them and happily trotted out of the salon with her new purse swinging from her little arm.

Next up on the list--a hot pink feather in her hair. We went to four different salons before we were successful. A couple didn't have any, another didn't have any pink ones left and the final one had hot pink but they were the big ones, not the little thin ones I was hoping for. I was out of salons to try, so we just went with it and she loves it. :)

We went back to Yeh-Yeh and Nai-Nai's for a quick lunch before heading back out to a park to play and take her 3-year pictures (I'll be posting those once I get them organized and edited). We ran around, played under the trees, collected leaves, threw sticks into the pond, went on the swings, and played in the sand before once again, heading back. We relaxed for a bit and then went to our favorite store (SuperTarget) to get some stuff for dinner. I stopped at the Starbucks in the store before leaving and the nice lady gave her a free cookie.

We played for a while longer at Yeh-Yeh and Nai-Nai's before finally heading home. I must have worn her out because she passed out in the car on the way home. It's probably been more than a couple of months since she's done that. I stirred when I got her out of the car and carried her inside but fell right back asleep when I laid her on the couch. I think our day was deemed a success! :) I had so much fun with her today!

Birthday evening

2011-10-03T21:18:00.005-05:00

When Daddy got home from work, he surprised Ayla with a bouquet of hot pink roses! She loved them...she insisted on holding them and asked Daddy to dance with her. So cute.

Since Aunt Marla was out of town over the weekend and wasn't able to make it to Ayla's party yesterday, she had some more presents to open (Grandma and Grandpa's too!)

After dinner, we had a surprise for Ayla...three giant lanterns to celebrate her birthday! Grandma brought her outside blindfolded.
After lanterns, we went back inside and sang happy birthday to her and let her blow out a candle on a single piece of cake. Cake an hour past her bedtime. It is her birthday, after all. :)
I was actually kind of bummed when it was time for her to go to bed. It's been a really really fun couple of days with her. I love seeing her so happy. I hope we made her feel extra special. :)

Ayla Ming: 3-years

2011-10-03T15:51:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today, my world changed forever. Our Ayla Ming was born and I became a mom. I had no idea how different life would become. That day, I learned what love was in the purest of forms. The love you have for your own child is unlike anything else.

In these three years, I have learned so much from her. Who knew this teeny-tiny person could make me a better person. I love her with everything I have and could not imagine what my life would be without her in it.

She is the girliest of girls. Pink, sparkles, glitter, dolls, princesses, nail polish, jewelry, dress-up clothes, shoes--she loves it all. She is, in every sense, my mini-me. I wanted a girly-girl and I definitely got her. :)

She loves music. Right now her favorite is the Zac Brown Band. She knows lots of the lyrics to several songs. I can always catch her belting out her favorite lines as we drive in the car. She also loves her nursery rhyme songs--Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald, Shoo Fly, etc. To go along with her love of music, she LOVES to dance. She has some pretty good moves. Totally didn't get them from her parents! I really think music and/or dance will play a large part in her future.

Other things that keep her busy--coloring, painting, Play-Doh, bubbles, listening to stories, watching her favorite movies (most involve Disney princesses at the moment), Barbies, building forts out of blankets, pretending, making her little sister laugh, going to the park, and going to Target. :) More than anything, she loves when we chase her around the house and tickle her. She laughs and screams and just falls to the ground out of pure happiness. It's so funny and completely contagious. I often find myself rolling on the ground giggling with her.

She has an odd bedtime ritual--for New Year's (yes, 9 months ago), I said "Happy New Year!" as I shut the door and told her good night. Well, that stuck. And so did "Happy Valentine's Day." So now, before we shut her door for the night, she says, "Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, no talking, I love you, {smooch-smooch}, {shh-shh}, good night, I love you!" And then we have to say the exact thing back. I have no idea how long this is going to go. I swear she has OCD sometimes. She needs certain things in her bedroom when she goes to bed. They all have to be in their place. No more, no less. I think once we leave the room, she scans the room to make sure everything is right. If not, she calls for us to fix it. Either something is missing or there's something in there that shouldn't be.

Mealtime is still a battle. Sigh. It's totally a power thing. She doesn't want to back down and I don't either. She has gotten a little better about trying new things. Even if she only has one bite of something new, I praise her for at least giving it a shot. Every now and then, she discovers something new that she likes. We're very very slowly adding to her short menu of things she'll eat. Thankfully, she still loves just about any fruit. If we didn't have that, I'd go completely nuts. Someday she'll eat like me. :) She does love her desserts though...in that case, she's very much like me. :)

She has been perfecting her somersault these past few weeks. She's getting to be pretty good at them and is quite proud of herself when she completes one.

She's as sassy as ever and sometimes I feel like tearing my hair out because I don't know how to handle it but on the other hand, she is still my sweet little girl. I really can't believe how quickly these last three years have gone. One minute she's this tiny baby and all of a sudden she's this smart, beautiful, goofy, funny, lovable, talkative three-year old. Crazy.

Ayla Ming, we love you so so so much. You are a wonderful daughter and such a good big sister. We can't wait to see what this next year brings!

Princess Party!

2011-10-02T21:10:00.012-05:00

We celebrated Ayla's 3rd birthday today, princess-style. :) She spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's last night so we could get everything ready this morning without her seeing. G & G took her to feed the ducks before coming home. What a fun way to start the day! I couldn't wait for her to get home. When she got here, I picked her up and walked her around so she could see all the decorations and her cake. She seemed pretty thrilled about it all. :) She had an all around great day...I really think she had a blast during her party and had even more fun going through her presents for a second time afterwards. Seeing her so happy makes me happy. Success!

For some reason, it really hit me that she was turning 3 when I dug out three little pink candles to put on her cake. I can't believe how fast these three years went.
I mentally prepared myself for the fact that Ayla would probably only eat Cheetos, cake and ice cream for lunch so when she happily munched away on everything I put on her plate, I was more than pleasantly surprised so I couldn't help but take a million pictures. She didn't FINISH everything, but she was eating so I was happy. :)
My little niece Makayla with her awesome little piggy-tails!After she opened all of her presents, we brought her downstairs so she could see her present from us. We got her one of those little playhouses. The look on her face was so awesome. When she's happy or excited about something, she makes this specific look. Her whole face lit up when she saw it and she couldn't wipe "the look" off her face as she stepped into it. Love it. It was so fun to see all the kids pile into this thing. It's pretty roomy!

Cake time! She knew the drill...as soon as we were done singing, she blew out all three candles!

Uncle Ping being a really good sport. :) Perfect blackmail picture, if you ask me. :)

Ready to party!

2011-10-02T21:07:00.001-05:00

A super happy baby waiting for her big sister's birthday party to start!

Our Princess

2011-09-30T21:37:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Ayla happily put on one of her many princess get-ups so I could take some pictures for her birthday invitation. After a few minutes, she found her groove and started twisting, turning, and posing like Heidi Klum. What in the world?! What a little diva. :)

This Sunday is her princess-themed birthday party. She's so excited! (Me too!)

iPad

2011-09-30T21:29:00.002-05:00

That iPad is a lifesaver when we need just a few moments to get something done. We've uploaded several kid-friendly apps that keep Ayla entertained for quite a while. Some are just goofy games that make her giggle while others actually teach her things. I found one that shows her how to write letters. I thought it was maybe too advanced but I've found her "playing" it a few times. Obviously, her letters aren't perfect, but she's getting the idea. Super cool.