Ticklish

It is too hot out to wear jeans

but I am doing it anyway. I just got a new pair on Saturday and they fit so well. All my pre-pregnancy jeans are way too big--all size 8s and 6s. Weirdly I am now a size 4 (or 28 at j.crew), at least on bottom. It is such a nice thing to have a pair of jeans that fit me with no saggy bottom or (as Hayley named it) crotch saggage. In the past few weeks, I bought two pairs of jeans from two different stores and tried on multiple pairs in other stores and in all of them I am a size four which is so strange to me since I have never worn that size. I think I was an eight when I was like 12 years old. So either I am shrinking or sizes are growing--or (most likely) both.

Anyway, I have to decide what to do with all my old clothes. I have so many suits from working, casual pants that are too big, etc. Probably what I should do is keep my favorites in the bigger sizes, just a few things, and then donate the rest. I realize there is a possibility that I will get bigger again now that I am weaning Aubrey and also with future pregnancies. There is also the sentimentality of many of these clothes--oh, this is the suit I was wearing when I interviewed for my job, this is the one I was wearing when I attended Reagan's funeral, this is what I was wearing when I found out I was pregnant, etc. Any thoughts? Like go for it Becky, get rid of everything that doesn't fit, you dont' need 5 saggy baggy suits. Or don't do it! You'll gain back all that weight eventually and do you want to buy all new clothes? Oh wait, that sounds like fun. ;)

hugs and snuggles

recently Aubrey has become very lovey with her stuffed animals, picking them up and rocking them and hugging them. It is so cute. Maybe it is time to get her a doll. I haven't been trying to be a "progressive" mom and give her masculine toys to play with instead of gender stereotypical toys, but she does have a truck, a train, and a soccer ball. Yeah, I think it is time for a baby doll.

Big Girl (still)

Aubrey had her one year checkup today. She was cute walking around the waiting room holding my hand and handing books and toys to the other kids there. Thankfully it was full of well-visit children, so hopefully we didn't catch any germs. There were two other moms there with four kids each and one other with two. They looked tired. ;)

Anyway, here are the stats:

Weight: 24 lbs. 5 oz. 90%
Height: 31" 95%
Head: 46.5 cm 90%

Which means she is only two inches and 3 pounds away from wearing Crewcuts.

I expect her to slow down in growing a bit now since her version of eating is take a few bites and throw the rest off the high chair onto the floor. She just wants to be exploring all the time--can't keep her still! The doctor was surprised that she has about a dozen words now, he was asking if she said mama or dada yet. I said, yes, and doggy, birdy, ut-oh, thank you, fish, ball, bye-bye, hi, kitty, and up. :) One of my favorite things now is when she wakes up in the morning and I come in to get her out of her crib she will give me a huge smile and a big hi! Sometimes when she is falling asleep she will practice her words, I'll hear her going through her whole vocabulary a few times before drifting off.

Happy Anniversary!

My brother John and Sister-in-law Alisa. I can't believe it has been three years already! Best wishes for a wonderful year together. Love you!

I'd rather be...

Today was one of those wonderful days that comes to your mind when you think about being a stay at home mom but in reality don't come along as often as you like.

First of all the weather is perfect. Low 80s, low humidity, brilliant blue sky with puffy marshmallow clouds, and a breeze that keeps the grass and trees in constant motion. Adding all those things together, Aubrey and I decided to get out of the house. While she was taking her morning nap I packed up our backpack full of a yummy picnic lunch. After slathering up with sunscreen and grabbing a blanket to sit on we were out the door. Only a 10 minute drive away is one of the most beautiful parks that I have ever been to. Wide, rolling meadows, meandering streams, sun dappled woods, and herds of graceful shy deer are only a few reasons that I love Manassas National Battlefield park.

Aubrey and I were the only people in the part of the park we picked for our adventure. I parked the car and put her in the backpack and HEAVED it onto my back. Woah, okay, heavier than I thought, so we took a short hike to a shady spot under a juniper (cedar maybe?) tree. Aubrey enjoyed crawling around on the quilt, playing with my sunglasses and water bottle and I just lay on my back and gazed up at the tree and sky. The cicadas and the wind made enough noise to block out the distant traffic sounds so for all we knew we were all alone. I am a country girl at heart and having that time away from the hustle and bustle was so peaceful. We ate pasta salad and watermellon for lunch; then while Aubrey was climbing on me we saw a mommy and baby deer nearby. Aubrey actually spotted them first, pointing and saying "doggy." After they left, I put Aubrey back in the pack and took a little longer walk back to the car.

The tree we sat under.

Enjoying some water

Can you spot Aubrey on the blanket?
The view from our picnic spot. The stone wall is an old homestead.

Gazing up at a bird flying by.

After the park we went to the library where Aubrey enjoyed pulling books off the shelves, reading, and walking around. At one point she got down to crawl away as fast as she could, giggling all the way. She thinks it is so funny to play catch me if you can.

On the way home we stopped at Starbucks (okay, this country girl does love some things about the suburbs) and I drank some iced coffee and we shared a rice krispie treat while reading one of her books from the library. She then walked around some more while charming other customers with her big grins and coy dimples. Aubrey now loves walking without holding anything, she knows what a huge accomplishment it is and doesn't want to do much else!

The only thing that makes me sad about this day is that Aubrey won't have any memory of it. I appreciate now that she is a participant in day to day activities rather than a little blob I tote around. I am looking forward to many more days of fun with my little companion.

Walking!

New Word

Aubrey has a few words now, some of which are more discernable than others. "Buuh" is balloon, which isn't really even very close, but she has been consistently pointing at them and saying that so I guess that is as close as she can get. Isn't it cute? I love her little baby voice.

Speaking of voices...she just woke up from her nap and is hungry. Know how I know that? Her little baby voice coming over the monitor saying "yum."

Saturday evening we had a hailstorm

It is very surreal to see ice balls raining out of the sky mid-summer. They weren't big enough to do any damage--only about blueberry to dime sized.

Party, Party.

What a wonderful week of celebration we have had. We started with a family party in Connecticut as you already saw from the pictures I posted then we had a friends party here in Virginia yesterday. I am so overwhelmed with thankfulness and joy that so many gathered and marked Aubrey's first birthday with us. It has been so fun seeing everyone, enjoying catching up, laughing at the antics of the kids, and eating a lot of good food--especially cake! Everyone was so generous as well--Aubrey received so many fun new toys, books, and pretty much completed her late summer and fall wardrobes.

Aubrey decided to give us a special treat at her party yesterday--she walked across the entire living room! Yep, that's right, let go of Bill's hands and took off. We were all just staring at her with our mouths open. Here I was thinking late crawler would equal late walker, but it looks like I will have to rethink that.

Here are some pictures from yesterday's party:

How old are you? That's right! ONE!

Aubrey, Charlotte, Hayley, and Karis playing with balloons. Miraculously none of them popped.

Opening presents.

Everyone singing Happy Birthday (sorry, I know singing pictures are not flattering.) We had 14 adults and 5 kids in attendance!

Yummy cake and cupcakes.

sharing birthdays

I was wondering if Aubrey shared a birthday with anyone famous and so upon googling it I found out she shares it with--Benito Mussolini! What! Okay, nevermind, I think I rather my daughter didn't share her birthday with an Italian dictator. Not many others of note except Clara Bow who was the "it" girl of the silent films.

I on the other hand share the day with Teddy Roosevelt, Nicolo Paganini, and James Cook (you know, the British sea captain and explorer who was the first to fend off scurvy by feeding lemons and sauerkraut to his sailors. He was also the first European in New Zealand.) I am in good company there.

How about you? Who do you share your day with? www.famousbirthdays.net