Banana

I had to document this one. Some of the things that Aubrey says are quiet clear, others not so much. Occasionally she comes up with very creative ways to say what she is hearing. She has been saying banana like this for about a month now. And yes, she is in a kind of crazy mood--look at the disaster of toys behind her! That happened in about thirty seconds flat. :)

15 Months Old Today

The face she makes when I say "smile." She also started clapping too for good measure.

With her best furry friend.

Wants to go climb stairs.

It is cold out today and very windy. Every time there is a big gust she looks at the trees and says "wooooowww!"

Can I bring this little pumpkin on our walk?

The pumpkin was too heavy so we took off without it--we don't hold still for long!

Warm and Cozy

Now that it is finally cooler out, Aubrey can enjoy her fabulous custom sweater by Gramma.

I have kept pretty quiet about the Presidential election so far on my blog. All my readers are well informed people who most likely have their minds made up about who they are voting for, so I wasn't really going to delve into it. However, a friend shared an article with me today that both brought tears to my eyes and sickened me.

Our country is at such a crossroads. Economic policies: whether you believe in free markets or more regulation by the government. Health care: privatization or government regulation. Foreign policy: continue to pre-emptively protect our country from terrorists using the military or reduce nuclear proliferation and use diplomatic venues to prevent more violence. I could go on. These issues are all very important, but there is one more that I want to delve into in greater depth because I didn't understand how extreme Senator Obama's policies are when it comes to the area of human life.

Senator Obama places a great deal of importance and priority to his pro-abortion policies. He has promised that ''the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act.'' This act would provide federally funded abortions for any point in the pregnancy for any undefined "health" reason. It would remove parental consent and notification laws and conscience exemptions that protect health workers from losing their jobs if they object to participating in abortions. In addition to that, he would remove funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that provide support for women who choose not to abort their babies.

It gets even worse. Not only does Senator Obama wish to remove the protection that President Bush has provided for frozen embryos that were created in the process of invitro fertilization, but he wants to lift bans on cloning embryos for research purposes. This will create and then kill these babies factory style in the name of science.

Lastly consider that there will likely be vacancies on the Supreme Court in the next term. If you have a pro-abortion president, pro-abortion majority in Congress, and a pro-abortion majority sitting on the Supreme Court, how many more innocent lives will be lost? Abortion is such a black mark in our nation's history and we should look back on it in shame as we do slavery.

Does the average pro-Obama voter understand how extreme his policies really are?

I encourage you to read this article in full.

Other sources:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27035396/
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/567646696.html
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064639/posts

She loves riding horses already

Busy day

eating lunch

antiques shopping

at the Richmond Children's museum

Aubrey didn't want to stop going back and forth across the bridge

Aubrey and I went down to Richmond to spend the day with Hayley and Charlotte yesterday. Yes, they are dressed alike, Aubrey and I found shirts that say best friends on them and had to have them. Isn't it cute? We had a lot of fun. First we went to the Republican headquarters to pick up some bumper stickers. Being in the midst of the phonebanking and campaigning buzz certainly brought back memories of two years ago! Then we headed to get lunch at a bagel shop and browsed in a few boutiques. Then we headed to the Richmond's children's museum and the kids had a blast! The whole place is amazing: there was a kid scale town with a grocers, dr. office, bank, etc., dinosaurs, a tree you "pick" apples from, and a whole section for under 3s. Aubrey was so wound up from it all she hardly slept on the drive home and then was running around like a crazy baby before bed.

Running around in PJs before bed

attacking mommy with a silly face

Fourteen Months

Drinking a Mango Pineapple Smoothie

We have been so busy lately that I had been meaning to do a 14 month post for quite a few days now and am just getting around to it. Our little Aubrey is growing in leaps and bounds. It didn't take long for her to transition from not walking without holding our hands to don't you dare hold my hand while I am walking. We go on walks every day, we are up to about 1/2 mile now before she gets tired. And by tired I mean she just turns off the sidewalk and plays with leaves or grass, she would never ask to be picked up! Anytime that I do pick her up or guide her away from something she wants to be doing she screams like I am torturing her in the worst way. Definitely humbling in public.

Just like her mommy, Aubrey is a talker. She has at last count over 40 words*, four two-word phrases, and four animal sounds. However, around people other than us Aubrey clams up and is very quiet. While at home she repeats just about everything that I say to the best of her ability, and that can come out really funny sometimes.

Aubrey loves to laugh. Whenever anyone who is around her laughs she will laugh too, even if she doesn't know what is funny. She is very ticklish and loves being startled as well. She is always very busy, never stopping moving. She walks while she drinks, eats, or picks up a toy. One exception is when she sits to read her books or even better, have them read to her. Her absolute favorite outing, other than walks, is to go to the library. She toddles up and down the rows of books saying, Book, Book, Book and pointing. Always generous, she pulls the books off the shelves and distributes them to any other kids who are in the area.

So, as you can see, Aubrey isn't a baby any more. Sometimes I miss those baby days, but then I remember the sleepless nights and the constant nursing, and am happy with having a toddler instead.



*Just so I can remember in the future, I am cataloguing them here.
Daddy, Mama, Hi, Bye-bye, That, Baby, Ball, Balloon, Hop (what a bunny does), Jump, Walk (as in put me down so I can walk), Doggy, Bunny, Horse, Hen, Duck, Birdie, Fish, Kitty, Nose, Mouth, Eye, Tummy, Trees, Bush (as in President), Yum, Yuck, Boo, Mess, Milk, Cheese, Spoon, Book, Shoes, Nice (for petting animals), Hug (when she gives one), Ut-Oh, Ow (as in I hurt myself), Brush, Poopies (yes, she tells me when she goes), Up please, All done, Thank you, Love you, Woof, Neigh, Quack, Baa

Homeschooling starts early: Government 101

I had to teach her this one now because Bush is so much easier to say than McCain or Obama.