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.

Camping

We took a little camping trip this past weekend. The Washington and Jefferson National Forest is only about an hour and a half away, and has quite a few nice campgrounds. The one we chose was the closest to us called Elizabeth Furnace, named for the pig iron furnace site that it is built on. For Bill's birthday we got a new tent which was really nice, big enough for us and then some. It has a curtain down the middle so we could put Aubrey's pack n play on one side and we slept on the other. Aubrey did great--this was her first camping trip! It was a little cold--only 47 at night, but I bundled her up so much she could hardly move which was funny but it worked, she slept very well. The rest of the time she relished walking around the campground, riding in the backpack, eating tons of food, and getting filthy dirty. We went on a couple short hikes, we didn't really want to try one of our usual 4-6 milers with a 25+ pound baby on Bill's back.

Oh no! A bear in our campground!

Breakfast with the bear.

The fire tower we hiked to and climbed. Dexter refused to go up it and the height made Bill very nervous. It was metal with holes in so you could see all the way to the ground. That didn't make it seem very stable.

There were great views from the top.

Aubrey in the backpack.

Hanging out in the camp site.

Enjoying the view of the water.

Charlotte's Birthday Bash

We attended Aubrey's friend Charlotte's birthday party yesterday. We had a lot of fun eating yummy food and to die for cake and watching the kids play. Charlotte was being so brave and walking a good 10 feet at a time and Aubrey was obsessed with playing with the balloons.

My two favorite people getting ready to party

Modeling new trouser jeans.

Gathering around C to watch her devour a cupcake.

Balloons!

Partiers

Imitating Mommy putting on sunglasses

We've been pretty busy lately. Labor Day weekend came and went really quickly. Saturday was our last time at the pool for the season--Aubrey will be so sad not to go swimming a couple times a week now. She would get so excited when she saw the water and never wanted to get out! Monday we went to Richmond to visit our friends who recently moved down there at their new place. Their new neighborhood is very nice, lots of great shopping. We miss them already though. :(

Bill's birthday was on Tuesday. He had a stressful day at work, but then when he came home I greeted him with a yummy chocolate cake and the news that I had arranged for a babysitter and we were going out to dinner! We went to Ruth's Chris Steak House, they were having a two dine for a set price type deal. It still ended up being more than we ever spend on eating out, but we figured that Bill only has one 30th birthday and he did get some money for it from Gramma and his parents so we splurged. It was very good food and great service. You don't realize how bad the service is in lower price restaurants until you go to one where they obviously have had training. I also realized that this month Bill and I will have known each other for ten years! What? Are we really getting that old?

Our little baby is getting so big now, we really can't call her a baby anymore. It makes me wistful and kind of sad, but very proud at the same time. She is learning so much every day--yesterday she learned how to go all the way down the flights of stairs backwards and also back up while turning her push toy around so she doesn't get stuck in the corner anymore. She is very into imitation now, all my sounds and gestures get repeated. Yesterday evening before bed was the last time that I have nursed her--I think I am having a harder time weaning than she is at this point. She went to sleep for the night without being nursed for the first time in her life tonight and I am the one who is sad.

Charlotte and Aubrey playing in C's new house

A showing C what color she should paint the walls from a paint chip.

Aubrey and her farm animals

Featured here are the duck, sheep, and horse.