Bed head

Seriously folks, this is what I have to deal with every morning.

Not Just Any Ordinary Cow

Oh no, not my kid. She likes one specific type of cow.

Not my picture, see corner for credit. She likes the peeing cow. Random, I know.

It all started a couple of months back when we went to the petting zoo at Valley Feed. They have (had) a baby cow and as we were looking at it, it started to pee. Aubrey was very curious about the steady stream of pee. I explained that the cow had to go pee pee. Since that day, she's been obsessed.

Her obsession can prove to be quite embarrassing. Shortly after our trip with the cow, we took her to urgent care with a fever. While we were waiting, we brought the usual entertainment, crayons, paper, toys, etc. Aubrey would color for a little while, then ask us to color something. It was our turn again, and she requested a cow. I drew the cow, and she starts freaking out. I knew she was in a funk because of the fever, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, she calmed down enough to SHOUT, "draw the cow pee pee". At that moment it seemed the entire waiting room was staring at us. They were probably wondering what kind of freaks we were that our daughter would request that we draw the cow's pee pee. She repeated her request over and over as I was trying to verbally clarify so I didn't get turned into CPS, "Oh, Aubrey, you want mommy to draw the cow going pee, like the one you saw at the petting zoo?" She quickly replied, "Uh, huh!". I explained that mommy couldn't really draw the cow going pee pee; that it was inappropriate. But the request continued on every. single. time. it was our turn to draw.

Her obsession with peeing cows doesn't stop there. When we sing "Old McDonald" guess which animal she requests? That's right the peeing cow. Now what sound does that animal make?

Oh, the joys of parenthood. Just wait till she goes to preschool next year. I'm sure I'll be shocked with what she comes up with.

CAPTURED!

NO, not by these scary pirates, by the CAMERA, of course. :) Here's a little picture synopsis of the past few days.

We made those super fun pirate outfits from some Goodwill clothes we bought. We intended on going to the treasure hunt at Beale library, but our plans were pleasently haulted when Alisha gave birth. ;) I was just too tired to take all three kiddos (it's exhausting to have your sister-in-law give birth LOL)

Aubrey and Zoe- Doesn't get much sweeter than those two little girls. :)

A sticker chart we started to get Aubrey to go to sleep without screaming for 2 hours. So far, so good. Our girl likes those stickers! Thomas, here we come! (We were planning on going anyways b/c we bought Brogan tickets for his birthday)
The fruits of our labor--so what if she's falling off the bed, she's still sound asleep. ;) Aubrey's new BFF. Sorry Gracie, you've been replaced temporarily--LOL. Aubrey told us Miss Caitlyn is her best friend when we were driving home from swim lessons. So cute.

And, of course, ME! I was tagged by the lovely Davi.I pretty much followed the rules. No primping or pressing, just a picture of me at the exact moment I found the tag. I did however take 3 pictures and choose the most decent one. I also turned my head to the side so that I would hide the huge red volcano on the side of my cheek. :)

Now I'd like to CAPTURE...

Annelise

Shellie

Annie

Julie

Jenn

(I'm not sure if any of these ladies will do it, but it's worth a shot b/c they're all beautiful!)

Now right this second take a picture...no cheating, no makeup, no hair fixin'...just as you are.

P.S. sorry about the funky spacing. Blogger is not cooperating.

Easter 2009

I love Easter. I love the meaning of it. I love the weather. I love the dresses. SO FUN!

This year I decided to do rag curls so that Aubrey's hair would curl easier. Hum...yeah, not a good idea. My girl had a FRO! I did try to tame the beast with ringlets, but the hair still left something to be desired. LOL, you live and you learn. Aubrey loved waking up to an Easter basket and egg hunting. Her favorite stuffer was the yo-yo and the chocolate bunny. Glad I got that bunny; it was good bribery during the curling session. We had a great day starting with church to celebrate our Risen Savior. Then we had a brunch at my house with my family (forgot to take pictures) and an evening of Stakki Uppi with Justin's family. Grandma Kim was very Martha Stewart and make chocolate pretzel nests and let Aubrey help her bake. Before Easter, we had a little pre-Easter potluck with our Bible study and fun was had by all. :)

Are you kidding me?

I have a TON of pictures to post, but no time to post them. Soon...very soon. In the meantime, I was checking the weather to help decide what to wear to Brogan's party. On Yahoo weather, the forecase for Monday is 101*. Are you kidding me?

Life: firsts, lasts and the in between

As I sit giddy about the phone call I just got (Alisha's checking into the hospital) I can't help but reflect on my own birthing experience. It's all such a blur. I mean I remember each little part, but it all felt surreal. You anticipate that moment for so long and when it comes, it just flashes so quickly. It's like this super-intense day and then BOOM, you're a mommy and your life is forever changed. It's all so beautiful, and I'm so excited for Kurt and Alisha to experience it. Makes me a little teary... I truly believe that there is no greater earthly gift than that of parenthood.

Lately, I've had plenty of moments while I'm talking to Aubrey or watching her, that I just can't help but wonder when my baby grew up. That first year is full of so many firsts. Each one is documented with such excitement and dedication. Recently though, I've been reflecting on the lasts. They seem to get lost in the rush of life around me. The don't usually get documented eventhough each is equally as much of a milestone as all the firsts. When was the last time that Aubrey woke up in the middle of the night to nurse, or for that matter, the last time she nursed? When was the last time she fell asleep in my arms as I rocked her? When was the last time that she slept in her crib or rode in a baby seat? Most of these moments got lost in the rush of life and growing up, and just lately, I've been really sad that I can't pinpoint an exact moment for each last. And while some lasts are more celebrated and therefore memorable than others (the last day we used a paci, etc), sometimes I wish I could bottle up each of those precious moments that pass too quickly. (I'm baby hungry, I tell you). And since I'll probably be all gooey and baby obsessed for the next couple of days, I thought I'd take a moment to document Aubrey's latest and greatest, so I don't forget.

At 2 years 7 months (seriously, when did she grow up):

• You think nicknames are the best ever. You laugh when grandma calls Ivy "monkeyface" and just recently you started calling daddy "Daddy O". You also like your nickname "Auburrito".
• You LOVE to make mommy and daddy proud. In swim lessons, you go underwater or kick and then stare at the window with a big smile to make sure we're watching.
• You're not a fan of big crowds. You don't really like people you don't know.
• You love your Bubba! When you really like something, you always talk about how Bubba is going to do it with you.
• You've replaced pacis with gum because big girls chew gum. You know that you can't swallow it, so you have me put a wet wipe on the table so you can spit each little piece on it.
• Your memory astounds me. You'll bring up events from almost a year ago.
• Your favorite children's Bible stories are Baby Moses and Joseph's New Coat.
• Your favorite color is blue...you want blue everything!
• You love daddy to paint your nails.
• You have two distinct dances that you do: the crazy Hot Dog Dance and your Princess Dance.
• You love to sing and dance. Your nighttime request from daddy is Twinkle, Twinkle and from mommy is Silent Night.
• You bow your head and fold your hands when you pray, but you always are peeking with one eye. I caught you in the playroom praying on your princess couch. You were thanking G0d for your family (SO CUTE).
• You're an awesome scooter rider! You go all the way to the mailbox and back.
• You peddled your bike at grandma's house 25 times by yourself.
• You're still a mama's girl most days. (I love it!)

Oh, and a little update on our big girl status: We LOVE swim lessons now. Last week Aubrey told us that Miss Caitlyn is her best friend. The first day was rough on everyone, but I was totally wrong about Miss Caitlyn. She's cute, fun and enthsiastic. I just think she was overwhelmed by 3 SCREAMING 2 year olds. As far as the paci goes, it's been a week and a day. Each day is different. Most days she fusses or sings for about 3 minutes before she falls asleep. Today was bad. She literally cried for 1 1/2 hours before nap time and it took her about 1 1/2 hours to fall asleep tonight (not all crying, we even caught her crawling down the hall- the first time she's EVER gotten out of her bed). This too shall pass.

I'm so excited to meet Kurt and Alisha's little bundle of joy! New life. Such a beautiful celebration, especially in this Easter season. CAN'T WAIT, but I must go to bed.

Back in the saddle...

I'm baaaack. Hopefully I'll be a little more disciplined in my blog surfing habit. I'm really going to work on it. I am looking forward to getting to post more frequently before my brain is completely void of everything I wanted to blog about. I also love that I don't have to cram a HUGE update in right now because it's Sunday. I'll get to it tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll sit here anticipating an exciting call from this little lady.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do

This has been a big week for our big girl. On a few separate occasions, she's told me that she doesn't want to be a big girl. And I get it. I get how hard it must be to have all your decisions made for you. Grant it, we prep her and encourage her. We hurt when she hurts, but we know the outcome is what is best for her, and she doesn't realize that yet. Thankfully, she's flexible and moves on quickly, but that doesn't make the transition to being a big girl any less difficult.
On Monday, Aubrey started swim lessons. My girl was EXCITED! She marched her cute little hiney right into the swim lesson place and was ready to go. She was even super brave as her teacher walked away with her and a SCREAMING set of twins. She sat so brave on the steps between the two crying kiddos...until...until the teacher took them one-by-one and started dunking them. Sure, she'd count to 3 first, but still, dunking 2-year-olds in the first 10 minutes of swim lessons is a recipe for disaster. I used to teach swim lessons, and I feel that building trust and excitement is the most important part of the teacher-student relationship. Her teacher threw that out the window. She was no longer excited and proceeded to scream WAY louder than the other two kiddos. Thankfully the relief instructors came to the rescue and each of them took one of the other kids in Aubrey's class. Aubrey was with her teacher...who proceeded to dunk her 2 or 3 more times. She was no longer a fan of swim lessons.

Wednesday, Aubrey was not happy when it was time to get dressed for swim lessons. She BEGGED to not have to do. She didn't like Miss Kaitlyn. She wasn't a big girl. Against every bit of my softy side, I got her dressed and loaded into the car seat. We did our best to calm her down. My sister gave me some good advice. She told me that I paid for lessons, so I needed to tell the teacher what I wanted her to do. Imagine that, asking for what I wanted. I politely told the teacher that Aubrey really was the type of kid who needed to know what to expect and it was important to build trust with her. I told her that I thought if they started off with some games, they could work up to the underwater and swimming part. It worked...like a charm. The lesson started with fear and crying, but ended with high fives and a big huge smile. I was so proud of my girl for being so brave.

Wednesday was a great day all around. My cousin Michelle, who lives in Portland, was visiting her mom in Porterville. I took Aubrey and Reagan up for a day visit with her sweet family. It was my first time meeting her handsome little man, Grady (bummed I didn't get any pictures of him). We also enjoyed a nice visit with little miss Brooklyn. She just turned four, and she and Aubrey are two peas in a pod. Besides looking alike (in my opinion), they also remind me of each other because they aren't big fans of new people. I loved getting to catch up with Michelle. I sure wish they lived closer. My dad met us at the park that we used to play at as kids. He brought my cousin Ryan who was working with him and we had a little mini family reunion right there ;) I LOVE family and the required connection that comes with the title. I'm bummed that I didn't get a picture of Michelle and I, but at least I got the girls.

That brings us to the final, and most difficult part of the week, today. Today was the day that we (Aubrey...well and technically me too, because I really did like how easy they were) turned the pacis over to the Paci Princess. We went to Build-A-Bear and put all the pacis we could find into a sweet, velvety bear. Aubrey was such a big girl when we went there. She handed them over willingly, proclaiming, " Aubrey doesn't need them. I'm a big girl." On the way home from the mall, she asked for one. I reminded her that they were in the bear, and she seemed satisfied with that answer. Really, I was beginning to get really optimistic about bed time. Well....it wasn't quite as smooth as I hoped, but overall it only took an extra 45 minutes or so for her to fall asleep. She kept wanting to go to different rooms, desperately searching for a lost paci. Once again she let us know that she didn't want to be a big girl, but finally my big girl gave in and went to sleep paci free, probably, for the first time since she was a day or two old. WOW! Kinda makes me sad to write that. ;) I sure love my girl, even though all this growing up stuff is hard on both of us.