I Finally Finished

Yesterday afternoon I finished my sewing for Aubrey's toddler room. I am sooooo HAPPY to be finished!

The pillow sham

The window valence

Now we just need to get the room painted and move all of Aubrey's things over. Then the hardest task of all will be to transition Aubrey to a toddler bed. I am not looking forward to that. Then we'll get to put the nursery back to the pre-Aubrey condition. This is what the nursery looked like right before Aubrey was born.

It doesn't look quite so neat and tidy now - but I am hoping to get it back before Brooke is born.

In other news, Aubrey said her first sentence today. She said, "Aubrey, ride a bike?" Jeff was riding his bike and we were out in the yard watching. She liked what she saw, so she asked for a turn. Then all night long it was "Daddy ride a bike" and "Aubrey ride a bike". I love her new found communication skills!

Bad Puppies

Yesterday we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having this week and went to the park. I forgot to bring a sippy cup for Aubrey so she drank out of my water bottle. Of course she ended up getting as much on her shirt as she did down her throat. She didn't like the feeling of a wet shirt, so I took it off and put it in the sun to dry. While Aubrey was running around shirtless, 2 large puppies came running into the park without an owner. Of course, Aubrey saw them and started running right towards them. The puppies immediately jumped on top of Aubrey and scratched her poor shirtless back and arms. My poor Aubrey was scared, hurt and devastated. She couldn't believe that something she loves so much would hurt her. She cried for quite awhile. Once I got her calmed down, I tried to explain to her that they were just trying to play with her and they didn't mean to hurt her. She just kept making her sound for dog, while pointing to her arm and saying "scratch scratch." She just couldn't understand why they would scratch her. We continued to play at the park and the puppies would come and go. Every time she saw them coming she would grab on to me and cover her head in my shoulder.

I was afraid that Aubrey was going to inherit my fear of dogs. Panicking every time I see a dog has certainly not served me well in my life, and I didn't want that for Aubrey. So I decided the best thing to do was to get her right back on the horse. This morning we called Katie to see if we could come and visit her and Sophie. I knew since Sophie is such a nice puppy it would be a good experience for Aubrey.

When we got there Aubrey was definitely nervous of Sophie. She didn't want to get too close and would cower if Sophie got too near her.

But Katie helped to hold Sophie down and we got Aubrey to pet her a few times. Then Aubrey started playing more. She wanted to run and have Sophie chase her.

She still wouldn't get too close on own though.

Finally she got more comfortable and started bringing Sophie treats and toys to play with. And wanted to comb her hair.

Right before we left to go home, Aubrey finally pet Sophie without anyone holding her down and even gave her kisses "bye bye". So I think that doggies are back in Aubrey's good graces. But, I will definitely be more careful if we see any that aren't with their owners.

We have been teaching Aubrey to say "please" and "thank you" when she wants things. She knows exactly how to respond when she wants something and we say, "what do you say?" This morning Aubrey finally said "please" on her own without me asking her to. She was playing in the bathroom while I was getting ready. She found a tube of toothpaste and went to go throw it in the full tub. I told her not to, but she did it anyway. Then she wanted me to get it for her so she could put it back. I told her that she couldn't have it because she didn't listen to me. I figured I was going to get a tantrum, since that is what has been happening lately when she doesn't get her way. But, instead she looked at me with the most innocent eyes and signed and said at the same time, "pawease". That kid certainly knows how to get her way! I wanted to reinforce the "please" so I gave it back to her. I probably reinforced the disobeying at the same time - but how could I help it really!

Family Swim

We got free swim passes when we signed up for the swim lessons. So, on Thursday night we went swimming as a family. Aubrey was real excited that daddy was coming. She kept saying "daddy too!" We had a fun time. We got to show daddy all of Aubrey's new tricks; jumping in the pool, blowing bubbles, going under the water, kicking & scooping her arms. Daddy loved all of her tricks.

Look at me swim!

I can jump in the water!

Daddy's goggles are really cool!

On a not so fun note - on Friday I got my first puking in public experience. Aubrey had had the flu on Tuesday, but had been fine since. We went to Wal-mart and Aubrey started coughing and then threw up. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I was heading quickly to the family restroom while looking for an employee to tell of the mess. On my way, I ran into a friend of mine who was so sweet to help me out. She has 3 kids and has been there done that. She had wet wipes handy and pointed out the extra veggie bags we had in the cart for putting the mess in. I have always considered myself to be a very independent person, but something about having a friend there with me was so nice. Just seeing her made me feel relieved. It's times like those that just don't seem coincidental. How likely is it that my friend would be right there at that moment. I mean sure I could have handled it on my own, but it was so much nicer having a friend. I love those tender mercies in pretty insignificant situations that help us know that we are being looked after. And for friends sent as angels to help us out. Thanks Amy for being there!

Baby Brooke and Animal

Today we went to my midwife appointment. Aubrey usually goes with me because they are pretty short and she does a really good job sitting on the chair. She also loves to hear the heartbeat. Anyway, today we walked into the examination room and saw a picture similar to the one on the left, except that we could see the woman's head as well as her tummy. Aubrey points right at the baby in the poster and says, "Baby Brooke". I thought it was so sweet that she actually got that that was a baby in a tummy just like Baby Brooke is in mommy's tummy. I think she is really understanding more than I give her credit for with this whole new baby thing.


Last week she felt Brooke kick for the first time. She got real excited and started kicking herself and saying, "Kick Kick Kick, Brooke Brooke Brooke". Then when we went swimming on Saturday when she was kicking in the pool she started saying "Kick Brooke". I think she was trying to say, "I am kicking just like Brooke." A few times since then she has put her hand on my tummy and said, "kick kick kick" while pushing on my tummy. She's trying to tell Brooke that she wants to feel her kick again. It sure will be interesting to see how she reacts when she sees Brooke for the first time on the outside.

Aubrey's language development has really been exploding lately. She'll repeat words that we say and even try to sing along with songs. She is saying several new words everyday. Today she really surprised me though. She was playing in what will be her new bedroom soon. The closet door was open and she looked inside. There is not much in there - I thought there were only some Primary manuals inside. Well she looked at the top shelf and started pointing excitedly. So I said, "What do you see, Mommy's books?" She responded with, "animals." It wasn't a perfect pronunciation but I was pretty sure she said animals. So, I looked inside and sure enough, there were some stuffed animals on the shelf. I think that was her first 3 syllable word. I was pretty impressed. So, I had to bring the animals down of course. I was showing them to her and asking what they were. Some animals she can say the names, others she does the sound. I held up a Kangaroo not thinking she would know what to say, but I was wrong. She responded right away with "kangaroo." I am so much enjoying being able to communicate more with her.


After the midwifes appointment this morning, I brought out the paints since Aubrey loves painting.

As you can see in the pic Aubrey is holding a wash cloth in her right hand. Before we started painting I told her that we were going to get her painting shirt. So she ran to her closet and tried to open it. She has an accordian style closet and must have pinched her thumb in the center. She was pretty upset. I am sure it did hurt a lot - but she is also quite dramatic. Anyway, after kissing it better repeatedly, she was still pretty upset. So I told her that we were going to wrap her finger in a cold wash cloth and it would make it feel better. The wash cloth was magic - the tears stopped immediately and she started asking for paints again. She held that wash cloth on her thumb the entire time she was painting and had to paint with her left hand. That funny little monkey!

Here is the aftermath of the painting - a completely green hand!

Swim Class

Lately I have been feeling sentimental about spending one on one time with Aubrey after Brooke is born. I know it is going to be a challenge for me not to feel torn between spending time with both of my girls. So, I decided I wanted to get in one more special class with Aubrey while I can. So we started Parent & Tot swim classes on Saturday. I am also not sure how much swimming we'll get in this season with a newborn - and I love swimming. We had such a good time. We had taken a swim class in the Fall and I think it really helped Aubrey feel comfortable in the water. As soon as we got in, I put her on her tummy and she started kicking right away. She had fun blowing bubbles and jumping in the pool. She also went under the water several times without any tears. I am glad we signed up for the class - we both had a lot of fun and we can't wait until next Saturday!

Here is Aubrey sporting her new swimsuit while we got ready to go to swim class. I love how feminine it is!

Aubrey also really enjoyed the locker room after swimming. The lockers were just her size to climb in!

Little Moments

Aubrey hasn't seen a lot of her daddy the last couple of days and she must have been missing him. This morning when she woke up we put her in between us in bed with some milk. After she was finished she put her little hand on daddy's face and then just laid there like that for a while. Then she very gently patted his face and said, "daddy" to wake him up. He opened his eyes and for the next several minutes she was just touching his face so gently. She would point to his eyes and say "eyes" and then ears, cheeks, nose and so on. Then finally she grabbed both of his cheeks and pulled him in for a big kiss. It was just so sweet. Daddy was in heaven! I love little moments like that!

Finally this week we got some spring like weather. The best day I was indoor sewing all day and missed it, but the next day was pretty nice, except for the wind. So we spent some time outdoors with Rachel & Zoe.

The two little cuties on their bikes.

Aubrey loved Zoe's helmet because it had both Elmo & Ernie on it - and she has just noticed that her nighttime diapers have these characters on them.

Aubrey is obsessed with slides. She had to do it over and over again!

Aubrey LOVES stuffed animals! She has to have 4 or 5 of them with her at a time. On any given week she has her favorites that must be with her at all times. Anyway, whenever she moves from room to room, all of her favs must come with her. She won't let us help her carry them either. So her arms are always stuffed FULL of her animals. That kid just cracks me up.

Ladybug Quilt

For several months now I have known that I wanted Aubrey's new room to have a Ladybug theme. I have been looking for awhile for toddler bedding that I like. I couldn't find anything that I liked so decided to design and make my own. I finally finished the quilt tonight. Thanks to my AWESOME friend Rachel, who spent the majority of the day today teaching me how to do the quilting part. I was going to wait 'til the room was all done to blog about it, but I am much too impatient. I still have the pillow sham and window valence to make - but I am thrilled that the quilt is finally finished!! It has been quite the experience with my back troubles - but a little bit everyday has gotten me to the finished product! I can't wait to get the whole room put together now!