Audrey's First Haircut!

Today Audrey got her first haircut. It was a bit overdue - her hair is out of control! She's really got a lot of it and it's super curly - just like Dada's. I'm not sure how to tame it yet, so I thought a trim might help. We went to see the lady I've been going to for years, Brooke. Audrey didn't take a great nap that morning, so she was a little grumpy and cried a little during the cut, but did a great job!


Save me, Dada!



Audrey's Second Christmas

Audrey's second Christmas was very fun and very busy! We had four celebrations this year. First was Christmas Eve brunch with Scott's extended family. She got to meet a few cousins and she was happy to meet more little people!


Audrey's cousins



Grandma and Aunt Annie with the kiddos

That afternoon, we attempted to go to a "kid friendly" church service. We hadn't taken Audrey to church before, so we weren't sure how she would react. At first, she really liked the people watching and loved the music, but she quickly got very restless and we had to sneak out half way through. Maybe we'll try again when she's a little older.

On Christmas Eve night, we celebrated with Scott's family at Nana's house. We had dinner and opened presents while Audrey slept, so she missed out on most of the festivities. On Christmas day, we celebrated with my family at Gaga's house (Dada had to work on Christmas Day). The day after Christmas, we celebrated with my family again at Aunt Mandy's house with Uncle Joe, Aunt Judy, Brett, Trent, Carla and Abby. So all in all, it was a busy Christmas, but so great to spend time with family!

We tried to not let the presents for Audrey get out of control, so Santa didn't come this year. Not because she was bad, just because she doesn't understand yet! She got a few new toys, some clothes and some college money from our families. And Mama had to buy a new toy chest to contain the clutter - I think we're good on toys for a while!

William Ryan Lee

The best Christmas present we received this year was a new nephew! William Ryan Lee (aka Billy) was born on Christmas Eve and we went to visit him today. He is so adorable and very laid back so far! Audrey didn't get to go meet him, so she is very excited to meet her new cousin soon!

Uncle Scott and Billy

He was awake the whole time we were there and
only cried when he had his diaper changed!

Table scraps

The dogs have put on a few pounds lately and it's not because of the holidays. They have discovered that the best place to be during dinner time is under the high chair. Recently, Audrey has realized that when she drops food on the floor, the doggies will eat it. So when she's done eating, she just throws it on the floor. She thinks it's pretty funny...

Our Christmas Tree!

Today we went to get our Christmas tree! Ever since we've been married, we always go to a farm to cut a fresh tree, so our tradition continues! We actually skipped last year since Audrey was so little, so this is her very first Christmas tree! This year, we found a place in Shawnee that was smaller, but they had great trees to choose from. It was pretty cold and windy, but Audrey didn't mind!

We had some help cutting it down

Think it turned out pretty well!

Fire Station Visit

This weekend we went to Leavenworth to visit Dada at work. We hadn't been there since Audrey was 7 weeks old, so we were overdue for a visit! One of Scott's co-workers asked if I got lost on my way there again...not this time! Even though I'm a little drugged up on cold medicine, I still found my way! (See week 7 for the full story on how I got lost on the way to the fire station.) Audrey was excited to see everyone and even let Scott's co-worker hold her. We took some photos with the trucks and this time she was big enough to get inside - so much fun!

7 weeks old

One year old

"Look Mama, I'm in the truck!"

One Year Doctor's Visit

We went to the doctor today for Audrey's one year check up. The doctor said she looked great and was on track with her development. Everyone seems to be very impressed that she can say "banana." She's a smart cookie! Here are her official stats:
Weight: 18.15 lbs (16%)
Height: 29 in. (47%)
Head: 82%

So she had a growth spurt in height - the doctor said she might be taking after daddy. Maybe she does have a chance of being taller than 5'1"!

Our parents as teachers representative also came for a visit this week. She also said that Audrey was right on track developmentally and was advanced in her language. She can say Mama, Dada, ball, banana, hi, and night night. She was also amazed that she could push up from seated to standing without holding onto anything. She thought she would be walking within the next few weeks!

This week we had another big milestone - big girl bath! We've been bathing her in the kitchen sink because she is little and it's so much easier. But she's starting to get too big for that and we thought she would like to splash around in the water and we were right - she loved it!

Happy 1st Birthday, Audrey!



Birthday Girl!



Today we had Audrey's first birthday party! She had so much fun and I think everyone else did, too! All of our family was there, so we had a good turn out! We are so lucky to have all of our family in town to help celebrate! Audrey opened her presents first and she got a lot of good stuff! New toys and books, new clothes, and a winter coat! Then we sang to her and she tried her cake. She was definitely skeptical at first, but she took a few bites. She just wasn't that into it and I can't complain about that - the girl likes to eat healthy food! :-) Then we all had dinner and she went to bed. She handled everything really well! I was afraid she might get overwhelmed with all of the attention, but she seemed to love every minute of it - such a happy girl!

Cute banner I found on Etsy!

The theme was giraffe! What can I say, the girl loves animal print!

Our little family!

Papa & Gaga

Nana & Papa and Audrey's cousins, JT, Sydney and Ryan

With Great Grandma Gigi - she loves her Gigi!

Aunt Laura, Uncle Brian and cousin-to-be -
due right around Christmas!

Four generations of women -
Gigi, Gaga, Aunt Mandy, cousins Meredith and Gwendolyn and Audrey and Mama

Loving all the new toys - and attention!

"Is that a Hallmark card, Mama?"

She liked the wrapping paper as much as the gifts!

"Is this whole thing for ME???"

"What is this stuff?"



"Well, if Mama says it's okay, I guess I'll try it."

"She was right! Not too shabby!"

After cake, it was time to try out the new toys!



In her jammies, but she still can't tear herself away from the new toys!



Happy Birthday, baby girl! Mama and Dada love you so much! We are so lucky to have you in our lives!

One week to go!

I still can't believe Audrey will be 1 in just a week! She is learning so much, it just amazes me! She is close to walking. She's been standing on her own more than ever and she has even taken a few steps on her own! She's also constantly adding new words to her vocabulary. The other day, she was eating breakfast and Scott walked in and she lit up and said "hi, Dada!" It was so cute! Today, Gaga was watching her and taught her how to say ball. She's also obsessed with light fixtures now...I think Nana and Papa taught her that one. She loves to point them out in each room.



Practicing standing up!

 This past weekend was a busy one! We had a fun play date with Garrett and Lisa. They came over for lunch and to play on Saturday. Audrey was so excited to see him and Garrett kept saying "Audrey!" They are only 6 months apart and I'm sure they'll continue to be good buddies for years to come (and maybe even more!) ;-)

Audrey and Garrett

Saturday night, our friends Pete and Anthony came over to see Audrey. They hadn't seen her in a long time and she was happy to see them! They brought her the cutest stuffed Hippo and she loved it (and Mama loved it too - no hazardous parts to choke on)! :-) 

Anthony, Pete, Audrey and the Hippo



Little Miss Independent

This past Sunday, I hosted a baby shower at my house for my sister in law, Laura. She is due with her first baby (a boy!) in late December and we are SO excited to have another little cousin to play with. We had a great turn out at the shower and Audrey did well, too. She was able to see everyone for a little bit and then took her nap while we ate.


With the sister-in-laws - Crystal (Scott's sister)
and Laura (Scott's brother's wife)

 On Saturday, Crystal and Sydney came over to help me cook and get the house ready for the party. What a huge help they were! Sydney, Audrey's cousin, played with Audrey all day while we got stuff ready in the kitchen. They had so much fun, Audrey just loves Sydney. She also loves her Aunt Crystal. They have this game they play called Poor Old Horsey and Audrey just can't get enough of it!


Audrey & Crystal playing Poor Old Horsey

Look at me, Mama!

  So we also decided it was time to try out Audrey's baby walker that we got from Aunt Mandy. We tried it about a month ago but she wasn't quite ready. Well, she's definitely ready now! In fact, she's a little obsessed with it. It's sort of a love-hate relationship, actually. She'll walk and push it around, but the second she runs into something and stops, she falls to the floor and sobs. Quite the little diva! Scott decided he had to hide it from her because she was getting so upset. She just wants to walk on her own so badly!



On the go!



Such a big girl! Sydney was there to help, too!

Just within the past week or so, we've noticed that she is starting to develop her own opinions - she definitely knows what she wants and she'll let you know. Tonight at dinner, I was trying to get her to eat her egg, but she kept reaching for the puffs container. She's been a little bit fussier than usual in general this week and I think it's because she's getting a lot of teeth. She now has 4 that have broken through on the bottom and I can see at least 4 on the top getting ready to push through - that's gotta hurt! Poor baby!